Zhou Shoushan was indeed experienced.
Amidst a string of shocks, he seemed to have quickly adapted to Luo Xiaole's somewhat magical abilities and way of doing things within a short period.
Although he had asked the soldiers to set up the camping table, it was merely to breathe in some fresh air on the gravel lot and gain a wider view to observe passing vehicles.
But who would have thought that Luo Xiaole would think of afternoon tea!
Not only did she think of it, but she also managed to procure everything she could get her hands on.
She even considered him, an old man, and brought out Pu'er tea…
This left him somewhat in awe.
Thus, a group of people, completely unprepared, began to elegantly sip Chinese afternoon tea amidst piles of broken gravel and tiles in a scene of utter desolation…
After two pots of tea, the surroundings remained silent.
Let alone passing survivors or the terrifying zombies they had encountered along the way, even the usual multitude of ordinary zombies had not appeared.
If it weren't for the circumstances, it would truly feel like a vacation…
Luo Xiaole turned her head with a sense of contentment, only to find with surprise that Mo Chen had disappeared at some point.
For a moment, her heart panicked.
Mo Chen was not the type to disappear quickly without a word.
Even if he spoke little, he was always there at crucial moments.
At some unknown point, Luo Xiaole had developed a strange sense of trust towards Mo Chen.
Therefore, if he were to be silently taken away without him even reacting, it would undoubtedly be an opponent that none of them could handle…
Luo Xiaole was very anxious.
She found herself running, almost without realizing it.
She searched for traces of Mo Chen, circling the edges of the dilapidated factory.
Until she ran past a corner of a ruin, and a head of raven-black short hair instantly caught her eye.
The pair of deep, placid eyes seemed to show a hint of surprise… and a hint of… shyness that Luo Xiaole couldn't quite understand, the moment they met hers.
Shyness?!
Luo Xiaole was startled by her own sudden thought, thinking that she must have been fleeing for too long and her mind had become a little fuzzy, allowing such strange ideas to pop up… How could the formidable Mo Chen be shy…
“Um… where did you go just now?” Luo Xiaole broke the awkward silence, speaking first.
“Scouting the surroundings,” Mo Chen replied.
“Did you come… looking for me?” He looked up, a flicker of a dark light appearing in his eyes.
“I… I came for some fresh air!” Luo Xiaole’s guilt was evident.
The two of them felt somewhat awkward. They walked around the ruined factory and finally found a relatively flat spot amidst the rubble, sitting down one after another.
“You trust him?” In the gentle breeze, Mo Chen spoke first this time.
Luo Xiaole understood his abrupt question again.
“You mean, why do I trust Zhou Shoushan? Why did I dare to reveal my weapons and food in front of him?” Luo Xiaole looked up at him.
Mo Chen nodded slowly.
“Because… his eyes don’t hold greed? They don’t have that kind of madness I often see, the desperation to obtain weapons at any cost…” Luo Xiaole pursed her lips.
She had seen that look countless times on their journey.
“Moreover, if it weren’t for his guidance, I might not have discovered the healer, Pi Jiajia, and unlocked my current food abilities…
More importantly, when I first met him, his life was hanging by a thread, yet all the soldiers around him, almost without hesitation, were willing to sacrifice their own lives for him to survive even a moment longer. If it were just a superior-subordinate relationship, it would be hard to achieve such true fearlessness. Therefore, I feel that he must treat the people around him extremely well. Since he proposed such a condition to me, he likely won’t go back on his word. I’m willing to take this gamble.”
Luo Xiaole explained patiently to Mo Chen, her head bowed.
The wind blew past her hair, making her oversized hoodie billow backward, almost as if she were about to be pulled away. Yet, she sat there rigidly still.
Mo Chen looked at Luo Xiaole, then recalled the scene in the alley where she had saved him, which she had long forgotten.
The corners of his mouth twitched upwards uncontrollably.
She was still the same, appearing fragile and ready to be swept away by a gust of wind, but deep down, she possessed an unwavering resolve of her own.
Luo Xiaole also turned her head and saw Mo Chen’s hand resting casually on his knee. There seemed to be a thin callus on it.
She suddenly remembered that the reason she had found Mo Chen’s hand to have a familiar and special feel was precisely because of this callus.
It was thin yet substantial, not rough to the touch, but reassuring.
Luo Xiaole smelled the faint, peculiar yet steady woody fragrance emanating from Mo Chen beside her, and an idea suddenly struck her.
“If I had recognized Mo Chen earlier, could I have tried to… lure him away sooner?”
This thought suddenly grew like a vine.
Luo Xiaole was startled by herself.
What was she thinking! How could she have such thoughts about the great Mo Chen!
Although she had always viewed Mo Chen as her life-saving lifeline, if… if this lifeline were hers alone, wouldn't that be…
Blissful?
Wouldn't her life be secure and foolproof!
She quickly shook her head vigorously!
It was too late, it was already too late! Mo Chen was everyone’s lifeline now!
Mo Chen watched Luo Xiaole’s gaze at him shift from hazy to passionate, then to regretful…
For a moment, he thought Luo Xiaole had recognized him.
But in the end, Luo Xiaole patted him on the shoulder like an elder, her face full of self-reproach, and left with a shake of her head, like an old man dusting off his hands…
Mo Chen sighed deeply and gritted his teeth.
Luo Xiaole, I hate that you’re such a blockhead!
…
On the national highway, Qin Mingyang, after witnessing Chen Xiaolin's capabilities.
He stopped rushing forward.
Instead, he occasionally led his group to rest by the roadside and even offered them food and drink.
“Do you think he’s up to no good, like a weasel wishing the chickens a happy new year?” Luo Shu, who wasn't eating their food, was gnawing on chicken feet from his spatial storage and whispering to Zhou Xiaojun.
Lin Xia also didn't eat Qin Mingyang's food, sitting nearby and giving instructions to the bodyguards with a grave expression.
“Who knows… I’m constantly on edge following him. Didn’t Xiaole say there were zombies chasing him… Why doesn’t he seem to be in a hurry at all!” Zhou Xiaojun pouted.
“Tch, didn’t you see him take Chen Xiaolin aside alone? He probably fancies his abilities. Alas, poor Xiaolin…”
“This is ridiculous. With so many weapons, instead of fighting zombies, he’s threatening us. Is he planning to dig out some secrets from us? This Young Master Qin is definitely a bit crazy…” Zhou Xiaojun rolled his eyes to the heavens.
Chen Xiaolin was taken to Qin Mingyang's car.
He had just woken up and opened his eyes to see Qin Mingyang sitting kindly in the adjacent seat.
He was even thoughtfully covered with a delicate thick blanket, and there was abundant food and water beside him.
“You’ve worked hard, you must be tired. Eat more,” Qin Mingyang said with a friendly smile.
Chen Xiaolin didn't stand on ceremony. The bat zombie from earlier was very powerful, and he had only just learned to release his own corpse qi, so he had been struggling. He was indeed very hungry.
He began to eat ravenously.
“Eat slowly. But I’m very curious…” Qin Mingyang smiled mysteriously, trying to elicit a response from Chen Xiaolin.
“…Curious about what?” Chen Xiaolin took the bait, as expected.
“The weapons your team has, they were all provided by that weapon master, right?”
“Cough cough…” Chen Xiaolin choked, not expecting the question to come up so soon.
“Is this question too difficult? Then I’ll ask another one,” Qin Mingyang smoothed his delicate cuffs.
His eyelids subtly lifted, showing great interest.
“That… Luo Xiaole in your team, where did she go?”