The journey was uneventful. Su Jin bought a backpack, then took a taxi to the Talents Residential Compound, reading the information Fu Qingdai had given him along the way.
There was no high perimeter wall around the complex. Standing beside the road, Su Jin could see the dull gray, six-story buildings inside at a glance.
The buildings were spaced fairly well apart, and dark gray cracks crawled across their walls. They looked quite old.
Aside from their age, there was nothing special about them, but at least the building numbers were still marked on the walls.
Building Seven, where Fu Qingdai lived, was visible from outside the complex.
After scanning the area for a while, Su Jin did not rush inside. He took out the map Fu Qingdai had drawn and began walking around the perimeter.
He walked for roughly thirty minutes before returning to the entrance.
Fu Qingdai was a remarkably meticulous girl. Every line on her hand-drawn map of the complex had been drawn with a ruler.
The supermarkets, print shops, and other stores nearby were also drawn relatively accurately to scale.
From what he had seen so far, he would not need to put much effort into studying the map himself.
He stepped into the complex. There was no access control, and the security post at the entrance was little more than decoration.
A smell of food waste hung in the air beneath Entrance Two of Building Seven.
Beside the building's regular entrance was a square opening about forty centimeters across.
Food scraps, broth, and plastic bags lay discarded beneath it.
A low concrete wall stood beside it, separating the opening from the entrance.
He had seen this design in the complex where he lived as a child: a garbage chute.
Each household had access to a corresponding opening, allowing residents to throw their trash straight down from the hallway.
But they smelled awful and clogged easily... aside from a few old buildings, this design was rarely used anymore.
An old tree stood directly in front of the building.
Su Jin hurried over and circled it. Sure enough, he found a red dot near its roots. It had faded somewhat, but it was still clearly visible.
This should be where Fu Qingdai buried the money!
He glanced around. Seeing no one nearby, Su Jin took a pair of gloves out of his backpack and started digging.
About ten centimeters down, a biscuit tin with a worn pattern came into view.
He pulled it out and opened it. Inside were rolls of small-denomination bills, along with some coins.
He had no time to count it carefully, but he could not help inwardly praising Fu Qingdai once again.
Su Jin quickly put the biscuit tin away and kicked the loose soil back into the hole.
Then his gaze moved to the windows above, and delight appeared in his eyes.
Fu Qingdai lived on the fifth floor. Rental phone numbers were posted on both the second and fifth floors.
If everything went smoothly, I might be able to live right across from Fu Qingdai's place... that would make dealing with problems much easier.
I'll rent it right now!
Having made up his mind, Su Jin noted down the phone number and looked around.
He spotted a middle-aged woman and walked straight over.
"Ma'am, could I borrow your phone? Mine's out of battery."
Thirty minutes later, outside the fifth-floor apartment.
A middle-aged man in a gray short-sleeved shirt unlocked the door, with Su Jin standing behind him.
"You've got a good eye, Su. Don't let the age of this building fool you. Back when work units assigned housing, these apartments went to people with standing-professors, officials, veterans. All from those days."
The landlord opened the door and gestured for him to enter, continuing, "Old Fu across the hall and Cheng, the security captain at the gate, both served in the military. The surroundings are a little shabby, but it's safe and comfortable living here."
"My son used to live right below me. If he hadn't begged me to move away, I wouldn't have wanted to leave. I've taken good care of this place, too. Have a look. What do you think?"
"Your son's a good son, and he earns good money, too. If I were that capable, my parents would be thrilled. Plenty of people must envy you!"
"Oh, he's all right! Just all right! You're doing pretty well yourself, young man!" The landlord spoke modestly, but his smile showed his pride.
Su Jin said no more and went inside to inspect the rooms one by one.
There were two bedrooms, a living room, a bathroom, and a kitchen. Apart from appliances and a toilet, it had all the tables, chairs, and other basic furniture... the total floor space looked to be a little over seventy square meters.
The landlord followed him, explaining, "It's got the basic furniture, enough to live with, but you'll have to buy your own appliances. For cooking, there's a gas depot outside the complex. Just get a gas cylinder-sixty a cylinder, with a hundred as the deposit. The morning market's only a street away... what do you think?"
They both stopped in the living room.
Su Jin got straight to the point. "Looks good. How much a month?"
"Five hundred. As for the deposit... you seem like a decent fellow, Su. Let's make it one month's rent."
"Sure, no problem." Su Jin paused, then changed the subject. "You said your son moved away too, and he used to live downstairs. Does that mean the apartment below is empty as well?"
"That's right, it's empty. But that one belongs to my son. He never wanted to rent it out before, so it's just been sitting there."
"Would you rent that one out?"
"Hm?" The landlord paused, then nodded. "The place downstairs is about the same as this one. If you want to rent it, that's great. I can make that decision. But how many people will be living here, exactly?"
Su Jin thought briefly before saying, "Like I told you, big brother, I came to Dragon Mountain from out of town to find work. I'll be living here alone, but a friend of mine wants to come too. She's a woman... I thought I'd find a place for her before she gets here. Make a good impression, you know! I promise there'll only be one person in each apartment. There won't be any funny business."
"Ah... so you're hoping to get yourself a girlfriend." The landlord grinned. "All right, no problem!"
Su Jin thanked him with a sheepish smile, then looked a little awkward. "But there's one more thing... I've only just arrived, and renting two apartments at once would leave me a little short. My friend will be here in a couple of days, and I might have more expenses then."
"I'll pay you the first month's rent for both apartments now. Could you come collect the deposits in two weeks? We can put that in the contract, too. That way, when you come back, you can take a look. If I've made a mess or damaged anything, forget the deposits-you can throw me straight out. Would that work?"
The landlord hesitated for a moment, then patted him on the shoulder and smiled. "You're an honest young fellow. I can't let a little thing like this get in the way of your finding a girlfriend! All right, it's a deal!"
An hour later, in the quiet rented apartment, Su Jin stood alone at the window, chewing some bitter, unfamiliar vegetable leaves as he stared gloomily outside.
The sun was sinking in front of him, its lingering light spilling everywhere and gilding everything in gold.
In the space of a day, he had gone from his home to an unfamiliar world, visited a psychiatric hospital, and finally rented two apartments... he had settled down.
While he was busy outside, the unfamiliar surroundings and his own reason had kept forcibly suppressing his tension and helplessness.
But now he had a safe place to stay. Alone, with his body and mind finally relaxing... everything felt like a dream, yet it was terrifyingly real.
Su Jin leaned forward slightly, rested his forehead against the glass, and closed his eyes with a long sigh.
The bitterness in his mouth grew stronger, and the fear and confusion bottled up inside him began surging out.
A job forced on me, and I have to prepare for the apocalypse, too...
How did I end up in another world... and how is the world ending?!
Why did this have to happen to me?!
I'm just an ordinary person. I don't want to go through any of this!!
Su Jin clutched his chest, his mind in turmoil.
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