Eating Garbage

Shang Jiudi, watching from a distance, clapped a hand over her mouth, stifling sobs that escaped through her fingers. She wasn't a fragile woman, but after such an emotional rollercoaster, she couldn't help but want to cry.

Chu Han, who had run far away and intended to dump Jia Chunjie's corpse in a distant location, suddenly frowned.

The Reforging System's synthesized voice chimed in—

"Shang Jiudi's loyalty has reached 50%, point recovery 0.1."

"Damn it!" Chu Han couldn't help but curse.

Why was this woman's loyalty still so low? It had only increased by 20%?

He knew that once loyalty reached 90%, it would be locked. This meant that companions who reached 90% loyalty would have their loyalty permanently fixed, only capable of increasing further, albeit very slowly.

But before reaching 90%, any misstep could cause their loyalty to drop. It was utterly tormenting. He couldn't possibly grovel and beg them to be loyal, could he?

Among those currently loyal to him, only Chen Shaoye, who had reached 90%, was truly his. Eighteen was young and easy to mold, but this Shang Jiudi—

This woman was just too difficult to handle!

Chu Han had been gone for a long time. Shang Jiudi didn't linger outside. In her current state, encountering zombies would be a death sentence, so she quickly returned to the second floor of the hotel.

Chen Shaoye and Eighteen were still lying in the hallway outside the room. If not for their intermittent snoring, an unsuspecting person might have mistaken them for corpses. Lying there, seemingly lifeless, coupled with the dim corridor, they were the perfect embodiment of a horror film.

Shang Jiudi leaned heavily on the wall, enduring the dizziness from her high fever. She went to Eighteen, sighed with a hint of helplessness, and shook the small girl's body. "Xiaoxiao? Xiaoxiao, wake up! Luo Xiaoxiao?"

Eighteen's real name was Luo Xiaoxiao.

Shang Jiudi didn't know what Jia Chunjie had given them, but even with all her might, she couldn't wake them. The dizziness returned. She touched her forehead; her fever was nearing forty degrees Celsius.

She glanced at the dim surroundings. From time to time, thumping sounds echoed from the rooms around them. It wasn't that there were no zombies here, just fewer of them, and they were quite weak.

She slumped against the wall, unsure of what to do. Forget Chen Shaoye, she couldn't even lift Eighteen in her current state.

Meanwhile, on a street near the hotel.

One corner of the road was a garbage heap, foul and dirty, emitting a strong stench. Discarded, half-eaten food fermented together, forming piles of viscous, black-green sludge that felt slimy and disgusting to the touch, making it impossible to tell what it had been.

Xiao Yunfei and three others hid among the garbage. The strong smell here helped them evade zombies. They had run themselves ragged chasing Chu Han but had lost him; Chu Han's speed was just too great.

"Hah! Hah! I'm exhausted!" one man gasped, not caring about the stench around him. Covered in sweat, he collapsed onto the rotten, pulpy garbage, unwilling to move. Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through his hand, but he was too weak to check and paid it no mind.

"I'm so tired. How can that guy run so fast!" the others grumbled softly in dissatisfaction.

Xiao Yunfei was also panting desperately, his expression filled with unwillingness. He had abandoned the idea of killing Chu Han and taking his gun; this man was too strong, and he had no chance of winning. However, he needed Chu Han's help. He had to find this person.

A chicken bone lay beside Xiao Yunfei's hand, still clinging to a few scraps of gnawed-clean chicken meat. The meat had already begun to rot.

He hadn't eaten his fill in days. Seeing the chicken bone, he found it incredibly tempting, wanting to swallow it whole.

Xiao Yunfei suppressed his near-breakdown, carefully, avoiding the gaze of the other three, and abruptly shoved the chicken bone into his mouth!

He chewed furiously, crushing the bone with all his might, and swallowed it down!

How disgusting! He wanted to vomit!

He was a social elite, with more money in the bank than he could ever spend. He couldn't stand this life. He wanted to return to civilization, where his breakfast was a nutritious meal prepared by his housekeeper, where he enjoyed the finest cuisine with his beautiful secretary for lunch, and where he mingled with noble socialites at various banquets in the evening.

This was what he wanted, not to be here eating leftover, rotten, stinking chicken bones!

Gag—

Xiao Yunfei suddenly collapsed on the ground, vomiting violently, spitting out all the crushed bone fragments he had just swallowed. Damn it! It was too disgusting, too smelly, too awful!

But he was hungry!

"Mr. Xiao!" the three men rushed forward, concerned. "Mr. Xiao, what's wrong?"

Xiao Yunfei quickly composed himself, putting on a disgusted expression. "Some garbage fell into my mouth just now. It was so disgusting, it made me throw up all the food I ate yesterday!"

The man whose hand had felt a sharp pain earlier looked at what Xiao Yunfei had vomited, slightly confused. "We didn't eat chicken yesterday. We haven't eaten meat in days."

Damn it! Xiao Yunfei shot him a vicious glance, then changed the subject. "He should be around here. That guy is very good at using the terrain to hide. His hiding spot must be somewhere secluded!"

"Oh!" The man, puzzled by Xiao Yunfei's glare, muttered, "We really didn't eat chicken. Why did you throw up chicken bones? Did you eat garbage?"

Xiao Yunfei's expression immediately darkened, and a surge of anger washed over him. His long-built dignity felt as if it had been trampled underfoot and brutally crushed!

"How could I possibly eat garbage!" he roared ferociously. Suddenly, his gaze froze, and he recoiled, pointing at the man in front of him with terror. "What happened to your hand? Why is it bleeding?"

Xiao Yunfei's words instantly tensed the atmosphere among them. The other two immediately distanced themselves.

Then they saw the man Xiao Yunfei had yelled at, blood dripping from his hand, a stark sight.

"I! I, I, no, I think I cut myself on glass!" the man explained in panic.

"You're lying!" A ruthless glint flashed in Xiao Yunfei's eyes. He knew perfectly well it was a cut; the wound was too obvious, and they had been careful all the way here, encountering no zombies.

However, Xiao Yunfei had no intention of letting him off the hook.

"You were scratched by a zombie's fingernail!" he declared.

Who asked you to expose his flaws? Who asked you to say such things? You're too naive to play mind games! Does your trash dare to provoke Xiao Yunfei's dignity?

"Mr. Xiao!" the other two asked nervously, "What do we do now? Will he turn?"

"Of course, he will!" A certain desire flickered in Xiao Yunfei's eyes. "Getting scratched by a zombie's fingernail or bitten will cause infection, remember? We saw it before. We can't let this person live!"

Thank you to Meng Douzi and Chun Jie De Xiao Si Nian for the rewards! Meng Douzi, you give rewards every day, you're so awesome! Also, Chun Jie De Xiao Si Nian, did you reward me because the villain you were rooting for finally died? Hahaha! And what's going on in the comment section? What kind of shamelessness are you all showing me? I'm blind!