Apocalypse Star House Hoarding-Chapter 22

The Yu family’s apartment is not large, a two-bedroom with an additional small room, one kitchen, and one bathroom. The living room and dining room are connected, and besides the two south-facing rooms, there is a small north-facing room that Mother Yu uses as a storage room.
Yu Xi changed her shoes and walked into the living room, only to find out why her mother hadn’t stayed in the grocery store downstairs today—there were guests at home.
To be precise, the guest was uninvited—it was the landlord of the garage used for Mother Yu’s grocery store.
The woman’s surname was Tan, and she lived in Building 8. Previously, her son’s marriage had left them without a car, so the garage was empty. Not wanting to waste space, she rented it to Mother Yu for 800 yuan a month.
Aunt Tan’s family was quite well-off, but she was particular about money. After the grocery store opened and seeing Mother Yu’s business doing well, she felt that the 800 yuan monthly rent was too low and constantly wanted to raise it.
During the New Year, the rent was increased by two hundred, making it now 1,000 yuan a month, but she was still not satisfied. Others might rent a garage for 800 yuan for personal use, but Mother Yu was running a business, so 1,000 yuan still seemed too little.
However, Aunt Tan also knew that if she raised the rent any further, Mother Yu might change garages, but she still felt dissatisfied. She always tried to make up for it by taking things from the grocery store without paying, saying it was on account. Though she kept a record, she never settled the account.
In this world, Father Yu and Mother Yu were from working-class backgrounds, with little education and limited experience. They were easygoing people who believed in avoiding trouble whenever possible. Even when others did wrong, they would apologize first, saying things like “suffering losses is a blessing.”
Yu Xi processed the images of her parents in this world that appeared in her mind and somewhat understood their character traits of silence and inferiority given by the world’s background.
Aunt Tan had come as a “guest” before, always for money. Although she knew she couldn’t raise the rent, she would still express her grievances under the guise of charity and goodwill.
For example, lamenting rising prices, insufficient money, a sick daughter-in-law, or an upcoming grandchild.
After such complaints, even if she couldn’t raise the rent, she would still take some items from the grocery store, and most of the time, Mother Yu would invite her to stay for a meal.
With food, drinks, and freebies, and being treated with kind words, such “guest” visits were naturally frequent even without an invitation.
However, today, Aunt Tan sat in the living room with an unpleasant expression.
Probably because Yu Xi had sounded too anxious on the phone earlier, and her parents loved her dearly, they had uncharacteristically left Aunt Tan alone in the living room and were rummaging through their room for certificates.
“Xiao Xi, we haven’t found the certificate you’re talking about after searching for a long time. What does it look like?”
Yu Xi saw her parents’ anxious faces, then glanced at Aunt Tan, who was rolling her eyes. She smiled slightly.
“It’s okay, Mom and Dad, don’t worry about the certificate. It’s already sorted out. I have something very important to discuss with you now.”
She hugged her mother, then turned to the sofa. “Aunt Tan, we have family matters to discuss. Could you please leave?”
Tan Qian crossed her legs and smiled at Yu Xi, “Xiao Xi, don’t be troublesome. I just got here, and I have important matters to discuss with your mother.”
Yu Xi held back her mother, who wanted to speak. “Aunt Tan, are you here to talk about raising the rent?”
“I’m not unreasonable. Your mother and I were just discussing when you called. Your parents have been searching since they got off the phone. I’ve been waiting here for over an hour, and my time is very precious.”
Though she said this, the past experiences told Yu Xi that Aunt Tan wouldn’t leave without eating today.
“Alright, I won’t waste your time. The lease is until the end of this month. We won’t renew it next month. Please refund the previous deposit.”
Typically, rental houses or apartments require a deposit to ensure tenants don’t cause damage. The deposit is to protect the landlord’s interests.
“But I’ve never heard of needing a deposit for renting a garage. It’s just over twenty square meters in total, all cement walls. Why would you need a deposit? Tan Qian is just taking advantage of the Yu couple’s easygoing nature and forced them to pay a three-month deposit, which is 2,400 yuan.”
“What did you say?” Tan Qian doubted her ears.
“We’ll clear out the garage before the end of the month and return the keys to you. The deposit is 2,400 yuan. Since you came over specifically today, just return the deposit now. Do you prefer transferring through Taobao or WeChat?”
Yu Xi’s parents were dumbfounded. Mother Yu wanted to speak, but her daughter held her back. Her soft nature made her hold her tongue for now.
Tan Qian was about to lose her temper, but Yu Xi had already opened the door: “Refund the deposit or leave, pick one.”
“Aunt Tan, look at your tough little girl! I just came to discuss it, and if you disagree, that’s fine. But why immediately bring up the deposit refund?” Tan Qian rolled her eyes but quickly changed her tone.
She had taken advantage of the couple’s soft nature in the past. Even when Yu Xi was home, she stayed in her room and didn’t interfere. Tan Qian didn’t expect Yu Xi to be so assertive today, demanding to end the lease with just a few words.
“Ending the lease is a big deal. Even if I have to refund the deposit, it should be after you clear out the garage. Who knows what condition it’s in? I need to check before deciding how much to refund…”
Yu Xi didn’t want to listen to her ramble and knew that without clearing out the garage and returning the keys, the deposit wouldn’t be refunded. She just wanted to shut her up and get her out: “Then this matter is over. Please leave, we have family matters to discuss.”
Feeling humiliated, Tan Qian wanted to continue arguing, but Yu Xi had lost her patience. She grabbed Tan Qian’s arm, and with a bit of force, dragged her to the door.
Since Tan Qian hadn’t changed her shoes when she entered, Yu Xi glanced at her feet, dragged her outside, and shut the door without letting her utter another word.
Ignoring Tan Qian’s cursing outside, she pulled her parents, who were beginning to question her actions, to the dining table: “Mom, Dad, something has happened outside. Please stay calm and listen to me.”
Half an hour later, Tan Qian had already left.
Using various videos she had previously saved from the internet showing zombie attacks, Yu Xi managed to give her parents a rudimentary understanding of the current situation outside, including the mutations, aggression, and consequences of being bitten by zombies.
But understanding didn’t mean complete belief.
Mother Yu was frightened by the zombies Yu Xi described, feeling helpless and worried about her daughter’s schooling. She asked if Yu Xi needed to return to school, what would happen if she didn’t attend classes, and what about exams.
“Return to school for what! Didn’t you hear Yu Xi say that there are man-eating monsters at school? What classes or exams, if you get bitten, you’ll lose your life. What’s the point of school then!”
Father Yu maintained a clear line of thinking, “And, Xiao Xi mentioned that the earliest batch of zombies didn’t mutate through bites, which means that ordinary people, even if they stay at home, could turn into zombies at any time… you and I…”
He didn’t finish his sentence.
Yu Xi looked at her father. His thinking was correct; based on normal probabilities, both father and mother Yu had a chance of becoming Type A zombies.
However, this didn’t align with Yu Xi’s reasoning.
The difficulty level of this apocalypse world was medium to low, and her primary task was to escort her parents safely to Shelter 28. If they turned into Type A zombies, it would mean the mission had failed before it even started.
Even though the system constantly emphasized that failure meant death, it wouldn’t lead to such a guaranteed fatal outcome.
From this reverse reasoning, she could be certain that her parents were safe.
“Dad, don’t worry. Initial mutations come with symptoms, and none of us—Mom, you, or I—have shown any. No matter what, the three of us are at home, safe and sound. We have plenty of supplies in the storage room, so let’s stay home for now and reassess the situation later.”
She reasoned this way because their home was in the southern part of S City, at the edge of the city. A bit further southwest was an entrance to the highway, with a national road nearby.
Additionally, an elevated road entrance was two blocks away, with several car dealerships in that area. There were many small restaurants and convenience stores around the neighborhood, and even a large supermarket.
The location wasn’t bustling, it was easy to leave the city, and the surrounding resources were abundant.
Moreover, the Yu family owned a vehicle—a second-hand van Father Yu had bought for transporting goods for the grocery store. Despite its age and fragile exterior, it was well-maintained and still performed well.
At this moment, the van was parked in front of Building 3. If an emergency arose, they could leave immediately.
She still didn’t know where Shelter 28 was located. Even though leaving the city at the early stage of the zombie outbreak might be safer, where would they go after leaving the city?
What if they ended up moving further away from Shelter 28?
They would need to find a place to rest at night. What if a zombie outbreak occurred where they decided to rest?
With so many uncertain dangers, it was better to stay put for now, wait for Shelter 28 to appear, or leave only when it became absolutely necessary.
“Yes, yes, Xiao Xi is right. We’ll stay home for the next couple of days. Home is the safest place. Xiao Xi must be hungry. I’ll go cook. We can discuss everything after we’ve eaten.”
Having found something to do, Mother Yu seemed to regain her sense of direction and immediately turned to busy herself in the kitchen.
Yu Xi was about to go to the storage room to unload some of the items from the Star House storage when she heard a loud crash outside the neighborhood, as if something had collided.
The three of them immediately ran to the living room and onto the south-facing balcony, opening the right-side window to look outside.
From their sixth-floor height, combining the five stories of the building and the ground-level garages, they had a clear view of most of the neighborhood.
The road in front of the small park was chaotic. A black sedan had crashed into a tree, and the impact had been so severe that the front hood was half-lifted.
A scooter was nearly hit, but luckily, it was only nudged by the car’s front. The father riding the scooter, who also had a child with him, stood up in shock and began yelling at the car.
People returning from grocery shopping, work, school, or taking their children home for the weekend gathered around, demanding an explanation from the person in the car.
This scene felt eerily familiar to Yu Xi, sending chills down her spine. However, it was too late for her to go downstairs and stop the onlookers.
“How can anyone drive so fast in the neighborhood? If someone gets hit, it will be a big deal.”
Mother Yu sighed when she saw the damage to the car. “Should we go down and take a look? The father and child on the scooter seem to live on the third floor below us.”
Father Yu pulled her back firmly, raising his voice, “Get a grip! Xiao Xi just said it’s dangerous outside. If those monsters bite you, you’ll turn into one of them. That car crashed out of nowhere, and you have no idea what’s going on. What are you planning to do by going down there? Deliver groceries?”
Mother Yu calmed down a bit after this reprimand, but she still found it hard to believe that the situation could deteriorate so rapidly. The idea of flesh-eating zombies seemed like a fairy tale…
However, a sudden, piercing scream from downstairs felt like a bucket of ice water dumped over her head, snapping her into full awareness.
The door of the car that crashed into the tree was now open. The person who had been banging on the window was being bitten on the arm, screaming in agony.
There were many people around. A young man holding a heavy package threw it forcefully at the zombie, rescuing the bitten person, who retreated, cradling his bleeding, injured arm.
Losing its prey, the zombie let out a roar and lunged at the next closest person amidst the crowd’s screams.
In just a few seconds, a few more people were bitten. Security guards arrived, and a strong young man kicked the zombie away, saving another person. Then, he and another guard pinned the screaming zombie to the ground, tying its arms with a rope.
“What is this?”
“Oh my god, look at its face and eyes!”
“I saw a video online before. I thought it was fake! Is this… a zombie? One of those flesh-eating monsters!”
One of the security guards tying the rope looked up and said, “This person must be sick. We need to take him to the property office and call the police—”
Before he could finish, screams erupted again from the back of the crowd. The first person bitten had quickly turned into a zombie and was attacking the nearest person.
“Everyone, get back! These things can infect you with a bite!” someone shouted. The crowd descended into chaos, pushing and shoving to escape in panic.
One person fell and was surrounded by two zombies, who bit his neck and stomach simultaneously. Both were vital areas, and blood sprayed out as he screamed in agony.
In life-or-death situations, most people instinctively sought survival, rushing towards the nearest building entrances and slamming the security doors shut. Some were lucky to have their homes nearby and quickly locked themselves in.
However, no one knew how many of those who ran into the buildings had already been bitten…
Soon, screams echoed faintly from various stairwells.
Those who had safely returned home felt a chill. Indeed, some of those who ran into the buildings had been bitten and transformed. If they had also panicked and run into any random building, they might have met a grim fate…
But even those who made it home weren’t entirely safe. Some had just locked their doors, trembling as they told their family members to stay away from the windows and block the door, only to be bitten by a zombie that had transformed at home.
Mother Yu trembled uncontrollably, finally being half-dragged back to the living room by Father Yu.
Yu Xi gripped the balcony tightly, her heart pounding just like the first time she witnessed a tsunami. The difference between movies and reality was stark.
The zombies here mutate faster, with movement only slightly slower than normal humans. It seems that anyone bitten will turn into a zombie, with some transforming in about ten minutes and others in less than a minute.
At this moment in the neighborhood, those who could still move had retreated into the residential buildings, leaving six or seven zombies wandering aimlessly near the small park, unable to smell any living humans.
These zombies were once residents of the neighborhood, and their families, waiting inside the buildings for them to return, were now weeping at the balconies and windows, crying in grief.
But soon, the cries attracted the zombies’ attention. The wandering zombies roared and headed toward the source of the sound.
The people inside the buildings were terrified, especially those living on the first floor, just above the garages. They could clearly see the zombies’ horrific faces, eyes, and blood-stained teeth as they approached.
“Stop crying! You’ll attract the monsters and get us all killed!”
“Yeah! You’re not the only ones suffering! My husband is still out there, and I have a child at home!”
Someone dared to shout out a few curses, causing some of the crying to stop, but others continued, drawing another zombie over.
Someone, frustrated and scared, couldn’t bear it anymore: “If you keep crying, I’ll come up and throw you out myself!”
The harsh tone of the voice silenced the crying momentarily.
Moments later, Yu Xi saw the door of a nearby building open. A middle-aged woman in pajamas, with disheveled hair, ran out towards one of the zombies, which had been her son just a few minutes ago. Now, he was a monster driven by the urge to bite.
“Mom shouldn’t have let you go to fix the car, my dear son…” Amidst her heart-wrenching cries, the zombie grabbed the fresh flesh and bit down.
Yu Xi recognized the zombie as the driver who had crashed into the tree.
The woman’s cries soon turned into screams of pain. As more zombies surrounded her, her screams became increasingly agonizing until they finally faded away, leaving nothing but silence.
As dusk fell, the neighborhood sank into a bleak silence. The cries, shouts, and curses all disappeared.
In stark contrast to the quiet inside the neighborhood were the chaotic sounds from outside the perimeter walls. In front of Building 3 was an open area, with the property office, a waste sorting station, and the security room nearby. These low-rise buildings allowed an unobstructed view of the entire street outside.
The street, orderly half an hour ago, was now in chaos. Several cars had crashed into each other. People screamed as they fled their vehicles, only to fall and transform into zombies after a short distance, attacking passersby.
Passersby ran towards small shops along the street, but the shopkeepers quickly closed the doors. Those outside banged on the glass, but the shopkeepers refused to open, forcing the passersby to run further while desperately making phone calls, seemingly to the police, but unable to get through.
Someone on an electric scooter was frightened by a sudden zombie attack, causing the scooter to veer off and crash into a shop’s glass door. The glass shattered, and the terrified screams from inside the shop only attracted more zombies.
Fortunately, this was not a main road, with few residential areas and limited pedestrians. After the initial chaos caused by the car accidents, many people managed to escape into nearby shops or quickly detour away.
Some residents of the neighborhood returned amidst the chaos. When the first resident fled into the neighborhood, screaming to avoid the zombies, the eerie silence was finally broken.
People started calling their relatives, some called the police, while others turned around to find their recently returned loved ones convulsing on the ground, with black veins spreading from their necks…
The transition from a peaceful era to an apocalypse took only a few minutes. In the face of such a disaster, individual strength seemed incredibly small.