Apocalypse Star House Hoarding

Chapter 322

The first floor of the lodge was mostly occupied by the lobby, kitchen, dining room, and laundry room, leaving only a few available guest rooms. These rooms had floor-to-ceiling glass windows and sliding glass doors, making them feel insecure for sleeping.

To compensate, the highland survivors had nailed wooden panels or bed boards over the large glass surfaces, leaving only narrow gaps to observe the outside.

As a result, whether it was day or night, the rooms remained dark. With enough rooms available upstairs, the entire first floor had been left vacant.

To conserve power, only a single dim light was on in the second-floor hallway. The rooms had slightly better lighting, and at the entrance, a small group had gathered.

They were the same people who had been downstairs earlier. Now that the fight was over and injuries had been tended to, they had come to check on Min Cheng, who was the most severely wounded.

Min Cheng lay pale on the living room sofa.

The air in the room was stifling—most likely, they had chosen not to turn on the air conditioning to save electricity. A fan whirred loudly, dispersing some of the heavy scent of blood.

Beside the sofa, a woman in her late thirties or early forties sat on a chair, tending to the wound on Min Cheng’s leg.

Standing next to her was a young man in his twenties, holding up a light so she could see more clearly.

According to Da Feng, the woman had been Min Cheng’s manager before the apocalypse. She had originally joined this trip by chance and ended up stranded on the highland along with the crew. For long-term variety show shoots like this, managers didn’t usually stay for the entire duration. At first, she had thought it was terrible luck to be trapped here, but now, in hindsight, she was relieved that they had been in the mountains rather than in the city when everything fell apart.

As Da Feng explained this, Yu Xi raised an eyebrow. “His manager?”

Seeing her expression, Da Feng suddenly realized—she hadn’t even recognized Min Cheng.

The woman’s name was Wang Yu, a well-known figure in the entertainment industry. She was calm, cautious, and had a background in nursing, having worked as a nurse for a couple of years before switching careers.

Ever since the disaster began, she had been the one tending to everyone’s injuries.

Although she had stayed upstairs, she had already heard about what had happened. Seeing Yu Xi now, she was just as curious as the others about how she had arrived on the highland, but she still nodded in gratitude.

Min Cheng, however, had been watching Yu Xi from the moment she entered.

“Sorry… this was an internal issue. I didn’t expect Da Feng to contact you and make you come all the way here in the middle of the night…”

To be honest, he hadn’t thought she would actually come.

After all, it was the middle of the night.

But she had come—and not only that, she had single-handedly ended the fight for them.

She was strong.

By now, Min Cheng no longer cared about the idea of men relying on women. It was the apocalypse—strength was all that mattered, regardless of gender.

Besides, he knew that when Da Feng had reached out, he had been the one mentioned.

That meant that a big part of the reason she had come… was him.

Looking at Yu Xi, a smile unconsciously formed on his lips.

His expression was far too obvious.

Not only did Da Feng and Wang Yu immediately notice, but even Yu Xi couldn’t ignore it.

Min Cheng’s injury was on his thigh.

After cutting open his pant leg, they saw that the wound was deep—but fortunately, it hadn’t severed any arteries. However, it was clear that it would need stitches.

Wang Yu had no choice but to take care of it. She had treated all kinds of injuries by now, and suturing was second nature to her.

But the real problem was that, after months of survival, their supply of medical resources was running dangerously low. The local medical station had been thoroughly scavenged, and anesthetics had long since run out. Even basic antibiotics like cephalosporins and penicillin were nearly depleted.

As she finished cleaning the wound, Wang Yu hesitated.

Min Cheng, knowing what she was thinking, told her to go ahead. He said he could endure it.

“You’ll need at least ten stitches, probably more since the wound is deep,” Wang Yu warned.

“It’s fine. Just do it,” Min Cheng said, his brows furrowing in preparation.

Wang Yu knew there was no point in delaying. The wound had to be stitched—there was no other choice. The longer she hesitated, the worse it would be.

So, with steady hands, she picked up the sterilized needle and thread and began suturing.

One stitch.

Two stitches.

By the fourth, Min Cheng’s knuckles had turned white from gripping the sofa. The pain of having a needle pierce through his torn flesh was far worse than when he had been cut.

If he weren’t determined to maintain his composure in front of Yu Xi, he would have already cried out.

Then, at that exact moment, Yu Xi suddenly said, “Oh.”

She slung her backpack off her shoulder and pulled out a small metal case.

“I just remembered—I have anesthetics.”

Wang Yu: …?

Da Feng: ??

Min Cheng: ………

Was this really not intentional?

**

Yu Xi was given a suite on the sixth floor. No one else was staying on this floor for now, but the bedding and pillows were intact. Before leaving, Da Feng thoughtfully turned on the air conditioning in the bedroom for her.

The generator required fuel to operate, and after months of use, their fuel reserves had long been depleted.

Currently, their electricity came mainly from the solar panels installed on the roofs of the lodges and the wind turbines in the nearby grasslands. However, the past few days had been rainy, so solar power couldn’t keep up. To conserve energy, everyone in the group had been cramming into as few rooms as possible—men and women separately—so that they only needed to run a few air conditioning units.

But this was purely for their own benefit. Since each building had its own separate solar panel and battery system, saving electricity only helped their own lodge.

However, Yu Xi was different.

To those who had been outside today, she was their lifesaver. To the others, she was the one who had driven away Zhong Lin’s group.

If the boss was willing to stay, no one would dare suggest turning off her air conditioning just to save power.

After Da Feng left, Yu Xi locked the door and entered the bedroom.

The windows had been reinforced with wooden planks from the inside, leaving only narrow gaps.

Her room faced south, giving her a clear view of the cliffs beyond the southern edge of the highland. Unlike the isolated peaks and vast bamboo sea to the north, this area had rolling hills covered with forests and scattered groves of bamboo.

There was a sofa in the room.

She never liked sleeping in unfamiliar beds, so after setting down her backpack, she retrieved a thin blanket from Star House storage, spread it over the sofa, kicked off her shoes, and lay down.

Just as she closed her eyes to rest, Xing Min’s voice sounded in her mind.

【You’re really not going back? It’s just a second—you can return here in the morning.】

Yu Xi: Forget it. It’s already 2:30 AM. Sure, teleporting back is fast, but I’d still have to walk when I return in the morning. Too much trouble.

【…According to network data, that man seems to have been a very famous entertainment figure on your planet. He had a lot of admirers.】

Yu Xi’s lips curved slightly. Really? Maybe. I don’t follow celebrities, so I wouldn’t know. Goodnight, Xing Min.

【…Goodnight.】

**

In a distant void, inside the massive spaceship’s central control room, countless digital codes flickered across the liquid display walls.

The ship’s system was still undergoing its long upgrade.

In the vast, silent space, a soft sigh echoed.

A fragment of consciousness gathered within the ship’s framework and flowed into the core processor.

The streams of data momentarily froze—then resumed at an even faster pace.

**

The next day, the rain had stopped, but thick clouds still blanketed the sky.

The air pressure was low, and the humidity remained high.

The air conditioning had been set to turn off automatically at 6 AM. By around 7 AM, the coolness inside the rooms gradually faded, and many people woke up from the heat, unable to sleep any longer.

Some went back to their rooms to wash up, while others stood by the windows, hoping the sun would break through the clouds. Even if it made the heat worse, at least the solar panels could fully recharge their batteries.

However, as a few people gazed down into the courtyard, their attention shifted.

Between the three main lodges—Buildings 1, 2, and 3—where the courtyard and pavilion stood, a vehicle had appeared overnight.

A camper van?

There were vehicles on the highland, of course—go-karts, three-wheeled delivery carts, garbage collection trucks… there was even a pickup truck.

According to the park staff, the pickup truck had been there since the park first opened. No one knew exactly how it had been transported up to the highland.

But aside from that, they hadn’t seen any other vehicles in the past few months.

Yet now, parked right in the middle of their courtyard, was a silver Class C camper van.

Had they overlooked an area during their earlier searches?

But on the highland, fuel was far more valuable than vehicles. Whether it was a pickup or an RV, neither was practical for them.

The real question was—how did this camper get here?

Who drove it?

Where did the fuel come from?

And most importantly—why did the two people getting out of the camper look so familiar?

Wasn’t that Da Feng and Wang Yu?

**

About half an hour earlier, Da Feng had shut the makeshift gate to the courtyard. He was grateful that they had widened the entrance to fit the three-wheeled delivery cart; otherwise, getting the camper van inside would have been a real headache. But at the same time, his eyes were glued to the silver vehicle ahead of him.

Earlier that morning, he had knocked on Yu Xi’s door to ask what she wanted for breakfast, planning to cook something according to her preferences.

But then—

“It’s too hot. Let’s just have some cold noodles.”

“Uh? But we’re out of regular noodles. Will instant noodles work?”

“A sandwich would be fine too.”

“…We have eggs and lettuce, but no bread.”

“I’m not that hungry anyway. A cup of coffee will do.”

Da Feng nearly cried. “We finished the last packet of instant coffee four months ago…”

Yu Xi had originally wanted to comfort him, to say she didn’t drink instant coffee either. But seeing how utterly defeated he looked, she decided to hold back.

It turned out that even after getting used to a life where food and drink were never a concern, only carrying a single backpack really was inconvenient.

In the end, Yu Xi decided it was time for Star House to make an appearance—except, for now, it was just a camper van.

A fully equipped camper van with a fridge, coffee machine, oven, microwave, and air conditioning.

She had left the lodge alone and retrieved the camper from Star House storage in a nearby wooded area before driving it into the courtyard between the buildings.

She had already learned from Da Feng that the five lodges were arranged in two groups: three buildings close together, forming a circular courtyard, while the other two were slightly further away. A lodge in the middle partially blocked the view, making it impossible to see the courtyard completely from the other two buildings.

That was why the production crew had taken the three lodges, while the county survivors occupied the other two—so they could maintain some level of separation.

A few moments later, the cool, air-conditioned air inside the camper was filled with the rich aroma of freshly brewed coffee.

Wang Yu had been going over a list Yu Xi had asked her to organize while talking with Da Feng. The heat had drained her appetite, so she had only eaten two biscuits and taken a few sips of water for breakfast.

But now, her mind was completely derailed.

She couldn’t help but glance over.

Yu Xi had just taken a cup of coffee from the machine, then opened the fridge to grab an ice tray, milk, and a canister of whipped cream. After that, she reached into the overhead cabinet for the sugar and cocoa powder containers.

Turning to Da Feng and Wang Yu, Yu Xi asked casually, “Americano or latte? Sugar or no sugar? Hot or iced? I don’t have whipped cream, so I’ll use spray cream instead.”

For a brief moment, Wang Yu felt as if she had fallen into a dream of her past life.

A life where she had been constantly busy, waking up early, leaving her apartment, and stopping by a corner café for her usual coffee and sandwich.

A rich, fragrant cup of coffee had always been the start of her day.

As a self-proclaimed coffee addict, drinking three or four cups a day had been her normal routine. She never touched instant coffee and even found drip bags unsatisfactory. Only freshly ground beans would do, and she had even stored her own selection at the café, ensuring that every cup she drank was brewed from her personal stash.

But after they had finished the last packet of coffee on the highland four months ago, even instant coffee had become a luxury she couldn’t get her hands on.

She never thought she would hear someone ask her these questions again in her lifetime.

“Americano, iced, no sugar.” Wang Yu kept her expression as composed as possible. “Thank you.”

Da Feng had no specific requests. As long as it was cold, he was fine with whatever Yu Xi made.

In the end, Yu Xi handed him a snow-capped iced latte, with milk, sugar, a swirl of whipped cream, and a dusting of cocoa powder.

Wang Yu took just two sips before her expression showed surprise. The taste of this coffee bean was even better than the ones she had stored at her usual café before the apocalypse. She looked up at Yu Xi. “Red Label Gesha?”

“Yeah.” Yu Xi was a bit surprised that she could recognize it. She enjoyed coffee and could tell which beans had a better flavor, but she wasn’t skilled enough to identify specific origins or bean types.

As the two drank their coffee, Yu Xi opened the fridge again and took out a slice of marble cheesecake, a matcha mousse, and a coconut milk pudding, placing them on the table for them to eat as they pleased.

She had no intention of hiding her unusual abilities. As long as she wasn’t conjuring things out of thin air or using ice or plant-based abilities in front of outsiders, there was no reason to keep everything secret.

Since she had already declared in the middle of the night that she was taking over the highland as their leader, then her special abilities were simply part of demonstrating her strength.

As for explanations—she wouldn’t offer them, and if asked, she wouldn’t answer.

But both Da Feng and Wang Yu were smart enough not to ask unnecessary questions—especially Da Feng.

While others were preoccupied with the fear of mutated mosquito swarms, mourning the dead, or wondering about Yu Xi’s sudden arrival, Da Feng had noticed something else.

The weapon Yu Xi used to incinerate the mosquitoes had been small, pink, and nothing like a proper flamethrower.

Yet, he had never asked a single question about it.

Instead, when chaos broke out last night, he instinctively turned to her for help.

Later that night, before going to bed, Yu Xi had privately met with Da Feng and Wang Yu to assign them a special task—compiling a list for her.

This list wasn’t just a record of the highland survivors’ names, ages, and skills. Most importantly, it was meant to identify those among them who had undergone physical evolution.

When she mentioned the word evolution, neither Da Feng nor Wang Yu showed much reaction. That meant they were already aware of something—or had personal experience with it.

Yu Xi had noticed it herself the day before.

When five people inside the farm storage shed had struggled to push the door shut, Da Feng had held it open by himself.

Under normal circumstances, no matter how strong he was, holding back two people might be possible. But against five fully grown adults? He had done it with ease.

It was obvious—Da Feng’s body had undergone some level of evolution.

This wasn’t the first time Yu Xi had heard about human evolution, but it was the first time she had witnessed it firsthand.

In her view, it was inevitable that humans would evolve. What interested her more was the direction and extent of these changes.

The planet’s ecosystem had undergone a massive transformation. Months ago, plants and animals—everything except humans—had shown clear and dramatic evolution. Compared to them, humans seemed fragile and powerless.

But from a certain perspective, nature’s evolution was supposed to be balanced, fair, and impartial.

From the earliest plant mutations to the changes in insects and cold-blooded animals, followed by the evolution of mammals and larger creatures, it had always been just a matter of time.

Humans weren’t immune to evolution—they were just the last to undergo it, and their process was longer and more difficult.

Nature had eliminated a portion of humanity, but it would not wipe them out completely.

Right now, humans were at the starting point of change. Perhaps decades or centuries from now, when future generations looked back, they would see these hardships as an inevitable part of history.

**

In front of the exceptionally capable and mysterious “Ya Tong,” Da Feng didn’t hide anything. He readily admitted that his body had changed.

Around a month ago, he had noticed a significant increase in his strength. His endurance while running and exercising had improved dramatically, and unlike most people, he didn’t feel overwhelmed by the oppressive heat of the past few days.

He had been both excited and worried about his changes, so he hadn’t told anyone and had carefully avoided revealing any signs of them.

He feared being treated as an outcast. At the same time, he had been quietly observing the other survivors on the highland, and he had started to notice similar anomalies.

It wasn’t just him—Zhong Lin from the county group was also behaving strangely.

Zhong Lin rarely wore protective gear when going outside. There were times when he had captured mutated poultry, and while others had been injured, he should have been pecked as well—his clothes had been torn, yet his exposed skin underneath was unscathed.

Then there was the case of the survivors who had encountered the luminescent butterfly scales.

One of them had discovered a plant with insect-repelling properties. They had later transplanted this plant around the lodge walls to keep pests away.

However, the plant had a downside—it caused itching and redness when touched directly.

But Da Feng remembered that when the person had first brought the plant back, they hadn’t shown any allergic reactions at all. Everyone assumed they had been careful and hadn’t come into direct contact with it, but Da Feng wasn’t convinced…

And then there was Wang Yu.

She had also noticed something different about herself—her sense of smell and taste had become significantly more sensitive. There were even times when she could detect scents carried by the wind, distinguishing whether they were harmless or carried traces of danger.

Because her changes were subtle and not immediately apparent, she hadn’t thought of them as evolution.

But now, after putting everything together, it was clear—this wasn’t just happening to one or two people.

Perhaps even more survivors from both groups had evolved, but some were naturally reserved or hadn’t encountered situations where their changes became obvious.

After all, most people, when realizing their bodies were changing, wouldn’t immediately think about conquering the world. Their first instinct would be to hide it, fearing they’d be labeled as freaks and eliminated.

Yu Xi didn’t intend to expose or announce these findings right away. She simply wanted to have a clear understanding of the situation.

If, in a group of fewer than a hundred people, multiple individuals had shown signs of evolution, was this a natural stage of change, or was it something about the highland environment?

The answer would become clearer after she reset Star House to different locations and met more survivors.

**

Yu Xi left the evolution records behind, instructing Da Feng and Wang Yu to keep the matter confidential for now.

Not long after they stepped out of the camper van, early risers from the three lodges started emerging, gathering curiously around the vehicle.

Yu Xi opened the window by the seating area, set up a long narrow table outside, and placed a chalkboard with the words Star House written on it—along with new business rules.

Since the trading system needed to be adjusted for different circumstances, she had replaced the paper sign with a blackboard, making it easier to erase and rewrite.

New Rules for Star House Trading

① Barter system—trade something you don’t need for something you do. Exchange value is determined by the shop owner.

② Civilized trading is encouraged—stealing from customers after their trade is completed will result in permanent blacklisting from this shop.

③ Highland Unification Celebration! Congratulations! The owner of Star House is now your big boss! For the next two hours, submit a letter of at least 500 words praising “Ya Tong Jie,” and you will receive a surprise gift! PS: One per person.

The crowd was stunned.

What… what the hell was this?