“Do you mind if I take a photo of you as a keepsake?” Xi Yue waved the Polaroid camera in her hand.
“Not at all. Would it be alright if I take a photo together with my hairstylist? After all, that makes it truly memorable, doesn’t it?”
As Shen Yu spoke, he removed the cape, used his wind ability to clean off the stray hairs clingy to his body, and swept the hair on the floor straight into the trash can with a small vortex of wind.
Xi Yue was no longer surprised to see Shen Yu use his abilities. After all, he was a big shot whose combat power was system-certified; having a few extra elemental abilities wasn’t strange in the slightest.
“You’re totally right! Let’s go to the living room to take it!”
Clutching the Polaroid, Xi Yue merrily ran to the living room and sat down, patting the sofa to signal Shen Yu to come over.
After the two of them figured out how to use it, Shen Yu took on the role of photographer, taking charge of the photography duties.
Dressed in identical clothing, the two sat snuggled up close on the sofa.
“One, two, three.”
With a flash of light, the Polaroid spat out a photo.
Xi Yue retrieved it and gave it a few shakes. The two of them bent their heads together, watching the image slowly emerge on the photographic paper.
In the picture, their heads were pressed together. Xi Yue was smiling with eyes curved like crescent moons, gesturing a peace sign under her chin.
Shen Yu’s eyes held amusement with the corners of his mouth tilted upward, his hair looking clean and fresh.
With one hand hidden behind his back, the two of them sat very close together.
“This turned out so great! I’m going to treasure this!” Xi Yue stared delightedly at the photo.
“I feel that as the main subject whose hair was cut, I should get to keep the photo.” This was the first time Shen Yu hadn’t simply gone along with Xi Yue.
Xi Yue pouted and countered, “How can you say that? I’m the main subject who did the haircutting!”
“Then let’s take more—half for you and half for me,” Shen Yu suggested.
“That works! I’ll go get the cake—I want to take photos of me eating cake!” Xi Yue was thoroughly overjoyed.
“Take the photo the moment I open my mouth!” Xi Yue held up a plate of cake to her lips, directing her personal photographer, Shen Yu.
Shen Yu made an OK sign with his hand, then lifted the camera.
Looking at Xi Yue’s quirky, playful expression through the lens, the laughter in his eyes was impossible to hide.
Shen Yu didn’t just take solo shots of her; he also leaned in to take many joint photos. In every single one, his eyes were filled with warmth and absolute gentleness.
“Alright, alright! You eat the cake, and I’ll take photos of you!”
Taking over the heavy duty of photographer, Xi Yue began taking photos of Shen Yu. The more she shot, the more addicted she became; a model like this really looked stunning no matter how you snapped the picture!
Once they finished taking photos, they also finished off the cake. Since the Polaroid only came with ten sheets of photo paper, Xi Yue purchased another forty sheets from the system mall.
After taking fifty photos in total, the two finally called a halt and began admiring their works.
Xi Yue looked at Shen Yu in the photos; this was her first time seeing him look so genuinely happy.
A Shen Yu like this was truly wonderful. She hoped he could stay this happy forever.
Xi Yue thought to herself.
Under the cover of night, an off-road vehicle appeared on the outskirts of City B.
After the car stopped, four people stepped out. The leader waved his hand, and the vehicle vanished into thin air.
“Boss, according to what they said, yesterday they were scavenging right near this imported goods supermarket,” Cheng Shangyun said, looking at the desolate-looking supermarket illuminated by the moonlight.
“Boss, should we go inside the supermarket?” Wang Cheng asked.
“Anything worth taking in the supermarket was looted months ago; there’s nothing to see. Search the vicinity to see if there are any tracks of a car driving through.”
Having said that, Qin Yu stepped forward and walked toward the side, while the other three split up and began their search.
Sensing the scent of living humans, zombies snarled and surged forth from all directions.
After a burst of lightning and fire, the surroundings returned to silence once more.
Only a scatter of crystal cores remained on the ground; the zombies had either been struck into ash by lightning or burned into cinders by fire…
“Boss, this isn’t right! How come these are all Tier-1 zombies?” Wu Zhongda used his wood ability to sprout vines, picking up the crystal cores.
“Back when we were at the C City Agricultural Base, we encountered several Tier-3 zombies. Even though this is the outer perimeter, it makes no sense that there isn’t even a single Tier-2 zombie around.” Cheng Shangyun also felt it was completely unreasonable.
“We’ll know once we head further in.”
With that, the four began walking deeper along the main road.
They encountered quite a few zombies along the way, but strangely, none were high-tier.
The moon overhead was bright and clear. As the four walked, they noticed that the road ahead looked practically brand new compared to the streets they had seen earlier.
The wrecked cars and trash along the sides had been pushed to the shoulders, leaving behind a clear path for vehicles to pass freely.
“It seems they drove in through here. Zhou Sheng is an earth-element user,” Qin Yu noted, lightly pinching fresh soil particles off a nearby car wreck with his fingers.
“Get in.” Taking the off-road vehicle back out from his spatial ring, they advanced along this wide, cleared road.
“What is that!”
Sitting in the passenger seat, Cheng Shangyun pointed toward the front right, his head suddenly poking out the window.
Far in the distance, a tall building stood tall. In the dead of night, the bright lights glowing at its summit grew increasingly eye-catching.
“Holy crap! There are lights on top of that building! That couldn’t possibly be the place we’re heading to, could it?!”
“It looks like an illuminated sign—that’s freaking insane!”
“Man, someone actually dares to live in City B, and in such high profile too!”
The three marveled in awe.
“If we can really trade for supplies here, I’m never going back to the Dawn Base again. Demanding astronomical prices just to trade for a few sweet potatoes, acting all high and mighty like they own the place.” Wu Zhongda felt indignant whenever he recalled his trips to the capital.
“Tell me about it! If it weren’t for some bastard beating us to the C City granary, with the sheer volume stored in our C City main granary, would we give a damn about their lousy sweet potatoes?” Cheng Shangyun also had a face full of resentment.
“Sigh… I just hope things actually go smoothly this time…” Wang Cheng sighed as he looked out the window.
【Host, guests are about to arrive.】
Xi Yue and Shen Yu had just finished admiring their photos and cleaned up, preparing to return to their respective rooms to sleep, when the system suddenly alerted her to the arrival of guests.
“You go to sleep first. Guests are coming, so I’ll go downstairs to take a look,” Xi Yue said, walking toward the door.
“I’ll come with you. How can the employee rest while the boss works?”
“…” Xi Yue turned around and rolled her eyes at him.
Shen Yu followed behind her with a smile.
Standing at the main lobby entrance, the two could hear the rising and falling snarls of zombies outside, accompanied by the rumble of a car engine.
The moment the off-road vehicle drove into the hotel grounds, the zombies outside instantly lost their target; roaring in frustration, they regrouped and wandered off.
The car rounded the fountain and pulled up right at the hotel entrance. Four people stepped out of the vehicle.
Xi Yue stood at the door, observing all four of them clad in camouflage uniforms.
The man stepping out from the front passenger seat looked gentle, refined, and very approachable.
The two getting out from the back seat presented quite a stark contrast: one looked thin and short, while the other looked nearly two meters tall, built like a bear. Wearing a short-sleeved camo shirt, his arms flexed with bulging, corded muscles.
Finally, the man stepping out from the driver’s seat possessed an imposing presence, with sword-like eyebrows and star-bright eyes that held a sharp, piercing gaze. He was tall, with broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and long legs—looking exceptionally cool and handsome.
Standing beside Xi Yue, Shen Yu stared at them, and as if recalling something, his expression instantly turned dark and somber…