After driving back to Lin Wei's apartment, the guys helped him carry all the supplies upstairs. Thanks to their combined effort, even with the greatly increased volume of goods, they managed to finish much faster than he could have done alone.
"Careful with that box!" Zhang Hu called out as Xiao Min nearly dropped a heavy case of canned meat on the stairs.
"I'm being careful!" Xiao Min grumbled back, but he quickened his pace anyway.
Lin Wei walked last, carrying two large bags. When the final box was finally inside the apartment, the living room had completely turned into a proper warehouse. Supplies now occupied nearly half the room, neatly arranged along the walls.
Lin Wei wiped the sweat from his forehead and said sincerely, "Thanks, guys. Without you, I would've been stuck here until midnight. You really helped a lot."
Zhang Hu waved his hand, catching his breath. "No problem, we're brothers. But you promised to explain what's going on. When are you going to tell us everything honestly?"
Lin Wei nodded and looked at each of them in turn.
"I'll explain everything," he said. "In four or five days. Not before."
The guys exchanged glances. A flicker of confusion and curiosity appeared in their eyes. Why exactly that timeframe? But no one asked. Something in Lin Wei's calm and confident tone told them he had chosen this period for a reason.
"Alright…" Li Wei drawled. "Four or five days it is. I hope you know what you're doing."
Lin Wei knew. By that time the System would have already descended, and the first signs of the apocalypse would become obvious to everyone. Then all questions would answer themselves, and his words would no longer sound like the ramblings of a madman.
After a short pause, Zhang Hu clapped his hands.
"Since we're all here anyway, it would be a shame to just leave like this. What do you say, guys? Shall we stay a bit longer?"
Everyone nodded in agreement. Lin Wei smiled and went to the other room.
"Then I'll bring the cards."
He returned with a well-worn deck of cards and a small box of cookies he had taken from the new supplies. They moved the table to the center of the room, arranged the chairs, and started playing.
"We're playing 'Durak' as usual," he said, starting to deal the cards. "Six cards each. The trump suit is determined by the last card in the deck. If you can't beat the attack, you take all the cards. The first one to get rid of all his cards wins."
The next few hours the apartment was filled with noise, laughter, loud arguments, and constant accusations of cheating.
"Hey! You're definitely cheating!" Xiao Min exclaimed, pointing his finger at Chen Yu. "You've had such good cards three times in a row! That's impossible!"
"You're the cheater!" Chen Yu laughed. "I'm just lucky, unlike you, eternal loser!"
Wang Lei narrowed his eyes.
"I saw you pulling cards from the bottom! Give me the deck, I'll deal myself."
"The deck is with Lin Wei," Zhang Hu calmly reminded him. "He's dealing right now."
Lin Wei, who was holding the deck in his hands, smirked.
"Don't distract the dealer. Especially when he's dealing honestly."
"Yeah, 'honestly'," Xiao Min snorted. "Remember last year when Wei accidentally dealt himself seven cards instead of six and thought we wouldn't notice?"
Everyone burst out laughing.
"I just made a mistake back then!" Lin Wei defended himself, though he was smiling too. "It happened once in my life!"
"Once?" Li Wei raised an eyebrow. "And what about the time you 'accidentally' took two cards from the deck during defense? Was that also a 'mistake'?"
"That was a tactical error!" Lin Wei retorted.
Chen Yu laughed loudly.
"A tactical error is when you end up with three trumps four times in a row and still lose, just like Xiao Min right now!"
"Hey!" Xiao Min protested. "I'm just unlucky today! Give me normal cards and I'll destroy all of you!"
"You've already been the 'durak' four times," Lin Wei noted calmly as he dealt a new round. "Maybe you should change your strategy from 'take everything' to something smarter?"
"Go to hell!" Xiao Min threw an empty cookie wrapper at him. "Last time you lost three times in a row and stayed quiet like a fish!"
Zhang Hu slapped the table with his palm.
"Classic! Remember when we played until three in the morning and Wang Lei ended up with eight cards and almost cried?"
"I didn't cry!" Wang Lei protested. "My eyes were just tired!"
The game continued with renewed energy. Someone was constantly accusing others of cheating, someone demanded a redeal, and someone tried to peek at their neighbor's cards. The atmosphere was noisy, warm, and very familiar.
"Ha! Durak!" Li Wei shouted triumphantly, throwing down his last card.
"Again?!" Xiao Min groaned. "That's already the fifth time! I demand a rematch!"
"Rematch next time," Zhang Hu laughed. "You are officially the 'durak of the evening'."
When it started getting dark outside, the guys finally began to gather their things.
"Alright, we should go," Zhang Hu said, standing up. "See you tomorrow morning?"
"Yes," Lin Wei nodded. "We'll continue with the shopping. It'll be much easier with the van."
They said their goodbyes, thanked Lin Wei once again for the day, and left.
Lin Wei closed the door, stood still for a few seconds, listening to the fading footsteps on the stairs until they completely disappeared. Only then did he walk over to the table.
He picked up his worn notebook, the one where he meticulously recorded all his plans, strategies, and thoughts, and opened the last page. The paper was already densely covered with neat, small handwriting.
The list of tasks was long, but clear.
He sat down at the table, turned on the desk lamp, and leaned forward slightly. The soft yellow light illuminated the pages. For a moment, Lin Wei simply stared at the list, organizing his thoughts. Then he picked up the pen and began writing in his usual calm, precise manner.
First, he added a new, important point:
«Create 3–4 backup supply points (hidden caches) in different districts of the city. Each cache should contain:
Minimum 2–3 weeks of non-perishable food for 6–8 people Drinking water and purification tablets Basic medical supplies and first-aid kits Warm clothing and blankets Simple weapons or tools for self-defense Maps with marked safe routes
Purpose: emergency retreat, loss of main base, or separation from the group during chaos. Locations must be discreet, easily accessible, and not obviously connected to each other.»
Lin Wei paused, tapping the pen lightly against the table as he thought. He added another line below:
«Make sure each cache has a unique marking system only I know. Prioritize locations that are easy to reach on foot or by bicycle if vehicles become unavailable.»
He leaned back slightly, reread what he had written, and nodded to himself. This was one of the most critical preparations. In his previous life, he had lost count of how many times a seemingly safe base had been overrun, forcing survivors to flee with nothing. He would not allow the same mistake this time.
After finishing the entry about the backup points, Lin Wei continued writing:
«Discuss roles with the team in 4–5 days. Zhang Hu — combat and security. Li Wei — logistics and inventory management. Xiao Min — reconnaissance and information gathering. Chen Yu — technical support and vehicle maintenance. Wang Lei — medical and general support.»
But anyway, i should discuss about it with them later.
He stopped again, staring thoughtfully at the flickering lamplight. The city outside the window continued its peaceful evening rhythm — cars passed by, streetlights glowed warmly, and distant laughter echoed from somewhere down the street.