Apocalypse: I'm the Landlady of the Refuge

Zhou Kai had not expected Ji Wanwan to take his words to heart for so long. His eyelashes trembled, and a strange emotion stirred within him.

The feeling was unfamiliar, but he did not resist it.

It was also at this moment that he distinctly felt his heartbeat quicken.

He was moved—

If he had always been unclear about his feelings for Ji Wanwan, vaguely assuming that he saw her as a sister, then at this moment, his heartbeats materialized his emotions, granting him a clear recognition.

With a sudden enlightenment in his heart, Zhou Kai’s gaze towards Ji Wanwan instantly softened.

What he wanted to do required no explanation to anyone, even if Ji Wanwan was the leader.

But in this moment, he wanted to explain to Ji Wanwan, to share as a friend, "Yes, the person I want to meet is in Jiang City. I owe him a promise, a promise that I’ve owed for ten years. Before the apocalypse erupted, I promised that after returning from Liancheng, I would fulfill my word. But after the apocalypse, I never returned. I don’t want to break my promise to him, so this is something I must do, even if it costs me my life."

He did not go into detail about the matter, and Ji Wanwan did not mind, for the past was irretrievable, and she only cared about Zhou Kai’s future.

She looked at Zhou Kai earnestly, "No matter what you want to do, I have just one request, and that is for you to come back alive." 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Her tone was resolute, brooking no argument, "Don’t talk about ifs or buts. If you can’t do it, I’ll kick you out of the squad and leave you to fend for yourself, and I won’t care about you anymore!"

Zhou Kai laughed, unable to resist teasing, "If I can’t do it, you won’t have the chance to kick me out."

"Hiss..." Ji Wanwan lifted her chopsticks, pretending to knock them on Zhou Kai’s head, "No sass allowed!"

"Hahaha..." Initially, Zhou Kai was feeling heavyhearted, troubled by the things he might have to face, but Ji Wanwan’s antics improved his mood considerably.

The apocalypse had been in effect for so long, and whatever was destined to happen would still happen. Even if he thought too much at this moment, it was useless. It’s better to go with the flow, do what needs to be done, and not overthink.

He smiled, "Alright, I promise you, I’ll come back alive."

Ji Wanwan’s face also broke into a smile, "That’s more like it!"

Xu Siming, on the side, coughed bitterly, "Cough, cough, cough, come on, let’s eat, enough with the sentimentalism! The meat is getting overcooked!"

Zhou Kai gave Xu Siming a disdainful look.

Ji Wanwan couldn’t help but grin, serving Zhou Kai a slice of tripe, "The senior is right, eat up! In this world, nothing is as important as eating!"

Xu Siming eagerly watched the tripe in Zhou Kai’s bowl, tearfully serving himself a slice.

Zhou Kai smiled contentedly, picked up a slice of tripe and put it in his mouth, then almost spat out a rap from being scalded.

"Pfft...hahaha..." Ji Wanwan and Xu Siming laughed loudly. Zhou Kai’s face turned red, and he couldn’t help but join in the laughter.

After enough laughter, Ji Wanwan looked at Zhou Kai, "Brother Kai, if you need help, just say the word, we’ve got plenty of time."

Zhou Kai shook his head and declined Ji Wanwan’s offer, "No need. It’s not a big deal. The base still needs you, so don’t waste any extra time on me."

"Alright then." Ji Wanwan knew that Zhou Kai had his own considerations, so she did not insist further.

After eating their fill, the three of them returned to their rooms to rest.

Lying in bed, Ji Wanwan began to tally the resources they had acquired that day.

Having been in Jiang City for two days, she had scavenged three large supermarkets, several smaller ones, and two large malls, acquiring a considerable amount of valuable supplies.

This time, the System didn’t give any extra rewards, which inevitably made Ji Wanwan feel a bit regretful.

However, it didn’t matter to her, as her goal was to obtain supplies for Equivalence Healing. As for extra rewards, having them was just icing on the cake, and their absence wouldn’t affect the main event, so they weren’t important.

After a good night’s sleep, she woke up to find that Zhou Kai was no longer in the suite, and his ever-present backpack had vanished with him.

It seemed that from the moment she had agreed to bring Zhou Kai to Jiang City, he had been planning to fulfill his promise; otherwise, there was no need for him to carry such a big backpack with a teammate who had Space superpower by his side.

Ji Wanwan turned up the corner of her mouth and silently wished in her heart, "All the best," then took out two pieces of bread from the System Space for breakfast.

After eating and drinking her fill, Ji Wanwan and Xu Siming continued their exploration tasks for the day.

With Zhou Kai gone, Xu Siming was slightly excited; he finally had the chance to be alone with Xiao Wan and foster their relationship.

The two arrived at a large supermarket, where Xu Siming casually raised his hand, and a large-scale Ice Seal accompanied by Ice Blades eradicated all the zombies within the supermarket.

Xu Siming kicked aside a zombie that was blocking his path, opened a bottle of water, and offered it to Ji Wanwan, "Tired? Want to take a break before we continue?"

Ji Wanwan, who hadn’t lifted a finger the whole way and had watched Xu Siming hopping around, was at a loss for words.

She silently accepted the water, "Senior, do you have something on your mind?"

Xu Siming was puzzled, "Ah? No, not at all!"

Ji Wanwan narrowed her eyes, her face expressing disbelief, "No? But you’re acting so out of character!"

"Ah?" Xu Siming was even more bewildered, "Am I? Where am I acting strange?"

Ji Wanwan pretended to stroke her chin thoughtfully, "Senior, it seems like you’ve got that hyperactivity disorder."

Xu Siming, who was in the midst of opening snacks to give to Ji Wanwan, paused his fingers and forced a laugh out of irritation, "Listen to me, thank you..."

As they were busy hoarding supplies from the supermarket, Ji Wanwan and Xu Siming encountered another team also collecting supplies.

The opposing team’s leader was a Fire Element Superpower User with not too high of a level, and among the remaining five, there was one Wood Element Superpower User with a faint overflow of energy, while the other four were ordinary people who had not yet awakened any superpowers.

Upon encountering each other, both parties were taken aback and stood their ground warily, silently sizing up the opposition, with no one making the first move.

Ji Wanwan could sense the strength of the others and thus wasn’t worried about being at a disadvantage.

The six from the opposing side, four men and two women, each carried a makeshift weapon: baseball bats, iron rods, axes, shovels, kitchen knives. The only one with a firearm was the team’s leader, the Fire Element Superpower User.

They appeared well-trained and disciplined, not like survivors out in the wild, but more like a small squad on a mission.

After a moment of contemplation, Ji Wanwan took the initiative to speak, "Is there a refuge in Jiang City?"

The six looked at each other in surprise, and the Fire Element Superpower User, turning to Ji Wanwan, answered beside the point, "You’re not from Jiang City?"

Ji Wanwan twirled a fingertip idly and told the truth, "No."

The Fire Element Superpower User had an expected look, "That would explain it..."