With Gao Lang by her side, Luo Xinxin temporarily set aside the matter concerning Lin Mingmei. Lowering her head, she whispered to him as the two quietly discussed something among themselves.
Lin Mingmei paid them no attention at all. Without caring about appearances, she slumped against the corner of the wall, closed her eyes, and focused on resting to recover her strength.
In her previous life, Qin Yueming and Luo Xinxin had never appeared here, yet Gao Lang had still grown restless and insisted that she lead him out of this place. Now that there were two additional people, especially one with strong combat abilities, Gao Lang would definitely suggest leaving as soon as possible, judging from his personality.
She could no longer remember exactly how many zombies remained outside. Either way, another brutal fight was waiting for them. Right now, she only hoped the spiritual spring would complete its upgrade before that happened.
While Lin Mingmei rested quietly, Qin Yueming sat cross-legged nearby. Every so often, he glanced at her from the corner of his eye.
She looked utterly disheveled. An iron hammer was tightly tied to her right hand with strips of cloth, and even while resting, she had not removed it, clearly prepared to fight at any moment.
Then his gaze shifted toward the boy she liked.
Gao Lang looked clean and pale, leaning close beside another girl.
Qin Yueming had received a temporary mission from his superiors to come here, locate Commander Luo’s daughter, Luo Xinxin, and escort her safely back to the military base. After separating from Lin Mingmei earlier, he had entered the campus alone. It had taken him considerable effort to finally find Luo Xinxin and the pale, handsome young man named Gao Lang. Originally, he had planned to leave immediately with them, but an unexpected accident while escaping the warehouse had attracted a large group of zombies, forcing them back inside.
Even though he had only spent a short time around Luo Xinxin and Gao Lang, he could already tell their relationship was far from ordinary. He truly could not understand whether Lin Mingmei genuinely failed to notice it, or if she was simply pretending not to.
Qin Yueming frowned deeply. He desperately wanted to tell her to give up, because Gao Lang simply was not worth it.
As if sensing someone watching her, Lin Mingmei suddenly opened her eyes and met Qin Yueming’s gaze directly, causing her heart to jolt.
Why was he staring at her?
Had he noticed something?
Feeling inexplicably guilty, Lin Mingmei quickly closed her eyes again and turned her face toward Gao Lang’s direction.
A bitter feeling rose in Qin Yueming’s chest.
She would not even spare him a glance, so what right did he have to interfere?
With a silent sigh, he closed his eyes and forced himself not to look anymore. What the eye does not see, the heart does not ache over.
However, Luo Xinxin noticed Lin Mingmei’s small movement.
A trace of disgust flashed through her eyes as she lightly nudged Gao Lang.
“Gao Lang, what exactly are you thinking? Do you like me, or do you like her?”
“Xinxin, how can you say that?” Gao Lang replied helplessly. “I’ve already told you many times, she and I are only friends.”
“Only friends?” Luo Xinxin sneered softly. “Would she risk her life to save you if you were only friends? Do you really think I’m stupid?”
Gao Lang let out a soft sigh.
“Yes, I admit she likes me, but I can’t stop someone from liking me, can I? Xinxin, you’re the only one in my heart. Haven’t you understood that by now?”
Of course Luo Xinxin knew Gao Lang liked her.
She was prettier than Lin Mingmei, had a better figure, and came from a far more powerful family background. Between her and Lin Mingmei, anyone with a functioning brain would know which woman to choose.
What she hated was the way Lin Mingmei constantly looked at Gao Lang, as though he belonged solely to her.
“Gao Lang, for your sake, I can allow Yueming to escort her out with us,” Luo Xinxin whispered softly. “But I absolutely refuse to let her continue traveling together with us. The outside world is already chaotic enough. Bringing her along would only burden us with dead weight.”
Gao Lang frowned faintly.
The moment Luo Xinxin saw his reaction, her temper flared instantly.
“What? You disagree? Do you want to stay with her instead?”
Her voice rose sharply, immediately causing both Lin Mingmei and Qin Yueming to open their eyes and look over.
Gao Lang hurriedly smiled at them, signaling that everything was fine. Then he gently pulled Luo Xinxin closer and resumed speaking in a low voice.
“Xinxin, don’t be angry. That’s not what I meant.”
“But that’s exactly the attitude you’re showing,” Luo Xinxin said coldly. “Since you care so much about her, then don’t blame me for abandoning you. Let me remind you, my father is a military commander. If you follow me, soldiers like Yueming will protect you, and your safety will be guaranteed. But if you choose her instead…”
She let out a mocking laugh.
“Then good luck surviving.”
Gao Lang’s face grew slightly paler.
He was not foolish. He clearly understood what would happen to someone like him without support from powerful people such as Luo Xinxin and Qin Yueming.
His gaze unconsciously drifted toward Lin Mingmei in the corner.
She looked thin, small, and frail leaning against the wall.
Although he was grateful that she had risked her life to rush in and save him earlier, her actions had honestly been foolish. Not only had she failed to rescue him, but she had also dragged him into even more trouble.
“Xinxin,” Gao Lang said softly, “we can’t stay trapped in this warehouse forever. We still have to leave eventually. Even if she’s useless, she can still rush ahead and kill a few zombies for us, right? Look at the hammer in her hand.”
Luo Xinxin glanced briefly at Lin Mingmei before her expression softened immediately.
Without hesitation, she leaned affectionately against Gao Lang’s shoulder.
“Gao Lang, I trust you,” she said sweetly. “I’ll listen to whatever you decide.”
Gao Lang smiled and wrapped an arm around her.
At that exact moment, Qin Yueming happened to open his eyes.
The instant he saw the scene before him, he quickly shut them again, feeling even more furious on Lin Mingmei’s behalf.
Meanwhile, Lin Mingmei was completely uninterested in everything happening around her. She was busy communicating with the black ball inside her consciousness.
“How much longer will the spiritual spring need to finish upgrading?”
“Until the upgrade is complete,” the black ball replied seriously, delivering a completely useless answer.
Lin Mingmei felt a headache coming on.
“But I can’t wait that long. We’ll need to break out of here very soon.”
“There’s nothing I can do about that either,” the black ball replied shamelessly. Then it added, “Master, there’s plenty of food and water stored in this warehouse anyway. Why not just stay here for a few days?”
No.
She absolutely did not want that.
If she had to keep watching Gao Lang and Luo Xinxin acting intimate in front of her, she was afraid she might eventually lose control and kill Gao Lang, her precious human-shaped superpower reservoir.
Besides, Gao Lang needed to leave this warehouse.
In her previous life, he had awakened his superpower outside.
Where exactly had it happened again?
Right, it had been inside a remote dormitory building.
Back then, after she and Gao Lang escaped from the cafeteria warehouse, they had fled to a relatively safe dormitory building. Unfortunately, the students hiding there had immediately driven her away the moment they saw the blood and wounds covering her body.
At that time, only Gao Lang had stood up for her.
He had argued fiercely with the others to protect her.
In the end, he brought her to the most isolated dorm room, far away from everyone else.
At the time, she had been deeply moved, even to the point of tears.
Only later did she realize the truth.
He had merely wanted a convenient meat shield.
Afterward, Gao Lang developed a high fever and fell unconscious.
Terrified something would happen to him, she cried every single day. She even risked her life to sneak alone into the school clinic in search of medicine.
She nearly died retrieving it.
Even after returning covered in injuries, she never bothered treating her own wounds. Instead, she remained by his side, taking care of him day and night without sleeping for three entire days.
Three days later, Gao Lang awakened as a fire-type superpower user.
He had been unbelievably proud of himself.
And back then, she had felt proud of him too.
Three days.
She only needed three days to obtain the fire-type superpower for herself.
The thought of becoming a dual-element superpower user filled Lin Mingmei with intense anticipation.
“Mingmei.”
The sudden voice instantly pulled her out of her beautiful fantasy.
Opening her eyes, she saw Gao Lang crouching in front of her, holding half a bottle of water in his hand.
“There’s mostly flour, rice, grain, and cooking oil stored in this warehouse,” he said gently. “There isn’t much ready-to-eat food. I noticed you didn’t bring anything with you, so drink some water first.”
Lin Mingmei blinked blankly.
For a moment, she almost wondered if she was dreaming.
Since when had Gao Lang become considerate enough to offer her water?
And why was his voice suddenly so gentle?