Apocalypse Star House Hoarding-Chapter 41

The background of this world’s character is quite simple.
At thirty years old, she is an orphan and a single woman living alone. After graduating from university, she started working at this company as a clerk. Before her dismissal, she held the position of assistant to the director. The reason for her dismissal was cited as the poor market conditions requiring staff reduction.
Yu Xi understood that such companies often used the excuse of poor market conditions and the need to cut staff, but in reality, it was because her long-term tenure at the company had led to accumulated salary and benefits. Hiring a fresh graduate for the same job was more cost-effective. However, even knowing this, there was no point in arguing. The character she was playing had a soft personality, acknowledged her average work ability, and was not surprised by her dismissal. She just felt lost being unemployed at thirty.
The sea breeze she smelled earlier was no illusion. This was a well-developed port city surrounded by mountains on three sides and facing the sea on one. The high mountains blocked the cold air from the north, making the temperature mild all year round, with winters not too cold and summers not too hot. Currently, it was winter, with daytime temperatures around 15-16 degrees Celsius.
The world’s development level lagged behind her original world, still operating in the era of paper money and credit cards.
A waiter interrupted her thoughts by handing her a menu. Yu Xi casually ordered a hot latte. The waiter smiled, took the menu, and left a glass of water.
Everything around her seemed normal. The character she inhabited had been regularly browsing the internet without encountering any strange news, so she couldn’t discern what kind of apocalypse it might be for now.
Considering it was a coastal city, a tsunami? Unlikely. The chances of encountering the same type of apocalypse were low. With mountains around, a volcano? Probably not. An earthquake? An earthquake wouldn’t typically be classified as a medium-level apocalypse, and she recalled that the apocalypse category had a “fusion” character.
She had experience with this; it meant this apocalypse was a fusion of two world fragments.
Since nothing in the current setup and background seemed off, Yu Xi decided to return to the character’s residence. After leaving the café, she headed to a public restroom in a nearby park. It was now a workday afternoon, around two or three o’clock, with few pedestrians on the streets and no one in the restroom.
She entered a stall and emptied everything from her file bag into the cardboard box, except for her wallet, phone, and keys. Then she stowed the cumbersome cardboard box into the Star House storage.
The character’s rented house was about fifteen or sixteen kilometers from here. With 47 hours left until the apocalypse, she wasn’t in a rush to get back. She decided to take the subway, as the character usually did for her commute, to observe the surroundings.
This large city, named Hai Ru City, was a well-developed port city in the country. The subway system was built early, featuring several underwater tunnels. However, because most of the subway was constructed long ago, the stations appeared quite old. Some of the escalators were narrow, and the lighting inside was dim and yellowish, giving an overall poor impression.
The character’s journey home requires passing through two underwater tunnels. One segment is 23 kilometers long, and the other, which is the longest underwater tunnel in Hai Ru City, stretches 41 kilometers. After crossing the sea, she still needs to transfer to another subway line and then walk another kilometer or two.
At this time, there weren’t many people waiting for the subway, and there were also empty seats on the train. Yu Xi found a seat near a railing and glanced at the subway’s route map. The lines, both new and old, crisscrossed like a dense spider web, with several underwater tunnels intersecting.
The subway’s interior was also quite old, with seats and railings that looked well-worn. After a few stops, more people got on the train. Yu Xi checked the route and saw that the next stop would take them into the first underwater tunnel, which was the 41-kilometer-long segment.
Just as the subway doors were about to close, someone hurriedly rushed in. The man was tall with long legs, and he made it into the carriage with just two strides, the doors nearly closing on his back. Amid the surprised and uncertain gazes of other passengers, he simply found a corner seat and sat down without saying a word.
Yu Xi only glanced at him briefly before looking away. However, she soon felt a gaze fixed on her from the direction she had just looked away from. Turning her head slightly, she saw that the man who had just entered the subway was indeed staring at her. He was wearing a baseball cap with the brim pulled low, casting a shadow over his eyes and nose.
She couldn’t see his face clearly, but she knew he was staring at her. She didn’t recognize him, or rather, the character she was inhabiting didn’t know him. The character’s memory revealed a very simple social life, with few friends and a routine of commuting between work and home.
If this person was someone from the character’s memory, she would have some recollection or image of him in her mind. But there was nothing.
While she was still puzzling over this, she suddenly heard a strange noise. Before she could identify the sound, the subway, which had been moving at a constant speed, suddenly shook. The strange sound instantly grew louder, becoming a teeth-clenching screeching noise, accompanied by the sound of sparks. Everyone in the subway was thrown to one side due to the sudden braking. Most people were sitting, so they avoided falling but couldn’t help bumping into each other. Drinks spilled, phones dropped, and laptops crashed onto the floor, creating chaos in the carriage.
A girl next to Yu Xi fell towards her, but Yu Xi quickly supported her. Meanwhile, she noticed the man with the baseball cap had also reacted swiftly. He was already standing, holding onto the railing with one hand and leaning against the carriage.
From this angle, she could see his face clearly: a young man around twenty years old, with a delicate and refined appearance and very dark eyes. She was certain she had never seen him before.
The subway had come to a stop. Passengers, initially bewildered, began to complain, wondering why the train had stopped so suddenly. Soon, the subway’s announcement system came on, with the driver’s voice reassuring everyone not to panic. He explained that there was a minor issue with the tracks ahead, necessitating a temporary stop, and that personnel from the previous station were aware of the situation and would arrive soon.
“A minor issue? What kind of minor issue requires stopping?”
“This is an underwater tunnel! Could it be a problem with the tunnel?”
“People have been complaining about this tunnel for a while now, saying it’s old and poorly maintained. It’s only a matter of time before something goes wrong—”
As if to confirm the previous statement, a cracking sound suddenly echoed above their heads. The sound was muffled but, at this moment, it sent chills down everyone’s spine. Almost everyone knew what that sound indicated.
“Bang!” With the first heavy thud, panic quickly spread through the carriage. People scrambled toward the corners farthest from the noise, but the cracking sound was not isolated to one spot. The sound of heavy objects crashing down became more frequent.
Yu Xi frowned and looked up at the ceiling. The character’s memory provided some knowledge about this underwater tunnel. It had been constructed using the immersed tube method, with excellent preventive measures at the time. However, after so many years, if there were indeed problems… But it seemed unlikely, considering the apocalypse was still 47 hours away. How could it be happening so soon?
The commotion in the carriage interrupted Yu Xi’s thoughts. Perhaps the co-driver at the rear had been notified and was now attempting to move the subway back to the station at the other end of the tunnel.
But before anyone could breathe a sigh of relief, a loud crash echoed from the ceiling, followed by a heavy thud that dented part of the roof inward. The piercing sound of metal scraping and the dull thuds of concrete chunks falling filled the air. The subway, which had just started to move, got stuck and was forced to stop.
Almost everyone began to murmur in fear. The intercom crackled with the voice of the co-driver, instructing everyone to evacuate toward the rear of the train in an orderly manner, and reassuring them that rescue teams were on their way and urging them not to panic.
Despite the reassurances, panic was inevitable. They were underwater, with part of the tunnel collapsing above them. Who knew what would happen next?
The carriage floor was flat. Yu Xi quickly took off her high heels and followed the others toward the back. Regardless of her current physical strength, if the tunnel truly collapsed, there would be little chance of survival.
The young man with the baseball cap was just half a step behind her, slightly extending his arm to unintentionally block anyone trying to shove her. To outsiders, it might have seemed like he was protecting her on purpose, but Yu Xi didn’t know him at all.
In this life-or-death moment, she didn’t have time to think too much.
Fortunately, the evacuation went smoothly. Given that there weren’t many people on the train, everyone quickly moved to the last carriage. Following the rescue team’s instructions, the co-driver opened the doors and arranged for everyone to stand on the small path beside the subway tracks.
Knowing the road ahead wouldn’t be easy, Yu Xi opened her briefcase and discreetly took out a pair of wrinkled flat shoes. She hadn’t brought sneakers, as they were too bulky to fit in her bag without looking suspicious. Flat shoes, being soft and foldable, fit perfectly.
She changed into the shoes and noticed that the young man with the baseball cap was still on the train, seemingly waiting for her. Without saying a word, she stepped off the train and followed the others.
Not long after they started walking, someone a few spots ahead suddenly shouted, “Water! There’s water leaking here!” The people around quickly moved aside.
Yu Xi used her phone’s flashlight to illuminate the ceiling. Water was indeed leaking, not in large amounts, but over a wide area. The ceiling showed no visible cracks, and it was unclear where the water was seeping from.
She quickly stepped aside but still got a few drops on her due to the extensive leaking area. The musty, salty smell she had noticed earlier was now much stronger, seemingly coming from the water itself. It was strange—even seawater shouldn’t smell this way…
The group soon passed the leaking area. Not far ahead, a faint light began to appear. The passengers at the front exclaimed in delight, “It’s the rescue team! We’re saved!”
As expected, the rescue team arrived quickly, as a collapse in an underwater tunnel is a serious matter. They were well-prepared and arrived promptly. Some members asked the driver for details and then led the way, while others helped with lighting and checked for any injured individuals among the group. Some technicians headed towards the site of the incident behind them.
Yu Xi glanced back at those people before following the group again.
Two hours later, after leaving the subway station and taking a long detour by taxi, Yu Xi finally returned to the apartment rented by the character she had taken over. Although the underwater tunnel had sections for both subway and regular vehicles, she felt uneasy about crossing it again and preferred to take a longer route.
The incident had been nerve-wracking when it happened, making her suspect it was the beginning of something terrible. However, the subsequent evacuation was orderly and normal. Having experienced two apocalyptic worlds, she found herself doubting what should have been a straightforward evacuation.
But why did it feel wrong?
The apartment complex wasn’t new but wasn’t too old either. It was in a less desirable location, far from the bustling city center, which made the rent affordable and ensured a quiet living environment. Given the character’s introverted nature and preference for minimal social interaction, she preferred to spend over two hours commuting each day rather than sharing a place closer to work.
As she entered the apartment complex, all the information related to the apartment automatically surfaced in her mind. The apartment was small, located on the fourth floor, with one bedroom, one living room, a kitchen, and a bathroom. There was a small south-facing balcony without glass windows.
Living alone was convenient for Yu Xi. Otherwise, she would have had to find another place to stay.
It was already past six in the evening, and Yu Xi decided to take a shower and change clothes before eating. The incident earlier in the afternoon left a lingering salty, musty smell in her nose, and she wasn’t sure if it was her imagination. Was her heightened sensitivity due to her enhanced physical senses, making her more attuned to the coastal city’s air?
Passing through the living room, she turned on the TV and switched to the local news channel. She then retrieved a set of cotton long-sleeved loungewear from her storage and went into the bathroom.
She took off her non-prescription black-framed glasses and let down her hair, intending to wash it. As she reached to open the shower door, her fingertip grazed a sharp metal edge, causing a small but deep cut that immediately began to bleed.
The incident happened so quickly that Yu Xi barely felt the pain. Instead, she was overwhelmed by a sensation that made her scalp tingle with unease. The tingling sensation started at the base of her scalp and gradually spread towards her forehead, as if something was moving.
The fine hairs on her arms stood on end. While an ordinary person might not notice, she could clearly feel something very slight moving. She immediately took out a flashlight and directed the beam at her scalp, moving closer to the mirror.
The bright light seemed to have an effect, causing the tingling sensation to stop at her hairline. Peering closely, she saw an extremely fine black line at the root of her hair. The “line” was only slightly thicker than her hair and about a centimeter long.
For someone with naturally thick and dark hair, it would be nearly impossible to distinguish between the two.
No!
This wasn’t a line!
It was wriggling!
It was—a worm!?