Ice Age Apocalypse: I Hoard Billions of Supplies Chapter 1490: Akihabara

~5 minute read · 1,205 words
Previously on Ice Age Apocalypse: I Hoard Billions of Supplies...
Zhang Yi and his team, including Baili Changqing and Wu Di, traveled to Edo, Neon, under the disguise of the Deng family. They observed that Edo appeared surprisingly prosperous and normal, despite the global apocalypse, raising Zhang Yi's suspicions.

Fatty Xu almost jumped up. He nervously glanced at the others and argued, "No way! I just want to go check out Akihabara!"

Edo's Akihabara was the holy land for anime otaku. As a hardcore nerd, Fatty Xu naturally wanted to see it now that he'd made it to Edo after the apocalypse.

Uncle Yu punched him. "Chunlei, what time do you think this is? We're here to work. Can you stop thinking about having fun for once?"

Fatty Xu immediately drooped his head in grievance.

Deng Shentong, however, chuckled. "Actually, it's not a big deal. I'm pretty familiar with the Daliangdu Museum, so why don't I take my people over there? After all, it was my proposal."

"We can split up and investigate the entire Edo City. Akihabara is also a very densely populated area, definitely worth checking out."

Zhang Yi crossed his arms, looking serious. "If that's the case, then the red-light district has even more people."

Fatty Xu immediately drooped his head in grievance.

Deng Shentong laughed.

In the end, Zhang Yi organized everyone into teams to investigate different areas of Edo City.

He went with Zhou Ke'er and Yang Xinxin. Fatty Xu went with Uncle Yu and Huahua. Liang Yue went with Mu Yan.

And Deng Shentong's group of four moved together.

The teams split into four directions, beginning their investigation of Edo City.

Zhou Ke'er and Yang Xinxin both wore thick cold-weather suits and deerskin boots, only their small faces exposed as they nestled against Zhang Yi on either side.

They looked like the perfect family of three.

Walking down Edo's spacious streets, there were a fair number of pedestrians. Some shops on both sides were open for business.

Although thick glass separated them, the light spilling out and the cheerful signboard girls at the doors greeting customers still gave off a lively, vibrant feeling.

It was as if this wasn't a post-apocalyptic world, but some winter afternoon.

"Ah, this is nice," Zhou Ke'er sighed contentedly.

"It feels like the apocalypse never happened!"

She suddenly grabbed Zhang Yi's arm, looking at him with longing. "Zhang Yi, can we rebuild Tianshui City later too? Make it as prosperous as it was before the apocalypse? What do you think?"

Before Zhang Yi could answer, Yang Xinxin spoke up. "As things stand, that's completely impossible! In terms of population, Tianshui City only has about ten thousand people. Besides, Tianshui has been through multiple wars and has been severely damaged."

She thought for a moment and added, "Replicating a miniature city, about one-thirtieth of Tianshui City's original size, would be more reasonable, though."

Zhang Yi didn't engage with their topic. He walked slowly, just like everyone else on the street.

His eyes were constantly scanning their surroundings.

Every building, every passerby, every shop.

"Can things really return to how they were after the apocalypse?"

Looking at everything before him, even he fell into deep thought.

Walking along the street, time slipped by without them noticing. Zhang Yi and his two companions felt like they were in another world.

At first, Zhang Yi even suspected that everything he saw was an illusion.

Or that the people on the streets weren't alive, just machines or puppets.

But when he got closer, he realized they were all real.

This meant that Edo had already restored a normal human society.

Even better than Blizzard City or Shengjing City.

"How did they do it? I'd love to learn their methods," Zhang Yi said with a helpless smile.

The peace here was practically a human miracle.

Without realizing it, he arrived at a place awash in colorful lights. It was still daytime, and though the daylight wasn't strong, there was no need for such extravagant illumination.

But in this area, the high-rise buildings were covered in neon lights of every color. Just looking up was enough to dazzle the eyes.

What was most striking, though, was that these weren't ordinary neon lights.

Hundred-inch giant screens played videos of cute magical girls in adorable outfits, raunchy galgame advertisements, and commercials for various maid cafes.

"Sir, Miss! Welcome to LoveHouse! We have an underground idol performance today!"

A maid in a black-and-white uniform walked over, handing out flyers with a bright smile.

Zhang Yi took it instinctively, realizing he had unintentionally wandered into Edo's anime holy land, Akihabara.

Electronic sounds filled his ears. Crowds of people bustled past. Backpack-carrying otaku dove in and out of manga stores hunting for treasures.

"Daddy, let's go check out that store!"

A cute girl with twin-tails and black-and-white striped thigh-highs pointed excitedly at the LoveHouse ahead, speaking to the middle-aged man beside her.

The man looked down at the girl and smiled dotingly.

"Sure, Airi-chan. Let's go together!"

...

At a secondhand shop nearby, a woman in a blue kimono with her hair coiled high walked out, accompanied by her tall high-school-age son.

The store clerk saw her off enthusiastically.

"Take care, Mrs. Takayanagi! Thank you for your patronage!"

...

Zhang Yi watched it all, the maid cafe flyer crumpling slowly in his hand.

Suddenly, an ambulance siren wailed nearby.

A traffic accident seemed to have happened nearby. Some teenagers had rescued the victim and were giving first aid on the roadside.

The ambulance pulled up. A long-haired, gaunt doctor jumped out to check the patient's condition.

Then he shouted back at a woman in a pink nurse uniform. "Nanase! Give the patient oxygen!"

"Yes... Doctor Biran!"

...

Watching everything, Zhang Yi's brow slowly furrowed. He felt like something was off about all this, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

The maid beside him was still cheerfully introducing the underground idol performing that day, saying how hard this girl named Terumon worked and how beautifully she sang.

Zhang Yi looked down at the flyer, then said to Zhou Ke'er and Yang Xinxin, "Let's go watch the show!"

The two hadn't expected Zhang Yi to have such an interest.

But since they were in Akihabara, experiencing the local specialty was a great idea.

So the three followed the maid into the cafe.

Unexpectedly, there were quite a few people inside already.

The cafe wasn't very big, with about a dozen tables inside. Some guys with headbands and glow sticks were already waiting, faces full of excitement.

Zhang Yi and his companions were seated at a table in the back. The maid beamed and handed them the menu.

The prices were absurdly high. Even the simplest heart-shaped omurice was priced at 100,000 yen.

But money wasn't an issue. Edo was still using electronic currency issued by the Neon National Bank as a standard medium of exchange.

When they'd arrived, Deng Shentong had used his connections to deposit a billion into each person's account, free to spend however they liked.

To avoid drawing attention, Zhang Yi only ordered a few expensive dishes and drinks, but that was already enough to make the maid's smile even brighter.

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