The charcoal fire gradually died down, and the aroma of roasted meat lingered in the air. Qian Chuanchuan nimbly set up the small folding table she had just bought and laid out two sets of bowls and chopsticks.
“BBQ only tastes right with a drink to go with it~” She looked at Ling Zhanlou with sparkling eyes. “Beer or juice?”
“Water is fine,” the man replied succinctly.
Qian Chuanchuan narrowed her eyes suspiciously—could this guy be trying to be overly polite with her?
“We have plenty of water,” she said, wagging a finger. “But you must choose one more!”
Seeing her persistence, a faint smile played on Ling Zhanlou’s lips. “Then, the same as you.”
“Coming right up!”
Qian Chuanchuan rushed back into the shop and boldly spent 200 points to buy a large bottle of chilled mixed fruit juice. Including the 30 points spent on the small table, she didn’t even blink. Tsk tsk, she was now a “little rich woman” with over ten thousand points; she was no longer that pauper who owed a thousand points and was stingy about everything!
And this had only taken two days!
Hahahahahaha~
While laughing maniacally in her head, she brought out the strawberries and cherries she had bought over the last two days.
…
Qian Chuanchuan picked up a golden-brown slice of roasted meat and put it in her mouth. Her eyes instantly lit up—the meat was tender and juicy, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, and the seasoning was just right!
“You’ve got real skill!” she praised indistinctly, her cheeks bulging like a hamster’s.
Ling Zhanlou slowly picked up a piece of meat. “No, it’s just practice making perfect.”
“Modesty!” Qian Chuanchuan stuffed another large mouthful in. She didn’t dwell on the praise and instead changed the subject. “By the way, how did you get injured so badly yesterday?”
“You don’t have to say if it’s inconvenient; I’m just asking out of curiosity!” she added quickly.
She felt that Ling Zhanlou’s strength was certainly not weak, and ordinary zombies shouldn’t have been able to touch him. She was curious about how he had sustained such severe wounds. Moreover, those injuries didn’t look like they were caused by zombies.
“There’s nothing I can’t say. I was injured by ability users; they wanted to kill me.”
The silver bracelet glinted coldly in the sunlight as he casually moved his wrist. “For this.”
The man’s voice was flat, devoid of any emotional ups and downs.
“Was it… the teammates you mentioned before?” Qian Chuanchuan couldn’t help but pause her chopsticks and look at the man, asking softly.
“Mhm.” Ling Zhanlou’s lips quirked into a self-deprecating smirk, a trace of mockery flashing in his eyes. “They all wanted this spatial item. But they lacked the capability, so they could only unite against me. They still failed.”
A gentle breeze carried the remaining warmth of the charcoal fire, scattering his words into the wind. Qian Chuanchuan suddenly thought of the way the man had collapsed in front of her window yesterday; they had almost succeeded. If he hadn’t possessed a healing ability, those kinds of wounds would have made it impossible to walk for a long time. In the apocalypse, being unable to move was no different from being dead.
…
After eating for a while, Qian Chuanchuan started to feel full. Touching her slightly bulging stomach, she slowed her eating pace. Her gaze unconsciously followed Ling Zhanlou’s movements—and then she realized this man wasn’t just a heavy drinker, but a heavy eater too.
He ate elegantly, yet his speed wasn’t slow at all. For a whole tray of meat—at least two or three jin—he finished two or three trays! No wonder he was so sturdy. Her gaze involuntarily drifted downward, landing on his lean, powerful waist. How could someone with shoulders broad enough to race a horse on have such a narrow waist?
Qian Chuanchuan narrowed her eyes, wanting to take a closer look—
“Have you seen enough?”
The deep voice startled her so much she jerked. The juice cup nearly slipped from her hand, and she clumsily gulped down a large mouthful, only to end up choking and coughing.
Ling Zhanlou calmly handed her a tissue, a hint of amusement flashing in his eyes.
Qian Chuanchuan took the tissue and wiped her mouth messily, her fair face flushed red from coughing. She stammered out an explanation, “Cough, cough-cough! That… I was just… curious about how you grew this physique… broad shoulders and a narrow waist…”
Ling Zhanlou slowly set down his chopsticks, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “Mhm.”
Mhm? What did he mean by “Mhm”?
“I was purely appreciating it… bah! Purely curious! Really! It was just simple curiosity, so I looked a few more times.”
“Mhm.”
Mhm again? This damn single syllable!
Qian Chuanchuan shut her mouth crossly and stopped explaining—so she looked! What about it!
After they had their fill, the two began to clear the remains. He handled the outdoor chores while she handled the indoor ones. There was still a lot of guinea pig meat left. Under Qian Chuanchuan’s firm insistence, the man finally agreed to put the remaining meat back into his spatial storage. As for the fruit, Qian Chuanchuan ate a few, but the man didn’t touch any. It wasn’t until she forcefully shoved a few into his hand that he finally ate them.
He’s actually quite shy!
…
Early the next morning, the group from Dawn Base arrived. When they arrived, Ling Zhanlou was already there. A minor conflict occurred. Why call it minor? Because it was over before it even started.
The cause was that Ling Zhanlou had requested thirty buns. This immediately reduced the stock by nearly a third. Naturally, someone was unhappy. Anger instantly flared, causing some to lose their logic.
However, right at that moment, everyone saw the man cast a faint, cold glance in that person’s direction.
“Aah!” The enraged man suddenly clutched his head and knelt on the ground, his face as pale as if he’d seen a ghost. Large beads of sweat rolled down his temples.
“M-mental ability…” he stammered out. When he looked up again, his eyes were full of terror.
Hearing the man’s words, the others immediately became even more guarded and alert. Mental ability was a very rare trait in the apocalypse. Its offensive power far exceeded that of the lightning and fire systems; it was formless and intangible, striking directly at the most fragile psychological realm of humans, making it impossible to defend against.
They knew this man was not to be trifled with, but they hadn’t expected him to be a mental ability user. From the look of it, his level was also higher than theirs. He was likely not someone they could afford to provoke.
The group tacitly took a step back, leaving the enraged man kneeling alone in great pain.
Teammate loyalty in the apocalypse? Don’t be ridiculous. They were just a temporary group; there was no loyalty to speak of. Moreover, this man clearly had a short fuse. At the slightest disagreement, he acted immediately without a single word of nonsense. What if they stepped forward to help and he launched an indiscriminate attack?