Xu Mingfan caught sight of Huo Mian stopping in front of him and looked up in confusion.
What met his eyes was Huo Mian’s flawless face.
His eyes instantly widened, and he unconsciously raised a hand to rub them.
When he looked again, he realized it wasn’t an illusion!
The huge, grotesque bump on Huo Mian’s forehead had actually disappeared. The skin there was smooth and even, as if she had never been injured at all.
Xu Mingfan suddenly stood up, staring intently at Huo Mian’s forehead, his eyes filled with curiosity and shock.
“Xiao Mian, where did that huge bump on your forehead go? No, wait… how did you make it disappear?”
Huo Mian lifted her chin slightly and raised her fair, delicate hand. She activated her ability again, and a soft white glow instantly appeared around her fingertips.
She waved her hand casually and said, “Oh, I healed it with my ability.”
Xu Mingfan blinked his round eyes, his face filled with wonder.
“You healed it with your ability? Could this be a healing-type ability?”
Huo Mian nodded and calmly withdrew her ability. “I guess so.”
A flattering smile immediately spread across Xu Mingfan’s face.
“Xiao Mian, please, help me out. I injured the back of my head too. Could you heal me?”
Before he even finished speaking, he quickly crouched down and presented the back of his head to Huo Mian, speaking in a pitiful tone.
“You wouldn’t really want to see me suffer, would you?”
Huo Mian lowered her eyes to the back of Xu Mingfan’s head. There was still some dried blood clinging to it.
Perhaps he had bumped it again just now, because a little fresh blood was beginning to seep out.
Huo Mian raised an eyebrow. She hadn’t expected Xu Mingfan’s two falls to have left him this badly injured.
“All right. I’ll heal you.”
With that, she raised her hand and brought it close to his wound, then activated her ability again.
White light enveloped the injury. In less than a minute, the wound had completely healed.
“Done.”
Huo Mian stopped channeling her ability and slowly withdrew her hand.
Xu Mingfan instinctively reached up and touched the back of his head.
It really didn’t hurt at all anymore!
A delighted smile spread across his face, and he looked at Huo Mian as though she were some rare and precious treasure.
“This is way too amazing! Xiao Mian, your ability is incredibly useful. From now on, if anyone gets hurt, who’s going to be afraid with you around?”
Hearing Xu Mingfan’s exaggerated praise, Huo Mian felt a little smug.
She humbly replied, “You’re exaggerating. For now, my ability can only heal minor injuries. If it’s a fatal wound, there’s nothing I can do.”
The smile on Xu Mingfan’s face instantly faded, and obvious disappointment appeared in his eyes.
Seeing this, Huo Mian suddenly remembered how he had mocked her earlier. The anger she had managed to suppress immediately began bubbling up again.
She pretended to ask casually, “By the way, how much has your ability recovered? Can you break that metal bar yet?”
The moment Xu Mingfan heard this, his body stiffened, and the smile vanished from his face.
He instinctively raised a hand to touch his nose.
“I can’t break it yet. I’ll probably need about another hour for my ability to fully recover.”
His voice was light, carrying a hint of guilt and regret.
Two hours later, Xu Mingfan’s ability had finally recovered most of the way. After putting in a great deal of effort, he finally managed to melt through the thigh-thick metal bar.
He wiped the sweat from his forehead, wishing he could travel back in time and smack some sense into his past self.
Making the metal bar that thick had been nothing but digging a hole for himself. In the end, it had nearly exhausted him to death.
Xu Mingfan gripped the doorknob with his right hand and gently pulled it back. The door slowly opened.
The scene before him instantly made his stomach churn.
Two zombies were sprawled across the doorway. Their expressions were hideous, their eyes completely white, and their mouths hung wide open, with saliva dripping from the corners. Their skin had turned a bluish-gray.
A chunk of flesh was missing from the male zombie’s neck, and through the wound on its forehead, its ghastly white bone could still be clearly seen.
Beneath their bodies, foul-smelling black blood had stained the floor pitch-black.
Huo Mian stood beside Xu Mingfan. The moment the door opened, the intense, pungent stench rushed straight at them.
She instinctively covered her nose and mouth, dry-heaving repeatedly as her stomach churned violently, though she couldn’t actually vomit anything.
The two of them forced themselves to endure their overwhelming discomfort, carefully stepping over the zombies’ bodies and making their way into the living room.
Seeing Huo Mian’s pale face and listless expression, Xu Mingfan considerately said, “Xiao Mian, I’ll check the other rooms to see if there are any weapons. You rest for a while.”
Huo Mian nodded. “Okay. Be careful.”
Xu Mingfan acknowledged her and didn’t linger. He turned and headed toward the room where the female zombie had been earlier.
Huo Mian hadn’t eaten breakfast since the zombie crisis broke out that morning, and she had just gone through an intense fight with the zombies.
At that moment, her stomach let out a series of loud growls in protest.
A powerful wave of hunger washed over her, and Huo Mian instinctively headed toward the kitchen.
Because the power was out, the kitchen was rather dim. Only a few faint rays of sunlight filtering through the window barely illuminated the space.
Huo Mian dragged her heavy feet into the kitchen, her eyes immediately locking onto the double-door refrigerator in the corner.
She walked over and gently pulled the door open. A fresh, fruity aroma instantly filled her nose.
Huo Mian took a deep breath, suddenly feeling as though even the air had become fresher.
The exhaustion weighing down her entire body disappeared, and she felt much more energetic.
The top shelf of the refrigerator was packed with all kinds of bread, cakes, and snacks. The middle shelf was filled with various fruits, while the bottom shelf contained only a small amount of vegetables.
The door shelves were lined with all kinds of bottled drinks and beer.
Huo Mian picked out several bags of bread, grabbed an apple and two bottles of water, then turned and headed back to the living room.
She placed the food on the coffee table and lazily sank onto the sofa. Holding a bag of bread, she tore open the package and began eating it in small bites.
Huo Mian had suffered from low blood sugar since she was little, so even when she had no appetite, she would force herself to eat enough to fill her stomach.
Meanwhile, Xu Mingfan was rummaging through the rooms.
He even crawled under the beds to inspect them carefully, refusing to overlook any corner that might be hiding a weapon.
After searching both rooms thoroughly, all he found were two golf clubs.
Looking utterly disappointed, Xu Mingfan returned to the living room with the two golf clubs in hand.
As soon as he entered, he saw Huo Mian lazily sitting on the sofa, contentedly munching on an apple.
Her formerly pale face had already regained its rosy color, and she looked fairly energetic.
Xu Mingfan walked over and casually set the two golf clubs aside.
“This is all I found. These aren’t even as good as the spear I made!”
Huo Mian looked at the two golf clubs and nodded in agreement.
She pointed at the food on the coffee table. “Eat something first. We’ll head out later.”
Xu Mingfan really was hungry, so he didn’t bother being polite.
He walked over, dropped onto the sofa beside Huo Mian, grabbed a piece of bread with his large hand, tore open the package, and stuffed it into his mouth.
As he chewed the overly sweet bread, Xu Mingfan frowned slightly. The nausea from fighting the zombies was still lingering, making it difficult for him to eat.
He turned to Huo Mian.
“Are there any apples left?”
The bread was simply too sweet and heavy. He wanted to eat some fruit to get rid of the sickly sweetness.
Huo Mian tossed the apple core into the trash can and casually replied, “There are plenty left. I’ll go get some.”