76: Until both of them were exhausted

Qin Lin instantly understood.

Last night he had indeed... been... too wild.

Alcohol, plus desire, plus the extreme temptation of Han Qing's mature body, had made him completely lose restraint.

Again and again, until both were exhausted.

Now the aftereffects had arrived.

Except he himself had no aftereffects.

"Um..."

Qin Lin cleared his throat.

"Do you want to go to the Medical Room to have a look? There's painkillers..."

"No need."

Han Qing said stiffly, sitting back up, but her movements were clearly more cautious.

She glared at Qin Lin again, this time her gaze even fiercer.

Qin Lin rubbed his nose and wisely shut his mouth.

The awkward atmosphere returned.

Qin Lin felt as if sitting on pins and needles.

He pulled up the System interface, pretending to study new features, but couldn't take in a single word.

He could feel Han Qing's gaze occasionally falling on him.

That look, filled with anger and resentment, made him extremely uncomfortable.

He recalled the details of last night.

In the darkness, Han Qing's body was soft and scorching hot, her responses so passionate they surprised him.

Those suppressed moans, those fingers tightly clutching his back... Stop!

Qin Lin forced himself to stop reminiscing.

If this continued, trouble would arise.

He stood up: "I'll go to the driver's cabin to check the route."

After speaking, he practically fled the living room.

Han Qing watched his flustered back, the corner of her mouth twitching slightly, but she quickly pursed her lips tight again.

She leaned back on the sofa and closed her eyes.

Her body still ached, especially her inner thighs and *that place*.

Every movement was torture, but even more torturous was the turmoil in her heart.

Was she angry at Qin Lin?

Yes.

Angry that he deliberately took her to his bedroom last night.

Angry that he took advantage of her while she was drunk.

Angry that he was so reckless last night.

And angry that he pretended to be asleep this morning to avoid her, and now hid in the driver's cabin, not daring to face her.

But what made her even angrier was herself.

Angry that she didn't firmly push him away last night.

Angry that her body responded so honestly.

Angry that when she woke up this morning, she actually felt a trace of lingering attachment.

And Yuran and Wanwan... did they know?

If they found out, how would they view her?

Would they think she was a shameless older woman?

Who seduced their man?

A wave of guilt surged in Han Qing's heart.

She was a doctor, a mother, an elder.

She should have been more rational, more restrained, more aware of boundaries.

Yet she had messed things up like this.

"Mom."

Han Yurou's voice came from the direction of the ecological box.

Han Qing quickly adjusted her expression, revealing a smile.

"What is it?"

"The strawberries have bloomed!"

Han Yurou said excitedly.

"Tiny white flowers, so cute! Soon we'll have strawberries!"

"That's wonderful," Han Qing said. "You must take good care of them."

"Mhm!"

Han Yurou nodded vigorously.

"When the strawberries are ripe, the first one is for Mom, the second for Brother Lin, the third for Sister Yuran and Sister Wanwan..."

She counted on her fingers, naive and adorable.

Han Qing looked at her, her heart softening.

At least Yu Rou was happy.

In this apocalypse, to have such a safe place to stay.

To have sufficient food, to have companions, was already immense luck.

As for the rest... let nature take its course... In the driver's cabin, Qin Lin sat in the driver's seat and let out a long sigh of relief.

Finally escaped that awkward scene.

Now that the RV had reached Lv4, with the weapon System and active defense, the safety factor had greatly increased.

Moreover, the climate identification function could provide early warnings of danger.

Although the Space Jump had a long cooldown, it could save lives at critical moments.

He set the route, letting the RV drive autonomously towards the target point.

Then he pulled up the newly unlocked features and began studying them one by one.

The weapon operations room needed to be checked out.

Qin Lin got up and climbed up via the ladder in the corner of the living room.

Above was a small space, about five square meters, with a seat and a control console.

In front was a curved reinforced glass window, offering a wide field of view.

The control console had multiple screens displaying 360-degree surveillance footage around the RV.

Most prominent were two control sticks, with firing buttons beside them.

The screen displayed the weapon status:

"Electromagnetic Pulse Gun ×2, Standby, Energy Sufficient."

Qin Lin tried gripping the control sticks.

The screen immediately switched to an aiming perspective, crosshairs moving with the sticks.

He aimed at a rock in the distant snowfield and pressed the firing button.

No sound, no recoil.

But the screen showed the rock being struck by a blue beam, its surface instantly charred black.

"Shot completed. Energy consumption 50 points. Remaining energy ∞"

Qin Lin's eyes lit up.

Good stuff!

Although there was no explosive effect, the electromagnetic pulse's power was considerable.

Its lethality was also strong.

And infinite energy meant unlimited ammunition.

He set the parameters for the active defense System:

Automatically identify threats within 200 meters.

Warning shots at hostile targets.

Direct elimination of targets directly attacking the RV.

With this, he could sleep more peacefully at night.

Next, he studied the climate identification function.

The System displayed the current region:

"Polar Blizzard Zone (Extreme Cold Variant)"

"Average Temperature: -47.2°C"

"Wind Speed: 24 km/h"

"Visibility: <50 m"

"Disaster Level: Intermediate"

"Survival Advice: Maintain body temperature, avoid prolonged exposure, beware of frostbite risk."

"The temperature has dropped again."

Below was a submenu: "Crystal Stone Detection."

Qin Lin opened it; a radar map appeared on the screen.

Centered on the RV, it displayed energy fluctuations in the surrounding area.

There was a red light point.

Marked: "Unidentified Energy Source, Distance 2.8 km."

There were also several faint green light points, distributed further away.

Marked: "eternal frozen marrow fragment, Distance >10 km."

Indeed, this area still had crystal stone fragments, albeit only Elementary ones.

Qin Lin noted the coordinates, planning to collect them when the opportunity arose.

Finally, he checked the Space Jump function.

Status displayed: "Cooling down, Remaining time: 6 days 23 hours 47 minutes"

"The first use wasn't even free, and there's a cooldown. How stingy."

A week-long cooldown was indeed long, but as a life-saving trump card, it was sufficient.

After studying the new features, Qin Lin returned to the driver's seat, looking at the vast white snowfield ahead.

The RV drove smoothly, the active defense System already activated, the weapon System on standby, everything was safe.

But his mind wasn't outside; it was inside the vehicle.

The situation with Han Qing had to be resolved.

They couldn't continue being awkward like this.

They were a team, living together long-term, seeing each other constantly.

If the awkwardness persisted, it would affect the entire team's atmosphere.

And... Qin Lin had to admit, he was very attracted to Han Qing.

Not just the afterglow of a one-night stand, but genuine attraction.

But she was indeed seventeen years older than him.

She was Han Yurou's mother, the team's doctor and elder.

And there were Yuran and Wanwan... Qin Lin rubbed his temples.

But fortunately, for him, there was no romance in the apocalypse.

Otherwise, he would have to face even more, even more troublesome things.

He decided to find an opportunity to talk with Han Qing.

No matter what, they needed to clear the air.

But how to talk?

Qin Lin hadn't figured it out yet...