Chapter 182

Chapter 182: The Door to Rebirth in the Apocalypse – Full Book Online

Chapter 182

Leaving Lu Jiazhi alone on the rooftop, Gu Ning went straight home.

When she entered, she found Ji Jiuzhe discussing something with her father. Both were deeply engrossed, with her father so excited that his voice had risen a few pitches. Ji Jiuzhe gave her a slight smile, which she returned, then pointed to the kitchen, indicating she was going in to help.

Ji Jiuzhe nodded slightly and turned his attention back to her father.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen your father this happy!” Gu Mama said as soon as Gu Ning entered the kitchen. Even in the kitchen, they could hear her father’s lengthy discourse, occasionally interspersed with Ji Jiuzhe’s steady voice.

Her father was usually a quiet man who enjoyed solitude. Every day after returning from school, he would drink tea, watch the news, read books, and occasionally take a chessboard downstairs to play with the old men. Otherwise, he hardly went out, and his social circle was so limited it was almost barren. It was rare to see him so engaged in conversation.

As she washed vegetables, Gu Mama asked, “Did you and Jiazhi clear things up?”

“Yes, it’s all clear. He probably won’t come looking for me anymore,” Gu Ning replied, carefully picking through the greens.

Gu Mama then asked, “Does Jiuzhe know about you and Jiazhi?”

Gu Ning sighed, “He knows everything.”

Gu Mama frowned, chiding her, “You silly girl, why did you tell him everything? What if he starts overthinking?”

Gu Ning thought to herself, it wasn’t her who told him. Ji Jiuzhe probably knew more about her life experiences than her own mother. But to Gu Mama, she simply said, “Don’t worry, I know my limits.”

Gu Mama then asked many more questions: how they met, how long they had known each other, when they got together, and how Gu Ning was adapting to her new job. Gu Ning answered them all.

Seeing Gu Mama preparing to make pork rib soup, Gu Ning quickly said, “He likes sweet flavors, so don’t make the rib soup. Make sweet and sour ribs instead; he loves that.”

Gu Mama smiled at her and said, “Got it. You go wait outside; dinner will be ready soon.”

“Thanks, Mom,” Gu Ning hugged Gu Mama, wiped her hands, and went out.

As soon as she stepped out, she heard her father and Ji Jiuzhe already discussing religion.

Gu Ning sat down next to Ji Jiuzhe, watching her still highly enthusiastic father and Ji Jiuzhe, who listened attentively and occasionally offered his own opinions. She still found it somewhat unbelievable. She had been worried that Ji Jiuzhe would remain expressionless or cold, but to her surprise, he handled the conversation with ease and grace.

So much so that when Ji Jiuzhe prepared to leave after dinner, her father repeatedly urged him to stay.

Gu Ning declined on his behalf, citing his work commitments.

After seeing Ji Jiuzhe off, Gu Ning returned home, where Gu Mama asked her father what he thought of Ji Jiuzhe. Her father was full of praise: “I’ve never met such an outstanding young man before—humble, courteous, knowledgeable without showing off. It’s truly rare. Ningning, you’ve made a good choice this time; I’m very satisfied with this young man.”

Gu Mama chimed in, “Ningning, both your father and I think highly of Jiuzhe. I’ve been keeping an eye on him, and he really cares about you. You must hold onto him.”

“You were trying to set me up with Fang Fa before.”

Gu Mama sighed, “Because Fang Fa is good, kind, and warm-hearted. If I had to choose, I’d prefer him as my son-in-law. But since you don’t like him, what can I do? I think Fang Fa really likes you; you should find a chance to clear things up with him, so you don’t lead him on.” After a pause, she suddenly had an idea, “Hey, what if I introduce Jiang Yu to Fang Fa? Jiang Yu doesn’t have a boyfriend either, right?”

Gu Ning’s face immediately turned cold, “Absolutely not!”

Gu Mama was taken aback by her strong reaction. Her father said, “Don’t meddle in these things. Let Ningning handle her own affairs.”

“Alright, alright, you two are always on the same page. I won’t say anymore. I’ll go do the dishes; you two can chat.” With that, she got up and went to the kitchen.

“Ningning, don’t blame your mother; she just likes to worry,” her father said.

“I know.”

“Alright, I should head to school. I’ll bring back a fish tonight and make you braised fish,” her father said, standing up and calling out to the kitchen, “Jiaojiao, I’m off to school!” After getting a response from Gu Mama, he patted Gu Ning’s shoulder and left for school.

Gu Ning returned to her bedroom, lay down for a bit, then sat up and sent a long message to the number she had saved for Ji Jiuzhe. It listed all the supplies she needed, in large quantities. Finally, she included the address of the warehouse she had rented.

Within three minutes, she received a reply.

“Message received. Please arrive at the delivery point at 9 AM tomorrow to pick up the goods.”

“Okay, thank you.”

There was no further reply.

Gu Ning sighed. If she had to procure these supplies herself, it would have taken her several days. But now, with just one message, it was all taken care of, saving her time to relax. Although Ji Jiuzhe hadn’t yet agreed to help her, Gu Ning had already made up her mind.

After a very relaxing sleep at home, Gu Ning arrived at her rented warehouse at 9 AM the next day. Two trucks were already waiting there, filled to the brim with supplies.

It took nearly two hours just to unload everything.

The warehouse was nearly full, and Gu Ning wondered if she needed to rent a larger one. Among the supplies were a thousand cans of fish, specially prepared for the big bear in her space, along with various fresh meats and vegetables. Soon after, she received a text message with a bank account number and a figure.

Gu Ning transferred the money accordingly, then stored all the items in her space before leaving.

Before leaving, Gu Ning expressed her determination to Ji Jiuzhe. It was clear that this outcome was within Ji Jiuzhe’s expectations, and he explicitly stated that he would help.

Gu Ning requested the machine she had previously asked Yi Shaoqing to prepare, as well as more firearms and ammunition. Ji Jiuzhe agreed to everything: “Leave it to me.” After a pause, he added, “I suggest you tell Zhuang Chen and Yi Shaoqing about your ‘grand’ plan. They can help you solve many problems.”

“Alright. Then I’ll be off.”

“Take care.”

Gu Ning nodded. In the next instant, she vanished from the spot.

Ji Jiuzhe looked at the empty room, suddenly feeling a sense of loss. He stayed alone in the room for a while, then turned and walked out.

Gu Ning deliberately arrived early, first tossing some cans and fresh meat to the ecstatic black bear, then returned to the apocalypse.

It was 5 AM.

Everything was quiet.

Fang Fa and a few other young men Gu Ning wasn’t very familiar with were on night watch at the gate.

They were surprised to see Gu Ning up so early.

Gu Ning told them, “I’m going to the base to exchange for some fresh vegetables and meat. We can’t keep eating biscuits and bread.”

One of the young men asked curiously, “What are you going to exchange? I heard even in the base, only government officials can get fresh food!”

Gu Ning deliberately reached into her pocket and pulled out a few crystal cores.

The young men’s eyes widened in shock, exclaiming, “Crystal cores!”

“Yep. I’ll be off then,” Gu Ning said.

“Wait, I’ll go with you!” Fang Fa said.

“No need, I’ll be back soon. If anyone asks for me, let them know,” Gu Ning declined Fang Fa’s offer to accompany her, then chose a yellow pickup truck and drove out of the settlement.

By 6:30 AM, Gu Ning had arrived at Base One. After showing her pass, she smoothly entered the base.

Gu Ning only found Zhuang Chen, who told her that Yi Shaoqing had been in the lab ever since he returned. If she wanted to see him, she’d have to go to the lab.

“Then you can relay the message to him,” Gu Ning said. “I just got back from there.” She then recounted her plan and Ji Jiuzhe’s words to Zhuang Chen.

Zhuang Chen’s expression grew increasingly serious, and by the end, it was very grave: “Gu Ning, with your abilities, it would be easy for you to live well in the capital, even for your entire team. But if you want to shoulder the fate of so many people, it might not be a good thing for you. As your best friend, I don’t support this decision.” Her beautiful eyes shone brightly: “But at the same time, Gu Ning, I deeply admire you. I know making such a decision isn’t easy. Have you ever thought that maybe you were chosen by this world? Why else, out of all the people in the world, are you the only one who can find the door between two worlds? Maybe this is the mission the world has given you. To awaken at the right time, and now is that time.”

Gu Ning was struck speechless by Zhuang Chen’s words.

Her mind buzzed, as if a bolt of lightning had split the darkness before her eyes, revealing a sudden brightness.

“Let’s go,” Zhuang Chen suddenly placed a hand on Gu Ning’s shoulder. “Let’s plan how to create this legend.”

A one-meter map was spread out on the table.

Zhuang Chen drew a red circle not far from Base One, labeling it Capital University.

“This is the new campus of Capital University, far from the city center. Here is a sports stadium that can accommodate tens of thousands of people. Surrounding the stadium is a large area of student apartments. The campus is in this area, and these three zones are close together. If we clear this area, it could hold thirty to forty thousand people. This was originally the site for Base Three, but because the zombie density was too high, it was abandoned. But now it’s different; most of the zombies have moved to the World Trade Center, and now they’ve moved again to who knows where. So the zombie numbers there aren’t particularly dense now.”

“If you eventually want to establish a large base, this is an excellent location. Of course, with your current numbers, clearing such a large area is impossible. And you can’t immediately take such a large territory; you need to slowly build up your own forces. When you feel ready, you can take that area.” She paused: “Your settlement, though small, can still accommodate a few hundred to a thousand people. Most importantly, it’s far from the three bases and won’t be easily discovered. Next time you go there, remember to ask the captain to get you a few drones to monitor the surroundings. It can help guard against zombies and prevent your plan from leaking. But with Zhuang Chen and Yi Shaoqing here at the base, we’ll find ways to cover for you. Still, you need to keep a low profile and not attract the base’s attention, or it could cause significant trouble. Managing personnel is especially crucial; you need to be very careful. Of course, with your current scale, you don’t need to worry about these things yet; just go ahead. I’ll come by periodically to see if there’s anything else to watch out for.”

Gu Ning nodded repeatedly.

“By the way, since you’re developing your own forces, let Xia Yu go help you too. And those women on the ship, though they seem useless now, at least they’re grateful to you. Bringing them along could be of some help. After all, your current group is mostly the elderly, weak, sick, and disabled. When things get busy, you’ll realize their importance.”

“That’s what I was thinking too.”

“Oh, I brought something for you from there,” Gu Ning suddenly changed the subject.

“What is it?”

“Meat, fruits, and such…”

“Meat?!” Zhuang Chen’s eyes lit up. “Oh, Gu Ning, you’re so thoughtful! The base has some pigs and chickens, but they’re for breeding. We only get to eat meat once a month; I’m practically running on empty. Wait, I’ll get a basin to hold it. I’ll call Qi Ge and Zao Tang over for a feast at noon.”