Apocalypse: I Can See Health Bars

"You’re stealing my meat!"

Chu Zhaozhao was the first to break the silence, nudging Lin Fan with her shoulder and grumbling playfully.

Seeing this, Su Qing smiled, picked up a slotted spoon, and ladled a scoop of meat from the pot into Chu Zhaozhao’s bowl, finally placating her.

It seemed Xu Qian had also gleaned something from Lin Fan’s earlier answer. He silently stood up and bowed deeply to Lin Fan.

"Brother Lin, thank you for saving us..."

Hearing this, the others finally snapped out of it. From the moment they’d left the gas station until now, they had been shackled by fear, their only thought to cling to Lin Fan for dear life, not daring to let go for even a second.

But just now, perhaps Xu Qian had truly grasped a lifeline in Lin Fan’s words—a lifeline that would allow him to actually survive.

Only then did he break free from his fear and voice the unspoken truth: that they had only survived this long because they were all under Lin Fan’s protection.

In that instant, Chu Zhaotian, Chu Zhaozhao, and even Su Qing all silently stood up and bowed deeply to Lin Fan.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, you guys are going to make me die young... I had my own selfish reasons for saving you, too! Don’t make me out to be some kind of saint. You’re putting me on the spot here..."

Lin Fan quickly stood up and helped the two people beside him back to their feet, then said to Chu Zhaotian and Xu Qian across the table,

"You two, get up."

He then raised his glass and said,

"Come on, a toast."

CLINK CLINK CLINK CLINK! The crisp sound of glasses striking one another.

The five of them raised their glasses high toward the two desk lamps.

"To today!"

"...To today!"

...

Mercifully, Chu Zhaozhao announced she was full, but only when there was still half a plate of meat left.

The five of them finished two bottles of liquor. No one got particularly drunk, except for Chu Zhaozhao.

She said, "I’m full..."

Then she flopped onto the table and passed out.

Lin Fan suspected that if the alcohol hadn’t kicked in, she could have kept eating.

Chu Zhaotian couldn’t carry her, so Lin Fan had to carry her to the sofa, where she started snoring softly.

Chu Zhaotian clearly trusted Lin Fan. He and Xu Qian helped clear the table before heading upstairs to sleep, leaving Chu Zhaozhao behind at Lin Fan’s...

...leaving Su Qing and Lin Fan to stare at each other.

"Uh... I’ll go wash up..."

Lin Fan said to Su Qing.

"Let’s go together..."

Su Qing replied, looking back at him.

The two turned off the lights. Their "washing up" took them from the living room to the bathroom, from the bathroom back to the living room, and finally, all the way to the bedroom.

Lin Fan rummaged through a bedroom drawer, pulled out a small, battery-powered night light, and set it by the bed.

In the dim, orange glow, Su Qing’s features softened. The strength and resolve she wore during the day melted away, leaving only a captivating allure flowing from her eyes.

Her bright eyes reflected the small, orange night light, and they reflected Lin Fan’s face.

Lin Fan reached out, his hand gently brushing against her silken skin. "Are you scared?" he asked softly.

Of course, Su Qing knew he wasn’t asking about this moment between them, but about the world itself.

She shook her head. She took his hand, pressing it tightly against her own cheek, and whispered back, "I used to be. Not anymore."

With that, she leaned into him, like a piece of warm, smooth jade growing hot to the touch in his hands.

Outside, a light rain began to pitter-patter against the windowpane, the sound merging with the sound of their tangled breaths inside the bedroom.

Like a nocturne.

The orange light flickered, stretching their two shadows, merging them into one, casting ever-changing, silent silhouettes upon the wall.

He could feel her limbs wrapped around him, could hear her broken whimpers, like those of a small animal.

Sweat soaked the sheets, blurring the sound of the rain outside.

...

After what felt like an eternity, the rain outside finally stopped.

All was silent.

Lin Fan lay on his side, Su Qing’s head pillowed on his arm. He could hear the sound of her steady, even breathing, and the sound of his own calm heartbeat.

The two sounds wove together, creating the most peaceful melody in the world.

...

The night’s rain had washed the streets, diluting the bloodstains. It seemed to have also washed away some of the gloom that had settled in everyone’s hearts.

Under Liu Bin’s direction, people started moving at the crack of dawn. They systematically gathered all sorts of iron and steel pipes from their homes, bringing them downstairs to be processed. The pipes were cut to appropriate lengths and one end was sharpened, turning them into makeshift spears.

They moved in groups of seven: five armed with spears, one with a crowbar, and one with a hammer and chisel. They began working their way through the residential building, starting with the quiet apartments, prying open the doors one by one to scavenge for supplies.

...

"Over... KSHHH... Clear... KSHHH..."

Lin Fan was woken by a burst of static from a walkie-talkie...

He opened his eyes to see a bleary-eyed Chu Zhaozhao squatting by his side of the bed. One of her hands was holding a walkie-talkie next to his pillow; the other was propping up her head, her chin resting on the mattress as she nodded off...

"What the—! What are you doing here?!"

The sight startled Lin Fan, and he shot up in bed. But then he remembered he wasn’t wearing anything and quickly yanked the thin blanket higher.

"Someone put it by my head, and it’s gone off a bunch of times..."

Chu Zhaozhao complained, looking utterly wronged.

"In my dream, it was just ’Clear...’ ’Over...’ It woke me up right at dawn..."

Lin Fan suddenly remembered. He’d brought the walkie-talkies up yesterday and tossed them on the sofa. This must have been the one he forgot to turn off, and it was now picking up signals from Liu Bin’s group.

’I didn’t think they’d get started so early.’

He took the walkie-talkie from Chu Zhaozhao’s hand. Seeing the [59/100] above her head, he noted that she was recovering well, shooed her away, and told her to go back to the sofa to sleep a bit more.

He turned to look at Su Qing behind him. Her health bar was completely full, reading [105/105]...

"?"

Lin Fan quickly rubbed his eyes, confirming he wasn’t seeing things.

’What the hell?’

’[105]?’

’Where did the extra 5 points come from?’

He tried shaking Su Qing, but couldn’t wake her. She just murmured softly and fell back asleep...

’Looks like she was exhausted from last night,’ he thought. ’After all, with my current physique... Heh heh...’

But since she wouldn’t wake up, Lin Fan had no way to ask her how she felt or what had happened...

’Don’t tell me the way for a normal person to increase their HP is by... sleeping with me?’

’Huh?’

’What kind of H-manga plot is this?!’

’No way, right?’

Lin Fan was utterly baffled.

He couldn’t make heads or tails of the logic behind these health bar changes.

Since he couldn’t interview the person in question, Lin Fan had no choice but to get dressed himself and head to the bathroom to quickly wash up.

Chu Zhaozhao was still sprawled out on the sofa, dead to the world. Lin Fan suspected that when she finally woke up, she wouldn’t even remember bringing him the walkie-talkie.

Silently teasing Chu Zhaozhao, Lin Fan fished a few braised eggs out of the box Liu Bin had brought over yesterday, grabbed the walkie-talkie, and headed downstairs.