Information was scarce here. It was just past five o'clock, and quite a bit of time had been spent rummaging in the room.
Sitting on the bed, he let out a long sigh. Listening to the occasional crashing sounds from outside and the faint cries for help and screams from the neighborhood, cruel and bloody scenes flashed through his mind.
Not out of curiosity to see the situation outside, he instead opened Tencent Chat.
Wang Xiaoxin and his parents had both replied.
17:00
Lin Dad: "Son, don't worry. We're quite safe in our hometown, but the roads to town are blocked by these things. We can't return to the county for now. Damn it, we've only been back for less than two days and this happened. You must be careful. These monsters seem very sensitive to sound, so don't make too much noise when you do things. And whatever you do, don't get bitten. Your third granduncle was bitten, and in less than half an hour, he turned into that thing."
Lin Yuan naturally replied to the message.
17:07
Lin Yuan: "Don't worry, Dad. Most people in our building are office workers or elderly people with children. As long as the security door is closed, it's quite safe. This epidemic seems particularly serious. You guys should really look at the messages from Jingzhou, don't ignore them. Also, be prepared to stay in the countryside for a long time. And where is our old radio? I've searched for a long time and can't find it."
Lin Yuan's father replied quickly.
17:08
Lin Dad: "Don't worry, your dad was a scout before, I'm very meticulous. You're afraid we won't have food or drink in our hometown? As for the radio, I remember it seems to be under the bed in our room, kept in a box, sealed with oiled paper. Go and look for it. I forgot the battery model, you can check it yourself. Be careful. I'm going to finish making the fence. My phone doesn't have much battery left, so I'll charge it. I don't know when the power will go out. If you have any problems, send a message. The phone is temporarily charging and on standby."
Seeing this, Lin Yuan replied with "Understood" and said no more. Wang Xiaoxin's reply was a series of pictures: a building on fire, various car accidents, scenes of human tragedy.
16:42
Wang Xiaoxin: "[Image]
[Image]
..."
"What should I do, Old Lin? I feel like it's hell outside my room!
I've already thrown up twice!"
Without opening the images, Lin Yuan scratched his head and typed a reply.
17:09
Lin Yuan: "Alright, alright, there's no time for you to get used to it. Surviving is the most important thing. Hurry up and lock your doors and windows, then go and collect water. Fill all the containers you can use in your home. Leave a large barrel to collect boiled water. Remember to boil it in a pressure cooker for 15 minutes. Also, collect materials and tools. Download the official information from the computer or phone, make a list, and categorize everything you have. Okay, I'm going to boil water. You take care of yourself. We'll chat more after I'm done tonight."
17:11
Wang Xiaoxin: "Understood, understood. Surviving is the most important thing. I'll go and collect water now. You take care too."
Lin Yuan sighed. He knew Wang Xiaoxin wasn't usually this unable to calm down. He had just seen the tragic scenes outside and was psychologically impacted, bordering on a breakdown. Unlike him, he hadn't even opened the curtains and had them tightly shut.
In his contact list, besides his parents and Wang Xiaoxin, only three other people had contacted him, all with the same questions:
Are you alive?
What's happening outside?
Lin Yuan, though not very familiar with them, replied to each one, albeit briefly.
"Time is tight. Collect supplies as soon as possible, lock doors and windows, fully charge devices, boil water, and be careful."
He stopped responding and went to boil water himself.
He wasn't worried about the network. It wasn't an earthquake that would collapse the lines. Base stations and power plants were mostly automated, and they could last for two or three days without supervision.
The gas had been shut off, so he had to use an electric pressure cooker. For safety, the water needed to be heated to 120 degrees Celsius and maintained for more than 15 minutes to achieve ideal sterilization effects at a medical grade.
While the water was boiling, he sat at the dining table, taking out paper and a pen to write down his plans and lists. His phone was downloading official information next to him.
Lin Yuan's home, like Wang Xiaoxin's, was in a high-rise building. The only difference was that his home was still five floors away from the top floor.
He didn't know the situation of the people on the floors above, but the epidemic broke out around mealtime and commuting hours, so there shouldn't be many people in the hallways. He could go up and check in a couple of days. He remembered that someone grew vegetables on the roof, so he could go up and see. However, although this place was a county town, the permanent population of the main urban area alone was 500,000. And it was commuting time, so outside would definitely be full of zombies.
On a piece of paper, he wrote "Plan" and marked the date as July 11th.
"1. Go out and explore the upper floors in two days, and block the stairs leading down from my own floor.
2. Utilize the rooftop for growing vegetables and signaling for help.
3. Rescue..."
He hadn't finished writing "rescue survivors" when his pen stopped. Scenes from various novels and TV shows set in the apocalypse flashed through his mind: human nature, darkness, betrayal, ingratitude, and a series of such scenarios continuously stimulated Lin Yuan's nerves.
He quickly crossed out this line. He couldn't even take care of himself, so how could he have the energy to save others? But then he thought, the country was still trying to save people, shouldn't he, as a child of China, be less heartless?
Hesitantly, he still added the third point.
"3. While ensuring my own safety, help survivors in precarious situations to the best of my ability, and then cease all interaction with them, awaiting rescue."
This made him feel a little better. After all, he was an outstanding recent university graduate, and he still had a bit of kindness in his heart.
Putting the paper down, he got up and went to the tool room to find all the usable tools.
The so-called tool room was actually a room smaller than a toilet, which was where Lin Yuan's father used to keep tools. Now it had become a storage for clutter.
He took out some of the clutter, which were wooden strips of various lengths, plastic pipes, iron pipes, and the like, likely leftover renovation materials. He set them aside to see if they would be useful later.
The most conspicuous item stood against the wall in a long box, containing a large axe, over half a meter long, with a solid wood handle. It required both hands to grip. It was used for felling trees when repairing houses in his hometown. He brought it back for fear of rust, waxed it, and stored it. It had been two years.
Lin Yuan weighed it in his hand. He could grip it with one hand, but chopping would be very strenuous. Gripping it with both hands was just right. He placed this gleaming axe aside. He didn't know how to use it yet, and using it rashly could easily injure himself.
There was also a toolbox, quite a large one, containing various woodworking tools. Unfortunately, there were no large power tools, only a small electric drill, the type used for screws.
After about ten minutes of tidying up the clutter, he placed the toolbox and the axe in the living room for easy access, and charged the battery of the small electric drill.
On another A4 paper, he wrote "Supplies".
"Manufactured Tools: Woodworking Tool Box, Small Electric Drill
Weapons: Felling Axe"
He closed the door of the storage room and turned towards the kitchen, intending to take stock of the food.
The refrigerator's freezer compartment had nearly 30 catties of meat, more than half of which was beef, and some fish. Lin Yuan didn't take all the meat out to defrost. Although no one knew when the power would go out, it was getting dark now, and there was no quick way to dry it, so he would deal with it tomorrow.
There was much less in the fresh food compartment, so he took everything out, along with the potatoes and sweet potatoes from the floor. He also took out the canned goods and compressed biscuits he had stocked during the period when the new infectious disease was most severe. He placed them on the scale and listed them on the "Supplies" table.
"Food: 6 catties of flour, 36 catties of rice, 1 catty of corn grits, 2 catties of red beans, 2 catties of mung beans, 2 jars of honey (2 catties each), 2 heads of long cabbage, 1 bunch of spinach, 6 tomatoes, 12 potatoes, 6 sweet potatoes, 15 eggs, 5 cans of braised beef, 2 cans of braised pork, 10 cans of peas, 3 cans of fish, 1 can of potato and beef, 5 packs of Old Tan's pickled beef noodles, 20 packs of sesame-flavored compressed biscuits (100g each), one large watermelon weighing about 18 catties, bought last night, and about 3 catties of various small snacks.
Seasonings: 15 catties of rapeseed oil, 10 catties of lard, 206 grams of star anise, bay leaves, and other spices, more than half a bottle of soy sauce, more than half a bottle of sesame oil, half a bottle of chili oil, more than half a bottle of vinegar, a small box of Sichuan peppercorns, 5 x 500g packs of salt, a small bag of dried chili peppers, 1 x 100g pack of ground Sichuan pepper, 1 x 150g pack of five-spice powder, 576 grams of ginger and garlic combined, other seasonings are negligible."
The food inventory was complete. It seemed quite abundant; he could last for more than a month if he ate sparingly.
He put the watermelon and the perishable vegetables into the refrigerator, and the rest into a cool place to prevent spoilage.
Besides the large axe, the only suitable weapon in the kitchen was a cleaver. It was bought by Lin Dad at great expense: pointed, 30cm long including the handle, Damascus craftsmanship, costing over a thousand yuan. It was the last pride of Lin Dad as a household chef after retirement. Lin Dad never let anyone touch it. It was kept in a box, and he would check if the box had been opened every time he went out and returned. It was only taken out to be admired on major festivals like the Mid-Autumn Festival, New Year's Eve, and National Day.
Now, of course, it would serve as a guarantee for Lin Yuan's survival.