5. Doomsday Oxen and Horses

This is an abandoned office building.

Fu Yunong followed Shi Dong uphill, where the entrance to the building was at the end of the road. The checkpoint railings were crooked and stuck in mid-air, and the security booth next to it was covered with a thick layer of dust.

The two cautiously made their way through the checkpoint, only to find the door locked, the dark green glass covered in grime. As Fu Yunong stared intently at it, a rotting face suddenly slammed against the glass, its murky eyes fixed on her. Her heart skipped a beat, and she instinctively closed her eyes.

I'm used to it, I'm used to it...

"Can you hide yourself like before, and I'll put you inside?" Shi Dong asked, staring at the glass without turning her head.

Sister, do you want to listen to what you're saying?

Fu Yunong took a deep breath. "No."

Shi Dong turned her head, a hint of regret on her face, "Then find a place to hide, and I'll call you back."

Before she finished speaking, she had already drawn her military knife, fiddled with the door lock a few times, and with a soft click, the door opened.

Shi Dong switched his military knife for a dagger, gently opened the door a crack, glanced back at Fu Yunong, and then slipped inside in a flash.

Fu Yunong tensed up instantly. She looked around and found a corner to hide in.

Shi Dong had observed from outside that there were six zombies wandering around the lobby, all dressed in security guard uniforms.

Shi Dong didn't dare to be careless. As soon as she entered the room, she twirled the dagger in her palm and, using it as cover, lunged forward, the blade precisely piercing the temples of the two closest zombies.

Then, she took out the rope she always carried with her.

The remaining four staggered over, but Shi Dong didn't retreat; instead, she advanced, kicking her left foot hard against the knee of the nearest zombie, using the momentum to leap up and avoid the claws of the other. As she landed, she crouched down, swung the rope, and precisely looped it around the neck of the zombie on her right.

The zombie charged at her. She quickly took two steps back, pulled on the rope, and the zombie was strangled and fell face-down, its head bobbing up and down like a seal. Seizing the opportunity, she stepped on its back, wrapped the rope around its body three times, threaded the end through a pre-tied knot, and pulled hard to lock it in place. She then swung the other end towards a nearby marble pillar, wrapped it around a few times, and secured it with a carabiner.

She did the same to the others. In less than half a minute, the four zombies were firmly tied to the pillars in the lobby, only able to writhe and howl in vain.

A chilling wind blew, and Fu Yunong couldn't help but shiver as she recalled the bustling atmosphere of the place and compared it to its current eerie desolation.

Fortunately, not long after, Shi Dong appeared at the door, still opening a crack and waving at her.

Fu Yunong rushed over in three steps, slipped into the house and quickly closed the door. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of four zombies tied to a pillar, and her scalp tingled.

"Keep up!" Shi Dong urged in a low voice, leading her away from the claws and hurrying towards the stairwell.

With a creak, Shi Dong carefully pushed open the fire door, and after confirming it was safe, slipped inside, with Fu Yunong following closely behind.

The moment the door closed, Shi Dong breathed a slight sigh of relief. "Let's go upstairs."

"Why did you bring me to this place?" Fu Yunong couldn't help but ask.

Shi Dong glanced at her strangely, explaining as she walked upstairs, "There are fewer people here."

Fu Yunong was even more confused. Weren't there even more people in the office building?

"The disaster happened on a Saturday," Shi Dong added casually.

Saturday? What's wrong with Saturday?

Seeing her blank expression, Shi Dong was puzzled. "Weekends are legal rest days, and violating them is severely punished. Do you mean you have to work on Saturdays where you are?"

Fu Yunong felt as if she had been shot in the chest, and forced a dry laugh, "Of course not, hehe."

There's another point Shi Dong didn't mention: these buildings are usually equipped with fire water tanks. The fire water storage system is generally independent of the municipal water supply and has a huge capacity, so there might be some fresh water left over.

Shi Dong carefully climbed all the way to the 9th floor before stopping. "Wait for me here."

After saying that, she quietly opened the fire door, held the dagger horizontally, and went inside.

Fu Yunong smiled helplessly, feeling like a helpless infant. Her desire to become stronger reached its peak at that moment.

This time the wait was longer than before. Sitting in the dimly lit stairwell, Fu Yunong had a feeling that someone was watching her from upstairs and downstairs.

Just as she was about to lose her temper and hide in the space, the door opened.

"Come in."

Fu Yunong's eyes lit up, and she quickly stood up.

Upon entering, they discovered that the floor was divided between two companies by the elevator shaft. Shi Dong led her to the right and into one of the companies.

Shi Dong closed the glass door tightly, locked it, and then continued walking inside. Fu Yunong followed behind, finding the space increasingly spacious as they went.

Suddenly, her inner bully or horseman awakened, and she realized that this was probably a medium-sized company, and she secretly began to speculate about the salary and benefits here.

The two walked through the crooked workstations in the lobby, around the tea room, and through the conference rooms before finally entering the president's office.

The CEO's office was astonishingly large. Dust accumulated on the leather sofas and wooden desks, and crystal chandeliers spilled onto the carpet. The huge landscape painting on the wall hung crookedly, the landscape in the painting long since turned a dim yellow.

Shi Dong walked to the coat rack, pushed it, and a door the same color as the wall opened, revealing the lounge inside.

"Let's stay here for now." She stepped aside.

Fu Yunong stepped inside, almost becoming the first person to harbor resentment towards the rich in the apocalypse.

The lounge is divided into four areas: living room, bedroom, bathroom, and dressing room. Even the smallest bathroom is incredibly spacious and has a bathtub.

What's even more surprising is that the bedding on the bed is still there; there are clothes, bathrobes, and disposable underwear in the walk-in closet.

"How did you find out about this place?" Fu Yunong couldn't contain her curiosity.

Shi Dong beckoned to her and said as they walked, "I saw that the glass on this floor wasn't broken downstairs, so I thought I'd come up and try my luck."

She walked to the fire hydrant in the office area, turned on the switch, and a stream of clear water gushed out!

The compliment Fu Yunong was about to utter (commenting on her good eyesight) instantly turned into an exclamation, "There's water!"

Shi Dong turned on the tap and said, "There's not much water, but enough for washing up. Let's go, get ready, and settle in here for now."

Fu Yunong nodded excitedly, "Yes!"

The two hadn't eaten a single grain of rice since they set off, and as it was getting dark, they decided to tidy up the rest room and take a quick rest.

Fu Yunong was already exhausted, feeling like her bones were about to fall apart. She had never walked so much in her life. As soon as she heard about the rest, her fatigue vanished, and she immediately became energetic and busy.

There were plenty of usable tools, and the two of them worked together to sweep the trash outside. Fortunately, the break room windows were always closed, so there was much less dust and grime than outside, making it relatively easy to clean up.

There used to be unopened bottled water in the room, and several bottles of good wine in the wine cabinet, but unfortunately the high temperature had long since evaporated the water.

During the process, Fu Yunong wanted to draw all the curtains, but Shi Dong stopped her.

"There's a risk of being discovered, so it's best to be careful."

Fu Yunong was impressed by her caution, nodded, and maintained the status quo.

Afterward, the two gathered a number of containers, first storing them in Fu Yunong's spatial storage, then piling them all under the fire hydrant to collect water. Once they had done this, they found a nearby place to sit down and prepare dinner.

Fu Yunong first took out the luncheon meat. Thinking she had finally found a place to stay, she unusually generously bought two boxes of [Fu Ji Fish-Flavored Shredded Pork Self-Heating Rice (270g)] and two bottles of water, spending 20 points. Actually, there were other flavors on the shelf, but they were more expensive, and she couldn't bring herself to buy them.

She originally had 2 points, and after collecting six level-one crystal cores along the way, she had a total of 62 points after exchanging them.

Shi Dong volunteered to take on the task of "cooking rice." She added some water from the fire hydrant to the bottom of the container and threw it into the heating pack; as for the water to be added to the rice, she naturally used the purified water she had just bought.

She had a sudden inspiration and found a small spoon in the tea room. She scooped a large piece of luncheon meat into each of the two meals and heated them together.

As the steam slowly rose, the aroma of shredded pork with garlic sauce wafted through the air, and both of their stomachs growled in unison, creating a rumbling sound as if they were in an empty city.

Shi Dong kept a straight face, his eyes glancing between the ceiling and the window.

Fu Yunong suppressed a laugh and pretended not to know.

A few minutes later, the two of them lifted the lid one after the other and mixed the food together.

It smells so good! It's making my mouth water!

Neither of them spoke, they just kept their heads down and ate. Fu Yunong felt that this was the first proper meal she had eaten in days, and every bite was delicious to the core.

During the meal, whenever someone noticed the water container was full, they would simply replace it with a new one, a tacit understanding between them. By the end of the meal, even the can of luncheon meat had been completely devoured.

"I'm so full!" Fu Yunong leaned back in her chair with satisfaction.

Shi Dong curled her lips into a smile and said that she was going to wash up later.

Fu Yunong was slightly taken aback. These past few days, she had been so preoccupied with figuring out how to eat that she had noticed the grime on Shi Dong's face and the odor on his body, but she had been powerless to do anything about it and had deliberately kept quiet. Now that Shi Dong had offered to wash up, she naturally agreed wholeheartedly.

"I'll help you carry the water in! Remember to hurry, don't catch a cold." Fu Yunong smiled and got up, immediately putting several containers full of water into her spatial storage.

After entering the bathroom, she wiped the bathtub with water, and then spent 4 points to buy a pack of [water purification tablets (3 tablets)] and placed it on the counter.

Shi Dong waited outside the door with a change of clothes in his arms, watching her busy herself, and unconsciously lowered his eyes.

"Go ahead, call me if you need anything." Fu Yunong handed over the flashlight and stepped outside.

The door closed gently. Shi Dong first poured half a tub of water into the bathtub, then took off her combat uniform and threw it in.

The water, which was originally quite clear, instantly turned mostly black.

She scooped up water from the bucket and poured it over herself from head to toe. The icy water made her shiver, but she suddenly chuckled softly.

Fu Yunong was sitting in a chair massaging her ankle when the bathroom door suddenly opened and a tall, thin figure walked out.

Half-dry black hair clung to her neck, and her face, cleansed of dirt, appeared pale and cold in the dim light, softening the serene look in her eyes.

Fu Yunong was stunned.