Apocalypse Star House Hoarding-Chapter 115

“I think we need to go check the other house again,” Xu Yan frowned. “If the problem isn’t from the outside, then it’s very likely to be from inside.”
Yu Xi paused in thought. “Do you think it’s an animal or a plant?”
“It’s hard to say, but whatever it is, we need to find the cause. Otherwise, it will always be a hidden danger.”
Yu Xi nodded, then she, Xu Yan, and the security guard Xiao Zhang went up to the fourteenth floor and knocked on the door of the middle-aged woman’s apartment.
Xu Yan explained the situation with the surveillance footage and added that if she didn’t believe them, she could always go downstairs and check the footage herself.
“I believe you, I believe you. Thanks to you notifying us, my husband was able to go with the group early to the supermarket for supplies. I heard that if he’d gone any later, the supermarket would’ve been cleaned out.”
The middle-aged woman knew that Xu Yan had organized the previous trips, so she trusted him. She then invited the three of them inside and showed them the cupboard where the food had originally been stored.
It seemed that because food had gone missing from this cupboard, they hadn’t put any other food in it. Not even important paper goods were stored there, and the cupboard was completely empty.
There were no holes or suspicious creatures.
Xu Yan asked if there were any other places where food had gone missing.
The middle-aged woman shook her head. She had planned to soak some dried shiitake mushrooms and dried scallops this morning to make a pot of porridge with vegetables and dried scallops, enough for her family to eat for the day with steamed buns. But she discovered that several bags of dried goods had disappeared, and it nearly broke her heart.
Yu Xi, after checking the situation this morning, had immediately insisted that her husband and daughter check all the places in the house where food was kept. Luckily, nothing else had been taken, and it seemed that only the cupboard was affected.
There was nothing unusual about the cupboard, so Xu Yan asked for the bags that had contained the dried goods and examined them carefully.
Since dried mushrooms, scallops, and abalone had a particular smell, his sense of smell wasn’t as sensitive as Yu Xi’s, and he didn’t notice anything unusual. Afterward, the three of them carefully examined the inside of the walls and near the windows of the apartment, but everything seemed normal.
They found nothing, so they had no choice but to leave for now.
The three of them split up at the stairwell. After Yu Xi got home, not long after, she saw Xu Yan post a message in the resident group, saying that if anyone noticed food disappearing from their home, they should definitely mention it in the group.
It was dinner time, and everyone was eating. When someone saw the message and asked a few questions, Xu Yan didn’t mention the incident with the missing food from the fourteenth floor, saying only that he was just giving a precautionary reminder. He emphasized the importance of being vigilant since, no matter how secure the building was, there could still be some gaps. In this situation, it was better to be cautious.
The first group of people, who had encountered the strange green plants and the mutated giant pet spiders in the shopping mall parking lot, had already spread the word. Everyone marveled at how danger could be lurking everywhere. Hearing Xu Yan explain this, it made sense.
After all, there were so many types of plants and animals, and who knew what might happen inside the building. It was better to stay cautious.
Some overly cautious people, upon hearing this reminder, couldn’t even focus on eating. They began to check their food supplies thoroughly. Some people even grabbed insecticide and sprayed it around the drains, then used thick tape to temporarily seal the drains, avoiding the use of the sinks and showers. This had already become a shared consensus among everyone.
Others lit dried mugwort in different corners of their rooms. The smoke from mugwort could kill insects, while some used garlic water to spray around the rooms. People even went around the house dropping essential oils in various places—practical methods and folk remedies, anything that could help repel insects without harming humans, they were willing to try.
The work of pest control and prevention had begun as soon as the insects first mutated into giant forms. Initially, everyone simply used insecticides.
But now, no one dared open their windows anymore. The toxicity of insecticides was too strong and harmful to the human body. It was okay to use them once in a while, but repeated use was unbearable. That’s when people began to come up with their own methods.
No matter how the outside environment changed or how the insects mutated, everyone just hoped they wouldn’t invade their homes.
This building, this home, was their last fortress, the only place where they could still feel secure.
…
After dinner, Yu Xi also left the Star House.
She stayed for a while in the temperature-controlled, oxygen-rich Star House simulation apartment, but when she returned to the original apartment, she immediately felt the heat. Since no one was living outside, the air conditioning had been turned off, and naturally, the drains and other similar areas had been sealed.
She did a quick check of the apartment, but didn’t find anything unusual.
Back at Star House, Yu Feng was standing in front of the wine cabinet, studying the wine Yu Xi had just placed inside. The cabinet was specially designed to maintain the best temperature and humidity for preserving wine.
Originally, there were only three or four bottles of wine in the cabinet, but now Yu Xi had filled the entire space, with over a dozen different types of wine from various brands and regions. Yu Feng was absolutely delighted, picking up bottle after bottle to examine.
Fan Qi was organizing the kitchen pantry, neatly arranging the drinks and snacks Yu Xi had brought out, so they would be easy to grab when they wanted something to eat or drink.
Yu Xi walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge, placing a bag of fresh shiitake mushrooms, a bag of fresh dried scallops, ten or so abalones, and two mantis crabs into the refrigerator. “Mom, how about we make seafood porridge tomorrow? I’ve already put everything in the fridge.”
“Sure. By the way, do you have durian? I suddenly feel like eating it.”
“Yes, I’ve got some boxed-up durian.” Yu Xi took out two boxes of Golden Pillow durian and put them in the fridge. “I also have durian mille-feuille. Do you want some?”
“Sure, do you have whole ones or sliced?”
“Both.”
“Then just put in three slices.”
“Got it.” Yu Xi took out three small boxes of durian mille-feuille and turned to look at Yu Feng. “Dad, is there anything you want to eat?”
Although after moving into the simulation apartment, she had stocked up on quite a bit, most of it was long-lasting food. Some things, however, needed to be fresh, and they had to be eaten within a day or two.
“Actually, I’m really craving that drink we had last time with you and your mom from the tea shop, but not milk tea.”
“Sea buckthorn lemon.”
“Yes, that refreshing one. It was really good.”
Yu Xi took out three cups of iced sea buckthorn drinks. The three of them each took a cup, enjoying the cool, tangy sweetness.
The TV programs were still suspended, and the news continued to urge people to stay inside and minimize going out. They also announced that in three days, food and water supplies would be dropped to various buildings in the city, urging people to prepare in advance.
This plan from the authorities seemed to signal a change from their previous message urging people to stay indoors and wait for rescue.
Fan Qi frowned at the news. “Are they not planning to clear the plants like last time?”
Yu Feng’s expression also became serious. “After last time’s cleanup, it rained for a few days, and within one night, the plants had grown back to this size. The abnormal plant growth is too obvious. This time, they probably won’t dare to clear them easily.”
“If they don’t clear the plants in the city, the public will never be able to restore order. Sooner or later, we won’t be able to stay here,” Fan Qi said, considering another problem. “People can hide in their homes for a month, maybe two, but they can’t hide for a year or two. Once the water, electricity, and gas are cut off, the situation will worsen rapidly. When that happens, a large number of people will evacuate S City. Will we leave with the main group, or stay here?”
Fan Qi was talking about whether to continue living in the collective community.
Unlike others, they had their daughter’s Star House, where they could safely live without worry, and not have to worry about food and supplies.
Because their daughter went on an apocalypse mission every month, and as long as luck wasn’t particularly bad, she was always able to bring back some supplies, this meant they had the option to choose. Leaving with the other citizens meant being subject to certain constraints, but staying in the Star House, enjoying freedom, also meant detaching from the human collective.
Seeing the worry on both of their faces, Yu Xi couldn’t help but comfort them. “I think right now, no one can really predict what will happen later. Plans can’t keep up with changes—who knows what this city will look like a week from now? Let’s take things one step at a time.”
At that moment, Yu Xi didn’t realize that her words would turn out to be prophetic.
After that day of investigating and gathering supplies, the residents of the building lived several peaceful days. Online, various videos or posts were shared daily, showing how mutated creatures invaded homes and how to resist them. Although some images were quite horrific, the authorities did not ban these posts.
Because many mutated creatures shared certain traits, successful resistance stories served as warnings for others. The wisdom of the working people was always underestimated, and soon, exclusive websites and forums about mutated plants and animals appeared online.
People spontaneously organized and began cataloging new types of mutated plants and animals shared by others. It looked like they were creating a new guide to mutated flora and fauna, like a modern version of a field guide.
At some point, Xu Yan created a group with several members from the team of the previous community and added Yu Xi. Besides Xu Yan, the group included the Gou brothers, the Chen couple, Ma Tiantian, Xia Xuan, the archer Lu Bin, Xiao Zheng, and even the manager Huang.
Yu Xi could tell that this was an elite group, made up of capable people who exchanged information and discussed future plans.
Everyone agreed that if evacuation was inevitable, they wanted to be among the first to leave. After all, space and resources in other cities were limited. With so many people in S City, the later they left, the fewer options they would have. If S City’s situation improved later, they could always return.
Xu Yan mentioned a guesthouse located on the outskirts of H City. H City was a small third-tier city, a few hours’ drive from S City, and the plant outbreak hadn’t reached there. Maybe because it was a small city, with fewer high-rise buildings, the initial mutation of plants and animals hadn’t had much impact, so the cleanup process there wasn’t as swift. It was likely that the plants in H City weren’t growing as wildly as in S City.
In comparison to other cities in the country, most people had already come to a consensus. Several cities that had experienced the second wave of plant overgrowth shared a common feature: the plants had been cleared too quickly. In just a few days, all mutated plants and animals were eradicated.
This was originally a good thing, but now, it was unclear whether it was beneficial or not.
There were people in the group with more up-to-date information, saying that S City had already started building collective dormitories on a few islands in the large lake on the outskirts of the city. These islands had sparse vegetation due to the soil quality, and after the mutation of plants and animals, the situation there was still manageable. It was expected that these islands would become the sites for several large official evacuation centers.
People in the group discussed and observed, and new information was shared every day. But no one could say for certain which news was true and which was false.
A week later, a message appeared in the building’s residents group. Someone ed that food had gone missing from their house. They were initially afraid it was just a mistake, but after carefully checking, they confirmed that food had indeed disappeared.
Xu Yan rushed to the apartment immediately. The apartment was on the 12th floor. When they entered, they checked the spot where the food had gone missing—a wooden cupboard fixed to the wall. The situation was similar to the 14th-floor apartment. The missing food wasn’t much, but its disappearance still made everyone uneasy.
As expected, the results of the investigation were the same as with the 14th floor: nothing was found.
The news quickly spread, and even the previous incident of missing food on the 14th floor was shared by the people involved.
Amid the panic, everyone started a new round of pest control, focusing on the sewers, feeling that there were gaps everywhere in the building that once seemed safe.
That night, however, a resident from the 12th floor posted in the group, revealing a mix-up—the missing food had actually been taken by their child to feed a turtle they had been secretly keeping.
Before, everyone’s pets had been gathered and moved to the pool locker rooms. After the plant outbreak, many people had neglected their pets. This family’s child couldn’t bear to part with the turtle and had secretly kept it. The turtle had eaten very little before, and the turtle food was enough to last. Recently, however, the turtle had been growing unusually fast and eating a lot. The child had accidentally taken too much food, which led to the confusion.
Other residents of the building criticized the child for a moment but were then somewhat relieved.
As long as the food wasn’t mysteriously disappearing, it meant the building was still safe. The incident on the 14th floor, because it was just one case, couldn’t be used as a reference.
However, two days later, in the dead of night, everyone in the building heard a loud crash, like the sound of the building collapsing. It jolted many people awake from their sleep.