57: Chapter 57 The old world's rules of secrecy are meaningless.

Lin Yuan moved his fingers away from the seam of his trousers.

Keeping the future Sun God as a pawn was more valuable than crushing an ant right now.

After all, millions of zombies would also need janitors.

In the center of the crowd, Tang Qiqi stepped forward.

Watching this crazy woman ruin a perfectly good event just to attract attention.

She couldn't stand it any longer.

"Is this dress of yours a knockoff?"

Tang Qiqi's voice was crisp and highly penetrating.

"The lace stitching is all crooked, and the hoop skirt uses low-quality wire. And your face—you've injected so much hyaluronic acid that you can't even make an expression; smiling looks uglier than crying."

A few bursts of laughter erupted from the surrounding crowd.

The "Princess"'s face instantly turned purple with rage.

"Tang Qiqi, what do you mean by that!"

She pointed at Tang Qiqi, her voice sharp: "You kept woman, what right do you have to talk about me!"

Slap! Slap!

Tang Qiqi rushed forward and backhanded her with two extremely loud slaps.

She was never a person with a good temper to begin with.

The "Princess" was hit and spun half a circle on the spot, her cheeks quickly swelling, and even the implant in her chin became slightly crooked.

Tang Qiqi stepped closer, tilted her face slightly upward, her eyes full of provocation: "Not only did I talk about you, I also hit you. What can you do about it?"

Two black-clad bodyguards took a step forward, but the crowd watching at the exhibition area instantly surged up.

Mobile phones and selfie sticks packed the aisle so tightly that not even water could pass through.

The bodyguards pushed away two otaku filming videos from behind the human wall, but they were already half a beat too late.

A flash of resentment crossed the "Princess"'s eyes.

She suddenly reached into her pocket, pulled out a utility knife, and slashed directly at Tang Qiqi's face.

"Go to hell!"

The distance was too close.

The two black-clad bodyguards were still three steps away.

Qin Yumo was even further out of reach.

Just as Tang Qiqi's little face was about to be slashed.

A blue figure suddenly surged forward.

Chu Feng grabbed the "Princess"'s collar, used the momentum to pull, and slammed her heavily to the ground.

The blade of the utility knife deviated from its path, slicing a long, bloody gash across the back of Chu Feng's hand.

Fresh blood dripped onto the floor.

At this moment, Lin Yuan also stepped out of the crowd.

The two black-clad bodyguards immediately lowered their heads and retreated to the sides.

"Go find Fat Dragon and accept your punishment yourself," Lin Yuan said in a flat tone.

The two bodyguards' faces drained of color.

Seeing Lin Yuan, Tang Qiqi instantly put away her previous arrogance, hid behind Qin Yumo like a frightened rabbit, and peeked out with half her head.

Lin Yuan walked up to Chu Feng.

Ignoring the "Princess" wailing on the ground and the discussions around them.

He pulled a stack of cash from his windbreaker pocket and handed it to Chu Feng.

"Medical expenses."

Chu Feng covered his bleeding hand and didn't even look at the money.

"I stepped in to help, not for the money."

After saying this, he turned and walked toward the exit.

The blood on the back of his hand trickled down to his fingertips, dripping onto the floor tiles one by one.

Lin Yuan did not speak again.

He turned his head and looked at Su Xiaonuan beside him.

"Find out his background and report all the information to me."

...

One hour later, Cloud Top Palace, Villa No. 12.

As soon as they entered, Qin Yumo grabbed Tang Qiqi by the back of her collar and dragged her into the first-floor guest room like a sack.

Soon, crisp slapping sounds and Tang Qiqi's miserable pleas for mercy could be heard from inside.

Su Muxue held the new mobile phone that Su Xiaonuan had given her the day before yesterday, her brows tightly knitted.

"Okay, I'll return to the hospital immediately."

She hung up the phone and picked up the cashmere coat on the sofa.

The hospital's emergency department was already paralyzed; a large number of medical staff had taken leave due to unexplained fevers, while the number of fever patients was increasing exponentially.

A slender hand suddenly reached over.

Lin Yuan snatched the phone directly from her hand.

He pressed and held the power button with his thumb.

The screen went black.

Su Muxue's eyes turned cold.

Her right hand hooked toward Lin Yuan's wrist, attempting a joint lock, while her left leg simultaneously raised its knee to strike Lin Yuan's abdomen.

Lin Yuan didn't even dodge.

He pressed back with one hand.

His terrifying constitution of 36 points erupted with absolute strength.

Bang.

Su Muxue was pinned firmly onto the leather sofa.

Lin Yuan pressed her shoulders down with one hand and pinned her legs with his knee, completely immobilizing her.

"What are you doing!"

Su Muxue's eyes were red, and she struggled desperately.

"There are many patients in the hospital waiting for me to save them! Let me go!"

"Before you become stronger, you can't save anyone," Lin Yuan said, looking down at her.

"What can you do if you rush back now? Use a stethoscope to plug the mouth that's biting your neck?"

Su Muxue's pupils shrank sharply.

"You saved me, I acknowledge that."

Su Muxue gritted her teeth, "But you have no right to decide for me!"

"How is this different from the Su Family locking me in the ancestral hall?! It's all the same—whatever you think is right, is right!"

She turned her head abruptly and looked at Su Xiaonuan, who was standing to the side: "Xiaonuan! You're just going to watch him do this? Those people outside will die!"

"Auntie, Mr. Lin is saving you," Su Xiaonuan said in a calm voice.

Su Muxue was stunned.

Lin Motong walked over silently and looked at her.

"Aunt Su," Lin Motong's voice was very flat, "The one biting people at school bit through their seatmate's carotid artery with their teeth. The blood sprayed three meters away."

"The place you want to go is more dangerous than that classroom."

Su Muxue stiffened all over.

She wasn't stupid.

Every word this girl said was likely instructed by Lin Yuan.

But there was no trace of acting in those eyes—children who have experienced violence have a keener sense of danger than anyone else.

The pride of a healer and the helplessness of reality were tearing at her nerves frantically.

She opened her mouth, but ultimately didn't say anything.

[Ding! Target Su Muxue, favorability -5%, current favorability: 8%.]

Lin Yuan released her.

Su Muxue turned and walked into the guest room.

The door was slammed shut.

Lin Yuan glanced at the closed door.

The Ice Empress—even if she dies, she must die by his side.

He straightened his cuffs and picked up the walkie-talkie on the coffee table.

...

The acid rain poured down like a deluge.

On the main roads of Jiangcheng, one-third of the streetlights had already gone out.

The supermarket's rolling shutters were tightly closed, and the queue at the pharmacy entrance snaked two blocks away.

But the back kitchen was still lit.

Lin Yuan pushed open the back door of the time-honored "Fumanlou" restaurant at the South Gate, and a rich aroma of charcoal-grilled meat rushed to his face.

Three temporarily hired chefs were sweating profusely; the cutting boards were filled with freshly cooked braised pork knuckles and pan-fried buns, with steam rising to the ceiling.

The proprietress laughed while packing: "Are you planning to treat the entire Jiangcheng to a banquet?"

Lin Yuan didn't respond.

He stood in the back alley piled with insulated boxes, watching Tank pull the truck's cargo door shut.

The moment the door closed, hundreds of insulated boxes in the cargo hold vanished into thin air, neatly stacked in a corner of the [Dimensional Space].

Roasted whole lamb, Beef Wellington, French foie gras, freshly fried pan-fried buns.

Every portion of food was sealed in a space where time stood still, maintaining the temperature and aroma of the moment it came out of the pot.

Ten years into the apocalypse, he would still be able to open the insulated box and eat this bite of pan-fried bun with its charred aroma from tonight.

Lin Yuan opened the car door and sat in the passenger seat: "Let's go, next place."

They stayed busy until the evening of the next day.

Only then did Lin Yuan return to Cloud Top Palace.

He pressed the communicator, and his voice spread throughout the entire villa area.

"Everyone, relocate."

Two off-road vehicles started in the heavy rain.

Villa No. 12 was officially handed over.

Fat Dragon and a dozen trusted aides took over.

Zhao Ya stood behind Fat Dragon with a submissive expression.

At Villa 13, Lu Yan still led Tank, Shadow, and other armed squads to form a defensive perimeter.

As for the bald man's group, after receiving the news that Lin Yuan would pay the final installment next week, they left happily.

Lin Yuan, accompanied by Su Xiaonuan, Qin Yumo, Wang Ya, Su Muxue, and Lin Motong, stepped into the highest altitude "Tiangong No. 1".

The 30-centimeter-thick composite armored walls blocked out all the sounds of the wind and rain from the outside world.

Outside the bulletproof titanium alloy floor-to-ceiling windows was the pitch-black night.

The underground cold storage emitted a low, powerful hum.

The air filtration system and the independent geothermal power station had already entered a full-load state.

Although entertainment facilities like the cinema and heated swimming pool could not be completed due to the shortened construction period, the survival attributes of this fortress were already maxed out.

The first-floor lobby was extremely spacious.

There wasn't even a single chair.

Qin Yumo looked around and was just about to ask if they should go move a few stools.

Lin Yuan walked to the center of the lobby.

He raised his right hand and snapped his fingers.

Swish!

A six-meter-long leather sofa appeared out of thin air and landed steadily in the center of the living room.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

A huge mahogany dining table, a double-door smart refrigerator, a full set of the most advanced medical monitoring equipment, and a complete set of fitness equipment.

Qin Yumo's body reacted before her brain did—she abruptly turned sideways to block in front of Tang Qiqi.

Tang Qiqi poked her head out from behind Qin Yumo's shoulder, her mouth open in an O-shape, her pupils filled with equal parts fear and excitement:

"Ma-magic...?!"

Wang Ya's legs went weak, and she knelt directly on the floor, but in her eyes looking at Lin Yuan, there surged a kind of almost pathological relief.

Su Xiaonuan stood two steps behind Lin Yuan, hugging a tablet computer, the corners of her mouth curling up imperceptibly.

She was the only one who had seen it beforehand.

Su Muxue stood at the foot of the stairs, her mind a complete blank.

Just at this moment.

A message popped up on everyone's mobile phones.

[Emergency Announcement]

[Due to an unknown mutation of the influenza virus, the entire Jiangcheng area is immediately entering a 'home quarantine' state.]

[From now on, it is strictly forbidden for anyone to go out for any reason.]

[The authorities will periodically distribute survival supplies. Please lock your doors and windows and cooperate with epidemic prevention.]