The redness on Yu Jin’s face had barely faded before it flared up again. He silenced his subordinate with a glare before offering an explanation.
“That was a critical situation, and she saved me. Don’t overthink it!”
Are you kidding? Their captain was a god-like existence, capable of anything. He was also a mid-tier fire Ability User—even a hundred or two hundred people working together wouldn’t be his match.
How could a little girl possibly have saved him?
That girl in her bright red dress was striking and eye-catching. Their captain, the old stick-in-the-mud, had clearly taken a liking to the young lady. “Oh, so it’s a life-saving grace, Captain. In that case, you definitely have to repay her with your hand in marriage!”
“It’s just that, Captain, that young lady looks at most in her early twenties. Don’t you think your age might be a bit…”
He was only 27! Yu Jin shot him a cold glare. “If you have so much to say, go to the front lines and lure the zombies.”
“Captain, I’ll take some men right away to protect Miss Wuyan.”
After leaving the botanical garden, Hua Wuyan headed toward Lin University while sipping on sparkling water.
[Host, why didn’t you ask him about the whereabouts of that S-class airdrop box? That Yu Jin clearly has favorable feelings toward you. If you asked him, he would definitely tell you!]
Hua Wuyan drained the sparkling water in one gulp, let out a burp of stomach warmth, and felt refreshed all over.
“Are you stupid? That Yu Jin is meticulous. He would definitely wonder why I’m asking about the airdrop box.”
“Besides, he personally led a team to find the airdrop, so he must place great importance on it.”
“Within the first month after the apocalypse, airdrops of various levels must have fallen in Linjiang City quite frequently. From his perspective, how would a female college student like me know that he had opened an S-class airdrop supply crate?”
[But at this rate, Linjiang City is so huge—when will we ever find that S-class airdrop box?]
This was a hundred thousand Opportunity Points. Whether the Host used them to upgrade the System or exchange for an Omni-type Shelter, it would greatly improve their survival rate in the apocalypse world.
“Say, System, I’m actually quite curious. I’m the one busy doing missions and trying to survive, so why are you even more anxious than me? Tell me—if I complete the missions, do you get some benefits too?”
[Of course. I’ve said it before: the Host and I rise and fall together. In principle, I am the one who most wants the Host to survive and complete all System missions.]
“Let’s go. We still need to take Xu Qingtian to the Base anyway. There will be plenty of opportunities to interact in the future.”
After the sun rose, there were far fewer zombies along the way.
Back at Lin University, there were still quite a few zombies in the corridor outside the equipment room. They were currently clawing and scraping at the glass door outside.
“I didn’t expect Lin University’s glass doors to be this sturdy. These zombies have been clawing at them all night and still haven’t managed to break them.”
[These are only beginner-stage Level 1 zombies. Although they’re a bit stronger, their destructive power isn’t that great yet. In another month, once these zombies upgrade to Level 2, it’ll be different. With this many zombies, they could easily break through a door of this level.
The living space for humans here will only get smaller and smaller.]
Hua Wuyan killed the zombies, dug out a Crystal Core, and absorbed it. Then she unlocked the equipment room and walked inside.
Xu Qingtian was curled up inside a metal box, trembling. The entire room was filled with the stench of urine and feces mixed with the smell of cilantro, which immediately drove Hua Wuyan to run back to the doorway for fresh air.
“Xu Qingtian, are you treating this place like a public restroom!” The nearest restroom to the equipment room was at the end of the corridor, and with so many zombies roaming the hallway last night, Xu Qingtian definitely wouldn’t have dared to come out.
Hearing Hua Wuyan’s voice, Xu Qingtian immediately crawled out of the metal box.
She heard Hua Wuyan’s words, and her face darkened with a grim, embarrassed expression as she explained softly.
“There were zombies everywhere outside last night, I really couldn’t hold it in…”
The zombies at the door had been making a racket all night, and she had been convinced that Hua Wuyan had been killed by the zombie horde. She never expected her to come back, and even her red dress looked spotless.
Hua Wuyan glanced at the yellowish-brown particles and liquid stuck to the back of her short skirt and covered her mouth in disgust. It was even runny.
“I… I ate the food you brought back last time, and then… I got diarrhea, and I couldn’t… couldn’t clean it up.”
Hua Wuyan stifled a laugh. The rope binding Xu Qingtian’s hands was specially made—without her, no one could untie it.
With her hands bound, using the restroom was already troublesome. And with diarrhea, it was even worse.
She used a bit of Opportunity Points in the mall to exchange for a phone.
She opened the camera function and recorded Xu Qingtian and her makeshift restroom.
“Hua Wuyan, what are you doing!”
“Are you blind? Can’t you see I’m recording? Tsk, it’s a bit disgusting, but I’ll keep this as a record to remind you from time to time to have some public decency. You should go to a designated place to use the restroom.”
“You!” Xu Qingtian’s face flushed red. “Delete it right now!” If anyone saw this video, who knew how they’d judge her!
Hua Wuyan smiled and put the phone away.
This Xu Qingtian had grown up pampered by her parents and older brother since childhood, with even her meals specially prepared by personal chefs.
From the character setting in the book, she cared most about face. Even in the month since the apocalypse began, she would rinse even instant noodles with clean water before eating.
With this video in hand, once they reached The Base later, she could keep Xu Qingtian in line.
She looked at Xu Qingtian with a half-smile. “Whether to delete it or not is secondary. What matters is, it’s dawn.”
“I’m not blind, of course I know it’s dawn. When are we going to The Base?”
“What’s the rush? You haven’t done today’s work yet.”
“What… what work?”
Hua Wuyan reached out and flexed her wrist. “Want me to remind you?”
“Smack!” The sound of a slap echoed crisply through the corridor, leaving Xu Qingtian’s ears ringing and tears welling up in her eyes.
“Hua Wuyan, what exactly do you want! My throat hasn’t healed yet, I can’t scream anymore!”
“Looks like after a night’s rest, you’ve grown bold.”
“Smack!”
“Smack!”
“Smack!”
Three more resounding slaps in a row, and Xu Qingtian was dizzied to the point of collapsing onto the ground. Her ear stung, her mouth felt hot, and a tooth fell out of her mouth.
“My tooth! Hua Wuyan, I’ll kill you!”
A long blade suddenly swung horizontally between the two of them, and Xu Qingtian, terrified, swallowed the blood in her mouth.
“I… I’ll scream.”
Zhang Chaonan and five soldiers had finally tracked down Linjiang University by following the trail of footprints Hua Wuyan had left behind.
The moment they reached the north gate of the university, they suddenly heard a woman’s hoarse, piercing scream.
Their hearts sank. “Not good—the captain told us to protect Miss Wuyan. If anything happens to her, we won’t be able to answer for it!”
Six people rushed into the school and followed the sound to the Law Department teaching building.
Hundreds of zombies surged toward the stairwell entrance, drawn by the noise.
They looked up toward the source of the sound.
There stood an unfamiliar girl, covered in dirt and wearing the Lin University uniform, standing at the edge of the rooftop, her face flushed as she screamed loudly at the building below.
“Who is that?”
“Don’t recognize her. That’s not Miss Wuyan.”
“Then should we help?”
“But we haven’t found Miss Wuyan yet.”
“Either way, that’s a human life…”
Just as the six were about to go up and rescue her, another voice sounded.
“Xu Qingtian, hold on a moment. Wait until I finish killing before you scream again.”
The screaming abruptly stopped. Xu Qingtian, standing on the rooftop with tear-streaked face, sat down to rest, and as she lowered her eyes, she spotted the six men dressed as soldiers below.
Overjoyed, she suddenly stood up again, her bound hands raised above her head as she waved them.
“Help! Please, save me!”