Edge of the Apocalypse

Chapter 45: Chapter 41: Butterfly Effect

Zhao Youcai paused for a moment, then asked, "And then what?"

Huang Zhiqiang: "Dongzi, forget the beginning and the middle, just fast-forward to the part where you Venmo me 50."

"I know you guys won’t believe me right away, and that’s fine. This kind of thing is hard to understand. But, what if... what if I could successfully predict something that will happen to you both, write it down on paper, and when you open it tomorrow, it matches up? Wouldn’t that prove I’m a Reincarnator?"

Yu Dong knew it was incredibly difficult to convince someone he was a Reincarnator. Fortunately, his memories contained information about these two.

Huang Zhiqiang: "What if you write that I’m going to take a shit... then what?"

Zhao Youcai: "It can’t be something we do every day."

"No problem. We’ll find out tomorrow morning. I’ve written two sentences in here. Huang will hold on to the prediction for Youcai, and Youcai will hold on to the one for Huang. I’ve already sealed them with glue, so don’t open them. We’ll see what’s what tomorrow."

The two mulled it over for a moment... It seemed to make sense.

Huang Zhiqiang: "Alright, let’s give it a shot... But if you’re a Reincarnator, how do I do in the future? Do I become a general manager and marry a rich, beautiful woman?"

Zhao Youcai: "What about me? I must have my own company, right?"

"I didn’t live that long. As for the specifics... I’ll tell you tomorrow after you believe me. Okay, that’s all for today. Don’t talk about this back in the dorm, especially not in front of Xufeng."

Yu Dong said no more. If he couldn’t win their trust, anything else he said would be useless.

But if they already trusted him completely, then whatever he said would be treated as gospel.

Back in the dorm, Yu Dong lay on his bed and started blinking, shaking his head, and opening his mouth. At lightning speed, he drained all the money from twelve online lending platforms—fifty thousand, just like before.

This time, he once again contacted a student loan provider.

"Bro, I’m a girl, and I need a little cash right now..."

"Alright, let me see."

[The other party initiated a video call]

"Never mind then."

’Why are these lenders as sharp as monkeys?’

Yu Dong shook his head, deciding not to waste any more time on these people.

This money, plus some small amounts from credit lines, IOUs, and other monthly payment plans, was everything he had in his previous life. But it was clearly not enough for this one.

’Good thing I have two great allies this time. Each of them can take out loans just like me... Huang has a habit of spending beyond his means, so his credit limit should be even higher than mine. He’ll be able to fleece even more.’

’Time to open up new sources of income, starting with my two roommates.’

That night, Yu Dong lay in bed, writing out his plans for the next few days in his small, portable notebook.

’Time is even tighter than before!’

Because not only did he have to prepare by purchasing apocalypse survival supplies, but the main challenge was how to convince these five people.

He was already pretty sure about Huang Zhiqiang and Zhao Youcai.

Liu Ye’ye, Zhou, and Shen Xinyi were still strangers to him. How to gather the three of them to his side was the problem.

As he was deep in thought, the chatter in the dorm room drifted back to Liu Ye’ye. As the girl with the best looks and most talent of the night, she was always a tireless topic of conversation in the guys’ dorm.

Then Zhao Youcai said, "I heard from her roommate that Liu Ye’ye has a sugar daddy, some middle-aged guy."

Huang Zhiqiang was instantly crushed.

"My goddess... Damn you, rich people! I’ll never believe in love again."

After the lights went out, Huang Zhiqiang lay in bed, unable to sleep for a long time. Then, in the middle of the night, he started changing his profile status...

A slight smile touched the corners of Yu Dong’s mouth.

’It’s in the bag.’

「The next morning, 6 a.m.」

Yu Dong was woken up early by his two roommates. Xufeng hadn’t even had a chance to start cramming yet when he saw the three of them sneaking out mysteriously.

Xufeng shot up in bed. "?"

"Trying to out-grind me?"

Yu Dong knew the two of them were getting impatient. He said calmly:

"Now, you can open the notes I gave you."

Huang Zhiqiang tore it open eagerly. He’d been curious all night.

[Tonight, Zhao Youcai will say: Liu Ye’ye’s roommate said she has a sugar daddy.]

"Holy shit! Dongzi, you’re a god! That’s exactly what Youcai said, word for word!"

Zhao Youcai pursed his lips. "It’s not like I made that up myself. I heard it from someone else, so it’s perfectly normal for Dongzi to have heard it too. He could have guessed we’d talk about her yesterday and that the topic would come up. How is that any different from what a fortune-teller does?"

Yu Dong smiled faintly. He had already guessed Zhao Youcai would say that, because it wasn’t exactly a completely solid prediction.

In his past life, he had been so busy preparing for the apocalypse that, aside from the night he was reborn, he hadn’t paid much attention to the two of them. He didn’t have any strong cards to play.

"Don’t be hasty, Youcai. Open yours."

Zhao Youcai opened it. There was a single line written on it.

[Tonight, Huang Zhiqiang will change his Moments status to: Work hard, get money.]

The two of them were stunned!

Zhao Youcai: "If this is right, then either you and Huang are ganging up to trick me, or you can really predict the future."

Huang Zhiqiang: "What the hell is this?"

He then pulled out his phone and opened his Moments. The profile status had indeed been changed.

[Just being alive is enough]

"Huh???"

Yu Dong was dumbfounded. He took the phone and looked it over several times, but the text didn’t change.

"Did you two peek at my note this morning and then change it?"

"No..."

The two of them looked innocent. Yu Dong knew they were both people who generally followed the rules, so it was unlikely they would team up to deceive him.

Besides, if they had seen it, they would have just thought his prediction was spot-on.

’The details have changed... Is this the butterfly effect?’

Huang Zhiqiang said nonchalantly, "It’s already pretty impressive that Dongzi was half-right. I do like posting on Moments a lot... so it’s normal that you didn’t guess my exact thoughts. But your reasoning skills deserve credit."

Zhao Youcai, however, looked at Yu Dong thoughtfully.

"Dongzi, since we’re up this early with nothing to do anyway, why don’t you tell us how long we actually lived? And why can’t we tell Xufeng?"

Yu Dong was a bit speechless that his very first move had triggered a butterfly effect. But he had to hurry and get these two on his team; any later and it would be too late.

"Alright. It’s normal for a prediction to have some minor errors in the details. Next, I’ll tell you the real future."

"In seven days, something the government names the ’S-Virus’ will break out globally. The infection rate will be as high as ninety percent, and everyone infected will turn into a zombie. You two won’t get infected, but you’ll die on the first day of the apocalypse... I only survived for fifteen days."

"If you want to live, then follow my lead and start preparing for the apocalypse early. If the apocalypse doesn’t arrive in seven days, you can just consider it seven days of performance art with me."

"Huang, Youcai, I’ve never asked you two for anything. This time... I’m begging you to believe me. I will take responsibility for my actions."

This time, the two were genuinely moved by Yu Dong’s words. Because... they had never seen him speak about anything so seriously.

Huang Zhiqiang clapped Yu Dong on the shoulder.

"You should’ve just said we were doing performance art from the start! I love doing weird, abstract stuff. What’s the plan!"

Zhao Youcai was still half-believing, half-doubting. "First, tell us how we’re supposed to play. If it doesn’t sound fun, I’m not playing along with you."

The two of them still didn’t believe him.

But at least they were willing to hear what Yu Dong had planned.

Yu Dong gave them a rough rundown of the apocalypse. After listening for a while, they each offered their own take.

Huang Zhiqiang: "I think there’s a problem with your story’s premise. Theoretically, zombies can’t survive that long without eating. Most of them would have starved to death after fifteen days. I suggest you flesh out that part next time you’re writing your lore."

Zhao Youcai: "If a virus like that really existed, the rich would get the news first. Xufeng’s family would definitely have him protected right away, and we normal people would be the ones who get screwed."

Yu Dong: "???"

"Can you two stop focusing on such weird details!"

"The apocalypse! Zombies! Man-eating zombies!"

Huang Zhiqiang, Zhao Youcai: "PFFT!"

"Ahahahaha~"

"Sorry, couldn’t hold it in..."

"Mr. Yu, please continue."

Yu Dong’s face darkened. He began to wonder if approaching these two first had been a mistake.

"Enough bullshit, just give me your phones!"

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