Zihao, don't ask anymore.

“Ah~”

It was Deng Yuxin's somewhat erratic reply: "I'm... I'm here... Zihao..."

Zhang Zihao was stunned.

Why did that voice sound a little strange?

Like she had just been crying, or perhaps panting heavily after running for a long time?

Zhang Zihao was confused: "No water, no electricity, pitch black—what are you doing in the bathroom?"

Inside, there was another rustling sound, mixed with the faint friction of cloth.

Only then did Deng Yuxin's voice ring out again, more intermittent than before: "I... I needed... to use the toilet... I... I couldn't hold it..."

Hearing this explanation, Zhang Zihao finally sighed in relief: "Ah, right, at least there's a door here. But what's wrong with your voice? Are you feeling unwell?"

"No... I'm not unwell..."

Deng Yuxin quickly denied it, yet her voice carried a soft, weak sense of helplessness: "It's just... I'm a little tired... It's so dark and long in here, Zihao, please stop asking... I... I'll be fine soon..."

The more vague and intermittent her speech was, the more uneasy Zhang Zihao felt.

He irritably ran his hands through his hair, his gaze involuntarily sweeping across the empty room again.

And the messy large bed.

He suddenly asked, "Where is Chen Yu? Why isn't he here either?"

"I... I... don't know..."

Deng Yuxin's voice suddenly rose for a moment: "When I... when I came up... I didn't... didn't see him... Maybe... ah... maybe he went to the next room?"

"Yuxin,"

"While he's not here, I need to tell you about the plan I mentioned before..."

Zhang Zihao's face darkened, but he hadn't finished speaking.

He only heard Deng Yuxin say: "Ah! Don't... don't say it yet!"

Zhang Zihao frowned: "Yuxin! What is wrong with you? I told you before, I want to kill Chen Yu. That guy is an unstable factor!"

"No... you can't..."

Deng Yuxin mumbled her words.

Zhang Zihao twisted the doorknob, but it was locked and wouldn't open: "What are you talking about? What can't I do?"

"I... I'm really fine..."

Deng Yuxin's voice trembled: "It's just... my stomach hurts a bit... maybe I caught a cold... Zihao, don't come in... I... I'll be out right away!!!!"

Her words, coupled with that pitiful tone.

Made Zhang Zihao feel protective affection: "Yuxin, I know you're scared, and you think foreseeing the future is amazing, but sometimes, I'm a good judge of character. That guy..."

"Click!"

The doorknob turned!

Following that—

The glass door was slowly pushed open a crack, and Deng Yuxin slid out sideways.

As soon as she emerged, she immediately felt her boyfriend's gaze fixed on her.

Zhang Zihao's pupils violently contracted.

The Deng Yuxin before him was completely different from the sweet girlfriend he remembered.

Her hair was messy, several strands clinging to her sweat-damp temples, and one unruly lock was sticking up.

Her cheeks were flushed, the redness spreading from her earlobes down to her neck, and he could even see traces of unshed tears.

Moreover, her eyes were evasive; she dared not meet his gaze.

Her clothes... were even more disheveled.

The bow tie at the collar of her JK uniform top was already loose and askew.

The top two buttons of her shirt seemed to have been fastened incorrectly, causing the collar to gape awkwardly, exposing a small patch of rapidly rising and falling skin over her collarbone.

Her plaid pleated skirt was heavily wrinkled, and the pleats on one side were crushed flat, exposing even more of her thigh—which was already visible—a blindingly pale expanse.

“?”

Zhang Zihao's face darkened, but before he could say anything.

A scream came from downstairs.

"Help!!! Someone, quickly!!!"

It was Wang Mengmeng's voice!

And it was filled with agitation!

As if she had encountered extreme danger!

Zhang Zihao was startled. Hadn't she just switched shifts with him? What could possibly be happening?!

"Bang!"

A muffled explosion came from downstairs!

"Crash! Clatter!"

The sound of a large area of glass shattering!

The entire building trembled slightly with the massive sound, and dust sifted down from the ceiling!

Violent forced entry!!!

The door to the opposite room was yanked open!

Zhang Wanyue was the first to rush out and run downstairs!

Behind her, Li Mengyao followed, pointing downstairs: "What... what's happening? Why are there so many people! And they smashed the door open?"

Deng Yuxin instinctively grabbed Zhang Zihao's arm beside her.

Zhang Zihao was also a bit stunned, and urgently said: "Let's go down and see. This group doesn't look friendly!"

He pulled Deng Yuxin toward the staircase, no longer bothering to question her previous strangeness.

The instinct for survival overruled all suspicion.

However, before rushing down the stairs, Zhang Zihao subconsciously glanced toward the pitch-black depths of the bathroom.

Nothing seemed different there.

Chen Yu, who was actually leaning against the wall deep inside the bathroom, shook his head: "Tsk, what perfect timing..."

If these people hadn't interfered.

His plan would already have been in its final stages.

But it didn't matter.

In any case, using Zhang Zihao as leverage, he had already secured Deng Yuxin.

Her reliance on him had already been steadily increasing.

This level of dependence was something even a boyfriend of many years might not achieve... [red luan Identified: Deng Yuxin]

[red luan Number: 1]

[Connection Nature: Subconscious Safety Entrustment, physiological connection]

[Connection Depth: Lv.10]

[Current Effect Multiplier: 100x]

[red luan Talent: A-rank "Little Lobster Summoning" (0.5kg of live crayfish can be summoned daily)]

[Talent Return: 50kg of live crayfish are obtained per summon]

Yes, in addition to Subconscious Safety Entrustment, physiological connection was added.

This brought the connection depth to Lv.10 and the multiplier to 100x.

As for the crayfish, it's 50kg daily—in other words, enough to feed a small army... The first-floor supermarket was already a mess.

The glass door they had blocked with shelves was now scattered in pieces across the floor.

In the broken doorway, six shadowy figures stood amidst the settling dust!

Most of them were tall and muscular, led by a bald man who was 1.9 meters tall... carrying a fire safety hammer in his hand.

Behind him stood five equally burly men, all in their twenties or thirties.

The bald man leading them scanned the supermarket interior and spoke flatly: "We are fitness coaches from the Bailong Fitness Club. My name is Gao Jinsong."

Opposite them stood the students from the Performance Class.

Zhang Wanyue, Li Mengyao, Wang Mengmeng, Zhang Zihao, and Deng Yuxin.

"Bailong Fitness Club?"

Wang Mengmeng suddenly remembered something and quickly spoke: "Oh, oh, are you from Jiangnan City? We're from the Haicheng Film Academy, so we're quite close! I have friends who bought membership cards there!"

She was trying to curry favor.

But Gao Jinsong interrupted immediately, chuckling: "Well, look at our luck, brothers! Turns out they're little sisters from the Film Academy. No wonder they're all so pretty!"

Behind him, the other men's eyes also lit up.

It had to be said.

Zhang Wanyue, Deng Yuxin, Li Mengyao, and Wang Mengmeng were all standard beauties.

On the street, they were the kind of girls who commanded a head-turning rate of over 70%.

However, now that order had collapsed, such looks and figures had become a bad thing in a certain sense.

Gao Jinsong hefted the fire safety hammer in his hand: "So? Little sisters, are you going to come over and let us brothers protect you, or should we do this ourselves?"