Apocalypse Star House Hoarding-Chapter 85

The giant, hairless tail thumped against the glass once again, making a loud bang that shook the door—and everyone’s nerves. The previously silent crowd erupted in screams.
The ones who had snatched the keys earlier stared at the entrance door, desperately wishing they could turn back time and undo their actions. At the very least, they should have waited until the guards had locked the door.
Luckily, the door required a passcode to open once closed, and the rat, while enormous, wasn’t necessarily intelligent enough to figure that out… right?
The tail struck the door a third time, and as it passed the electronic lock, the device emitted a series of beeps. The rat’s head shifted, as if it had noticed the sound, and its murky black eyes flickered, catching sight of the entry door by the glass wall.
It moved closer, pressing its nose against the door. At one point, it brushed against the lock, causing another beep. This sight caused everyone to instinctively step back, each person trying to retreat further, creating a chaotic scramble with pushing and shoving.
The noise drew the rat’s attention again, and the massive creature leaned closer, scratching the glass with its claws, creating an ear-piercing screech.
“Stop pushing!” a cool, firm young woman’s voice broke the chaos. “Even if this rat could somehow figure out the electronic lock, it’s too big to get inside. But if you keep yelling and shoving, you’ll only excite it more. If the glass does break, it’ll get in for real.”
The crowd fell silent at her words. Those who had come up from the underground garage turned pale, feeling a new wave of fear as they remembered just how close they’d been to the rat earlier. Some even felt their resentment toward the guards grow.
Someone pushed a guard forward, sneering, “You think you’re so brave, going off to the property management building? Then go take care of the rat for us!”
Caught off guard, the three security guards stumbled forward, now standing awkwardly at the front. The rat’s interest was piqued by their movement, and it scratched the glass even more enthusiastically, letting out a few squeaks.
The guards turned back, bewildered, trying to identify who had pushed them. “Who pushed us? Who was it?”
“Is this really the time to ask that? It doesn’t matter who did; what matters is you need to take responsibility!” someone muttered.
“Please, do something…” another voice whimpered, barely holding back tears.
“Yeah! We pay high property fees—do something for once!” someone else demanded.
Guard Zhang had had enough. He tossed his security cap on the floor. “What’s wrong with you all? I quit! Stop bossing us around! And whoever took the keys, hand them back!”
“If you’re quitting, why should we give the keys back to you?”
“Even if I quit, I still need to return the keys! Now, hand them over!”
Nearby, someone grumbled, “Keep it down; if you’re going to argue, at least wait until I’m back upstairs…”
Seeing the commotion escalate, some residents, worried the rat would indeed break through, grabbed their things and prepared to leave. But with the earlier chaos, their bags were all mixed up, and some were trampled. As someone tried to grab items randomly, another resident protested, leading to a new round of silent tugging over the supplies.
Finally, seeing things getting out of hand, one resident spoke up, “Everyone, calm down. The more noise we make, the more excited the rat will get. And can we just move the supplies upstairs and sort it out there? We’re all neighbors here; is it worth causing this scene over a few packs of instant noodles?”
He continued, “Bulletproof glass isn’t indestructible. The authorities have provided an emergency disaster relief number. If we call them and explain the situation, the nearest rescue team will come to help. In times like this, we should be united! We’re human beings—are we going to let a rat get the better of us?”
Encouraged by someone taking the lead, the panicked residents gradually calmed down. Most of them had been acting out of fear, not because of a few supplies or petty arguments.
The resident took out his phone to call for help, but before he could dial, he heard a composed young woman’s voice beside him, already relaying their address, the situation, and details about the giant mutated animal on the other end of the line.
The man recognized the voice—it was the same woman who had earlier advised everyone to quiet down.
After hanging up, Yu Xi looked up to see a tall figure standing before her. He looked around twenty-seven or twenty-eight, with a neat crew cut and a handsome face. Seeing her gaze, he gave a polite smile. “Hello, I live in Unit 502. My name is Xu Yan.”
Yu Xi lowered her mask slightly. “Hi, I’m Yu Xi.”
“You’re impressive,” he said with genuine admiration.
Xu Yan approached Yu Xi for a simple reason. With the worsening situation outside and the official recommendations to stay indoors, he hoped the residents of their building could help one another instead of arguing over minor issues. This way, they could avoid becoming a disorganized group concerned only with individual gains.
His own home was well-stocked, and though he hadn’t gone out earlier, he had come downstairs after hearing the commotion. He had noticed Yu Xi wearing protective gear, clearly having gone outside, but unlike the others who had returned with complaints and disputes, she quietly stood by and calmly made a call, detailing the situation with precision. Her composure impressed him, and he was determined to introduce himself.
After a brief greeting, Xu Yan turned to address the security guards, suggesting they stay put for now, even if they were considering resignation. He also persuaded several residents to return the guard’s keys and advised the guards to lock the elevator.
The building’s emergency stairwell only led to the first floor, and access to the underground parking required going through the electric scooter garage, which had been locked earlier. By securing the elevator, they could prevent any mutated creatures from accidentally coming up through it. In these tense times, no one minded taking the stairs.
Meanwhile, the rat outside continued clawing at the glass and even started hitting it with its tail, causing everyone to hurry upstairs with their belongings. The three guards, visibly shaken, retreated to the reception desk for some semblance of safety, though they knew it offered little real protection if the rat broke through.
Realizing they had no safe place to go, one of the guards suggested they might use the vacant units on the sixth or seventh floor. However, Guard Zhang shook his head. “No way. If anyone s it, we’ll be docked pay.”
“Are we really going to quit?”
Zhang didn’t answer immediately. He knew that his savings were limited, especially after stocking up due to the earlier insect scare. While he wanted to be with his family and quit this dangerous job, he worried about how long they could hold out financially. Better to endure hardship at home than face life-threatening risks here.
After some thought, he stated, “That was my call back there. It has nothing to do with you two. Decide for yourselves.” Zhang planned to speak with the rescue team about the situation before making any final decisions.
Noticing their dilemma, Xu Yan invited the guards to his unit, reasoning that the lobby wasn’t a safe place to stay anyway, and offered them some food and drink. This considerate gesture provided a moment of relief for the three.
Summoning the courage, the guards secured the door, even as the giant rat watched intently. Once done, they joined Xu Yan upstairs.
The rescue team arrived promptly, thanks to the detailed Yu Xi had provided about the mutated rat. She later learned that such massive rat mutations were rare in S City, as rats were mammals.
Armed with heavy weaponry, the rescue team surrounded the giant rat, initially hoping to capture it alive. But after several team members were whipped by the enraged rat’s tail, the team leader ordered it exterminated with a flamethrower. The rat’s death throes were so intense that, even through multiple layers of glass, the residents inside could hear its tortured cries. Watching the creature’s struggle and hearing its shrieks, some residents clenched their fists in triumph, while others felt disturbed by the grisly scene.
Following this, the rescue team thoroughly inspected the underground garage, eventually uncovering a nest of about a dozen rats, all within normal size. Given the previous appearance of the giant rat, the team decided to capture these smaller ones for further study.
They then conducted a full inspection of the complex. When informed about the sealed-off garden that had previously experienced oxygen bursts, the team leader ordered his crew to incinerate all vegetation in the garden with flamethrowers. Once the plants were reduced to ashes, they extinguished any remaining fires and applied a yellow powder to inhibit regrowth in the area.
Of course, this powder only works on regular plants and is ineffective against mutated plants. However, based on the current situation in the complex, the vegetation has remained normal. Only a few mutated insects were found in densely vegetated areas, which the rescue team captured for further study.
The rescue team leader noted that the scarcity of mutated insects in the complex might be due to the presence of the giant rat, which likely preyed on many of them. Hearing this, the residents felt chills run down their spines, realizing the rat may have been lurking and growing for an unknown period. The thought of some residents passing through the garage just the day before now seemed truly terrifying.
With the presence of the rescue team, more residents who had been sheltering in their homes came downstairs. Some asked about the safety outside and if they could leave, while others took advantage of the opportunity to dash to the complex’s small grocery store, hastily filling their carts with goods.
The rescue team consisted of seven or eight members who had been working nonstop for nearly thirty-six hours. As the first unit to be deployed after the crisis began, they were well-versed in the current situation. Due to the recent resurgence of giant insects in the city, experts had re-measured oxygen levels across various green spaces and discovered elevated levels in several new areas. While these levels had mostly subsided to below 40% over the past two days, which meant that any remaining giant insects would naturally die off soon, it alerted the team to the possibility that these oversized insects could become a recurring issue.
To address the problem at its source, the team planned to burn down overgrown areas and apply an inhibitor whenever oxygen levels were found to be excessively high. Additionally, all mutated plants appearing in residential areas were to be sampled and then thoroughly cleared. By now, around 50% of mutated plants citywide had already been eradicated, with orders to remove the remaining mutated flora within the next two days.
“Can we go out now? When will things go back to normal so we can return to work?” asked a worried resident. Many people had already missed days of work due to the insect crisis, followed by the thunderstorms, with official warnings advising against leaving their homes. A few days like this were manageable, but prolonged disruption was hard to endure. People still had mortgages, car payments, families to support, and now, prices were rising due to disrupted supplies.
“Go back to work?” The team leader couldn’t help but chuckle. They had been risking their lives confronting giant geckos, mutated bees, and other monstrous plants, witnessing the bodies of those who hadn’t made it in time to safety. Now, hearing someone ask about going back to their job seemed almost absurd. “Are you sure you still have a job to go back to?”
Except for critical services like healthcare, emergency response, utilities, and food and supply transport, the city’s regular activities had ground to a halt. People stranded in restaurants, offices, schools, and entertainment venues were awaiting rescue to return home. Meanwhile, residents in a safe complex like this one were concerned about work?
Indeed, the complex had been relatively fortunate compared to other areas. Many residents couldn’t fully grasp the devastation happening elsewhere, where families lost homes and loved ones, and were forced into temporary shelters. Human experiences of tragedy often differ, especially when most are hidden from view.
“Just keep up with the news at home. We’re not in charge of your decisions,” the team leader said, patting one of the residents on the shoulder before calling for his team to depart. Some residents followed them a few steps but stopped short of pressing the rescuers as they did with the complex’s guards.
The guards’ experience, especially that of Xiao Zhang and his colleagues, soon spread to the other security teams in the complex. Many of them took it to heart. After the rescue team left that day, over half of the complex’s guards decided to leave as well. Equipped with protective gear, masks, insecticides, and some self-defense skills, they pooled resources and left together. Some even shrewdly purchased long-lasting supplies from the small store within the complex before their departure.
By noon the following day, the complex’s grocery store had hung a sign, locked up, and announced that all inventory was sold out. Despite some residents knocking, hoping to purchase more items, the doors remained closed.
Anxious residents wanted to go to the large supermarket outside the complex for supplies but soon heard through others that, since the situation had started early in the morning, many stores hadn’t managed to open and were now mostly closed.
The government announced they were reallocating personnel to speed up the clearance of mutated plants and animals, urging residents to remain patient and stay indoors for another two days. Once all mutated flora and fauna were eliminated, normal life would resume. Experts also advised anyone with an oxygen detector to check nearby greenery daily. If oxygen levels reached between 30% and 40%, they should continue monitoring, and if levels rose above 50%, they should immediately call the emergency hotline.
On the fourth day since the outbreak of mutations, Yu Xi and her parents diligently followed the official instructions, staying indoors and avoiding all outings. When the giant rat had appeared, Fan Qi worried her daughter might try to assist the rescue team, as she had been the one to call them. But Yu Xi had simply watched from the window until she saw the team had it under control, then calmly returned to the kitchen to help wash scallions and prepare noodles.
Coincidentally, it was noodle-making day, and the three of them decided to prepare everything at once. They all enjoyed scallion oil noodles, and since Yu Xi’s warehouse was stocked with various food containers—round, flat, large, and small—they decided to make fifty servings of fresh chicken broth noodles, with the rest as scallion oil noodles.
Fan Qi felt reassured seeing her daughter remain grounded, only stepping in when others couldn’t handle the situation. It was as if she were a sage observing from the sidelines, emerging only when necessary.
Together, they secured the doors, continued with their cooking, and enjoyed watching Yu Xi bring out different foods. She could even theme her meals by country:
Morning:
Western-style with coffee, sandwiches, hot dogs, and a fruit salad.
Afternoon:
Local delicacies, with steaming hot pot and an array of prepared meats and vegetables.
Evening:
Japanese cuisine, with fresh salmon sashimi, sushi, crab salad, seafood rice bowls, and even a whole king crab.
Fan Qi and Yu Feng were amazed, sometimes even tempted to applaud Yu Xi’s creativity.
They also kept the TV on for constant updates. Dedicated journalists risked their lives to capture firsthand footage alongside the rescue teams. Official news s seemed to show relatively controlled situations, creating a strange split from the frightening animal and plant images circulating online. Yet, with water, electricity, and internet still well-maintained, people found themselves idle, often turning to the internet for updates.
Online news was chaotic, sometimes feeling as if they were living in entirely different worlds. But people took comfort knowing society was still functioning, rescue teams were saving lives, and the news continued to broadcast—apart from the mounting fear of depleting supplies as they watched their pantries and refrigerators slowly empty.
On the evening of the fourth day, while the family was playing dice to decide on dinner, their doorbell rang. It was Xu Yan, whom Yu Xi had met before. He was now acting as a temporary coordinator for the building, as only one of the original three security guards remained.
“There’s something I need to inform you about,” he said. “It actually happened a few days ago, but things were too chaotic then, and no one realized since the person lived alone. Today, his neighbor came to me, and that’s how I found out.”
“What happened to him?” Yu Xi asked, frowning. “Is he injured or… Has something unusual appeared in the building?”
“I’m not sure yet,” Xu Yan replied, “but he’s gone missing! His neighbor wanted to borrow some seasoning, knocked on his door for a while, but no one answered. He got a guard, and they used a key from the management office to enter, only to find that he wasn’t home.
“They then came to me, and I spent the whole afternoon investigating. Apparently, he went to the supermarket with some others that afternoon, but with the chaos caused by the giant rat, everyone scattered and lost track of each other. Now, people remember that they hadn’t seen him since that afternoon…”
“He disappeared? Could he have left the complex?” Yu Xi wondered, remembering that several guards had left that day, along with some non-residents.
“I considered that possibility, so I checked the surveillance footage before coming here. The gate monitor shows no record of him leaving. Moreover, do you recall when the guards went to the management building to look for the staff? Those on duty that night also never left the complex.”