Chi Ying’s eyes lit up.
It works!
She watched as the curly-haired woman ate a third of a loaf of bread and fed the remaining portion to the child. The leftover bit was pressed flat and stuffed under the mattress.
The bedding was dirty, but no one cared these days.
After finishing her meal, the woman carefully raised her head and met Chi Ying’s gaze.
Seeing her bright eyes, her heart warmed, and she quickly lowered her head, wiping the tears from her eyes.
Once the woman was done eating, Chi Ying quietly got up and, using her agility, slipped to the corner of the room like a cat.
In the darkness, she was barely noticed by anyone further away, allowing her to easily reach the side of another thin young girl.
The girl recognized her and assumed that Chi Ying, being unaccustomed to the corner, was trying to find a new spot.
After all, in her eyes, Chi Ying seemed like a young lady who had never suffered in the apocalypse, so it made sense that she might not be used to sleeping in such a filthy place.
I’m not the type to be ungrateful, the girl thought. If she hadn’t received food earlier, she would’ve starved.
This person had given her a meal, and she felt she couldn’t refuse any request in return.
With a stiff face, she braced herself for what Chi Ying might ask.
“Well…”
Before she could react, something soft was suddenly shoved into her mouth.
The surprise nearly made her spit it out, but then her mouth and nose recognized the familiar taste.
Food! And not just any food—fresh bread she hadn’t seen in ages!
“Shh…” Chi Ying pressed her finger to her lips, signaling for silence.
She didn’t linger, nor did she look at the girl’s reaction. Instead, she moved quickly to the next person.
[Virgin’s value increased by 1. Points gained: 100.]
[The value of the Holy Mother increased by 1…]
After delivering food to all thirteen women in the safe zone, Chi Ying’s points had increased by over a thousand.
This safe area was large, shaped like a semicircle, with no permanent rooms.
There was more than a ten-meter gap between the men and women, with only crude wooden boards separating them when they rested.
Gu Chi and the others were positioned against the north wall, with no partitions between them and the others in the zone.
Chi Ying hesitated but ultimately decided not to visit the men’s area.
While not all of them were villains, their situation was much better than the women’s. At least the food there wouldn’t drive them to starvation.
She circled the safe zone, returning to the curly-haired woman again.
“Are you…?” the woman started, then seemed to think better of it and remained silent.
Chi Ying silently sat beside her, moving to the edge of the mattress. She lay down and listened to the small rustling sounds around her, knowing they were the sounds of food being eaten.
Her hearing was sharp enough to catch these small noises clearly.
“Hey, do I smell bread? Is that… fresh bread?” A man’s voice broke through the quiet.
“Maybe… it’s coming from the west?” someone else responded.
The west side was where Chi Ying and the others were.
“Hey! You girls over there, did you secretly hide the supplies we gave you?” the voice continued.
Chi Ying recognized the speaker immediately—it was the “Leopard” who had clashed with Lu Yunfei earlier that day.
Her heart skipped a beat.
She frowned slightly, wondering whether to use her ice abilities to knock them out cold.
While her water system powers allowed her to create ice, she wasn’t sure she could control her strength well enough to avoid accidentally harming someone.
“Hmph. I can smell it! Someone from your side must have snuck away with the supplies and is eating them at night!” a woman shouted.
Chi Ying glanced toward the source of the voice, but it was too dark to make out who it was.
“Why? Did you steal our supplies and now you’re sleeping with your guilt? What’s the matter, do we need to take down these baffles and stare at you all night?” This time, a younger girl spoke, her voice tinged with frustration.
Chi Ying’s eyes widened in surprise.
She could hear that the girl had been eating very enthusiastically before speaking, yet her words now dripped with resentment and acting.
[The acting skills… they’d win awards before the apocalypse.] The system commented dryly.
“Before accusing others, shouldn’t you check out the real thief?” a calmer voice interrupted. It was another woman, a mother.
“It was Leopard who secretly took three compressed biscuits and some cereal two days ago. He was almost finished when we caught him.”
The curly-haired woman spat softly, angered.
“Those biscuits could have fed several people for a day.”
Leopard blushed, clearly caught, but tried to protest.
“Leopard, come on! Where’s the bread nowadays? You’re just hungry and confused. This was probably just sleep-talking,” someone joked to cover his blunder.
The curly-haired woman sighed in relief.
The night was full of uncertainty, and the tension hung thick. She looked at Chi Ying with worry in her eyes.
If they survived today, what would tomorrow bring? As long as Leopard and his group controlled the supplies, there seemed to be no way out for them.
The next morning.
Gu Chi woke up early to clean up. He took out his toothbrush and squeezed some toothpaste, preparing to find somewhere to wash his hands.
The apocalypse might have changed everything, but he still clung to some habits, like maintaining basic hygiene.
After washing up, he glanced at the players still sleeping, then decided not to wake them. It was still early, and the light was too dim for travel.
He looked around the safe zone. Inside the hemispherical structure, several ladders led up to iron doors and windows.
Feeling restless, Gu Chi decided to climb one of the ladders. He opened a window to let in some fresh air. Their two cars sat parked below.
The sky was still dark, but the moon hung bright and cold above, not obscured by clouds.
For some reason, Chi Ying crossed his mind. When he realized it, he frowned and felt a twinge of irritation.
He breathed in the fresh morning air and told himself firmly, I can’t save everyone.
Suddenly, he heard someone behind him.
A woman from the safe zone had climbed up the ladder. He didn’t recognize her.
With messy curly hair, she stared at him, lips pressed together as though she wanted to say something.
“What do you need?” Gu Chi asked.
“If you leave, can you take that girl with you?” the woman asked urgently.
Gu Chi froze. He didn’t understand why she would ask that. “Sorry, but I can’t take her with me.”
“She’s much stronger than you think,” the woman said, her voice brimming with confidence. She was certain Chi Ying was one of the rumored supernatural beings.
“Sorry.”
“Even if you can’t take her with you, please at least send her to the B-level area… You understand the consequences of her staying here better than I do.”
Her voice shook with anxiety. With that appearance, sooner or later, someone with bad intentions will notice her…
Gu Chi clenched his fists. Without another word, he bypassed the woman and descended the ladder.
“Captain!” Lu Yunfei greeted him eagerly as soon as he saw him.
Gu Chi noticed another figure behind Lu Yunfei, one that blocked most of his body.
Chi Ying’s lips curled upward. “Morning.”
Gu Chi froze, taken aback.
“Morning.”
“Brother Gu, do you really want to take her with you?” Song Shi asked gently but with a note of disapproval.
Gu Chi raised his eyes. “Who told you that?”
Song Shi glanced pointedly at Chi Ying.
“Who told you I wanted to take her?”
Chi Ying, slightly confused, answered truthfully, “The woman who slept beside me… she said you called me.”
“Captain, is there a problem?” Lu Yunfei asked, puzzled.
“Could it be that you didn’t call her, Brother Gu ?” Song Shi said with an almost accusatory tone.
Gu Chi didn’t answer. Instead, he turned his gaze back to Chi Ying.
Her eyes widened with realization, and she stared at him blankly. Her expression was one of confusion, then resignation, though her lips remained ever so slightly curved.
She accepted the fact that, once again, she was being left behind.
Gu Chi felt a surge of frustration. He turned away without a word.
“Follow me.”
Sam Williams On TYMIMA Chapter 152