Chapter Eighty-One

Chapter Eighty-One

"Lin An?" Lu Li asked, puzzled, "What are you doing here?"

While others were drinking and feasting, Lin An hid behind a tent unlit by fire, cautiously peeping out. Whenever someone passed by, he quickly retreated.

He had noticed Lu Li passing by earlier, but without his teammates around, he was at a loss for words, rehearsing in his mind with his back to the newcomer.

[Good evening, have you eaten?] That seemed too abrupt.

[Lu Li, is your injury better?] It must have healed long ago, such a pointless question.

[Where are you going?] At this time, it was obviously to celebrate. Where else could it be?

"It's too difficult, greeting someone is just too hard," Lin An agonized internally for a long time, still clueless about what to say, choosing instead to shrink as much as possible into the darkness, hoping not to be seen.

Yet, he was spotted, and even approached, which instantly made Lin An tense.

What to say? How should I greet? Nobody else is here, I can't handle this alone! What to do!

As Lu Li inquired with a voice, Lin An finally escaped the dilemma of how to greet, reluctantly turned around, and answered with his head down, "I... I am preparing to leave."

"Leaving? But the party has just started, aren't you leaving too early?" Lu Li stared at the small whirl on top of the other's head, as that was all he could see. He had never seen Lin An's face; the voice was indeed pleasant. He wondered what Shen Xiuzhe's chosen one looked like, surely not as angelic as he had seen.

Hmm, another victory.

Unaware of Lu Li's imaginings about his appearance, Lin An awkwardly twisted the hem of his clothes. Leaving right after the party started did seem impolite. If only he hadn't come out, he wouldn't have drawn everyone's attention or been seen by Lu Li.

Feeling out of place in such a lively setting, Lin An also thought he was doing poorly.

"I... I..." Lin An didn't know how to respond and could only nod in panic, "Hmm."

The atmosphere suddenly cooled down, with no one speaking. Lin An wished he could bury himself on the spot, while Lu Li suspiciously scrutinized the other's black hair, finding Lin An's hairstyle strangely familiar, as if he had seen it somewhere.

Although most men have short hair nowadays, Lin An's hair, slightly too long and soft, obediently clung to his neck, with bangs long enough to cover his eyes. It seemed so familiar to Lu Li... No, no, that couldn't be.

Lu Li gazed down at the hands fidgeting with the hem of the clothes, the pale skin strikingly visible in the night.

Absolutely impossible!

"Why do you always keep your head down? We've known each other for days, but I've never seen your face. Could you please look up at me?" Lu Li asked dryly, unsure of what he was doing, his idea too absurd yet seemingly logical.

If what he saw was not an illusion but a real person, then it must be Lin An, whose face he had never seen.

Lin An was shocked, his eyes still red. He could be discovered as a zombie!

He shook his head frantically, glancing covertly left and right, planning his escape route, determined not to be seen!

Most adventurers are strong-willed and decisive, and apart from stumbling with Shen Xiuzhe, Lu Li was uncompromising with others.

Even knowing his actions were offensive, the absurd thought in his heart made him irresistibly reach out, eager to confirm if the other person was who he thought.

But as soon as he extended his hand, it was caught.

"Don't want your hand anymore?" Shen Xiuzhe appeared out of nowhere, grabbing Lu Li's wrist firmly, his grip so strong that the wrist would probably swell soon.

Lin An immediately found a sense of security, swiftly taking refuge behind Shen Xiuzhe.

Lu Li withdrew his hand, and Shen Xiuzhe also let go, following the motion, but his expression was sour, as if he was about to throw a punch any second.

"I was just thinking, he couldn't be..."

Seeing the hand that clung dependently to the side of Shen Xiuzhe's clothes from behind him, Lu Li ultimately held back his words, realizing it was pointless. They were a couple, and he was just an outsider.

Lu Li walked away, lost in thought, and only then did Lin An breathe a sigh of relief.

That was truly awkward just now; he had been mentally screaming for help, thankful that Shen Xiuzhe arrived in time.

Shen Xiuzhe's stern face relaxed only after Lu Li left, looking much more amiable. He turned to grasp Lin An's hand, "Let's go back."

"Okay."

Walking alongside Shen Xiuzhe, perhaps due to his unapproachable aura or some other reason, no one came up to talk to them, allowing them to smoothly return to their tent.

"I knew Lu Li was up to no good. Next time you see him and he tries to get handsy, just use a water tornado on him. He's tough enough to not die from it."

The more Shen Xiuzhe thought about it, the angrier he got. No, it's settled; he'll have to beat him up again tomorrow.

Lin An nodded, watching Shen Xiuzhe take off his jacket, seemingly not planning to go out again: "Aren’t you going to join them in the celebration?"

"No, I don't drink, and everyone's drunk. What if something happens? It’s better to stay sober," Shen Xiuzhe, looking at Lin An wrapped up tightly, casually removed his jacket as well.

"It’s just the two of us now." The annoying guys and the dog were gone.

This statement, however, struck a nerve in Lin An.

Just the two of us.

Only two people.

Two people.

So, what were they going to do now? Lin An began to feel nervous again.

He had never been in a relationship, or to put it another way, he didn’t even have friends before the apocalypse, and being able to interact normally with his teammates was something the old him would never have dared to dream of.

The thought of being in a relationship was even more surprising for Lin An, who had always assumed he would end up alone.

Shen Xiuzhe pulled Lin An to sit on the sofa. Perhaps due to his special abilities, his body temperature was higher than normal. As a zombie, Lin An's temperature was quite low, making the contrast in their hand temperatures distinctly noticeable.

"We'll be setting off in a couple of days. Everything here is settled, and the remaining zombies are not a threat. The local ability users can handle them. I've discussed with the base's ability users, and based on our contributions, we can get a batch of supplies. I've asked for energy and weapons. What do you think?"

Lin An listened intently, somewhat bewilderedly nodding in agreement: "Sounds good."

"We have plenty of food and daily necessities. The Eye of the Desert currently relies on ability users for food, which is in short supply, so I didn't ask for those. I thought we might encounter stronger zombies later, so it's better to have more weapons."

Lin An nodded vigorously. They had collected a lot of food in Chu Xi City, gathered meat in the forest, and Ouyang Dong's ability-enhanced fruits and vegetables were more than enough, so they were not lacking in this aspect.

Getting weapons was the right choice. Considering how formidable the Zombie Tree and the Zombie Emperor in the Sand Dune Town were, it was best to be prepared for any kind of zombies they might encounter in the future.

Shen Xiuzhe suddenly thought of something: "Do you still crave meteorites?"

Lin An's eyes lit up, nodding eagerly, his hands almost reaching out from his eyes with desire. He had been too embarrassed to mention it. Everyone had been busy fighting zombies recently, and the topic hadn't come up, so he had been enduring his cravings. Ever since he smelled the meteorite in Sand Dune Town, Lin An had been feeling very hungry.

"I've actually thought about this for a while, but I've had some concerns," Shen Xiuzhe admitted, charmed by Lin An's expression. He was tempted to feed him a meteorite right then, but after seeing the Zombie Emperor, he had been harboring a doubt.

"Concerns?" Lin An tilted his head, his face crumpling in thought, "I won't turn into that, will I, after eating a meteorite?"

The Zombie Emperor was extraordinarily ugly. Even Lin An, who wasn't much concerned about appearances, couldn't imagine becoming like that.

"No, I mean, why didn't the Zombie Emperor eat the meteorite? You said you felt extremely hungry when you smelled it, right? Other zombies should feel the same. But the Emperor seemed to be guarding the treasure, staying around the meteorite without consuming it. Don't you find that strange?"

This was also why Shen Xiuzhe had hesitated to let Lin An consume it.

If even the Zombie Emperor didn't eat it, what if there were problems with Lin An consuming it?

Lin An was taken aback, having never considered this: "The one I ate before was fine, though."

"But this one might not be safe. Let's do this: if we have nothing urgent tomorrow, we'll test it on another zombie first. If there's no problem, then you can eat it. How does that sound?" Shen Xiuzhe proposed, patiently coaxing Lin An.

"Okay."

The next day, they all went out in a car to conduct the experiment. Zombies were hard to find outside, but Udo's space still contained many, which they had gathered while escaping Sand Dune Town. Now, they would come in handy.

The others also came along to watch.

Xu Fang, looking at the released zombies, pondered while stroking his chin, "An Ge regained his senses slowly after eating the meteorite. Do you think other zombies might do the same, turning back into humans after consuming it?"

The desert climate was too hot; Ouyang Dong wiped the sweat from his forehead, "I don't know, if that's the case, then this meteorite is truly humanity's hope."



Udo took out the meteorite from the space, a piece as big as a head. Naturally, it wasn't possible for the zombie to consume it all. He broke off a small piece and Shen Xiuzhe fed it to the zombie.

That zombie had been fixated on the meteorite since its emergence, even attempting to snatch it. When Shen Xiuzhe fed the meteorite to it, the zombie eagerly swallowed it.

Granny Wu fanned herself with a palm-leaf fan: "We probably won't see any immediate effects. After all, it took a while for Xiao An to gradually recover."

Udo asked, "So, are we taking this zombie with us on the road?"

Shen Xiuzhe closely observed the zombie. After swallowing the meteorite, it didn’t exhibit any abnormal behavior. Had he been overthinking? Or was the meteorite they found leftovers from the Zombie Emperor?

Lin An’s gaze was also fixated on the meteorite. Seeing that the zombie showed no adverse effects, his eyes repeatedly shifted towards Shen Xiuzhe, looking once, then again, his intent quite clear.

Since there was no issue, Lin An could eat it. He just needed to take a portion back for research. Shen Xiuzhe broke off a small piece from the large meteorite and approached Lin An with it.

Lin An was already impatient, the smell of the meteorite making him desperately hungry.

However, thinking of Shen Xiuzhe feeding the zombie without washing his hands and that the head-sized meteorite was pulled from under the Zombie Emperor, Lin An thought he could endure a bit longer.

"Let's wash it first, then eat."

Happily using his ability to wash the small piece of meteorite, Lin An's excitement was evident, even Xiao Fu sensed it, wagging its tail around his feet.

Just as Lin An had cleaned the meteorite and was about to eat it, a cry of alarm suddenly came from nearby: "Look at that zombie!"

Everyone turned to look, and the zombie that had been fine a moment ago started to swell, its skin bulging with small lumps that grew larger, the whole zombie becoming increasingly inflated.

Finally, with a loud pop, it exploded.

It seemed the zombie couldn't withstand the energy within the meteorite, its body bursting from the excess energy.

In the moment of explosion, a water barrier protected everyone present, shielding them from the blast.

But the shock on everyone's faces was identical.