Chapter 146: Warming Up, Salvaging Garbage and Corpses
"Uncle Liang, aren't you curious why I've been stockpiling all these things?" Meng Ci suddenly asked.
Liang Xiu put down the book in his hand, shook his head, and said indifferently, "Not really."
Meng Ci swallowed. He had already prepared an excuse, so why did Liang Xiu say he wasn't curious?
Since Liang Xiu wasn't curious, Meng Ci felt he had to explain.
"Uncle Liang, do you remember Li Shanyang and his group?"
Liang Xiu nodded.
The Meng Group was the Meng family's business. How could a man like Li Shanyang, who came from nothing, dare to covet it? And...
Liang Xiu glanced at Meng Ci, and then there was the fact that Young Master Liang had a soft spot for others, actually listening to those people and planning to transfer the Meng family's assets to Li Shanyang.
If not for the fact that Meng Ci couldn't take over the company before he turned eighteen, the Meng Group would have been lost long ago.
But in the end, Liang Xiu still failed to protect the Meng Group.
Thinking about this, Liang Xiu felt ashamed to face Meng Wan.
Meng Ci, unaware of Liang Xiu's thoughts, slumped on the sofa, feeling dejected.
"I accidentally overheard that Li Xiaoya is Li Shanyang's biological daughter."
"They were only nice to me because they wanted all the Meng family's assets."
At this point, he pretended to wipe away tears.
Shen Que, sitting beside Meng Ci, knew what had happened before and understood that Meng Ci was just pretending. However, he still cooperatively took a tissue from the coffee table and handed it to Meng Ci.
"Thank you!" Meng Ci covered his eyes with the tissue and whispered softly.
Then he wiped his eyes and held the tissue in his hand.
Seeing Liang Xiu with his head down, lost in thought, Meng Ci continued.
"But I didn't want to give them anything, and I was afraid they would keep bothering me."
"So I had to endure the pain and ask Uncle Liang to buy the company, funds, properties, and other assets, making it impossible for them to get their hands on anything."
"After that, I bought this villa, renovated the surroundings, and stocked up on these items."
"I planned to live here, never leaving, and wait a couple of years until Li Shanyang and his group completely forgot about me, then start a new company."
"Before the storm, I invited Uncle Liang here to explain this situation."
"And to invite you to live here as well, so you wouldn't be bothered by Li Shanyang and his group."
Although Meng Ci trusted Liang Xiu, he was actually a character from a book and had a special space. He didn't plan to tell Liang Xiu about these things.
After all, if Liang Xiu found out he wasn't the original Meng Ci, he might seek revenge for the original owner.
"Who would have thought we'd encounter the apocalypse."
Liang Xiu suddenly remembered how Meng Ci's eyes had been slightly red when he asked him to buy the company, looking sad. He thought Meng Ci might be telling the truth.
Otherwise, why would Meng Ci, who usually complied with Li Shanyang and his group, suddenly change his mind?
And why would Meng Ci stockpile so many things?
Thinking about this, Liang Xiu asked about Meng Ci's recent months.
Meng Ci briefly recounted his experiences over the past few months, emphasizing the hardships.
When he heard that Li Shanyang and his group had died one after another, he simply said, "Evil people get what they deserve."
"Uncle Liang, do you know magic tricks?" Meng Ci suddenly asked.
Meng Ci's sudden change of topic caught Liang Xiu off guard.
Meng Ci untied the rope from his clothes, fiddled with it, and tried to perform a magic trick for Liang Xiu, but unfortunately, it didn't work.
"Why did it go wrong again?"
Meng Ci was frustrated and then ran to find a book on magic tricks, lying on the coffee table to study it.
Liang Xiu, seeing the magic book, recalled how Meng Ci had seemingly produced a ham sausage out of nowhere earlier. Perhaps it was a magic trick.
Thus, his doubts disappeared, and he picked up the book he had set aside, continuing to read.
Seeing that Liang Xiu wasn't questioning the ham sausage incident, Meng Ci felt relieved.
However, the magic book was truly interesting, and Meng Ci became engrossed in studying it. His hand movements were slow and unskilled, leading to numerous mistakes.
But Meng Ci had plenty of free time and patience, so he spent several days researching.
The three of them stayed underground for over ten days. Outside, the snow and ice had completely melted, and the temperature had risen to around twenty degrees Celsius.
The city was flooded, and various rubber boats were out in force.
The authorities issued an announcement, urging everyone to salvage garbage and corpses from the water and then dispose of them collectively by burning.
At thirty pounds, the garbage could only be exchanged for half a pound of food.
Though the exchange was meager, people still flocked to it, just to get something to eat.
Therefore, many larger and heavier human and animal corpses became targets of contention.
However, many people did not take their family members' bodies to exchange for food; instead, they carried them to higher ground for burial, hoping for a peaceful rest in the earth.
Zhang Mingtian and Huang Zhi drove a rubber boat back to the sixteenth floor, taking two of Wu Can's and Huang Zhi's family members to the northern mountain for burial.
But they dared not pile up mounds or erect tombstones, and even had to make the graves look old, to prevent others from digging up the bodies to exchange them for goods.
Of course, these bodies were not only dug up by humans but also by fierce beasts on the mountain, who would eat them.
However, Meng Ci was unaware of these matters.
When Liang Xiu mentioned going to the security team to exchange for food, Meng Ci tried to persuade him to stay home and wait, as they were not short of food, but Liang Xiu did not listen.
Seeing his determination, Meng Ci had no choice but to let him go.
Meng Ci and Shen Que did not know how the virus spread, only that when large-scale human infections began, the extreme cold had already passed more than a month ago.
With the current low temperatures, there should be no problem.
Moreover, Liang Xiu's job was simple, just counting the quantities, without close contact with the garbage, so there was no fear of contracting the virus.
After learning that the government would burn all the garbage and bodies, Meng Ci believed that by the time the zombie era arrived, the scale of the zombies would not be as large, making them easier to deal with.
Perhaps the siege by zombies would be resolved quickly.
And with the burning of the bodies, the virus would lack a host to thrive, so the disaster might not be as severe as described in books.
Time passed quickly, and soon it was early August.
Recalling his memories from his previous life, Shen Que knew that in about twenty days, the floodwaters would evaporate, and the temperature would rise to around thirty-five or thirty-six degrees, leading to the rampant spread of various flu viruses.
Initially, everyone thought it was just a common cold and thus did not take proper precautions.
However, the situation worsened over time.
After about a month, the temperature would rise to over sixty degrees, and within a few days, the virus would break out uncontrollably.
Just a few days later, Meng Ci heard from Liang Xiu that there were fierce beasts in the floodwaters on the sixth and seventh floors.
Mostly crocodiles and water snakes, and they were larger than before the apocalypse.
Some fish had mutated, feeding on the bodies in the water, while others, due to prolonged lack of meat, attacked the rubber boats of people.
For a time, those who scavenged for garbage in the water dared not venture out again.