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Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Chapter 10. part 2
Lu Yuan’s proposal was crude and simple: reinforce the entire vehicle with bulletproof steel plates, install solar panels on the roof, upgrade to a larger water tank and battery, add a fully enclosed protective cage around the driver’s cabin, switch to off-road tires with snow chains, and add a spare fuel tank.
Zhou An’an: …Don’t you need to eat? Or drink? Or sleep? Or a shower?
Following his suggestions, the bus would end up as a giant iron box—less like a home and more like a pig transport.
Lu Yuan: Then add a bed and a toilet.
Zhou An’an: One bed? I’m not sleeping with you.
Lu Yuan: Then you can sleep on the floor.
Zhou An’an: You’re such a gentleman.
Lu Yuan: You can’t exactly convert the bus into a two-bedroom apartment.
Zhou An’an: We still need essential living facilities. Give me one night, and I’ll draw up a plan.
She put down her phone, opened her laptop, and launched the design software she hadn’t used in ages. After pulling an all-nighter, she rubbed her eyes and sent the finished blueprint to Lu Yuan the next morning.
The bus was divided into four sections in her design.
First was the driver’s area. Originally, it had one driver’s seat and two passenger seats. Since there were only two of them, they didn’t need so many seats. In her plan, the rightmost seat was replaced with a shoe cabinet.
On either side of the aisle leading from the driver’s area to the main cabin, she planned to install clotheslines, allowing clothes to dry in the cross-breeze.
Next came the kitchen and dining area, each positioned against one side of the bus, leaving a roughly half-meter-wide aisle in the middle.
The kitchen would use an induction cooktop powered by the battery and solar panels. Above the cooktop was a cupboard for dishes, and below were a dishwasher and a small refrigerator.
The dining table was adjustable; when lowered and covered with cushions, it could serve as a small bed.
Further back was the washing area. One side featured a separate bathroom with a shower and toilet, while the other side housed a wardrobe and a built-in washing machine.
The final section of the bus was partitioned into two small rooms, each fitted with a single bed measuring 1.8 meters long by 0.6 meters wide. The rooms would have folding doors, creating private spaces when closed.
Zhou An’an admired her design again, feeling it was absolutely perfect. She asked him, “So, what do you think?”
Lu Yuan was silent for a moment before replying, “Imagine you’re speeding away from a zombie horde when an obstacle suddenly appears ahead. You slam on the brakes. In that instant, every loose item in this bus will turn into a projectile and kill you a hundred times over.”
Zhou An’an: “…” Fine, I’ll get rid of the shoe cabinet, washing machine, and dishwasher. Happy now?
Lu Yuan: Get rid of the kitchen too.
Zhou An’an: ??? How are we supposed to cook?
We can’t just chew on raw rice for every meal.
Lu Yuan: Have them weld a small stove from the leftover steel plates. When it’s safe, we can get out and gather firewood to cook. When it’s not… we’ll be lucky to have leftovers.
He then began critiquing the other features: “Why do we need clotheslines? Is this the apocalypse or a laundry day marathon? Ditch the cupboard and dining table too. We’ll each get a small stainless steel bowl and eat in the driver’s cabin. And a wardrobe? What’s that for? Are you planning to install a full-length mirror too?”
Having just been planning exactly that, Zhou An’an felt like he’d hit a nerve. She quickly cut him off: “The two beds and the bathroom are non-negotiable!”
This life isn’t worth living otherwise!
Lu Yuan reluctantly agreed. He scribbled revisions all over her blueprint and sent it back with a simple message: This is it.
Zhou An’an opened the file. Her fresh, cream-colored aesthetic had been transformed into a trench-warfare style. The quality of life inside would probably be only slightly better than a caveman’s.
Oh well, she consoled herself. Surviving is the priority right now.
As for quality and aesthetics… she could always hoard some materials and modify it herself later.
With that, Zhou An’an dove headfirst into the ocean of Pinduoduo1.
The bus modification project was officially underway, and her phone buzzed with countless messages every day.
Mechanic from the Auto Shop: Do you want NP550 or NP500 steel plates? What wattage for the solar panels, and how many? Should we install an alternator charging system? Do you need an inverter and an isolator?
Zhou An’an had no idea what he was talking about. Each message sent her scrambling to research for half an hour just to reply. Finally, she just had him add Lu Yuan’s contact and let him direct the project remotely.
Lu Yuan, who was clearly fascinated by this stuff, got along famously with the mechanic. He was so engrossed that he stopped bothering her altogether.
Zhou An’an was delighted to be free of the hassle. With money in her pocket, she seized the opportunity to enjoy the last moments of leisure before the apocalypse.
She tried all the restaurants she’d never been able to afford, stayed in a different hotel every night, and spent her days soaking in hot springs, getting massages, and playing games. She even visited every scenic spot near City A. Whenever she came across something she felt was important, she’d buy it. Though she wasn’t actively trying to hoard supplies, she ended up accumulating quite a pile of things.
Before, she had rarely interacted with others and had no money, trapped in her own world where every day felt dim and colorless.
Now, she finally understood: the world was truly beautiful.
Why didn’t I try to be more positive before? Why did I just keep hiding in my shell?
She was incredibly grateful to Lu Yuan. If he hadn’t practically coerced her into doing things she didn’t want to do, she’d still be a socially anxious shut-in, frying potatoes at work and hiding in her rental apartment after hours.
But she couldn’t praise him. His ego was already inflated enough; any more praise and he’d probably float away.
Instead, Zhou An’an quietly bought him some things. Besides the flowers he’d wanted, she got him a computer, an electric razor, shoes, clothes, and a mountain of delicious snacks.
He was born into a resource-scarce apocalypse; he would definitely love these things.
Zhou An’an didn’t tell him. She packed everything into a large box, planning to surprise him.
A month passed, and the bus modification was complete. She went to inspect the vehicle.
She knew Lu Yuan liked hardcore designs, but she never imagined it could be *this* hardcore!
Zhou An’an stared at the bus—no, it was practically a mobile fortress—her eyes wide with astonishment.
Footnote:
- Chinese online shopping platform and e-commerce app known for its “team purchase” model, where users, friends, or family team up to buy items at heavily discounted prices. It operates as a massive marketplace specializing in everything from electronics to fresh produce. ↩︎
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