Lin Ran heard Gu Xiangwan making the exaggerated sounds of flushing a toilet.
What toilet was that woman flushing?
Was she flushing the air?
But Lin Ran wasn’t in a rush—she finished dressing and stood inside the stall, waiting.
Until she heard Gu Xiangwan’s footsteps approaching outside the restroom.
She even began to hear her talking with He Sheng.
That was even more unusual.
Gu Xiangwan clearly had some scheme, yet nothing had actually happened.
What exactly was she trying to do?
Lin Ran quietly stepped onto the toilet and leaned forward to peek outside her stall.
What she saw stunned her.
Outside her stall stood three zombies.
The three looked confused, as if they didn’t know why they were there—like they had originally been elsewhere and were suddenly placed here.
Moreover, their mouths were frozen.
Someone had deliberately frozen their mouths to prevent them from making any sound.
Thinking of Gu Xiangwan’s strange behavior, there was no doubt—these zombies had been deliberately placed here using her ability-space.
“Miss Lin Ran, why haven’t you come out yet?” Gu Xiangwan’s voice called from outside. “Before we left, President Zhou specifically said to hurry. The plane in Jing City has already arrived, waiting at the villa for us.”
Lin Ran sneered. Gu Xiangwan was using Zhou Wangye to try to provoke her into coming out quickly.
He Sheng didn’t say anything, probably because he couldn’t rush her.
Gu Xiangwan continued, “President Zhou hates it when people drag things out; he has no sense of time.”
Meanwhile, outside the stall, the zombies’ mouths gradually began to thaw.
They were slowly becoming aware of their surroundings.
Lin Ran noticed two large plastic buckets of water placed at the far end of the restroom, presumably filled by staff for backup use.
She deliberately opened the stall door and let out a piercing scream, “Aaaah!!!!”
Then, using her water ability, she controlled the two buckets of water to lift herself, suspending herself above the zombies’ heads.
The zombies saw her and smelled her, but couldn’t reach her.
“Grrr—”
“Arrgh—”
The zombies roared.
Outside, Gu Xiangwan heard the scream and smirked.
Seeing He Sheng immediately rush toward the restroom, she thought: too late!
She had placed the zombies right outside Lin Ran’s stall at a very close distance.
It was guaranteed that when Lin Ran opened the door, she would come face-to-face with the zombies.
And she knew that Lin Ran’s first reaction to zombies was always terror, not attack—she would scream.
With that scream, the three zombies would definitely lock onto Lin Ran’s position.
Lin Ran’s spatial ability had just been upgraded to level three.
But after using the spatial blades twice in succession, she needed a break.
And here, there was no Secretary Wang to restrain the zombies or store them in her ability-space.
She had already calculated everything.
He Sheng, hearing the piercing scream from inside, felt his heart skip a beat.
—The young lady absolutely cannot be harmed!
He rushed into the restroom. The first thing he saw were three zombies violently tearing at the air.
The stench of decay hit him, and his heart sank: this is bad.
His eyes swept the floor, but there was no sign of Lin Ran.
Could it be… that such a big young lady was swallowed by the zombies in an instant?
In the moment his chest seized with despair, he suddenly looked up—
And saw Lin Ran trembling, lying on a floating water platform. Crystal-clear water supported her, shimmering faintly in the dim light.
“Brother He, save me!” Lin Ran cried in a trembling voice, clutching the edge of the water platform with delicate fingers. “I’m so scared… there are zombies! Help me!”
He Sheng immediately activated his metal ability. Three metallic spikes shot out, piercing the zombies’ heads with precision.
Once the threat was eliminated, Lin Ran’s body went limp, and the water platform that had been holding her collapsed into a puddle.
She fell from midair, but He Sheng caught her steadily.
His strong arms supported her waist from beneath, while his other hand held her legs.
Lin Ran buried her face in his shoulder, sobbing: “Brother He, I was so scared… there were so many zombies… I’ve never killed zombies before… sob sob sob!”
He Sheng tensed, holding the young lady, soaking wet in his arms.
He didn’t dare let her touch his body, yet he couldn’t think of anything else but to soothe her gently: “It’s okay now. It’s over.”
At that moment, Gu Xiangwan hurriedly rushed into the restroom.
When she saw the scene, her eyes practically flared with anger—
Lin Ran was not only alive, she had awakened her water ability!
That water platform holding her clearly proved the use of her ability.
Seeing someone arrive, He Sheng wanted to set Lin Ran down.
But she was so small, weak, and trembling: “I’m so scared… I’m really so scared!”
Men often felt pity for the weak.
Seeing her pitiful state, he stopped insisting on putting her down, and instead said to Gu Xiangwan, “Secretary Gu, let’s go find President Zhou immediately.”
As soon as he spoke, Zhou Wangye and the others arrived. “What’s happening?”
Lin Ran’s scream had been so piercing that they had heard it from outside.
Gu Xiangwan was about to answer, but was shoved aside by a strong force.
Meng Yan immediately caught her, worried she would fall.
Zhou Wangye’s eyes fell on Lin Ran, soaking wet and trembling in He Sheng’s arms.
Water still dripped from her hair tips, like a frightened cat.
He strode forward, reaching out to take her into his own arms.
But Lin Ran clutched He Sheng’s sleeve even tighter, sobbing into his chest: “Zombies… sob… I’m so scared… sob sob sob…”
It was clear she was extremely frightened.
Zhou Wangye felt an inexplicable tug at his heart, like being pierced by an invisible force.
He had imagined that one day, this girl who always followed him would, when scared, hide in someone else’s arms, even refusing him.
(He Sheng: I’m not her arms! I’m holding her!!! Speak up for me!)
He no longer hesitated, and almost forcefully took Lin Ran from He Sheng’s arms.
His movements carried an authority that allowed no refusal.
Secretary Wang, standing nearby, quickly handed over a dry coat.
Zhou Wangye wrapped Lin Ran tightly in it, holding her close in his arms.
Secretary Wang thought: a textbook prince’s embrace!
Only when Lin Ran was safely settled in his arms did Zhou Wangye feel his tension ease slightly.
He lifted his gaze toward He Sheng, his voice cold: “Tell me, what happened?”
Gu Xiangwan opened her mouth to speak, but Zhou Wangye pinned her in place with a glance.
The icy glare made her nervous—she had to admit it was clearly anger sparked by Lin Ran being frightened.
President Zhou shouldn’t be like this.
He Sheng didn’t dare delay and quickly explained the events.
After listening, Zhou Wangye’s gaze was sharp as a blade: “Before the two girls went into the restroom, didn’t you check it first?”
He Sheng bowed his head in shame: “Sorry, it was my oversight.”
He had seen Secretary Gu standing outside and assumed it was safe. Plus, the young lady was urgent… all excuses now seemed pale.
Gu Xiangwan’s heart instantly sank.
Yet He Sheng didn’t argue further, silently taking full responsibility.
She had just let out a small sigh of relief—
But the next second, Zhou Wangye’s gaze shifted to her, his face dark: “Secretary Gu, you came out of the restroom before the young lady. Didn’t you notice there were zombies inside?”