Apocalypse Star House Hoarding-Chapter 205

After arriving at headquarters, Hei Mu and the other three Subordinates were assigned new roles based on their abilities. Jian Shou and Xi Yuan passed the combat evaluation and were sent to the combat training center to train 16-year-olds in fighting and self-defense.
Hei Mu joined the dining department, alternating between Chinese and Western cuisines, while Yan Shang worked in the planting area’s electronic control room, maintaining a small indoor crop zone.
Thanks to Yu Xi’s influence, their jobs were among the most sought-after positions in the fortress. Additionally, their access wristbands were of higher levels than those of regular workers, allowing them to live in double rooms and enjoy more privileges. Their wristbands even held 400 labor hours, enabling them to purchase items they needed.
When Yu Xi moved into her room, she visited each of them to retrieve their personal belongings and stocked their rooms with supplies like water, food, and medicine.
As for Yu Xi, her wristband was credited with
10,000 labor hours
as a special reward from Zhou Yuan. With such a large sum, she intended to make full use of it.
That afternoon, during Jian Shou and Xi Yuan’s break, they accompanied Yu Xi to Building I for shopping. Xi Yuan, while preferring fewer people around Yu Xi, found it odd that Hei Mu and Yan Shang didn’t join.
Hei Mu, usually meticulous and attentive to Yu Xi, seemed fully absorbed in his new role and hadn’t visited her even once in the past few days. Yan Shang, who shared a room with Hei Mu and had a less demanding job, also hadn’t appeared.
Xi Yuan had a good idea of what was bothering Yan Shang. He blamed himself for the danger everyone faced at the supermarket shelter since he had suggested trading the armored vehicle for hover vehicles. Though things turned out well—they secured hover vehicles and eliminated a problematic shelter—Yan Shang clearly didn’t see it that way.
Naturally reserved, Yan Shang had become even quieter since the incident. Assigned a separate job and living apart from Yu Xi, his presence had dwindled to nearly nothing.
Yu Xi seemed to notice something—or perhaps misunderstood—and had twice asked Xi Yuan and Jian Shou if they wanted her to dissolve their master-subordinate relationship. She reasoned that everyone was now self-sufficient and could still see each other daily if they wished.
“No way! You promised you wouldn’t abandon me! I don’t care—I refuse!” Xi Yuan protested emphatically, adding that he could ask Hei Mu and Yan Shang about their preferences.
Jian Shou, on the other hand, responded more calmly, saying, “Not yet.” While he didn’t outright reject the idea, he didn’t agree either.
Xi Yuan was pleased, secretly wishing the other three Subordinates would be released, leaving him as the sole one by Yu Xi’s side.
Building I had several supermarkets, each accessible based on wristband levels. After retrieving the others’ belongings and freeing up space in her Star House warehouse, Yu Xi planned to restock. With a surplus of supplies in the headquarters, she wanted to fill the empty slots before staying in this world for another half-year.
She didn’t lack food or water but focused on protective gear, like full-body protective suits and air-conditioned clothing. The air-conditioned suits functioned similarly to her [Sunscreen Spray], which provided protection against extreme temperatures but only lasted two hours per use. In contrast, the air-conditioned suits, once fully charged, lasted 24 hours and could be used long-term with proper maintenance.
A garbage compression processor caught her attention—a black device capable of crushing and compressing 200 liters of trash into palm-sized blocks, sealed in isolation film for temporary storage. She immediately thought of her Star House. While the automatic cleaning function handled dust and debris, kitchen and bathroom waste still required manual disposal. This processor would make trash storage and disposal far more convenient. She bought ten units immediately and planned to purchase ten more later.
The supermarket also offered vacuum-packed rice meals superior to those in her original world. They came in various flavors, including curry chicken, cumin lamb, original barbecue pork, and salted shrimp, all ready to eat in just one or two minutes. Yu Xi bought one box of each flavor, each containing 40 packets.
She refrained from buying more only because of the wristband quotas shared among her, Xi Yuan, and Jian Shou. With their quotas nearly exhausted, she had considered asking Xing Min for his, but he had been mysteriously absent lately, often going out alone.
After purchasing several boxes of vacuum-packed meals, she turned to fresh produce, buying vegetables and fruits to replenish her supply. Despite already having a stockpile, Xing Min consumed fresh produce at an alarming rate.
Additionally, she maxed out the quotas for eggs and milk.
Just as they finished their purchases and prepared to rent an electric cart to transport the goods back to Building G, Yu Xi’s wristband vibrated with an incoming call. The caller was Yin Yin’s father, who sounded unusually panicked as he pleaded for her help.
“Don’t panic! First, tell me which medical center and district you’re in, and Yin Yin’s current condition. I’ll contact a doctor on my way!”
Yin Yin’s family had separated from Yu Xi’s group after arriving at headquarters.
Throughout their journey, Yu Xi had taken care of all their food and supplies. Yin Yin’s father felt extremely embarrassed and reluctant to trouble her or anyone else further. To him, being able to bring his family safely to a secure zone with such good conditions and passing the inspections to enter was already a stroke of incredible fortune. How could they continue to rely on others?
Both he and Yin Yin’s mother had been reassigned jobs and were living in a standard 16-person dormitory. Despite the crowded conditions, the fortress was safe, well-fortified, and had ample food and water, giving them motivation and hope.
During the day, while they worked, Yin Yin was sent to a children’s activity room located near their living quarters. With staffing shortages across all departments, proper education for children wasn’t yet possible, so these activity rooms acted as daycare centers. They housed children of all ages, had a caretaker present, and provided activities like games, reading, and midday meals.
Yin Yin’s parents were satisfied with the arrangement, but they didn’t know that even among children, cliques and hostilities could form.
Yin Yin’s conflict was with an 11-year-old girl. The older child had somehow learned that Yin Yin’s father’s facial scar was caused by an ice blade and began spreading rumors that Yin Yin’s father was a mutant, making her the child of a mutant.
Timid by nature, Yin Yin tried to avoid the girl, but the more she withdrew, the more the bullying escalated—from exclusion and insults to physical violence.
Today, while the caretaker was distracted, the 11-year-old girl dragged Yin Yin to a restroom and shoved her hard against the wall. Yin Yin hit the wall, then fell to the ground, splitting her forehead open. Blood streamed from the wound.
The older girl and her companions, frightened by the sight, scattered without informing the caretaker. By the time the caretaker noticed a child was missing and went looking, Yin Yin had been lying on the ground for a long time, bleeding heavily.
Yin Yin’s father, who held no privileges with his wristband, faced immense difficulty as medical resources were strained due to the ongoing heatwave. Seeing his daughter unconscious and covered in blood, he was desperate and couldn’t wait in line any longer. With no other option, he reluctantly reached out to Yu Xi for help.
When Yu Xi arrived at the treatment room in the medical center of District L, the doctor was just finishing the sutures. Yin Yin’s injury, while appearing serious, was mostly a superficial cut on her forehead that had bled profusely. She also suffered a mild concussion.
For such cases, the usual protocol was to send the patient home for observation, with instructions to return if symptoms like severe headaches or frequent vomiting occurred. However, with Yu Xi—holding an S-level wristband—present, the doctor allocated them a bed for overnight observation at the medical center.
Yin Yin received four stitches on her forehead. The local anesthetic had worn off, and the wound was likely beginning to hurt, but she lay on the bed in silence, seemingly stunned by the earlier events. Her parents, heartbroken and worried, sat beside her pale, motionless figure.
As loving parents, they wished they could bear the pain in her place. So far, they had been so focused on addressing her injury that they hadn’t asked who had hurt her.
Yin Yin’s mother tried to ask gently, but the little girl said nothing, her wide eyes fixed blankly on the ceiling—until Yu Xi returned with dinner.
In addition to food for Yin Yin’s parents, Yu Xi brought Yin Yin a bowl of shredded chicken and vegetable porridge made by Hei Mu. The chicken and rice were cooked until tender, with finely chopped greens added near the end, stirred in with a drizzle of sesame oil.
Yin Yin’s mother thanked Yu Xi profusely, lifting her daughter to lean against a pillow to feed her. But Yin Yin suddenly spoke, her small face turning to Yu Xi with wide, dark eyes.
“Sister, feed me.”
Yu Xi: ?
Though a bit surprised, Yu Xi instinctively took the bowl and sat on the bed’s edge to feed her. Yin Yin ate quietly and obediently, her gaze never leaving Yu Xi, filled with trust and attachment.
Previously, Yin Yin liked Yu Xi, but never to this extent—watching her with such deep, almost longing eyes.
Feeling the kindness in the girl’s gaze, Yu Xi reached out and patted her head gently. “Good girl.”
The simple word made Yin Yin’s eyes well up with tears, as if she was deeply moved and about to cry.
Yu Xi: …
Yin Yin’s mother, slightly flustered, thanked Yu Xi again for helping them and apologized for troubling her so much.
“No need to thank me,” Yu Xi replied. She wasn’t someone who helped others indiscriminately, but seeing Yin Yin’s parents reminded her of her own—Fan Qi and Yu Feng. If her original world faced disasters like this one, would her parents also humble themselves to plead with others, just to keep their daughter safe?
Just as the porridge was nearly finished, a patient in the bed across from them began to stir.
Yu Xi recalled hearing about this person’s condition earlier—they had recently been transferred to headquarters after collapsing from heat exposure during a relocation. Upon arrival, they were unconscious and running a high fever.
Though the medical team had administered treatment, the fever had been stubbornly recurring, and the patient remained unconscious. Normally, such a high fever would severely impact the body, but this patient exhibited no signs of convulsions or distress—only prolonged unconsciousness.
The medical center had planned a comprehensive examination, with equipment becoming available in one or two hours. However, unexpectedly, the patient awoke on their own.
Before Yu Xi could fully process the situation, a sudden change occurred.
The newly awakened patient abruptly sat up, their bloodshot eyes staring blankly. Ignoring the concerned family members approaching them, they clawed at their own throat, as if choking on an invisible obstruction. Their hoarse, guttural growls filled the room.
A doctor rushed over to check on them, but the patient suddenly grabbed the doctor’s arm with alarming force, eliciting a cry of pain. The family tried desperately to intervene, pulling at the patient’s arm while attempting to calm them down.
But the patient gripped the doctor’s arm with unrelenting strength, refusing to let go. Suddenly, the patient opened his mouth wide and spewed a mouthful of blood directly at the doctor. The bright red liquid sprayed everywhere, soaking the doctor’s face and head and splattering onto the nearby family members.
The doctor let out a pained scream as the blood burned like acid where it touched his skin. In his panic, he struggled violently, attempting to break free from the patient’s grasp, but the grip remained ironclad.
Terrified and desperate, the doctor grabbed a nearby nurse, pushing her toward the patient in an attempt to shield himself and escape. However, the patient’s bloodshot eyes locked onto him, brimming with a terrifying focus.
Amid the nurse’s shocked cries, the patient yanked the doctor back with inhuman strength. Then, with his blood-dripping mouth, he sprayed another thick, dark-red liquid directly at the doctor’s face and body. This time, the liquid seemed to carry fragments of something—perhaps organs or some sort of tissue.
The other people in the room finally snapped out of their shock. Some were so terrified they abandoned their injured family members and scrambled toward the door, crawling on all fours in their desperation. Others, shaking with fear, refused to leave their loved ones, dragging them toward the exit.
Yu Xi quickly pulled the thin blanket off Yin Yin’s hospital bed and wrapped her up. Hoisting the child onto her shoulder, she grabbed Yin Yin’s mother and barked, “Don’t freeze up! Move!”
The doorway was a chaotic bottleneck. Over ten people were crammed together, some collapsing underfoot, others stepping on them or frantically pulling them out of the way, but the sheer panic only worsened the jam.
The rectangular room had the mutated patient at one end near the window, while the exit was at the center of the opposite wall. Originally a double-door exit, one side had been locked for the night, leaving only half open.
Yu Xi maneuvered through the panicked crowd to the wall beside the exit, pushing Yin Yin into her father’s arms and telling them to hide in a corner. She then grabbed a nearby stainless steel chair and swung it at the wall with full force.
The inner walls, unlike the sturdy new materials used for the outer walls of the fortress, weren’t built to withstand such impact. On her first strike, the chair punched through, and after two more swings, a hole big enough to crawl through appeared.
Throwing the chair aside, Yu Xi kicked the wall several times to widen the opening to human size. She then pulled Yin Yin’s mother forward and helped her through the hole, followed by Yin Yin and her father.
Without hesitation, Yu Xi rushed back to the doorway. Grabbing the locked door, she yanked it open with brute force, spilling the crowded patients and their families into the hallway.
Those outside helped drag the others to safety. People who had initially gathered around to investigate the commotion now saw the collapsed wall and the fleeing crowd. Some curious individuals began to approach.
“Stay back!” Yu Xi shouted. “Alert the patrol team! Don’t come closer! Evacuate this floor and move to another level immediately!”
Inside the room, the doctor, now drenched in the patient’s corrosive liquid, had stopped struggling. His entire body was soaked with the red substance, which contained unidentifiable fragments. As he collapsed onto the bed, his agonized cries echoed.
Wherever the liquid had touched, his skin began to rot rapidly. His cheeks, neck, arms, and hands visibly decayed, as if a layer of flesh had been boiled away, exposing pulsating, writhing tissue underneath. The exposed flesh squirmed unnaturally, as though something was growing from within.
Before long, grotesque, blood-colored masses began to emerge from his body, forming misshapen growths in random patches. These abnormal protrusions resembled malformed tumors, chaotic and unpredictable in shape.
Staring at his deteriorating arm, the doctor let out a scream of terror mixed with unbearable pain.
The nurse lay motionless on the floor, possibly unconscious. While her clothes bore bloodstains, her skin seemed untouched.
The patient’s family member, who had been sprayed with some of the liquid, sat slumped against the window, clutching their arm in agony. They called out to the patient, desperately trying to appeal to the son they once knew.
But the mutated patient didn’t recognize her anymore. His bloodshot eyes bulged grotesquely as he leaned in and sniffed her. After a brief pause, he turned away without spraying her with blood.
Sensing something, he twisted his head toward the hallway and spotted Yu Xi standing there.
The patrol team had yet to arrive. Yu Xi shoved Yin Yin’s parents forward. “Take Yin Yin to Room 7 on the 32nd floor of Building G and find Xi Yuan. Don’t leave that room until I return. Other areas might also have mutated patients. Avoid public transport and use a private shuttle instead!”
Yin Yin’s father nodded seriously, understanding her capabilities and knowing they would only hinder her if they stayed.
“Be careful!” he said as he took Yin Yin in his arms.
The blanket around Yin Yin slipped slightly. She reached out her tiny hand, tugging on Yu Xi’s sleeve. “Sister, be careful,” she whispered.
Yu Xi smashed open a fire safety cabinet and grabbed an ax. After ensuring there were no cameras in the room, she enveloped herself in a thin yet durable ice shield.
The mutated patient charged at her, and she raised the ax to block his attack. His strength matched hers, and he clawed at her, attempting to drag her closer.
Though his speed was only slightly above average, he nearly caught her several times, each time narrowly missing as she dodged. Frustrated, he let out a guttural roar and spat another mouthful of red liquid at her.
Yu Xi sidestepped, the scene eerily reminiscent of fighting zombies in another world. Back then, avoiding bites was crucial. Now, it was the blood spray.
After a few exchanges, she gauged his abilities. Not wanting to prolong the fight, she tossed aside the ax and pulled out a compact handgun from her pocket. Aiming at the mutated patient, she fired without hesitation.
“Don’t!” The mother, who had been slumped on the ground, suddenly mustered surprising strength and threw herself at Yu Xi’s legs, wrapping her arms tightly around them.
The ice shield blocked her touch, but the abrupt action caused Yu Xi’s aim to shift slightly. What should have been a direct shot to the forehead instead hit the mutated patient’s ear, tearing it off.
The mutated patient let out a guttural roar, visibly startled by the power of the gun. Seizing a chair, he repeatedly smashed it against the window, using his abnormal strength to shatter the double-layered glass. Hot wind surged in through the opening. With a leap, he jumped straight out of the broken window.
“Son!” The mother screamed, releasing Yu Xi’s leg and rushing toward the window, seemingly intent on grabbing him. However, she tripped over the chair left on the windowsill and fell headlong out of the window.
This was the 30th floor. Yu Xi quickly approached the window just in time to hear two successive thuds. In the dim light of the streetlamps below, she saw the mother and son lying on the ground. One of them twitched slightly, as if trying to get up, but their broken limbs rendered them immobile. After a brief struggle, they fell still.
Yu Xi added another observation to her mental notes: Mutated individuals retain some intelligence, but it is extremely rudimentary.
She heard hurried footsteps in the hallway—likely the patrol team arriving. Putting away her gun and retracting the ice shield, Yu Xi grabbed a clean blanket from a nearby bed and quickly wrapped the unconscious nurse in it before dragging her out of the room.
That night, similar incidents occurred in medical centers across various zones of the headquarters.
The first incident happened in Yu Xi’s location. Thanks to her swift action, the casualties were minimal. The entire headquarters quickly went on high alert, screening all patients with fevers. Despite these efforts, some cases slipped through due to the short time frame, and sporadic mutations occurred throughout the night until dawn.
The pattern became clear: all mutated individuals had fallen unconscious due to heatstroke and developed high fevers. Approximately 36 hours after losing consciousness, they transformed into carriers.
Fortunately, the headquarters had ample resources, manpower, and strict protocols in place. The situation was quickly brought under control. Patients with fevers, those who had mutated, and individuals exposed to the blood or tissue of mutated carriers were isolated for observation.
As someone who had direct contact with a mutated individual, Yu Xi was also placed in isolation. After undergoing questioning and medical examinations, she spent the night in quarantine alone.
She wasn’t worried, though. Xing Min had already assured her that he would come to take her out by morning. For now, she cooperated with the necessary procedures.
Bored in isolation and unable to access her belongings under surveillance, Yu Xi spent the night gathering information about the situation through Xing Min.
[Xing Min: … The mutations appear to be caused by a virus. This virus has been present in the air since the onset of extreme heat but only affects certain individuals. Do you recall the patients injured during the ice blade disaster? Some of them showed symptoms of tissue assimilation, while others haven’t reacted until now.]
Yu Xi:
So, those affected by the virus now are the ones who were previously injured but hadn’t shown symptoms yet?
[Xing Min: Preliminary analysis supports this theory, though it’s not 100% confirmed. The virus uses the human body as an incubator. After 36 hours, the host transforms into a carrier, and the blood they spray contains spores capable of developing into new entities upon contact with another body…]
Yu Xi recalled the mutated patient’s behavior. The liquid he sprayed didn’t affect everyone it touched. For instance, the nurse, who was closer, wasn’t targeted as a host. Similarly, he had shown no intent to infect his own mother.
Understanding these nuances would require in-depth research by a professional scientific team.
By morning, Xing Min arrived at the quarantine facility with the necessary paperwork and escorted Yu Xi out. Instead of returning to her room on the 35th floor, he took her to the 52nd floor, where a large hangar housed advanced aircraft.
Inside one hangar was a gleaming silver-white high-altitude airship.
“Six single cabins, one suite, two bathrooms, a spacious living room, and an island kitchen. White interiors with dark brown flooring, panoramic windows, and a glass-floored lounge area.
Automatic navigation. The hull is made of fortress-grade materials, resistant to extreme heat and cold. Triple-layer explosion-proof glass, four power generators, four air filtration systems, two central temperature control systems, two 500-liter water tanks, and two 300-liter automatic waste compactors.
Weapons include a heavy machine gun, small missile launchers, and an interceptor system, currently being installed. I’m working on stockpiling crystal fuel in bulk…”
Xing Min listed the features one by one before turning to Yu Xi. “Anything else you’d like added or modified?”
Yu Xi: “…”
Within a day or two, the headquarters released details of the high-fever mutations, disseminating the information to all refugee zones across the nation.
Now, humanity faced not only the ongoing challenges of the Subordinate rebellion and extreme heat but also the new threat of sudden patient mutations.
Temperatures continued to climb globally. Although there were regional differences, the lowest recorded areas were now at 40°C, with most regions around 55°C and some as high as 70°C.
Many people near the polar regions began migrating toward the poles, seeking refuge in cooler temperatures below 40°C, where fresh water was available. s of successful arrivals trickled in, but many perished on the way due to heat, dehydration, human conflict, or mutations.
Yu Xi speculated that the rising temperatures might soon cause polar ice caps to melt, leading to global flooding. Her thoughts were interrupted by breaking news broadcast on one of the few operational channels.
Footage captured by a heat-resistant drone showed a long-dormant volcano in District 22’s wildlife reserve erupting for the first time in nearly a century.