Chapter 3
Before the Sta.r.s.eed popped up in his brain, his younger sister had gone to the mountains for investigating; the reception on the mountains was bad.
To make things worse, his younger sister was still on the mountains while the end of the world was approaching.
But fortunately Jiang Lius.h.i.+ knew, through the Sta.r.s.eed, that both he and his younger sister would not be infected by the virus. His younger sister would finish the investigation in two days, which made Jiang Lius.h.i.+ very happy. He and his younger sister kept each other alive in the past years. If Jiang Lius.h.i.+ couldn’t contact her, he would go crazy.
Just as he expected, her cell phone was off. Jiang Lius.h.i.+ sent a text message to her; telling her to contact him immediately after seeing it. Jiang would ensure that his phone would be switched on and in service 24/7. He believed that his younger sister would call him back immediately because he sounded so anxious.
"Sir, is it okay if we stop here?" The driver drove Jiang Lius.h.i.+ home, looking around curiously. This area was considered the oldest community of Jiangbei Town. The houses were extremely old, from the 90’s, and each household had kind of the oldest canopies and anti-theft bars.
[This is the place where the rich second generation lives? It is quite unexpected! Is it to gain life experience!?] But this was none of the driver’s business. When Jiang Lius.h.i.+ signed, the driver handed him the keys and left.
Sitting in the minibus, Jiang Lius.h.i.+ exhaled deeply. He was busy with all kinds of preparations. Although at this point everything was ready, he was not at peace at all and felt terrible. Waves of panic broke out, running through his body.
Sitting for five or six minutes, Jiang Lius.h.i.+ finally calmed down. That reaction was extremely normal considering that end of the world was approaching.
Following the instructions given by Sta.r.s.eed, Jiang stood up and went to the driver's seat. He sat down with his hands holding the steering wheel and then he closed his eyes. It was like a switch turned on and a lot of images appeared in his mind very clearly. After that, the body of the minibus became transparent and all its parts were clearly visible.
Jiang knew that Sta.r.s.eed was scanning the minibus. His heart was permeated by a mystical feeling. He felt like he was in a VR game. Although he couldn’t afford a VR device when it had first appeared on the market, he still had gained a better experience.
After the whole minibus was scanned, all its information appeared in his mind.
Model: Medium pa.s.senger bus (For 14)
Age: 10 years old
Power: Petrol powered
Maximum speed: 110km / h
Engine: Displacement 5.014L water-cooled inline four-cylinder pressurized direct injection
Malfunction: The engine was old as well as all parts
To sum it up, this was a very common minibus. Jiang estimated that it had been retired after traveling and was bought by the rental company. As a matter of fact, such a car would have a lot of small problems; that’s a rip-off.
But Jiang Lius.h.i.+ didn’t mind at all because it was the most cost-effective way. He only spent a little more than 10,000 yuan. After the first refitting, this minibus would be initially adaptable to the approaching end of the world.
There were several ways for refitting according to the Sta.r.s.eed. However, Jiang Lius.h.i.+ chose the Mobile Construction Vehicle (MCV). Although the refitting of MCV needed lots of consumable material, its practicality was beyond doubt. Soon, the Sta.r.s.eed gave the list of materials needed for refitting; the list left Jiang breathless.
He needed to acquire 100 pounds of steel, 100 pounds of copper, screws of different specifications, 10 kilograms of t.i.tanium, about 10 square feet of leather, as well as all kinds of strange materials. Jiang Lius.h.i.+ knew that all these materials were extremely expensive, each of them typically costing more than the last one.
This list of materials was completely beyond his current budget. The materials needed almost were beyond his imagination probably because he chose a more complex type. He didn’t know whether the rest of his money as well as the money he was going to gain after selling his a.s.sets were going to be enough.
Although the roads were covered with advertis.e.m.e.nts as "One minute account, only ID card needed to borrow money", Jiang Lius.h.i.+ had already given his student card to Ma Hao and ident.i.ty card to the car rental company. He didn’t own any property so he didn’t have any other official doc.u.ments that he could use in order to borrow money.
[Well, I will just order whatever I can buy…]
Jiang Lius.h.i.+ took out his phone. When he opened it, he found two missed calls. He hadn’t heard his phone ringing, and he didn’t recognize the phone number at all...
"h.e.l.lo?" Jiang Lius.h.i.+ called back.
"h.e.l.lo. Is this Jiang Lius.h.i.+?" It was
"Yes, I am. You called me. Is something the matter?" Jiang Lius.h.i.+ asked.
"I am Li Yuxin." The girl replied.
Jiang Lius.h.i.+ didn’t expect it at all. He thought that this was a business-related call. Either it was from the car rental company or a customer service representative. He had never expected to receive a call from Li Yuxin. Although he didn’t spend much time on the phone with girls, he didn’t have trouble speaking with her. He was just wondering why she called him. As a matter of fact, they had been desk-mates in senior high school.
Li Yuxin’s family conditions were pretty good. Her appearance was delicate and pleasant. She had a nice disposition which made her really popular in cla.s.s. A particular scene surfaced in Jiang Lius.h.i.+’s mind, it was Li Yuxin’s figure as she was staring at the window with her beautiful hair falling down her shoulders.
Li Yuxin was an excellent student, but she was not good at math. However, Jiang Lius.h.i.+ was good at math and as a result Li Yuxin was always asking Jiang Lius.h.i.+ to explain math problems.
Li Yuxin was always absorbed in cla.s.s, so she couldn’t notice that her hair occasionally touched Jiang’s hands. Unfortunately, his parents had been in an accident, so he hadn’t gone to school for a month. When he returned to school, he had turned into a different person. He had become extremely shy and introverted, and he began sitting at the back of the cla.s.sroom by himself. Although Li Yuxin had looked from time to time in his direction, she had tried several times to talk to him but she hadn’t been able to.
Finally, Jiang Lius.h.i.+ had finally gotten over his parents’ death. Although they studied at the same university now, the two of them had drifted apart. However, Jiang Lius.h.i.+ still cherished the beautiful heartthrob.
Hearing Li Yuxin’s voice again, Jiang felt a surge in his heart; her voice was like a soft breeze.
"Really... It has been a long time," Jiang could not help but sigh.
"Yes, we haven’t talked with each other for a long time," Li Yuxin answered.
"Well, what’s the matter?" Jiang asked.
"I heard that you were short on money. I am not close with Li Jun, but I happened to hear about it," Li Yuxin said.
Jiang Lius.h.i.+ suddenly frowned: "What did he say?"
"He invited my friend to go out with him for dinner. But he was always watching his phone. As a result, my friend asked him why. He said you asked him to borrow money. I thought you may be in a trouble, so asked him for your phone number..." Li Yuxin answered frankly.
"Li Jun..." Jiang Lius.h.i.+ was speechless. Li Jun hadn’t even paid his money back, but he had discussed his private matters with others. What he really needed to learn was how to act in public!
"The truth is..."Jiang Lius.h.i.+ narrated the truth.
After listening, Li Yuxin was infuriated: "I know you are not that kind of person. He also said that you were as bold as bra.s.s. I will quickly tell my friend so that she stays away from him. Well, did you really need money?"
"It’s okay, I’ve figured it out..."Jiang Lius.h.i.+ said.
"Your Alipay number is your phone number, right? I will transfer you a sum of money. You can pay me back when you are better off. We are friends, don’t worry. When we were in senior high school, you patiently helped me with math problems every day, even at your spare time. However, I never really thanked you." Li Yuxin laughed.
Jiang Lius.h.i.+ was surprised for a moment. Li Yuxin’s laughter was so pleasant...
"No, thank you..."
"You are welcome. That’s what friends are for, right?" Li Yuxin chuckled. Her laughter sounded like wind chimes.
"Of course." Putting down the phone, Jiang Lius.h.i.+ felt very warm.
It was unexpected that Li Yuxin had helped him and she had not asked him why he needed to borrow money from the beginning to the end.
He got a message. He was surprised to see that the transferred money was 20,000 yuan. There was a new message, saying, "You may be better off financially with this money. Much better."
Jiang was moved by her words. Although Li Yuxin’s family was rich, she usually led a thrifty life. The 20,000 yuan must have been her own money. But when she heard that he had difficulties, she immediately took the initiative to call, several times...
Jiang Lius.h.i.+ suddenly decided to call back immediately. However, when the phone was picked up, Li Yuxin said uneasily, "What’s wrong?"
Jiang Lius.h.i.+ could not help but laugh, he was moved and happy, "Don’t worry. I didn’t call to give your money back."
"Oh..." Li Yuxin felt relieved and quickly said, "You do not need to thank me. Without your help, how could I have been admitted to Jiangbei University…"
"It's no big deal." Jiang Lius.h.i.+ had embarra.s.singly touched his head and then coughed, and then said very seriously, "Please give me your address."
"My address? Why? Do you want to pay me back in person?"Li Yuxin laughed.
"Do not worry, just tell me. I will not do anything bad." Jiang Lius.h.i.+ deliberately joked.
"Well, ok, my address is..."
"Wait. I will write it down." Jiang Lius.h.i.+ turned on his hands-free, and then recorded her home address on a memo.
"Really? Did you write it down? I am a little nervous. Will you really come? But if you come to visit, I will be very happy." Li Yuxin said.
Actually, she was a little embarra.s.sed. And Jiang Lius.h.i.+ knew that his request was too abrupt, but he had no choice. Although it was a bit abrupt, that was necessary.
"Yu Xin, next Tuesday, you must stay at home with your parents. You shouldn’t go anywhere. The best option is if you stay in different rooms and once that happens just lock yourselves inside. I will come for you. There’s a very important reason! This is a life-and-death matter!" Jiang Lius.h.i.+ said in a serious and firm tone.
Jiang Lius.h.i.+ realized that if he told Li Yuxin the truth, she wouldn’t believe him, and neither would her parents. If he said that it was a life-and-death situation, her parents might think he was crazy.
"Lock ourselves in different rooms?" Li Yuxin sounded puzzled. Did someone want to attack them?
"Jiang Lius.h.i.+, are you in some kind of trouble? Did you borrow from loan sharks and can’t repay them?" Li Yuxin asked nervously.
"No, but it’s really important! You must believe me! This thing is very important, please!"Jiang Lius.h.i.+ said.
He had borrowed money, but it did not matter… He did not worry about it at all.
"This... I...well...well..." Li Yuxin reluctantly agreed. This thing really sounded too bizarre.
"Believe me! And do as I said!" Jiang said again.
"This..."
"Promise me!" Jiang Lius.h.i.+ said sincerely.
"Okay, good..."
Hanging up the phone, Jiang Lius.h.i.+ exhaled. He had tried, but he did not know what would happen to Li Yuxin. But at least she should stay at home. She was a very kind girl. Only G.o.d knew whether Li Yuxin would survive or not. Hopefully, G.o.d would not let such a good girl die in this catastrophe. And as long as she was alive, Jiang Lius.h.i.+ believed that he could find her.