When he pushed his door open and stepped out, Fu Qingdai happened to emerge across the hall.
Their eyes met, and both froze for a moment.
"Are your parents fast asleep?" Su Jin asked.
"Yeah," Fu Qingdai answered softly. "I gave them double the dose, so they're completely out. I filled two buckets with water and shut off our main valve."
As she spoke, she looked up at him, her small face taut, fighting back tears with everything she had.
Yet her trembling frame was enough to betray the terror in her heart.
Su Jin forced a smile, reached out, and pulled her into a hug.
"Don't be afraid. I'm here."
Gently stroking Fu Qingdai's dark hair, Su Jin felt an ache of tenderness swell in his chest.
For a young girl to endure this much, she had already shown incredible strength.
It was hard to tell whether he was saving her, or she was saving him.
"We don't have much time. Let's move."
Releasing her gently, Su Jin pulled out a box.
"What's this? What are we going to do?" Fu Qingdai asked.
Without a word, Su Jin opened the box.
Inside was a full pack of 502-style superglue resting atop a stack of paper.
"Seal the doors. Starting from the first floor, we fill every tenant's keyholes and deadbolts with glue," Su Jin said in a low voice. "If anyone turns into a zombie, keeping them locked inside will guarantee our safety."
"But... what if people are fine? Won't they be trapped inside and die?" Fu Qingdai asked, eyes wide. "If they have nothing to drink, they'll end up drinking rainwater. And what if they starve?"
Su Jin took the stack of papers from the box. "I printed notices about rainwater contamination, mimicking the community management's format. We'll slip them under the doors. I also have glue dissolver ready; if the opportunity arises later, I can let them out.
"Helping them helps us, but we can't save everyone. Doing this much is already as generous as we can be. As for starving or dying of thirst, that's entirely up to fate. If it pours for seven days straight, the people on the first floor won't stand a chance anyway."
Fu Qingdai took a deep breath, suppressing her trembling, and closed her eyes with a nod.
"I understand. Let's go!"
Heading straight down to the first floor, Su Jin slipped outside to check the windows.
Society here had not yet reached the era of being amused to death. At most, people watched TV or read the newspaper; though 3D games existed, ordinary households lacked the means to play them. Consequently, people generally went to bed early, turning in around ten o'clock.
Seeing that not a single light shone from the entire building, he and Fu Qingdai set to work squirting glue and sliding notices under the doors.
He had already run a few tests after buying the glue, and the results had surprised him. In smell and properties, it was almost indistinguishable from 502 glue, yet it was far more adhesive than the 502 he knew back home. Comparing the development of the two worlds, that shouldn't have been the case. He couldn't tell whether goods in this world used more solid materials or manufacturers back home had just cut corners.
The stairwell had two apartments facing each other per floor.
Working quickly, they soon sealed every apartment door in the entire entryway—except for his own home, the supply storage unit, and the Fu family's apartment.
Returning to the fifth floor, Su Jin led Fu Qingdai inside his apartment.
Seeing rows of long objects wrapped in foam laid out across the floor, Fu Qingdai couldn't help asking, "What are these, Brother?"
"Steel pipes—also for securing the doors. Glue alone isn't reliable enough; someone could still force their way out. I've already sorted them into sets. Help me carry them down in a moment. On each floor, we'll erect a steel frame to brace against the facing doors, then wedge wooden slats into the gaps between the frames and doors."
Su Jin picked up an armful of pipes and pointed at the slats on the floor. "Take those. I didn't wrap them in foam, so make sure not to make any noise. We don't want to wake anyone and cause an incident.
"Once that's done, I'll barricade the entryway door downstairs and shut off the main water valve... After that, all we can do is wait."
Fu Qingdai nodded in silence.
After another stretch of frantic labor, the opposing doors on the first, second, third, and sixth floors were completely braced shut with makeshift support frames.
Glued locks and steel braces... Short of leaping out the windows, no one had any real chance of breaking through.
Even if they turned into zombies, they could only rot inside their homes.
For the foreseeable future, this eliminated the risk of neighborhood conflict and effectively put their neighbors' fates in their hands.
Fu Qingdai rested in a chair, watching Su Jin bustle about.
Squatting on the floor, Su Jin passed food and medicine up to the table item by item.
"These are multivitamin tablets. Take one every day once you're back home. And powdered milk—drink a cup in the morning and one at night," Su Jin droned on. "Take some of my vegetables too. Finish the perishables with your parents as soon as possible.
"The power grid won't collapse right away, but it probably won't last more than a few days either. In your spare time, train your arms and legs. You have to learn how to draw that fifty-pound bow.
"Take a few more bottles of glue too. While your parents are asleep, glue all the windows shut so they can't open them. After your apocalyptic dream, seeing this rain should make them wary...
"Things will be relatively safe in the short term, but there's no telling what might go wrong. I need to observe how things play out for a few days before I come get you."
Fu Qingdai quietly sorted and gathered the supplies on the table.
Once everything was packed, Su Jin sat down beside her. "Qingdai, your parents can't wander around either. Once you're home, I'll seal your door as well. Keep the keys to my place. And remember—you cannot tell anyone about the supplies stored on the fourth floor, not even your parents.
"I wasn't going to let you see it originally, but I'm telling you because I trust you, and those supplies were prepared for you anyway... In the end, you'll have to learn to survive. For now, don't trust anyone except me. Let's go."
Fu Qingdai nodded, gathered the items from the table, and followed behind Su Jin.
When they reached her home and she opened the door to set the supplies inside, she suddenly spun around and threw herself into his arms.
Muffled sobs broke out as her tears soaked his chest, the two holding each other in silence.
Dressed and fully prepared, Su Jin sat boldly astride a chair in the center of the living room, wiping down the silver spear over and over, occasionally glancing up toward the window.
Across from him was the window; the night outside was pitch-black, dark as an abyss.
Today was the day the apocalypse would arrive, though neither he nor Fu Qingdai knew precisely when the rain would begin.
Perhaps tonight, perhaps during the day.
Regardless, tonight was destined to be sleepless.
The clock hands clicked forward rhythmically, each tick ringing crystal clear.
The time reached 3:15:42 AM.
In the very next instant, a jagged purple rift tore across the horizon!
A flash of brilliant light reflected off the silver spear directly into his eyes, and Su Jin sprang to his feet!
At that exact moment, thunder roared through the clouds, arcs of lightning rolling ceaselessly through the chaos.
Su Jin's pupils shrank to pinpricks, the hair on his arms standing on end!
The world erupted into a deafening roar as torrential rain poured down upon the earth. The apocalypse had arrived!
Chapter 21