章節 3: Chapter 3

"We're finished for today. Go home." Zhang Qin Feng's uncle said after he gave a piece of a hundred dollars note to him before telling him that's all for today.

"Uncle, this is too much..." Zhang Qin Feng tried to put the note back in his uncle's hand. But in exchange for his effort, he got a gentle smack on his forehead instead.

"We're uncle and nephew... So why are you being so calculative with me? You're like a son to me, so just take it and treat your friend some beer tonight. There's more work tomorrow as there will be more orders coming in."

"Just take it as a reward for working hard today." his uncle stretched his old and painful back as he turned around and getting ready to go upstairs.

"Then... I'll be leaving, uncle!" Zhang Qin Feng pocketed the hundred dollars note and prepared to leave.

**Crack...**

Something was stuck on the bottom of his shoes when Zhang Qin Feng turned around. Feeling there's some thickness in the item he just stepped on, Zhang Qin Feng moved his leg away as he knelt down halfway to inspect the item.

**Zap!**

The crystal-like pieces vanish just like how a sheet of ice evaporated. It was mind puzzling to Zhang Qin Feng because there shouldn't be anything like this inside the store.

'Nah... Who knows what that is... Let me give Fatty Xie a call and treat him a dinner today." Zhang Qin Feng prepared to leave. After making sure that the door into the shop is shut, he quickly makes his way back home.

His reason?

It's because the hot water tank on their sharing bath and toilet only had enough water for the first three people. The water would gradually get cooler the later they shower.

But he's wasn't the only one that knew how to take advantage of that. By the time he reaches the floor he's staying, it was already crowded with people living on the same floor.

In total, there are ten units on a floor. Two of them came with their own shower and toilet, which is considered a family-type unit. On the remaining eight, four were single-bed studio units like the one Zhang Qin Feng is using.

There were only a small basin and pantry space available at the end of the room, along with space enough to walk and a small study table after placing a single bed near the entrance.

As for the remaining four, they were double-bed studio units with their own kitchen. There was no separated basin like the single-bed studio used by Zhang Qin Feng because the kitchen sink is much more convenient.

This means Zhang Qin Feng would have to compete with seven other tenants to use the shower room.

Since the first four spots for the shower room had been decided, there's no point for Zhang Qin Feng to queue for his turn. Twisting the key after he inserted it fully into the padlock, he returned to his room.

'To think that I forget about getting some beverages back into my room...' Zhang Qin Feng shook his head after he realized that there's nothing much in the fridge.

'Urgh... What - What happened?' out of sudden, he felt a wave of sleepiness. The weariness hits him even harder as he struggles to return to his bed.

'Now - Now I know why uncle keeps calling me to take it easy... This is like getting a hangover after drinking nonstop for the whole night...' soon, Zhang Qin Feng was snoring as he was soundly asleep.

...

[Our world was the same as yours... It was fertile and abundant with resources. But instead of worshipping beliefs, supernatural, and religion like yours, we've followed the path of science, mathematics, and logic]

[Hence... Our achievement in technology is far more advanced than yours. But that's also what destroyed our civilization in the end. Right now, our earth is in ruins, roaming with infected beings we both recognized as zombies]

[All of these happened because of a single asteroid that carried the pathogen. The fault is on ourselves, as we're too eager to stands out of this universe we're living within]

[My name is STEIN. I am a system that was created from what our world has in our grasp. Please... If you're willing... We need... Your... H - H - H - H...]

[Low - Power - Entering Hibernating Mode - Recharge in progress]

...

**Du - Du - Du**

The phone was coincidently out of juice the moment Zhang Qin Feng opened his eyes.

'Did I fall asleep? How long have I've been asleep anyway?' since the phone had entered its hibernation, his only option to check what time it is was by the clock on his computer.

'7:45am! I'm going to be late!!!' Zhang Qin Feng bounced up from his bed and quickly cleaned himself. AS there was no time for him to be bothered with other matters, he left his house in a hurry and made his way to his uncle's store before it opened.

Boxes of dried noodles, eggs, cooking oil, and many more were stacked outside of the shop when he's finally arrived at his uncle's store. There's not even a time for breakfast as he starts his work as soon as he arrives.

"Xiao Feng, bring four boxes of wheat flour and two barrels of cooking oil to shop number fifteen."

"Two boxes of noodles, two cartons of drinking water, and a carton of white cabbage to shop number twenty-two."

"Xiao Feng..."

Like what his uncle said yesterday, more orders were going to come in today. The workload he's been doing was at least twice more than what he had done yesterday. Furthermore, it was as simple as moving the products out because he would have to clarify what they had inside the storage before messing up the product's expiry date.

But weirdly, Zhang Qin Feng felt much more energetic than yesterday. Even he had no idea that his tolerance for hard labor is this great.

It was much quieter after the time for a quick tea break.

'A small break at last... Hopefully, I won't collapse like yesterday on the bed when I get home.' Zhang Qin Feng opened a can of beer and took a few sips to moisten his throat.

[Alcohol detected in host's body system. Flushing them out is recommended for optimal body condition]

'Eh?' the sudden voice that appeared inside Zhang Qin Feng's head felt so surreal like he's on a headphone. It made him unconsciously touched his head to search for something.

'I must be dreaming. Did I work too hard and got absorbed into something weird? Too hungry this morning, I guess?' Zhang Qin Feng extends his hand up into the box behind him. Labeled on the side of the box are the logo and the name of the product.

"Butter Brioche Buns."

"6 x 12"

Taking a pack out from the box, Zhang Qin Feng took a few bites from the buttery bread as he softens them together with a sip of beer inside his mouth.

There was no reaction at all this time.

'Yup. That's just my imagination.' Zhang Qin Feng continued until he finished four rolls of bread and the beer. The two remaining rolls of bread is placed on top of his uncle's table as he came back to see if there any order left undelivered.

'Hmm... A box of wheat flour, two cartons of drinking water, a barrel of oil, salt, sugar, soy sauce.'

'Store 99. That's the last store at the other end of the street... I'll deliver this order on behalf of my uncle.' Zhang Qin Feng immediately opens a written receipt according to what was ordered and arranged the goods on top of a hand trolley.

[Suggestion. Wrong Soy Sauce product was taken]

'Huh?' the voice appeared in his head once again. Turning around to look at what's on the hand trolley, he knew he wasn't dreaming the moment he noticed the word 'Dark' that came before the soy sauce.

'This... Did I get a superpower or something?' Zhang Qin Feng rubbed his eyes and quickly replaced the wrong product.