Apocalypse: I Can See Health Bars

Su Qing picked up the towel from the floor, wrung it out in a nearby basin, and very naturally began to wipe the bloodstains from Lin Fan’s chest.

The reddish-black stains swirled into the water in the basin below.

A delicate sensation spread across his chest. Su Qing’s touch was light and gentle, incredibly careful, as if she feared finding a wound hidden beneath a patch of dried blood.

"Sister Qing..."

"Turn around..."

She spoke in a commanding tone.

She meticulously wiped down Lin Fan’s entire body, confirming that there were no wounds under any of the bloodstains. Only then did Su Qing finally let out a sigh of relief.

"Zhaozhao told me you were seriously injured, that your arm was broken... Where are you hurt?"

Su Qing switched to a new towel, soaked it through, and used the clean water to once again wipe down every muscle and contour of Lin Fan’s body.

Feeling a certain stirring, Lin Fan’s face turned slightly red, but it wasn’t very noticeable in the steamy bathroom.

"Uh... here..."

He felt a mix of embarrassment and enjoyment, of sweltering heat and gentle warmth.

He could only follow Su Qing’s lead, pointing to his waist.

The scab from the wound had already fallen off, leaving only a faint pink mark and a slight indentation.

Su Qing rinsed Lin Fan’s body with clean water and gently knelt before him. She reached out a finger, tenderly stroking the irregular, diamond-shaped mark, as if trying to discern something from it.

"It’s really healed?"

Su Qing looked up in disbelief, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as she asked with wide eyes.

The collar of her loose T-shirt lived up to its name. Lin Fan looked down at Su Qing, captivated by her bright eyes, unable to look away.

"It’s really healed, see..."

As he spoke, he moved the scar a little closer.

Perhaps because it had just healed, the scar tissue wasn’t soft like the rest of his skin; it was actually a little hard.

Su Qing reached out and stroked it carefully, back and forth.

"I heard saliva can disinfect things..."

Su Qing looked up at Lin Fan, her eyes wide.

"Really?"

Lin Fan felt his entire spirit dissipating with the steam, filling the bathroom. He leaned back against the tiled wall, and the cold shock to his spine made his mind oscillate between diffusion and focus.

"I guess so..."

In truth, he didn’t know. At least, he didn’t know right now.

’But if Sister Qing says so, it must be true...’

And so, with the intention of disinfecting the wound for Lin Fan, Su Qing began to lick it carefully, coating the scar with her saliva.

Perhaps the "disinfection" was truly effective. After a certain amount had been applied, Lin Fan felt a wave of relief, as if all his past pain and trauma were dissipating, along with the loneliness and exhaustion that had built up in his heart day after day.

"Sister Qing..."

Lin Fan couldn’t help but call out.

"Hmm?"

Su Qing slowly stood up, swallowed, wiped her lips, and looked at Lin Fan with misty eyes.

Amidst the swirling steam, the two figures embraced tightly...

A moment later...

Just as Lin Fan patted Su Qing, telling her to turn around and lean on the door so he could wash her back as well...

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

A series of urgent knocks sounded from the door.

"Sister Qing! Are you home!? Can you help me wash my back!"

Chu Zhaozhao’s shout came from outside.

PFFT!

Su Qing suddenly burst out laughing, then squatted down, covering her mouth as she giggled uncontrollably.

"Sister Qing?"

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

Chu Zhaozhao continued to call out tirelessly from the other side of the door.

"Ignore her..."

Lin Fan rolled his eyes, suddenly regretting that he’d saved them at the gas station.

"Haha... hahaha... This is... this is the ’great treasure’ you picked up, hahahaha..."

Su Qing squatted on the floor, covering her mouth and laughing with pure joy, as if for the first time since the apocalypse began...

No, it was as if ever since she moved here, the dark clouds hanging over her head had vanished along with the bathroom steam.

She then stood up and gave a light kiss to Lin Fan—who was currently fantasizing about how everyone else would get meat for dinner while Chu Zhaozhao only got soup—before opening the bathroom door and calling out:

"I’m here, I’m here! I’m coming!"

Saying this, she handed a clean towel to Lin Fan.

"Just rinse off and you’re done. Don’t catch a cold."

Then she gave Lin Fan a radiant smile, waved, and walked out of the bathroom.

Leaving Lin Fan standing alone in the bathroom, listening to the sounds from outside...

"Coming, coming..."

CLICK. Su Qing opened the front door.

"Sister Qing? Were you taking a shower too?"

Chu Zhaozhao asked, confused.

"No, I was just cleaning up..."

"Why does it smell weird?"

"The people downstairs are probably burning something..."

"It just smells weird."

"I was drinking some yogurt..."

"There’s yogurt?"

"The last one. It’s all gone..."

"Ohhh—"

"Let me cut your hair in a bit. It looks so dirty..."

"Okay, Sister Qing! You know how to cut hair? I want it shorter!"

"After I’m done with yours, you can help me cut mine..."

"Huh? Sister Qing, why would you cut your hair? It’s so beautiful!"

"To make a clean break with the past..."

"So cool! Then I want to make a clean break with the past too!"

"Alright, alright, you can make a break too..."

...

’That little brat...’

Lin Fan stood in the bathroom, soaked a towel in cold water, and slapped it against his body to cool himself down.

That Chu Zhaozhao... If he hadn’t just cooled off a little, Lin Fan would have stormed out and locked her in the master bedroom of 401.

’I knew I should have made her stay on the 6th floor.’

’No, no, no, I should have made her sleep in the RV...’

’Or maybe I should make her help Liu Bin guard the warehouse. He’s definitely short-handed at night. With a voice that loud, they’d never have to worry about anything getting stolen...’

As he mentally plotted Chu Zhaozhao’s future, Lin Fan dried himself off and walked to the bedroom.

A set of clean clothes was already laid out on the bed, which Su Qing had picked out for him earlier.

’So thoughtful...’

He shook out the clothes and put them on piece by piece.

Being clean made a world of difference. His skin wasn’t itchy anymore, and he felt much lighter on his feet.

"Whoa! Sister Qing! You’re so mmmph—"

Su Qing hadn’t closed her apartment door when she left, so Chu Zhaozhao’s loud voice carried from the apartment across the hall through a thin wooden door.

Although her cry was muffled as soon as it started, Lin Fan leaned back on the sofa and held his hand up before his eyes. He grasped at the ceiling light, the memory of that soft, silky touch seeming to linger on his skin.

Listening to the occasional sounds of playful laughter from across the hall, he felt completely relaxed. Without realizing it, he lay down on the sofa and drifted off to sleep.

He dreamed of Su Qing, of Chu Zhaozhao, of Chu Zhaotian, and what’s-his-name, and many, many other people, all living within a high-walled city.

The outside was filled with all sorts of monsters, but the people lived inside the walls, just like in the old days.

Until one day, as Lin Fan was passing the city gate, there was a deafening CRASH!

The tall city gate was destroyed. In an instant, countless white, brown, and curly-haired poodles poured through the breach!

They latched onto everything in their path, and Lin Fan could only watch helplessly as he was swarmed by them!

"What the hell! Are you kidding me!?"

Lin Fan shot up from the sofa.

He felt two strange gazes on him. He whipped his head around to see two women whose faces were red from holding back laughter. One was Su Qing, and the other...

Staring at the beautiful woman with short, chestnut-colored hair, Lin Fan was momentarily stunned. Her face was a charming mix of cute and spirited. She wore a cream-yellow T-shirt and short shorts that revealed a pair of long, straight, healthy-tan legs.

’Wait a minute... Who is this beautiful woman?’

’Am I still dreaming? Going by how things just went, this beautiful woman might turn into a poodle and rush at me...’

Lin Fan suddenly ducked behind the back of the sofa, on high alert...