Chapter 3 p1: Training
After leaving the gym, Jiang Zao had originally planned to go to the supermarket to stock up, but on second thought, she realized she couldn’t stay here forever. The dense population of a large city was far too conducive to the spread of the zombie virus. So, she only bought daily necessities and prepared to head home.
Night had fallen in the city.
The iconic landmark of Linhai City, a colossal oriental tower, was already lit up with neon lights. After emerging from the supermarket’s underpass, she found the parking lot tucked away in a corner behind the supermarket, untouched by the sea of lights.
Just as Jiang Zao pressed her car key and the lights flashed twice, two raggedly dressed men leaning on sticks darted out from the darkness, blocking her path. “Ma’am, have some pity. We haven’t eaten in days…”
This was precisely why Jiang Zao disliked going out alone at night. The economic boom brought by the rapid development of artificial intelligence inevitably led to an increase in unemployment. At night, the city’s homeless were like cockroaches, emerging from unknown corners, impossible to drive away, impossible to eliminate.
The men’s greedy gazes shifted from the bags in Jiang Zao’s hands to her body. The feeling of being stared at was unsettling.
Jiang Zao remained calm. Just as she was about to part with some money to avoid trouble, the buzzing sound of a drone came from above. A beam of light shot down, instantly illuminating the surroundings. A cold, mechanical voice followed.
“Patrol Drone 083 has detected an anomaly. Target locked. Clear photos and coordinates have been uploaded. Patrol officers are en route. Patrol Drone 083 reminds you that you are under real-time video surveillance. Please do not make any rash moves.”
The small drone circled, revealing the tranquilizer dart injector in the black magazine on its underside. The roar of a motorcycle echoed from the alley entrance. Before the bike came to a complete stop, a mechanical dog leaped from the back seat, its paws clattering as it ran toward them, blocking the homeless men’s escape route.
A patrol officer took off his helmet and walked over to Jiang Zao.
“Are you alright?”
Jiang Zao shook her head. “I’m fine.”
“It’s getting late. You should head home.”
Jiang Zao nodded her thanks, grabbed her shopping bags, and quickly got into her car, leaving the scene.
Leaving the parking lot and turning onto the main road, one side was a spectacle of towering skyscrapers and flashing neon lights, with flying cars weaving through the bustling, decadent scene. The other side was a landscape of dilapidated advertising light boxes, with recruitment and job-seeking ads fluttering everywhere, and people with backpacks trudging along, lifeless.
Homeless people squatting by the roadside watched for opportunities, extending their hands to every passerby, only to be cursed at and avoided. Some even got into fights, only to be warned by an approaching drone.
Before the red light turned green, Jiang Zao grabbed a bag of bread from the passenger seat and tossed it to a woman begging on the roadside with a child in her arms, then stepped on the gas and drove off.
Even though it was late when she got home, she didn’t rest.
Jiang Zao had always been a person of action. After a glass of water, she went straight to her study, took out a sheet of A4 paper, and began to create a workout plan. She preferred the rustling sound of a pen on paper to a digital screen.
Workout Plan: 7:00 Wake up
Jiang Zao thought for a moment, then crossed it out and changed it to 6:00. Every minute and second was now precious. She only needed enough sleep to maintain her body’s normal metabolism.
Although as an outdoor blogger she considered herself to be in decent shape, hiking almost weekly and having been to high-altitude areas, it was far from enough for the apocalypse. She needed to build muscle strength and endurance for middle- to long-distance running.
6:20 Cardio Warm-up
Standard Push-ups: 30 reps x 3 sets
Plank: 120 seconds x 2 sets
Bodyweight Squats: 60 reps x 2 sets
Jumping Jacks: 30 reps x 2 sets
Jump Rope: 500 reps
7:00 Coffee, Light Meal
7:30 Morning Run: 5km (First week for adaptation, gradually increasing to 10km/15km/20km)
8:30 Stretching, Wash Up, Breakfast
9:00 Archery Class
The class was only two hours, but members could practice at the range, so Jiang Zao planned to practice until 12:00 before lunch.
12:00–13:00 Lunch, Rest
13:00–14:00 Cardio, Jump Rope: 500 reps
14:00 Gym, Weightlifting
17:00 Dinner
18:00 Brisk Walk: 5km after dinner
20:00 Repeat morning workout routine, increasing intensity as needed
21:00 Stretching, Wash Up
22:00 Bedtime
Unsure about some of the training content, she sent it to her fitness coach, who replied quickly.
“Miss, are you trying to lose weight or build muscle?”
“Build muscle. Mainly to strengthen my core, and upper and lower body strength.”
“Oh, I see. You’re in great shape now, you know. You do know that more muscle will make you look bulky, right? A brawny look isn’t very flattering on a girl…”
“I have a wedding photoshoot in a month. My fiancé likes them strong. The stronger, the better. He said if I don’t meet his requirements, he’ll leave me.”
After sending the message, even Jiang Zao was impressed with her own ability to spin a tale.
The other side showed that he was typing for a long time.
He was probably typing and deleting, then typing again, likely thinking she was some top-tier, love-obsessed fool, willing to do anything for love.
Fortunately, he did reply.
“Alright, alright, I’ll definitely help you. What you have now is actually enough, but if you want to focus on strength, do you have a stationary bike at home? If so, that’s great. You could also buy a dumbbell, not too heavy, just a beginner level one. When you come to the gym in the afternoon, I’ll add some bench presses for you.”
“Also, with such a high-intensity workout, your nutrition must keep up. Get more protein. It’s best to train five days a week and rest for two, otherwise your body won’t be able to take it.”
Jiang Zao rolled her eyes. Shouldn’t he have just said that from the start? Although the coach was decent, being preachy seemed to be a common flaw in all men. He just had to pry into her private life, and upon hearing her “crazy in love” story, he immediately developed a desire to save her.
It is better to demolish ten temples than to ruin one marriage.
The man was probably still congratulating himself on doing a good deed. Jiang Zao, however, decided to delete him once her training was on track. There was no use in keeping him around.
Jiang Zao posted the training plan in the most conspicuous place in her living room and circled a date on the calendar.
Days until the zombie crisis outbreak: 90
She had to hurry.
By the time she finished all this, the digital clock on the desk showed it was past midnight, but Jiang Zao wasn’t sleepy at all. It wasn’t just because of the faint anxiety about the impending apocalypse, but also because this was usually the time she edited her videos.
She opened her social media creator’s dashboard as usual. In her private messages, besides some brands wanting to collaborate with her for promotions, there were also comments from fans: “Sis, weren’t you going to hike on an island? It’s been days, where’s the video?”
“Why hasn’t the uploader updated? I can only fall asleep at night after watching your videos! (frantically pounding the ground)”
“Checked in at the same snowy mountain as the uploader (crying). The weather was terrible, with strong winds and hail. Almost didn’t make it back.”
“Next time, stop filming your stupid camping process. Zero people want to see how you set up a tent. Show your face and legs, you’ll get more views (smirking).”
…
