"You people like you belong out in the Desolate Dust!" Ling Shaomei said coldly. Clearly, her dissatisfaction with the young master Wu Hen had been building for a long time.
"Heh, heh." Wu Hen put on a humorless smile.
That was a filthy thing to say!
But since she'd eventually opened the door for everyone, Wu Hen would let it slide for now.
"There are a lot of footsteps upstairs. Is anyone else living here?" Wu Hen asked Ling Shaomei.
Ling Shaomei wore slacks and stood tall and straight. Her white shirt barely contained her striking figure, and she couldn't even fasten her blazer.
She wore a pair of delicate glasses. It seemed the chaos had affected her less than most; there was even a faint touch of makeup on her cheeks.
Ling Shaomei had studied landscape design overseas and was a highly qualified graduate. She'd planned to build her career abroad, but her father, Old Man Ling, had tricked her into coming back. With no other choice, she'd taken a part-time job managing the Wu family's estate and art museum...
The reason she and Wu Hen had formed such an unforgettable bond was that on her first day at work, she'd seen someone leap from the second-floor balcony like a free bird taking flight, plummet headfirst into the pool, then butterfly-stroke around with his bare butt on full display!
Wu Hen, for his part, had quickly realized that the new housekeeper was insufferably proud. Behind her silver-rimmed glasses, she always looked reluctant and cold. She treated him like some fool of a nouveau riche's son. Since Wu Hen had never been a good sort to begin with, he'd gone out of his way to torment her, pulling every trick he could think of. Their relationship had only grown worse, and when his family went bankrupt, Ling Shaomei had eaten several extra bowls of rice.
"They're relatives of ours," Ling Shaomei replied.
"You've got a lot of relatives. There must be eight or nine of them," Wu Hen said.
"It's a mess out there. If we don't stick together, we'll die even faster," Ling Shaomei said.
"Having more people doesn't help. You need weapons. I don't mind taking in your family and your relatives, but from now on, you'd better keep a close eye on this door. It opens when I say so, and stays locked when I say so." Wu Hen deliberately twirled his pistol in front of Ling Shaomei, showing her just how intimidating his gun was!
"Don't tell me what to do," Ling Shaomei said with a cold snort.
In the world as it was now, wealth and status meant nothing. Ling Shaomei had no intention of listening to Wu Hen bark orders at her like she was still his housekeeper.
"Do as I say, and at least you and your family will have an easier time of it... Don't forget why this pavilion was built," Wu Hen said without mincing words.
At his words, Ling Shaomei quickly understood what he meant.
Had this pavilion been built to serve as a shelter from the start?
Had Wu Yingting seen this coming?
After all, he'd once been one of Licheng's wealthy elite. A rich man was bound to have access to more information than ordinary people like them.
Ling Shaomei thought of how crops could be grown inside the Tropical Pavilion, how it had an underground well, and how powerful its security systems were. She understood at once.
"You're the ones staying in our safehouse. Even if you hadn't opened the door, we'd have found a way in. But we wouldn't have been so polite about it then." Wu Hen kept playing with his pistol.
But he let it slip, and the gun fell to the ground.
Wu Hen couldn't be bothered to pick it up. He beckoned, and the gun flew back into his hand.
Ling Shaomei's cool expression turned faintly astonished.
"Just behave, and you won't have to watch your old father go outside and fight those thugs, will you?" Wu Hen continued to pressure her.
"Hmph. Worry about yourself!" Ling Shaomei turned away and ignored him.
"Old Ling, this section of the second floor is for my family. Don't let your people come in without permission. The rest of the place is shared," Wu Yingting said as he led his family upstairs.
Much of the second floor was enclosed by reinforced glass walls. One heavy door was shut tight, separating the area beyond from the rest of the pavilion.
When Wu Hen followed his father over, he understood what his father had been planning.
Damn, he'd built a shelter in advance!
On the surface, it was just a useless exhibition hall, but the Tropical Pavilion had been remodeled into a self-sufficient ecosystem. Each floor could grow crops rich in carbohydrates. They could live here for months—or even years—without going outside.
"No problem, no problem. We'll keep to our own sides from now on," Old Man Ling said.
"That's not what I meant..." Wu Yingting said, shaking his head helplessly.
Inside the steel strongroom, Wu Hen discovered a whole other world.
Although it was on the second floor, it had three levels, with stairs leading down to the first and up to the third-floor growing area.
The doors were all one-way, too. Without a key or a fingerprint, no one outside could break in.
Most importantly, Wu Yingting had installed a surveillance system. They could see most of the Tropical Pavilion, as well as the woods outside. Nothing escaped their notice.
"I've also gathered what weapons I could. There aren't many, but they'll help keep us safe when it matters." As Wu Yingting spoke, he went deeper inside and opened a concealed door in the wall.
Behind it was a storage room about the size of a walk-in closet. Guns and magazines lined the shelves, alongside a compound bow, protective clothing, stun batons, and masks.
They had a separate room for supplies, too: nutritional supplements, thermal clothing, oxygen packs...
It wasn't exactly a treasure trove, but it was enough to keep the family going for a year or two. In a world battered by turmoil, it was a deeply reassuring sight.
"Honey, I had no idea you'd prepared so much." Yu Yi's eyes welled up with joy.
He'd endured so many hardships, all to make sure their family had a way out.
"This place isn't a long-term solution, but it can get us through the chaos right now. There's just one thing we're short of..." Wu Yingting said.
"Medicine," Wu Hen said at once, spotting the crucial missing supply.
"That's right. The authorities strictly control medicine and don't allow private stockpiling. Even pharmacies only hand it out as needed." Wu Yingting spoke with a slight grimace.
Wu Hen looked at Wu Yingting's hand and noticed the severe burns. The wounds were still festering.
His younger sister Yu Yu and their mother Yu Yi had burn marks on them, too. They needed medicine as well.
The climate had turned harsh, and germs were everywhere. If they didn't treat their wounds, infection was inevitable.
"Didn't you say there's a passage to the air-raid shelter outside? Shangxia has a private hospital we invested in. There must be medicine there. I'll go get some," Wu Hen said.
Once they had medicine, the whole family would be a little safer.
Only then could Wu Hen set off into the Otherworld Desolate Dust with peace of mind.
"Germs are everywhere. As long as we have medicine, we can hold out here for a long time. But things are too chaotic outside right now..." Wu Yingting said.
"Dad, don't worry. I'm unbelievably strong now!" Wu Hen grinned and instinctively patted his right hand.
With Xiao Yi around, even if a meteor struck the earth, Wu Hen could split it in two with one sword!
As he basked in his own confidence, Wu Hen felt someone tugging at his sleeve.
He turned around. It was his younger sister, Yu Yu. She was only fifteen. Although she was more developed than girls her age, her face still carried a youthful innocence. Since she had difficulty speaking, she usually looked especially vulnerable and pitiful.
"Bro, do you know what those medicines are?" Yu Yu signed.
"Uh... I admit chemistry's a blind spot for me." Wu Hen scratched his head awkwardly.
"And you have no sense of direction. Do you even know where that hospital is?" His younger sister, Yu Yu, twisted the knife.
"Fine, what are you trying to say, you brat?" Wu Hen glared at his sister.
"I'm going with you," Yu Yu said.
"Well..."
"Let her go with you. Yu Yu knows the area well, and she knows where the medicine is kept," Wu Yingting said.
At his father's words, Wu Hen suddenly realized something.
In recent years, Wu Yingting had seemed to make a point of teaching his younger sister about pharmacology and first aid.
And the siblings' schedules had been packed with martial arts, swimming, fencing, shooting, archery, outdoor survival, and highly specialized military-style summer camps...
Wu Hen and his sister had both complained about how hard they had to study when their family was already so wealthy. Now he understood his father's painstaking intentions!
What could he say? Thank goodness the apocalypse had come—otherwise, all that studying would've been for nothing!
"Fine. Stick close to me, dummy," Wu Hen said.
Yu Yu angrily grabbed Wu Hen's arm and bit down without a hint of hesitation, leaving a mark like a little wildcat's!
Wu Hen picked out a protective vest and a compound bow.
Guns were great, sure.
But the noise they made would draw every thug within several miles.
In this chaotic world, guns were the most valuable things there were. Some people would risk their lives to steal them, especially those who were armed themselves.
That was where a compound bow came in handy as a substitute. It had enough stopping power to intimidate, without drawing too much attention. Arrows could be reused, while bullets were scarce.
"Hey, Xiao Hen, didn't I just see you take a bow?" Yu Yi asked, confused.
"Oh, I ate it with my hand," Wu Hen replied, as if that were nothing unusual.
Yu Yi: "???"
What a bizarre way to put it. Before Yu Yi could ask, Wu Hen had already led his younger sister toward the passage.
In the dim passage, a few night-lights glowed. As Wu Hen walked, he thought:
If I can find an assault rifle, a minigun, a rocket launcher, a missile launcher... can Xiao Yi eat those too and make them for me to use?
If that's possible, should I try breaking into the military weapons depot? Risk it all, and maybe go from a bicycle to a battleship!
Too bad the Soul Flower will wither. I can only stay here for a day or two before I'm sent back to the Otherworld reality. Otherwise, I'd build the family a whole apocalypse bunker, complete with fully automated defenses!
For more great urban novels, check out the new book by the great author Lao Shi:
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