Edge of the Apocalypse

Chapter 58: Chapter 54: Redemption and Judgment

"Boss, get us a good table and bring out your best dishes!"

Liang Mian had already taken a cab to Zhuoyue Studio in the Urban Area and was sitting in a private room, waiting for Yu Dong and the female college student.

He glanced at his phone. It was already 6:30, but he hadn’t gotten a call yet.

He thought for a moment. ’It’s normal for a girl to be a little late...’

BEEP! A message arrived from Brother Dong.

"Are you there, Liangzi?"

"I’m here, Brother Dong! When are you guys coming?"

"We’ll definitely be there before 7:00. Just hang on."

"Alright!"

Liangzi scrolled through their chat history and zoomed in on the photo of the innocent-looking beauty Yu Dong had sent him earlier. A wide, happy grin spread across his face.

Forget waiting until 7:00—if this date worked out, he’d be willing to wait all night.

Yu Dong put down his phone and sighed.

’Liangzi... I’m not going to kill you, but whether or not you survive is up to you now.’

In the end, he decided not to bring Liang Mian into the team.

Personally, Yu Dong could have used Liangzi, but... his team also included Liu Ye’ye and Shen Xinyi.

He had to be responsible for his team members.

...

「Xiangti Bay Community.」

"This is so annoying! What kind of psycho blocked the entrance? I was supposed to get my hair done with my girls tonight."

Yang Yi’s face was full of irritation.

"Babe, let’s just go through the underground garage. We can grab a cab so you’re not late."

Zhao Wenjie whispered reassuringly, his arm around her.

"Why would you come to a girls’ night? Just wait for me at home. I’ll be back as soon as we’re done."

"I’m just worried about you, babe. You guys go have fun, and I’ll just wait for you outside. I won’t bother you."

"Oh, come on, Wen Jie. Just be a good boy and play your video games at home. You’re always complaining that I don’t let you play, right? Well, tonight you can have the place to yourself and play as much as you want."

"Babe... you’re the best. Even when you’re going out to get your hair done, you’re still thinking about me."

Zhao Wenjie was touched. He squeezed Yang Yi’s arm and gave her a kiss.

"Of course! I have to be the one to spoil my boyfriend!"

A triumphant smile played on Yang Yi’s lips.

"Ahem."

Just then, a cough sounded from behind them.

"Uh... excuse me. You two are from Yanhai University, right?"

The couple turned to look at Yu Dong, their faces full of confusion.

"We are. Why?"

"That’s great! I knew you two looked familiar... You must be living here because of the university’s housing subsidy, right?"

"Huh? What subsidy?"

Zhao Wenjie and Yang Yi were both completely bewildered. Zhao Wenjie was renting this place himself—it was the 45-square-meter unit.

"You haven’t applied for it? It’s a special program for graduating students. You can apply to live here rent-free for six months."

"Oh... We haven’t graduated yet."

"We haven’t graduated either; we’re all applying for grad school. You just have to have a word with the professor in charge of the review process... a bunch of us have already moved in."

Hearing this, Zhao Wenjie’s interest was piqued. He had, in fact, seen Yu Dong and a few other college students moving in recently.

"Bro, tell me more, tell me more!"

"There’s an application form. You fill it out, take it to the university’s administrative office to get it processed, and it should be approved in about a week."

"What form is it?"

Zhao Wenjie couldn’t wait to get in on this deal. Six months of rent was nearly ten thousand yuan!

"Ah, it’s hard to explain in just a few words. Why don’t you... come over to my place? I’ll print out a couple of forms for you."

"Let’s go, let’s go!"

Zhao Wenjie was eager to go, but when Yang Yi saw how desperate he was to save a buck, she looked annoyed.

"You go. I’ll wait here."

Yu Dong said, "You both have to fill one out."

Zhao Wenjie quickly pulled Yang Yi along with him.

"Come on, babe. Once it’s approved, with the money we save... I’ll buy you that iPhone 17. Don’t you want the latest model?"

At that, Yang Yi was swayed.

"Fine... but make it quick. I still have to go out later."

"Don’t worry, you’ll definitely be done filling it out by 7:00. There are a lot of students from our university here. We can all get together for a game of Werewolf sometime when we’re free."

Yu Dong chuckled as he led the couple toward Building One.

...

Yan Yikai, who had been dribbling a basketball by himself, sat down on a community bench, drenched in sweat. He placed the ball at his feet, lifted his shirt to wipe his face, and glanced at his smartwatch. It was already 6:40.

’Time to go home for dinner...’

Just then, a college student holding two phones sat down next to him.

"Hey! Hey! Bro, do you play Honor of Kings? Help me out, quick! My buddy just went to pick up a package, and I’m in my promotion match!"

Huang Zhiqiang shoved the phone into the high schooler Yan Yikai’s hands.

"Huh? O-Okay."

Yan Yikai was stunned for a moment, but then started playing, wanting to be helpful.

He knew how to play, but his parents rarely let him use his phone, so he seldom had the chance to really get into a game.

He took the phone and started playing immediately, his performance quite impressive.

"Not bad, bro! You’ve got skills... The reception here sucks, I was just lagging again. Come over to the hallway in Building One. My apartment’s Wi-Fi reaches there."

"Oh, okay."

And so, the naive high schooler was lured into Building One by Huang Zhiqiang, step by step.

Once inside, Huang Zhiqiang grinned.

"Little bro, I’ve got even more fun stuff inside my apartment. Wanna come in and play?"

...

"Hello, I’m a volunteer with the Bright Community. We’re holding a ’Focus on Women’s Health and Breast Cancer Prevention’ lecture today. After the talk, we’ll be promoting free HPV vaccinations. You look like you’re in the right age group. Would you be interested in attending?"

Liu Ye’ye said with a bright smile, handing a flyer to a pregnant woman, Qiao Ping.

Qiao Ping glanced at Liu Ye’ye and said gently,

"Thank you, but I’ve already gotten that vaccine and paid for it myself."

Liu Ye’ye faltered for a second before continuing, "That’s okay! You can still come listen to the lecture. It’s all about women’s health, which is always good to know more about."

"Hmm... I’ll pass. I have my child with me today, so it’s not very convenient."

Qiao Ping pointed to her daughter on the nearby swing set.

"That’s no problem. She can play here for a bit. You just need to go up, sign in, and you’ll get a free toy!"

"Haha, we have so many toys at home we can barely close the door. Please give it to someone who needs it more. Thank you, though."

Qiao Ping politely declined Liu Ye’ye’s invitation.

She was gentle but firm, maintaining a polite distance.

After being rejected again, Liu Ye’ye started to get anxious. Qiao Ping was the last person on her list.

"But... but too few people showed up for the lecture today, and we need to hit a certain number. Could you please help me out? You just need to be there so we can get enough people for the photo."

Hearing this, Qiao Ping seemed to relate.

’Leaving a paper trail for work... sigh. It’s always like this at the lower levels. They force you to submit data you don’t have and drag people in to meet quotas. You look like you’re working up a sweat, but you’re just running in place. It’s treadmill work.’

"Fine. Life isn’t easy for anyone. Nuonuo, you wait for Mommy here. I’ll be right back."

"Okay!"

Her daughter agreed obediently and went back to the swings.

Only after leading Qiao Ping into Building One did Liu Ye’ye finally breathe a sigh of relief.

The time was now 6:49.

The instant she and Qiao Ping stepped into the elevator, Zhao Youcai, who had been squatting behind the main entrance of Building One, immediately shut the door and secured it with a chain.

Before the apocalypse began, all five living targets had been brought inside!

Yu Dong locked the college couple, Zhao Wenjie and Yang Yi, in the master bedroom of Apartment 501. Ignoring their shouts, he picked up a pair of binoculars and looked out at the community.

’Ten minutes left...’

Everything was in place.

Xufeng and Ding Ming were in the monitoring room. A moment ago, Zhao Youcai and Huang Zhiqiang had used the chaos to break the locks on the doors to the monitoring room and the property management office.

’Right now, the monitoring room should have... Sister Zhang, Xufeng, Ding Ming, a few nosy residents, and... Lin Xiaojun.’

’Lin Xiaojun, this is my judgment upon you.’

’This outcome... is what you deserve for what you did in my last life.’

Yu Dong would not spare such a dangerous person.

’Xufeng, Ding Ming, help me one last time.’

Just as Yu Dong was waiting for the appointed time...

A tall, thin man pushed a shared electric scooter over from the roadside and positioned it beneath the perimeter wall. Stepping onto the scooter, he jumped, grabbed the top of the wall, and effortlessly performed a muscle-up to hoist himself over, vaulting into the community.

’?’

Just as Yu Dong was staring in shock, the door was thrown open and Huang Zhiqiang shouted,

"Dongzi, Zhou never came down, and he’s not answering his phone!"

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