At the end of September, the hot and long summer finally came to an end, and autumn arrived.

But in Jiangbei City, the weather hadn't shown any obvious signs of cooling down for a while. The daytime temperature remained stubbornly above thirty degrees Celsius. However, as soon as night fell, the temperature would immediately and sharply drop, leaving people shivering with cold. Almost everyone was complaining about this strange weather.

In a nondescript rental house in the south of the city, the whirring sound of the air conditioner was incessant and somewhat noisy. Beneath the air conditioner, there was a room that looked to be less than fifteen square meters. The living room and bed were both in this room, while the bathroom and kitchen doors were side by side on the other side.

Although it wasn't large, the house looked very clean. The male owner of the house, a slightly thin young man, was sitting on the bottom bunk of a double-deck bed, staring intently at a television set not far ahead.

The television screen is currently playing the midday news broadcast from National Television.

A week ago, Jiang Shicheng had never used this television for anything other than watching sports, let alone watching the midday news.

But now, Jiang Rusheng not only sat in front of the television for the first time, but also stared intently at the time on the clock.

At 12:45:51 PM today, a major news story will be aired on the National Television Station's midday news program.

"...Here is an international news update. An international team of scientists just held a press conference announcing that they have discovered a prehistoric supervirus in the permafrost of Siberia's Far East region. This giant virus is the fourth known super-large virus to humans so far, and scientists previously found another giant virus in the same area. Scientists had already discovered it a year ago but only recently released the information. The scientists say they are still researching the virus and do not yet know if this type of prehistoric virus can infect humans or... There are also experts who say that as long as the permafrost remains frozen, there is no need to worry about the threat of this virus..."

"That's the one!"

Jiang rushed to his feet from the bed. He looked at the time displayed on his phone, around 12:45, almost to the minute!

"Hit again, this is the third time." Jiang Shi stared at the television screen, but his focus was no longer on the news. He already knew the general gist of it, even before its first public airing - right now!

Since it was a live press conference, there was no possibility of leaks beforehand. Even if reporters knew about the conference the day before, it would have been impossible!

But Jiang Shicheng knew about it in advance, and apart from this news, he had also learned about several international breaking news that happened this week beforehand.

This is not because Jiang Shicheng suddenly developed the superpower of predicting the future. It's because a week ago, he suddenly found an "Xingzhong" in his mind.

When he discovered this "star species," Jiang Ru Shui also learned some information from it, including these yet-to-happen news stories. The most important one was today's news about the discovery of a giant virus.

Because this news has been confirmed, it means that the other thing Jiang Ruoshui learned from "Xingzhong" will also come true.

Virus dyes hair, the apocalypse is upon us!

...But the previous few news stories were about heads of state missing important events, international conferences, or having trips canceled at the last minute. These stories didn't attract much attention, but Jiang Shi knew that many countries had already known about the virus outbreak and were making preparations to withdraw.

The virus spreads incredibly fast, and there are currently no effective means of control. Telling the public would only cause panic and... So the people remain oblivious, going about their normal lives, unaware that some key figures have already disappeared.

This press conference about the virus is the last bit of mercy those in power are giving to ordinary people, so they won't die completely clueless.

Ten days later, at two o'clock in the afternoon, disaster would strike these ordinary people without warning. Right now, they were all watching the news on TV just like Jiang Shichang, yet none of them had any inkling of what was to come. Many people were scrolling through Weibo, their friend circles, and the news, and they also saw this article. But at most, they let out a couple of exclamations and forwarded it casually.

Jiang Shicheng didn't intend to post on the internet and tell people the truth about this. Ever since that Mayan prophecy went viral, all sorts of doomsday predictions have been popping up online, even with books like "2012xxx" being published and a bunch of movies made about it. People are already immune to this topic.

The post he sent out wouldn't have garnered any attention, only perhaps harmony, because he knew only true curtains. Perhaps it might even draw some awareness from higher-ups.

Although this might be a low chance, Jiang Ruoshui didn't want to waste his effort while also bringing himself unnecessary trouble.

And even Jiang Shucheng himself, when he first learned this information, was skeptical until he saw this news article today, and only then did he completely believe the truth of the matter.

No matter who it is, upon suddenly finding new information in their mind, even if it's about the apocalypse, they wouldn't immediately and unconditionally believe it. Everything around them seems so normal and ordinary, how could they possibly believe the apocalypse is coming?

After confirming this, Jiang Shi realized he only had one week left. He had to start preparing immediately.

Jiang Shixing first purchased a large amount of staple food items like grain, oil, noodles online. To be on the safe side, he also bought plenty of high-energy food, as well as a lot of drinking water and emergency medical supplies.

All of these things will be delivered within a day or two, saving Jiang Shi's time from going out shopping. Furthermore, he also bought a pair of sturdy and lightweight combat boots in one go. He even purchased a dagger from a local merchant for safety precautions.

Although Jiang Shi didn't believe in the apocalypse before, out of curiosity, he had already made a list in his mind detailing what he should do to prepare for the end of days. He even searched online for information, and surprisingly, there were quite a few posts on this topic. Apparently, bored people are never in short supply.

However, these seemingly boring posts provided him with many references and help at this time. Jiang Ruoshui quickly and efficiently completed most of the preparations for hoarding resources.

Now, the real show begins.

The role of "Star Seed" is not to tell him that the apocalypse is coming, but more importantly, it allows this ordinary person to have the ability to protect himself during the apocalypse.

The true purpose of "Star Species" is mechanical modification and upgrading, but it requires Jiang Shi to provide the main components and materials for the modifications. The first thing that came to Jiang Shi's mind was Tonggong, cars - currently the most practical option for him with the lowest difficulty in modification.

Among all types of cars, sedans were the first to be phased out by Jiang Shi, as this relatively expensive model would not play a significant role in the future.

In the apocalypse, most people recommend SUVs, but Jiang Shichang doesn't fancy them either. These vehicles have too limited interior space.

Subjectively, Jiang Shi's favorite is a giant super-long truck. This kind of truck is simply a train driving on the road, and the wheels are as tall as a person. But there are too few of these vehicles, so Jiang Shi can only think about it.

Jiang Shiqi was searching online, he looked around, and finally settled on two types of vehicles, one was a truck and the other was a van. Due to his obsession with compartment space, Jiang Shiqi ultimately set his sights on the van which offered more space.

However, a few hundred thousand yuan for a CRRC train is something Jiang Shi surely couldn't afford. After buying the property, his bank card balance was already less than one thousand yuan. "Poor" wouldn't even describe it...

If there was a house to sell, Jiang Shi would immediately and without hesitation sell it at a low price, but unfortunately, his family's house was sold when he was still in high school. At that time, his parents had just passed away, and selling the house was necessary for him and his sister's living expenses and education. After that, the two siblings have lived in rented houses ever since.

Jiang took the money from the bank, most of which was left over from selling a house. As a result, after buying assets, he had almost used it all up.

If a television, computer, or other electrical appliances were sold, it might bring in a few thousand yuan, but it would still be insufficient. As for robbery or theft, as an ordinary student, Jiang Shi didn't believe he had more than 10% chance of success, even if he was lucky enough to succeed, the probability of being caught would be over 80%.

<< Jiang Shi didn't plan to buy a car, he was going to rent one. But even renting a car would require a considerable amount of money. Jiang Shi had already looked up the prices online, and even the most basic mid-range car cost over a thousand yuan per day, which would be around 15,000 yuan for ten days. Not to mention, he still needed to purchase a large quantity of materials and metal to modify the mid-range car >>

This money is really a headache.

The apocalypse is coming next Tuesday. It's getting closer and closer. Lying in bed, Jiang Shizhen took a few deep breaths, but he was still a little panicked. As a student, facing such a life-or-death challenge right now, it was impossible to remain calm.

After thinking for a moment, he opened QQ and found the ID of Li Jun in the "Roommates" group. Seeing that his profile picture was lit, he immediately sent a message: "Li Jun, are you there?"

A "di di di" notification sounded almost immediately, and on the chat interface, Li Jun replied: "Have you seen my new display picture?"

Jiang Shizhi only then noticed that under the other person's ID, it displayed "Li Jun is currently online with iPhone 7." No wonder they were so generous in maintaining their online status.

The iphone 7 is a new model phone that just came out this month. It's only been out for a few days, and the price is high. People who got their hands on it are very happy. Li Jun actually started using it so quickly, no wonder he's so smug.

"This phone costs seven or eight thousand yuan," Jiang Shi sighed. He couldn't afford such an expensive phone. He didn't expect that even with the apocalypse approaching, he wouldn't be able to use a new model.

Li Jun replied triumphantly, "Seven or eight thousand? No way it could get into the first batch. I hired someone to help me grab them, and it cost me an extra two thousand!"

A smartphone costs 10,000 yuan! Jiang Shi really can only sigh. Because his parents died early and he had to take care of his younger sister, he has always been very frugal in life. The call he just made was the most enjoyable time he's ever spent money. A 10,000 yuan phone, it's scary to even think about!

But it seems Li Jun still has plenty of room to spare. Jiang rushed to type, "Let's get down to business. I have something to tell you, do you have anything planned for next Tuesday?"

"Next Tuesday? Let me think, ah, yeah, I met this girl on WeChat a few days ago. Taking her to a bar next Tuesday, have some drinks, you know what I mean, waiting for me to pick her up!"

Jiang Shicheng heard this and felt a headache coming on. He hesitated for a moment before saying, "Well, I was thinking of inviting everyone to play games next Tuesday. Could we stay in the dormitory and not go out? And make sure to lock all the doors and windows?"

"What?" Li Jun didn't react immediately.

I wouldn't even play games with you. Are you kidding me?!

"No fighting, bro! I'm busy!"

"Alright…" Jiang Shicheng sighed and shook his head. He had already reminded him, but even staying in the dorm room with locked windows and doors wouldn't prevent the virus from spreading. Li Jun was now like everyone else, carrying the virus unknowingly since the beginning. Whether or not he would mutate into a monster in ten days depended entirely on his own physique.

Locking the doors and windows was merely to ensure that Li Jun could survive this ordeal, preventing him from being killed by those mutated creatures.

Now that Li Jun is not listening to Jiang Shicheng's words, Jiang Shicheng has no way, he said again: "Li Jun, I urgently need money now, can you return the two thousand yuan you borrowed from me earlier?"

"Money? Oh… don't worry, I'll remember. I'll pay you back in two days." Li Jun replied.

Jiang Shixin frowned: "I need this money right now, it's life-saving."

"You're in such a hurry? Hold on, that little girl just called me. I'll take the call and talk to you later." Li Jun replied.

Jiang Shicheng waited for a while holding his phone, but Li Jun never replied. His profile picture had also turned black.

Jiang Ruoshui shook his head, thought for a moment, and then clicked on another roommate's profile picture: "Luo Ming, could you lend me two thousand yuan?"

"I'm broke lately, I spent all my living expenses on games. I was wondering if you could lend me some money for food. What are you borrowing money for?" Luo Ming replied.

"Forget it, it's nothing." Jiang Shi knew Luo Ming was a gaming enthusiast. Although his family was fairly well-off, he wasn't flush with cash. It was just luck.

"Luo Ming, listen to me, next Tuesday you stay in the dorm and play games. Lock all the doors and windows, don't go out, okay?"

"What? What's up?" Luo Ming was taken aback.

"Remember!" Jiang Shucheng spoke, then hung up the phone. He had done his best.

Those who owe money won't repay, and I can't borrow from anyone else. As for the rest, either they are not considered close friends by Jiang Shu, or they don't have much money, after all, they are just students. A few hundred yuan might be possible to come up with, but a thousand is out of the question.

It seems like I need to come up with another plan...

(Editor in charge:howl's moving castle novel)