Chapter 127: Unlimited Fruits and Snacks!

Qin Sheng furrowed her brows lightly, staring at Shen Shi for several seconds. Without realizing it, she recalled the words Zhang Dong had spoken earlier. At the time, Shen Shi’s expression had been far from pleasant; now, it seemed as though he had come to terms with it.

“Guo Jun has already given up on me. I see no reason to fight for things I deem unnecessary,” Shen Shi explained with a faint smile, sensing Qin Sheng’s confusion at his actions.

Qin Sheng pressed her lips together. Matters like these were indeed difficult to discuss. “Why would Guo Jun treat you like this?”

Shen Shi’s expression remained unruffled, but his eyes grew dim upon hearing the question. He had long anticipated Guo Jun’s behavior.

The ruin of the Shen family could not be separated from Guo Jun’s machinations behind the scenes. Keeping Shen Shi close was nothing short of keeping a thorn in his side. Shen Shi knew this day would come; he just hadn’t expected it to arrive so soon.

“My father killed himself not long before the apocalypse.”

Shen Shi’s eyes were cast down, betraying no emotion. Yet Qin Sheng could sense the silent sorrow and grief, entwined with a vague anger and unwillingness.

Qin Sheng’s breath caught at this, and she murmured, “I’m sorry...”

Shen Shi shook his head gently, forcing a bitter smile. “It’s all right. It’s in the past. After my father’s suicide, my mother followed him soon after. I was left as the sole survivor of the Shen family.”

Qin Sheng quietly moved to sit nearby, retracting her earlier air of dominance. In just a few days, Shen Shi had lost both parents. Qin Sheng admitted she felt a pang of compassion.

“Right before we set out for the zombie forest, I accidentally learned the reason behind my father’s suicide—it was inseparable from Guo Jun. I realized then that I was destined for this path.”

As Shen Shi spoke, his fists clenched tightly at his side, veins bulging against pale skin. With each word, the hatred in his eyes grew more apparent.

Qin Sheng’s brows knitted together. She hadn’t expected the story to run so deep. She’d always thought Shen Shi and Guo Ting were no different—different personalities, perhaps, but both ultimately loyal to Guo Jun. But Qin Sheng herself would never be like Guo Jun; in fact, they were enemies.

“Guo Jun wants me to take first place, and...” Shen Shi hesitated, unable to finish the sentence.

“And wants your life, am I right?” Qin Sheng understood well the kind of demands Guo Jun made; every confrontation was a matter of life and death. She was unfazed.

Shen Shi sighed and then nodded.

“You’re welcome to try,” Qin Sheng replied, her tone light, as though discussing what she’d eaten for lunch. It was as if the topic held no weight at all.

Shen Shi narrowed his eyes, as if probing whether Qin Sheng was serious or merely joking.

Qin Sheng smiled, leisurely finishing her statement, “Of course, you’ll have to see if you’re capable enough.”

Shen Shi shook his head helplessly. It was just as he’d expected. Qin Sheng valued her life far more than anyone else; she would never gamble with it—she wasn’t foolish.

“So what are you planning to do now?” Qin Sheng was most curious about Shen Shi’s intentions. With Guo Jun’s order for his death, there was no way he’d be allowed to live.

Unless he chose another path.

That would be to openly oppose Guo Jun, becoming his declared enemy.

“Perhaps following you would be a better way out.”

Shen Shi had thought it through. Rather than stick with Guo Jun, it would be better to join Qin Sheng and challenge Guo Jun openly. Besides, he genuinely admired Qin Sheng.

“Oh, spare me. My humble temple can’t hold a grand deity like you,” Qin Sheng shook her head, her tone tinged with mock disdain, though her expression betrayed no such feeling.

Qin Sheng was clear in her mind—if Shen Shi joined her team, it would be all gain and no loss, and it would be a bonus to irritate Guo Jun. She was more than happy to do such a thing.

“From the start, I thought you were the one best suited to be captain.”

Shen Shi said this with particular seriousness, staring intently into Qin Sheng’s eyes, as if to lend extra credibility to his words.

Qin Sheng raised her brows in surprise, remembering their earlier verbal sparring. Now, the irony of it all made her smile.

“You didn’t say that before,” Qin Sheng said with a resigned pout, though her gaze had grown much less wary.

Qin Sheng had her principles for choosing teammates: trust those she employs, and never employ those she doubts. She had once doubted Shen Shi, but now, with his self-verification, there was no need for further suspicion.

Their words had become a tacit agreement.

Shen Shi had now joined Qin Sheng’s team.

“All right,” Qin Sheng stood and said, “Welcome to my team.”

The gloom in Shen Shi’s eyes gradually faded, replaced by a glimmer of hope. Perhaps, by following Qin Sheng, he would find a new outlook.

“Thank you,” Shen Shi replied with a faint smile, not forgetting to jest, “I wonder if Captain Qin’s team provides meals?”

Qin Sheng raised her brows. With the supplies in her space, she could feed a whole city without trouble.

“Rest assured. You’ll be well fed,” Qin Sheng replied with a smile, leaving behind a bottle of medicine before departing.

The medicine, naturally, came from her space. Shen Shi had suffered mainly internal injuries these past days; to recover fully, he’d need both internal and external treatment. Now that he was part of Qin Sheng’s team, she wouldn’t let him leave the zombie forest with any lingering ailments.

Of course, there was an ulterior motive as well. Qin Sheng vaguely remembered having struck Shen Shi with her power backlash; he probably hadn’t felt great. So this was compensation.

Shen Shi watched Qin Sheng leave his tent, then gradually closed his eyes, his faint smile growing more at ease.

Qin Sheng returned to her own tent, unable to sleep despite lying in her sleeping bag and tossing about. Perhaps it was the long rest at the Fate Shop. In the end, she strapped on her Tang blade and went out.

The lights in the other tents were already out; everyone must be asleep.

Qin Sheng found an empty spot and drew her Tang blade to make up for the neglected training of the past few days. Once she started, she lost herself in the practice, oblivious to the small spectator under a nearby tree.

Qin Sheng toyed with the Tang blade, then tossed a falling leaf—it was instantly shredded. The force and momentum of her blade would have earned applause from anyone.

A fine sheen of sweat covered Qin Sheng’s forehead, but she showed no sign of stopping.

Just as Qin Sheng was considering going out to find a few zombies to practice her blade, she heard the sound of applause and put her Tang blade away.

“Xiao Nuo?!”

Qin Sheng hadn’t expected Xiao Nuo to be awake so late, let alone watching her practice.

“Sister, you’re amazing!” Xiao Nuo didn’t hide his admiration and praise, applauding even more enthusiastically than before.

Qin Sheng sheathed her Tang blade and pulled out a handkerchief from her pocket, wiping her sweat as she walked over to Xiao Nuo.

“It’s late. If you don’t sleep, you won’t grow tall,” the domineering aura from her training vanished, replaced by the gentle warmth of an elder sister.

Xiao Nuo scratched his head sheepishly. “I couldn’t sleep and wanted to take a walk. I didn’t expect to see you practicing your blade.”

“I couldn’t sleep either. Seems we siblings are quite in sync,” Qin Sheng chuckled.

“Tonight, I have a sister, so I’m too happy to sleep. Are you happy because of me, too?” Xiao Nuo’s smile grew, his gaze expectant.

Qin Sheng patted Xiao Nuo’s head, smiling, “Of course. Having such a cute little brother makes me happy enough to lose sleep.”

With Qin Sheng’s affirmation, Xiao Nuo’s cheeks turned a shade redder, shy and embarrassed.

“I don’t just want to be cute. I hope that one day I can be as strong as you, and then protect you,” Xiao Nuo said earnestly, as if making a vow.

Qin Sheng smiled and nodded gently.

“Then I’ll wait for the day you protect me.”

“Okay!”

Qin Sheng was about to urge Xiao Nuo to go to bed when she heard a rustling in the nearby grass.

“Shh.”

Qin Sheng’s expression instantly shifted to caution and seriousness, blocking Xiao Nuo’s mouth as he tried to speak.

Xiao Nuo widened his eyes in nervousness, pressed his lips together, and followed Qin Sheng’s gaze.

“There’s someone in the grass, but they haven’t noticed us,” Qin Sheng explained in a whisper only the two of them could hear.

“Should we hide?” Xiao Nuo whispered back.

Qin Sheng nodded, gesturing toward the tree behind them. In the next moment, she vanished from Xiao Nuo’s sight.

Xiao Nuo blinked and saw that his sister was already perched steadily on a branch, showing off a little.

Xiao Nuo smiled wryly, flashing his little canine teeth, then climbed up to join Qin Sheng in the tree.

Qin Sheng rested her chin in her hand, watching quietly as the person in the shrubbery emerged and slipped into the camp.

“This person looks familiar,” Xiao Nuo murmured beside Qin Sheng, growing more certain the longer he looked.

“You know him?”

Xiao Nuo shook his head. “We cleaned the camp together before. He left with supplies, so why is he sneaking back now?”

“Looks like he’s run out of supplies,” Qin Sheng replied quietly.

As expected, they watched the man take a fair amount of food from in front of Qin Sheng’s tent. Just as he was about to flee, a razor-sharp Tang blade blocked his way.

“Please… I’m sorry! Spare me!” The man, terrified by Qin Sheng’s blade, fell to his knees.