Night of the Apocalypse

Note: Has a long-term history of mental illness and is currently undergoing psychological therapy.

“Is there a problem?”

Shen Qiu keenly noticed the change in Zhang Yue’s expression and calmly asked.

Zhang Yue set the resume aside and said seriously to Shen Qiu,
“Mr. Shen Qiu, your resume is excellent. Moreover, your hobbies align very well with the security position you’re applying for; after all, having a strong physique and quick reflexes are basic requirements for a security guard. However, unfortunately, your resume clearly states that you have a history of mental illness, and we cannot hire someone who is mentally unstable.”

“I’m in good condition now, no problem.”

After a moment of silence, Shen Qiu spoke.

“Mr. Shen Qiu, whether you are in good condition or not is not something you can decide. If you want to get this job, you must provide a certificate of recovery from a professional mental health institution; otherwise, I can’t help you.”

Zhang Yue said regretfully to Shen Qiu.

“I understand. Thank you!”

Shen Qiu immediately stood up and replied calmly.

“Well, that concludes the interview. I look forward to the opportunity to work with you in the future.”

Zhang Yue smiled as she ended the interview.

Shen Qiu nodded slightly and walked toward the door.

Zhang Yue watched Shen Qiu leave and then looked down at the resume in her hand, showing a hint of regret on her face.

A moment later, Shen Qiu walked out of Shengyuan Building.

“Ugh~ another failure.”

Shen Qiu felt a bit of a headache because this history of mental illness had caused him no small amount of trouble.

At that moment, a cold wind accompanied by light rain hit Shen Qiu’s face, taking away a bit of his annoyance.

He then slowly opened his umbrella and walked toward the nearest subway entrance.

Along the way, commuters were heading home, each relaxed and chatting.

“What do you think we should eat tonight?”

“There seems to be a new restaurant opened over by Xika Street. I heard the food there is quite good; we could give it a try.”

“I’ve heard about that place too. It has a pretty good reputation, but the prices are a bit high. Plus, with the recent increase in disagreements with the Blue Alliance, the economy isn’t doing too well. Isn’t that a bit extravagant?”

“The economy is bad, but we still have to eat.”

Shen Qiu glanced at the chatting pedestrians and then shifted his gaze back, continuing toward the subway entrance.

A few minutes later, Shen Qiu arrived at the subway entrance. There were two escalators for passengers to enter and exit, and the crowd was quite dense.

Shen Qiu closed his umbrella and followed the crowd onto the escalator going down.

When he reached the bottom area, he immediately saw the security check entrance. This entrance was equipped with detection devices.

Anyone carrying prohibited items would trigger an alarm while passing through. Standing next to the entrance were two guards on duty.

Shen Qiu calmly followed the crowd through the security check and then encountered three branching paths leading to different subway line platforms.

He headed toward the platform for Line 3, with advertising screens lining both sides of the passage, displaying various advertisements.

Very few people in the crowd stopped to watch. After all, everyone had just finished a day of high-intensity work, and they were mentally and physically exhausted, wanting to get home as quickly as possible.

Before long, Shen Qiu arrived at the waiting platform, where the screen displayed information.

“Attention all passengers, there are 1 minute and 32 seconds until the train arrives. Please prepare for boarding!”

As the countdown finished, a subway train over a hundred meters long pulled into the platform as scheduled.

The doors of each carriage opened, and a dense crowd of people disembarked.

Shen Qiu stood quietly to the side, observing the sea of people as if everything were as familiar as ever.

After a moment, Shen Qiu boarded the subway train. The carriage was fairly full, but it wasn’t very noisy; most passengers either wore headphones listening to music and resting against the seat backs or quietly handled documents on their laptops. A few passengers chatting in groups kept their voices low.

Ding ding~

The subway train doors slowly closed, and a sweet voice announced over the intercom.

“Dear passengers, the train is about to depart. The next stop is Haiwen Street.”

Shen Qiu found a seat and placed his umbrella beside him. Leaning back, he took out his phone and started scrolling through the news.

As soon as he opened the interface, a striking headline caught his eye: “The seventh round of economic negotiations between the Red Alliance and the Blue Alliance has failed again due to differences in opinions.”

Comments on the message board were increasing at a rate of hundreds per second.

“This Blue Alliance is too domineering.”

“If we can’t reach an agreement, then let’s not talk! As if they can’t live without anyone else.”

Just as Shen Qiu was absorbed in his thoughts, a text message suddenly popped up.

“11,052 hours, 23 minutes, and 12 seconds, which is approximately one year and three months. This is the duration of our separation. My heart, like a wilted flower yearning for rain, longs to see you at all times. My eyes are filled with you; they can no longer accommodate anything else. Let’s meet tomorrow at 12:30 PM at the Maple Color Restaurant. See you there~”

Shen Qiu glanced at it expressionlessly, then put his phone away. He slowly raised his head to look at his reflection in the train window, lost in thought.

Half an hour later, Shen Qiu emerged from the subway exit with his umbrella, taking in the view.

Surrounding him were tall buildings and shopping malls, and the streets were even more crowded.

“Sigh~ Underneath all this prosperity, my lonely heart cannot find a place.”

At that moment, as Shen Qiu looked at the dazzling scene before him, he couldn’t help but sigh deeply, feeling an indescribable sense of loneliness within.

The city where Shen Qiu lives is the central city of the Red Alliance’s third administrative district, known as the City of Clear Skies. He is currently standing in the South Seventh Ring of the City of Clear Skies.

The entire City of Clear Skies is divided into ten rings; the closer you get to the center, the more prosperous it is, with better facilities and correspondingly higher prices.

Shen Qiu walked along the street for about seven hundred meters until he reached the entrance of a residential community.

The entrance of the community had the prominent name “Maple Fragrance Courtyard” written in gold paint.

A middle-aged man in a security uniform greeted Shen Qiu with a smile.

“Mr. Shen, welcome back.”

“Mm.”

Shen Qiu nodded slightly as he walked inside. The community consists of thirty-story buildings with a very high density, totaling thirty-two buildings. They all have a two-elevator, five-household structure, and the internal greenery barely meets the minimum standards. Additionally, the external buildings face a night market street, which is quite noisy.

Despite being on the outer edge of the seventh ring, the quality of the community is still quite average. However, it’s important to note that outside the ten rings of the City of Clear Skies is not an empty suburban area; it’s scattered with numerous residential communities.

As a result, the housing prices here are over ten thousand per square meter, making it relatively expensive. The house Shen Qiu bought here is merely an 89-square-meter, two-bedroom, one-living room, one-bathroom small suite.

Moreover, the reason he could afford it was largely due to the massive sponsorship funds and project completion bonuses he received from participating in extreme sports for many years.

Of course, Shen Qiu did not spend all his earnings on buying a house; a significant portion went towards purchasing professional gear, while another part was donated to orphanages and used for retrieving and taking care of the remains of unfortunate teammates who had died.

After all, not every teammate has the support of family and relatives. In many cases, when a teammate dies, there is no one to search for the body. As the team leader, Shen Qiu would personally cover the costs to hire professionals to search for the remains.

These expenses are quite high, which is why Shen Qiu didn’t have much money left.

Before long, Shen Qiu returned to his apartment 404. He extended his hand to press on the fingerprint lock to verify his fingerprint.

Click!

As soon as the recognition was successful, the door automatically opened.

Shen Qiu walked inside and then closed the door behind him.

Inside, the curtains were drawn, and the room was quite dim. He raised his hand and lightly touched the switch.

In an instant, the living room was illuminated.

A stunning scene quickly came into view, as the clean and tidy living room walls were adorned with over sixty black-and-white photo frames.