Apocalypse: I Can See Health Bars

"Yay! We’re having hot pot!"

Chu Zhaozhao set the basket from the fridge on the floor, then excitedly turned and ran upstairs!

Her acting was clumsy, but Lin Fan could see that what she truly craved wasn’t just a meal. It was a sense of belonging in this post-apocalyptic world.

Originally, Lin Fan had planned to turn any extra meat he couldn’t freeze into jerky or cure it for long-term storage.

But now, looking at all this food, he suddenly felt a wave of weariness at the thought.

He had killed so many zombies today and gotten a lot of drops—food and water were not in short supply.

There was no need to pinch every penny.

Although Lin Fan’s initial plan was for everyone to eat together, since Chu Zhaozhao was playing along so well, he didn’t mind giving things a little push and doing Su Qing an easy favor.

Watching Su Qing skillfully soothe Chu Zhaozhao, Lin Fan’s heart stirred slightly.

’I can’t watch over them forever. It’s better if the two of them are close. That way, no matter what happens in the future, as long as this group sticks together, they can look out for each other. That’s how they’ll make it further.’

A short while later, Chu Zhaozhao ran back downstairs with Chu Zhaotian in tow, an unhappy look on her face. Xu Qian followed behind, and each of them was carrying a basket filled with meat, eggs, and other things.

"Brother Lin..."

Chu Zhaotian spoke timidly as soon as he saw Lin Fan.

"We all said we’d eat our own food. Why don’t you guys just eat..."

Hearing Chu Zhaotian speak, Chu Zhaozhao, who was already unhappy, set down her basket and ran to Su Qing’s side. She tugged on Su Qing’s arm and said in a sulky, muffled voice:

"Sister Qing, my brother scolded me! He said I’m being annoying and that we’ll get kicked out..."

"Haha..."

Su Qing brushed the dirt from Chu Zhaozhao’s hair. Now that she had Lin Fan’s approval, she had no qualms about playing the generous host.

"It’s okay. We’ve only just met, so think of this as my treat..."

Seeing this, Lin Fan also spoke up:

"It’s fine, let’s all eat together. Eat up. There’s work for you to do tomorrow..."

Chu Zhaotian was indeed the thoughtful type who worried about everything, whereas Chu Zhaozhao was his complete opposite.

’Lin Fan couldn’t help but wonder what kind of environment the two of them had grown up in...’

"Then thank you, Brother Lin... Thank you, Sister Qing..."

Xu Qian thanked them along with Chu Zhaotian.

"Are the refrigerators all cleaned out?" Lin Fan asked the two men.

"601 is cleaned out. There wasn’t much, just a few cans of beer, some eggs, and a bit of meat..."

Chu Zhaotian said.

"Not 602 yet..."

Xu Qian, standing in the back, heard Lin Fan’s question and quickly answered,

"There’s a lot of stuff in the fridge in 602, but in the top part, besides the eggs and some sauces, all the vegetables have rotted."

"There’s still a lot in the bottom, though. There’s meat, pickled cabbage, and some tofu skin..."

belonged to a delivery guy who lived alone, so it was normal for his fridge to be nearly empty.

Lin Fan remembered that 602 was the home of the lady who sold vegetables. He hadn’t expected there to be so much left.

The refrigerators of the two households on the fourth floor had been mostly cleared out by Su Qing before the power went out, with everything moved to Lin Fan’s fridge.

Only a little meat that couldn’t fit and some easily preserved vegetables were left, which was why Chu Zhaozhao hadn’t found much.

"Alright, the three of you go to 602 and help Xu Qian bring everything down. After that, each room should have some water I collected earlier. The gas is still on, so boil some water and go take a bath."

Lin Fan said to the three of them.

’All of them, including himself, were filthy. If they gathered around a hot pot like this, the smell coming off them would probably be stronger than the aroma from the pot...’

"Conserve water. Stand in a basin to wash, and the leftover water can be used to flush the toilet."

Chu Zhaotian had just reminded him of this issue, so he quickly added, "We have a limited supply of water. Once we use it up, we’ll have to wait for rain... Have you guys found any clothes?"

Lin Fan suddenly remembered and asked as an afterthought.

"There are some clothes in 601 that the two of us can wear..."

Chu Zhaotian said, patting Xu Qian’s shoulder.

"I... I can’t wear Sister Qing’s clothes... My shoulders are too broad..."

Chu Zhaozhao said dejectedly from the side.

Only then did Lin Fan take a closer look at the two women. Su Qing was a bit taller than Chu Zhaozhao, with narrower shoulders and a more slender build—a willowy frame with generous curves.

Chu Zhaozhao was only about five-foot-three. She wasn’t fat, but she was clearly more solidly built, with broader shoulders and slightly thicker arms than Su Qing. Hers was a healthy, toned, athletic build.

She definitely wouldn’t be able to fit into Su Qing’s clothes.

"The person who used to live in 602 was a lady who sold vegetables. You can go look and see if there’s anything you can wear..."

"..."

"Just kidding. Go check 401 and 201 to see if there’s anything you can wear. Both of those units were occupied by married couples... If there’s any menswear, find a few pieces for those two as well..."

Lin Fan suggested after teasing Chu Zhaozhao, but then he suddenly remembered something.

"Don’t go into the master bedroom in 401. I’m warning you, if you go in there, you won’t have an appetite for hot pot tonight..."

"Okay, Big Brother!"

’Seeing her nod so seriously, Lin Fan suddenly found himself morbidly curious to see if she would actually go in...’

The three of them made another trip, bringing down all the food from the refrigerator in 602. Lin Fan then simply brought over the refrigerator from Su Qing’s apartment in 302 and plugged it in.

Two refrigerators would only use a little over one kilowatt-hour of electricity a day. Starting the RV every few days to recharge the power supply was completely fine.

Although the meat they found upstairs had thawed a bit, it was still cold to the touch and the core was still frozen solid.

After sending the trio off to wash up, Lin Fan stood by the windowsill and ate a simple cup of instant noodles.

Before long, Su Qing’s voice came from the kitchen:

"The water’s boiling..."

"Okay..."

Lin Fan went to the bathroom. The basins he used to use for washing his feet were all filled with tap water, so he had to go find a few more basins from 201.

The hot water had been mixed to a warm temperature, and the rising steam filled the small bathroom with a hazy mist.

He stripped off his tattered clothes, which were stained with sweat and the smell of blood, and stood barefoot in a large basin.

He soaked a towel and let the water stream over his body. The warm current washed over muscles that had been tense for what felt like an eternity, bringing a wave of deep relief.

He draped the towel over his face and leaned against the tiled wall, savoring this moment of tranquility in the post-apocalyptic world.

It was as if time had rewound to long ago, when he was just a veterinarian, working late at the clinic downstairs before coming up to take a shower and decompress...

CREAK—

The soft sound of the door opening was especially clear in that moment.

Lin Fan’s reverie was shattered. He shot upright and opened his eyes, the towel falling from his face to the floor.

It was Su Qing.

Through the hazy steam, Su Qing’s figure appeared in the doorway.

She had already taken off the jacket and long pants she wore when she went outside, leaving her in only an oversized men’s T-shirt, its hem barely covering her thighs.

Sunlight from the living room filtered through the bathroom’s frosted glass door. In the warm, yellow glow, her face was flushed a deep crimson.

"Little Brother, let your big sister help you scrub..."