Here are all Chapters 31–40 in proper order, with full content:
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Chapter 31: Unlocking New Supplies
"Brother Wang, this security door is damn hard; it just won't open!"
The blond student cursed loudly.
He had already joined this gang of thugs.
Although he had taken a brutal beating, after a round of crying and begging he earned the gang's protection.
He even got half a bottle of water and a small piece of jerky made from who-knows-what animal.
The water was already a bit black and the meat smelled odd.
Still, at least there was food.
Plenty of people could not even dream of eating meat like this now.
"Keep smashing! I don't believe we can't break this damn door! Whoever cracks it first gets 2 extra pieces of meat, and he's the first to have fun with the woman inside!" Brother Wang, his arms covered in tattoos, snarled.
The thugs roared excitedly at his words and hammered the door even harder.
The security doors in this complex were good, but they could not withstand a mob of crazed thugs wielding weapons.
At that moment, the blond's shifty eyes darted around; he suddenly leaned close to the burly man. "Big Brother…"
"Don't you damn get so close to me!"
The burly man backhanded him, making the blond's head spin.
"S-sorry, Big Brother. I forgot."
The blond needed a while to regain his senses, yet he dared not talk back.
He knew how violent this underworld boss was and that he could not afford to provoke him.
"What do you want to say?" Brother Wang glanced at him.
"Well, Big Brother, I came out with several guys from our dorm, and some of them brought their girlfriends… real college girls! Each one is prettier than the last! Long legs… slender and long… and their asses are perky, and their faces are gorgeous!"
The blond described eagerly.
He had already begun fantasizing about those beauties.
"Smack!!"
The burly man backhanded him again, knocking stars from his eyes and shattering the fantasy.
"B-Big Brother, why did you hit me again…?"
"Why did I hit you? Didn't you say you came from the boys' dorm? How can there be girls in a boys' dorm? Are you bullying me because I never went to college?"
The burly man glared viciously at the blond as though about to strike once more.
"No, Big Brother, I'm not lying! Those college girls weren't from our dorm; they came from outside! They're another guy's girlfriends!" The blond, his face swollen, rushed to explain.
This boss's mood was totally unstable!
He was like a damn lunatic!
He hit people at the drop of a hat!
And he was dumb as rocks; no wonder he never went to college…
But the blond dared not voice that, or he would really get beaten to death.
"Smack!"
Suddenly the burly man raised his hand and slapped him yet again.
The blond was knocked silly; even his molars almost flew out.
"B-Big Brother, why did you hit me again?"
"That look in your eyes was wrong! Were you cursing me inside? Are you upset that I'm hitting you?"
"N-no! Big Brother, you've wronged me!!"
"Smack!"
The burly man slapped him again without explanation. "Still daring to talk back? I'll hit you whenever I want. Got a problem with that?"
"No, no, B-Brother, I submit!"
The blond's whole face swelled beyond recognition; he could barely speak.
"Now tell me in detail about those college girls. I've never had a college girl before. If what you say is true, I'll reward you with a piece of meat." The burly man slapped the blond's shoulder boorishly, nearly knocking him over.
"Uh… uh… y-yes…"
The blond's lips were swollen, his vision darkening, and he stammered.
"Cat got your tongue? I told you to talk!" The burly man, enraged, slapped him hard again and actually knocked him out.
"Damn!"
"He fainted already? College boys sure are lousy at taking a beating!"
The burly man spat fiercely.
"Someone wake him up for me. Don't waste clean water… use piss!"
"Everyone else, smash that door faster! I remember the couple inside just got married; whoever breaks in first gets the bride first!!"
The thugs ignored why the blond was beaten and kept pounding on the door with even more zeal.
The words 'newly-wed bride' filled them with strength.
Meanwhile, inside the room under attack, a newly married couple trembled in fear.
The man gripped a kitchen knife tightly and kept calling the police with his phone.
The young woman, terrified, kept sending messages for help in the community chat.
Yet, people offered kind words but no real help.
The couple could only watch the rattling security door in despair and terror.
At last, after hours of torment, the lock broke and the door was forced open.
Six or seven men entered, grinning wickedly.
…
[Ding!]
[System detected that you successfully took in a Goddess. Randomly unlocking one type of supply…]
[Ding! Unlock successful. Congratulations, you unlocked the supply: Grade-5A steak!]
[Grade-5A steak +1, stored in System Space]
[Grade-5A steak +1, stored in System Space]
[Grade-5A…]
"Grade-5A steak?"
Shen Yi took out his phone and looked up the relevant information.
Grade-5A steak had the highest assessment rating; depending on the region it cost about 1,500 to 6,000 yuan per kilogram.
The ratio of fat to lean meat was high and evenly distributed, making the texture tender; even with just salt it tasted great when pan-seared.
"Thousands per kilo? That's freaking expensive."
Shen Yi sighed with feeling.
He used to work part-time and earned just over 2,000 a month.
A month's salary could not even buy 1 kilogram of steak; that was insane!
"I do want to taste how good a steak costing thousands really is."
Moved by the thought, Shen Yi took a steak from System Space.
The beef had clear marbling, a perfect mix of fat and lean, and was incredibly fresh.
But it was raw.
Shen Yi felt speechless.
He still had to cook it himself; what a hassle.
However, raw meat was actually more versatile; if he did not want steak, he could stir-fry or boil it instead.
Right now Shen Yi's diet was only chicken; tasty as it was, he was getting sick of it.
Having steak as another supply was great!
As for cooking the steak, he would let the women handle that, of course.
He already had 3 women in his harem; he could not still be expected to cook, right?
"Um… c-could I… could I have a bottle of water?" Wrapped in a blanket and blushing, Bai Xinyi asked softly.
Shen Yi glanced at Bai Xinyi and casually took a bottle of mineral water from System Space and tossed it to her.
"Thank you!" Bai Xinyi caught the water and drank it at once.
"Come out for dinner later."
Saying that, Shen Yi got dressed and left the bedroom.
"Honey, a door on the first floor was kicked in!"
"Those thugs not only violated the woman but even recorded a video and posted it in the group!"
Seeing Shen Yi come out, Jiang Nanyan hurried to report.
She had been monitoring the building's group chat, as Shen Yi had ordered.
---
Chapter 32: The Residents Unite
"Let me see."
Shen Yi took Jiang Nanyan's phone and scrolled through the group chat.
Then he opened the video.
The clip showed several naked men torturing a young woman.
Curses, screams, and pleas rang out, each more unbearable than the last.
In the same footage, a young man with a face swollen from beatings and chunks of flesh sliced from his body was tied to a chair and forced to watch his wife being violated.
Even worse, the thugs propped the newlyweds' photo in front of the woman so she had to watch their marriage picture being defiled.
After watching, the residents in the chat fumed with righteous anger, some cursing the thugs as inhuman.
The thugs did not care; instead, they threatened everyone in the building.
They ordered the rest of the residents to come downstairs at once, warning that once they kicked the doors in every woman would meet the same fate.
Arrogant and vicious!
Lawless!
Yet this was the apocalypse.
Silence fell over the chat.
Every resident feared those thugs.
They were ordinary people, maybe a little wealthier than most, but none had ever witnessed such savage brutality.
Only after the thugs' account was kicked from the group did messages start appearing again.
Resident 0501: "Those lunatics! Completely insane! They have no bottom line at all!"
Resident 0501: "Where are the police? Where did they all go? Why is no one answering 110? Can any of you get through?"
Resident 0201: "I can't get through; I haven't been able to for days."
Resident 0901: "What do we do? Think of something fast! If those thugs rush upstairs we're finished!"
Resident 1001: "Where's property management? Get out here! And the security guards, where did they go? Come protect us! You take 4,000 to 5,000 a month and this is how you work?"
Resident 0901: "If my eyes didn't deceive me, two of those thugs are security guards, still wearing their uniforms."
Resident 1001: "Those sons of bitches take my money yet try to kill me! Damn it, when the police arrive I'm filing a complaint!"
Resident 1001: "And those bandits are all broke trash! Figures, the poorest people are always the least civilized… steal or rob, that's all they know. Disgusting!"
Resident 1402: "Property management vanished long ago; after they dropped off supplies three days back we haven't been able to reach them."
Resident 0902: "What? How can we not reach them? My food and water are already gone. What now? Where do we get more?"
Resident 0801: "Upstairs, how did you eat so fast? The property office handed out three days of provisions to every household just the day before yesterday."
Resident 0902: "I have a big family, and didn't management promise deliveries every three days? Who knew they'd break their word? We're out of food… what do we do?"
Resident 0801: "What else can you do but starve? It's the end of the world; if you don't ration food and still rely on others, that's on you."
Resident 0902: "0801, are you crazy? Did I offend you? I ate my own food, so what? Mind your own business!"
Resident 0501: "Can we stop arguing? Let's figure out how to block the thugs downstairs first!"
Resident 1402: "I have a suggestion: each household sends one person, we unite and fight the thugs together. With numbers on our side they won't dare face us head-on. Thoughts?"
Unit 1501: "Ah? But I'm the only one in my place, and I'm a woman…"
Resident 1502: "So what if you're a woman? Equality of the sexes! Every household must send at least one person; otherwise, when the thugs break in, we won't protect your place or any other freeloaders!"
Resident 1502: "If you want protection, unite! No excuses, no hitchhiking!"
Resident 1001: "Seconded!"
Resident 0801: "Then my place will send a man."
Resident 1402: "Since everyone's willing, let's gather on the 18th floor. Bring weapons… baseball bats, golf clubs, anything that can serve as a weapon!"
Resident 1402: "An entire building of us can't get bullied by six or seven people. We need to put them in their place!"
Resident 0501: "Great! I'm fired up! Let's smash them and show them our power!"
The residents of Building 6 began organizing their counterattack.
To protect their families and themselves, even the most timid had to step forward.
The thugs were insane, and their gory video had frightened everyone.
The thugs had posted the video to intimidate the residents and force them to surrender.
But they forgot that even the most cowardly will fight desperately when their family and their own lives are on the line.
Thus the gruesome video backfired.
"No wonder this complex hasn't collapsed; property management actually distributed supplies to every unit three days ago… pretty decent service," Xu Wanting murmured.
She remembered that the school had run out of food on the second day, which had spawned the riots there.
Here, people still clung to a moral bottom line and even helped one another.
However, that was before.
Now the management had vanished, the three-day ration was about to run out, and with the thugs attacking, the final line might soon collapse.
Forget the rest of the residents.
Even Xu Wanting and Jiang Nanyan, who had Shen Yi's protection, were shaken by the thugs' cruelty.
That woman was so pitiful!
Thankfully they had made the right choice and followed Shen Yi.
Seeing the other woman's misery, the two of them looked at Shen Yi with noticeably more reliance.
Although Shen Yi had threatened them with supplies, he had not treated them badly or abused them.
He gave them food and water every day and kept them safe.
He had even promised to help them gain superpowers!
Thinking it over, Shen Yi wasn't merely decent to them; he was downright good to them.
With that thought, the two women subconsciously moved to Shen Yi's side and began massaging his legs and feet of their own accord.
Serving Shen Yi properly was what they should be doing, not scheming against each other every day.
Jiang Nanyan and Xu Wanting exchanged a look and felt a faint sense of relief.
Xu Wanting no longer wanted to resent Jiang Nanyan.
After all, they were now practically family.
If Shen Yi ever left home they would still need to help each other.
Compared with the savage thugs outside, the hatred between them was nothing.
Jiang Nanyan also felt there was no need to hate Xu Wanting; although she had been tricked into coming, it now seemed a blessing.
Otherwise she would have starved already.
Or she would have been bullied by those boys in the classroom building.
At that thought, her resentment toward Xu Wanting slowly melted away.
"Which of you can cook steak?" Shen Yi asked suddenly while enjoying the two soft pairs of hands massaging him.
The two women froze, looked at each other, and began to stammer.
Obviously, neither of them could.
After all, before the apocalypse they had been pampered young ladies who had never lifted a finger in the kitchen.
"I… I can do it."
A soft voice drifted over from the bedroom.
It was Bai Xinyi, cheeks flushed and walking a little gingerly.
By now she had also joined this little family.
"Good, then fry a few for dinner," Shen Yi said, taking seven or eight steaks from the System Space.
Each one weighed about half a jin.
"Um, can we still pan-fry with the power out?" Xu Wanting asked uncertainly.
"Yes, we can. I just checked… there's still gas," Bai Xinyi replied.
She did not feel much hostility toward Xu Wanting.
After all, she had stolen Xu Wanting's man…
Bai Xinyi actually felt somewhat embarrassed.
"O-okay."
Xu Wanting felt awkward.
She knew nothing about kitchens.
She felt she had embarrassed herself in front of Shen Yi.
Would this lower Shen Yi's opinion of her?
No, she couldn't let that happen!
Seeing Bai Xinyi head into the kitchen, Xu Wanting hurried after her; she was going to learn to cook.
Jiang Nanyan knelt on the sofa and massaged Shen Yi's thighs.
With the household in harmony, Shen Yi felt very satisfied.
There was enough pressure outside; at home he wanted to relax completely.
Especially since he had just killed someone today…
---
Chapter 33: Crushing Defeat, I'll Follow the Cable and Kill You
This so-called grade-5 top-tier steak did taste pretty good.
Shen Yi felt it beat every beef he had ever eaten, perhaps because the System's beef was simply superior.
Moreover, Bai Xinyi's cooking was excellent too; every steak she seared was crispy outside and tender inside, perfectly done and wonderfully fragrant!
During that meal, Shen Yi polished off five full steaks!
Perhaps his constant use of Teleportation that day had drained too much stamina, so he needed extra energy.
But it didn't matter, because supplies were the one thing he never lacked!
Steaks were unlimited!
After he had eaten and drunk his fill, Shen Yi replied to Zhou Wan'er's message.
Yes, Zhou Wan'er had texted him.
She had finally decided to come over.
She even said she would bring two dorm mates along.
Shen Yi naturally did not refuse.
The more women who came, the more resources he could unlock!
After answering the message, Shen Yi took out several power banks and handed them to the three women, telling them to charge their phones fully and not waste power so they could stay in touch later.
Otherwise, if something happened at home when he was away, he would be clueless.
Once these chores were done, it was already late, and with the power out the group went to bed early.
Before sleeping, Shen Yi glanced at the Building 6 group chat.
The residents had assembled and were aggressively gathering on the 18th floor.
Good, with them holding the line he could sleep even more soundly tonight.
Tomorrow would be the time to deal with the thugs.
"Honey, good night."
Xu Wanting snuggled into Shen Yi's arms and mumbled the words.
"Mm, good night."
…
That night.
Shen Yi slept very soundly.
Even before the apocalypse he had never slept this comfortably.
Perhaps a man like him truly suited the end times.
By contrast, the other people in the building had a terrible time.
A crowd of residents gathered on the 18th floor… more than 20 people, mostly men with only a few women.
Each of them held a weapon, whether a golf club, a baseball bat, or a kitchen knife.
For a moment, they even felt confident.
The thugs were brutal, but there were only 6 or 7 of them, whereas the residents outnumbered them 2-to-1.
This time, the advantage was ours!
So, under the lead of a middle-aged businessman in a suit, they marched downstairs, brimming with aggression, to negotiate with the thugs!
Yes, negotiate!
No one wanted a life-and-death battle if they could avoid it.
If a fight broke out, people would die!
Unfortunately, the thugs had no bottom line and launched a sudden attack during the talks.
Caught off guard, the 20-odd residents were beaten so badly they wailed like ghosts and instantly collapsed.
More than 20 people were chased and hacked at by just 6 or 7.
The final tally showed 3 residents killed, 2 gravely wounded, 2 taken captive, and nearly 10 with minor injuries.
Not a single thug died; none were even seriously hurt, only lightly injured.
A crushing defeat!
How could these suit-and-tie office workers ever match desperados?
They lost all will to resist after a single clash.
Shen Yi learned all this through the chat log.
Some residents who had lost family cried in the group, while others whose relatives were captured begged for help.
But this time, no one dared respond.
The thugs had already crushed their morale the previous night.
Now everyone cared only about self-preservation; no one would risk their life, not even step outside the door.
Ordinary people simply were no match for those desperados.
Those thugs had no sense of reason and truly dared to kill!
Resident 1501: "Does anyone have gauze or medicine? My leg hurts so badly; the wound from last night keeps bleeding. Please help me! I beg you!"
[Resident 1501 sent a photo]
Shen Yi opened the picture and discovered the injured resident was actually a woman.
Of course, he had clicked because he glimpsed a pair of fair, tender thighs in the thumbnail.
Although a slash had stained most of her leg with blood, he could still tell the shape was nice.
He just wondered whether her looks met the System's standard.
Seeing no one respond to 1501's plea, Shen Yi replied in the group using Jiang Nanyan's account.
Resident 2001: "I have medicine. If you need it, DM me, but first send a full-body photo with no beauty filter."
Resident 1501: "A photo? Why do you want my photo?"
Resident 0901: "What else? Isn't it obvious?"
Resident 0901: "Wait, this 20th-floor resident, didn't you skip the gathering last night?"
Resident 1401: "The 20th floor really didn't help last night! Everyone remember resident 2001; selfish people like that don't deserve our help!"
Resident 0501: "@Resident 2001, get out! It's all you! You got my man killed! What right do you have to stay in this group?!"
Resident 0501: "Bastard! Trash! Ill-bred trash! Get out of this group!! You don't deserve to live! You should die, you selfish scum!!"
Resident 0501: "Your whole family should die!!"
Resident 1401: "Well said; selfish people like that shouldn't stay in the group!"
Resident 1602: "Sob… my husband died when he went out with you yesterday. You have to protect us widows and orphans…"
In an instant, Shen Yi, who had not lent a hand, became the public enemy of the whole building.
It was as if all the consequences stemmed solely from his absence.
Some people are like that: they dare not face the strong yet have no problem bullying the weak.
However, Shen Yi was no weakling.
Shen Yi used Teleportation to appear directly in apartment 501.
At that moment, inside, a middle-aged woman in pajamas sat on the sofa, furiously typing on her phone as she cursed Shen Yi in the chat.
Only by venting like this could she relieve the pain of losing her man.
She was so absorbed that she failed to notice Shen Yi's arrival.
Not until Shen Yi deliberately made a sound did she look up, her face instantly filling with terror.
"W-who are you?!"
"How did you get into my home!"
Shen Yi glanced at her phone screen and confirmed she was indeed the one flaming him.
"I admit losing your man hurts; after all, he was your only support."
"But…"
Shen Yi spoke mildly, raised his hand, and a pistol appeared in his palm.
The middle-aged woman saw this and became utterly terrified.
He had produced a gun from thin air!
Was he even human?!
"But what does that have to do with me?"
"You dared curse my family, so I'll kill you!"
Shen Yi pulled the trigger and blew her head off with one shot.
Even in death, the woman never understood how she had provoked such a monster…
After killing the person who cursed his family, Shen Yi teleported back, feeling quite refreshed.
As for the others in the chat who had called him selfish, Shen Yi ignored them for now.
He would deal with them slowly after wiping out the thugs.
Don't think I'm easy-going!
Piss me off and I'll follow the internet cable to kill you!
Just then, Resident 1501 also added him as a friend.
Resident 1501: "My phone only has 1% battery left, I can't take a photo."
Resident 1501: "If you have medicine, could you please bring it over? I have photos at home!"
After sending those two messages, she suddenly went offline.
Apparently her phone had died.
Shen Yi thought about it and felt it was worth a trip.
He had nothing else to do; if the resident of 1501 met the System's standard, he could unlock new supplies.
Even if she didn't, it would only cost a little effort… no big deal.
With that in mind, Shen Yi used Teleportation and vanished from the apartment.
"Ah! Shen Yi! Shen Yi just disappeared into thin air!"
Bai Xinyi, who had just walked out of the bedroom, screamed at the sight.
Ignoring the danger, she rushed to where Shen Yi had vanished and anxiously rummaged through the sofa crevice…
"How could a living person disappear into thin air!?"
And right in front of her, no less!
"Teacher Bai, calm down."
Jiang Nanyan and Xu Wanting watched Bai Xinyi's comical behavior and couldn't help laughing.
How could someone as big as Shen Yi hide in a sofa crack?
They knew this was Shen Yi's new superpower, so they were not surprised.
They explained it to Bai Xinyi in passing.
After hearing the explanation, Bai Xinyi blushed crimson and silently admitted that she really couldn't adapt to the apocalyptic world!
---
Chapter 34: He Must Be My Prince Charming
Using Teleportation, Shen Yi reached the 15th floor within seconds.
In this upscale complex each elevator served 2 units, so finding 1501 was easy.
He stood at the door and knocked politely.
He had to see what the occupant of 1501 looked like; if she failed to meet the System's standard, Shen Yi would turn around and leave.
After a moment the electronic lock beeped and the door opened. (Even without power these locks can work for a long time because they have backup batteries, so this is not a bug.)
A girl wearing a mint-green short-sleeved shirt and light-blue high-waisted denim shorts appeared at the doorway, her face deathly pale.
She was very pretty; her smooth chestnut hair had been styled into loose waves, one side tucked behind her ear to reveal a tiny pearl stud while the other side framed her face naturally.
Her legs were long and straight, the muscle lines sleek and healthy, clearly the result of regular workouts.
However, that attractive left leg was almost dyed red, and even the cloth wrapped around it could not stop the bleeding.
In other words, the girl's poor wound care had led to this condition.
Because of the blood loss, her complexion was so pale that even her lips had turned white.
Just then, the System activated.
Ding!
Detected a Goddess who meets the System's standards, beginning detailed scan.
Name: Qu Xiaoxiao
Age: 24
Appearance: 91
Figure: 95
Inner Quality: 100 (experienced in self-defense, no real combat)
Total Score: 96
Assessment: Taking her in will unlock one random supply item.
"Hmm?"
Shen Yi focused on the Inner Quality assessment.
It was the first time he had seen this kind of assessment.
Experienced in self-defense.
So she's a video-watching girl?
Whatever the case, she met the System's criteria.
"Um, are… are you the resident of 2001?" Qu Xiaoxiao asked warily.
She had confirmed through the peephole that Shen Yi was not one of the thugs downstairs, which was why she opened the door.
"Yeah, your leg is bleeding again, let's stop the bleeding first."
As he spoke, Shen Yi scooped her up and carried her inside.
Qu Xiaoxiao was stunned.
In that instant she actually forgot to resist.
Shen Yi's movements were so natural, as if they were a couple.
But only for a second; Qu Xiaoxiao came back to herself, blushed, struggled, and kept refusing, "D-don't do this! We just met!"
"And I'm hurt, we can't do anything naughty…"
"If you really want to, at least wait until I'm healed!"
In fact, at first glance Qu Xiaoxiao felt Shen Yi was quite handsome and tall, fitting her standards for a boyfriend.
Since it was the apocalypse, finding a man to rely on wasn't a bad idea…
Still, exercising the moment they met was too much for her!
They should at least exchange names first, right?
Shen Yi offered no explanation; he laid the over-thinking Qu Xiaoxiao on the sofa, then took gauze and white liquor from the System Space… things he had grabbed at the supermarket… and began disinfecting and bandaging her.
The reason he did not explain was that Qu Xiaoxiao was already acting odd from excessive blood loss.
In the apocalypse there was no proper medical care, and complications from blood loss would be trouble.
Shen Yi was counting on her to unlock supplies.
He couldn't let this trip be wasted, not to mention a roll of gauze and some liquor.
The liquor was especially precious; after scouring the supermarket he had found only 2 bottles of uncontaminated high-proof baijiu, originally meant for disinfecting his own wounds later.
The apocalypse was different from before; if you were injured there were no doctors.
Shen Yi was even planning to visit a hospital in the next couple of days to stock up on medicine in case he fell ill later.
"Hiss… " Qu Xiaoxiao frowned in pain, instinctively grabbing Shen Yi's thigh and screaming.
Even Shen Yi's thigh hurt from her grip.
Disinfecting with liquor was a pain few could endure.
Still, Shen Yi's hands were rough but swift.
Once disinfected, he wrapped the wound tightly with gauze and finally stopped the bleeding.
"All right, rest now; I'll come tomorrow to disinfect it again and change the gauze," Shen Yi said, preparing to leave.
With such a serious wound she definitely could not unlock a reward now.
He would nurse her for a couple of days first.
It would not consume many supplies anyway.
Shen Yi left a roast chicken and teleported away.
He made no demands and asked for nothing.
He had already decided that Qu Xiaoxiao belonged to him.
There was no need to explain anything.
What if Qu Xiaoxiao refused?
Then she could pay with her life!
Without Shen Yi she would have died today for sure.
Besides, she had seen his superpower; if she refused to submit, he would have to silence her.
Shen Yi did not want news of his Teleportation leaked, or enemies would target him later.
As the saying goes, every gift from fate carries a hidden price tag.
By saving Qu Xiaoxiao, Shen Yi had left her only 2 choices.
Submit or die.
"C-could he be the prince sent by heaven to save me?"
Qu Xiaoxiao lay weakly on the sofa, replaying the scene of Shen Yi treating her wound and leaving food behind.
The more she thought, the redder her face became.
She had seen bandages, liquor, and food appear with a wave of his hand.
And after helping her, the man asked for nothing and simply left!
If that wasn't Prince Charming, what was it!?
Was he a deity?
Qu Xiaoxiao had thought she would have to offer her body to repay him.
Yet he asked for nothing!
That actually left her a little disappointed.
"But he said he'll come tomorrow to change my dressing, which means we'll meet again, right?"
Qu Xiaoxiao could not help looking forward to it.
Weak as she was, she even thought of tidying herself up to greet her Prince Charming in her best state.
"Smells so good…"
Qu Xiaoxiao turned slightly and looked at the steaming roast chicken on the table.
She remembered that her Prince Charming had produced this chicken with a casual wave, like some immortal trick.
"He really is the Prince Charming of my dreams!"
Thinking that, Qu Xiaoxiao happily ate the chicken.
…
Leaving Qu Xiaoxiao's apartment, Shen Yi headed straight for the first floor.
It was time to deal with those thugs.
Their usefulness had ended.
When Shen Yi appeared on the first floor, he saw several thugs roasting meat.
The meat they roasted had actually been cut from corpses.
No wonder they hadn't starved; they were strong enough to smash doors.
"Who's there!?"
"Brother Wang, a pretty boy!"
Suddenly, the thugs spotted Shen Yi.
Someone immediately picked up a knife and glared at him, eyes fierce like a beast's.
"Shen Yi! It's actually you!!"
Suddenly, from a corner the blond classmate with a swollen face emerged, staring at Shen Yi with hatred.
It was because Shen Yi abandoned him that he ended up like this.
Everything was Shen Yi's fault!
Shen Yi had ruined him!!
---
Chapter 35: Massacring the Thugs, Mutated Black Spider!
"Boss, that's him! He's the bastard I told you about, the one hanging around with several female college students!" the blond immediately told the tattooed hulk.
He had suffered so much and endured so many torments that he swore to make Shen Yi taste every single one of them!
Hearing that, the tattooed hulk glanced at Shen Yi with curious interest.
His eyes swept up and down, sizing him up.
"I was expecting someone impressive… this is it?"
The hulk spat and snarled, "Break one of his legs and force him to tell us which floor he lives on; after that we'll head to his place and have fun with his women!"
"Got it!"
A tall, skinny man in a security uniform answered and walked over brandishing a baseball bat.
The other thugs did not take Shen Yi seriously at all.
To them he was just an unarmed ordinary man.
They had hacked several people to death just last night!
Yet in the very next second, a deafening gunshot rang out!
The man in the security uniform froze, then toppled straight to the ground with a bullet hole in his forehead!
Shen Yi did not pause; he raised his gun and fired repeatedly at the thugs who had yet to react.
Bang, bang, bang… gunfire echoed through the first floor without letup.
When the magazine ran dry, Shen Yi immediately switched to another gun.
In the blink of an eye four thugs were cut down in a hail of bullets!
There was no idle talk.
He had come here to kill!
So once he had confirmed their numbers, he pulled the trigger without hesitation.
"Damn it! How does he have a gun?!"
"Run! Hurry, run!!!"
Terror was all that remained in the surviving thugs.
They had been so arrogant and vicious only because they had never run into anyone stronger than themselves.
It was still the early days of the apocalypse; most people had yet to become desperadoes and dared not fight the thugs to the death.
That made the thugs believe they were unstoppable and invincible.
But now that Shen Yi was slaughtering them single-handedly, they finally knew what fear was!
The fear of death!
No matter how ruthless or desperate they were, a single bullet could still end their lives.
"Dammit, blondie, you son of a bitch! Didn't you say he was just a student? Then why the hell does he have a gun?!"
The tattooed hulk dove into a room at once and vented his fury on the blond.
"A gun!"
"That's a freaking gun!"
They had dared to kill with impunity only because they knew the Xia Nation banned firearms.
If they'd known someone had a gun, only an idiot would have provoked him!
What good were the few lousy knives in their hands?!
The blond was already scared silly.
He hid behind a wardrobe, shivering.
Shen Yi actually had a damned gun!
And he shot people without the slightest hesitation!
Was he really just an ordinary college student?
The blond was so terrified that he wet himself right away.
What do I do? What do I do?!
He had already offended Shen Yi; once the others were dead he would definitely die too…
Soon.
The gunfire outside stopped.
Not a sound remained.
There were not even any screams.
It seemed everyone had been killed.
The tattooed hulk gripped his knife behind the door, beads of sweat forming on his tense forehead.
There was only one chance!
He had to land a fatal blow the moment the man entered, catching him off guard!
Holding his breath, the hulk stared unblinkingly at the doorway.
But he failed to notice someone appear behind him.
The blond saw Shen Yi materialize out of thin air, his eyes went wide and he stammered, pointing, "B-Boss, he's inside!!!"
The hulk froze and instinctively tried to turn, but Shen Yi's gun had already fired and the bullet smashed into the back of his head.
Shen Yi then squeezed off several more shots and finished off the hulk, whose eyes were filled with terror.
"Spare me! Big Brother, spare me!!"
"Please, I'm begging you! Let me go!"
"W-We're classmates from the same university!"
The blond classmate knelt on the floor, tears and snot streaming as he begged for his life.
Shen Yi unhurriedly drew another gun from System Space and shot him dead.
Inside the room.
A man was tied to a chair, already lifeless.
A naked woman cowered in the corner, trembling all over.
Her mind had completely collapsed; even witnessing Shen Yi kill, she remained trapped in her own terror and showed no reaction.
Shen Yi raised his gun and ended her suffering with a single shot.
He walked out of the room.
Shen Yi noticed a bandit he had shot four or five times who was somehow still alive, crawling toward the exit.
Shen Yi was in no hurry; he stood where he was, aimed at the man, and fired.
The first shot missed.
"Tsk, my marksmanship really is awful; I can't even hit such a big target."
Muttering, Shen Yi kept squeezing the trigger.
He used the struggling thug as target practice.
Shen Yi's shooting had always been poor, which was why he usually fired only within 10 meters.
But he had plenty of bullets and guns, so he could improve little by little.
Thus, from 30 to 40 meters away, Shen Yi kept firing at the crawling bandit.
It took four or five shots to land one hit.
Pathetic indeed.
The bandit's vitality was astonishing; driven by a fierce will to live, he crawled outside despite the bullet wounds.
Shen Yi changed guns as he walked closer and took aim again.
This time he aimed at the head.
Just as Shen Yi was about to pull the trigger, suddenly!
A thick white line shot over, stuck to the bandit's body, and hoisted him into the air.
Shen Yi froze for a moment, then looked upward in alarm.
What was that?!
He watched for a while but, with vines covering the upper floors and the black fog so dense, saw nothing.
Remaining alert, Shen Yi casually picked up a thug's corpse and tossed it outside.
As soon as the corpse hit the ground, an identical thick white line shot down and whisked it away.
"Whoa, what the hell is that?!"
Shen Yi was shocked.
He had always thought this building was safe, but clearly it was not!
There was a monster upstairs!
He did not know whether it had been drawn by the gunshots or the corpses…
No, he had to figure out what this thing was.
Otherwise going out later would be dangerous.
Shen Yi picked up another corpse and flung it outside.
At the same time he Teleported outside as well, staring hard at the building.
He saw a huge black spider 2 to 3 meters across, covered in dark hair and sporting many legs, crawl down through the black fog; its chelicera-like mouth shot out an arm-thick white strand that glued to the corpse and hauled it upward.
Seizing the chance, Shen Yi raised his gun and fired 7 or 8 rounds at the mutated black spider!
This monster had to be eliminated!
Otherwise traveling later would be extremely dangerous!
However, to his shock, the bullets only penetrated a little and did almost no damage, instead enraging the creature.
The mutated black spider dropped the corpse, opened its jaws toward Shen Yi, and spewed a thick white strand of webbing!
---
Chapter 36: A Policewoman Who Meets the System's Standards!
Shen Yi was prepared, so he used Teleportation to dodge 20 meters away and avoid the black spider's attack.
"Damn it, even a handgun can't kill it!"
Shen Yi cursed under his breath.
His strongest offensive method at the moment could not do anything to this mutated spider!
At that moment, the black spider locked onto Shen Yi's position again, apparently harboring a grudge because the handgun had hurt it, so its many hairy legs moved rapidly as it jumped down from upstairs and pounced at Shen Yi.
The gigantic spider, 2 to 3 meters across, lunged straight at him, making Shen Yi's scalp tingle!
He hurriedly used Teleportation to lure the black spider farther away.
But the black spider only chased for a few dozen meters before abruptly stopping.
Its cluster of pitch-black eyes stared at Shen Yi, it made strange sounds with its mouth, circled in place several times, and then turned around and headed back.
"Why did that brute stop chasing?"
Shen Yi frowned.
After thinking for a moment, he cautiously followed and discovered that the black spider had actually climbed back upstairs.
On the way, it even remembered to carry off the thugs' corpses on the ground.
Shen Yi's expression grew unpleasant.
It was obvious that this black spider intended to take up residence here!
Shen Yi had just wanted to draw it away with Teleportation, but the creature simply refused to take the bait.
"Damn it, I finally found a satisfactory shelter, and I run into something like this again…" Shen Yi wanted to curse.
If he did not deal with this black spider, not only his women but even he himself might get caught off guard.
Yet getting rid of it was truly not easy.
After all, even bullets could not kill it.
How could a spider mutate into something this terrifying?
Shen Yi furrowed his brow deeply and pondered for a while.
He took out his phone to contact Zhou Wan'er.
If Zhou Wan'er had already gone out, he could pick her up; otherwise, even if she managed to reach the complex alive, the black spider would kill her.
Shen Yi: "Where are you now?"
Zhou Wan'er: "We just left the campus, it's so dangerous out here, big brother!"
Shen Yi: "How much battery do you have left?"
Zhou Wan'er: "Almost full, I have a power bank."
Shen Yi: "Share your current location."
[Zhou Wan'er initiated location sharing with you.]
Shen Yi joined the location share and saw that the distance between them was a little over 800 meters, which was not too far.
Without the Teleportation superpower, Shen Yi would definitely not pick her up; it was far too risky.
But with Teleportation, even if he encountered a mutated monster, he could still guarantee his own safety.
Given that guarantee, Shen Yi did not mind doing things that benefited him, such as searching for supplies or looking for women who met the System's criteria.
Walking through a street shrouded in black fog, Shen Yi remained alert to his surroundings at all times.
The mutated black spider had greatly heightened his vigilance.
Some mutated animals simply could not be killed by a handgun!
"The trees along the road seem to have grown taller and thicker again; at this growth rate, humans will soon have very little space left to move…"
Although plants did not actively attack people, if they grew too large, they would eventually threaten them.
And those cracks in the ground had stopped widening, yet they still spewed a continuous stream of black fog, and no one knew where so much fog was coming from…
Shen Yi really wanted to jump down and investigate, but it remained just a thought.
If he actually went down, he would be dead for sure!
"When my strength is sufficient, I can go down and take a look."
Shen Yi thought to himself.
Then he continued following the navigation toward Zhou Wan'er's position.
Yet from the location share, Shen Yi saw that Zhou Wan'er had remained in the same spot the entire time.
This made him frown continuously.
That little schemer knew he was coming and had chosen to wait right where she was?
She did not even bother to move.
Shen Yi walked a few hundred more meters and found that her position still had not changed.
His face looked very unpleasant.
A woman who kept pushing her luck was infuriating!
If he had not already walked several hundred meters, Shen Yi would have turned around and gone home.
Forget it; he would unlock the reward first.
If Zhou Wan'er's scheming was truly that deep, he would take the reward and then kill her!
Shen Yi kept moving forward, and the surroundings gradually grew quiet.
He glanced at the navigation and found that her locator was inside the convenience store ahead, motionless.
Shen Yi drew his gun and walked over slowly.
Although the convenience store was small, it still contained a lot of supplies, so he could loot it and the trip would not be wasted.
The moment he approached, Shen Yi sensed that something was wrong.
He smelled a rich scent of blood in the air.
Having killed often these past two days, Shen Yi immediately recognized it as human blood.
Moreover, he could see many drag marks on the ground not far away, and there was even a woman's shoe lying there.
Judging from the scene, someone must have died here recently!
Shen Yi reacted instantly.
He immediately scanned his surroundings with vigilance.
However, he did not see any mutated creature.
What he could not see was even more dangerous!
So Shen Yi stopped hesitating, teleported to the store entrance and then teleported inside.
He checked the map and saw that Zhou Wan'er was very close to him.
"Zhou Wan'er?"
Shen Yi looked into the pitch-black store and called tentatively.
He had no idea whether she was still alive.
If she were dead, he would have come for nothing.
"Sh-Shen Yi? Is that you, Brother Shen Yi?"
A voice came from the small room at the back of the store.
Next, the door opened and three figures walked out cautiously.
They were three women, and the tallest one was wearing a police uniform and holding a gun.
The policewoman took the lead, and when she saw that he was armed, she immediately raised her weapon in alert.
Shen Yi, however, was even more guarded than she was!
That policewoman actually had a gun!!
He immediately prepared to teleport away.
Damn it, Zhou Wan'er never mentioned she was with the police!
She certainly never said the police were armed!
If he had known, Shen Yi would never have come for her!
After all, a gun could threaten his safety!
"Brother Shen Yi? It's really you? You actually came to pick me up, woo-woo, Wan'er is so touched!"
Petite and cute Zhou Wan'er looked thrilled and even pretended to cry.
Yet she did not rush over to him; instead, she hid behind the policewoman.
She claimed to be moved, but her body language said she did not trust him… what a little schemer!
Shen Yi could not even be bothered with her.
"Comrade, are you also a police officer or a soldier?" the attractive policewoman asked cautiously, seeing that Shen Yi had his gun trained on her.
"No."
"Then where did you get your gun?"
"I picked it up."
"All right, could you put the gun away first? I mean no harm."
Seeing that he did not look like a bad person, the policewoman holstered her weapon to show good faith.
At that, Shen Yi lowered his muzzle as well, yet he did not engage the safety!
Even if she was a police officer, he dared not relax at all.
It was the apocalypse, after all… who knew whether the police were good or bad?
There could even be criminals posing as police!
In short, Shen Yi would never fully trust anyone or anything that could threaten his safety unless he had a superpower that could read their minds.
However, what Shen Yi had not expected was that this policewoman also met the System's standards!
---
Chapter 37: Baby-Faced Busty Girl, the Terrifying Giant Tree in the City Center!
Ding!
Detected a Goddess who meets the System's standards, beginning detailed scan.
Name: Su Yun.
Age: 27.
Appearance: 88 points.
Figure: 94 points.
Inner Quality: 100 points (pure and immaculate).
Total Score: 90 points.
Assessment: Taking her in can unlock one random resource.
90 points was the lowest score of any woman who had met the System's criteria so far.
Yet even at that lowest score, this policewoman's looks ranked at top-beauty level among ordinary people.
She was of a level Shen Yi could never have approached before.
Her heroic, valiant aura especially set her apart from other girls.
As for the long-haired girl beside Zhou Wan'er, although Shen Yi thought she was far from ugly and even pleasantly pretty, she failed to trigger a System prompt.
It seemed she did not satisfy the requirements for unlocking resources.
"Hello, comrade, my name is Su Yun from the Municipal Public Security Bureau; how did you get in here?" After finishing her self-introduction, Su Yun asked seriously.
In her view, Shen Yi might not be a police officer, yet he probably was not a bad person, or he would not have risked going out to save people in such a special time.
"I'm Shen Yi," he paused, glanced toward the entrance, and said, "I just walked in like this, why?"
The policewoman froze when she heard that.
Zhou Wan'er and the long-haired girl also stiffened, and Zhou Wan'er even blurted out, "Brother Shen Yi, you just walked right in!?"
"Mm, what's wrong?"
Naturally, Shen Yi would not reveal his trump card to strangers who were not yet his women, so he pretended he had simply walked in.
"Brother Shen Yi, you're really lucky! There's an invisible big snake outside, and it actually didn't attack you…" Zhou Wan'er patted her chest as though relieved, and the trembling motion was rather eye-catching.
She was the very embodiment of a baby-faced busty girl.
Zhou Wan'er also knew how to capitalize on her advantages.
Seeing Shen Yi look at her, she thought to herself that her guess had been right…
If she could reel in Shen Yi and have him protect her, she would be much safer from then on!
Besides, she could make Shen Yi go out to find food and water.
"An invisible snake?" Shen Yi's heart gave a sudden jolt.
No wonder he had seen only drag marks and blood but no people.
Now even mutated animals had superpowers!?
They could damn well turn invisible!
How the hell were humans supposed to cope?
"That probably isn't a snake; I saw it had four legs, so it should be a gecko!" the long-haired girl explained.
Policewoman Su Yun nodded in agreement and said, "Yes, it is a gecko, but its body is over 1 meter long, longer than most snakes, and its invisibility isn't real invisibility; it merely changes its skin color to match the surroundings, and with the black fog it's hard to spot."
"Several survivors I rescued were ambushed and killed by this color-changing gecko, so I'm quite familiar with it," she added.
"Changing color? Isn't that a chameleon's ability?" Shen Yi looked puzzled.
A hybrid?
Or had the mutation simply given the gecko that ability?
Su Yun said, "I also suspected it might be a mutated chameleon, but from what I saw it looked more like a gecko."
This policewoman had to have some skill to survive the apocalypse.
Shen Yi fell into thought.
Whether it was a chameleon or a gecko, the ability to change color made it a tough opponent!
If he had not teleported inside, it might really have ambushed him before he could react.
No wonder these three women were hiding in the convenience store's little room; they simply couldn't deal with the gecko!
Su Yun advised, "Comrade, if you weren't attacked when you came in, it may already have left; you should seize this chance and leave quickly before it doubles back, because this gecko is extremely cunning."
Zhou Wan'er and the long-haired girl nodded at once.
Their roommate had been killed by this insidious gecko, and if Su Yun had not happened to pass by and scare it off with a gunshot, they would probably have died too.
Only after talking did they learn that Policewoman Su Yun had not merely been passing by; she had been hunting the gecko all along.
The gecko had eaten several people, including a child Su Yun had managed to save with great effort, which was why she was determined to fight it at the risk of her own life!
"Let's wait a bit longer; I heard a strange sound when I came in, so it might still be prowling nearby," Shen Yi fabricated a reason.
He could leave whenever he wished, but taking Zhou Wan'er away would not be easy.
As for Policewoman Su Yun, Shen Yi had no intention of taking her in for the moment.
Unless Su Yun was willing to hand her weapon over to him.
Or, he could guarantee her absolute loyalty.
Otherwise, with a ticking time bomb at his side, Shen Yi would not even sleep soundly.
"I see…"
Su Yun frowned.
After thinking for a moment she said, "How about this: I'll go out first and try to lure it away, then you can leave!"
"Ah? Sister Su Yun, what if you run into danger?" Zhou Wan'er asked in concern.
"I'm a police officer; protecting you is my duty."
Su Yun answered earnestly, then a trace of hatred flashed in her eyes as she said coldly, "Besides, I must kill it! Even at the cost of my life, I absolutely won't let it harm innocent people again!"
As she spoke, she checked the bullets in her gun, getting ready to act.
She was a decisive woman of action.
"Sister Su Yun, you… you really are a good police officer!" Zhou Wan'er and the long-haired girl looked at her moved.
Yet they were merely moved and made no attempt to stop her.
Shen Yi was also a bit surprised; he had not expected such noble character from this policewoman.
But that was still good news.
With the policewoman drawing the gecko away, he could lead Zhou Wan'er out safely.
After pondering for a few seconds, Shen Yi looked at Su Yun and probed, "Officer Su, is there still any rescue in the city now?"
Hearing the question, Su Yun's face clouded and she said in a low voice, "Although I shouldn't say so, there is probably no rescue at all."
"A few days ago, all my colleagues at the Municipal Public Security Bureau where I serve had already sacrificed their lives."
"I don't know the situation in the other precincts, but I imagine it's roughly the same."
"There may still be surviving officers, but… probably not many."
"With just them, it's impossible to fight a disaster like this… nor can they rescue the citizens of this city."
As Su Yun spoke, her mood grew progressively depressed.
Hearing this, Shen Yi felt relieved yet asked curiously, "What exactly happened? How could so many people have died?"
Logically, if ordinary people could survive, how had trained officers with firearms died so fast?
It really didn't make sense.
"Sigh…" Su Yun let out a deep breath, frowned, hesitated for a moment, and finally explained, "This matter was highly confidential and should not have been revealed, but now it no longer matters whether it leaks or not."
"On the first day the apocalypse broke out, a huge strange tree appeared in the city center; it seemed alive and grew at a terrifying speed! In just a few hours it shot up to several dozen meters and kept encroaching on the surrounding land!"
"While it was growing, it even toppled two high-rises downtown, causing thousands of civilian deaths…"
"Several dozen meters?"
Zhou Wan'er and the long-haired girl exclaimed simultaneously.
Shen Yi also showed a look of astonishment.
A tree that grew dozens of meters in just a few hours was far more terrifying than those mutated trees on the street!
And, nearly 10 days had passed since the outbreak; if it kept growing at that speed, how horrifying would it be now!?
What would happen if it were allowed to keep on growing?
Would it swallow the whole Shancheng or even overturn it!?
---
Chapter 38: It Has Intelligence, Little Green-Tea Schemes
Su Yun saw the group's shocked faces and felt exactly the way she had when she first heard the news, so she sighed and said, "Some experts estimated that at the growth rate back then, this tree would cover half the city in at most 3 months!"
"Therefore, to protect Shancheng, most of the police force was deployed to deal with that tree."
"In the end the tree was alive and struck back, killing any people or animals that approached!"
"Even helicopters were swatted down by its branches."
"Th-then why not burn it; aren't trees afraid of fire?" Zhou Wan'er asked curiously.
"Yes, some experts did propose using fire."
Su Yun nodded and went on, "However, the tree took root in a densely populated downtown area, and if we set it ablaze there would be massive civilian casualties."
"So the order never came; we had to wait until the people were evacuated before we could use fire."
"But by then it was already too late."
"Its growth rate was simply too fast."
"In just 1 day its size multiplied many times over."
"When we finally tried fire, no one expected the tree to break off parts of its own branches to smother the flames, and it even lashed out first at any weapons that threatened it."
Su Yun ended her story looking utterly drained.
Only those who had witnessed that battle with their own eyes could understand how terrifying the tree was.
"It actually has intelligence!?"
Zhou Wan'er and the long-haired girl were both stunned.
It snapped off branches to survive!
It could distinguish its enemies!
Could a tree really possess that level of intellect?
Su Yun sighed and nodded, her eyes full of sorrow. "By the time we tried other methods, it was already too late because most of the officers had died in that operation…"
After listening, Shen Yi felt a tension he had never experienced before surface in his eyes.
If that giant tree was still growing wildly, then in at most half a year it would cover the whole of Shancheng.
At that point everything in the city, humans included, would become the tree's nutrients!
Shen Yi pondered grimly for a moment and then asked, "Didn't the army come to help? Missiles and the like should be able to take it out, right?"
"I don't know; I only heard that the higher-ups contacted the military, but the army seemed to be busy with other mutants."
Su Yun shook her head lightly.
After all, she was not a high-ranking official and knew little.
Yet even this much news made Shen Yi feel an immense sense of crisis!
The greatest danger in all Shancheng right now was that ever-growing tree downtown.
If it was not destroyed, no matter how well he hid, sooner or later he would be consumed and turned into fertilizer.
But destroying it was almost impossible.
The police had poured in who knew how many officers, even helicopters and armored vehicles, yet achieved nothing, and all he had was a little pistol… utterly useless!
It looked like he had to plan ahead and leave Shancheng for another city as soon as possible.
Although the apocalypse had engulfed the whole world, the other cities probably did not have such a monstrous tree.
Otherwise humanity really would face extinction!
Moreover, since the army had not come to Shancheng, they must have been protecting cities that were nearer or more important.
With the army's firepower they should at least be able to hold a few cities and establish safe zones, right?
If even that failed, Shen Yi truly had no idea how to survive.
Unless…
He could unlock more supplies, including a superpower fruit, obtain a few powerful abilities, and perhaps then he could deal with that ever-growing tree.
Thinking of this, Shen Yi could not help looking at Su Yun.
It seemed he really needed to claim her reward now.
Previously Shen Yi had only wanted to lie low with ample food and drink and just coast along.
But now the fire was truly at his doorstep, and he felt the urgency.
Even if he could not gain the power to fell the tree, he at least needed absolute self-preservation!
Teleportation was strong, but a range of only 20 meters was still too short.
"Are you all ready? I'll open the door now; once I lure that gecko away, leave immediately and don't waste a second!"
Su Yun drew her gun and got ready for battle.
"Sister Su Yun, be careful too…" Zhou Wan'er and the long-haired girl said, reluctant to part.
Although they had selfish little thoughts, they were genuinely grateful for Su Yun's help.
Knowing she would probably not survive, Su Yun still nodded to the two girls, then looked at Shen Yi and said earnestly, "Comrade Shen Yi, I hope you can take care of them; in this world we humans can only keep going by helping one another!"
"I understand."
"Then get ready; as soon as you hear noise, run and don't waste time!"
After speaking, Su Yun walked to the door and carefully opened the convenience-store entrance.
Outside there was only dense black fog and the sound of wind; no danger was in sight.
Su Yun took a deep breath, stepped out cautiously, and scanned the surroundings.
She saw no trace of the gecko.
Once this color-changing monster hid in the black fog, it was hard to spot with the naked eye.
Su Yun glanced back at the store, then walked into the fog, deliberately making noise with her footsteps to draw the gecko out.
"Brother Shen Yi, s-should we go out now?" Zhou Wan'er asked hurriedly.
The long-haired girl clutched her backpack, ready to bolt at any time.
Shen Yi looked at her and said, "Hide in the inner room; come out only when I call you."
"Huh? W-why? Sister Su Yun has lured the monster away; shouldn't we leave quickly?"
Zhou Wan'er asked anxiously.
"Shut up! If you won't listen, go now, but stop following me!"
Unwilling to waste words, Shen Yi stepped out of the store.
If Zhou Wan'er obeyed, he would not mind saving her in passing; if she disobeyed, she was courting death.
Reprimanded, Zhou Wan'er dared not speak; only after Shen Yi left did she stamp her foot in anger.
"Damn it! That pigheaded jerk!!"
After cursing a few times to vent, Zhou Wan'er exchanged a look with the long-haired girl, finally shut the door, and obediently hid in the storeroom.
Without protection they could never survive in such a dangerous world.
Though they did not understand Shen Yi's intention, they could only obey for now.
After all, Shen Yi had a gun; staying with him was their only hope of living!
Zhou Wan'er might be scheming, but she was not stupid.
…
Tap!
Tap!
Tap!
In the black fog, Su Yun held her gun with both hands and moved slowly on her long legs, making deliberate noise while watching her surroundings, hardly daring to breathe.
She knew very well that the mutant gecko might ambush her at any moment!
She had to react instantly.
Even if she was attacked, she still had to kill this creature!
Su Yun walked very slowly, her footsteps loud.
That undoubtedly heightened the mutant gecko's urge to hunt her.
At that moment, In the black fog a pair of cold vertical pupils stared silently at Su Yun.
The owner of those eyes blended almost completely with the fog.
It stayed motionless where it was.
It was waiting for the prey to come to it.
The slowly approaching Su Yun was its prey.
Silence.
No sound.
When the prey was about 2 meters away, it moved.
Its body, which had merged with the surroundings, was exposed the instant it lunged!
It was a huge gecko!
Its speed was lightning-fast; even at that distance the prey could not react in time.
Moreover, Su Yun was side-on to it and could not notice it at the first moment!
By the time she sensed it, it was already too late…
Bang, bang, bang, bang!
Suddenly, Several gunshots rang out in the black fog.
Startled, Su Yun spun around.
She saw a huge gecko collapse less than a meter from her…
Several bullet holes dotted its body, blood oozed out, and its breath was fading rapidly.
Without hesitation Su Yun fired two more rounds into its head, finishing off the mutant gecko.
Then, She finally exhaled sharply and gulped for air.
Her back was already drenched in sweat!
The hands holding the gun were trembling slightly!
She had been this close… just a moment from death!
To say she felt no fear would be a lie.
She was human too.
It was only that, once she wore this uniform, she had to live up to the responsibility it represented.
She could not retreat and must not retreat.
If she could stay alive, she certainly did not want to die… really, she did not!
"Thank you…"
Su Yun looked at the armed man who emerged from the black fog, gratitude flickering in her eyes.
---
Chapter 39: Unlocking New Supplies: superpower fruit!
The person who fired at the critical moment and saved Su Yun was, of course, Shen Yi.
Shen Yi had followed Su Yun out of the convenience store.
Because Su Yun, the policewoman who could unlock supplies, was valuable, Shen Yi thought that if he could save her, he might as well do it.
That way he could unlock one more kind of supply for himself.
Naturally, he also had a backup plan.
If that gecko really had the ability to turn invisible, Shen Yi would not have wasted time and would have fled through teleportation.
However, when the gecko lunged at its prey it exposed a huge opening, so Shen Yi teleported behind it and shot it several times, killing it on the spot.
The mutant gecko looked dangerous, but in reality it could not stop bullets at all.
Without the black fog, this gecko would have been nothing more than an oversized animal.
It was mainly the dense black fog that cut visibility so badly that the color-changing gecko became troublesome.
"Comrade Shen Yi, thank you!"
Su Yun looked at Shen Yi with genuine gratitude.
She had never expected Shen Yi to risk coming out to rescue her.
After all, if she had failed to draw the mutant gecko away, Shen Yi would probably have become its primary target.
That meant Shen Yi had literally risked his life to help her.
Su Yun felt truly grateful and deeply moved.
Compared with the people she had saved earlier, Shen Yi was infinitely better.
Some of those people had abandoned her at the critical moment, some had slipped away because they did not want to share food, and one had even coveted her body…
In short, in the few short days since the apocalypse began, Su Yun had seen how vicious human nature could be.
Precisely because of that, seeing Shen Yi disregard his own safety to rescue her touched her so much.
The difference between people really was enormous.
"Is it only going to be a verbal thank-you?" Shen Yi asked as he looked at Su Yun.
"Ah?"
Su Yun froze.
She did not understand what Shen Yi meant.
Did he want money?
Shen Yi stared at the adorably clueless Su Yun and felt a bit speechless.
He had not expected this policewoman to miss such an obvious hint.
No wonder she was still pure in her late 20s.
"I mean, do you want to repay a life-saving favor with your body?" Shen Yi stated bluntly.
"Ah!? Th-this, this!!"
Su Yun's cheeks instantly turned crimson and she stammered so hard she could not form a complete sentence.
Even with her usually open personality, she was so embarrassed that she did not dare meet Shen Yi's eyes.
"H-how old are you? I'm almost 30; how could I…"
While saying that, Su Yun felt her face burn like fire.
It was too shameful!
Talking about something like this with a man so much younger than herself was simply depraved!
"We're only a few years apart, and in this world who still cares about age?"
As Shen Yi spoke, he stepped up to Su Yun.
He reached out, trying to take Su Yun's hand.
"We might die tomorrow in an accident, so stop overthinking; living in the moment is what matters."
Su Yun's face grew even redder; she instinctively dodged his hand and turned her head, saying, "No! We just met; we can't do this!"
Although she was very grateful to Shen Yi and did have some goodwill toward him, that feeling was not love but rather appreciation compared with the heartless people in the apocalypse.
Being asked to start a romance with Shen Yi all of a sudden felt far too rushed.
The age gap was one factor, but the main reason was that it was simply too fast!!
They had known each other for less than an hour…
Deep down, the conservative Su Yun could not accept such rapid progress.
Shen Yi, however, cared nothing about that.
All he wanted right now was to unlock new supplies.
Besides, he could not let those bullets go to waste, could he?
Seeing that Su Yun's resistance did not seem that strong, he walked forward, hugged her, and kissed her hard.
Su Yun was stunned on the spot.
It was so sudden!
So sudden that she actually forgot to fight back for a moment.
M-my first kiss!
While kissing her, Shen Yi quietly removed the gun at Su Yun's waist to keep her from shooting him in anger.
Yet he seemed to have worried too much, because Su Yun did not really fight back; she only struggled symbolically and then even hugged him back…
Sure enough, the more conservative the woman, the hotter she became once she let go!
That contrast was intoxicating!
However, she clearly had not brushed her teeth for quite a while.
The taste was not great.
So Shen Yi did not stand on ceremony; he hugged Su Yun, teleported into an empty shop, and immediately began to unlock supplies on the spot.
Su Yun was kissed into a daze, and his wandering hands made her whole body heat up.
By the time she came to her senses, she was already completely naked.
With her face flaming red, she tried to resist, but with Shen Yi's evolved constitution she could not move him at all.
And so it happened.
The new supply was unlocked.
[Ding!]
[System detected that you successfully accepted a Goddess; random supply unlocking will now begin…]
[Ding! Unlock successful; congratulations, you have unlocked the supply: superpower-Telepathy fruit!]
[superpower-sensing fruit +1, stored in System Space]
[superpower-sensing fruit +1, stored in System Space]
[superpower…]
"Holy crap!"
Immersed in the land of women, Shen Yi shot upright the instant he heard the System prompt.
Superpower fruit!
He had actually unlocked a superpower fruit!!
"W-what's wrong?" Su Yun covered herself with her hands and looked at the excited Shen Yi, her face still red.
Why was he suddenly so happy?
Could it be… he had realized she was a virgin?
Thinking of that, Su Yun's face grew even redder.
She had kept it for so many years, only to end up giving it to a much younger guy on the floor of an unfinished shop…
She felt so embarrassed she could die.
Wasn't this literally an old cow eating tender grass?
It definitely was!
Though she had yielded half reluctantly, Su Yun actually did not mind that much in her heart.
Otherwise, even half-willing, Shen Yi could never have gotten her so easily.
After all, Su Yun was a policewoman with professional training; if she really fought for her life, she was no pushover.
"Nothing, I'm just happy!" Shen Yi said, planting a fierce kiss on Su Yun.
It seemed his risky idea had been correct after all.
Su Yun had indeed unlocked a superpower fruit!
And it could be stacked without limit!!
Damn, with so many fruits he would be invincible!
Furthermore, this proved that a superpower fruit did count as a type of supply.
As long as he unlocked enough kinds of supplies in the future, he would certainly unlock other superpower fruits as well!
"You're really bad!" Although Su Yun was still shy, what was done was done and she no longer resisted too much.
Shen Yi's earlier words did make sense.
In today's world you could not think too much about the future; tomorrow they might die in some accident.
Living in the moment was what mattered most.
She leaned against Shen Yi's chest, tracing small circles on him with her finger, and asked softly, "What's your relationship with those two girls? The one who calls you Brother Shen Yi seems pretty close to you…"
A woman who had just made love always thought sensitively; even a valiant policewoman was no exception.
Shen Yi really hesitated over how to explain.
He had not originally planned on taking Su Yun in; what happened had simply been a spur-of-the-moment decision.
Although the result was good, if he handled it badly, Su Yun's dare-to-fight nature might force him to break her ruthlessly…
To be honest, he was not keen on that kind of ruthless severing.
If they had not slept together, Shen Yi would have abandoned Su Yun without hesitation, even killing her if necessary.
Now, however, he wavered a little.
Still, If Su Yun truly followed him, everything had to revolve around him.
Otherwise, even after sleeping with her, he would strike without mercy!
That was the apocalypse!
So, everything now depended on Su Yun's choice.
"If I told you I had other women, what would you do?"
---
Chapter 40: Gained the third superpower, Telepathy!
"If I told you I had other women, what would you do?"
After saying this, Shen Yi quietly looked at Su Yun.
To his surprise, Su Yun showed no shock; she merely sighed softly and said, "I knew it…"
"You're such a young guy, yet you kissed me so skillfully… obviously you've had plenty of girlfriends and plenty of practice."
"If this were before, and you dared to force me, I would never have let you get away with it… no, I would have broken your third leg!"
As Su Yun spoke, she deliberately bared her teeth at Shen Yi in a mock-fierce grin.
It was not scary at all; on the contrary, it was rather cute.
Then Su Yun sighed and said helplessly, "But in this world now there is no law, let alone morality."
"The fact that you've survived this long and even dared to go out to save people proves you have some ability; if you want women, plenty of women will be willing to follow you."
"So I'm really not surprised that you have other women… it just feels a little uncomfortable, because I thought you would belong only to me."
Speaking up to this point, Su Yun still looked a little unwilling as she asked, "From the way you're being so honest, you don't plan to abandon the others and stay with me alone, do you?"
"Mm." Shen Yi did not lie, nor did he need to.
Not only would he keep the women he already had, he would take in even more later.
There was no other way!
If he wanted to unlock more supplies and survive the apocalypse, he had to do this.
Of course, Shen Yi was not shifting the blame to the System for thinking this way.
He really wanted it himself as well.
Who wouldn't enjoy the fine life of having a whole harem?
However, the current world was simply too dangerous!
Never mind the mutated giant tree downtown that could wipe out the entire city; he could not even deal with the mutated black spider lurking in the neighborhood.
Damn!
Getting stronger was the most pressing issue right now!
So he was destined not to give up the entire forest for Su Yun's sake.
"I knew it." Su Yun lay helplessly in Shen Yi's arms, closed her eyes and murmured, "But if you really abandoned those women because of me, I'd look down on you even more."
"Because if you did that, you might just as easily cast me aside for some other woman someday…"
Shen Yi said nothing and just patted Su Yun's shoulder lightly.
The good thing about a mature woman was that she did not need so many explanations.
She already understood many truths.
Even if she did not, she could figure them out.
After cuddling for a while, the two finally dressed and prepared to return to the convenience store to pick up Zhou Wan'er and the other girl.
As for the teleportation he had just used, Shen Yi naturally explained it to Su Yun.
Another reason Su Yun had not resisted at once was that Shen Yi had teleported her into the shop, giving her quite a fright.
And that was a superpower!
When she learned that humans could acquire superpowers, Su Yun's eyes lit up.
If everyone could obtain such miraculous powers, the chance of survival would rise enormously!
Shen Yi, however, thought that it was lucky his first superpower had been Physical Evolution.
Otherwise, with all the unlocking he had done these past few days, he would have been drained dry and would have had no energy left to fight mutated monsters.
…
They returned to the convenience store.
Shen Yi first skimmed through the stock.
Unfortunately, it was only a small shop; there had never been much inventory, most of it was now contaminated, and little of it was edible.
Still, it was better than nothing.
The greatest gain from this trip was still Su Yun!
Because of Su Yun, Shen Yi had been able to unlock the superpower fruit!
"Is this another of your superpowers?"
Su Yun exclaimed as she watched Shen Yi wave his hand and store away a large number of supplies.
Shen Yi answered with a soft acknowledgment.
Then.
He called the two girls hiding in the storeroom, Zhou Wan'er and the other one, out.
These two girls were truly cowards.
Even when Shen Yi and Su Yun came back making noise, they still did not come out right away.
Earlier, when Su Yun offered to lure the gecko away, they had looked touched, but in fact they had been eager for Su Yun to sacrifice herself.
They had thought only of saving themselves.
How shameless!
Almost as bad as Shen Yi himself!
"That's great! Brother Shen Yi, Sister Su Yun, I'm so glad you're both safe!" Zhou Wan'er patted her chest in relief.
The long-haired girl, on the other hand, said little and did not have as many scheming thoughts as the green-tea-type Zhou Wan'er.
"Mm, let's go." Shen Yi said indifferently.
Next, something occurred to him, and he pulled two fully loaded pistols out of the System Space and handed them to Su Yun for self-defense.
Su Yun's character was worthy of trust.
She was even more trustworthy than Xu Wanting and Jiang Nanyan.
People's personalities differed greatly.
Although Shen Yi had met Xu Wanting and the others earlier, he trusted them only half as much as he trusted Su Yun.
"He even has guns…"
Seeing Shen Yi produce two pistols out of thin air, Zhou Wan'er was shocked, and her eyes rolled craftily as she vowed to win Shen Yi over, make him like her, make him love her… only then could she survive the apocalypse!
Holding the two brand-new Type 54 pistols, Su Yun felt warm inside.
She knew this was a sign of Shen Yi's trust.
The four of them left the convenience store and moved forward cautiously.
After the ambush by the color-changing gecko, Shen Yi had to be extra careful.
Some mutated animals possessed bizarre abilities, and even he might fall prey to them if he were careless.
With that in mind, Shen Yi silently took a superpower fruit from the System Space and popped it into his mouth.
He would first acquire a new power; perhaps it would increase his combat power.
The moment the fruit entered his mouth, a faint coolness spread through his body.
But it vanished in an instant.
Apart from the first time he ate the Physical Evolution fruit and sensed a huge change in himself, the effects of the other two fruits were minimal.
He did not know whether it was because Physical Evolution was more powerful or because it had been his first fruit…
Most likely, it was the latter, for in Shen Yi's view the Teleportation power was certainly no worse than Physical Evolution.
As his thoughts reached this point, the fruit in his mouth finished dissolving.
He immediately opened his panel to check.
[Host: Shen Yi]
[Age: 20]
[Combat Power: 30 (without any external bonuses)]
[Unlocked Supplies: Shuaishifu mineral water, freshly roasted chicken, Type 54 pistol, Grade-5A steak, superpower fruit-Telepathy]
[Acquired Superpowers: Physical Evolution lv1, Teleportation lv1, Telepathy lv1]
[Physical Evolution (lv1): Your body evolved for some unknown reason; your strength, speed, endurance, health, and so on all increased dramatically!]
[Teleportation (lv1): You can teleport up to 20 meters; because yours is a spatial superpower, you can ignore any terrain and any control or binding powers while moving. As long as you have stamina, you may teleport repeatedly without any limit.]
[Telepathy (lv1): Through your mind you can sense all hostility and goodwill within 20 meters of yourself, and you can see everything in that range without using your eyes, unhindered by any obstacle.]
---
That complete