Before the end

Jiang Liushi didn't wake up before 8pm. He decided that he shouldn't spend so much time modifying his vehicle during the night. It wasn't good for his sleeping cycle.

Once the outbreak has started, it would be dangerous to move at night, and it would be bad to waste daylight by sleeping. He decided not to make any modifications that night. Instead, he was going to spend it at the power substation, letting the Starseed collect energy.

On the fifth day before the outbreak, spent the morning scanning all kinds of household goods in various specialised stores. He also scanned computers, televisions, video-game consoles including old gen ones such as PS2 and GBA. He used the Starseed to make slightly better ones. He even made a console that could read both X-Box and Playstation games, regardless of the generation.

After gathering the materials necessary, he went to a different power substation with the vehicle, and made the second part of the refitting process. This time, it focused on the living module of the Doomsday Ride. Making electronic items took more time and energy than mechanic ones of the same size due to complexity.

On the fourth day before the outbreak, he increased the size of the vehicle and changed the color to a dark grey. He had also made the on-board computer. He was very gratefull for the incredible capabilities of the Starseed, as he didn't know anything about programming. He only had to explain what he wanted for it to make the co-pilot program, the security program and the medical program.

During those days, he had received messages from Li Jun and Luo Ming. He hadn't been to the college once since the day he borrowed money. The messages basically asking where he was and what he was doing, since his absences was going to land him in troubles. He just responded that he was too busy with his project, and that it was more important than his studies.

3 days before the outbreak, in the middle of the afternoon, he was startled by his phone ringing. When he looked who the caller was, he saw it was his sister, and that blew most of his sleepiness away.

"Hey, Zhuying."

"Hi brother, what's wrong? I just got back from my investigation and you wanted me to contact you as soon as possible."

"Yes. What I'm going to tell you is very serious, so listen carefully."

"I understand, speak brother."

"Wait, before that, where are you?"

"School, I just separated with my teachers and classmates. I'm about to return to my dormitory. My phone's battery had died, so I charged it for a while, opened it and then I saw your message."

Although Jiang Zhuying was a naughty girl prone to tease him, as long as she became aware of the seriousness of the situation, she would immediately become a well-behaved girl thinking clearly. She summarized her own situation quickly. She had been raised with love and care by her brother, all those years. He was the most important person in her life, and would always listen to him at any significant moment. So even though she didn't know why he was so anxious, she would follow what he said.

"I got hints that something is going to happen during the first days of the next week, most likely on Tuesday. I want you to book a flight home as soon as possible."

"Well, Liushi-ge, just wait a minute."

After a while, she said, "Liushi-ge, there are no tickets."

"What about tomorrow? The day after tomorrow? If you don't have enough money I'll send you some."

"There is no ticket available."

He suddenly had a foreboding feeling. Crackling sounds could be heard from the keyboard as he opened the flight booking website. Searching city after city, Jiang Liushi's heart was sinking. All the tickets for the next three days actually had been sold out, no matter where from where. And the earliest available ones were on the day after the end of the world...

'This is absolutely impossible; it can't be just a mere coincidence...'

Jiang Liushi's mind was racing. He started to think about what could cause the government to restrict the use of long distance transport when it wouldn't restrict the propagation of the virus. After all, it was already in the air all over the world. Then it hit him. The disappearance of the leaders from the public eye and the cancellations of events were due to the preparations they were making.

'Ressources!! The planes, and maybe even the trains and boats, must have been seized to transport ressources, at least a good number of them... The various governments may know that a worldwide virus outbreak is coming, but they don't have anything like the Starseed! They didn't know exactly when it would happen until recently, and now they are rushing the final preparations. Heck, when the outbreak start, they would have control of many planes and trains to evacuate people. Planes and trains that wouldn't crash at the start of the outbreak in the hands of civilians.'

"Liushi-ge, there are places available in 3 days, can't I get those?" she asked in an anxious voice.

"No, it'll be too late."

"Train! What if I buy a train ticket?"

He searched on the net, already expecting the result, and calmly said:

"No train tickets are available. The tickets for the next three days had also been sold out."

"Brother, hang on. I will go to the bus station to ask. Maybe I could even rent a car," Jiang Zhuying said, clearly really worried about what was going on.

"Don't! It'll take at least 2 days, and with the planes and train unavailable, many people will try to move by road. The traffic will be bad."

"Then, what should I do if I can't come?"

"Zhuying, I want you to buy non-perishable food and water for at least 10 days, a first aid kit and medecine, and daily necessities. Starting tomorrow night, stay in your room and secure the door. I expect some riots happening on Tuesday, and I don't know how others will react to the coming events. They may endanger you, so be sure to stay alone in your room. If you have some close friends you're worried about, tell them the same thing, to lock themselves with supplies and not go out. I'll be coming to get you, understood?"

But Jiang Zhuying didn't immediatly respond.

"Xiao Ying! You get some supplies, something to defend yourself and you stay in your room until I come get you. Did you hear me?"

"Yes, I heard you, brother. I understand, I'll be ready" she said resolutely.

"Good. I have to go, I need to finish my preparations. Send me your location and take care of yourself."

Liushi had to slightly modify his plans. At the beginning he wanted his sister to come back, and the 2 of them would leave to go to a holiday resort. Probably taking Li Yuxin and her parents with them if they survived the start of the outbreak. He had been there once. There were a few residents around the place. It was in a beautiful area and most importantly it had all kinds of necessary facilities. He believed they could live there for a while and think a way to survive.

Instead of leaving Jiangbei for a sparsely populated area, he had to go to Nanjing City, which had a vast population. With an expected 60-to-70% of the human population turning into monsters, going into a city wasn't a very attractive idea.

He had 3 days before the outbreak, and he would use them to make the most complex and most eye-catching modifications of his Doomsday Drive: The increased size and additional axle, the reinforced body, the engineering module, the roof's renewable energy devices, the surveillance equipment and the plow. The last 3 would be added on the last day, else it would be too eye-catching.