"I've told you my name. For the rest of this conversation, I expect you to tell me everything, without holding anything back." Su Jin took a pen and notebook from his bag as he spoke, looking up at Fu Qingdai. "Your daily life, your family relationships, what the company told you, and why you're in a mental hospital."
Fu Qingdai rested her hands on her knees and said earnestly, "I'm not mentally ill. I was sent here by mistake. I'm a student at Longshan High School, and I live with just my parents..."
Su Jin listened intently, nodding continuously.
The fact that Fu Qingdai wasn't mentally ill was a bit of a surprise, but it was clearly good news.
From what he heard about her daily routine, the lifestyle here was extremely similar to Earth's, just much less developed.
He'd experienced this stage of development himself when he was a child... For now, adapting to this world didn't seem like a big problem. In fact, it seemed like it would be no trouble at all.
Fu Qingdai continued her story. When she mentioned the dream, Su Jin's pen suddenly froze. "You're saying there's something wrong with that rain? A storm that lasts for five days, people start going crazy, and then it's people eating people, and the world descends into chaos?"
"Yes..."
Su Jin's jaw tightened. It felt like someone had viciously squeezed his heart.
He had already gritted his teeth and accepted being transported to another world. He even had advance warning of the apocalypse. So a zombie crisis didn't seem too out of the ordinary.
But the method of infection was... rain?!
Water contamination that seeps in everywhere... Water is the most essential resource for survival. If the water is tainted, how can anyone live?!
"Cousin, are you okay?" Fu Qingdai asked in a low voice, seeing he was distracted.
Suppressing the tremor in his heart, Su Jin forced a smile. "I'm fine. Keep going. You mentioned the company in your dream. When did they contact you, and when did they tell you I would be coming?"
"I only found out about the company and that you were coming in the last few days."
"In the dream, a voice suddenly appeared, said it was some 'Heavenly Dao Company,' and asked if I was willing to live. I said yes, and then it said the contract was signed and that they would send someone to help me. After that, nothing... That's about it."
"That's right, that's how our company operates," Su Jin agreed verbally, but inwardly he was cursing up a storm.
*Fucking hell, isn't this just strong-arming people! Forcing a bull to drink when it's not thirsty! Who doesn't want to live? And you have to sign a contract just to stay alive?*
He'd clicked a mouse, and now he'd been shipped off to some godforsaken place on a labor contract.
Find the original at bit.ly/3iBfjkV.
But there were a lot of problems with Fu Qingdai's story. She knew he was coming a few days ago, but he had clearly only been recruited by the company a few hours ago.
Was this significant time difference due to the transmigration? Could the company predict the future, was this all premeditated, or was it something else...
The reasons behind it were too complex to figure out right now, and Fu Qingdai's knowledge of the company was close to zero.
But based on this situation alone, if he didn't complete this mission, he would have absolutely no way of contacting the company again!
In other words, he had no choice but to complete the mission!
Cursing inwardly again, Su Jin picked up his pen. "Let's continue. Wait until I'm done with my questions before you ask yours."
"Okay," Fu Qingdai replied meekly.
"How many days until that rain? Do you have a precise memory of it?"
"It's seven days from today. I remember that very clearly!"
"Seven days... Within these seven days, whether you have to play pitiful or put on an act, can you get back home?"
"I don't know. I've told them I want to go home, but my mom insists I stay here for treatment. But she's really worried about me here, she comes to see me every day."
"Alright, let's skip that question for now... Are there any apartments for rent near your home? The closer, the better."
Fu Qingdai's eyes gradually lit up. "Yes! There are several apartments for rent in my building. The phone numbers are posted on the windows."
"Mm... Continue telling me about your daily life, and your parents."
Ten minutes later, Su Jin stopped taking notes again.
He'd gathered some information about the apocalypse and had a better understanding of this world.
But with only seven days, he had to speed things up.
This girl, Fu Qingdai, seemed sharp, but she was severely lacking in real-world experience. Continuing to ask about her personal life might lead to misleading intelligence.
Twirling his pen a couple of times, Su Jin changed the subject. "How much are your family's monthly expenses? What are your parents' salaries?"
A question mark slowly appeared over Fu Qingdai's head. She hesitated before answering, "They both make over two thousand... I think our family spends around two thousand a month."
Su Jin continued, "Is this a society governed by the rule of law?"
"Huh? Of course it is. We have lots of laws."
"If something goes wrong at work or school, do you need to use connections, to find someone you know?"
"Of course you do. How else would you get things done?"
"Right, I get it."
He put down his pen and mused for a moment. "Do you think you're pretty?"
"Um... I'd say so, wouldn't you?"
"Do you think I'm handsome? What about my style of dress?"
"You're quite handsome... and your clothes look nice, but they seem really hot to wear."
"Are there any video stores, wet markets, or internet cafes nearby?"
"The first two, yes, but I don't know about internet cafes."
"What's the molecular formula for water?"
"H₂O."
"Mm... Do you menstruate? Do you use sanitary pads?"
"Ah?" Fu Qingdai's face gradually turned red.
"Answer me!"
"...Yes, I do..."
After asking a few more consecutive questions, Su Jin closed his notebook and fell into thought.
This society had a weak sense of law; personal connections were more important.
The apocalypse could be in seven days. A continuous five-day downpour, problems would begin to emerge, and suspected zombies would appear.
The scope of the rainfall was unknown. Law enforcement agencies in the affected areas would likely collapse quickly. The military power of this world probably couldn't be counted on in the short term.
On a molecular level, the water was no different from Earth's and should be safe to drink, but the water contamination basically cut off any chance of surviving in the wild. There wasn't much time or money to prepare a shelter, and he couldn't just forcibly kidnap Fu Qingdai.
But the seven thousand-plus yuan he had possessed strong purchasing power. It was barely enough to rent a place and stockpile supplies. Setting up near her home was the best option.
In terms of communication, general knowledge, culture, and personal image, there weren't major differences between Earth and this world. He could integrate quickly.
It was best to lie low for these seven days, not break any laws or regulations, and not provoke anyone.
As for the rest, he'd have to figure it out himself once he got out...
As he was thinking, Su Jin suddenly realized a problem.
He picked up his pen, wrote "H₂O" on the paper, and showed it to Fu Qingdai. "Do you recognize what I wrote?"
"No."
"Fuck!"
"Why did you curse at me?" Fu Qingdai's eyes went wide with confusion. "What is this? I really don't recognize it..."
Just as he thought.
Su Jin's brow furrowed deeply.
He could understand all the written and spoken language of this world, and others could understand him. It must be the effect of the company or that mask. But when he wrote something down on paper, the people of this world couldn't understand it at all.
Renting an apartment here would require a contract. If others couldn't read what he wrote, that was a huge problem.
Thinking of this, Su Jin tore off another sheet of paper and handed the pen to Fu Qingdai. "Write two characters for me. The 'Su' from 'revival' and the 'Jin' from 'ashes.' Write them heavily, stroke by stroke."
Fu Qingdai didn't understand why, but she did as she was told.
After she finished, Su Jin took the paper back and glanced at it. Seeing the two Chinese characters on it, he reached out and felt the back of the page. Feeling the indentations from the pen, he couldn't help but feel utterly helpless.
It should match his ID card, but what his eyes were seeing was completely different from the actual strokes!
The company's service had a bug. A forced translation... The mask wouldn't come off, and now he had to resort to feeling out the strokes just to learn how to write his own name.
Helplessly, he put away the paper with his name on it. "That's all my questions for now. You can say whatever you want to say."
Fu Qingdai gave a nervous nod, then mustered her courage to ask the question that was on her mind. "Cousin... you're an alien, aren't you?"
Proofreader: Peter Pan