Day 1, Around Wintertime
I found a backpack with a notebook and a pen inside. Great. I'd start keeping a diary today.
But I didn't know this world's calendar, so I could only count today as Day One.
On the first day of my diary, I found a backpack beneath the gatehouse at the entrance to Ten Thousand Corpses Village in Dongmen County. There should've been a dot above the character for "corpse" on the gatehouse, but it was missing.
It was rare to find a world where the written language was the same as in my previous life.
The snow was coming down pretty hard. I'd have to take shelter here for a while.
Day 2, Snow Stopped
As expected, it was another long-abandoned village. Still, at least there was a village. What the hell was this world? I hadn't seen a single city! What kind of place had I transmigrated to?
Was there really not a single living person in this world? At least I had my dog with me.
Too bad he was a Mechanical Dog. I couldn't warm myself by leaning against him. If anything, he made me colder.
Day 3
The dog was really useful. The village he'd led me to had plenty of supplies.
I'd searched every inch of it and found a case of expired bottled water—twenty-four bottles—and two bags of small bread rolls, twenty in each. I could save them for now. There was no rush to eat them.
Several cellars had cabbages and radishes, and there was rice in the jars. After setting aside anything the rats had chewed on, I'd gathered enough to last about a month.
I'd even found oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar. I really was born under a lucky star!
Those must've been chewed on by rats...
Day 4
I went outside the village and chopped a lot of firewood. I was exhausted. Luckily, the woods weren't far from the village, or I'd have been even more exhausted.
I was worn out, but the dog was completely fine. He'd been going strong for over half a year since I found him. How was he like a perpetual-motion machine? It wasn't as if he had an Ark Reactor in him.
Too bad he was so small. If he were bigger, I could just toss the firewood onto his back and save myself the effort.
Day 5
I found a rat. That was incredibly lucky. I still hadn't seen any Mutated Creatures. How had the people in this world all disappeared?
The dog was amazing. He caught the rat, so I could have cabbage stir-fried with meat today. But first I'd have him sweep the meat with his laser to disinfect it and drive out any parasites.
The dog was still useful.
Day 47
The cabbages, radishes, and rice were almost gone. It was time to set out.
I'd left a little of each behind and stored it here.
I'd had the dog mark the spot. If I found somewhere suitable, I could come back and get the supplies, then see if I could grow anything.
I hoped the things I'd stored would keep.
I tore off a sheet of paper and wrote, "The future's Spark of Life is stored here," then left it with the supplies.
If there were any other survivors in this world and they came to Ten Thousand Corpses Village to scavenge, what would they think if they found this?
The north was too cold. I'd head south.
Day 48
I'd walked about twenty li. That was enough for now. Time to rest.
I had the bottled water strapped to my back and the bread in a bag. Damn, it was heavy!
The water was the main problem.
I was many times stronger now than I'd been in my previous life. I didn't know why.
Before, I'd never have been able to carry this much.
Dog, why couldn't you be a little bigger? You're like a corgi. What use are you?
Day 49
I found some tape and strapped twelve bottles of water to the dog.
Much easier.
Day 52
I wanted a car.
But even if there were cars in this world, I probably couldn't drive one. There'd be no way to fill it with gas.
A bicycle would be best. A tricycle, so I could carry things.
But unfortunately, I hadn't even seen a single wheel.
What a boring world. I'd be happy just to see a wheel rolling by!
Day 64
I'd lost track of how far south I'd traveled. At least I'd found a pair of hiking boots. They fit, and they were brand-new. My luck was ridiculously good.
This was Qing Yang Town, Mo Zhou City. That was what the sign across from the shoe store said, so it had to be right.
I'd finally found a city! That was tough!
There had to be other people in this world. Otherwise, all the shops along this street wouldn't be completely empty. If the hiking boots hadn't been buried beneath the shoe store's shelves, I probably wouldn't have found them.
I'd have to be careful.
I could see high-rises farther south. That should be Mo Zhou City. I'd rest here today and take a look tomorrow.
I nicked my face shaving and missed my razor. Still, I'd gotten pretty good at shaving with a knife.
Day 65
I found the Mo Zhou City Police Station. It had been abandoned, just like the rest of the city. The armory was locked, but luckily I had the dog.
If I could take this thing back to my previous life and start a locksmith business, I'd definitely make a decent amount of money.
There wasn't much in storage: one pistol, two Submachine Guns, and four boxes of ammunition. The dog checked them, and everything worked. Now I'd have even more to carry.
Still, I could stay here for a while. There were plenty of wild animals in this abandoned city, and with a gun, I could hunt for food.
Day 66
My aim was bad, so I relied on suppressive fire. I wasted three boxes of ammunition.
I'd have meat today. Same as always: I'd have the dog sweep it first.
Day 66
It suddenly started snowing.
It had been warm yesterday, but today the temperature plunged without warning.
This kind of extreme change seemed to have happened several times already. But before, I'd been in a hurry to travel, and I thought it was because I'd only just left the north, so I hadn't paid much attention.
It must be hard for crops to grow in this kind of environment.
It was amazing that the grass, trees, and vines were still growing wildly and thriving.
Was the apocalypse connected to this bizarre environment?
Day 75
There'd been a blizzard yesterday, and today I was sweating. The snow had melted into puddles all over the ground.
The weather changed so drastically. After the snow melted, it should've gotten colder, but this weather was practically trying to kill me.
I finally met people. I could actually understand what they were saying. It was so nice to hear!
Too bad they tried to rob me. I wasted a box of ammunition.
One person couldn't handle two guns at once. Luckily, the dog helped me reload.
Day 81
I met people again. I'd heard the previous ones were from the Wolf Gang. Today's people were called the Dog Gang. Either way, they were either wolves or dogs, and they all wanted to rob me. They weren't good people.
I wasted half a box of ammunition. At least I was making progress.
I couldn't stay here. It wasn't safe. In this world, I couldn't even run into a decent person to talk to. It was so frustrating!
Day 99?
This was a nice place, a detached villa. The sign by the entrance said Nan Wan City, Jiangyu Road No. 272. I had no idea where No. 271 and No. 273 had gone.
The villa's electricity was still working. The dog connected himself to the circuit and managed to power up.
The dog was awesome!
Addition: There was a swimming pool in the villa's yard, and it was full of water. It must've filled up when the snow melted.
The dog checked it. There was absolutely nothing wrong with the water. Nothing more to say—time to fill a bottle, take a bath, and go to sleep!
Too bad I needed to save the water. Otherwise, I'd have jumped right in.
Taking a bath and going to sleep felt amazing!
Day 100
Damn! The pen ran out of ink!
Forget it. I'm not writing in this diary anymore. Who even keeps a diary?
The last line trailed off. It was little more than marks left by the pen, with almost no black ink remaining.
Lu Xi'an tossed the pen aside and closed the notebook. He wanted to throw it away, but it didn't feel right.
It contained quite a bit of scattered information that might prove useful later. It'd be a shame to throw it away, and he was also worried someone else might find it.
After all, as far as he could tell, there were other people in this world. He'd already encountered two groups, and neither had been decent. It definitely wouldn't be good if those people found the diary.
Tearing it up...
That would be a shame, too.
He'd never imagined he could fill so many pages in a notebook. In his previous life, he'd never had that kind of perseverance!
Forget it. He'd put it away for now.
"Dog, time for bed."
After stuffing the notebook into his bag, Lu Xi'an called toward the electrical box.
A mechanical dog hung from the box. Its body was pitch-black and gleamed with a metallic sheen.
It wasn't very big, and its legs were short. The gear-jointed segments between its legs made them look even shorter.
Two openings on either side of its body had popped open, with a pair of black cables extending from them and connecting to the electrical box. The cables also kept it hanging there.
At Lu Xi'an's words, the dog immediately reeled in the two black cables. Its body went "clack" as it dropped to the floor, and the openings on its sides closed.
As soon as the connection broke, the villa plunged into darkness.
The Mechanical Dog's titanium-alloy eyes lit up, illuminating the space ahead. It clattered over to Lu Xi'an, leading the way as it made a round of the villa to check for danger.
Its four legs were both nimble and stiff. It ran quite fast, but its body swayed from side to side as it went, making it look a little ridiculous.
Who knew what the person who'd made this dog had been thinking? Why hadn't they made its legs longer? Or at least given it four wheels?
In any case, Lu Xi'an had to be grateful to the person who'd created the Mechanical Dog, and to the dog itself.
Lu Xi'an thought to himself.
It was the first supply he'd found after transmigrating to this desolate, ruined world, and it had helped him immensely ever since.
Without the dog, he'd probably have died somewhere long ago.
Even now, he often felt lucky that he'd taken a closer look at a black metal box in that abandoned basement. That was how his iris had been scanned by accident.
The basement was farther north than Wanhu Village in Dongmen County. It had no landmark or name, just an inconspicuous underground pit.
He'd had the dog mark the coordinates. If he ever went back, he'd be able to find it again.
From then on, he'd become the Mechanical Dog's owner.
Rain began pouring outside.
A rainy night like this was perfect for sleeping, and he was in luck—the villa still had a soft bed for him to enjoy.
After making sure it was safe, Lu Xi'an hurried to the bedroom upstairs, flopped onto the bed, and felt his whole body relax.
The Mechanical Dog didn't get on the bed. Its little legs couldn't make it up there, so it curled up beside the bed and turned into the black metal box it had been at first.
That was probably its rest mode.
"Bang!"
Something suddenly happened downstairs, like someone was ramming the door.
Lu Xi'an sprang up from the bed, and the dog instantly turned back into its dog form.
The heavy rain nearly drowned out the sound, but Lu Xi'an had grown used to staying alert in this world and could still hear it clearly.
The Mechanical Dog didn't need to be mentioned.
Lu Xi'an immediately got out of bed, grabbed the Submachine Gun he'd kept within reach, and quietly stepped out of the bedroom.
The Mechanical Dog lowered its head and raised it again. In that instant, it had put the leather satchel lying beside it around its neck and followed Lu Xi'an out.
During his time at the police station, Lu Xi'an had skinned a bear and used needle and thread he'd found at a rundown tailor shop to make it. That way, the dog could help carry things.
The satchel was full of ammunition.
Man and dog crouched beside the staircase outside the bedroom, peering down through the railing.
The noise at the entrance had stopped. It seemed whoever was outside had given up after failing to break down the door.
But Lu Xi'an didn't let his guard down.
The next moment—
"Crash—"
Sure enough, someone smashed a window and climbed inside.
It was a woman.
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