So, as a level-two ability user, could Qin Ze really not hear the conspiracy before they pushed her?
After all, it was something as serious as harming someone. She didn’t believe Zhou Wenqian and Wang Qingqing wouldn’t have discussed it beforehand.
And if they had discussed it, Qin Ze couldn’t possibly not have heard anything.
Unless, in this world, ability users only had their physical strength enhanced.
Ten minutes later, Zhou Wenqian and the other girl finished picking out clothes and walked over carrying shopping bags.
Someone took their bags and placed them into backpacks.
Standing at the entrance, Lin Runxin looked at the two empty-handed girls, then at Nan Fei holding bags, and couldn’t help glancing at Qin Ze.
Only now did he realize—how come he had never noticed before that, among three girls, their treatment was so different?
Especially Nan Fei—she was the only one present who actually had a fiancé.
If even Lin Runxin could notice it, the others naturally could as well.
At that moment, everyone had the same thought.
No wonder Qin Ze had demanded chocolate in exchange for a knife—their relationship was even worse than the rumors suggested.
They just didn’t understand why Nan Fei suddenly stopped caring about Qin Ze.
Had she given up after losing hope?
Nan Fei noticed the sympathetic looks directed at her and felt confused.
Weren’t they just accusing her of slander and violence earlier? Why were they suddenly sympathizing with her again?
“Is it heavy? Do you want me to carry it?” Lin Runxin suddenly asked Nan Fei, glancing at Qin Ze’s cold back.
Nan Fei turned to look at him. Although she could tell he was genuinely offering help, she still shook her head.
“It’s not heavy. I can handle it.”
Lin Runxin looked at her with even more sympathy.
Nan Fei looked back at him, puzzled.
As if something in Lin Runxin had been triggered, he suddenly reached out and took the shopping bag from her.
“I’ll carry it. I’m an ability user—you should save your energy.”
Seeing this, Nan Fei could only nod.
She understood their mindset: they were now impressed by her strength after she had started acting independently, and they were beginning to recognize past unfairness toward her.
Otherwise, why hadn’t they noticed before, and only now reacted—after she started acting on her own?
And it had only been less than half a day since she was labeled a slanderer and aggressor.
Of course, as bystanders, their reactions were normal. It just felt ironic to her, as the person involved.
After taking the bag, Lin Runxin used his ability to form vines, weaving them into a backpack that perfectly fit Nan Fei’s items, then carried it on his back.
Nan Fei walked ahead while he followed slightly behind her side, looking even more like a fiancé than Qin Ze, the actual fiancé.
“Brother, do you think Runxin is really foolish or just pretending?” the man with a refined, slightly sinister appearance asked the man beside him with sharp features.
If you looked closely, the two of them looked about eighty percent alike.
Just with different styles.
“A mix of both,” the sharp-featured man replied.
“Explain,” the other became interested.
The two whispered behind them while Nan Fei walked ahead, constantly killing zombies to train her skills.
Eventually, it was Qin Ze who suggested taking a break, and she stopped.
The place they chose to rest was selected by Lin Runxin. Nan Fei glanced at the shoes in the store and raised her eyebrows slightly.
She looked at Lin Runxin with gratitude and picked out a pair of suitable sneakers.
Nan Fei was tall; even after changing out of ten-centimeter Mary Janes into sneakers, she still stood about 170 cm.
She compared her height and didn’t understand why the original host had insisted on wearing such high heels.
While others were busy barricading the door, the store was large. Nan Fei found a spot further inside and spread several dresses on the floor to make a thick makeshift bedding.
When everyone finished, they saw Nan Fei sitting on the floor, eating chocolate while casually playing with a phone taken from a zombie shop assistant.
Zhou Wenqian was busy pouring water for everyone.
When it was Nan Fei’s turn, she acted like a caring older sister, completely ignoring the fact that her face was still swollen from being hit by Nan Fei earlier, and handed her water.
Nan Fei looked at the cup and at Zhou Wenqian’s constantly moving lips, then took it and drank it in one go.
“Thank you,” she said afterward.
Seeing Zhou Wenqian freeze, Nan Fei lay down on her makeshift bed, signaling she was going to sleep.
Zhou Wenqian, frustrated but silent, returned to her spot.
From the outside, it even looked like Nan Fei had bullied her again.
Hearing her leave, Nan Fei took out the phone again and continued playing.
The shop assistant had been a young person, and the phone contained many offline games, as well as downloaded movies, dramas, and novels.
Unfortunately, the battery was low, so after a while she put it away and prepared to sleep.
Night fell.
The sound of zombies grew clearer.
Nan Fei was woken up. In the dim light, she grabbed a piece of clothing and pulled it over her head.
This was the difference at night—zombies and mutated plants became highly active, while humans did not.
In the novel, the heroine always ended battles early and found a place to rest.
The constant howling was irritating, and even under the cloth, the sounds still reached Nan Fei’s ears.
Fortunately, as a former psychic ability user, she managed to calm herself and fall asleep.
The next day.
Nan Fei woke when she heard others getting up.
She hadn’t slept well.
Scenes of the original host’s tragic death replayed repeatedly in her dreams, leaving her mentally exhausted.
She moved to a shoe bench, looking completely drained.
Others woke one after another, but none of them had dark circles like hers.
“Bad dream?” the man with the refined, sinister look suddenly asked.
His name was Yu Yang; the sharp-featured man beside him was his brother, Yu Hong.
Nan Fei stiffly nodded, her entire body radiating exhaustion.
Yu Yang and Yu Hong exchanged glances and walked aside.
Nan Fei continued slumping on the bench.
She guessed Yu Yang probably thought her nightmare was about being pushed into zombies by Zhou Wenqian.
Meanwhile, Zhou Wenqian was distributing her ability-based water again, but since her ability was only level one, she could only prioritize drinking for everyone—washing up was out of the question.
Nan Fei took the water she handed over and ate it together with chocolate as breakfast.
By then, several men had already cleared the barricade at the entrance.
Because she hadn’t slept well, Nan Fei wasn’t very active and simply followed the group.
After a night of agitation, some zombies had even gotten back up and were standing at the escalator entrance.
As the group approached, the zombies opened their mouths and lunged.
Only to once again be tripped by the corpses on the ground.
Qin Ze and the others quickly dealt with the zombies that made it through and led the group down to the second floor.
He did not use Nan Fei’s strategy from the previous day, instead directly stepping into the zombies and leading everyone into close combat.
Nan Fei’s gaze lingered on Qin Ze for a moment before she silently sat on the escalator.
She wasn’t in good condition—she would rest first.
The zombies were slow, but numerous.
Within the crowd of zombies, there was no chance to rest; everyone had to keep fighting without pause.