Apocalypse Star House Hoarding

Chapter 213

Outside the Star House, snowflakes drifted in through the open structure, falling thick and heavy. Just yesterday, the ground of the ruined building had been wet and desolate, but today, it was covered in a thick layer of snow.

From the way the snow danced in the air, it was clear that today’s wind was much calmer than yesterday’s. Yu Xi took out a temperature gauge—it displayed minus twenty-seven degrees Celsius, over ten degrees warmer than the previous day.

Without the shelter of the Star House, the wailing sounds from the stairwell became increasingly distinct. As expected, it was the sound of a girl crying, as if she had suffered some inexplicable grievance—something so unbearable that she had braved the harsh cold, climbing up the stairs from the survivor’s shelter below, just to find an empty floor where she could cry her heart out.

Another girl stayed by her side, murmuring soft words of comfort, filled with heartache, tenderness, and above all—no, ten thousand times—patience.

Indeed, Yu Xi thought, if she didn’t have that much patience, how else could she endure such sorrowful wailing and still continue to console the other girl?

Yu Xi walked across the snow-covered floor of the ruined building. Each time she stepped down, the thick layer of snow would instantly collapse, compacting into a solid layer of ice. She tread across the slick surface with ease, making her way through a collapsed doorway and reaching the stairwell on the twenty-fifth floor.

Here, the wind was weaker than outside. The voices of the two girls echoed from below. Yu Xi silently stepped onto the broken stairs, descending two floors, and finally saw them sitting between the twenty-second and twenty-third floors.

The crying girl was wrapped in a thick, long down coat, her entire face buried in the fur-lined hood. She leaned against the stairwell wall, sobbing and wailing, occasionally knocking the back of her head against the wall as if the grief was so overwhelming that she needed some physical release.

The other girl sat beside her. Seeing this, she hurriedly reached out to shield her friend.

The crying girl was clearly using all her strength to hit the wall. Her friend’s hand must have hurt from stopping her, but the girl in distress remained lost in her sorrow, completely oblivious. Despite the pain, the comforting girl said nothing—she simply moved her hand slightly and continued soothing her friend. One was drowning in misery; the other was full of tender patience.

Yu Xi speculated that this was yet another tragic tale of separation and death—an inevitable disaster that no human power could prevent.

In the ruthless apocalypse, rescue efforts couldn’t cover every corner. Many small cities had gradually turned to ruins, and survivors hid within broken buildings, struggling to endure. With snow falling so heavily, survival was even more difficult…

Her thoughts were interrupted when the wailing girl suddenly spoke.

“…Why? Tell me, why?! I just don’t understand why she always has to go after A’Ya! Doesn’t she have a boyfriend of her own? Sob sob sob… I didn’t even eat my fill—I skipped the leftover noodles just so A’Ya could have more… And then she waltzes in, clinging to my boyfriend and chatting away, only to eat the rest of the noodles herself… Sob sob sob…”

Yu Xi: …

Well. Sometimes, even she misjudged situations.

But judging from this scene, things here hadn’t reached complete desperation yet. The Star House would only stay in this building for a month. So far, she hadn’t had the time to explore the surroundings, nor did she know exactly where she was in China. She was entirely unfamiliar with the state of this city.

She could have just stayed in the Star House with her parents, not venturing anywhere. But with her fellow countrymen struggling for survival so close by, she couldn’t turn a blind eye.

Now that the Star House had an automatic farming zone, the issue of food, vegetables, and fruit had been resolved at the source. Her future supplies would be even more abundant.

She decided to first understand the situation here before determining how much help she could offer.

The other girl spoke again. “Alright, alright, I knew it—you’re just upset about the noodles. Stop crying. I still have some noodles. Let’s go back down, and I’ll cook them for you.”

“But that’s your lunch and dinner… You haven’t even eaten yet…”

“It’s okay, I don’t eat much. We can split it, alright?”

“Qiuqiu, you’re the best…” Mu Kelian’s sobs finally subsided. She grabbed her friend’s hands, which had turned red from the cold, and began to warm them. Then, noticing the thin wool coat her friend was wearing, she scolded, “Why didn’t you wear gloves? And why are you dressed so lightly?!”

“When I left, I was in such a hurry that I only grabbed your down jacket.”

“It’s all my fault. Let’s hurry back—you don’t want to get sick from the cold…”

The two girls helped each other up. Mu Kelian picked up an old, slightly worn pot that had been left beside her. Although she had stormed out in anger earlier, she had still found an excuse for herself to save face—saying she had come out to fetch snow for boiling water so that others wouldn’t know the real reason behind her outburst.

They discussed going to the rooftop to collect snow. Someone had previously gone up there and reported that the roof was gone, allowing a thick, clean layer of snow to accumulate—unlike the snow on the windowsills, which had already been dirtied by people.

“It’s too cold. You should go back and put on more clothes first. I’ll go get the snow by myself.”

“It’s fine, we’re already on the upper floors—just a bit more, and we’ll reach the top. Besides, moving around helps keep us warm. Come on, let’s get the snow and head back down to cook the noodles!” Shen Qiu patted her friend’s head and continued climbing the stairs with her.

For the survivors here, this snow and the extreme cold might be a disaster, but at the same time, it also provided them with a glimmer of hope.

At the very least, they no longer had to worry about mutated plant vines creeping in through the windows while they slept, nor did they have to constantly battle relentless swarms of insects.

And then there was water. The plants had destroyed the city’s water pipes, making clean water a scarce resource.

Despite the freezing temperatures, the snowfall was a blessing. Since the plants had previously purified the environment and the air, the snowmelt was now exceptionally clean. All they had to do was filter it and boil it, and it would be safe to drink.

As the two of them reached the twenty-third floor and were about to turn the corner to continue upwards, Shen Qiu suddenly heard a strange sound.

It was melodious and pleasant, yet it sent an eerie chill down her spine.

“Is that… music?” Mu Kelian’s eyes widened in astonishment. She was an impulsive girl who rarely overthought things. The moment she heard the music, she instinctively pushed open the stairwell door and dashed outside before Shen Qiu could stop her.

The twenty-third floor of the building had originally been an office space. In high-rise buildings like this, the higher the floor, the more expensive the rent, meaning the companies here had once been well-established. Not far from the stairwell was a spacious lobby.

The entire building had been without power or water for a long time. With the snowfall outside blocking sunlight, the interior should have been shrouded in darkness. Yet, there was light in the lobby.

“Kelian!” Shen Qiu ran after her, panting heavily, and finally managed to grab hold of her.

Before she could speak, Mu Kelian pointed ahead in shock. “What… what is that?”

It was a silver RV. The open side window was draped with several strings of colorful lights, twinkling softly in the dim space. The lights weren’t just decorative—they were flashing in sync with a familiar holiday tune, the very same music they had heard from outside the door.

Even someone as slow-witted as Mu Kelian immediately realized that something was off.

The apocalypse had been ongoing for a long time now, and the entire city was in ruins. How could there possibly be a brightly lit RV, adorned with festive lights, parked inside a building?

This was ridiculous!

Beyond ridiculous!

“Let’s go…” Shen Qiu tugged at her arm.

“I-I-I can’t move…” Mu Kelian stared unblinkingly at the RV, feeling as though something unnatural might float out of the open window at any moment.

“Qiuqiu… what do we do? I’m scared…”

Just then, the inside of the RV lit up. The door at the front of the vehicle creaked open, and a figure slowly stepped out, placing a piece of cardboard on the ledge beside the window.

Shen Qiu and Mu Kelian didn’t even glance at the writing on the cardboard. Both of them were fixated on the person stepping out of the vehicle.

The figure was draped in a black cloak—large, flowing, and hooded—concealing them entirely from head to toe.

The cloak was thin, with a front slit that revealed an even lighter outfit underneath: a short-sleeved T-shirt and equally thin long pants.

Even indoors, the temperature was still over minus twenty degrees Celsius. How was she not cold?

Shivering, the two girls cautiously looked at the face beneath the hood. They could only see the lower half—the upper half was hidden by a black lace mask.

The cloaked figure seemed to sense their gaze and turned to them with a gentle smile, just about to speak.

Before she could say anything, Mu Kelian suddenly found strength from somewhere, let out a shriek of “Ghost!”, and bolted out of the room.

Yu Xi: …

She glanced down at her own cloak. She had found it while looking for the colored string lights, though she had no idea from which world she had stocked it. There were even a few beautifully crafted masks inside.

Thinking that a combination of a cloak and a mask could serve as a decent disguise—almost as good as her [Disguise Lipstick]—she had simply put them on.

Now, she turned to the other girl, the one who hadn’t fled, and decided to bring out her trump card. Reaching inside the RV, she retrieved a steaming hot bowl of curried chicken rice, then extended it toward her.

“Today marks the first day of Limited-Time Star House opening in this building,” she announced. “Information can be exchanged for food. Interested in a trade?”

Shen Qiu: …

This was a third-tier small city located in the extreme north of China. It hadn’t been one of the first cities to suffer from the onslaught of mutated plants and animals.

While S City had been plunged into chaos early on, this city had initially remained a relatively safe refuge due to its distance from the major mutation zones. For a time, it even became a relocation destination for people fleeing from larger urban centers.

But the peace didn’t last long.

The mutations continued to spread from city to city, then across the entire planet—no place was spared, only delayed.

Like other cities, this place fell into deeper disorder with each passing day after the mutations took hold. Unlike S City, however, it lacked the manpower and resources to maintain any semblance of stability. Supplies from supermarkets dwindled rapidly, order collapsed, and many people began to flee.

In truth, few had a clear destination in mind. Most were simply following the crowd—watching as others packed their belongings, gathered their families, and left, they chose to do the same.

This particular group of survivors had all been university students from the same school, none of them locals. A professor had managed to make contact with someone and secured a sturdy bus for evacuation. However, the bus couldn’t enter the city, so they had arranged to meet at the outskirts. To escape, they had to make their way out of the urban area on foot.

Fortunately, this was a small city, and the walking distance wasn’t too far. Moving quickly and taking all necessary precautions, they set off on their journey. To pass through a hazardous toxic plant zone, they risked taking the underground tunnels.

But luck was not on their side.

The ground above them collapsed, trapping them underground for several days. By the time they finally found another way out, the world outside had completely changed.

What had once been a city overrun with monstrous plants and giant insects had transformed into a frozen wasteland.

They traveled onward, scavenging whatever supplies they could find. But the temperature was dropping too fast. They soon realized that if they kept going, none of them would make it out alive.

In the end, they took refuge in this building, choosing the fourteenth floor as their shelter. The floor had once been an economy hotel, with plenty of rooms and beds—offering at least some comfort.

Now, they had been trapped here for seven or eight days. Their food supply was dwindling fast, and they had no idea how much longer they could last.