15: Chapter 13: Have You Thought About What If I’m Gone?
15: Chapter 13: Have You Thought About What If I’m Gone?
After a satisfied burp, Su Mo, rubbing her stomach, looked at Lu Chen in amazement as a few square ice cubes emerged from the palm of his hand; he tossed them into the Flat Pot and commanded, “Go wash the bowls.”
“Oh…” she obediently picked up the pot to wash the dishes.
By the time she had cleaned the Flat Pot and put it back into the panel and was returning the bowls, a Tang Blade had appeared on the table in the room.
“While I’m still in condition, let’s test its effectiveness,” Lu Chen had just scavenged it from a nearby martial arts gym, and now it had a use.
The Tang Blade was about two fingers wide and three feet long, entirely black, made of pure steel.
Su Mo picked up the blade, weighing it in her hand, it felt light, that was her first instinct, holding it felt like it had no weight at all.
Holding the blade, she went downstairs first, Lu Chen following her after seeing she had no great fear of the zombies downstairs, he moved the refrigerator and sofa blocking the door and told her, “Wait here for me.”
Clutching the Tang Blade, Su Mo nodded her head; the air outside the door was several degrees warmer than inside and was filled with an unpleasant odor.
It wasn’t long before noises came from outside.
Shh…” Standing in front of the door, the familiar sounds made her tremble, she couldn’t help but call out softly, “Lu Chen?”
No response from the man, only the continuous hissing sounds of the approaching monsters and the grotesque reflection under the fierce sunlight.
Su Mo’s heart pounded like thunder; she realized this was a test.
A female zombie stood outside the door, its hair sparse, its eye sockets only filled with white eyeballs, its jaw torn off halfway, its head mechanically rotating as if searching for something.
When she truly had to face a living zombie alone, immense panic still engulfed her; her hand holding the Tang Blade began to tremble, nausea rose in her stomach, and her lips turned pale.
As if smelling the scent of flesh, the zombie stepped inside the house, Su Mo, scared, began to retreat nonstop until her heel accidentally hooked onto a corpse lying on the ground; she fell backward onto the floor, and the blade in her hand clattered loudly as it hit the ground.
Almost immediately, the zombie turned its head and locked its target, turning its steps and spreading its claws toward her.
The overwhelming stench left Su Mo no room to retreat; she rolled and crawled to pick up the Tang Blade, flipped the blade in her hand, and without thinking plunged it into the face within her reach.
The claws froze mid-air, “Puchi,” the blade passed through the zombie’s eye socket, and black blood burst from the back, scattering all over the ground.
“Ding, progress bar activated, +1”.
She selectively ignored the voice in her mind, pulled the Tang Blade out, threw it on the ground, and could no longer hold back as she retched violently.
After the fight ended, Lu Chen appeared and entered the house; Su Mo’s eyes immediately reddened when she saw him.
The man bent down to pick up the blade she had tossed aside, patted her back, taking it for her; Su Mo pushed him away, retreating.
He stepped forward again, his tone serious and stern, “Su Mo, have you thought about it if I’m not here?”
That single sentence left Su Mo utterly stunned.
Yes, since the day darkness had fallen, she had been with Lu Chen all along; it seemed she had never thought about what she would do on the days without him.
In this apocalypse, without a strong superpower and no ability to protect herself, what would her path be?
Pale-faced, Su Mo finally accepted the Tang Blade; a hint of tenderness passed through the deep blue of the man’s eyes, his Adam’s apple moved, but in the end he said nothing and walked out.
Soon, a second zombie was attracted.
She wiped her mouth, propped herself up with the Tang Blade, and stood up with a resolute look in her eyes.
Despite her hand trembling slightly as she gripped the blade, she chose to bravely face the enemy.
Having learned from her first encounter, she knew zombies had very acute hearing.
Holding the blade, she tiptoed towards the back of the zombie and, gathering her courage, chopped down at that disgusting head, severing it completely.
This time Su Mo finally noticed the prompt, but she didn’t have time to check as another zombie appeared.
The incoming zombies either had their claws chopped off or mouths sliced in half.
After killing several, her mind kept hearing the ‘ding’ sound repeatedly, and she gradually stopped being afraid.
Covered in a thin layer of sweat, she even began to feel it was no big deal—it was just like hitting slow-moving targets.
The fight lasted only an hour, and the effect inside her body had vanished.
Lu Chen had timed it just right and was satisfied with Su Mo’s performance.
The entire first floor of the house was nearly filled with the corpses of zombies, emanating waves of nauseating stench.
After re-sealing the door, he stepped over the bodies and approached her.
Su Mo found herself in a cold embrace.
The man’s hand patted her back comfortingly, and his voice, low and gentle overhead, said, “Well done”.
Those words once again brought tears to Su Mo’s eyes.
After all, she was just a university student in her early twenties.
It was not easy for her to accept this terrible world so quickly.
She wrapped her arms around Lu Chen’s muscular waist and buried her head deep into his chest, murmuring, “Thank you”.
Su Mo clung to the man’s waist for a long time, marveling at the exquisite touch beneath her hands.
Then, an awkward cough from above made her blush and release her grip.
“It’s getting dark, we should go upstairs,” she said.
With her heart pounding uncontrollably, she gripped the blade and rushed up the stairs.
Downstairs, the corners of the man’s mouth curled upwards.
Once back in her room, Su Mo eagerly summoned the panel.
At the bottom of the screen, a progress bar appeared, filled to 15 out of a possible 100.
So the system needed her to kill zombies to upgrade.
Su Mo was thrilled, confident that she could level up quickly under these conditions.
As night fell, Lu Chen drew the curtains and covered the gap in the middle with a cloth.
In the darkness, he lit a candle, and the dim candlelight illuminated the room.
After confirming that there was no light leaking from the room, he took out two pieces of bread from the space—this was their dinner for the evening.
After finishing the bread, Su Mo lay down early in bed, turning to watch Lu Chen leaning on the small sofa with a blanket over him, eyes closed in feigned sleep.
She couldn’t help but whisper, “Have you been sleeping for the past half a month?”
With confirmation, tears welled up in Su Mo’s eyes.
After hesitating, she spoke again: “Would you…
It must be tiring lying like that.”
Lu Chen raised an eyebrow, opened his previously closed eyes, and teased, “Are you inviting me?”
At that, Su Mo didn’t want to talk anymore.
She turned over, closed her eyes, and huffed, preparing to sleep.
Throughout the past half month, he had taken brief naps only when dawn was approaching.
Nights were filled with all sorts of dangers, and privately, he hoped Su Mo could get a good night’s sleep tonight.
Today she was indeed exhausted and soon fell into a deep sleep.