Chapter 4
At first, the boss refused to sell pre-owned ones. Jiang Lius.h.i.+ added 500 yuan to get them, gnas.h.i.+ng his teeth. Before leaving, he shook his head as he saw the boss rubbing his fingers carefully while counting the money. It was obvious that the boss just wanted to sell at a higher price. Although he was very happy for the 500 yuan, a week later, he would find out that money would mean nothing.
It took him three days to get all the materials, and the whole minibus was filled with them. When the last pieces of materials were put in, Jiang Lius.h.i.+ was relieved. He had finally caught up.
He ran around for three days, and he had almost walked through the whole Jiangbei Town. Probably because it was the first refit, the materials needed were involved in every aspect.
Meanwhile Jiang Lius.h.i.+ was also watching the news and keeping up with the developments of Jiangbei Town. He found that less and less leaders appeared in the news just like he’d expected. Although things seemed normal, he could feel a kind of danger simmering below the surface.
"Begin!"
Jiang Lius.h.i.+ closed all the curtains, and then sat down on the driver's seat. Breathing steadily, he put his hands on the steering wheel. Suddenly, the structure of the minibus was clearly reflected in his mind. It felt like he had a new pair of special eyes helping him scan the minibus. Wherever he laid his eyes, the data and the condition of that part of the minibus would immediately appear.
The overall state of the minibus was: Mobile Construction Vehicle (ordinary type), waiting to be modified.
[The materials have been tested. Begin refitting or not?]
Jiang Lius.h.i.+ shouted in his mind: [Begin!]
The refitting of this minibus needed 72 hours. It could not travel until the refitting was complete. Jiang Lius.h.i.+ felt that the steering wheel had suddenly obtained a strange power and started shaking spontaneously.
The refitting would take a long time and Jiang Lius.h.i.+ could not stay in the car all the time. He was only curious to sit in the driver's seat for a while. He got up from the driver’s seat and realized that the materials had actually disappeared from the car. After that, he left the car to see if any other changes were taking place. As everything else seemed normal he returned back home.
Just by opening the door, Jiang could see all kinds of supplies. They had been sent within three days. The courier had given Jiang Lius.h.i.+ a strange look as he was delivering his things. But Jiang Lius.h.i.+ did not care at all. It was impossible to think of the real use of them. Jiang Lius.h.i.+ did
Now that the minibus was being refitted, Jiang Lius.h.i.+ kept calling his sister, and he searched on the Internet about common knowledge which included field survival, simple first-aid knowledge, medicine knowledge as well as the surrounding terrain, how to read maps and so on.
Jiang Lius.h.i.+ also specifically downloaded the national map to his PC. It made sure the map could be used even without network. It almost marked all the points, from small shops to a variety of manufacturers, from the national road to some rural roads. They were extremely clear. For the map, he also spent 100 yuan because the free map wasn’t detailed. He had spent almost all his money, but the preparations were basically completed.
Jiang Lius.h.i.+’s phone started ringing, and he quickly looked. A surprised smile formed on his face. It was his sister, he had been calling her non-stop and she finally called him back.
"Hey!"
"Hi brother, what’s wrong? Why are you so anxious? I just got off. This time’s investigation was very stimulating. We went to a village, which had the custom of..."
"Jiang Zhuying, please be quiet! Listen to me!" Jiang Lius.h.i.+ said, interrupting his sister.
Hearing the seriousness of her brother’s voice, Jiang Zhuying felt that her brother should have some important matters, so she immediately stopped, and softly saying, "Brother, speak."
Jiang Lius.h.i.+ calmed down because he didn’t want to panic his younger sister. He asked, "Xiao Ying, where are you now?"
"School, I just separated with my teachers and cla.s.smates. I’m about to return to my dormitory. My phone’s battery had died, so I charged it for a while, opened it and then I saw your message." Although Jiang Zhuying was naughty, as long as she became aware of the seriousness of the situation, she would immediately become a well-behaved girl thinking clearly. She summarized her own situation quickly. Although she still did not know why Jiang Lius.h.i.+ seemed so anxious, she regarded her brother as the main pillar of the family at any significant moment. She had been raised with love and care by her brother, all those years.
"You do not need to return to the dormitory. Book a flight home right away!" Jiang Lius.h.i.+ said.
"Well, brother, just wait a minute." After a while, she said, "Brother, there are no tickets."
"What about tomorrow? The day after tomorrow? You should come back no matter how much money you have to spend," Jiang Lius.h.i.+ said.
"There’re no more tickets available," Jiang Zhuying said.
He suddenly had a foreboding feeling. Crackling sounds could be heard from the keyboard as he opened the flight booking website. Searching city after city, Jiang Lius.h.i.+’s heart was sinking. All the tickets for the next three days actually had been sold out, no matter where from where. And the earliest available ones were on the day after the end of the world...
This was absolutely impossible; it couldn’t be just a mere coincidence.
"Brother, I could return in three days, right?" Jiang Zhuying asked.
"It’s too late," Jiang Lius.h.i.+ said.
Jiang Zhuying didn’t understand why only one day could make a difference, but she did not ask. "Train! What if I buy a train ticket?" she asked.
Jiang Lius.h.i.+ tapped the keyboard and calmly said: "No train tickets are available."The train tickets for the next three days had also been sold out.
"Brother, hang on. I will go to the bus station to ask. Maybe I could even rent a car," Jiang Zhuying said.
"Don’t!" Jiang said.
Firstly, they did not know about the situation on the road. Secondly, even if the road was normal, Jiang Zhuying needed more than two days to come back. And all the trains and planes would be paralyzed. It was likely to encounter traffic jam on the road; Jiang Zhuying would die in that case.
"Don’t do that!" Jiang said again.
Jiang Zhuying felt that her brother’s voice seemed to be very strange; it made her feel a little nervous.
"Xiao Ying, you have to listen carefully," Jiang Lius.h.i.+ said.
"Don’t go back to your dormitory. You need to find a place without too many people. It should have good security and be elusive. Then you should buy as much drinking water as possible, some drugs, daily necessities and food! You should make sure the phone is fully charged. Next, charge all your power banks, although we do not know whether phones can be used or not... Remember lock the door and do not go out, just wait for me!"
"You must wait for me, must!" Jiang Lius.h.i.+ repeated.
"Xiao Ying, the end of the world is approaching..."