The college girl

"No."

Lin Qi answered almost instinctively. Only when he came to his senses and looked up did he realize it was a college girl in a drab gray school uniform, her face flushed as she pointed at the half-used pack of sanitary pads he had been using to start his fire.

"Ah, I-I don't want them for free. I'll trade you this!"

The college girl was very pretty. Lin Qi recognized the look in her eyes: the clear-eyed stupidity of a college student just entering society.

Afraid Lin Qi would refuse, she took a Silky Indulgence chocolate bar from her pocket with a pained expression and carefully offered it to him. "Handsome, I'll trade you this..."

"Deal."

Lin Qi changed his tune in an instant. He snatched the chocolate, picked up the half-used pack of sanitary pads beside him, and tossed it straight to her.

Half a pack of useless fire-starting material for a chocolate bar-it was practically a giveaway.

"Ah, thank you."

The college girl hadn't expected Lin Qi to hand them over so decisively. Her clear, foolish eyes brimmed with sincere gratitude, and she even gave him a solemn bow. "Thank you. My name is Yi Xue."

Lin Qi: ...

College students really were something.

"No big deal." Lin Qi waved dismissively and started adding instant noodles to the boiling water.

The apocalypse took an enormous physical toll. The instant noodles he had looked down on before the apocalypse now took two and a half packets to fill him up for one meal.

Gulp.

Smelling the tempting aroma of the instant noodles, Yi Xue swallowed. Eventually, she walked away, glancing back repeatedly as she headed toward the black bus she was staying in.

Nearly everyone on the bus was a classmate of hers.

After fleeing all this way, only around twenty of them remained.

Even with just twenty people, they had to count out how many days their food would last on their fingers, which was why Lin Qi's extravagance had her drooling.

Lin Qi finished cooking the noodles, and their rich aroma began spreading through the area.

The June night wasn't particularly hot. Holding his meal and feeling the night breeze, he actually found himself enjoying it.

"Young man, have a heart. Could you spare an old woman a little food?"

Lin Qi was eating when an aged voice sounded nearby.

He looked up and saw an old woman limping toward him, her cloudy eyes fixed on the steaming instant noodles in his hands.

"Not a bite."

Lin Qi couldn't even be bothered to look at her. "If you have nothing to eat, go find Liu Yan."

The old woman's expression stiffened at his retort, and her attitude did a complete about-face. "You little brat! Is that any way to speak to your elders? A young man like you has such an easy time gathering supplies. What's wrong with sharing a little with an old woman? Didn't your teachers teach you to respect the elderly and care for the young?"

"Respect the elderly and care for the young."

Lin Qi snorted. "Trying to guilt-trip me?"

"How dare you say that? What do you mean, guilt-trip? Respecting the elderly and caring for the young is a traditional virtue!" The old woman's voice shot up dramatically. With a voice that strong, if not for her face full of wrinkles, who could have imagined she was an old hag with one foot in the grave?

"Get lost."

Lin Qi really didn't have the energy to argue with an old woman throwing her age around. His voice turned icy. "You'd better stop provoking me."

"Provoking you?"

As though she'd heard a joke, the old woman stepped forward and reached to snatch the bowl from Lin Qi's hands. "You dare lay a hand on me here in the convoy? Just try it! The Extraordinary won't stand for that!"

"You really do get all sorts."

Lin Qi paid no attention to the old woman's threat.

Respect the elderly and care for the young? Sorry, no such thing.

He dodged the rough hand reaching for him, then lashed out with a vicious kick.

Thud!

The old woman hit the ground.

There wasn't a trace of fear in her eyes. Instead, they were filled with the smile of someone whose plan had succeeded.

Almost the instant she landed, she let out a howl. "Ah, murder! Extraordinary, save me! Someone's trying to kill me!!!"

The old woman's voice was shrill and miserable.

Liu Yan, who had been busy, was naturally drawn by the howling too.

Soon, Liu Yan hurried over with several burly men. She first glanced at the old woman rolling around and making a scene on the ground, then turned to the impassive Lin Qi. "What happened?"

Before Lin Qi could speak, the old woman turned the tables and accused him first. "I was just walking along, minding my own business, when this little brat kicked me for no reason! Look, look! His size forty-two footprint is still on my chest!"

"Oh, he's bullying an old woman! He's going to kill me! How am I supposed to go on living..."

The old woman's heart-rending cries made Liu Yan frown. "Shut up."

Seeing that she'd achieved her aim, the old woman stopped wailing and gave Lin Qi a provocative look.

Only after the old woman fell silent did Liu Yan ask Lin Qi, "Tell me what happened."

"She started it."

Lin Qi had barely gotten those words out when the survivors drawn over to watch immediately began sneering. "Already lying at your age? You're clearly the one who beat up an old woman, and you claim she started it? Have you no shame?"

"Exactly! Young people these days never learn anything good, just these disgraceful tricks!"

"Forget it. I can see the young fellow hasn't had it easy either. Just give the old woman his vehicle and the supplies inside, and we'll call it settled. I'm only trying to help..."

The burly men watching chimed in one after another.

Some survivors might have known what had happened from the start, but under the burly men's threatening stares, they couldn't possibly get involved in this mess.

Lin Qi quickly understood what was happening. These people were in it together. They had seen his supplies and set him up!

There were six survivors backing her up, all big, burly men. The other survivors feared offending them, and not a single person was willing to get involved.

Seeing Lin Qi's expression shift, the old woman sneered inwardly. Hmph, just your bad luck, kid. Who told you to be all alone? Who else would we target?

Liu Yan had actually picked up on some of what was going on too, but she couldn't be bothered to waste time on survivors who might die at any moment. "Since everyone says it was you..."

She was just about to deliver her verdict.

"Heh." Lin Qi gave a cold snort as he looked at Liu Yan, who was papering over the dispute. How could he possibly swallow this injustice without a word?

There was something called a dashcam.

As luck would have it, he had one.

Since the old woman wanted to mess with him, once the Extraordinary left, he had plenty of ways to teach her what the apocalypse meant.

Before Lin Qi could act.

The next moment.

A slender, fair arm rose from the crowd, followed by a somewhat timid female voice. "I can testify! The old woman tried to snatch his food first!"