224: Chapter 224 A Quiet Day

"Oof..."

Li Ming struggled to climb down from the hammock; he really wasn't used to it.

Twisting his body and stretching, Li Ming was about to let out a wolfish howl of satisfaction, but remembering he wasn't at home, he suppressed the urge.

What should I do this morning?

Breakfast. Right, breakfast.

He raised his hand to check the time; it was nine in the morning.

But Kate hadn't gotten up yet; she seemed fast asleep, curled up on the sofa.

Like a kitten.

Shaking his head, Li Ming carefully recalled his supplies.

Breakfast could be simple: a few fried eggs, some slices of bread, and a bit of milk.

Tsk, it was truly a luxury in this environment, but it didn't matter how he used his own supplies.

He wasn't the kind of person with a heart full of universal love; if he wanted to, he could turn a blind eye to the disasters of the outside world.

What was this called? The weakness of the petty bourgeoisie.

Even though Li Ming came from a working-class family.

Whatever, it didn't matter. Li Ming shook his head, took out some cooking oil, and got to work.

As the eggshells cracked and Li Ming poured the eggs into the pan of hot oil, it made a sizzling sound.

"Ugh, so noisy..."

Kate rolled over on the sofa and covered her head with a cushion, looking exactly like how she used to when being woken up for school.

Not really wanting to mock her, Li Ming quickly finished making breakfast, heated the milk in a spare pot, and put everything into thermal lunch boxes.

Of course, Kate had definitely been woken up; she walked into the bathroom to wash up with a grumpy face.

Still having a morning temper at her age, sigh...

Li Ming shook his head again, packed two thermal boxes with breakfast, carefully placed them flat in his bag, put on his gear, and headed out.

——————

"Good morning, Tom."

"What are you doing here?"

Tom crossed his arms, looking at someone who shouldn't have been in the camp.

"My hideout got blown up," Li Ming smiled. "So now I have a grudge against those bastards outside. Of course, our deals can continue."

"So, is there anything you want to... trade lately?"

Tom's eyes lit up as he asked.

"Do you know where Miss Elsa is?"

"Why are you asking that?"

"To deliver breakfast."

"...Huh?" Tom was stunned for a moment. "What the hell?"

"Literally."

Tom scratched his head. "Actually, we don't know either, but generally, Big Sister Elsa is in the camp every afternoon."

"The afternoon? I see."

Like a magic trick, Li Ming produced a small box and tossed it to him.

He caught it quickly; inside the box were exactly forty Wangzhongwang sausages.

"This..."

"Staying alive is more important than anything else."

Li Ming bypassed him and walked toward the Logistics Department. Once he was sure no one was watching, he took a crate out of his storage space.

He then carried the crate into the Logistics Department and placed it right on the desk of the Logistics Chief.

"You need these things more than I do."

Li Ming said, then turned to leave.

The Logistics Chief looked at the crate and then at him, unsure for a moment whether to chase after him or accept the crate.

By then, he had already walked away, so the chief had no choice but to set the crate aside—though he did curiously open it to take a look.

Antibiotics, penicillin, vitamins, morphine, alcohol, and clean surgical tools...

He closed the crate, his heart nearly leaping out of his chest.

He had to notify Command immediately; some of the critically injured who were barely hanging on could now be treated!

Li Ming didn't care how they used the supplies; what he wanted more was to find Maria—she would definitely know where Elsa was.

"Knock, knock, knock."

"Who is it? Li?"

"Yeah, it's me."

Maria opened the door. "Good morning! Did something happen?"

"I made breakfast," Li Ming said. "...Though it's almost noon."

He put his backpack on the ground, unzipped it, and somewhat forcefully thrust the two thermal boxes at her.

"Li, you..."

Was this necessary?

"Winning people over is also a necessary step... Just think of it that way."

Maria's expression became complicated. Between laughter and tears, she placed the lunch boxes on the shoe rack to the side. "You really are... a bit strange."

"I've always been like this."

"Have you noticed? You've already changed without even realizing it."

"...Have I?"

"You'll have to discover that for yourself, Li. Thanks for the... uh, breakfast."

"It works as lunch too?" Li Ming shrugged. "Anyway, I won't have time to make lunch."

"Alright, that works too." Maria gave a thumbs up. "Also... about yesterday, thanks. It's rare to have a normal conversation with Elsa."

"It was nothing," Li Ming replied. "But I am curious, what happened between you two?"

Her smile turned into a bitter one. "...Well, just some small conflicts, nothing major."

"Then I won't pry," Li Ming shook his head. "I'm going to check the water purifier again and see if I can salvage the key components."

With that, Li Ming turned and left.

Of course, he couldn't just ignore it; Zheng-chan had been nagging him so much his ears were practically calloused.

All that talk about flirting techniques and tactics in the field of love made Li Ming suspect her intelligence had been corrupted by someone, even though she repeatedly insisted it was for the greater good.

To hell with that. Li Ming shook his head, ignoring Logic's protests.

Today's goal wasn't just the Water Tower.

So he passed by his old hideout and headed further toward the outskirts.

——————

"Elsa, it's me."

"What are you doing here?"

"Someone asked me to bring you some food."

"Bring food... You?"

"Oh, don't be so distant!" Maria forced her way inside, glad to finally have another reason to talk. "I haven't eaten yet either. He made a portion for each of us."

"Tsk, what a pain..."

She rubbed her temples. "Only this once."

"Next time for sure, hehe~"

Looking at Maria, who still wore that somewhat cynical smile, Elsa felt her temples throbbing, but she sat down anyway.

"You're still the same, just jumping into things. It was the same with Li Ming this time; you weren't afraid he'd actually shoot, you just approached him directly. What if he had even a bit of hostility?"

"Intuition. Yeah, intuition."

"Intuition..." Elsa ground her teeth. "Intuition brought him into our home?"

"Oh, come on, he's helped us a lot. What's wrong with building some goodwill?" Maria opened the lunch box; the fried eggs inside were still warm. "Besides, you're the one who brought him back."

"Does... does one have anything to do with the other?"

"What do you think? If you hadn't saved him, none of this would be happening, haha..."

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