Edge of the Apocalypse

Chapter 52: Chapter 48: Xiangti Bay Squad, Assemble

At 9 PM, Ding Ming clocked out and left.

Zhao Youcai, who was dog-tired from organizing supplies, collapsed onto the sofa, completely unable to straighten his back.

Not only did Huang Zhiqiang not help him, but he also had a truckload of canned food and compressed biscuits delivered.

And he was excitedly recording the whole thing from the side.

"Youcai, I’m telling you, if we edit this video and post it... it’ll absolutely blow up. Anything less than a million likes would be an insult to the massive spectacle Dongzi’s putting on."

"Forget about blowing up. This work is not fit for a human. Whoever wants to do it can do it. I’m done. I have class tomorrow."

"Hey, don’t do that! Quitting halfway is no fun. I’ve already planned out your on-screen persona. Once the video drops, Dongzi will be the internet’s number one clown, and you’ll be the number one sucker. You’ll both go viral together."

"I really *am* a sucker. I thought this would be fun, but I just spent the whole day organizing goods. I’ve had it. If he’s got so much money, he could just hire a few more part-timers like Ding Ming. Does he really need me to do this? I really don’t get what Dongzi is thinking."

"Didn’t you hear Dongzi? He said he can’t entrust hoarding supplies to people he doesn’t trust. Otherwise, it could cause trouble down the line."

"I don’t care. If Dongzi makes me do this again tomorrow, I’m quitting. I’m not playing anymore."

Zhao Youcai was so tired he had already given up, but Huang Zhiqiang, on the other hand, was full of energy and getting more and more excited.

Especially waving his hand and spending tens of thousands on payments for goods—that felt incredibly satisfying!

"Don’t quit! This is just getting good! Youcai, let me tell you, I’ve already planned out the whole operation for our account... After a week, when the apocalypse doesn’t come, we’ll first cement Dongzi’s position as the internet’s number one clown. Then, we’ll start livestreaming sales and sell all these ’apocalypse supplies’ we’ve bought, untouched!"

"We bought everything at wholesale prices. We can sell them at market price on the stream and make another killing!"

"By then, not only will we be famous, but the account will be popular, and we’ll have made money! A triple win!"

"Youcai, I never realized it before, but I really do have a talent for social media management... If Dongzi had started acting this crazy earlier, we might have been financially free by now."

From start to finish, Huang Zhiqiang never believed in the apocalypse. He just thought this whole thing was a great opportunity for some fun.

Zhao Youcai curled his lip upon hearing this. "By then, the platform will just throttle your reach, the video will get no traffic, and it’ll be over. Capital controls the traffic. They decide who gets popular. It’s not enough to just have good content. Even moronic stuff like biting lighters can go viral, which just proves we’re in an era where capital is used to fool idiots."

Huang Zhiqiang didn’t want to argue with him about it; the topic of capital was a rabbit hole with no end.

"The worst that can happen is we waste a week. Just think of it as you playing along with us. Are you really worried Dongzi won’t pay you back?"

When it came to Yu Dong’s credibility, Zhao Youcai had to admit it was solid.

"That’s not it... but it’s just so boring. Why don’t you guys do it? I’ll just invest some money and watch from the sidelines. Once you’re up and running, I’ll just take a share of the profits."

Zhao Youcai was sprawled on the sofa. He was determined not to do any more work tomorrow. His hands were so tired they were trembling just from holding his phone. He hadn’t even done his daily quests in that cultivation game he played.

Huang Zhiqiang was about to say something more when a knock came from the door.

"Open up, I brought you guys some food."

Yu Dong’s voice came from outside.

"I’m starving. Huang, hurry and put some food in my mouth."

Yu Dong walked in carrying a large pizza. The rich aroma of cheese made the two starving guys’ mouths water.

Huang Zhiqiang didn’t even bother with gloves, grabbing a huge slice with his bare hands and stuffing it into his mouth.

"Mmm, delicious! Where’d you buy such a tasty pizza? I’ve never had anything like it. The toppings are loaded!"

Zhao Youcai curled his lip. "It’s just a pizza, what’s so special... Hmm! It actually is pretty good."

After one bite, he couldn’t stop either. He then said with his mouth full:

"Dongzi, I need to tell you something. After a full day of careful consideration, I’ve decided to withdraw from this project..."

"Come, let me introduce you. This is the new member of our team, Liu Ye’ye."

Yu Dong pulled Liu Ye’ye, who was hiding shyly behind him, forward.

She had changed into a cute, "girl-next-door" style outfit, looking utterly pure—exactly like most people’s image of a perfect first girlfriend.

"Hello, seniors. I’m... Liu Ye’ye. Please... please take care of me from now on!"

Zhao Youcai hadn’t even swallowed the pizza in his mouth. His eyes were glued to her, completely stunned.

Huang Zhiqiang’s eyes went wide. He pointed at Yu Dong, then at Liu Ye’ye, his face a mask of question marks.

’Yanhai University’s number one talented girl! The dream goddess of countless guys! Our teammate? To play this "create a clown" game together???’

"Youcai, what were you just saying about quitting? You’re not doing it anymore?"

Yu Dong genuinely hadn’t heard what Zhao Youcai had mumbled.

Zhao Youcai shot to his feet, his body ramrod straight, all traces of fatigue gone. He wore a mature and steady expression.

"Haha, Dongzi, you misunderstood me. I said I was quitting my bystander mentality. I plan to treat this matter as my own, not just passively accept tasks. After all, we are a team. We must contribute not only our strength, but also our wisdom."

"That makes sense. Everyone’s thinking is limited. Even though I’ve been reborn, there are many things I wouldn’t think of... It’s best for us to work together to find and fix any oversights. Youcai has a very good point!"

"Haha, it’s all for the team. By the way, my name is Zhao Youcai. Welcome to the team."

Zhao Youcai gave Liu Ye’ye a polite and proper nod.

Huang Zhiqiang also chimed in, "Welcome, welcome! With you on board, I feel like our project is guaranteed to succeed!"

’A beauty paired with a clown. It’d be hard *not* to go viral!’

And so, on this Monday, the founding members of the entire squad had finally assembled!

Although the process was a little different from what Yu Dong had imagined, the result was good.

The four of them were now officially fighting for the apocalypse!

As for Zhou and Shen Xinyi, Yu Dong would bring them in at the last minute.

That evening, Zhao Youcai, who was usually fond of complaining, uncharacteristically made several constructive suggestions.

"Dongzi, I think there are a few shortcomings in your preparations from your past life that can be improved."

"First, your food reserves are too rigid, lacking a vision for sustainable development. Since we will control Building One in the future, why not use the huge space on the roof to grow vegetables? And potatoes? We could also set up some solar panels to power grow lights and build a few greenhouses. That would be perfectly feasible. Wouldn’t that give us a year-round, endless supply of fresh vegetables?"

"Second, you need to get some complete-formula pig feed. That stuff is cheap, comes in bulk, and is nutritious. The texture is a bit off, but it’s completely edible for humans. Of course, I’m not saying *we* should eat it. But what if new people join us later? Are you going to watch them starve to death, or are you going to give them our rations? That’s when the pig feed would be useful."

"Third, I noticed you haven’t considered the issue of heating. It’s the end of September now, and we’re by the sea. You know how cold the sea breeze in Yanhai City gets in the winter. If you don’t prepare any fuel, how will we survive the winter? I think we should buy a few space heaters and find a way to get a truckload of coal in here..."

"Ahem... The three points above are my suggestions for our squad’s future development after the apocalypse. I hope they can help our team survive better in the post-apocalyptic world."

After speaking, Zhao Youcai nodded towards Liu Ye’ye, looking confident and in control.

’This little apocalypse? Got it handled.’

Liu Ye’ye also responded politely, "That sounds... pretty good."

Yu Dong: "..."

Huang Zhiqiang: "I don’t care who you are, get out of Youcai’s body right now!"

He was acting so unlike himself!

’Zhao Youcai, your whole persona just collapsed!’

Even Yu Dong had to admit... Zhao Youcai’s words actually made a lot of sense!

In that moment, Yu Dong understood the saying: three Zhao Youcais are better than one Zhuge Liang.

"Youcai, you’ve really got something..."

Yu Dong was very glad he had gotten this small team settled on the very first day.

Next, he still had six days to fully upgrade his apocalypse response plan from his previous life.

This time, it was the power of a team!

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