"What do you think of Zhong Xiaoshan?"
Back at 801, Zhang Su tossed the supplies he retrieved into the corner and asked Zheng Xinyu.
"Flirtatious and shameless, but... she knows her place. If I were a man, I might actually like a woman like that."
Zheng Xinyu voiced her thoughts.
Zhang Su sneered, "Being a mistress requires knowing your place, otherwise how can you linger around the rich? Hey, what kind of food do you like? Braised chicken, Taiwanese braised pork, or mushroom beef?"
Zheng Xinyu didn't expect Zhang Su's conversation to leap like this. After a moment of thinking, she said, "Anything but the mushroom beef, I guess."
"Alright! Let's give the mushroom beef we're not fond of to Zhong Xiaoshan, haha..."
With that, Zhang Su picked up the mushroom beef and headed toward the door.
The sunset painted the sky like blood, draping the entire city in a crimson glow, like blood and tears!
As the October days in Qin City grew shorter, Zhang Su and Zheng Xinyu sat together, peering through a slit in the curtain at the fiery red sunset.
As time passed, the cold front's power became apparent. Zheng Xinyu was already dressed in loungewear, and Zhang Su had changed into a long-sleeve T-shirt.
"I haven't watched a sunset so intently in a long time. It's beautiful."
Zheng Xinyu gently leaned half of her body against Zhang Su, savoring the rare peace.
In the past, she would spend her evenings in front of the computer, never noticing the beauty of nature.
"At this time, the roads would usually be bustling, horns blaring, traffic jams everywhere, but now there's not a soul in sight... huh."
Zhang Su gave a bitter laugh, with an inescapable worry etched across his brow. The scene outside invoked a sense of despair, demanding immense mental strength to endure.
Many people haven't turned into zombies or been bitten, yet succumb to this apocalyptic world, collapsing from a genuine internal breakdown.
"This will get better, right?"
Zheng Xinyu fully leaned against Zhang Su, softly asking.
Feeling her warmth, Zhang Su's tone softened as he replied, "We hold on to the belief that things will improve, but we must be prepared for them to never change and fight desperately; do you understand?"
Zheng Xinyu was silent for a long time, then murmured a response to Zhang Su's harsh suggestion.
The sun sank behind the mountains, leaving a blush at the horizon's edge. Slowly the sky grew darker, and the two remained still, as if maintaining this position could last forever.
"I've told you you're heavy, breaking my arm; are you going to kill zombies to protect me?"
Zhang Su said softly.
"Annoying!"
Zheng Xinyu begrudgingly sat up and punched Zhang Su, unwilling for the serene atmosphere to be disrupted like this.
For dinner, Zhang Su decided they would cook a pack of snail rice noodles together, adding two marinated eggs and a sausage. They'd save the self-heating pot for last, in case the gas ran out, and it would be easier to carry if they needed to relocate.
Despite his aversion to the smell of snail rice noodles, Zhang Su drank down the last spoonful of soup greedily, burping contently—full on liquid...
Zheng Xinyu only ate half her fill.
Finally, Zhang Su decided to open a bag of sea salt puffs as dessert.
"Brother Su, if we keep the lights off like this, won't the rescue teams passing by miss us?"
After dark, only a small night lamp illuminated the room, making Zheng Xinyu uncomfortable.
"Zhong Xiaoshan went hungry for just a day and wanted to strip and dance for me just for a meal. Haven't you seen how terrifying hunger is? It's a vicious catalyst. From now on, we must be cautious not just of zombies but also of people. People are even more terrifying, though to be fair, they've always been scary!"
Zhang Su said earnestly.
In the darkness, Zheng Xinyu's face grew solemn, recalling numerous historical events, suddenly feeling a sense of uncertainty about the future. She walked to the window and lifted a corner.
During the day, it was unnoticeable, but at night, it became clear that fires were burning throughout the city, lighting up the night sky as if it had just experienced a war-torn chaos.
The streets were desolate, yet those road lights and hazard lights of out-of-control cars lit up small areas persistently, revealing no sign of life, only stiff shadows wandering about, leaving a heavy feeling in one's heart.
The Fourth and Eighth Buildings were brightly lit, but with closer inspection, there was no sign of human activity. The outbreak occurred in the early morning, leaving many lights on...
The real vibrant cityscape would show people moving inside, shadows flickering across curtains. But now, aside from deathly silence, the blood-splattered windowpanes painted various scenes of demise.
Despair—witnessing the silent dead city easily breeds despair within one's heart.
"Zhang Su, do you think living on like this has any meaning?" Zheng Xinyu asked gloomily.
"Already feeling hopeless?" In the darkness, Zhang Su flashed a grin, "To merely survive is enough. That's the meaning. Why overthink it? I ask you, what did it mean to stream live every day for your fans, shaking your booty?"
"Damn you, who shook their booty? I'm a game streamer, alright? Dumbass!"
Zheng Xinyu snapped, finding Zhang Su infuriating as he always shattered any sentimental, romantic, or artistic moods.
"Game streamer, huh? What games did you play? Is it another of those Yang Guo visual novels?"
Zhang Su raised his eyebrows, asking.
"Could those types of games be streamed? I played PUBG, battle royale, get it, old man?"
Zheng Xinyu shot Zhang Su a big eye-roll.
"Battle royale... hehe, I play CSGO. I'd splatter your brains in seconds, noob!"
Seeing Zheng Xinyu's chest swell, clearly taking a deep breath for the verbal showdown, Zhang Su quickly added, "Regardless of what kind of streamer you were, next you need to become a fitness streamer!"
"What do you mean?" Zheng Xinyu looked puzzled at Zhang Su, who was putting on gloves.
Heading toward the bedroom, Zhang Su explained, "Your physical fitness was barely adequate before, but now... I fear you won't make it past the block, not even out of the unit. So while there's still a chance, I'm going to put you through a brutal training regimen."
Not only did he need to train Zheng Xinyu, but Zhang Su also needed to seriously boost his own strength.
Though he worked out daily, he'd scaled back over the last couple of years, just maintaining his physique. Now, a good body wasn't enough—strength, speed, resilience, and flexibility were key to survival!
"Brutal... how brutal?"
The mere mention of training made Zheng Xinyu's eyelids twitch.
"Brutal training! To survive the zombie apocalypse, turn yourself into a demon! Here, follow my lead!"
Zhang Su said no more but handed Zheng Xinyu a set of small dumbbells while he grabbed a pair of twenty-kilogram ones to start warming up.
Zheng Xinyu didn't resist and quickly followed Zhang Su's training pace.
To survive in a zombie-infested world, one had to become a demon, not just physically but in spirit...