Furniture City Shopping Spree

According to Lin Xian's plan, the most basic requirement for making the train self-sustaining in the long run was energy.

His ability had solved much of that problem. The only drawback was that it drained his stamina and demanded his full attention, making it hard to work on anything else complicated at the same time.

Next came the essentials for survival: defense and food.

But Lin Xian knew none of that could happen overnight. Carriage 1 and its external armor alone had taken him months of work. Expecting to achieve everything at once was wishful thinking.

Besides, he was on his own. Chen Sixuan could offer almost no help with that work.

"I'll have to find a few teammates when I get the chance. First, an engineering crew to maintain the train's machinery and drive it. I'll also need someone who knows how to grow things..."

"A botanist or a hydroponics expert, maybe. Then we could have fresh vegetables and fruit, and they could help with water and oxygen purification too."

"Oh, right. Speaking of food, we'll need a cook..."

"And a doctor. Can't go without one if someone gets sick or hurt..."

"They can't all be specialists, though. We'll need good fighters too, preferably Espers."

"Hmm. And a lookout team..."

His plans were getting more outlandish by the second. Lin Xian let out a breath and focused on driving the train.

"Aus Furniture City..."

A huge building came into view in the distance, and Lin Xian's expression sharpened. "They usually sell all kinds of furniture there. It's not a busy place, so there probably won't be many supplies. But I might find things to keep us warm, like bedding."

Lin Xian wasn't thinking about anything romantic. Since Apocalypse Day, temperatures had plummeted across the affected regions of the world. It was August, the middle of summer in Jiang City, yet daytime temperatures had fallen to twelve or thirteen degrees Celsius. At night, they dropped to just a few degrees.

And it was getting colder every day.

He figured the Dark Tide from the Star Abyss, which blotted out the sky, had drastically affected the climate. It might even bring on a freezing, snowy period. Stocking up on warm bedding now would be a smart move.

Screech—

Lin Xian stopped the train on a stretch of open track. A tall wire fence bordered the rails, with city roads running along either side.

Quite a few abandoned vehicles lined the road. The area was sparsely populated, so there were barely any Zombies around. It was unusually quiet.

The ground was level, with neither a tunnel nor an elevated track to deal with, making it easy to carry supplies back to the train. The fence offered some protection too. It was a relatively safe place to stop.

"Teacher Chen, wait for me on the train. I'll go take a look inside."

Lin Xian slung on his backpack and picked up his short blade. "And don't open the door for anyone but me."

"I know."

Chen Sixuan looked a little nervous. "If there's a lot to carry, wouldn't it be better if I came with you?"

"Not yet."

"This place looks like it's already been looted," Lin Xian said. "There might not be anything useful. I'll scout it out first. If I find something, you can come down and help carry it."

He tossed her a walkie-talkie. "We'll use these to stay in touch. The phones might not get a signal."

"Okay." Chen Sixuan gripped the walkie-talkie.

Lin Xian opened the carriage door and jumped down. After checking his surroundings, he climbed over the wire fence into the strip of greenery beside it, then crossed the road.

A vast parking lot stretched out in front of the furniture center. It was a mess, with a handful of cars scattered around that had clearly broken down.

Cars were excellent targets for Mechanical Devour. They were everywhere in the apocalypse. The problem was how long it took. He guessed that improving the skill would make the process more efficient.

For now, the safest approach was to bring any machinery he could devour onto the train and work on it there.

Dark red blood stained the ground outside the furniture center's first entrance. Broken pieces of merchandise, some still looking brand-new, lay scattered about. A cold wind swept through the desolate scene.

Lin Xian stepped inside cautiously. The space opened up around him. He had visited before: every store had been lavishly decorated, the corridors were wide and quiet, and there had never been many shoppers. After the apocalypse, the place was utterly deserted.

He barely saw any bodies.

Lin Xian passed stores that had once sold furniture. Apart from the lack of lighting, most were still clean and tidy, with sofas and mattresses on display. The second floor housed bathroom fixtures. The whole building was so vast and empty that walking through it alone felt eerie.

"This Simmons is nice. Not too soft, not too firm..."

"Latex mattresses, thick quilts..."

People apparently hadn't cared much about supplies like these during the apocalypse. Most of the stores hadn't been looted.

It made sense. When their lives were at stake, people's first thought would be supermarkets and convenience stores. Who would raid a furniture center for pillows?

After looking around for a while, Lin Xian realized he had a problem: none of these things were small. Getting them out would be difficult.

He circled the building and reached the loading area by the fourth exit. There he spotted several forklifts and a flatbed truck, and his eyes lit up. But just as he approached, a rotting Zombie burst out of the freight elevator passage and lunged at him!

"Graaah!"

A powerful stench of rot hit him. Lin Xian instinctively stumbled back. The moment he saw what it was, he raised a hand and pointed.

Boom!

A Wind Cannon shot out, blasting a hole straight through the Zombie's head.

Thud. The Zombie missed him and pitched forward onto the ground. It twitched twice, then went still.

It was still wearing an orange work uniform. It was probably a loading worker who had sheltered in the building.

[Wind Cannon LV.1 4/100]

Each use raised the skill's proficiency by one point. But Lin Xian had noticed it took a fair amount of energy, so he had to use it sparingly.

He drew the short blade from his back. As an Esper, he wasn't too worried about ordinary Zombies. As long as he didn't alert a Corpse Tide or some other monster, he should be fine.

The flatbed truck's door and fuel cap were both open. Someone had clearly beaten him to it. He climbed into the driver's seat, gripped the steering wheel, and activated the Mechanical Heart. He soon found that the battery was drained, leaving the engine unable to start.

No wonder the others hadn't even bothered trying to get it running. They had siphoned the fuel and fled.

An ordinary light truck like this was basic and underpowered. Few survivors would choose a vehicle with such a small engine.

To Lin Xian, though, it was a gift.

He got out, found a forklift, and started it with his ability. Then he drove it straight through the furniture center's rear entrance.

He planned to make Carriage 1 more comfortable. In the apocalypse, a pleasant place to live could do wonders for morale. With an ability like his, Lin Xian had no intention of spending every day like a sewer rat, hiding in some dark, filthy shelter.

Please keep reading the new book!