The curse of the Red-Clothed Opera Performer

Lin Qi led Wang Feng and the others to the back of the SUV.

The moment the rear door opened, their eyes were all drawn to the open box. Looking at the assortment of fruit inside, they could not help swallowing.

"Help yourselves." Lin Qi generously lifted the box out.

"You're really letting us eat these?" someone asked, swallowing as he tried to confirm it.

"When have I ever gone back on my word?" Lin Qi waved a hand. "Take as much as you can eat. Just don't waste any."

"Sure thing."

Xiao Wu did not hesitate another second. He hurried back and brought over a large basin, handed out a pair of disposable chopsticks to each person, and began picking through the box.

It was not that they were picky eaters. They were mainly afraid of eating broken glass.

"Oh, canned fruit."

Green Radish's voice came from nearby. Lin Qi turned to see her approaching with her hands behind her back, her long braid swaying behind her, brimming with the youthful vitality unique to a young girl.

"Perfect timing. There's more canned fruit than they can finish. Take some too," Lin Qi said casually.

"Oh, that's not what I came to see you about. It's about the Red-Clothed Opera Performer." Green Radish only glanced at the box of canned fruit before looking away. Compared with Wang Feng and his group, she clearly was not that interested.

At the mention of the Red-Clothed Opera Performer, Lin Qi hurried over to her.

"Come on, let's talk over there."

Green Radish led Lin Qi onto the dirt road.

Lin Qi had already been growing impatient. Once they were away from the crowd, he hurriedly asked, "The Red-Clothed Opera Performer-have you found a way to deal with her?"

Green Radish shook her head gently, immediately dashing his hopes. "Not yet. But after studying the information he collected, the captain concluded that you've been cursed by the Red-Clothed Opera Performer."

"There's no way?" Lin Qi frowned. "Do I have to pay the bride price? Do you know roughly how much it is?"

Green Radish shook her head again. "You don't need to worry about the bride price. The amount doesn't really matter."

"Really?" Lin Qi's expression eased considerably. Did Green Radish mean that the amount did not matter as long as he was sincere enough?

Her next words shattered his hopes and threw him straight into a ditch for good measure. "Right. If you can't scrape together the bride price, you'll die."

"If you do, she'll take you away, and whether you live or die will be unknown."

Lin Qi: ...

Seeing Lin Qi's face turn alternately green and white, Green Radish could only pat his shoulder with an air of worldly wisdom. "Keep your chin up, young man. The captain will keep an eye on your situation. As soon as there's a solution, he'll let you know."

"All right."

What could Lin Qi do now besides wait?

Having explained the situation with the Red-Clothed Opera Performer, Green Radish was about to leave when Lin Qi remembered something and hurriedly spoke up. "My thousand Ghost Cash..."

Hearing him call out, Green Radish not only failed to slow down, but acted as though she had not heard him at all. In just a few strides, she darted into the crowd and vanished in the blink of an eye!

Lin Qi: ...

Why did he feel as though his thousand Ghost Cash had gone down the drain?

When Lin Qi returned to the SUV, Wang Feng and the others had already divided up the canned fruit and were enjoying it, some squatting and some sitting beside the vehicle.

"Brother Lin, nothing beats fruit. It's so damn sweet." Seeing Lin Qi, Wang Feng could not help clicking his tongue in admiration.

Lin Qi looked into the box. Even after six people had helped themselves, more than half remained...

"Have some more. There's plenty left."

Lin Qi pointed at the canned fruit in the box. "If you don't finish it, it'll all go bad in a day or two."

"Uh, we'll pack some to take with us if we can't finish it. Just enough for tomorrow. We can't keep any more than that either." Wang Feng was wolfing down the canned fruit, his words coming out somewhat slurred.

"Sure."

Lin Qi answered perfunctorily. He had actually considered trading the canned fruit to the survivors for supplies.

Unfortunately, most of the survivors in the convoy were broke. Many wished they could split a single portion of food into several meals, and could not bear to trade it away just to satisfy their appetites.

As for the Transcendent Squad, Green Radish's expression made it clear that they probably had no interest in it.

It would only go to waste anyway. Lin Qi's gaze fell on Yi Xue, who was looking hesitantly in their direction nearby, and he beckoned to her.

Seeing him beckon, Yi Xue's hesitant expression turned happy, and she jogged over.

"You called me, big brother?"

Yi Xue asked cautiously.

"Yeah. I saw you looking over here for ages. If you want some, take some." Lin Qi pointed at the cardboard box.

"Ah, no, that's not it."

Yi Xue gazed longingly at the canned fruit, then quickly looked away. "I-I actually wanted to talk to you about something else."

"Talk to me? Have you run out of sanitary pads again?"

Lin Qi blurted out what he was thinking almost instinctively.

At his question, Yi Xue's little face instantly flushed bright red, leaving Wang Feng and the others looking astonished.

Xiao Wu was even more blunt. "Why are you blushing, little girl?"

"N-no, I'm not."

Yi Xue composed herself and hurriedly changed the subject to ease the awkwardness. "It's like this. Could our male classmates learn how to find supplies from you..."

Before Yi Xue could finish, Lin Qi cut her off. "Not interested."

"We can give you supplies in exchange," Yi Xue hurriedly added, thinking it was because she had not yet stated her offer.

Seeing that Lin Qi had already turned toward the SUV, Wang Feng picked up the conversation, speechless. "Little girl, do you think you're still at school? Every bit of experience in the apocalypse is precious. At the very least, the supplies you have now aren't enough to pay for it."

"Oh, all right." The light gradually faded from Yi Xue's eyes.

She usually helped the convoy cook and clean, but that was only enough to keep herself fed.

Whenever her classmates went out searching for supplies, they only dared linger around the edges, finding very little each time.

If this continued, her classmates would probably end up relying on the convoy's minimum rations. Without enough food to replenish their strength, it would become a vicious cycle...

Wang Feng was clearly rather different from Lin Qi. Seeing Yi Xue like this, he smiled and said, "Brother Lin doesn't have time to teach you, but I can teach you all a little."

"Really?" Yi Xue's eyes immediately lit up.

They had all seen Lin Qi bring back a whole vehicle full of supplies. His ability spoke for itself.

As Lin Qi's friends, Wang Feng and the others had to be impressive too, right?

"Yeah." Wang Feng nodded, swallowed his last mouthful of fruit, and pointed at the box. "Don't let Brother Lin's kindness go to waste. Bring some canned fruit and come with us."

"Okay, okay!"

Yi Xue hurriedly searched the box for a few slightly damaged jars of canned fruit to take along.

She was very honest. Even though the convoy had no supplies to spare, since Lin Qi had told her to take her own share, she took only two half-full jars and jogged after Wang Feng and the others, who had already left.

"Brother Lin, I've put the stuff back for you."

Xiao Wu stuffed the remaining canned fruit into the back seat, only turning to leave after Lin Qi nodded in acknowledgment.

Lin Qi checked the time. It was about time for the convoy to set off again.

As for Wang Feng teaching those students, it had little to do with him, and he did not want to get involved.

In the apocalypse, the more ties one had, the more trouble there was. Being alone was more carefree.

Lin Qi lit a cigarette and leaned back in the driver's seat, bored, opening the system's virtual panel.

I wonder what the favorites feature does. If I can get Leibi to show up again tomorrow, I've got to try adding it...

Maybe I'll be able to pull it up and buy Leibi once every day...

Lin Qi entertained the pleasant thought, though he did not actually think his idea was right.

If he could buy favorited items every day, then could he not favorite an extraordinary ability and buy it once a day? Would that not make him invincible...?

He would have to wait until the ads refreshed that evening to see how it actually worked.

Just as he was lost in thought, a shrill voice suddenly pierced the glass and slammed into his ears.

"Some nerve you have, Lin Qi! You have canned fruit to share with everyone else, but none for Lili, huh!"

"Believe it or not, I'll make sure Lili never speaks to you again!"