Bai Li did some mental construction, convincing herself in her heart as the elevator finally dropped to the ground floor.
She immediately got out as the door opened and breathed in the air around her and she felt her mind getting clearer.
She shook her head to get rid of some unnecessary thoughts and walked out of the apartment building.
On the way outside, she took out her phone and opened the real estate app that she had set to download back in the apartment.
The home page popped up with pictures of smiling agents and shiny apartment photos. She clicked on "Sell my property."
A small form opened:
City: She selected her city from the drop-down list.
District: She scrolled through the names and tapped on hers.
Address: The app auto-filled it when she typed the building name.
Floor area: 86 square meters.
Rooms: 2 bedrooms, 1 living room, 1 kitchen, 1 bathroom.
Then it asked for the expected price.
She didn't hesitate for a moment and typed in 6 million yuan. The housing prices in these areas have been increasing every single year. These 6 million yuan for a 2bhk apartment is completely justified and maybe even a little less but she had to set it to a price which would get her a buyer as soon as possible. After all, she only had a little over 6 days left before the apocalypse begins.
After that, the app showed a bright orange button:
"Request an Agent Visit."
Bai Li tapped it.
A little spinning circle appeared, followed by a message:
"Thank you! A nearby verified agent will contact you within 10 minutes."
As she approached the outer gates, she quit the real estate app and entered an online cab app and thankfully, there was a cab right outside the outer gates.
Walking out from the gates, she immediately spotted the cab. She opened the door and the destination was already selected in the app. She shared the OTP with the driver and the car started heading towards the local bank which was about 20 minutes away from the apartment complex she was in.
As the car drove on the highway, she sat inside with a myriad of thoughts in her head. A lot has changed; her entire life has changed within the blink of an eye. She still remembered her subordinates from her previous life, some friends but now, no one would remember that she ever even existed in that world. But she didn't regret the choice she made for herself. She never had any family, nor did she ever have someone that she loved. In a way, she was completely alone in that world. Even though she had friends, no one could truly ever get close to her heart.
Sighing, Bai Li stopped thinking about her past life. It was past now, something that only existed in her memories. It would be better to completely forget them.
As she was lost in thought, the phone in her hand started vibrating. She looked at it and found that a call had come through from an unknown number. She knew that it must be an agent from the real estate app.
Without hesitating, she answered and a woman's voice came through the phone.
"Hello? Is this Miss Bai?"
The woman's voice on the other end sounded clear and professional, with that friendly tone agents often practiced for customer calls.
"Yes," Bai Li replied, her tone calm but distant.
"Hello! I'm Chen Mei from Beike Realty. You just submitted a property sale request, right?"
"Mm, that's right."
"Perfect. Can I confirm some details quickly?"
"Go ahead."
"Alright. You're selling a two-bedroom apartment, 86 square meters, in the Jinghua Riverside Complex, building number 1, right?"
"Yes."
"Got it. And your expected price is six million yuan?"
"Yes."
Chen Mei hesitated a bit before continuing, "That's quite a reasonable price for that area. I think it'll attract buyers fast if we list it today. May I ask when you'll be free for a quick property inspection? I'll just need to take photos, verify ownership documents, and we can upload the listing immediately afterward."
Bai Li thought for a second, glancing out of the car window as the highway scenery slid by. The city outside looked normal, bustling, unaware that the world had less than a week left before it would fall into chaos.
She needed to move quickly, but not too fast. There were still a few things she had to do before the inspection.
"I'll be busy for a bit," she said finally. "Let's meet in about two hours. Is that fine?"
"Yes, that's perfect!" The woman sounded relieved. "Can I come to your building lobby around, let's say, 3 PM?"
"That's fine."
"Wonderful. Please keep your property certificate, ID card, and ownership deed ready. If you have your apartment purchase invoice, that helps too."
"Alright," Bai Li said simply.
"Then I'll see you at 3. Thank you, Miss Bai!"
The call ended with a polite beep, and the car continued its steady hum down the road. Bai Li put her phone down, leaned back in her seat, and exhaled slowly.
Bai Li sat quietly for a moment as the call ended. There were quite a few things that she needed to finish in the next 2 hours.
The inside of the car was silent with the cool air from the AC making it quite comfortable. Bai Li thought about the state of the world after a week but except for those zombie apocalypse movies, she had no other impression of how the end of the world would look like. But she knew in her heart that it would definitely be far more dangerous than she even dares to imagine. Having been in the battlefields and having countless experience in dangerous missions, she has seen a lot of bloodshed and even her hands were filled with the blood of the enemies. She can say with certainty that she has what it takes to survive in this world but being extra prepared makes a lot more of a difference. After all, it's not only zombies or monsters that she has to be careful of but also fellow humans.
.
.
.
To be continued.