Chapter Five: One More Move, and Next Time It Will Be For Real

Qin Sheng shook her head, her gaze falling on the red mark on one side of Jiang Miaomiao’s cheek—it must have taken some effort to break free from Yu Ziyue earlier.

“That’s good, that’s good.” Once she was sure Qin Sheng wasn’t hurt, Jiang Miaomiao’s tense body gradually relaxed. If anything had happened to Qin Sheng, she’d have been indirectly responsible for it.

After a quick shower, Qin Sheng finally felt at ease. She had never liked the smell of blood—she’d only gotten used to it out of necessity.

The dormitory’s electricity and water might appear sporadically each day, and Qin Sheng, helpless, could only dry her own hair. She was quite glad she’d cut it short; otherwise, she could already imagine how troublesome it would be.

As her hair was halfway dry, her stomach grumbled in protest. After a day with nothing to eat and plenty of exertion, she decided to treat herself.

Self-heating hotpot or self-heating snail noodles?

Qin Sheng stared at the variety of instant meals in her suitcase, torn. She had snuck these out of her storage space when no one was looking; if it weren’t inconvenient, she’d have sat down for a proper hotpot meal.

In the end, she settled on a self-heating Hai Di Lao hotpot and also prepared herself some self-heating fried chicken. By the time her hair was almost dry, the food was ready.

As soon as the spicy beef hotpot lid was lifted, the aroma wafted through the entire dormitory, awakening everyone’s appetite. Coupled with freshly heated fried chicken, honey mustard and sweet chili dipping sauces—no one could resist.

Qin Sheng opened a bottle of cola and comfortably indulged in her feast.

Jiang Miaomiao, who had been watching for a long time, couldn’t help but swallow. She had snacks of her own, but they were just chips—not remotely comparable to the hotpot’s flavors. All she could do was watch Qin Sheng eat and satisfy herself visually.

“Qin Sheng, you had food and didn’t say anything…” Yu Ziyue, who had already smelled the fried chicken and hotpot from the bathroom, strode over to Qin Sheng’s desk when she saw Qin Sheng about to enjoy herself, reaching for the fried chicken without hesitation.

But before her hand could reach it, Qin Sheng smacked it away. At some point, Qin Sheng had produced her Tang knife, her eyes icy cold.

“It’s just a piece of fried chicken, do you have to be so stingy?” Yu Ziyue, rubbing her left hand in pain, glared resentfully at Qin Sheng.

Qin Sheng met her gaze, then replied coolly, “Touch my things again and I won’t hold back next time.”

With that, she placed the Tang knife beside her on the desk, eating her hotpot as if nothing had happened.

Yu Ziyue stared at the knife, recalling Qin Sheng’s words. All the jealousy in her eyes was replaced by fear, and she slunk back to her bed, afraid Qin Sheng might do something else.

“Qin Sheng, could I trade some food with you?”

Jiang Miaomiao finally couldn’t bear her stomach’s protest and walked over with some chips and snacks, her face full of hesitation and uncertainty. Qin Sheng had just scared off Yu Ziyue; she wasn’t sure if she would be rejected herself.

Jiang Miaomiao’s worries and hesitation were all noticed by Qin Sheng.

“Of course.”

Hearing Qin Sheng’s agreement, Jiang Miaomiao’s eyes instantly brightened. She hurried forward, stuffing her chips and cookies into Qin Sheng’s arms. The thought of eating hotpot made her mouth water uncontrollably.

“You keep your things—I don’t like chips.” Qin Sheng handed the snacks back. She had plenty in her storage space, and besides, it was just a single self-heating hotpot; she still had hundreds of boxes left in her space.

“No, that won’t do—I can’t owe you anything.” Jiang Miaomiao hurriedly refused. Food was scarce in the apocalypse; she couldn’t just think of herself and ignore Qin Sheng’s interests.

Seeing Jiang Miaomiao was determined, Qin Sheng didn’t push further and handed her a self-heating crispy beef tripe hotpot, then put the cookies and chips into her temporary supply suitcase—a mere cover for taking things from her storage.

“Thank you, Qin Sheng!”

After eating, Qin Sheng grabbed another bottle of cola and headed to the balcony again.

The first day of the apocalypse had passed. The wind outside the window carried a stronger scent of blood than usual, but Qin Sheng felt nothing. In the next couple of days, she’d have to venture out again to observe the situation and see how the others with abilities were faring.

If that ability-user couldn’t even withstand the initial zombie tide, she had no reason to team up with him to reach the safe zone.

“Jiang Miaomiao, since you can’t finish it all, share some with me,” Yu Ziyue said, seeing Qin Sheng had gone to the bathroom and now trying to get food from Jiang Miaomiao. She hadn’t expected stockpiling snacks to be useful; she blamed Qin Sheng for not including her when hoarding, and now all she could do was watch others eat.

Jiang Miaomiao acted as if she hadn’t heard, slurping noodles from her hotpot.

“I’m talking to you, Jiang Miaomiao—do you have to be so selfish?” Yu Ziyue, unaccustomed to this treatment, found herself ignored by Jiang Miaomiao.

Jiang Miaomiao had figured out Yu Ziyue’s character, and replied without fear, “If you want food, trade something for it.”

“What?” Yu Ziyue responded as if she’d heard the most absurd joke. It was just food; if she was hungry, so be it.

Seeing Yu Ziyue lie back down, Jiang Miaomiao shook her head and continued eating her hotpot, her happiness written all over her face.

“Delicious! Burp…” After finishing, Jiang Miaomiao tidied up and lay down on her bed.

Qin Sheng returned from the bathroom just in time, noticing Jiang Miaomiao rolling around on her bed, wide-eyed. Unable to hold back her curiosity, she asked, “What’s wrong? Can’t sleep?”

Jiang Miaomiao shifted from lying to prone, and looking at Qin Sheng’s calm demeanor, asked softly, “Aren’t you afraid, Qin Sheng?”

Qin Sheng’s hands paused as she made her bed, then after a few seconds replied quietly, “What good does fear do? Don’t overthink—rest well.”

Jiang Miaomiao’s face fell. She murmured, “I really miss my boyfriend…I wonder how he’s doing…”

Qin Sheng didn’t answer, quickly finished making her bed, closed her eyes to rest. But it was only a light sleep; in a world as dangerous as this, she didn’t dare fall into a deep slumber, even if she knew she wasn’t in immediate danger.

The night passed, and the once vibrant university campus had become a graveyard of broken bones and corpses. Now only zombies with severed limbs and bloody bodies wandered the grounds, the entire campus sunk in heavy silence, broken only by the guttural growls of the dead.

Qin Sheng rose early, and while Jiang Miaomiao and the others were still asleep, she pulled out her binoculars from her storage space, noting and estimating which areas had fallen, planning her optimal route for the next outing.

By the time Jiang Miaomiao woke, Qin Sheng had already mapped out her path for the coming days.

“Morning, Qin Sheng.” Jiang Miaomiao yawned, rubbing her messy hair, then got out of bed and went to the bathroom as usual. Only when she realized there was no water did she remember she was in the apocalypse now, with no water to freely wash her hair.

Moments later, Jiang Miaomiao emerged from the bathroom and looked at Qin Sheng with unusual determination. “Qin Sheng, could you cut my hair for me?”

Qin Sheng didn’t refuse, seating Jiang Miaomiao and quickly cutting her hair short. In mere minutes, the lively charm of her long hair was replaced by the sharpness of a bob cut.

“Not bad, not bad—I don’t look that ugly,” Jiang Miaomiao said, laughing at her reflection in the mirror.

“You look great.” Qin Sheng praised without reservation; even with short hair, Jiang Miaomiao’s cuteness was undiminished.

Jiang Miaomiao smiled, nodding in affirmation.

Hearing her self-heating oden had finished, Qin Sheng returned the scissors and strode to her seat to enjoy the steaming meal. Perhaps she’d eaten poorly in her previous life; now, her appetite was noticeably larger.

But it wasn’t a problem—her storage had enough food to last several lifetimes. If she ran out, she’d just go out and stock up again; she could only accomplish more by eating her fill.

Qin Sheng nodded in self-assurance, taking a bite of a bursting fish roe pouch. The hot broth and the explosion of fish roe in her mouth made her close her eyes in contentment.

After finishing a big bowl of oden, Qin Sheng was stuffed, but she had no room for the seafood porridge left on her desk. She glanced over at Jiang Miaomiao.

Yesterday, in exchange for the hotpot, Jiang Miaomiao must have run low on food.

Qin Sheng got up, picked up the seafood porridge, and handed it to Jiang Miaomiao.

“I haven’t touched the seafood porridge. If you don’t mind, have some.”

“Why would I mind?”

Jiang Miaomiao received the porridge with excitement, a thousand words of thanks unable to find their start.

Qin Sheng saw her intention, patted her shoulder comfortingly, then went to her bed to change into her usual outfit for going out.

“Are you heading out, Qin Sheng?” Jiang Miaomiao, having finished her porridge, came over to thank Qin Sheng again, but saw she had changed into the same clothes as yesterday and asked.

Qin Sheng nodded, noticing Jiang Miaomiao’s odd expression. “What’s wrong?”

Jiang Miaomiao hesitated, but worry overcame her embarrassment. “I don’t know if Jiang Ming has been infected; if you could, would you take me out to look for him?”

Qin Sheng thought for a moment—Jiang Ming must be the boyfriend Jiang Miaomiao mentioned.

“No.” Qin Sheng gently interrupted. The outside was full of zombies; she could handle herself, but bringing Jiang Miaomiao along meant she couldn’t guarantee her safety.

“Qin Sheng…” Jiang Miaomiao stepped forward, grasping both of Qin Sheng’s hands, her eyes already glistening with tears.