Li Fan had just returned home when his phone rang. He saw it was Kou Peng calling, and as soon as he answered, Kou Peng's howling voice came through the line.
"Li Fan, are you crazy? You're skipping classes now. The counselor tried calling you today, and you didn't pick up. They asked me several times. I almost thought something happened to you and was about to call the police."
Listening to Fatty Kou's roar, Li Fan felt quite touched and replied with a smile:
"I got caught up with something today. Can you help me take a few days off? Just say I'm not feeling well."
"What? You want to take more days off? You promised to accompany me to the Astronomy Club the day after tomorrow. Don't tell me you're going to bail on me!"
Li Fan thought about it. He didn't really want to go, but considering that this chubby guy was one of his few friends, he decided it might be a good opportunity to remind him about certain things, fulfilling his duty as a friend.
Because Li Fan knew that this guy would turn into a zombie by the third phase, though he wasn't sure if it was due to the original infection or a secondary one.
"Alright, let's touch base the day after tomorrow!"
"That's more like it. You have to be my wingman then. I've finally managed to get Liu Ruyan to agree."
"Liu Ruyan?!"
The name sounded familiar, but Li Fan couldn't recall who she was.
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"She's the beauty from the Art Department, my goddess. She agreed to go to the Astronomy Club with me. But she's bringing her roommate, who's also a great beauty, the campus forum's goddess, Wu Shanshan."
"You simp!"
"You don't get it. This is pure love!"
"Alright, enough of this. We'll talk when we meet the day after tomorrow."
After hanging up, Li Fan calculated his funds. He had already paid a deposit of sixty million today, leaving him with twenty-five million.
He still needed gasoline and diesel, a generator, coal for the fireplace, warm clothing, and essential medicines.
He also needed a modified large truck to transport supplies when the third phase of the zombie outbreak hit and the city fell. The most challenging part was acquiring weapons for self-defense.
Guns would be ideal, but without connections, he'd have to settle for trying to get a crossbow.
Li Fan took out his list and reviewed it once more, planning to secure clothing and medicines the next day. As for weapons and gasoline, he'd figure something out later.
The next morning, Li Fan went to the largest shopping mall in Chang'an Prefecture.
Like a swarm of locusts stripping a village bare, he cleared out every single piece of clothing in sight—for all four seasons, from undergarments to outerwear. Down jackets for the freezing cold and sturdy sneakers were his absolute priority. He scheduled a slot for that afternoon, and the mall promised to deliver everything straight to his doorstep.
Next, Li Fan visited various pharmacies, buying up all the essential medicines, also arranging for them to be delivered at the same time.
By the end of the day, he had spent seven to eight million. Clothes, bedding, and shoes cost three million, while medicines and medical equipment cost five million.
Next, Li Fan planned to try his luck at the sports equipment market to see if he could get a crossbow, but he couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching him.
He became alert, wondering if his recent activities had attracted someone's attention.
It couldn't be the authorities, right? It didn't make sense. Who could be following him?
He discreetly changed his route and returned to his apartment complex, but the feeling of being watched persisted.
He quickly ran into the safety passage, went up to the fourth floor, and looked down through the window. Finally, he spotted the sneaky figure.
Seeing the person's face, Li Fan felt relieved. He recognized him as one of Zhou Qiang's lackeys.
As long as it wasn't the authorities, it was fine. He hadn't arranged everything yet and didn't want to draw official attention so soon.
However, there were still many things to do in the coming days, and having a tail following him all the time was annoying. He couldn't openly eliminate the tail yet, so he needed to think of a way to shake it off.
It seemed he needed Xie Debiao to get busy, so busy that he couldn't pay attention to him.
The lackey downstairs watched the entrance, realized Li Fan hadn't come out, and turned to leave, walking out of the complex while making a phone call, likely reporting the situation.
Li Fan rubbed his fingers, lit a cigarette, and his eyes flickered.
After a while, he smiled slightly, flicked the cigarette butt away, went home to change into his adoptive father's clothes, put on a cotton hat and mask, hunched his back, and left the complex, taking a taxi straight to Beilin District.
Beilin District was a semi-developed area, a mix of urban and rural, with a red-light district and nightclubs.
Xie Debiao's underground casino was located here, at the Red Romance Nightclub. The four floors above ground were for shady activities, while the casino was a secret room converted from the underground parking lot.
Li Fan only learned about this after Doomsday, when Xie Debiao occupied his house and inadvertently revealed it during a conversation with his underlings.
The nightclub was situated between two districts, with minimal surveillance around, and with lookouts, they could easily handle any police raids.
The lack of surveillance was exactly what Li Fan wanted. He sneaked into the underground parking lot, searching for the hidden underground casino, but after several rounds, he still couldn't find it.
Fortunately, Xie Debiao hadn't installed surveillance in this parking lot, to avoid leaving evidence for surprise inspections, or Li Fan would have been discovered long ago.
But where was the casino? Could he have guessed wrong, or was it in the underground parking lot of another of Xie Debiao's nightclubs?
That didn't make sense either. His other two nightclubs were in bustling areas. Xie Debiao wouldn't be foolish enough to set up a casino in a busy district.
Not to mention, bustling downtown areas are riddled with surveillance. If the authorities pulled a surprise inspection, a crowded district like that would be blown instantly, and he’d already be in prison spinning sewing wheels by now.
Just as Li Fan was about to give up and look for another opportunity, an Audi A6 drove in from outside, and Li Fan quickly hid behind a fire escape.
The Audi stopped in front of a wall and honked twice.
A hole suddenly opened in the wall, and a man inside shone a flashlight, checked the license plate, and nodded to someone inside.
A door opened where the car was parked, and a man in a business jacket got out of the Audi, carrying a suitcase, and slipped inside. Then the Audi drove off, and the door closed again.
Only then did Li Fan quietly approach the wall, carefully inspecting it, and realized it wasn't a wall at all. It was a fake wall made of plasterboard and wooden frames, with partitions on both sides.
The door frame was painted to blend in with the wall color. Without a close look, it was impossible to notice.
Li Fan turned to the other side, where he had noticed several electric scooters in the corner when he came in, likely belonging to the employees here.
He dragged one of the scooters over and piled it in front of the door, then brought over five or six more scooters, stacking them together.
Then he violently tore open the seat of one of the scooters, pulled out the two wires of the lithium battery, took out the insulated pliers he carried, and connected the wires.
Sparks flew instantly, and he stuffed the wire ends into the intersection of the casing and wiring, then stuffed the raincoats from several scooters inside as well.
After doing all this, he turned and left, bypassing the lookout, and stood at a convenience store across from the nightclub, taking out a spare phone and a black card he had bought.
When he saw black smoke rising from the underground parking lot, Li Fan immediately called the fire department, then the police.
Just after making the two calls, he saw several of the lookouts at the intersection rushing toward the parking lot.
Soon, the sound of firefighting could be heard from the parking lot, and Li Fan could imagine how big the fire was.
With the explosive nature of lithium batteries and the wooden frames used for partitions, it was impossible to extinguish the fire quickly.
Li Fan waited until he could hear the fire engines before quietly leaving. As for whether anyone would die inside, whether they were good or bad, who cared? The good and bad would be judged by the King of Hell; he was only responsible for transportation.
By the time he got home, it was already past six in the evening, just in time to meet the people delivering clothes and medicines. He checked the day's supplies, and another day had passed.
While eating dinner and scrolling through his phone, he saw the news about the fire at the Red Romance Nightclub.
Thirteen people were injured, two seriously, and one person died.
The police also received a tip-off and took the opportunity to bust a gambling den, with the nightclub's manager, Zheng so-and-so, already in police custody. The cause of the fire was still under investigation.
Seeing this news, Li Fan couldn't help but give a thumbs-up for Xie Debiao, muttering to himself:
"Zheng so-and-so, what a cunning old man, not even the legal representative of the nightclub."
Li Fan had to admire the old man's caution.
But even if it wasn't him, cooperating with the police investigation would keep him busy for a couple of days.
It's just as well the old man didn't get caught. If he did, the first two phases before Doomsday would be so boring.
After dinner, Li Fan called Fatty Kou, arranging to meet at school the next day, then went to bed early after washing up.