7: Chapter 7 Lucky Discovery

When he returned to the base, it was already getting dark.

Lin Waner was standing at the entrance waiting for him. Seeing the infantry vehicle drive in, she let out a sigh of relief and ran over.

"Why did it take so long?" she asked, a hint of complaint in her tone. "I thought something had happened to you."

Wang Jie jumped out of the vehicle and patted the dust off his body. "It's nothing, I just searched a few more places."

Lin Waner looked at him—he was covered in black blood, on his face, in his hair.

"What is this?"

"Zombie blood," Wang Jie said. "I got pounced on for a second, but I'm not hurt."

Lin Waner's expression changed. "You got pounced on?"

"It's fine, my troops saved me."

Lin Waner opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but in the end, she just sighed.

"Go wash up quickly," she said. "I saved some hot water for you."

Wang Jie was stunned for a moment.

Hot water?

In this apocalypse, hot water was a luxury.

"How did you get hot water?"

Lin Waner pointed to a makeshift device in the corner—a few iron buckets set over a fire, with wood of unknown origin burning underneath.

"A crude method," she said. "The buckets were salvaged from abandoned cars, and the fire is made of wood. The water is rainwater collected today. It'll have to do."

Wang Jie looked at her, suddenly not knowing what to say.

Lin Waner felt a bit embarrassed under his gaze and turned her face away. "Go wash up, the water will get cold soon."

Wang Jie nodded, walked over, and began to take off his clothes.

The moment the hot water poured over him, he almost cried out.

Not because it was hot, but because he hadn't taken a hot shower in so long.

In the half-month since the apocalypse began, he either hadn't washed at all or just rinsed off with cold water. Taking a comfortable hot shower like this was simply a luxury.

He stood there, letting the hot water pour from head to toe, washing away all that black, bloody filth.

After washing up, his whole body felt much more relaxed.

He changed into clean clothes—also prepared by Lin Waner, borrowed from who knows which survivor—and walked back.

Lin Waner was in the middle of taking inventory of the supplies they had brought back.

"Thirty-seven cases of water, sixty-eight cans, forty-three packs of instant noodles, fifteen packs of biscuits..." She counted while recording it in a notebook. "There's also quite a bit of medicine; fever reducers, antibiotics, painkillers, we have it all."

Wang Jie walked over and crouched down to help.

"We got lucky this time," he said. "Although that supermarket had already been scavenged, there were still quite a few things left behind."

Lin Waner nodded. "It's enough to last us a while. If we ration it, we can hold out for a month."

Wang Jie thought for a moment. "What about after a month?"

Lin Waner looked at him. "Can't you build things? Can you build food?"

Wang Jie paused for a moment and asked the system.

【Buildable: Basic Food Pack (Requires 100 funds, contains Compressed Biscuits × 10, Canned Food × 5, Energy Bars × 5)】

【Build Time: 10 seconds】

He could.

But it required money.

Wang Jie currently had 10,800 in funds left. Killing zombies could also earn money, so theoretically, he wasn't short on it. But he needed to save the money to produce troops, craft equipment, and upgrade buildings.

He was silent for a moment, then said, "I can build it. But it requires resources."

Lin Waner nodded and didn't ask any further.

The two of them sorted and organized the supplies together and moved them into the storage room.

By the time they finished, it was already past nine in the evening.

Lin Waner sat on an ammunition crate, rubbing her shoulders.

Wang Jie looked at her and suddenly noticed that she didn't look very well.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

Lin Waner shook her head. "I'm fine, just a little tired."

Wang Jie looked at her without speaking.

He knew that Lin Waner had been busy for the past few days. Treating survivors, distributing food, managing supplies, and even finding time to prepare hot water for him.

She was doing the work of three people all by herself.

"Lin Waner."

"Hm?"

"You should take a couple of days off."

Lin Waner was stunned for a moment. "Why?"

"You're too tired," Wang Jie said. "If you keep going like this, you'll collapse."

Lin Waner was silent for a few seconds.

Then she smiled. "Wang Jie, do you know what time it is now?"

Wang Jie didn't speak.

"It's the apocalypse," Lin Waner said. "Everyone has to work their hardest to survive. I'm no more delicate than anyone else."

Wang Jie looked at her, suddenly remembering the first time he met her.

Back then, she had just escaped from the hospital, her ankle swollen, covered in blood, and gaunt from hunger. But she stood in front of him, back straight, and said, "I am worth a meal."

This woman, from the very first day, had never considered herself someone to be protected.

She considered herself a comrade-in-arms fighting by his side.

Wang Jie suddenly felt that he was quite lucky.

"Alright," he said. "Then I won't try to persuade you anymore."

Lin Waner nodded and stood up. "I'm going to go check on that child who has a fever."

Wang Jie watched her walk away, then suddenly called out to her:

"Lin Waner."

Lin Waner turned back.

"Thank you."

Lin Waner was stunned for a moment, then smiled.

That smile, in the dim emergency lighting, was exceptionally beautiful.