There were four residents on the first floor, but all the doors were tightly shut. Lin Qi did not go to open these doors, but instead followed the stairs up to the second floor.
After searching floor by floor, all the doors were in a locked state, which finally made him relax a little.
He was afraid that some of these doors might be open, which would prove that someone had been here, or that there might be zombies inside.
Even so, Lin Qi did not let his guard down. Instead, he found a room on the second floor equipped with a security door and stopped in front of it to observe carefully for a moment.
The door lock was the handle-type, so Lin Qi inserted a wire into the keyhole and gave it a gentle twist. With a click, the door was opened.
Carefully pushing the door open, he found the room had good lighting and looked quite bright. The floor was clean and tidy, and on the table in the living room, there was a plate of rotten fruit.
"This is the one!"
Various signs indicated that no one was currently living in this house, but Lin Qi still cautiously searched every room.
This was a standard three-bedroom, one-living-room layout with an area of over one hundred square meters. There were some supplies piled up in the corner of the kitchen, and three barrels of purified water in the living room. However, the refrigerator had long since lost power; as soon as Lin Qi opened it a crack, he smelled a foul odor.
The kitchen had an induction cooker and a gas stove. He tried turning them on and found there was still plenty of gas, so he took out a cigarette he had collected from the study earlier, lit it, and took a deep drag.
Compared to daily supplies, these mental stimulants were not necessities, but they could help a person temporarily relieve psychological pressure.
After finishing the cigarette, Lin Qi did not dare to delay. He quickly closed the door and went downstairs. After exiting the building, the sky outside had already dimmed.
It was late autumn, and while the daytime temperature was over twenty degrees, the temperature would plummet at night, dropping to around five degrees.
Crossing the street, he could faintly see a few zombies wandering in the distance. Lin Qi couldn't help but quicken his pace, running toward the back door of the hotel.
Just as he reached the door before he could call out, Zhao Tuantuan had already opened it. The sweat on her forehead had dampened her hair, which clung to her cheeks, giving her a slight flush.
"Brother Lin, I have already moved all the supplies from upstairs down!"
Zhao Tuantuan wiped the sweat from the corner of her eyes. Unlike ordinary girls who only knew how to hide in a corner and cry, she just wanted to prove her worth.
"Well done. Don't bring too much tonight; it won't be too late to get more when we have time tomorrow."
Half a room's worth of items could not be moved in just one or two trips. He feared this girl had run back and forth a dozen times without resting for long.
Lin Qi only picked a few items, and the two left through the back door, one after the other, preparing to cross the street.
At this moment, the zombies in the distance were getting closer, but fortunately, they were the earliest infected zombies, moving slowly and posing little threat.
The two successfully crossed the street, entered the Iron Gate, locked it tightly, and jogged all the way to the second floor.
Once the door was closed, the room instantly became dim. Zhao Tuantuan collapsed onto the sofa, gasping for air.
Although she had already awakened in some aspects, this level of physical exertion almost left her unable to catch her breath.
Her chest rose and fell with her breathing, and suddenly, with a pop, her tightly fastened collar burst open, and a button flew onto Lin Qi.
"Trying to ambush me?"
Lin Qi couldn't help but tease her. He didn't know how Zhao Tuantuan's body had developed, but even with malnutrition, it seemed to be a size larger than before.
"Brother Lin, I'm going back to my room to rest!"
Zhao Tuantuan's face turned red. She quickly stood up and ran toward one of the bedrooms, and once inside, she closed the door.
"She really is just a little girl; she can't handle being teased."
Only then did Lin Qi completely relax, but if he wanted a good night's sleep, he had to wash up properly.
The water in the bathroom had long been cut off, but he could spare some of the three barrels of purified water in the living room for daily washing.
Lin Qi found some slippers and the male owner's clean clothes, found several sets of unopened underwear in the wardrobe, carried a barrel of purified water, and headed to the bathroom.
Supplies should be used to their fullest. Rather than saving them and making himself uncomfortable, it was better to adjust his body to the best state to face the dangers outside.
Twenty minutes later, Lin Qi walked out of the bathroom. Although it was pitch black and hard to see, after using a barrel of water, he had managed to wash his body.
The living room was already very dark, but after his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he could see a little more clearly.
Lin Qi sat on the sofa, dried his hair, and lit a cigarette.
Under the flickering light of the flame, the room finally had some illumination.
At this moment, Zhao Tuantuan walked out of her room, her hands behind her back as she came before Lin Qi.
"There are two more barrels of water there. Go take one to the bathroom to wash up later, and get a good night's sleep."
Lin Qi did not look up. Although he couldn't see much, the young girl was relatively reserved, so he decided to give her some face.
"Drink this!"
Zhao Tuantuan moved her hands from behind her back to the front and handed something to Lin Qi.
"What is it?"
Lin Qi moved the spark in his hand slightly, and only then did he see what was in Zhao Tuantuan's hand—that familiar white bottle.
"Uh, milk. I hid half a bottle. Thank you for saving me today!"
In the darkness, he couldn't see Zhao Tuantuan's expression at all, but Lin Qi felt something was strange; her voice was hesitant, as if she were embarrassed.
"It's not expired, is it? Why aren't you drinking it?"
It was just half a bottle of milk, and she was using it to thank him? Wouldn't something else have been the same?
"What do you mean expired? It's fresh! I'm lactose intolerant, I can't drink milk!"
Zhao Tuantuan placed the bottle on the table, picked up a barrel of water, and walked toward the bedroom.
The bedroom she had chosen had a small bathroom, so she wouldn't need to come out again.
"Lactose intolerant, how delicate!"
It was the Apocalypse; who could afford such fussiness? When truly on the verge of starvation, even if the milk were poisoned, he feared some would still be willing to gulp it down in one go.
Lin Qi happened to be a bit thirsty, and adhering to the principle of not wasting, he picked up the cup and took a sip.
"It's warm?"
One sip, and it was sweet with a hint of a raw scent, but for some reason, Lin Qi didn't dislike the taste.
"What brand of milk is this?"
In both of his memories, he had never tasted such sweet milk. It felt like a warm current slowly seeping into his stomach, making the original hunger disappear instantly, and he even felt more energetic.
Lin Qi finished it in one gulp, the aftertaste lingering.
After finishing his cigarette, Lin Qi walked toward the secondary bedroom. Feeling light and relaxed, he lay on the bed but couldn't fall asleep.
This night was his first night since arriving in the Apocalypse. There was no fear or anxiety; instead, it was exceptionally quiet.
"Wait! Where did she get the milk from!"
An hour later, Lin Qi suddenly opened his eyes, still unable to figure it out.
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