The little boy’s mother waited until everyone had gone upstairs before pulling her son forward to check on the girl.
“Child, how are you? Are you hurt?”
The woman looked down at the girl, her eyes full of concern.
The girl lay in the woman’s arms, her eyes devoid of any hope for life as she spoke lifelessly,
“Tell me… what’s the point of living in a world like this?”
“Child, you mustn’t think like that. Even though we humans are suffering a bit right now…”
“If we endure it, everything will get better.”
It was not that the woman did not understand the girl’s thoughts. There were times she herself had wondered—
in this apocalyptic world where humanity had collapsed and strength ruled above all,
for ordinary people, simply staying alive was already extremely difficult.
Not to mention women, who were naturally at a disadvantage in physical strength.
But every time she felt like she could not go on, she would look at her son—
his eyes filled with curiosity and innocence toward the world.
And she would feel that if she just endured a little longer, things would pass.
“Heh! Endure?”
“Didn’t you see Xu Gang’s face? Just because he awakened an ability, he can do whatever he wants!”
“He said he would lead us to a safe base and distribute food fairly, but every time it reaches us, there’s barely anything left!”
“If we don’t resist, sooner or later we’ll be used as human shields!”
The girl pushed herself up from the woman’s arms and looked toward the zombies at the entrance.
She wanted to take a gamble.
A gamble with her life.
The group arrived at the same floor where they had seen the light the previous night.
Most of them had come from a nearby street, so they naturally understood how crowded this area used to be—
which meant there were many zombies.
But now, they were not afraid.
With so many of them—mostly strong men—what was there to fear from whoever was inside that one room?
Not to mention they had an Ability User among them.
Thirty to forty men hid in the stairwell, staring intently at the door of Room 414.
“We’ll stay put for now. We’ll act at night. When the people inside are asleep, we’ll take them all in one go.”
Xu Gang spoke to the men behind him.
“Alright, Brother Gang, we’ll follow your lead.”
“Brother Gang, how many people do you think are inside?”
“Not sure.”
Another man with a sly, rodent-like face grinned lewdly.
“No matter how many, there’s got to be women, right?”
“I’m already tired of the two in our group. Brother Gang, can we—”
He did not finish his sentence, but every man present understood what he meant.
“Alright, alright, you pervert!”
“When the time comes, don’t kill them right away. Control them first.”
Xu Gang looked at the others as he spoke.
Inside the room, Wen Chi knew nothing of this.
She sat comfortably on the sofa, sipping the milk tea the great villain had made for her.
Mmm~ so fragrant—she felt like she might float away~
After cleaning up the breakfast dishes, Jiang Jiming saw the girl happily holding her milk tea and swaying her head.
He could not help but smile—and even let out a soft laugh.
Wen Chi heard him.
“What are you laughing at?! ╭(╯^╰)╮ Hmph!”
She turned away, not wanting to see his teasing face.
Yet Jiang Jiming, holding a broom, walked right in front of her and began sweeping the floor.
With an especially serious expression.
Wen Chi immediately turned in another direction—
but Jiang Jiming subtly moved again, positioning himself in front of her once more.
And continued sweeping.
“Jiang Jiming! Are you doing this on purpose?!”
“╭(╯^╰)╮!”
Seeing her angry expression only made Jiang Jiming find her even more adorable.
There was no longer any of the awkwardness from yesterday.
It felt as if they had known each other for years—easy and natural.
As he thought about it, the corners of his lips lifted slightly.
Wen Chi noticed the curve of his smile and, even more annoyed, immediately got up and returned to her room.
She even made sure to lock the door.
Lying on the bed, Wen Chi rolled around angrily.
But then she thought about it—
this so-called villain… why did he feel completely different from what she had heard on the radio?
Before she could think further, there was a knock on the door.
“I made some desserts. Want to try them?”
Wen Chi had not been that angry to begin with. After opening the door, she immediately saw the beautifully made bread on the table.
As a bread lover, Wen Chi completely lost her resistance.
“Jiang Jiming, how are you so amazing? You can even bake bread!”
“I learned a bit when I had nothing to do before.”
Jiang Jiming casually sat down beside her, watching her happily hold the bread.
Wen Chi immediately took a bite, her eyes widening as they sparkled at him.
“It’s so good! Jiang Jiming, you’re so amazing—I feel like I can’t live without you anymore!”
“Then don’t.”
Wen Chi, fully focused on eating, did not hear him clearly.
“What did you say?”
“Nothing.”
Jiang Jiming lowered his head, silently reflecting.
At that moment, a faint sound of small pebbles hitting the window came from the balcony.
Jiang Jiming immediately raised his head and looked toward the window.
The sound was not quiet—Wen Chi heard it too.
She got up and went to the balcony, only to find nothing there.
“What was that just now?”
Jiang Jiming smiled and shook his head gently.
“It’s nothing. Probably just a bird hitting the window.”
But his gaze was fixed straight toward the lower balcony.
Below, the little boy was being tightly covered at the mouth by his mother, as she pulled both of them further into hiding.
But she had overlooked one thing—
their shadows.
Jiang Jiming then pulled Wen Chi back into the room.
The woman slowly released her hand from her son’s mouth.
“Mom, I want to eat bread too.”
The little boy had smelled it earlier—
freshly baked bread, rich and fragrant.
“Be good, Dou Dou. We’ll have some later.”
The woman kept comforting him, though even she did not know—
let alone bread,
she did not even know when they would next have a sip of water.
She then sat with the child in the living room, her eyes fixed tightly on the bedroom door.
Back in the living room, Wen Chi suddenly realized something—
the meals Jiang Jiming had been making these past two days must have been using her supplies.
And she did not even have ingredients like vegetables or flour.
Not wanting to owe anyone, Wen Chi immediately called her exclusive delivery service.
—Pompadour Delivery.
After telling the zombies what she needed, she relaxed and lay back on the sofa, reading a novel.
Meanwhile, Jiang Jiming was in the kitchen, tinkering with something unknown.
Not long after, the people hiding in the stairwell saw something shocking—
more than a dozen zombies wearing blue delivery uniforms, blue helmets, and carrying familiar blue delivery boxes
walked out of the elevator.
They even lined up neatly in order.
Then, even more astonishingly, the leading zombie stepped forward and knocked on the door of Room 414.
The door opened.
A stunningly beautiful woman stepped out, smiling at the zombies.
“Good job. Hand me the items one by one.”