Chapter Twenty-One: A Great Commotion in the Dining Hall!

“Besides, from what I know, Li Chengbin and Qin Mengchun eat this kind of food almost every day, which is completely different from people like us who only have steamed buns and pickles.” As Lin Xing spoke, his face showed even more obvious discontent.

Qin Sheng raised her eyebrows, surprised they dared to abuse their position so blatantly under everyone’s noses. Their audacity was remarkable.

Still, it was not unexpected. In an apocalyptic world where humanity had eroded, what couldn’t people stoop to?

“How do you know all this?” Qin Sheng asked.

Lin Xing scratched his head, a little embarrassed, and explained slowly, “I used to be interested in Qin Mengchun for a while. I suspected Li Chengbin was threatening her, so I followed them to see what was going on.”

Qin Sheng was already aware of this and said nothing more.

“But, Auntie, with so many people in the canteen, how are we going to get what we want?” Lin Xing voiced the crucial question of their plan.

Qin Sheng had been pondering this too. “Do you know where the stuff is kept?”

Lin Xing nodded. “Most of it is in the innermost room on the second floor.”

“I’ll go get it, you cover me,” Qin Sheng said. She didn’t know the exact location, but with her spatial ability, she felt relatively safe.

Lin Xing nodded, then shook his head, hesitating. “There are a lot of guards in that room, and Li Chengbin’s room is right next door. Let me do it.”

“It’s fine. When you go in…” Qin Sheng quickly outlined the route for Lin Xing, and the two split up at the canteen entrance.

Lin Xing glanced in the direction Qin Sheng left, took a deep breath, and strode into the canteen. He was familiar with most of the rescue team members, so he got inside smoothly.

Meanwhile, Qin Sheng circled to the back of the canteen. The second floor wasn’t high. She stepped on a first-floor window sill, leaped up as lightly as a swallow, and landed on the second-floor window ledge. Looking in, she saw that it was almost certainly the room Lin Xing had described.

She crouched low, carefully minimizing the sound of opening the window, and managed to slip inside with little trouble.

But she had guessed wrong. The furnishings made it clear this was the office of Li Chengbin, the rescue team leader, just as Lin Xing had said.

“Chengbin, darling…”

Qin Mengchun’s voice came from the doorway, followed by Li Chengbin’s. Qin Sheng, without hesitation, darted behind the cabinet.

“Chengbin, darling, thank you for working so hard today, going out to rescue those people.” Qin Mengchun, beaming, clung to Li Chengbin’s arm as they entered.

Qin Sheng held her breath, making herself as inconspicuous as possible.

But she needn’t have worried; Li Chengbin didn’t care if there was an extra person in the room. With a beautiful woman in his arms, he had no mind for anything else.

Soon, the room was filled with unmistakably intimate sounds. Even though Qin Sheng had never been in a relationship, she knew exactly what was happening.

She was witnessing a live performance of illicit passion! She averted her eyes, telling herself not to look, not to listen.

As Qin Mengchun’s voice grew more unbearable, Qin Sheng sensibly produced a pair of decent earplugs from her spatial store.

Sure enough, the noise faded considerably.

The two inside were completely absorbed in each other. There was no way Qin Sheng could leave now—her poor ears would have to endure this for the time being.

She wondered if the pair had taken any precautions. She even considered leaving them something for safety’s sake.

“Chengbin, darling~ I’m cold~” Qin Mengchun, clothes now removed, shivered as a cool breeze blew in from the window, her breath coming in gasps.

Damn! Qin Sheng glanced at the window right in front of her. If Li Chengbin came over, she’d have to hide in her spatial dimension. But if she did that, she’d have no idea what the situation was like outside when she returned.

“It’s alright, I’ll close the window,” Li Chengbin, though reluctant, stood up at Qin Mengchun’s words.

Qin Sheng held her breath as the footsteps drew closer. She lifted her hand, ready to touch the phoenix-shaped bracelet on her wrist—

“Captain, Lin Xing is here.”

Hearing the report from outside, Li Chengbin halted. Qin Sheng instantly let out a sigh of relief.

“What is he doing here?” Qin Mengchun, putting her clothes back on, was clearly annoyed and contemptuous.

Li Chengbin, looking frustrated, dressed and opened the door. He was surprised to see who it was.

“Haven’t you already turned me down? Why are you here again?” Li Chengbin smiled, then sat back on the sofa, pulling Qin Mengchun into his arms.

He nodded smugly at Lin Xing, well aware of Lin Xing’s feelings for his girlfriend.

Lin Xing pulled a wry smile, suppressing a flood of inner complaints.

“I’ll join, but I have conditions.”

“What conditions?”

“Go downstairs and tell everyone I’m the deputy leader of the rescue team from now on, and give me a key to the room next door.”

Li Chengbin was surprised Lin Xing knew about the adjacent room, but nodded, releasing Qin Mengchun and placing a key on the table in front of Lin Xing.

Lin Xing glanced at the spare key but didn’t take it immediately.

“Just go downstairs and make the announcement.”

“Alright.”

Lin Xing followed Li Chengbin and Qin Mengchun out of the room.

Qin Sheng immediately emerged from behind the cabinet, grabbed the key, and slipped out of the office.

Li Chengbin, true to his word, called all the guards from upstairs down to the first floor, making it much easier for Qin Sheng to get the goods.

She unlocked the door, shivering as a blast of cold air hit her. The room was a cold storage, holding the canteen’s last remaining meat and vegetables from before the apocalypse.

The electricity here was solar-powered, which explained how the food could be preserved for so long.

Qin Sheng made a quick survey. Most of the meat was chicken and pork, with only a little beef and lamb.

If she remembered correctly, Qin Mengchun was allergic to pork and particularly disliked chicken.

A crafty glint appeared in Qin Sheng’s eyes. In a flash, she stored all the beef and lamb in her spatial dimension, along with some chicken and pork—after all, there was no reason not to take everything she could.

She returned the key to its original place and left quietly.

Downstairs, Li Chengbin was announcing Lin Xing’s appointment as deputy leader to the group.

“Alright, that’s settled. Now, about this afternoon’s rescue—” Li Chengbin began.

Lin Xing gritted his teeth and agreed. This old fox would never give up exploiting anyone.

“Let’s go,” Lin Xing said, picking up the key and leaving the room.

“Did you close this window?” Qin Mengchun asked, noticing that the window that had been open was now tightly shut.

Li Chengbin didn’t think much of it. “Maybe one of the team members did.”

“Alright then.”

As soon as Lin Xing reached the ground floor, he called out loudly, “Friends, let me tell you a bit of gossip!”

In the dull monotony of the apocalypse, everyone perked up at the mention of gossip.

“There’s meat and fresh vegetables in the room next to Li Chengbin’s office upstairs. I bet none of you have tasted meat or fresh greens in ages.”

The canteen erupted in noise, voices full of excitement and disbelief.

“How do you know? Are you sure you’re not lying?”

“That’s right, Captain Li is such a good man. Why would he hoard meat and vegetables for himself?”

“You’re deputy leader now, why would you lie?”

Lin Xing had expected this reaction. He pulled the key Li Chengbin had just given him from his pocket.

“I have the key right here. If you don’t believe me, go upstairs and check for yourselves.”

With that, he tossed the key into the crowd. Chaos ensued as people scrambled and even began fighting for it.

Sighing, Lin Xing squeezed through the commotion and walked out of the canteen upright and unhurried.

He had to admit, making a public spectacle of the canteen was rather satisfying.

Qin Sheng was already waiting outside.

“Well done, we’ve got plenty of beef and lamb,” Qin Sheng said, weighing the bag in her hands and showing Lin Xing their spoils.

He took the bag, and the two quickly left the canteen.

Downstairs, the crowd was clamoring to get upstairs, and only then did Li Chengbin realize what had happened. It was clear he’d been played by Lin Xing.

“Damn it!” Li Chengbin slammed the door in anger and went out to face the furious crowd.

“Captain Li, while we’ve been eating nothing but steamed buns and pickles, you’ve had meat and vegetables stashed away. Care to explain?”

“I’m sorry for keeping this from everyone. When the apocalypse struck, this was all we had. If we didn’t ration it, we’d run out of food,” Li Chengbin replied, drawing on his experience as leader to handle the crisis.

“Easy for you to say. We’re all skin and bones from hunger, but your girlfriend doesn’t look like she’s lost any weight. Are you sure she’s eating the same food as us?”

Clearly, the crowd wasn’t satisfied with his answer and the murmurs continued.

Qin Mengchun quickly stepped forward, “Everyone, please calm down. We’ve been eating the same as you. I’m healthy, so a few missed meals don’t make a difference…”

“If anyone has more questions, I’m happy to answer,” Li Chengbin said, wisely choosing to appease the crowd.

People exchanged glances until a bold young man shouted, “Can you promise we’ll have meat once a week?”

“Of course!” Li Chengbin pledged solemnly.

With his promise, the crowd dispersed, leaving only the rescue team members behind.

“Where’s Lin Xing?” Li Chengbin growled through clenched teeth.

“N-not sure… he disappeared as soon as the commotion started…”

Li Chengbin punched the wall in frustration. “Next time anyone stirs up trouble, make an example of them! Teach them a lesson!”

“Yes, sir!”

“Yes, sir!”

“Don’t be angry, Chengbin darling. Let’s have lamb tonight. After all, soon we’ll have to share it with everyone—might as well enjoy it while we can.” Qin Mengchun coaxed him sweetly, holding his hand.

Li Chengbin considered, then agreed, taking the key and heading toward the inner room with her.

But when they opened the freezer and saw it looked like it had been ransacked by a thief, their eyes widened in disbelief.

Li Chengbin’s mind involuntarily flashed to the window in his office—which he remembered had been open and then closed. Suddenly, everything became clear.