Eat It or Leave It

"A ruler?"

Chen Ming and the others looked at his "wise" eyes and felt that this ruler was a little crooked...

"Indeed, it had been a long time."

Cheng Luoyi jumped down from the rooftop, rare emotion flickering in her eyes. She had never expected that in this cruel apocalypse, she would run into Lin Dong. It really was too much of a coincidence.

"What were you doing here?"

"Just passing by."

Lin Dong answered casually.

Sun Xiaoqiang was excited and said with a grin,

"This was the Five-Star Zombie Nest. A lot of zombies showed up just now, and it was extremely dangerous. It wasn't easy for you to survive!"

Lin Dong looked at Sun Xiaoqiang. Seeing those distinctive eyes, he realized that even after all these years, Sun Xiaoqiang truly had not changed at all.

"What were you doing here?"

"Someone stole our supplies and hid in this area. We came to find them!"

Sun Xiaoqiang explained.

"Oh?"

Lin Dong raised a brow. He had heard about the shelter's supplies being robbed, but he had not expected the robbers to sneak into his territory...

When had that happened?

How did I not know?

"I know this area well. Maybe I can help you look for them."

"Really? That would be great!"

Sun Xiaoqiang did not think much of it. He only felt that running into a childhood friend and having him join the team was a good thing.

But Chen Ming and the others behind him all sucked in a breath.

They had concluded that Lin Dong was most likely that bizarre Zombie King, the source of all this danger. Yet Sun Xiaoqiang was inviting him into their team!

This world was insane... I'm like a mouse serving as a bridesmaid for a cat!

Cheng Luoyi nodded in agreement and continued,

"Mm. Once we find the supplies, we can take you to the shelter. It's very safe there."

"Pfft!"

Chen Ming and the others nearly spat blood.

They had thought Sun Xiaoqiang was outrageous enough, but Cheng Luoyi was even more absurd. She actually wanted to take him to the shelter!

They felt that... whether the shelter was safe or not might very well be up to him.

Lin Dong thought for a moment but did not refuse outright.

"We'll talk about it then."

"Mm."

Cheng Luoyi answered, then turned to the four people behind her.

"Come over here. What are you hiding on the roof for?"

"Uh... okay."

Chen Ming and the others sounded hesitant and looked worried, but they still jumped down onto the street and cautiously approached.

As they drew closer and closer to Lin Dong, they did not know whether it was merely psychological, but they felt an inexplicable sense of unease!

Moreover, they noticed that Lin Dong's eyes were filled with indifference, devoid of any emotion. When he looked at them, it was as if he were looking at "cattle and sheep."

Only when he spoke with Cheng Luoyi and Sun Xiaoqiang did a brief spark of life flash through his eyes.

"Let me introduce you. These four are all Awakened from the shelter: Chen Ming, Xu Tianhao..." Cheng Luoyi introduced them one by one.

"Mm."

Lin Dong merely responded. He did not even glance at the four of them, acting as though he completely ignored their existence.

Chen Ming forced himself to smile.

"Ahaha... hello, hello!"

The four of them were extremely nervous, but for now, it seemed the other party had no intention of killing them. Otherwise, that horde of zombies earlier would have been enough to take their lives.

So, the four of them did not expose the truth and continued playing dumb, treating Lin Dong as an ordinary human.

But Sun Xiaoqiang truly was dumb, and he was exceptionally generous.

"Lin Dong, once we find the supplies, I'll treat you to a big meal. We'll eat well and drink well, just like a reunion dinner!"

"Alright."

Lin Dong agreed.

But at that moment, Sun Xiaoqiang's stomach began rumbling unhelpfully again. The intense hunger made him dizzy and weak in the limbs, and he nearly fainted.

Lin Dong saw through his condition at a glance. You're starving like this... and you're still thinking about treating me to a meal?

"How about I treat you first?"

"Huh? You already have food?"

Sun Xiaoqiang's intelligent eyes widened.

"A little. Not much..."

With a wave of his hand, Lin Dong took bread, sausages, and a bag of spicy strips that humans ate from his storage space.

He had taken them from the warehouse last time. There were plenty of those supplies worth hundreds of millions in his storage space, and they were of no use to him anyway.

Sun Xiaoqiang stared at the food, completely stunned.

It felt incredible, as if Lin Dong had conjured it out of thin air.

Tears of weakness could not help but flow from the corner of his mouth... There were even spicy strips inside. That was his favorite snack!

"Thank you. Then I won't stand on ceremony!"

Sun Xiaoqiang took them, tore open the wrappers haphazardly, and began stuffing the food into his mouth.

The oil from the spicy strips spread over his taste buds, numbingly spicy and fragrant.

"It smells so good!"

Hunger was the best chef. In Sun Xiaoqiang's current state, spicy strips were a heavenly delicacy!

Seeing this scene, Lin Dong could not help recalling their childhood. Back at the orphanage, Sun Xiaoqiang had loved spicy strips.

Afraid the other children would steal them, he hid them in his bedding while sleeping. As expected... the spicy strips were all crushed, leaving his bed covered in oil, and the director scolded him viciously on the spot.

"Gulp!"

Seeing Sun Xiaoqiang eat so happily, Cheng Luoyi unconsciously began salivating and swallowed. At the same time, waves of hunger rose from her stomach.

Lin Dong glanced at her without saying much.

He took out bread, sausages, and spicy strips as well, along with an extra bottle of Nutritional Express compared to Sun Xiaoqiang's share, and held them out before her.

"I'm not hungry."

But Cheng Luoyi shook her head and refused.

Lin Dong looked her over. She was still just like when she was little—soft all over, except for her mouth!

"It's fine. Eat."

"Oh..."

Cheng Luoyi slowly accepted them, but she still hesitated inwardly. Food was simply too precious in the apocalypse.

Lin Dong had just said that he did not have much himself, so she wanted him to save it for himself.

"What's wrong with you now?"

Seeing her act so coyly, her expression constantly changing as though she were lost in thought, Lin Dong casually asked.

Cheng Luoyi stared blankly at him, picked up the bread, and said,

"It's expired."

"..." Lin Dong was speechless. "Eat it or leave it!"

Although the date on the bread had passed, it had been stored in the storage space and was perfectly edible.

Cheng Luoyi stopped struggling with herself, thinking that she could repay him later.

So she opened the package and began eating.

Behind them, Chen Ming and the other three stared fixedly at the food. Their stomachs churned and rumbled as well, and they watched with great envy.

But they did not dare ask Lin Dong for any.

The fact that he could take food out of thin air showed just how strange his ability was!

If things went wrong, they might become food themselves...

The four simply turned their heads away.

Out of sight, out of mind!

Before long, Cheng Luoyi was full, and she looked much more energetic.

"I'll repay you for this food, or trade Brain Cores and Crystal Cores for it."

At the shelter, one Brain Core could be exchanged for a bag of instant noodles, while one Soul Crystal could be exchanged for a whole case.

They were already accustomed to this kind of value exchange, so they felt too embarrassed to eat Lin Dong's food for free.

"Right, right, right!"

Sun Xiaoqiang, his mouth glistening with oil, strongly agreed.

"An exchange. I'm not eating for free either!"