Many of the daily supplies were raw and required processing before consumption. Back at the villa, cooking duties usually fell to Xie Li and Tian Xiaoyu, leaving Chen Du free to wait for meals. Now, hearing Tian Xiaoyu's comment, he suddenly realized their underground bunker lacked a kitchen. No wonder it always felt oddly lifeless.
Xie Li, too, only caught on after Tian Xiaoyu pointed it out. "You're absolutely right, Xiaoyu. You've got such keen attention to detail—I hadn't even noticed we didn't have a kitchen here."
"Xiaoyu, how do you and Lili plan to design the kitchen?"
Tian Xiaoyu glanced at Xie Li, waiting for her response. After a moment's thought, Xie Li spoke. "That bar counter has to go. We'll need a proper table for a stove, plus a new set of kitchen tools. Oh, and a dining table nearby. Nothing fancy—just keep it simple."
Tian Xiaoyu nodded. "Right. This underground bunker's meant for emergencies anyway. There's no sense going overboard."
But Chen Du shook his head firmly. "No way. The kitchen needs to be done properly! Leave it to me—I'll handle finding the right equipment and stove. Food is survival. How can we afford to cut corners on something so essential? Besides, if you two aren't happy with your workspace, you might take it out on the food—and trust me, I'll be the one stuck eating it."
Xie Li and Tian Xiaoyu laughed. "Fine, you said it—you're responsible for the kitchen renovation. No backing out!"
Chen Du grinned confidently. "Deal. Whoever backs out is a dog, okay?"
Next, they moved on to choosing bedrooms. With only two rooms available, Chen Du ended up with one to himself. "Seriously? You two share a room, and I get my own?" He'd assumed he'd share with Xie Li again, but she and Tian Xiaoyu teamed up to banish him elsewhere.
Tian Xiaoyu smirked. "Consider it a favor. Guys need their space, right? We're squeezing together so you can sleep comfortably. Be grateful."
Protests aside, Chen Du had little choice but to accept. As for the rest of the underground bunker, none of them had strong opinions. They decided against unnecessary changes, opting to leave things largely as they were.
The three then began covering furniture with cloths in preparation for painting the walls. From his backpack, Chen Du retrieved paint and brushes, carefully mixing a shade of blue-green favored by Xie Li and Tian Xiaoyu. He vaguely recalled that in the old world, this color was known as Tiffany Blue—a pale turquoise often associated with luxury. Mixing the paint wasn't difficult. Starting with a large bucket of blue, he gradually added white until the hue softened, then introduced small amounts of yellow to achieve the desired tone. Soon, he had three buckets ready. Handing one to each woman along with a brush, they divided the walls into sections and got to work.
The underground bunker was surprisingly spacious; tackling the job alone would have taken Chen Du all day. Together, though, they made quick progress. Before long, they stood back to admire their freshly painted walls, satisfaction washing over them.
For the kitchen, Chen Du purchased essentials like a range hood, refrigerator, and gas stove from the trading platform. Finally, he built a sturdy marble countertop himself, meticulously sanding it until smooth. Wiping sweat from his brow, he inspected the finished product. It wasn't perfect, but it would serve its purpose.
With the renovations complete, Chen Du turned his focus to upgrading the underground bunker's technology. Though the trading platform offered plenty of high-tech gadgets, without electricity or internet access, many remained useless. Still, Chen Du seized the opportunity to stockpile items like cameras, drones, and smart locks—all potential assets for future use. Replacing the underground bunker's door locks with smart ones, he connected them to an IoT-enabled assistant linked to external cameras. Even underground, they'd stay informed about surface activity.
In the living room, he installed a computer—not for browsing, but as a central hub for monitoring the villa's security feeds. Outdated as it was, its role as a surveillance display suited their needs perfectly.
The addition of the underground bunker increased the villa's power demands, causing fuel consumption to spike. Refueling the generator became a frequent chore, but Chen Du insisted on maintaining a stable power supply. Once everything was operational, the underground bunker was officially complete.
Yet despite their progress, Chen Du, Xie Li, and Tian Xiaoyu refused to grow complacent. Every day, they ventured out early, driving their battered Jetta to scavenge supplies and hunt zombies for experience points. Survival depended on constant improvement.
"One hundred zombies, clustered together," Chen Du announced, lowering his binoculars. "There's likely a high-tier supply crate nearby. Let's move."
They were parked in a flat park, the Jetta idling by the roadside. Dust obscured the horizon, but through his binoculars, Chen Du identified the horde clearly. Xie Li and Tian Xiaoyu stopped chatting mid-sentence, loading their pistols wordlessly. Each carried two sidearms, their combined firepower enough to suppress most threats.
Lately, their expeditions had taken them deeper into zombie territory, where risks ran high—but so did rewards. Chen Du had traded up from his old M9 pistol, handing it off to Xie Li while adopting a UMP9 submachine gun. Additional handguns were distributed to Tian Xiaoyu, with surplus weapons sold on the trading platform for profit.
As their group's strength grew, resources became less scarce. Firearms, though mostly pistols, appeared frequently on the market—a sign that other teams were also acquiring advanced gear.
Chen Du gunned the engine, charging straight toward the horde. Rather than slow down, he rammed through the creatures, scattering bodies.
Subsequently, Chen Du told Xie Li to grab the steering wheel. He quickly donned his combat gear, clutching his submachine gun, and plunged straight into the mass of zombies.
Xie Li steadied the wheel, unbuckled her seatbelt, and with smooth precision, slid across from the passenger seat to take over driving, replacing Chen Du behind the wheel.
Unlike Chen Du, her main task was to circle around the edges of the battlefield, providing cover for him as he engaged the enemy.
Inside the vehicle, Tian Xiaoyu was busy hurling Molotov cocktails and explosives, blasting away the advancing undead and easing the pressure on Chen Du.