"Was it you who saved my old life?" Professor Curie immediately recognized the man in front of him when he saw Lin Yi.
He struggled to get up and bow to express his gratitude.
Lin Yi didn't stop him and graciously accepted the respect before inviting the old man to sit down.
"You can just call me Old Mark," Professor Curie panted. He was from France, Curie was his surname, and Mark was his first name.
"Do you know why I saved you?" Lin Yi looked at Old Mark.
"Because you think I have value?" Old Mark answered firmly without hesitation.
Eh? Lin Yi was somewhat surprised by this answer.
This old professor had been working on various projects since the apocalypse broke out, but all of them ended in failure, which even led to his being ostracized from the Louvre to a refugee camp.
If it weren't for Lin Yi's intervention, he'd probably be long dead by now.
After all the setbacks and failures, he could still be this confident? Either he really had extraordinary skills, or he was just an overconfident fool.
"Value is something you have to demonstrate yourself." Lin Yi smiled and waved his hand, and some documents appeared on the table.
"Rebirth Plan! So, you're one of the gang leaders who snatched the data!" Old Mark picked up the document, his hands trembling with excitement.
As a biologist, he understood the significance of this document, as it was the greatest research project before the apocalypse, only accessible to the country's core.
"I know nothing about medicine, so I need you to quickly study this data." Lin Yi said and with another wave of his hand, a contract appeared in front of the old man.
Old Mark didn't hesitate; he had apparently understood the general contents of the contract from students before, and he quickly signed his name.
After resting for about two hours,
Lin Yi ate something to replenish his physical strength and then returned to reality to start scavenging for supplies and hunting zombies again.
But shortly after, he sensitively realized that someone was following him.
The person thought they could avoid being noticed by lowering their voice and communicating with accomplices through some device.
Little did they know, Lin Yi could hear everything clearly and even determine from the quick clicking accent that the stalker was Russian!
"Headquarters, this is Six. The target just walked into the Monoprix-3 supermarket. Awaiting further instructions, over!" the man tracking Lin Yi reported into a walkie-talkie.
"Received. Has he had contact with the Blue-haired Gang yet, over?" came the response from the walkie-talkie.
"I'm not sure, but it seems unlikely. I think he's gay, over!"
Lin Yi stumbled when he heard that, almost falling to the ground.
Lately, too many people have misunderstood due to his flashy clothes. Xiaochuan was like that initially, and now this stalker thought so too.
He walked into the large supermarket full of helplessness.
The inside of the supermarket looked worse than the outside—trash was everywhere, the shelves were emptied, everything was destroyed, and the smell was extremely unpleasant!
Not a single human or zombie could be seen.
Fortunately, Lin Yi wasn't planning to scavenge for regular items this time. He first targeted more than twenty shopping carts, then the cash registers and store mannequins.
Next, he started hauling shelves, refrigerators, freezers, and any objects not bolted down.
However, he didn't take everything but selected a few of each item.
After all, placing items in the shelter required space, and the same items only counted once for unlocking experience points at the shelter.
Of course, he welcomed any items that could improve the quality of life.
For instance, some inflatable dolls, although he might not use them, could be for his underlings.
Without proper outlets for relief, problems could arise over time.
Soon, Lin Yi had circled the entire supermarket perimeter.
Just as he was about to check rooms inside the supermarket, a large door suddenly opened in front of him.
Lin Yi immediately returned to the shelter, quickly approached the laptop, and opened the surveillance camera feed.
The screen displayed four young hooligans, all with blue-dyed hair.
They resembled mafia goons from the late 80s, riding motorcycles and causing trouble everywhere.
Lin Yi thought for a moment and called Xiaochuan over.
The two brothers, like little underground rats, had witnessed many kinds of people and things while surviving in the cracks during the apocalypse.
"What's up, boss?"
"Take a look at these four blue-haired guys. Do you recognize them?" Lin Yi asked, pointing at the four on the screen.
"They're the Blue-haired Gang. Are you on their turf?" Xiaochuan's face turned pale with fright.
Blue-haired Gang? What kind of little-known gang is that? Where did they pop out from?
I'd never heard of them when I was a boss before.
"They're professionals, but also a bunch of lunatics! They rob survivors everywhere, kidnap women, and even murder for fun," Xiaochuan said, starting to tremble uncontrollably.
So, it looks like they're either robbing survivors or looking for valuable supplies by appearing in the supermarket?
Lin Yi carefully observed the four on the screen and noticed each had a baseball bat and a one-handed sword hanging from their waist, and one even had a handgun.
Lin Yi pondered for a while, then suddenly smiled.
"Are you thinking about robbing them, boss?" Xiaochuan sensed the ominous smile from his boss, and couldn't help but step back instinctively.
"Kid, bring over a chair and sit." Lin Yi instructed.
"Huh? Okay, boss." Xiaochuan, full of doubts, still did as told.
"Come, move the mouse a bit."
"Boss, the mouse isn't moving."
Wait, I should have sent the rules email first. Lin Yi slapped his forehead.
Then he quickly tapped on the keyboard on the desktop, sending an email to nongfuzhongtiam.xx.
Immediately, a new message appeared in front of Xiaochuan.
[You've been assigned a new job]
[Camera Controller]
As a Camera Controller, you have the right to use the camera app, but you must use it with the boss's permission.
"Camera Controller?" Xiaochuan was astonished, his mouth agape.
"Agree to it quickly."
"Okay, boss! The mouse is moving!"
"Great! Now use the mouse to move the camera. It can move three meters from the shelter entrance in any direction, and it even has a wall-piercing perspective feature."
Lin Yi patiently taught Xiaochuan the operation method, then found a walkie-talkie in the shelter shop.
[Shelter Walkie-Talkie]
Allows you to communicate with people in the shelter via wireless communication.
Price: 20 Coins
Lin Yi was short on cash, only having 29 coins in total, but he didn't hesitate and clicked purchase immediately.
Anyway, from tomorrow, he'd be able to establish a coin-trading channel, so he wouldn't worry about money then.
He tossed one of the walkie-talkies to Xiaochuan: "From now on, you're our scout. Use the cameras to scout the surrounding situation and keep reporting to me, understood?"
Seeing Xiaochuan still in a daze, Lin Yi chuckled: "If I get ambushed even once, I'll drag you out and use you as a shield!"
"Y-yes, boss!" Xiaochuan, seeing his boss's intimidating smile, turned even paler, but quickly pulled himself together and nodded vigorously.
Then, like a soldier, he forcefully hammered his chest: "I'll complete the mission unless I die!"
Lin Yi reached out and ruffled Xiaochuan's messy hair; this kid still had some spunk.
At this moment, he noticed on the screen that the four professionals from the Blue-haired Gang had left.
With a swift motion, "swoosh," he returned to the real world again!