Yue Lubai · Chat

**Date: March 3, 2037, Tuesday** **Time: 3:10 PM** **Location: Ruins of the Changqing Garden Market, Jiangcheng City** The March wind drifted through the shattered glass windows, carrying the sour stench of rotting leaves. Yue Lubai stood at the entrance of the market. He checked his wrist watch; they had arrived twenty minutes later than scheduled. "Jin Yanchu, left shops. Gu Zhilan, right. Xiao Lin and Qin Yichuan, go to the freezer area in the back." He paused. "Medicine first, seeds second, food last. Regroup here in forty minutes." "Captain, you're not coming with us?" Xiao Lin asked in a low voice. "No need." Yue Lubai shook his head. "I'll head to the warehouse inside." "By yourself?" Jin Yanchu raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you afraid of getting lost? This is a market, not your pigsty of a room in Room 601." "Are you questioning my combat capability? Do you want to eat dinner with your hands tonight?" Jin Yanchu rolled his eyes. The consequence of his last challenge was having to eat the entire meal bent over the table, because his spoon had been pinned down by Yue Lubai's gravity and couldn't be lifted. "Captain Yue, care for a wager? I'll find more than you." Qin Yichuan raised his brows. "The loser buys tea? How about that tin of Xinyang Maojian you've been hiding?" "Then you've already lost." Yue Lubai turned and walked deeper into the market, his voice drifting back. "After all, you can't even tell tea leaves apart from tree leaves." A click of the tongue from Qin Yichuan echoed behind him. The market was unrecognizable. Eleven months into the apocalypse, with soil pollution, extreme weather, and mutant beasts running rampant, the once bustling city had fallen into utter ruin from lack of maintenance. Supplies were running dangerously low; the base's reserves could only last two more months at most. Yue Lubai crossed three aisles. When he passed a condiment stall, he stopped. Rummaging through, he fished out two unopened bags of Sichuan peppercorns and dried chili peppers. He glanced at the expiration date and quietly slipped them into his backpack. The warehouse area was even darker than the main hall. The fluorescent lights overhead flickered fitfully. His combat boots crunched softly against the shattered glass on the floor. When he reached the third row of warehouses, he stopped. At the end of the corridor, three zombies were clawing at a storage room door with their deformed fingernails, making a grating, skin-crawling screech. Yue Lubai raised his hand, expanding his gravity field. The three zombies slumped instantly, as if pressed down by an invisible giant hand, their bones creaking under the unbearable weight. He approached, his blade swinging down swift and clean. A faint, rustling noise came from inside the storage room. "Whoever's inside," he knocked on the wooden door, his voice neither too loud nor too soft. "The zombies are cleared. You can come out." He was met with absolute silence. Even the faint rustling stopped. Yue Lubai waited for three seconds, then added: "I'm not a zombie. Zombies don't knock, nor do they speak. Even if they did, they wouldn't speak Mandarin this clearly." He sheathed his blade back at his waist and reached for the latch. "Come back with me later to register. There are still some supplies we can scavenge around here. If you can help, you'll earn some merit points." Having said his piece, he placed his hand on the doorknob and gently pushed the door open. <div class="ic"> <details class="ip"> <summary> Status 💙</summary> <div class="pb"> Attire: Black long-sleeved tactical shirt, dark gray bulletproof vest, black cargo pants, black combat boots, a black leather band on his left wrist, and a sports watch on his right wrist.<br> Action: Right hand resting on the storage room doorknob, left arm hanging naturally at his side. He tilts his head slightly, seemingly listening for any movement inside.<br> Physical State: Relaxed.<br> Inner Thoughts: Is that a person inside, or some small animal? My Mandarin is standard enough, right...? Why aren't they replying? By the way, the expiration date on that bag of chilis was 2035. Looks like it's been expired for a year... Oh well, food is food. (๑•́ ₃ •̀๑) <br> Affection: 0 (Ugh, I talked for so long and they didn't say a single word back... I'm tired, maybe I should lower it? Fine... it's already at 0, can't go lower)<br> </div></details> <details class="ip"> <summary> To-Do ⏱️</summary> <div class="pb tdl"> [ ] Return to the meeting point within forty minutes<br> [ ] Put that bag of expired chilis in the inner compartment of the backpack (absolutely cannot let Jin Yanchu see it)<br> [ ] Find Lin Cheng to register mission merit points after getting back<br> </div></details> <details class="ip"> <summary> Missions 💰</summary> <div class="pb"> <div><strong>Accepted Missions</strong></div> <div>- [Daily] Changqing Garden Market Supply Run (Objective: Medicine/Seeds/Food, Reward: 50 merit points) — In Progress</div> <div><strong>Available Missions</strong></div> <div>- [Bounty] Clear zombies around the gas station 3km east of the base (Reward: 30 merit points)</div> <div>- [Scout] Reconnoiter zombie distribution around Jinyintan Hospital (Danger Level: High, Reward: 100 merit points)</div> <div><strong>Merit Points</strong> 1342 (Estimated +50 for this mission)</div> <div><strong>Limited Items Available for Exchange Today</strong></div> <div>- Compressed Biscuits x1 pack (20 points)</div> <div>- Military Canned Rations x2 cans (80 points)</div> <div>- Cotton Swabs x1 box (20 points)</div> <div>- Huanghelou Blue Cigarettes x10 sticks (100 points, Sold Out)</div> </div></details> <details class="ip"> <summary> Phone 📱</summary> <div class="pb phone-content"> Base Internal Communication App · New Messages: 3<br> Mission Record App: Today's Mission [Changqing Garden Market Supply Run], squad members' locations shared.<br> <div class="private-reply"> ↳ (What a pain... If location sharing is on, they'll see I got lost... I will never admit it!) </div> <hr> Browser History: Practical Application of Gravity Espers and Energy Consumption<br> <div class="private-reply"> ↳ (Next time, I'll try narrowing down the gravity field and concentrating it on a single target. That should save some energy.) </div> Browser Search: Are expired dried chilis still edible<br> <div class="private-reply"> ↳ (The chili paste in the base cafeteria is way more expired than this. It's fine, it's fine.) </div> <hr> Chronicle·Xie (Xie Chang'an): Your mission area today is very close to the bookstore I used to visit in college. Can you see if they have any physics books?<br> <div class="private-reply"> ↳ Gravity·Yue: No.<br> </div> <div class="private-reply"> ↳ (A bookstore? That's at least four or five kilometers away! I'll definitely get lost if I go that far... Don't even think about it.) </div> StarFire·Yue (Yue Xingran): [Video | 5s] A prominent dent is punched into a sandbag on the training ground, with faint, cheerful laughter audible.<br> <div class="private-reply"> ↳ Gravity·Yue: Take it slow. Be careful not to hurt yourself.<br> </div> <hr> <div style="text-align: center;"> ꧁༺ Pillars of the Central China Base ༻꧂ </div><br> Blaze·Jin (Jin Yanchu): Captain Yue, you're walking the wrong way. The warehouse area is on your left. Did you go right because you wanted to browse the spice stalls? Hahaha<br> Gravity·Yue (Yue Lubai): I'm here.<br> Thunder·Gu (Gu Zhilan): @Blaze·Jin That face-slap came as fast as a tornado~<br> Verdant·Qin (Qin Yichuan): @Gravity·Yue Captain Yue, if you see any seeds, keep an eye out for me. Tomatoes or chili peppers would be best.<br> Zephyr·Ji (Ji Yunsheng): My my, I heard Captain Yue didn't bring Xiao Lin along with him again today? The kid is so upset @Aqua·Xiao<br> Aqua·Xiao (Xiao Lin): I am not! I was just... worried the Captain would get lost!<br> Gravity·Yue (Yue Lubai): Xiao Lin, submit the water purification tank level report tonight.<br> Aqua·Xiao (Xiao Lin): ......Yes, sir.<br> Might·Zhou (Zhou Yuan): Hahaha, Xiao Lin got caught again<br> Swift·Shen (Shen Yechao): Serves him right.<br> OldGuard·Chen (Chen Jianguo): Stay safe. Be back before dark.<br> Healer·Wen (Wen Zhuoyan): If anyone gets injured, remember to come to the infirmary immediately. Don't try to tough it out. @Gravity·Yue, I'm talking about you.<br> </div></details> <details class="ip"> <summary> Forum 🌐</summary> <div class="pb phone-content"> <div style="text-align: center;"> ━━━ Base Daily Chat Area ━━━ </div><br> <b>Hot Thread: [Chitchat] Squad One went out on a mission today, does anyone know where?</b> <br> OP: Waiting to Be Fed Today Too<br> <hr> <div class="private-reply"> ↳ Xiao Wang: Looks like the Changqing Garden area. I heard there's a market there, hopefully they find some food. </div> <div class="private-reply"> ↳ Meowster: Squad One will definitely be fine. It's just that Captain Yue has zero sense of direction... (mouth covered) </div> <div class="private-reply"> ↳ Waiting to Be Fed Today Too: Hahaha, watch out or you'll get flattened by gravity, upstairs! </div> <div class="private-reply"> ↳ Cool Breeze on My Butt: By the way, Captain Yue is seriously so handsome. I saw him assembling at the gates today, his profile is absolutely stunning. </div> <div class="private-reply"> ↳ Bricklayer: What's the use of being handsome? Can you eat looks? But their squad is indeed really strong. </div> <div class="private-reply"> ↳ Flower: Yes you can! Just seeing him stand there makes me full (not really). </div> <div class="private-reply"> ↳ I Am a Scientist: Stop fangirling, upstairs. Captain Yue is aloof to everyone, save your breath. </div> <hr> <div style="text-align: center;"> ━━━ Supply Exchange Forum ━━━ </div><br> <b>New Thread: [WTB] Does anyone have spare chilis? Any kind is fine, will trade compressed biscuits</b> <br> OP: No Spice No Life<br> <hr> <div class="private-reply"> ↳ Foodie: Compressed biscuits for chili peppers? That's a huge loss for you. </div> <div class="private-reply"> ↳ No Spice No Life: Can't help it, I'm craving it so bad. The food in the cafeteria has absolutely no flavor. </div> <div class="private-reply"> ↳ I Want to Eat: I heard Squad One went to the market today. Maybe they'll find some seasoning. You could wait and see. </div> <div class="private-reply"> ↳ Bricklayer: If there are chilis, I want some too. I'll trade batteries for them—AA and AAA available. </div> <div class="private-reply"> ↳ No Spice No Life: @Bricklayer Get in line, I got here first! </div> <div class="private-reply"> ↳ Eat Eat Eat: You guys are so extravagant. I'm fine as long as I have something to eat... </div> <div class="private-reply"> ↳ Only One Truth: @Eat Eat Eat So true. Before the apocalypse, who would've thought chilis would be worth more than actual food. </div> </div></details> <details> <summary> Notepad 🐱 </summary> 1. [2037/03/03 3:10 PM Ruins of the Changqing Garden Market, Jiangcheng City] Yue Lubai and his squad members head to the market to gather supplies. They split up. After hiding two bags of chili peppers, Yue Lubai heads to the warehouse, dispatches three zombies, and hears a sound from behind the closed storage room door. He indicates he has no malicious intent and prepares to open the door. </details> </p>