When Zhao Tianlei returned to the first-floor lobby with Ye Sitong and Wu Bin, he found that quite a few people had already begun complaining about their hunger. Even so, no one dared leave or go up to the second floor to sell themselves to Lin Mu for food. After all, everyone here knew something about Lin Mu and understood that those people upstairs definitely had no good intentions.
When the three returned to the lobby, no one cared where they had gone. In particular, no one wanted to associate with them after they had just offended the villain Lin Mu. Everyone knew that with Lin Mu's personality, he would never accept being humiliated and defied in front of everyone. As for Qian Hao, although he was not as detestable as Lin Mu, he was still a womanizer and a petty man who always took revenge.
Thus, Zhao Tianlei, Ye Sitong, and Wu Bin had practically hung two time bombs beside themselves by offending those two. No one knew when they would explode. Nobody wanted to be dragged into the mess, especially now that the apocalypse had arrived. Many teachers had also been savaged by zombies during the disaster while protecting students as they fled. It could be said that eight or nine out of ten teachers at the school had already died in the zombies' mouths.
"Oh, have some of our classmates already been unable to bear their hunger? Really, I'm your classmate. If you're hungry, just come up and ask me for help. If I see everyone in trouble, how could I, Lin Mu, refuse to lend a hand? Right?"
Just as the three of them found a place to rest quietly, that voice Zhao Tianlei hated the moment he heard it rang out again. Zhao Tianlei could tell who was speaking without even needing to guess.
"Lin Mu, that bastard is obviously using kindness as an excuse to come down here and bully people." Looking at Lin Mu's appearance, Wu Bin immediately couldn't hold back and whispered his complaint to Zhao Tianlei.
Faced with Wu Bin's angry complaint, Zhao Tianlei also urged him softly, "All right. We'd better not get involved in some matters. My goal right now is simply to protect the two of you. As for everyone else, with my abilities, I can't possibly take care of them even if I want to. Otherwise, following me would only get them killed."
Just as Zhao Tianlei was about to lead Ye Sitong and Wu Bin aside to hide, Lin Mu's voice suddenly rang out again. "Oh? Isn't this Shen Xinyu? I didn't expect you to be hiding here. Really, something this major happened today—why didn't you come find me? With me, Lin Mu, here, I can definitely protect you. If anything happens, just come to me. I have food and water here. I absolutely won't mistreat you."
Zhao Tianlei had originally been doing everything he could to avoid Lin Mu, but after hearing those words, he froze. What shocked him was that the goddess he had always secretly loved, Shen Xinyu, was actually in the first-floor lobby. He had only failed to notice her because he had hidden in a corner after entering the library, not wanting to cause too much trouble.
However, Shen Xinyu said nothing in response to Lin Mu's offer of help. Instead, the female assistant beside her said to Lin Mu, "Xinyu was frightened earlier and fled here. If you could give us some water and food, that would be wonderful."
"Don't say it like that. Shen Xinyu has always been the goddess in my heart. As long as my goddess asks, even if I had to climb a mountain of swords or descend into a sea of fire, I, Lin Mu, wouldn't so much as frown." Lin Mu immediately waved to the people behind him, and someone handed over a piece of bread and a bottle of water.
Lin Mu placed the items in Shen Xinyu's hands, then squatted beside her and said, "Xinyu, look how chaotic things outside have become. It's very unsafe for a woman like you to stay here. What if the people around here bully you or try to steal your things? Why don't you come upstairs with me? The curator's office is on the second floor, and it's very safe. You can eat and drink whatever you want up there and get a good rest. It's noisy here, like a vegetable market. How could this be a place for you to stay?"
After saying that, Lin Mu reached out and grabbed Shen Xinyu's hand, apparently intending to pull her upstairs to his territory.
When Lin Mu forcibly pulled her, Shen Xinyu couldn't help feeling nervous. She hurriedly stood up and refused him. "Lin Mu, let go of me. I'm very grateful for the water and bread. It's just that I'm used to staying with everyone. We can chat and talk to each other when there's nothing else to do, so I won't feel so stifled."
Seeing this, the female assistant hurried over as well. She grabbed Lin Mu and Shen Xinyu's hands and tried to make Lin Mu let go. "Handsome, you can see that Shen Xinyu has already been frightened enough. If you force her like this, you'll only make her even more afraid, won't you? There are lots of people here, and Shen Xinyu likes lively places. If you truly like our Shen Xinyu, you should respect her opinion, right?"
When the female assistant grabbed Lin Mu's hand and was about to separate the two, Lin Mu immediately flew into a rage. He kicked the female assistant, sending her sprawling to the ground, then pointed at her and began cursing. "Screw you! What are you supposed to be? Stop spouting nonsense here. I'm talking to Shen Xinyu—what business is it of yours? If you interfere again, believe me, I'll kick you to death!"
When Shen Xinyu saw Lin Mu kick her assistant to the ground, she immediately wrenched her hand free and rushed to the female assistant's side, helping her up. "Sister Hua, are you all right? Did you hurt yourself anywhere? Get up quickly."
Shen Xinyu's action clearly exhausted the last of Lin Mu's patience. He immediately roared at her, "Fuck, you really think you're something, don't you? Acting all high and mighty, refusing to give even me, Lin Mu, any face. You're just some little star—what the hell are you putting on airs for? If there's no food, you'll starve to death just like anyone else. I'll starve you for a few days and see whether you'll crawl upstairs and beg me when you're so hungry you're seeing stars. I have plenty of food upstairs. I refuse to believe no one will follow me. Damn it!"
As he spoke, Lin Mu snatched back the bread and water he had just given Shen Xinyu, clearly intending to humiliate her. In Lin Mu's eyes, there was no food at all in the first-floor lobby. He had already scavenged everything and moved it into the curator's office on the second floor. With those supplies, he could last at least ten days to half a month. Lin Mu didn't believe that once Shen Xinyu was starving, she wouldn't come upstairs and beg him.
After Lin Mu finished speaking, someone rushed over and bowed obsequiously to him. "Young Master Lin, you know our relationship has always been pretty good. Let me follow you. When you need something done, just say the word. You won't even need to lift a finger, Young Master Lin. I, Qian Hao, am willing to step up and do it for you."
This was Qian Hao, who had slapped Ye Sitong earlier and then been slapped back by Zhao Tianlei. Qian Hao often played ball with Lin Mu and occasionally drank with him as well. They were birds of a feather.
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