The Locksmith's New Era!

The lower the floor, the darker the room. The red fog blocked a lot of sunlight. Sunlight could barely penetrate. Reaching the 10th floor, the outside light was like a cloudy day. Virginia creeper covered most windows, and the interior was even darker. Below the 5th floor, the outdoor brightness was like a moonlit night. The interior was even worse; the glass was completely covered. If no lights were on, the room would be plunged into complete darkness. Coupled with the red fog's obstruction, he couldn't see anyone beyond 5 meters (approx. 16.4 feet).

However, Perception was still unaffected. Jake stood in an empty room on the 2nd floor, looking gravely at the ground floor. In his Perception view, the ground floor lobby had almost turned into an ocean of plants. Faint lights emitted everywhere. Most were neutral yellow. A small number of plants emitted red light, clearly attacking humans.

Among the plants, various insects and animals moved through them. Giant rats, cockroaches, and ants were everywhere. Flies and dragonflies were the size of drones, moving and circling among the plants. Most animals were also yellow light. This meant they wouldn't actively attack humans. It was likely their inherited survival rules from the past. However, as time went on and the survival competition intensified, it was hard to say these animals wouldn't regard humans as prey.

Besides that, Jake also confirmed one thing: Perception could "see" what was under the soil. Fortune Center Apartments was built relatively early. There was no parking lot downstairs. Below the ground were the foundations and soil. Jake "saw" various creatures in the soil, mostly rats and earthworms, which were not very threatening.

Jake observed carefully for a few minutes, confirmed there was no threat nearby. To minimize exposed skin, Jake took out a thick windbreaker from his Portable Space and put on sturdy hiking boots. Preparations complete, a thought sparked in Jake's mind. Phasing!

Jake phased through the floor and landed on the ground floor. This room was empty. A window wasn't securely closed. Virginia creeper climbed in through the window crack, covering the entire wall and ceiling.

Just then, in Jake's Perception, he suddenly "saw" a man and a woman cautiously walk over, finally arriving outside the door. The woman held a flashlight for illumination. The man fiddled with tools outside the door for a while.

Click! The door lock clicked open. Jake was surprised. Well now, a skilled professional! Security doors are hard to open. Even Chris, given a hammer, would take a lot of effort to force open a security door. This man was truly skilled. He could open a door in just a few minutes!

The man turned smugly to the woman and said: "See? I told you it was simple."

He was a locksmith. Before the apocalypse, he was just an unappreciated low-tier person. Now, he had found his opportune time!

The woman said in a sweet, cloying voice: "Brother Leo, you're amazing!"

Leo (Liu Dongqiang) said smugly: "Little Ginny, follow me, I guarantee you won't starve. What is that [Room and board included] kid? No matter how much food he stores, it will run out eventually. Follow me, we'll go through apartment by apartment, open one building, then open the next. We can eat our fill for at least three years!"

Jake chuckled inwardly. Too bad, you're one step too late. I've already taken all the supplies!

Little Ginny said shyly: "Brother Leo, I'm not an easy woman..." Although she said that, the man and woman closed the door and passionately started making out. They couldn't even see a person standing in the red fog not far away.

Jake glanced at the woman. The system popped up a reminder:

[Ginny] [Age: 36] [Quality Score: 7 points] (Contrasting Type) [Character Score: 0 points] [Overall Score: 0 points]

[Ding! Does not meet system minimum requirements!]

Well now! A 0-point master! Truly a rare sight. Locksmith, enjoy yourself. Jake silently mourned for the locksmith for a moment. His body slowly phased underground. He controlled himself to descend about 2 meters (approx. 6.6 feet) deep and walked forward in the soil.

The feeling of phasing underground was novel. It was completely dark around him; his eyes couldn't see anything. But Perception ability provided vision. Jake discovered that in his phased state, he could not only pass through rocks and soil, but also creatures like earthworms.

"500 meters (approx. 0.5 km / 0.3 miles) to the east, there's a Mega Mall with a supermarket inside." Jake identified the direction and headed towards the Mega Mall.

...

After Leo and Ginny were intimate for a while, Ginny was a bit impatient. She said patiently: "Brother Leo, not out here."

Leo said, still wanting more: "Okay, let's get some food first, then we'll continue back home."

"Mm~" Ginny said coyly.

The two then started searching the room. They didn't look, and that was fine. But when they did, they got a fright. The entire room looked as if it had been moved by a moving company, completely empty! Not to mention food, even most of the furniture was gone.

Leo scratched his head: "Did this family move out? Let's try another one."

Ginny was a bit disappointed, but said nothing; it was purely bad luck. She had to firmly control Leo, a blue-chip asset in the apocalypse: "Then let's try another one?"

"Let's try another one."

The two tried another apartment. It was still empty. They tried another... Leo was speechless: "Holy crap! What's going on?!"

Ginny's expression also changed: "Why is there nothing?!"

Leo quickly went to an apartment he had just visited the day before yesterday. He opened the door and saw it was empty! Leo trembled a bit. Where's the stuff?! Did I hit a ghost?! He panicked.

The walls, illuminated by the red fog, emitted a dark red glow, looking eerie. Leo forced himself to calm down. Previously, relying on his lock-picking ability, he hadn't cherished the food he got and squandered a lot of it. Now there was almost no spare food at home. Who could have known that now he couldn't find any food!

Brother Leo said, confused: "This is big trouble now!"

Ginny's face was grim. Useless! If everything in the rooms was taken, what good was a locksmith like Leo? She really wanted to leave now. However, leaving Leo wouldn't give her a better target either. She could only endure it, subtly glancing at Leo. Anyway, lock-picking ability was still very useful in the apocalypse...

Leo was still confused. Ginny showed no change in expression, feigning panic and asked: "Brother Leo, what do we do if there's no food?"

Leo was both panicked and embarrassed. The boasting he had just made was instantly disproven. He didn't know how to face Ginny and said, flushed with embarrassment: "This..."

Ginny said softly: "Or... how about we go to other apartments tonight... and get some?"

"Steal?!" Leo was startled. He quickly waved his hand: "No way! No way! It'll be trouble if the police catch us!" In peaceful times, he was a timid person who avoided trouble. He wouldn't dare cause trouble at all.

Ginny felt frustrated with him: "Brother Leo, can the police still arrest you now? Look at how many people died this afternoon. Did anyone care? And that convenience store clerk, he killed Coach Chris in public. Did the police come?"

Leo hesitated: "This..."

Ginny said aggrievedly: "I know Brother Leo is a good person. Just pretend I didn't say anything. I just can't bear to see you starve." She hugged Leo, leaned her head on his shoulder, and said gently: "No matter what Brother Leo chooses, Little Ginny is willing to stay with you until the last moment. I only regret not meeting you a few years earlier. I can't even have children for you anymore, alas, it's just our bad luck..."

Leo's mind exploded. He had lived for over 30 years, and no girl had ever been this gentle with him. Especially a stunningly beautiful married woman with a full figure like Ginny? This isn't the apocalypse at all. It's clearly my spring! Leo felt as if he heard evil whispers of temptation. That's right! In this situation, can the police still come and arrest people? If he quietly opened the door in the middle of the night and just stole some things, who would find out?

Leo gritted his teeth: "Okay! Tonight I'll go get some food. I know whose apartment still has food."

Ginny's lowered eyes flashed with a sharp glint, and her mouth curved subtly. Humph. This kind of naive man is easiest to manipulate.

...