The moment Xu Mingfan stepped into the room, he immediately caught sight of a figure standing in front of the vanity.
Instinctively, he immediately assumed an attack stance.
But when he took a closer look, he froze.
The girl before him had delicate features, and a pair of beautiful, almond-shaped eyes gazed at him, glistening with moisture.
Xu Mingfan blinked as he stared at Huo Mian’s beautiful face, clearly a little unaccustomed to it.
He had never expected Huo Mian, with her entire face revealed, to be this stunningly alluring.
If he hadn’t known that Huo Mian and her mother lived downstairs, he definitely wouldn’t have recognized the person standing before him as Huo Mian.
Huo Mian had never imagined that Xu Mingfan would climb down from the room above by climbing out the window.
Seeing Xu Mingfan looking as though he was about to attack her, the corner of Huo Mian’s mouth twitched.
Could he have mistaken me for a zombie and was planning to take me out…?
Thinking of this, Huo Mian hurriedly spoke up. “Brother Mingfan, what are you doing?”
Hearing this, Xu Mingfan lowered his guard. A trace of embarrassment flashed across his face as he awkwardly scratched his head.
Then, remembering what had happened to his parents, his expression instantly turned sorrowful.
Looking at Huo Mian, Xu Mingfan spoke solemnly. “Huo Mian, this world has already become just like the apocalyptic movies. There are zombies everywhere outside.
“My parents… have also turned into zombies. Staying at home isn’t a long-term solution.”
He paused, a look of determination flashing through his eyes.
“I’m planning to go to F University to find Xiao Luo. She’s alone at school, and I’m worried about her.”
Hearing this, Huo Mian immediately seized the opportunity. “Brother Mingfan, can I go with you?”
Seeing the hopeful look on Huo Mian’s face, Xu Mingfan replied, “Sure. Is Aunt Lin coming with us?”
Huo Mian lowered her eyes and sighed softly. “My mom… has also turned into a zombie.”
Xu Mingfan’s expression stiffened. Seeing Huo Mian’s mood sink, he realized that he had asked the wrong question.
As if suddenly thinking of something, he excitedly said, “Oh, right, Xiao Mian. I awakened a metal-type ability. I can control metal at will. What ability did you awaken?”
Huo Mian was slightly stunned. Zheng Wanyue had never mentioned whether she had awakened an ability.
Besides, she had never read the original novel, so she was completely clueless.
She had only just regained her memories when she was immediately faced with a survival crisis. Huo Mian hadn’t even thought about this.
She shook her head. “I don’t know.”
Hearing this, Xu Mingfan enthusiastically suggested, “Close your eyes and carefully sense whether there’s any unusual energy inside your body.
“Then use your mind to guide it toward your hand and give it a try!”
Seeing the encouragement in Xu Mingfan’s eyes, Huo Mian felt a surge of anticipation. She immediately closed her eyes and immersed herself in sensing her body.
Before long, she was pleasantly surprised to discover a mysterious mass of energy surging inside her abdomen.
Huo Mian quickly concentrated her thoughts and tried to control the energy.
The mass of energy was like a mischievous little creature. It was difficult to tame at first, but after her persistent efforts, it gradually became docile, slowly traveling along her arm before finally gathering in her palm.
Huo Mian slowly opened her eyes and looked at the small ball of light gathered in her palm, her heart filled with surprise.
This ball of light… why did it look so similar to the healing ability Zheng Wanyue had described?
Xu Mingfan stared curiously at the ball of light and couldn’t help asking, “Xiao Mian, could this be a light-type ability?”
Huo Mian knew very well that this was most likely a healing ability, but she had no idea how to explain that to Xu Mingfan.
If she told him directly, what if he kept questioning her about it…?
A flicker of uncertainty crossed Huo Mian’s eyes. She slowly withdrew her ability and changed the subject. “Let’s not worry about this for now. How are we going to get downstairs?”
Xu Mingfan blurted out, “Of course we’ll leave through the door and take the stairs down!”
By now, Lin Yingfen had already stopped banging against the door. The area outside was deathly quiet, so quiet that it made one’s skin crawl.
Huo Mian hurriedly explained, “My mom was in the living room earlier…”
Hearing this, Xu Mingfan instinctively glanced toward the door. When he saw the desk firmly wedged against it from the inside, his expression froze.
He turned to look at Huo Mian. Their eyes met in midair, and neither said a word. The atmosphere fell into silence.
After a moment, Xu Mingfan slowly asked, “What are you planning to do?”
Huo Mian bit her lip and looked toward the window, determination flashing in her eyes.
“Let’s go down through the window. We’ll use the rope to climb down to the seventeenth floor first, then see if we can get out through the main entrance.”
Xu Mingfan frowned as he looked at Huo Mian’s slender arms and legs. “Xiao Mian, are you sure?”
Huo Mian nodded firmly. “I can do it.”
No matter how bad Lin Yingfen was, she was still her mother.
As long as there was another way to survive, Huo Mian couldn’t bring herself to raise a blade against her.
Seeing the resolute look on Huo Mian’s face, Xu Mingfan thought for a moment before agreeing. “All right.”
Huo Mian walked over to the bed, pulled out the bedsheets, and handed them to Xu Mingfan.
The two of them began skillfully tying the sheets together.
Xu Mingfan knotted the bedsheets tightly, connecting them one after another until they gradually became a long rope.
Once he estimated that the rope was long enough to span two floors, Xu Mingfan carried it to the window and tied it securely to the rope that had already been lowered earlier.
He gripped the rope with both hands and pulled hard several times. Only after confirming that it showed no sign of breaking did he finally relax.
Xu Mingfan turned to Huo Mian and reminded her, “Xiao Mian, I’ll go down first. Be careful when you follow.”
A hint of nervousness appeared on Huo Mian’s face, and her voice trembled slightly. “Mm. I will.”
Seeing her uneasiness, Xu Mingfan suggested, “If you’re scared, remember to wrap one end of the rope around your body first. Then slowly climb down along the rope. Don’t rush.”
Huo Mian tugged at the corners of her lips and smiled. “I know. Don’t worry.”
After hearing that, Xu Mingfan didn’t hesitate any longer. He grabbed the rope with his right hand, swung one long leg over the windowsill, and easily climbed out of the window, landing on the platform of the air-conditioning unit outside.
Without stopping, he stepped off the platform. His hands alternated as he climbed, his legs bending slightly before straightening again, moving like a nimble monkey as he rapidly descended along the rope.
In less than ten seconds, Xu Mingfan landed on the air-conditioning unit platform below.
The moment he landed, he discovered that the entire window was fitted with protective bars.
However, Xu Mingfan himself was a metal-type ability user, so these bars posed little problem for him.
After cautiously scanning the room, Xu Mingfan found no zombies inside and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
He looked up at Huo Mian on the floor above and waved vigorously, signaling her to pull up the rope.
When he saw Huo Mian nod and begin pulling up the rope, he withdrew his gaze. Then he placed both hands on the protective bars and activated the ability within his body.
The next second, a golden glow appeared in Xu Mingfan’s palms. The protective bars were enveloped in the golden light and began to soften and deform.
Before long, the originally sturdy bars were melted apart, leaving an opening large enough for one person to pass through.
Xu Mingfan withdrew his ability, braced both hands against the windowsill, and used the momentum to nimbly squeeze through the opening and into the room.
Upstairs.
Huo Mian wrapped the rope around her waist several times and tied a slipknot.
She repeatedly tugged at it to check, making sure the knot wouldn’t loosen while she was climbing, yet could be quickly undone in an emergency.
Once everything was ready, Huo Mian leaned her head out of the window and saw that Xu Mingfan had already entered the room.
She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, then opened them again a moment later, her eyes filled with determination.
Gripping the windowsill with her slender hands, Huo Mian slowly climbed out of the window, tentatively touching the platform of the air-conditioning unit with her toes.
The moment she stepped onto the platform, she instinctively glanced downward.
The next second, a wave of dizziness washed over her.
Huo Mian quickly looked away, not daring to look down again.
She took a deep breath to steady herself, gripped the rope tightly with both hands, pressed both feet against the wall, and tried to find a foothold.
However, the wall was somewhat smooth, and the slippers on her feet kept slipping.
Huo Mian frowned slightly as the image of Xu Mingfan climbing swiftly in his flip-flops flashed through her mind. She couldn’t help admiring his agility.
Recalling how Xu Mingfan had done it, Huo Mian imitated his movements and slowly climbed down along the rope.
A moment later, she reached the seventeenth floor, level with the platform of the air-conditioning unit.
She glanced at the platform, tightened her grip on the rope, and was just about to swing herself over.
“Bang!”
A loud crash suddenly came from inside the room, sounding as though something had fallen to the floor.
A few seconds later, another “BANG!” rang out, seemingly the sound of the door being slammed shut with great force.
Huo Mian: “!!”