Lin Qinghe immediately gathered her thoughts and walked up to You Rong. After a moment of consideration, she tentatively asked, "You Rong... shall we go back? The car is still parked outside that building. We can't just leave our things, can we?"
You Rong remained expressionless, his eyes downcast, hiding his bloodshot irises. After a long pause, his voice, hoarse and accompanied by the clacking of his teeth, said, "I... might not be able to control myself, I might..."
Lin Qinghe interrupted him, "It's okay! I'm not afraid! Just let me stay with you, alright? If you really hate me, once I find a way to help you return to normal, I'll leave immediately! I'll never appear before you again... Is that not acceptable?"
Of course, Lin Qinghe was saying this to trick You Rong. Once You Rong truly recovered, he wouldn't be able to chase her away!
You Rong's gaze was complex. After a long period of silence, he said in a deep voice, "...As you wish."
Lin Qinghe's eyes immediately lit up, and she smiled, "Then let's go back now!"
Lin Qinghe reached out to grab You Rong's hand, but he dodged it. Her hand, which had grasped at nothing, didn't make Lin Qinghe feel awkward. She withdrew it as if nothing had happened, smiled, and said, "Right! Wait a moment, I need to check the living area!"
Watching Lin Qinghe head towards the living area, You Rong hesitated before dragging his stiff body to follow.
Lin Qinghe arrived at the living area and searched around. Suddenly, her eyes brightened. She quickened her pace, patted a square cardboard box, and smiled with satisfaction, "Finally found it! I thought they wouldn't have it here, and it's brand new, so it'll definitely work!"
You Rong remained silent, his gaze fixed on the item Lin Qinghe was unpacking. Only when Lin Qinghe had completely opened it did he realize it was a car refrigerator.
Lin Qinghe opened the car refrigerator, which was about the size of a small suitcase, pulled out the handle, and smiled at You Rong, "This car refrigerator can be charged and used for about thirty hours at a time. This way, the frozen beef won't spoil if we put it inside. Let's go to the cold storage now and get some beef, or if you prefer other meats like lamb, we can take whatever you like!"
This way, You Rong's food supply wouldn't be a problem.
You Rong looked at Lin Qinghe, who was making plans for herself, and was momentarily lost in thought.
Not only was she not afraid of him eating raw meat like a zombie, but she was also preparing food for him. Did she really mean it when she said she liked him?
Lin Qinghe had been talking for a while and noticed You Rong's lack of reaction. She couldn't help but wave her hand in front of him, asking in confusion, "You Rong? What's wrong? Why aren't you speaking? Don't you like lamb? Then we'll just take beef, okay?"
You Rong snapped back to attention, suppressed his thoughts, and nodded expressionlessly.
Lin Qinghe smiled and pulled You Rong back, "Let's go back to the cold storage."
After selecting some good frozen beef steaks and the like from the cold storage, Lin Qinghe, pulling the rather heavy car refrigerator, emerged. She turned to You Rong and said, "Let's go back to that house we were in earlier, to get the car..."
Before she could finish speaking, an untimely rumbling from her stomach interrupted her.
Lin Qinghe looked embarrassed. It was her stomach making the noise.
But it couldn't be blamed on her. She had prepared porridge that morning but hadn't had a single bite before chasing after You Rong. She had followed him all the way and then spent the afternoon rummaging in the supermarket. It was almost dark outside, and she hadn't eaten a thing, so it was natural for her to be hungry.
Lin Qinghe gave an embarrassed smile and said, "It's fine, I'll just find something to fill my stomach. You wait here for me."
Lin Qinghe walked towards the shelves behind them. She knew instinctively that anything on these shelves was expired without even looking.
With food being scarce now, having something to eat was good enough. Lin Qinghe wasn't picky and opened a pack of cookies, stuffing them into her mouth.
As she was eating, You Rong suddenly tugged at her. She sidestepped a few steps, bumping into You Rong's stiff chest. The pistol in her pocket had been taken by You Rong at some point. You Rong raised the pistol and, with a bang, blew up the head of a zombie that was lunging at her from her right.
Lin Qinghe stared at the zombie lying on the ground, stunned. After recovering, she couldn't help but frown.
She had sensed You Rong approaching her. Because it was him, she hadn't paid much attention. But this zombie hadn't sensed him at all. It seemed he walked without making a sound, indicating he wasn't a low-level zombie.
Lin Qinghe looked at You Rong, who was holding the gun. Her small face was thoughtful until You Rong pushed her away. Only then did she react and smile at him, saying, "You Rong, thank you. I was in danger just now, but it was all thanks to you."
You Rong didn't speak. After Lin Qinghe had eaten her fill, they left the large supermarket together, pulling the car refrigerator.
On the way back, they encountered some low-level zombies. Lin Qinghe, considering she didn't have extra magazines and her pistol was running low on bullets, led You Rong to avoid the zombies.
They returned to where the car was parked without incident.
Getting into the car, Lin Qinghe turned and rummaged through the piles of items on the back seat. She took out a submachine gun and handed it to You Rong, saying, "Here, you take this. The bullets aren't many, but it's powerful. With this in your hand, you can protect yourself from any zombies or humans who try to attack you."
You Rong's eyes flickered, "...You use it."
Lin Qinghe took out her pistol and, in front of You Rong, replaced the magazine, smiling, "I'll use this... The submachine gun is too heavy for me. I'd just be a burden, not practical. It's most suitable for you."
You Rong seemed to hesitate. Lin Qinghe didn't give him a chance to hesitate, directly slinging the submachine gun onto him and forcibly taking his hand to grip the stock, "Take it! You were a soldier in the R organization before, so you should be very familiar with this."
You Rong gripped the submachine gun tightly, his mind in turmoil.
Firearms were indeed familiar to him. He had once wanted to use them to protect ordinary people, but now he was using them to protect himself.
"I need to think of anything else you might need. You should bring more. Your movements are inconvenient now, and it's too dangerous outside..." Lin Qinghe searched around and then stuffed two grenades into You Rong's hand, warning, "When there are many people who might be hostile, or when there are many zombies, use this."
Looking at these weapons, You Rong was quite surprised. Lin Qinghe, as a member of the R organization's experimental team, had spent a long time in the laboratory. Where did she get so many things?
Lin Qinghe saw You Rong's confusion and chuckled lightly, "I told you, I traded the liquids that impersonated your blood with Gao Tian back then. Gao Tian, that deputy district chief, was very greedy. It was easy to trick him." SuDan Novel Network
Lin Qinghe paused, a hint of slyness flashing in her eyes, and said casually to You Rong, "I racked my brain to prepare these things back then, wanting to bring you out of the laboratory and give them to you to ensure your safety outside. Now that I'm giving them to you, it means my original intention wasn't in vain."