Chapter 126: A Day Out Shopping

Liu Rui began to recount one of Bai Xing’s embarrassing moments. Back in their freshman year, Bai Xing had been pursued by a senior she had a crush on. However, the guy was a total scumbag at heart. It wasn't until Liu Rui dug up his extensive history of past misdeeds that Bai Xing was saved from being taken for a ride.

"Why bring that up now? By this point, that guy has probably been zombie food for a month or two," Bai Xing retorted, embarrassed and annoyed. She and Liu Rui started "wrestling," creating quite a spectacle.

Fang Xia kept a faint smile on his face. In this apocalyptic world, everyone lived under too much pressure, even those on the second floor. Everyone here had family or friends—unlike Fang Xia, who was an orphan. They rarely spoke of them, but that didn't mean they didn't miss them. But this was the apocalypse; just staying alive was difficult enough. One couldn't exactly lead everyone through a horde of zombies for parents whose status remained unknown. This was precisely why Fang Xia had prioritized recruiting college students—many of them were from out of town.

There were few healthy ways to vent or find entertainment in this age. Look at Li Xiaochun, for instance; she was just a girl, yet she had transformed into a fierce, battle-hardened Valkyrie. Or Liu Rui, who had been a quiet, intellectual student, now evolved into a capable, iron-willed house manager. Then there was Bai Xing, a girl who once seemed aloof, now turned into a decisive, cold-blooded assassin. Everyone had changed drastically in the apocalypse, and most of these changes were forced upon them.

So, when the alcohol kicked in—whether they were truly drunk or just pretending—everyone let their guards down. In those moments, they weren't the terrifying assassins, the iron-fisted managers, or the battle-hungry warriors. They were just ordinary girls, barely in their twenties, in the prime of their youth.

After the group rested for a day, they returned to their normal routine. Those who needed to hunt zombies did so, and those who tended the crops went to the fields. Only Fang Xia, with nothing to do, spent his days playing hide-and-seek with Jing Ru. The construction of Dawn City was becoming more refined, growing to resemble a human city of the past—if not for the zombies outside the walls. Every day, large numbers of people still ventured out for the sake of survival; the only silver lining was that the mortality rate had dropped significantly.

Supplies for Fang Xia’s team were steadily increasing. Unlike those planning to settle in Dawn City for the long haul, his primary concern was stockpiling food. Dawn City’s food supply had begun to enter a virtuous cycle, especially as more survivors with plant-based abilities were discovered, causing food prices to gradually decline.

Though still considered a luxury, it had become affordable enough for many to enjoy an occasional meal or two. The same applied to meat. Large beasts prowled outside the city, and their massive size provided a rich source of protein. Of course, this abundance was only for the elite at the top of Dawn City; the survivors at the bottom still scraped by on rice balls, and some could not even afford those. This was true in any society—even if there were enough resources to feed the entire city, true wealth always remained in the hands of the few. The rich lived in unimaginable luxury, while the poor lived in unimaginable destitution.

Since reaching the fifth rank, Fang Xia had only ventured outside the city once, primarily to gauge his current strength and test his so-called lightning powers. Unfortunately, the effect was underwhelming. He had wiped out a fourth-rank zombie instantly, failing to even notice any paralyzing effect.

Today, bored, Fang Xia finally stepped out of his territory again, accompanied by the equally idle Jing Ru and Bai Xing, who was off-duty. Since they weren't going out to fight, the two women decided to dress in clothes they actually liked. Fang Xia went downstairs first, leaving the women to dawdle.

Before long, Jing Ru descended. She wore a white down vest over a pink sweater, with a small matching pink bag slung across her shoulder, looking every bit the young girl. She paired it with loose-fitting trousers and pink sneakers—a youthful, vibrant look. Jing Ru usually dressed normally, so while the outfit was cute, Fang Xia only gave it a brief glance.

But when Bai Xing walked down, Fang Xia’s eyes widened. She was a goddess of the computer science department for