Before the apocalypse, Lin Xuan was never a match for Shen Hegui. When it came, seeing Shen Hegui with a high fever and on the verge of turning into a zombie, he had secretly rejoiced. But he never expected Shen Hegui to awaken an ability and just now kill such a powerful zombie. While gathering supplies outside, he even found a gun. Why did all the good things fall into his lap?
So, hearing Lin Tingxue say that, he spoke up: "You said it yourself, it's just a novel. How can you take it seriously?"
But Lin Tingxue acted as if she hadn't heard him. She walked straight to the strong zombie, crouched down, and pulled out her dagger to dig into its forehead.
Watching her move so skillfully, even pinpointing the exact spot, Jiang Yuntan felt her suspicions growing stronger.
Shen Hegui, Yu Ke, and the others were also watching Lin Tingxue's actions.
Lin Xuan was about to walk over and tell her not to bother, when he heard Lin Tingxue's delighted voice: "I found it."
The next second, Lin Tingxue used her Wood Element Ability to conjure a vine and extracted a soybean-sized, murky crystal.
Everyone was surprised, while Jiang Yuntan's probing gaze quietly fell on Lin Tingxue's face.
"There really is one," Yu Ke exclaimed. "What novel? Can I borrow it too?"
Lin Tingxue chuckled lightly at his words. "You can't see it anymore now."
As she spoke, she walked over to Shen Hegui with the crystal. "You killed this zombie, so technically, the crystal should be yours."
Shen Hegui didn't plan to stand on ceremony. He reached out his hand and said, "Thank you."
"You're welcome. You deserve it." Lin Tingxue gave him a gentle smile, projecting an air of grace.
Then, she threw a seemingly casual glance at Jiang Yuntan, her eyes full of provocation. According to Jiang Yuntan's personality, she must be going crazy inside—Shen Hegui had just smiled at her.
Sure enough, just as she expected, Jiang Yuntan was staring right at her.
Shen Hegui followed her gaze and turned around, catching the look in Jiang Yuntan's eyes as she watched Lin Tingxue. It was complex, but it was clear she wasn't happy.
His eyes darkened. He said, "Let's go inside first."
After they entered, Shen Hegui used some water to wash the crystal. The soybean-sized, murky crystal looked dull, but he could sense a faint energy within it.
"Miss Lin, you're very perceptive about the apocalypse—first discovering that zombies die when decapitated, and then finding the crystals in their heads. Did you read all this in novels?" Shen Hegui asked tentatively.
"Yes, I usually enjoy this type of novel. I never expected it to be true—guess I'm just lucky." Lin Tingxue's face held a perfectly appropriate smile.
Lin Xuan felt a twinge of bitterness. Why hadn't she told him these things? Like the fact that cutting off a zombie's head kills it, and the crystals inside them—she had told Shen Hegui first.
Yu Ke chuckled. "I never expected a delicate young lady like Miss Lin to enjoy this kind of thing."
Lin Tingxue smiled wryly and retorted, "President Yu, are you stereotyping me? Who says girls can't like this kind of stuff?"
"Forgive me, forgive me. I was just speaking casually," Yu Ke quickly said.
Watching their interaction, Jiang Yuntan suddenly understood why Shen Hegui would end up with Lin Tingxue in the future. On the surface, she seemed like a delicate little white flower, but in reality, she was a high-level combination of a white lotus and a green tea bitch. Moreover, Lin Tingxue wasn't just a crybaby; she was both brave and resourceful.
If they weren't on opposite sides, she wouldn't hesitate to praise Lin Tingxue. But they were life-and-death enemies.
Listening to their conversation, Jiang Yuntan took the carton of yogurt Qi Ruoshui handed to her and drank it slowly, staying silent as she continued to process her memories.
Lin Tingxue was indeed different from the one in the original host's memories. She felt that Lin Tingxue was like her—either a time traveler or a reincarnator.
Seeing Jiang Yuntan sitting quietly with no presence, Lin Tingxue's lips curled up subconsciously. Now, it was she who had discovered the crystal first, and she was the one being praised by everyone.
After a long while, the group came to an agreement: tomorrow they would gather supplies, leave the hotel the day after tomorrow in the morning, search for more supplies, and set off for Jing City at noon.
Naturally, Jiang Yuntan had no objections. After all, she would definitely be going back with them.
She wasn't so proud as to abandon a powerful connection and go it alone. Mainly, she wasn't familiar with this world, and she didn't want to spend every night unable to sleep soundly.
At least, following Shen Hegui—given how they treated the original host—she could get a good night's sleep. Who wouldn't want to live better?
After the discussion, everyone dispersed.
Jiang Yuntan wanted to go back to her own room to rest. The suite had four rooms, one of which was a study. The other two rooms were for the team—one for the men and one for the women.
They had wanted to assign someone to her room, but the original host had stubbornly refused, insisting on living alone. Before the apocalypse, it had been her room alone, and since she didn't want to share, there was nothing they could do.
Everyone in Jing City knew that the eldest Miss Jiang was spoiled rotten. If she wasn't happy, nobody else could be happy either.
As for Shen Hegui, he wasn't used to living with others either, so he chose to sleep in the study.
"Yuntan, come with me for a moment," Shen Hegui said to her.
"Oh." Hearing this, Jiang Yuntan had no choice but to follow him into the study.
She casually closed the door, blocking everyone's view. Turning around, she saw Shen Hegui holding out the crystal to her.
She asked in surprise, "Why are you giving this to me? Didn't you earn it? You have an ability too. Why not use it yourself?"
Shen Hegui didn't want her to overthink, so he said bluntly, "We all need your space to store things. The journey back to Jing City will be full of twists and turns. Supplies are very important to us. Only if they're in your space will they be safe from covetous eyes."
"Alright," Jiang Yuntan said after a moment's thought. "But I can't use all my space for everyone else's stuff. I need to store my own things too."
"How much do you want us to store?" Shen Hegui asked kindly.
Jiang Yuntan thought for a long time, then said, "At most half."
She also wanted to take the opportunity to test whether Shen Hegui saw her as nothing more than a storage tool with no will of her own.
Unexpectedly, Shen Hegui didn't hesitate for long. "Then we'll do as you say—only store half," he said without the slightest hesitation.
As long as she didn't cause trouble, everything was negotiable.
This time, Jiang Yuntan was truly surprised. It seemed Shen Hegui had a high tolerance for his "sister".