My Perfect Apocalyptic Life

“WeChat payment, five yuan!”

Meng Xu watched the successful transaction message on his phone with bated breath.

He still needed to sell over twenty more sausages to unlock the ‘Snack Vendor’ career recommendation letter.

Although there were plenty of zombies, those carrying cash were exceedingly rare. Out of the ten captured, maybe one would have any cash… What’s up with people these days? Why don’t they carry cash anymore when they go out?!

Of course, the only reason Meng Xu had managed to ‘sell’ over twenty sausages was thanks to shopkeepers and service personnel… They generally had cash on them.

【Sale successful. You have cumulatively sold 24 snacks (including the first sale reward) and received task rewards: Yuan +14,500, and Allocatable Career Experience +2.】

Seeing the golden text before him, Meng Xu breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

If QR code payments counted, that was truly wonderful!

The only thing Meng Xu found unsatisfactory was that zombies couldn’t scan QR codes, which was the biggest letdown.

Otherwise, lining up zombies for QR code payments would have been a great option.

After receiving the money, Meng Xu looked at Kong Weizhen, who was quietly eating three fried sausages and asked, “Since you bought my sausages, we’re friends now. Do you recognize me as a friend?”

As he spoke, Meng Xu instinctively hefted his blood-stained baseball bat.

Seeing this, Kong Weizhen, who had just finished devouring the three sausages, including nearly swallowing the skewers, shivered and nodded repeatedly, “I do, I do! You’re like a brother from another mother to me. Meeting you feels like finding the guiding light of my life. You’re the best friend I’ve ever made!”

Kong Weizhen forced a smile that looked more like a grimace.

His back was drenched in sweat as if he were dancing on the edge of death.

【Congratulations, host! With your perfect charisma, you’ve successfully made your first friend! I congratulate you and cheer you on! Keep it up, and make even more friends! After all, this world is one big social network!】

Reading the task update, Meng Xu took a deep breath and nodded in satisfaction.

He didn’t know the name of his new friend in front of him, but the system’s confirmation made him very pleased.

Without further ado, Meng Xu approached, patted Kong Weizhen on the shoulder, and encouraged, “Come on, let’s go upstairs! I see quite a few potential new friends up there. I’m sure we’ll get along just fine!”

With a hearty pat, Kong Weizhen’s knees buckled, almost collapsing under Meng Xu’s strong arm.

Normally, humans are more capable than zombies in many situations, but why do they often lose to zombies?

One reason is the zombies’ terrifying contagiousness. Another reason is that humans experience fear, and in close combat when they hesitate, they naturally lose to tireless zombies.

To Kong Weizhen, Meng Xu was now more terrifying than any zombie.

He was practically a supernatural being at this point.

Currently, Kong Weizhen has deduced two rules.

First, if Meng Xu offers you a fried sausage, you must buy it.

Otherwise, you might end up like the zombies downstairs with sausages stuffed in their mouths (according to Kong Weizhen’s grim suspicion).

Second, after buying a sausage, if Meng Xu proposes to ‘be friends,’ you must comply.

Otherwise, your fate might be like those zombies further away with bashed-in heads (another grim speculation).

Kong Weizhen hadn’t figured out more of these rules yet and could only take it one step at a time.

At this point, Kong Weizhen started regretting having signaled to Meng Xu.

Compared to this, even Li Xiang, who bullied others and preached about the ‘Lord’ every day, seemed like a normal person.

Seeing Kong Weizhen hesitating, Meng Xu stopped ascending the stairs and turned to him, “What’s wrong? Are you concerned about something, my friend?”

Hearing the words ‘my friend,’ Kong Weizhen straightened up like a reflex, responding quickly, “No problem, brother, no concerns at all! Please follow me!”

With that, Kong Weizhen led the way, bowing and scraping.

Seeing Kong Weizhen’s behavior, Meng Xu was a bit puzzled.

But soon he understood and felt deeply moved: Having friends is really useful. No matter where you go, a friend is always there.

Meng Xu smiled with satisfaction and followed Kong Weizhen upstairs.

Kong Weizhen moved quickly, filled with urgency.

He needed to warn his two companions upstairs to buy fried sausages and befriend Meng Xu. Otherwise, triggering the ‘Rule-based Horror Story’ and angering this devil who controls sausages and friendships could lead to big trouble!

Rushing up the stairs, Kong Weizhen immediately saw the two guards— the student and the middle-aged woman.

Seeing Kong Weizhen return, the young man was about to say something but noticed Meng Xu following behind and froze, happiness filling his heart. He quickly stepped forward to greet them.

Before the student could speak, Kong Weizhen hurriedly whispered, “If the man behind me offers to sell you two sausages, make sure to buy two, understand?! After buying the sausages, if he says he wants to be friends, you must agree!”

Hearing this, the middle-aged woman and the young man looked at each other in confusion.

The young man was about to ask more questions when Kong Weizhen spoke words that made the young man’s heart sink: “This is a Rule-based Horror Story!”

“Rule-based Horror Story?!”

Both the young man and the middle-aged woman were stunned.

The middle-aged woman didn’t understand what it meant, but the young man, still in college, knew the term and was taken aback, finding it hard to believe. “Brother Kong, this… This Rule-based Horror Story stuff is too far-fetched, isn’t it?”

“Keep your voice down!”

Kong Weizhen was startled by the young man’s loud response. He quickly glanced at Meng Xu, relieved that Meng Xu didn’t seem to have heard. He then fixed the young man and the middle-aged woman with a warning look, whispering, “It’s the apocalypse. Zombies are here! Is it so strange for a Rule-based Horror Story to appear? Just follow my lead if you don’t want to die! The zombies on the first floor are all dead because they didn’t follow the rules! If you don’t want to end up like them, do as I say!”

“His methods are far more brutal than Li Xiang’s! Compared to him, Li Xiang seems like a saint!”

Fearing for their lives, and with Kong Weizhen having shown considerable wisdom over the past few days, the middle-aged woman and the young man nodded repeatedly, already feeling a sense of dread.

At that moment, Meng Xu reached the second floor.

Seeing the young man and the middle-aged woman, Meng Xu’s face lit up with enthusiasm. Holding up the plastic bag, he warmly offered.

“Hey there! How about trying some fried sausages? Two yuan for one, or three for five yuan~”

Meng Xu was brimming with warmth and friendliness.

The middle-aged woman’s eyes were filled with terror, and the young man was trembling so much that he could barely speak.

“W-we’ll buy… we’ll buy…”

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Rule-based Horror Story: a notable genre in Chinese popular culture, particularly in online literature and web novels. Where the horror or supernatural elements are governed by specific, often elaborate rules or systems. The genre often explores dark and unsettling themes through complex systems and rules.