Chapter Forty-Six: The Uncultured Ones

As soon as they returned to their old dormitory, Lin Xing hurried over to ask Qin Sheng about the plan.

“Sister Sheng, what should we do now?” For the past few days, all decisions had been made collectively among the three of them. With Qin Sheng—their backbone—back, Lin Xing couldn’t help but feel a wave of relief, naturally preferring to leave the decision-making in her hands.

Qin Sheng took a sip of water and glanced around at the companions who, like Jiang Miaomiao, had gone out in search of food with them that day. She spoke slowly, “Let’s rest a bit, then take the food to the other canteen.”

The thought of the canteen, with its scheming and duplicitous crowd, filled Lin Xing with dread. He would rather starve here than share the same space with those ungrateful people.

Qin Sheng, of course, noticed the reluctance on Lin Xing’s face, but she simply raised an eyebrow and said nothing.

With the national rescue team due to arrive soon, they only had a few days left at the school—no point in entangling themselves further with people they disliked or resented.

Ten minutes later, the group gathered their things, loaded up with food, and set out once again.

This time, they moved with even greater vigor, and at the forefront, unquestionably, was Qin Sheng.

Jiang Miaomiao, Lin Xing, and Chu Xingyu fell in line behind her. At last, their small team had regained its backbone and heart.

It took them less than ten minutes to reach the canteen. Qin Sheng’s leadership made the journey far safer than usual, and whenever a stray zombie appeared, it was swiftly felled by her Tang sword before the others even registered the creature’s roar.

Many in the group had fought alongside Qin Sheng against the zombies before the canteen explosion, and from that day on, they’d admired this young woman from the bottom of their hearts. Some had initially questioned why this newcomer should be their leader, but those doubts had long since faded.

“We’re here.” Qin Sheng slid her sword back into its sheath and strode into the canteen.

The others exchanged glances and obediently followed her.

“Open up, we’re back.” When they reached the storeroom door, Lin Xing reluctantly knocked, calling for someone inside to open up.

Just as Qin Sheng had experienced earlier, those inside seemed unwilling to open the door for anyone.

“What’s going on? Isn’t Wang Yu in there? They won’t even open the door for us now?” Lin Xing, already irritated, grew even more aggrieved at being kept outside.

One of Wang Yu’s friends, among the group, instantly bristled at Lin Xing’s words, pointing at him and shouting, “Don’t talk about my brother like that!”

Lin Xing just rolled his eyes, unwilling to argue.

“What should we do, Sister Sheng?” Chu Xingyu promptly looked to Qin Sheng. Lin Xing and the other man quieted, and everyone turned to await her decision.

“Break it down.”

Qin Sheng snorted coldly—if they didn’t want the door, she saw no reason to leave it standing for them.

Lin Xing’s spirits lifted at her words. He immediately kicked the door, which shook but held firm.

Now he was puzzled. He’d put real force into that kick. Was he getting weaker?

“You call that strength, Lin Xing?” someone joked from the back of the group.

A big man like Lin Xing couldn’t take such provocation. He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. “That didn’t count. Now I’ll show you what your brother Xing can really do.”

Jiang Miaomiao couldn’t help but snicker—Lin Xing always acted differently when Qin Sheng wasn’t around, but with her back, he reverted to his old, playful self.

This time, Lin Xing gave it his all, delivering a full-force kick. Yet the door didn’t budge.

“Ha! That’s your best?”

“I’m dying here!”

The laughter swelled, and Lin Xing’s face burned. Stubbornly, he retorted, “You think you can do better? Be my guest.”

Despite the teasing, everyone knew that if Lin Xing, an athlete, couldn’t get the door open, no one else here could.

After the laughter came a brief silence.

Jiang Miaomiao sidled up to Qin Sheng and whispered, “Maybe we should try together?”

Qin Sheng shook her head and stepped up to the door.

Lin Xing followed, glancing awkwardly at the door and then at Qin Sheng. “Be careful, madam—don’t hurt your foot…”

But before he could finish, two heavy thuds echoed as the door crashed to the ground, startling him. He swallowed nervously at the sight of the door, kicked open by Qin Sheng.

“Unbelievable!” Lin Xing exclaimed, his accent slipping in his shock as he stared at the perfectly unruffled Qin Sheng. He’d clearly worried for nothing.

Qin Sheng arched an eyebrow and smiled at him. “Speak properly.”

“Amazing!” Lin Xing gave her two thumbs up.

Qin Sheng smiled in satisfaction, crossed her arms, and strode into the storeroom, leaving several others still stunned by her display.

“Don’t be too surprised—just basic skills,” Lin Xing boasted to the others before quickly following after her.

“Wow, Qin Sheng is incredible.”

“No kidding.”

“Lin Xing looks like a clown…”

After a few more comments, the group hurried after them, thoughtfully propping the fallen door against the wall as they entered.

“Qin Sheng! Lin Xing! How did you both come back together?” Wang Yu’s eyes widened in disbelief when he saw them. His shock was plain, and he could barely get the words out.

Seeing that Wang Yu was so weak from hunger he could hardly speak, Lin Xing quickly fished out some food from his pocket and handed it over.

Wang Yu tore into the food ravenously, making Lin Xing feel a pang of sympathy. He handed him a cup of water. “You’ve been waiting a long time.”

Wang Yu didn’t stop eating. With his mouth full, he mumbled, “It’s fine, it’s fine—I can go hungry, as long as you’re all alright.”

Lin Xing clapped him on the shoulder, his respect for Wang Yu growing.

“You’re back—can I have my share of the food now?” As soon as Li Chengbin saw Jiang Miaomiao and the others return, he actually left his spot and hurried over.

Jiang Miaomiao glanced at Qin Sheng and explained the situation.

“We all agreed to this at the time, so you can’t blame me,” Li Chengbin said, his wrinkled face beaming with anticipation for the food.

Qin Sheng nodded, signaling Jiang Miaomiao to hand over Li Chengbin’s share.

Li Chengbin took his generous portion and disappeared in a flash.

“Sister Sheng, he was the only one who knew where the food was. We had no choice but to agree,” Chu Xingyu quickly explained, knowing Qin Sheng’s temperament.

Qin Sheng nodded. “It’s alright. We promised, so we deliver.”

“Okay.”

“Got it.”

Suddenly, Lin Xing remembered something and sat down beside Wang Yu, whispering, “Who reinforced the storeroom door?”

Wang Yu took a huge bite of sausage, his face contorting in bliss as he replied through a mouthful, “Me. Why?”

Lin Xing couldn’t control himself—he flicked Wang Yu on the forehead. “So it was you who locked us out!”

He snatched Wang Yu’s food for good measure.

Wang Yu looked at his empty hand, a little put out. “I was just so hungry this morning, I needed something to take my mind off it. The door looked loose, so I fixed it up.”

Lin Xing snorted. “And you reinforced it too, didn’t you?”

Wang Yu scratched his head awkwardly, then suddenly remembered. “And someone left a dirty footprint on the door. After I woke up from hunger, I went to fix it and nearly starved wiping off the print.”

Qin Sheng: “…”

Lin Xing: “…”

Clearly, Wang Yu had no idea Qin Sheng had been there that morning. He’d probably been half out of his mind with hunger at the time.

“So that’s what happened, haha,” Lin Xing forced a smile and returned the food to Wang Yu. “No harm done—you didn’t know.”

With food in his hands again, Wang Yu finally began to feel truly satisfied after so many days of hunger.

“Oh, did you run into more zombies on the way?” Only after eating his fill did Wang Yu remember to ask about their journey.

Lin Xing nodded, frowning. “We ran into zombies several times, but managed to avoid them.”

Wang Yu breathed a sigh of relief, glancing around at those who’d gone out with Lin Xing—they’d all made it back safely. “Thank goodness no one was lost this time.”

Lin Xing fell silent at those words and unconsciously glanced at Chu Xingyu, who had clearly heard Wang Yu as well.

No one in the team had been hurt, but they were, in fact, two people fewer.

One was Xia Tian; the other, the convenience store manager Li Wei.

Li Wei’s death was no loss, but Xia Tian… They’d lacked the strength to save him.

“Can’t you even eat without talking?” Lin Xing quickly stuffed a hunk of bread into Wang Yu’s mouth to shut him up.

Wang Yu mumbled a bit, then settled in to chew his bread.