A shift in mindset

"Thank you. We've cleaned the room for you. If you ever need a hand, just call me. My name's Zhou Feng, and I've got a fair bit of strength."

Zhou Feng, the resident of Room 2318, thanked Lin Hao and Zhao Xiaowen with gratitude written all over his face.

He was a short man, a little shorter even than Zhao Xiaowen, but solidly built. He probably worked a manual labor job.

After they gave him ibuprofen to bring down his four-year-old son's fever for the time being, the honest, plainspoken man kept thanking them, his voice catching slightly.

His wife was a simple, unassuming woman too. She quickly tidied up a room and cleared it out for Lin Hao and Zhao Xiaowen, helped carry over the water from the bathing tub, and even left them two sweet potatoes from their own rations.

Zhao Xiaowen also reminded him,

"The ibuprofen only brought the fever down temporarily. Leave at least four hours between doses. You can also try physical cooling."

Just then, Lin Hao suddenly looked toward the stairwell again. He caught sight of a small head with a few tufts of white hair quickly ducking back behind the fire door.

Lin Hao raised an eyebrow.

"Come out."

At his words, the fire door creaked open. Nie Yi walked over, bent beneath a huge bundle wrapped in a white bedsheet and strapped to her back.

Her tiny frame stood in stark contrast to the enormous bundle. She was surprisingly strong.

After making her way down the corridor, she set the bundle down, panting.

Drink bottles clattered together inside.

"I-I brought your things over. There are two more bundles back there."

She caught her breath as she spoke, then hurried back again.

"Is she the girl you told me about?"

Zhao Xiaowen looked at Nie Yi and sighed faintly. But she knew her own circumstances and said nothing more, leaving everything to Lin Hao. She did not want to annoy him by speaking out of turn.

"Yeah. I'll go take a look."

Lin Hao nodded and followed Nie Yi.

"I'll lend a hand too."

Zhou Feng hurried after them. At the fire exit, the remains left over from the fat Madman's meal still lay in the corner, while blood from upstairs had trickled down into the stairwell. The smell was unpleasant.

Two bulging bedsheet bundles sat in a relatively clean corner.

Lin Hao guessed these were probably supplies from the hotel on the two floors above.

He had not expected her to huff and puff her way through packing everything up alone while he went back to rest and take a nap.

There were seven or eight corpses in the stairwell. The blood on her shoes told him she had overcome her fear and carried the supplies down past them.

She had to contend with the corpses on the ground while worrying about any Madmen that might appear.

Did people who escaped death without going mad grow mentally this fast...?

Lin Hao said nothing. He and Zhou Feng each shouldered a bundle and carried them back, with Nie Yi following cautiously behind.

Once Zhou Feng had helped bring everything into the room, Lin Hao dug out a box of instant noodles and handed it to him.

"Here, Zhou Feng. Without boiling water, you'll have to eat the noodles dry."

"Thank you. This is good stuff-there's salt and oil in it."

Knowing Lin Hao had brought back quite a haul, Zhou Feng accepted the instant noodles and thanked him.

Lin Hao looked at Zhou Feng, then glanced at Nie Yi, some thoughts taking shape in his mind.

While moving the supplies earlier, he had realized that no matter how strong he was in combat, there was a limit to how much he could carry. Having someone beside him to help made all the difference.

Humans were social creatures. Working together really could benefit everyone.

He had a cheat, but it was not so outrageously powerful that he had no need for help.

Besides, the Teleportation Point allows teams of up to four. Having a full team to work together and watch one another's backs would definitely be convenient. But for me, a teammate's character matters more than their ability.

His cheat already gave him the ability he needed. Character, on the other hand, required greater caution, especially after he had witnessed the behavior of those three beasts.

A brief acquaintance did not reveal much, but at least his first impressions of Nie Yi and Zhou Feng were good.

Nie Yi seemed fairly strong, and the mental transformation she had undergone after escaping death had even made Lin Hao take notice.

Zhou Feng was helpful and strong too, but he had a wife and child to look after. They could help each other out from day to day, but teaming up at the Teleportation Point would be less convenient.

For now, though, Lin Hao only had a rough outline in mind. After saying goodbye to Zhou Feng, he let Nie Yi into the room for the time being.

"You know what things are like now. There's only so much I can do, so I can't promise anything. But if you can help out, I can offer whatever protection is within my power. Tell me what you can do."

Lin Hao had not forgotten what a treasure Zhao Xiaowen was. Her earlier massage had been effective and comfortable, relieving a good deal of his fatigue. He hoped Nie Yi would have a pleasant surprise for him too.

But at his question, a trace of embarrassment appeared on Nie Yi's eager face.

"I dropped out of high school and started working. I've worked as an internet café attendant, a cashier, a server, a receptionist..."

After hearing her "strengths," Lin Hao fell silent for a moment.

All right. I should've known better than to expect too much from a little punk girl.

"As long as you're willing to work hard. Just help carry things when the time comes, like you did earlier."

"Thank you!"

Lin Hao could only console himself that at least she was small and would not eat much...

"Are you a bottomless pit? Don't eat yourself to death."

Watching Nie Yi eat twice as much as Zhao Xiaowen-nearly more than he ate himself-Lin Hao felt a little regret. What on earth had he taken in?

"Ah, sorry, sorry! I'll stop eating."

Nie Yi was startled and immediately stopped, wiping noodle crumbs from the corner of her mouth.

"Go ahead and eat. I give up. If you need to shit, use the toilet over there. Catch it in a basin and dump it out the window."

Lin Hao rolled his eyes. Luckily, he was not short on food right now.

And at least having two girls around made him relatively safer.

He knew his extraordinary killing power would attract attention sooner or later. People could easily assume he had some high-stat equipment on him.

If he took in an ambitious man who hid his intentions well and stayed close, he might be at risk when he slept at night.

No one could keep their mind

taut with vigilance forever!

Earlier, when Zhao Xiaowen had massaged him, Lin Hao had fallen asleep because it felt so comfortable. Seeing her curled up beside him when he woke had touched him a little.

She could only rely on him!

If he slept soundly, she could sleep soundly too...

Nie Yi was in a somewhat similar position now.

This arrangement would do for the time being.

At least for now, food was not much of a concern for him. He could treat it as keeping a talking pet that could help out-just one with a rather large appetite...

He looked at Zhao Xiaowen, who was covering her mouth and giggling beside him, then glanced at the way her tracksuit bulged taut when she crouched down. His hand involuntarily reached into his pocket to feel the Black Gold 001 again. Tsk... How did a peaceful life for two turn into this?

In the past, faced with a beauty like Zhao Xiaowen, Lin Hao would never even have considered pursuing her. Or rather, after being steeped in videos about sealing one's heart in concrete, he had come around to the idea that as long as he fed himself, his whole family was fed.

Even though he had noticed he was fairly good-looking, and girls had even pursued him before, he had never wanted to waste the time. He would rather play games or read novels.

Yet now, under the pressure of the outside world and bolstered by his own abilities, a certain restlessness had crept into his mindset instead.

"Ah, I'm just under too much mental strain. What nonsense am I thinking about all day?"

Lin Hao patted his face and came back to himself, then walked to the window and looked at the last two "suns" in the sky.

As one sun after another vanished, a hazy gloom seemed to gather across the sky. The remaining two "suns" were also rapidly dimming.

Their brightness began to resemble that of a full moon, though they appeared much smaller in the sky, more like extraordinarily bright stars illuminating the starfield beside them.

The Abyss's starry sky was dazzling. Without the "suns" obscuring it, it possessed a strangely exquisite beauty.

He could even see celestial bodies resembling black holes, their accretion disks suspended in the heavens.

The temperature also began to drop noticeably, bringing a hint of chill, and night had fallen over the Abyss rainforest...

Awoooo-

A distant wolf howl rang out. Some of the forest's nocturnal animals had begun roaming in search of food.

A flock of birds rose from the trees in the darkness, cawing.

"Let's get some sleep. Tomorrow, I'm heading downstairs to find a locksmith. You two can wait in the room for me."

Lin Hao did not hold out much hope for the two women's fighting abilities. Once he had dealt with most of the danger, they could start helping him carry things.

And if he could not find a locksmith, he would have Zhao Xiaowen give him a few days of intensive exercise instruction. After a crash course in managing his stamina, he would be ready to take a look at the Teleportation Point...

"Even short-term training can have noticeable results. The earlier you are in the process, the bigger the changes. We can't waste this chance while there's plenty of food and nutrition. At the very least, you need to learn how to pace yourself..."