In the following days, Li Fan seemed to have truly returned to his original life path.
However, every time he went somewhere, the desolate scenes from that dream would occasionally pop into his mind.
Every place, every detail, was incredibly vivid.
As National Day approached, students were chatting in small groups about how to enjoy their holiday.
In the school cafeteria, Kou Peng was tackling the ribs on his plate while asking Li Fan, "Li Fan, what are your plans for National Day?"
Li Fan was seriously enjoying his meal. Perhaps due to the influence of that dream, the previously unpalatable school cafeteria food now gave him an inexplicable sense of happiness.
Hearing Kou Peng's question, he casually replied, "I'll just go with the flow."
"Aren't you planning to see Yuan Ruoxue?"
"No."
Kou Peng put down the ribs he had conquered and looked at Li Fan seriously, saying, "Have you been going through something lately? You seem different."
"Different? How?"
Li Fan was indifferent, not even bothering to look up, continuing to enjoy his meal.
"You've become a bit cold. You used to be very warm towards the people around you. Now, you give off a sense of distance. Sometimes your gaze is very cold."
Li Fan paused, knowing what Kou Peng was referring to.
Just the day before, the two of them went out shopping. On the way, a disabled child fell in front of Li Fan, and he merely glanced coldly before stepping over.
In the past, Li Fan would have immediately offered a helping hand, as kindness was ingrained in his bones.
Being an orphan himself, someone had sheltered him during his hardest times, so he always wanted to be someone who could provide shelter for others.
Thinking back, he realized he had indeed changed. That dream seemed like a nightmare, constantly affecting him, and he was just unaware of it.
Looking at the chubby guy across from him, his best friend during college, he decided to steer away from the topic.
Since he didn't know how to explain his current state, he smiled and asked, "I'm fine. By the way, what are your plans for National Day?"
As soon as National Day plans were mentioned, Kou Peng's attention was immediately diverted, and he enthusiastically said, "The day after tomorrow, accompany me to the Astronomy Club. I heard they've recently acquired a very special meteorite. I'm planning to ask the goddess out again to take a look. If I can get a date with her tomorrow, I plan to take it further and invite her for National Day."
Kou Peng was an astronomy enthusiast, a hardcore one. His dream was to become an astronaut and join the national space agency, so he was particularly interested in extraterrestrial objects.
However, Li Fan wasn't very interested and casually replied, "We'll see when the time comes."
After hastily finishing lunch, with no major classes in the afternoon, Li Fan prepared to visit his adoptive parents' graves on their third death anniversary, so he bid farewell to Kou Peng and left.
In the afternoon, at Tianfu Cemetery, Li Fan knelt before his adoptive parents' tombstone, lit incense, burned paper money, and cleaned the tombstone. After completing the ritual, he didn't leave but sat in front of the tombstone, lost in thought.
Something felt missing, but he couldn't remember what. It seemed like he had been here to pay respects before, but something was still lacking. Could it be the Mandela Effect?
Just then, Li Fan suddenly noticed a fiery red color before his eyes.
Looking around, everything was a dark red. It wasn't the fiery red of a sunset, but as if the sun had put on red-tinted glasses, casting a dark red hue over the world.
Li Fan stood up excitedly, his heart surging with emotion, "Yes, yes, yes. This is it. The sky full of red glow! It was in the dream too."
In that dream, Li Fan clearly remembered that on the afternoon of his adoptive parents' third death anniversary, the sunny sky suddenly changed color.
The entire Eurasian continent was bathed in red. Although it lasted less than half an hour, it covered the entire area illuminated by the sun.
Experts later explained it as an abnormal solar flare, refracted through the atmosphere, presenting a normal astronomical phenomenon, reassuring the public not to panic.
Li Fan stared blankly at the sun, which seemed to be in hibernation, not feeling any glare, his mind filled with countless thoughts.
It wasn't just a dream, definitely not. This scene was in the dream too.
Li Fan knew this wasn't the normal phenomenon experts claimed; it was the source of all disasters.
From today, the sun entered the "coal-adding phase."
This was a metaphor given by an astronomy professor later on.
This astronomical phenomenon was like a coal stove in the burning phase.
Then, a large amount of coal was added, entering a re-ignition phase.
However, how exactly it happened, even until Li Fan's death, no global research department had a definitive conclusion.
If Li Fan remembered correctly, in the next fifteen days, the temperature would drop to around seven degrees, and then after the sun reignited, it would rapidly heat up.
From 7°C, the temperature would rise by seven or eight degrees daily, reaching 60°C in less than ten days.
This sustained high temperature caused the polar ice caps to melt rapidly, releasing a virus that had been frozen on Earth for a hundred million years into the ocean.
When the sun's re-ignition phase ended, Earth would face a month-long period of rain and snow, with temperatures plummeting to minus 40°C.
These rain and snow not only brought cold but also the last straw that broke the camel's back of human civilization order, the Tairo Virus.
This virus was the true native of Earth, existing before the Ice Age.
And humanity was utterly helpless against this virus.
Infected individuals either became primal beasts, losing human consciousness and retaining only bloodthirsty and feeding instincts, named "zombies" by survivors.
Or they resisted the virus's erosion, barely surviving in the doomsday.
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Of course, there were a few lucky ones whose cells assimilated with the virus, unlocking the hidden genetic lock of humans.
These people were called superpowered individuals.
Li Fan's superpower wasn't self-awakened; it was the awakening potion given by Yuan Ruoxue after he went to the Yanjing refuge that awakened his rare space teleportation ability.
He didn't know how long he stood there, watching, until the red glow in the sky faded, and his turbulent thoughts slowly calmed down.
Turning around, looking at his adoptive parents' tombstone, his aura turned cold, and he said to the tombstone, "Mom, Dad, I'm back again. The 'do good deeds without asking for the future' philosophy you taught me, it's too stifling to live by, and too stifling to die by. Your son is unfilial. I'm ready to live a different life."
With that, he bowed three times to the tombstone, stood up, and left the cemetery with determined steps.
Since he knew the early course of the doomsday, he had many things to prepare for.
This time, he would put away his cheap saintly heart and no longer think about doing his part to end the doomsday.
Instead, he would live freely, living only for himself.
Living supplies, a residential fortress, and of course, self-defense weapons.
In the doomsday, the most terrifying things weren't just zombies and mutant beasts, but something even scarier—people.
Thinking back to his past life, adhering to his parents' teachings, he helped many people, only to receive plunder, slaughter, and betrayal in return.
If it weren't for his little cleverness and caution, he would have died countless times.
Returning to the city, he first went to the small supermarket his parents left him.
This was originally a small business his parents intended to leave him for retirement.
Located in a storefront facing the street in the community where Li Fan lived.
This community was developed and built by a friend of his father. So his adoptive father bought the best storefront at a family price.
Of course, Li Fan's current residence was also the best apartment in the community.
The supermarket covered 800 square meters, with a 200 square meter warehouse at the back.
Li Fan almost died from the heat during the scorching summer in this place.
The supermarket employed 19 people, divided into morning and evening shifts, with 8 people per shift, a team leader, a cleaner, 2 cashiers, one for weighing and labeling in the produce section, a patrol, a security guard, and a store manager.
The store manager was a divorced beautiful woman named Wang Xueli, who had been managing all the operations since the supermarket opened. She was very capable, handling things swiftly and decisively. Despite being a small supermarket, it made no less than 200,000 yuan in profit each month.
Arriving at Wang Xueli's office, he knocked on the door.
"Come in."
"Sister Xueli, are you busy?"
Hearing Li Fan's voice, Wang Xueli looked up from the pile of purchase orders on her desk.
Seeing Li Fan, she teasingly said with a smile, "The little boss is here to inspect the work. Why didn't you give a heads-up?"
Li Fan got straight to the point, saying, "Sister Xueli, I'm not here to inspect the work. I have something to discuss with you."
"What is it?"
Li Fan thought for a moment and said, "Sister Xueli, let's pause the orphanage sponsorship for now. I'm planning to give all employees a month of paid leave."
Wang Xueli was stunned, looking at Li Fan in disbelief, and asked, "Ah! Why? It's not a holiday, why give leave? What about the supermarket?"
Of course, Li Fan wouldn't tell her that doomsday was coming. If he told her the truth, she'd probably drag him to the hospital to check if his brain was broken.
"Isn't National Day coming up? Everyone's worked hard over the years; it's time to give them a long break to relax. As for the supermarket, let's close for reorganization."
Although Wang Xueli was surprised by this decision, she didn't oppose it. After all, who wouldn't want paid leave? She smiled and said, "Then I'll thank the little boss on behalf of everyone."
"You're welcome. Oh, and Sister Xueli, please arrange a meeting with all the suppliers. I want to gather with them."
Wang Xueli was puzzled. The little boss rarely managed the supermarket affairs. Although all suppliers knew about Li Fan, they seldom interacted. All the purchasing and sales were handled by her.
Was he dissatisfied with her work and planning to take over? She asked, "Little boss, what are you planning? Are you dissatisfied with my work?"
Li Fan quickly waved his hand, explaining, "Sister Xueli, you misunderstood. It's not about the supermarket. A classmate of mine is planning to start an online media company. They're doing online live-streaming sales, with a large volume of goods, and now they're looking for suppliers of daily necessities. Knowing I have a supermarket, they handed this task to me."
Wang Xueli was relieved after hearing this, patting her chest and smiling, "You scared me. Alright, I'll arrange it now. Tomorrow is inventory day, so let's meet tomorrow. Do you have classes?"
"In the morning. Once the inventory is done, we'll pause operations, and you all can take your leave."
"Alright, we'll follow your arrangements."
After discussing the supermarket matters, Li Fan left.
There were still fifteen days before the sun's re-ignition phase. Once the temperature reached 60°C, the world would enter a shutdown and school closure phase.
Before that, he needed to prepare a living fortress and supplies.
The living fortress was easy; Li Fan already had an idea. There was a plot of land not far from the community, covering 500 square meters, which was originally his adoptive parents' ancestral property.
They had planned to build a villa there, and the construction approval and planning were all arranged through connections. Unfortunately, they passed away in a car accident before construction began.
This plot of land was near the Liyuan Mountains to the south, with the community not far to the left.
In the early days of the scorching summer, electricity supply could barely be maintained. By the tenth day, electricity was rationed, supplied in time slots.
Air conditioners became useless. Once the scorching summer ended, it immediately transitioned into a blizzard phase, leaving no time for humans to react.
Therefore, the fortress he needed to build had to be a residence with strong thermal insulation. Based on his eight years of doomsday experience, building an underground fortress was the most suitable.
The most pressing issue now was money. His parents had left him 5 million yuan for retirement, which he had inherited but hadn't used a cent of.
However, that amount was still insufficient. So Li Fan planned to target someone, the construction waste boss Xie Debiao, who had taken over his house in his past life.
Xie Debiao was a resident of Building 1 in the community, a well-known figure in the area. He had gathered a group of underlings, running a series of shady businesses like construction waste, loan sharking, and illegal casinos, feared by everyone in North City.
He was known as the underground emperor of North City.
In his past life, Li Fan was nearly driven to his grave by this scumbag. It looked like in this lifetime, this piece of trash would be the first one on his chopping block.
Xie Debiao had always coveted Li Fan's supermarket storefront, wanting to buy it at a low price. He had harassed them many times when his adoptive parents were alive.
Li Fan returned home and found the property deeds for the storefront and his duplex apartment. He began calculating how to maximize the use of these two properties.