Chapter 7

On the morning of the sixth day, at the same time, people in different cities received the same message.

The main content stated that due to the virus's extremely high contagiousness, the authorities would temporarily lock down the cities to prevent further spread through intercity travel.

Starting immediately, all flights, trains, and buses would be suspended, and entertainment venues and malls that attract large crowds would be strictly prohibited from operating. Restaurants could only provide takeout services. If the number of infected individuals continued to increase, the next step would be a nationwide shutdown.

This message explained the military trucks and soldiers seen the previous night. Those soldiers were definitely setting up roadblocks at highway entrances and major roads to prevent any external vehicles from entering and internal vehicles from leaving.

The announcement of this information made many people, who initially paid little attention, start to feel uneasy. Yesterday, only a small number of people were talking about stockpiling supplies, but today, the idea had spread across the entire internet. Chen Fei believed that today's supermarkets would definitely become crowded disaster zones!

Yesterday, the city of Zhongnan had only a few hundred infected patients, but today, the number of confirmed cases had increased tenfold, and hospitals of all sizes in Zhongnan were overwhelmed.

Half an hour later, Chen Fei received a message from the school announcing the suspension of classes. The school urged all students to stay in their dormitories, allowing only one student per dorm to go out to collect meals during meal times. Students who did not live on campus were not allowed to enter the school during this period.

For office workers like Nangong Jin, they received a text message from their manager informing them of a leave of absence.

Nangong Jin's mind worked quickly. She immediately associated this with Chen Fei's unusual behavior over the past few days. Without caring what Chen Fei might be doing in his room, she rushed in and grabbed his ear, who was still lying in bed looking at his phone.

"Chen Fei, do you know something?"

Nangong Jin, who usually spoke in a lazy and seductive manner, now had a serious expression as she interrogated him.

"Hey... Hey... Hey... Sister Jin, let go! I'm not dressed, let's talk properly!"

Chen Fei broke free from Nangong Jin's grip, wrapped himself in the blanket, and curled up at the head of the bed. He looked at Nangong Jin with a helpless expression and explained:

"Sister Jin! I won't hide it from you, I do know some inside information, but even if I tell you, you might not believe me!"

Nangong Jin furrowed her eyebrows. Seeing Chen Fei's reaction, she was even more convinced that he knew something.

"Sister Jin, this virus is not as simple as the outside world says. Tomorrow, the virus will fully break out, and those who die from it will turn into zombies that bite people, just like in sci-fi movies. It sounds crazy, but it's the truth. To be honest, I've already mortgaged my house to stockpile supplies for this house."

After a brief hesitation, Chen Fei revealed some of the truth. Tomorrow was the seventh day, and even if he didn't say anything, people would gradually find out. However, he didn't expect Nangong Jin to believe him, as the truth was too sci-fi.

Nangong Jin's extremely seductive eyes kept flickering. Chen Fei was not good at lying; whenever he lied, his eyes would look up diagonally due to nervousness. This time, Chen Fei was unusually calm, indicating that he was not lying.

However, even though Chen Fei was telling the truth, Nangong Jin found it hard to accept such a fact.

Watching Nangong Jin leave, Chen Fei let out a sigh. He was alone, and he could take care of himself, but people like Nangong Jin and Mu Meiqing had parents and many relatives.

At this moment, Chen Fei received a call from the modified car repair shop owner, informing him to come and pick up his car and settle the final payment. Once he had the car, Chen Fei would feel more at ease.

Although the authorities had sent a message to everyone, life had to go on, so Chen Fei easily hailed a taxi. Not long after getting in, he received a call from an unknown number.

Chen Fei frowned but still pressed the answer button:

"May I ask... are you Mr. Chen Fei?"

As soon as the call connected, a polite yet anxious female voice came from the phone.

"Yes, what do you need?"

Chen Fei subconsciously assumed the caller was a salesperson, so his tone was not very friendly. It wasn't that he disliked the telemarketing industry, but their calls at any time and place were always a nuisance.

"Oh... Actually, I heard that Mr. Chen bought a lot of things at the supermarket yesterday. I was wondering if you have any intention of selling them. I'm willing to pay double the price!"

The woman on the phone, unaffected by Chen Fei's tone, became even more respectful.

The offer of double the price was hard to resist. Under normal circumstances, only a fool would refuse. After all, if Chen Fei sold all his supplies, he could make a profit of hundreds of thousands. However, this was not a normal situation. In the end times, when human civilization was on the brink of destruction, even a million-dollar watch might not be able to exchange for half a bag of slightly moldy rice.

"Sorry, I don't want to sell. Even at ten times the price, I won't sell."

Chen Fei firmly refused, and his last statement cut off any room for negotiation.

During the call, the taxi driver was coughing violently, which made Chen Fei frown. The symptoms of the zombie virus in its early stages were similar to severe flu: headache, body aches, coughing, fever, and difficulty breathing.

The taxi driver was a somewhat overweight middle-aged man. Noticing Chen Fei's gaze in the rearview mirror, he quickly smiled and explained:

"Hehe... Don't worry, young man. It's just a common cold, not that TZ flu virus."

Chen Fei forced a smile in response. He wasn't worried about being infected. Since he could travel through time from 12 years in the future, it proved that he had successfully resisted the virus and it had not successfully parasitized his body. This was why Chen Fei dared to go out without a mask.

Ding...

System: Detected the presence of the end-times virus in the host's body. Activating the End-Times Overlord System...

Ding...

System: System activation successful. Binding to the host...

Ding...

System: Host binding successful. Activating the End-Times Overlord System task. Task 1: Survive 24 hours after the virus enters the body without becoming infected. Task 2: Kill 50 zombies.

System: Completing all tasks will fully activate the End-Times Overlord System.

The sudden voice in his head almost made Chen Fei drop his phone. Fortunately, the voice was sweet and intelligent, not a hoarse old lady's voice, which would have scared him into thinking he was seeing ghosts in broad daylight.

The taxi driver, noticing Chen Fei's unusual behavior, didn't pay much attention because his eyes were drawn to a grain and oil store on the left side of the road. At least seventy to eighty people were gathered at the store, frantically buying rice and flour. Two women even fought over a bag of rice, making the scene extremely chaotic.

"Cough, cough, cough... Why are these people acting like lunatics? What's so special about rice and flour?"

The taxi driver muttered to himself, clearly unable to understand the absurd situation.

After a brief shock, Chen Fei felt a surge of joy!

System!

The voice in his head was the system!

After so many days, the damn system finally appeared! No one would have guessed that the virus was what activated the system!

Chen Fei subconsciously glanced at the taxi driver, who had clearly infected him. However, he had only been in the car for five minutes, indicating that the virus spread very quickly.

Chen Fei should have cursed the taxi driver, who had confidently claimed to have a common cold and was driving around, potentially infecting many more people.

However, it was because of the taxi driver that the system was activated. Chen Fei was a fair person, and he didn't want to hold a grudge.

Speaking of which, the End-Times Overlord System, what a powerful name!

Chen Fei felt that regardless of what the system could do, just the name sounded impressive!

Chen Fei even started to imagine himself becoming the overlord of the end times with the system's help, but he quickly calmed down. The second task to activate the system was to kill 50 zombies, not 5 but 50!

What the hell!

According to the usual plot, the protagonist would start killing everyone after getting the system, but this system required an activation task, asking him to kill 50 zombies. What kind of system was this? Clearly, it was a system designed to trick people in the end times!

"Hey, young man, we're at the repair shop!"

The taxi driver's reminder pulled Chen Fei back to reality. He paid the fare and got out of the car, heading towards the specialized vehicle modification shop.

As soon as he got out, Chen Fei saw the young owner of the shop, who looked somewhat anxious.

Seeing Chen Fei, the young owner quickly walked over and said:

"Finally, you're here! Come and check out the modifications."

The young owner led Chen Fei to the workshop at the back of the shop.

It had to be said that this repair shop's vehicle modification skills were top-notch. They could basically meet any request, as long as the modification plan was feasible.

Chen Fei's modified pickup truck looked somewhat strange, no longer recognizable as a pickup. The truck bed had been converted into a box, making it more like a small van, but the performance and power were incomparable.

At Chen Fei's request, the front and rear of the pickup had been fitted with more exaggerated bumpers, welded with thick steel plates, maximizing both offensive and defensive capabilities.

Although bulletproof glass would be ideal for the vulnerable parts of the vehicle, the current conditions were limited. Therefore, Chen Fei had the windows reinforced with steel bars, ensuring that even if the glass broke, zombies wouldn't be able to enter the vehicle.

Despite his anxiety, the young owner diligently introduced and demonstrated all the modified features to Chen Fei. The quality of the modifications, from the interior of the truck bed to the luxurious automatic double tent on the roof, met Chen Fei's highest standards.

Considering fuel consumption and range, the modification team, although not asked by Liu Lang, had expanded the fuel tank to its maximum capacity and added an auxiliary tank. The modified vehicle could now hold 300 liters of fuel, sufficient for long-distance travel.

After the final inspection, Chen Fei paid the remaining balance to the owner and, with a nervous heart, climbed into the high-clearance pickup truck. In Chen Fei's eyes, this modified pickup was already a makeshift armored vehicle. With this powerful vehicle, he would have a better chance of successfully escaping the city when the virus fully broke out.