A new base

"...That's what happened. Later, I heard them discussing how you must have some special equipment too, since you dared to come out alone. They planned to let you scout upstairs, then ambush and kill you when you came back. Three against one-they figured they had it in the bag."

Nie Yi briefly recounted what she had been through.

When the disaster plunged them into the Abyss, her Motorcycle Boyfriend had just brought her over for her shift. Only two rooms had guests at the time, and at first, they had all hidden here together.

With the hotel's storeroom nearby, they had food and water, so there hadn't been much pressure.

After they had hidden for a few days, that burly man had come down from upstairs carrying the Fire Axe. Their hearts had softened, and they had let him in.

Things had been fine at first. Everyone had been worried sick about the Madmen, but with food and water not an immediate concern, conflicts had begun to surface once their bellies were full and their thirst was quenched.

When they were dividing up the food this morning, the burly man had suddenly declared that women were resources too and should be shared equally. He had immediately started arguing with her boyfriend, and had even managed to turn the other two against him...

"All right. That's where things stand now. There's still plenty here, enough to keep you alive for a while. Don't trust people so easily next time."

While listening to Nie Yi, Lin Hao had already made a preliminary circuit of the twenty-fourth floor. He hadn't found any other particularly useful items.

He already had more of his own things than he could carry, so he had no intention of taking her food.

"Wait. I... I want to come with you."

Hearing that Lin Hao was about to leave, Nie Yi grew anxious. She had changed into a white T-shirt by now, and hurriedly stood up and took two steps to follow him.

"Sorry. I don't have the spare capacity to take anyone else along right now."

Lin Hao calmly turned her down.

When prosperous, help the whole world; when struggling, keep your own house in order. Lin Hao could leave her food untouched because he could obtain more himself, but he had no interest in taking on another burden.

Zhao Xiaowen had given him his initial angel investment, and she also had all sorts of useful support skills. She was a companion he could readily accept.

But this former wild girl probably couldn't offer much help.

In an environment like this, even with his cheat, his abilities were limited-at least for now.

"I... I can help too."

In her desperation, Nie Yi looked at the backpack on Lin Hao's back and had an idea. She turned around, dug out a white hotel bedsheet, and tossed some instant noodles and assorted bottles and cans of drinks into it.

Lin Hao glanced at what she was doing without saying anything, but he had already risen to leave.

Although tears welled in Nie Yi's eyes from anxiety, she didn't call out to stop him again.

Everything she had experienced during this time had completely shattered her inside. Now that she had emerged again, she understood much more!

She had already died once, already fallen into the Abyss. Now that she had climbed back out, anything she did was a bonus!

As Lin Hao reached the entrance to the Fire Escape, he seemed to sense something. He turned his head and glanced at Nie Yi, who was carrying the bedsheet toward another room to gather supplies.

This wild girl who had escaped death didn't seem quite as frail as he had imagined...

Then Lin Hao helped close the door to the Fire Escape behind him...

Back on the twenty-third floor, the corridor was still just as quiet. However, while knocking on doors earlier, Lin Hao had marked several rooms that showed signs of living occupants.

He first returned to 2320 and unlocked the door with his key. Inside, he saw Zhao Xiaowen sitting by the window, reading with her glasses on.

Three "suns" still shone in the sky, and their light spilled over her, tracing her graceful curves.

"You're back. Are you hurt?"

Zhao Xiaowen had noticed him as soon as he opened the door and turned to look. She set down her book, jogged over, took the backpack off his back and put it on the floor, then brought out a towel to wipe the white dry powder and blood off him.

The two bodies originally in the living room had also been dragged back into their own room, and the door had been locked. Some of the filth seemed to have been bundled in the curtains and shoved inside with them. The place looked a little better now.

"No, but there's quite a lot upstairs. I'll need you to help me carry it over later."

"Okay."

Without hesitation, Zhao Xiaowen switched to one of her own towels, dampened it slightly, and stood on tiptoe to wipe the sweat from Lin Hao's face.

She steadied his cheek with one hand and carefully wiped it with the towel in the other. Her breath brushed his face, making it feel a little ticklish.

Feeling the warmth and softness of her palm, smelling the same scent at his nose as on the Yoga Outfit, and watching her fluttering lashes, Lin Hao couldn't help thinking of the Black Gold 001 he had brought back on a whim. But he quickly shook his head.

"This room still isn't ideal. I'll trade some food with a neighbor for another place. It'll probably only be a temporary stop, though. We need to work our way downstairs."

"Okay. I'll follow your lead."

Then Zhao Xiaowen clasped her hands behind her back and said,

"But if we're moving, our two bathtubs won't be easy to take with us. If we have enough water, would you like a sponge bath?"

Now that Zhao Xiaowen mentioned it, Lin Hao also felt sticky all over. A bath was a bit of a luxury now, but with enough supplies for the time being, wiping himself down wouldn't be a problem.

From the apartment building's height, he could just make out a stream running nearby. Water wouldn't really be a major concern later; they were simply trapped in the building for now.

"Sure. You should wipe yourself down too. Oh, and I brought you some sanitary pads from the hotel. You'll need to use them sparingly, though."

"Thank you. Once we're done, I'll help loosen your muscles and ease the tension. I've had professional training in nursing and rehabilitation."

"Okay."

Lying facedown on the bed in Zhao Xiaowen's room, smelling the sheets and feeling the pressure and aching soreness in his thigh muscles, Lin Hao felt his whole body relax. His eyelids grew heavier and heavier, and his breathing gradually evened out.

Despite having a cheat, the pressure of the Abyss had kept Lin Hao's nerves stretched taut. He hadn't slept well at all these past few days, often jolting awake from his dreams.

But now that he had gradually acquired the helmet and the Mink Coat, returned to the relatively enclosed safety of the room, and had Zhao Xiaowen massage some of the tension out of his muscles, he slipped straight into a deep sleep.

The strain of repeatedly killing Madmen and facing thugs, along with his physical exhaustion, all faded away into his dreams.

Zhao Xiaowen had begun working on the muscles in his shoulders and back. Seeing that he had fallen sound asleep, she made her movements much gentler.

She looked at

Lin Hao's handsome face and thought of some of his earlier reactions. Then she lowered herself onto the bed, lay beside him, and closed her eyes.

Even Lin Hao had been on edge, so Zhao Xiaowen, who had been trapped in her room before, had naturally been under even greater pressure. Yet lying beside him now, she felt a rare sense of security in this apocalyptic world.

She remembered being trapped in her room by a Madman, and the moment Lin Hao had reached out and pulled her free...

A man and a woman with little emotional foundation between them were now soothing each other's inner exhaustion...

Bang, bang, bang! Bang, bang, bang!

The knocking woke Lin Hao from his deep sleep. Someone was pounding on the security door outside.

Opening his eyes, he saw Zhao Xiaowen beside him, also just opening her bleary eyes. He instantly went on alert, rolled out of bed, picked up his ruler, and began creeping toward the living room.

Zhao Xiaowen, who had also woken, didn't make a sound to distract him. She simply took a small fruit knife and quietly followed behind him.

"Is anyone there? Can someone help? My son has a fever. Do you have any medicine?"

An anxious male voice accompanied the knocking. It sounded unlikely to be a Madman, and was probably one of the neighbors on this floor.

He had stayed hidden when Lin Hao knocked on doors earlier. Now that his son had a fever, he must have run out of options.

"I still have some ibuprofen in my medicine kit. We could use a few pills to trade rooms with them."

Behind him, Zhao Xiaowen spoke softly to Lin Hao. Then she seemed to think of something and hastily added,

"Ibuprofen only relieves symptoms. I also have two boxes of cephalosporin antibiotics, a tube of topical erythromycin, a bottle of povidone-iodine, and a box of sterile gauze. Those can save lives and prevent infections at critical moments, so we shouldn't casually trade them away. But it's still up to you."

Hearing Zhao Xiaowen's cautious words, Lin Hao knew she was worried he would think she was wasting resources, and had gone out of her way to explain.

"If you think it's fine, then it's fine."

Lin Hao didn't object. He had intended to find a clean place to stay temporarily anyway, somewhere to store a batch of supplies as a transfer point. If it was only ibuprofen, there was nothing wrong with trading it. What difference did it make whom he traded with?

He would achieve his objective while also giving someone else a hand along the way.

Lin Hao didn't consider himself a particularly good person, but just as when he had saved Nie Yi, he didn't mind offering a little help when it cost him nothing...