Qin Yueming continued softly, “She’s already an adult, and her physical condition is much stronger than that child’s was. Maybe she’ll make it through safely and won’t…”
Won’t end up dying like that child.
“Maybe,” Lin Mingmei replied quietly.
She also hoped Wu Jiajia would survive.
“What are you two whispering about?”
Gao Lang suddenly walked over, interrupting their conversation.
Lin Mingmei was slightly surprised. Gao Lang rarely took the initiative to approach her first.
“Nothing,” she replied casually, unwilling to continue talking with him. Then she randomly changed the subject. “I was just curious. Wu Jiajia is Ke Haiyang’s younger sister, right? Then why do they have different surnames?”
Gao Lang froze briefly.
He truly had not thought about that before.
Turning around, he asked directly, “Ke Haiyang, is Wu Jiajia actually your cousin?”
“Ah? Uh… y-yes… cousin,” Ke Haiyang answered awkwardly, nearly choking on his rice.
“A cousin, huh.” Luo Xinxin smiled meaningfully. “Speaking of cousins, there’s a saying that goes: ‘Cousins make the perfect couple.’ Haven’t you heard it before?”
The expressions on Ke Haiyang and Zhang Rui’s faces instantly became ugly.
Lin Mingmei glanced at them before finding Luo Xinxin’s smug expression particularly irritating.
Flatly, she replied, “Really? I’ve never heard that saying before. But I do know another one.”
“What saying?” Luo Xinxin asked curiously.
“A foster brother and foster sister make the best lovers.”
The moment those words fell, Gao Lang and Luo Xinxin’s expressions darkened immediately.
Meanwhile, Qin Yueming watched from the side and secretly felt quite satisfied.
So this girl actually understood everything perfectly well.
Looks like he had underestimated her before.
Feeling relieved, Qin Yueming stood up.
“Everyone’s finished eating, right? Since we’re done, let’s discuss what we should do next.”
Luo Xinxin barely suppressed the disgust rising inside her before gritting out,
“What’s there to discuss? We should leave this awful place immediately. I want to go home!”
“Leaving itself isn’t difficult,” Qin Yueming replied calmly. “But we still need vehicles, fuel, food, and water for the road.”
After pausing briefly, he added heavily,
“And the biggest problem is, what happens to the remaining students in this school after we leave?”
“Who cares what happens to them?” Luo Xinxin snapped immediately. “We’re lucky enough just to survive ourselves!”
“Exactly,” Gao Lang agreed from the side. “In times like this, who has the energy to care about anyone else? In a few days, the electricity will probably be gone too. Just finding enough food to survive will already be difficult.”
Lin Mingmei glanced at him briefly.
“Gao Lang and I aren’t leaving. You guys can go if you want.”
The room instantly fell silent.
Luo Xinxin and Gao Lang both stared at her as though she had gone insane.
“Mingmei, what are you talking about?” Gao Lang asked.
“Lin Mingmei, if you want to die, don’t drag Gao Lang down with you!” Luo Xinxin exploded. “Why should he stay here with you?”
“Because…” Lin Mingmei’s eyes shifted slightly before she casually lifted the iron hammer beside her. “I can protect him.”
Gao Lang: “…”
Truthfully, ever since witnessing Lin Mingmei slaughter zombies after they escaped the warehouse, he had begun feeling an inexplicable sense of security whenever she was nearby.
Luo Xinxin’s expression darkened further.
“Gao Lang,” she pressed coldly, “what do you think?”
Gao Lang’s heart skipped nervously.
Lin Mingmei was certainly capable, but compared to an entire military base, she was nothing.
If Lin Mingmei truly insisted on staying behind, then eventually he would have no choice but to abandon her and leave with Luo Xinxin instead.
Naturally, he could not say that aloud right now.
Just as Qin Yueming mentioned earlier, they still needed to gather supplies, and Lin Mingmei was currently their strongest combat force.
So Gao Lang immediately shifted the topic away.
“Brother Yueming, let’s talk about vehicles first.”
After the apocalypse, abandoned vehicles could easily be found everywhere.
Finding transportation was not difficult.
The real issue was gasoline.
“Brother Yueming, I know where the closest gas station near the school is. We can go there for fuel.”
Ke Haiyang immediately added,
“I know how to drive too. I can find a vehicle and follow behind you. I won’t become a burden.”
After hesitating briefly, he lowered his voice.
“Actually… a lot of students in the school know how to drive. If possible, maybe we could bring everyone along and look after each other on the road.”
Hearing this, Lin Mingmei could not help glancing toward him.
In her eyes, Ke Haiyang was already practically a dead man.
She had long understood one truth:
In the apocalypse, kindness was the fastest path toward death.
Like risking his life to get medicine for Wu Jiajia.
Like begging Qin Yueming to risk himself rescuing her.
And now, wanting to save every remaining student in the school…
Success would only ever be accidental.
Death, meanwhile, was inevitable.
A mocking smile flashed through Lin Mingmei’s eyes.
Soon enough, he would realize that everything he was doing was completely meaningless.
Meanwhile, Qin Yueming found himself deeply conflicted.
Should he bring the entire school’s survivors with them?
Even though he had awakened a superpower, he still retained enough self-awareness to understand reality.
With so many people and such dangerous roads ahead, how many could he truly protect?
But at the same time, abandoning these students here felt no different from sentencing them to death.
After thinking for a while, Qin Yueming decided he first needed to contact the military and discuss the situation before making any decisions.
As for now, gathering supplies remained the priority.
Lin Mingmei naturally had no objections to collecting supplies.
What she did object to was Gao Lang going outside.
Before awakening his superpower, Gao Lang was basically a fragile piece of trash.
Sending him out now was practically asking him to die.
Far better to keep him hidden safely for three days.
Once he awakened his fire-type ability, then he could go out scavenging however much he wanted.
And if someone happened to kill him afterward…
Wouldn’t that simply become her business to deal with?
“I know where the gas station is. I’ll go with you,” Lin Mingmei volunteered calmly. “There’s no need for Gao Lang to come along.”
“Why not?” Zhang Rui immediately protested. “If Gao Lang doesn’t need to go, then Haiyang shouldn’t have to either!”
Lin Mingmei sneered coldly.
“If he doesn’t go, then are you planning to go in his place?”
The meaning behind her words was obvious.
I’m replacing Gao Lang myself.
Are you willing to replace Ke Haiyang too?
Zhang Rui’s face flushed red with anger, but she could not bring herself to actually volunteer.
Ke Haiyang clearly disliked Lin Mingmei, but he still stepped in to ease the tension.
“How about this,” he suggested. “Gao Lang can stay behind and protect the girls here. Tomorrow morning, Brother Qin, Lin Mingmei, and I will head out together to gather supplies. Is that alright?”
Aside from Zhang Rui, who still looked resentful, nobody objected.
Gao Lang himself was more than happy not to risk his life outside.
Wouldn’t staying here comfortably flirting with Luo Xinxin be far better?
After all, with Lin Mingmei around, he never needed to do any difficult work anyway.
Meanwhile, Qin Yueming understood Lin Mingmei’s combat abilities very clearly.
Having her accompany him would greatly reduce the danger.
Even though he felt somewhat ashamed relying on a young girl this much, he undeniably felt much more at ease with her around.
With everyone in agreement, the matter was settled.
Ke Haiyang and Zhang Rui moved aside to care for the unconscious Wu Jiajia.
Meanwhile, Luo Xinxin dragged Gao Lang into a corner to whisper privately together.
Lin Mingmei pretended not to notice them at all.
After resting briefly, she prepared to head outside again.
“Where are you going?”
Qin Yueming, who had been quietly watching her, immediately stepped forward to block her path.
Lin Mingmei blinked innocently.
A righteous-sounding excuse instantly rolled off her tongue naturally.
“Since I’m free anyway, I might as well kill some zombies and reduce the pressure on the surviving students.”
Qin Yueming looked slightly stunned before shaking his head helplessly.
“I know you want to help everyone,” he said gently, “but you need to rest too.”
“I’m fine.”
Lin Mingmei curved her lips into a faint smile that carried no warmth whatsoever.
Help everyone?
As if she had that much spare kindness to waste.