Chapter 25: The Choice

Chapter 25: Chapter 25: The Choice

Xu Mo sat back on the sofa, his finger unconsciously tracing lines on the floor. His mind replayed every potential "door" location he had spotted while scouting the previous day.

Door after door flashed through his mind, but Xu Mo always felt like something was off.

’It’s probably impossible to find a door in this town that perfectly fits the image of an armory,’ Xu Mo concluded with a hint of resignation. The town’s layout and the function of its buildings limited his options.

’So what if I settled for the next best thing?’

Xu Mo’s train of thought began to shift. Since he couldn’t find the ideal door, he would have to make full use of the rules and try a more targeted approach.

His gaze fell once more upon the residential security door. ’If I use the "Gun Room" sign to activate it, based on the patterns of "door type correspondence" and "sign guidance" I’ve figured out, where would it most likely lead?’

’It would most likely lead to a private gun enthusiast’s collection room, or a small shooting club’s gun vault,’ Xu Mo surmised. ’It’s perfectly reasonable for places like that to use a residential security door. The upside is that the target would be clear, and I might be able to grab something within sixty seconds. The downside, however, is that it would definitely be small-scale. The variety and number of firearms would be limited, and they’d almost certainly be stored in a sturdy safe that I couldn’t crack in time.’

Another, more audacious—even counterintuitive—idea popped into Xu Mo’s head:

’What if... I find the most ordinary, most unremarkable door possible? Maybe even one of those common, green, corrugated metal doors you see at construction sites, and I stick the "Gun Room" sign on that?’

The thought made Xu Mo’s heart skip a beat.

’Logically, a corrugated metal door should lead to a tool shed, a utility closet, or a temporary storeroom. But its very plainness is what opens up so many possibilities. Could the rules, faced with such a stark contrast between "form" and "sign," connect to an unexpected place? Like a makeshift weapons depot at some remote military base? Or a secret arms cache disguised as an ordinary warehouse?’

’Corrugated metal door... military...’ The two words forged a link in Xu Mo’s mind. The thought of the potential haul hidden behind one of those dark green, military-esque metal doors made his breath quicken. If it worked, the payoff would far surpass the contents of a small collection room behind a security door.

Risk and reward went hand in hand. The uncertainty behind the metal door was much greater; it could very well lead to a tool shed piled high with junk, wasting an opportunity. But it could also lead to a massive windfall.

After weighing his options, Xu Mo ultimately decided to play it safe.

’I’ll find a sturdier security door first and test the waters,’ he decided.

For his first attempt with a high-reward sign like "Gun Room," Xu Mo needed to confirm the basic principle worked. He wanted to gain some experience and a small initial haul—even if it was just a gun or two—rather than gambling on a "grand prize" with unknown odds.

Clutching the "Gun Room" sign, Xu Mo already had a target in mind. He remembered from his scouting yesterday that on a relatively quiet street, there was a detached, three-story villa. Its security door had looked exceptionally thick and solid, distinctly different from the doors on ordinary homes.

’That’s the one,’ Xu Mo resolved, settling in to wait for the next countdown to end.

Having made a clear decision, Xu Mo felt a weight lift from his shoulders. He was no longer agonizing over the various possibilities. He carefully stowed the "Gun Room" sign, pushed the matter from his mind, and pulled his focus back to the present.

A new day began with a decent breakfast. Using a small pot and a solid fuel stove he’d found, Xu Mo boiled some water and prepared a steaming bowl of instant noodles. He paired it with a vacuum-sealed braised egg and a few slices of cured beef, eating at a leisurely pace. In this post-apocalyptic world, it was an unimaginable luxury.

Unwittingly, he had been in this apocalyptic world for nearly a month.

The initial panic of crossing over, the despair of his near-fatal fever, the abject terror of facing unknown zombies and a hostile environment—it all felt like a distant memory. Now, Xu Mo had completely adapted to this life of solitude.

Loneliness was still his constant companion. But what had started as a suffocating pressure had gradually settled into a familiar habit. At times, it even transformed into a rare sort of tranquility.

After breakfast and a short rest, Xu Mo began his strict daily training routine.

Posture Stance, body conditioning slaps, strength training... by the time he finished the series of exercises, sweat had already soaked through his clean sweatshirt. But unlike the agonizing ordeal it had been at the beginning—an exercise in pure willpower—Xu Mo now found himself enjoying the process.

Xu Mo could clearly feel the qi and blood circulating through his body, his muscles tightening under the strain, his strength slowly growing after each bout of exhaustion. Every recovery after pushing himself to the limit made him feel as if he had inched just a little bit closer to the vague threshold of the Cowhide Realm.

After his workout, his qi and blood were surging.

After calming the flow of his qi and blood, Xu Mo took out a glass tumbler, added a pinch of the green tea he had scavenged, and slowly steeped it with freshly boiled water.

Watching the bright green tea leaves unfurl in the glass, tendrils of steam rising with a fresh, clean scent, Xu Mo lifted the tumbler, blew on it carefully, and took a small sip. A flavor that was bitter at first but finished sweet spread through his mouth. A warm current slid down his throat and into his stomach, seeming to wash away all the fatigue from his workout.

This simple ritual was a small comfort he had carved out for himself in the lulls between life-and-death struggles.

Holding his tea, Xu Mo walked to the window and gazed out at the deathly still street, overcome with emotion.

’I remember when I first got here, I didn’t even dare to light a fire,’ he thought.

Later, after confirming the town was truly empty and as his own strength and supplies grew, he slowly became bolder. He started cooking a pot of rice during the day, boiling water, or, like today, making a bowl of noodles and brewing a cup of tea.

Hot food. In civilized society, it was a trivial thing. But in the apocalypse, it was a crucial link to feeling "human," not just "alive." It brought warmth, contentment, and a faint echo of a normal life.

If he ignored the ruins outside the window and the potential, unknown dangers, his current life—judged solely by his state inside this little house—could even be described as pleasant. He had a relatively safe shelter, steadily growing power, basically enough supplies, and could even enjoy a cup of hot tea.

"Heh..." Xu Mo chuckled softly, a hint of self-deprecation in his tone. ’It would be even better if this wasn’t the apocalypse.’

This brief moment of comfort was built on the foundation of a great catastrophe and the loss of countless lives. This tranquility was as fragile as a soap bubble, ready to pop at the slightest disturbance.

He downed the rest of his tea, savoring the last bit of warmth.

His break was over. Xu Mo refocused his mind, his gaze growing sharp once more. Now, it was time to practice the basic slashing techniques for his Bone-Cutting Knife.