The campus at late night was enveloped in a deathly silence, punctuated by occasional roars echoing through the empty corridors, like a low moan from hell. Inside the supermarket stronghold, a few emergency lights cast a dim green glow, stretching the shadows of the shelves long.
Lin Xuan walked slowly down the supermarket aisle, treading on bloodstains and broken packaging. Chu Wenhai guarded the supermarket's only exit like a ghost, the faint glow of his night-vision goggles flickering in the darkness. Any creature approaching would be torn to shreds instantly.
Wang Peng, Wu Tao, and Zhao Tianyu huddled in a pile of cardboard boxes next to the shelves. Heavy physical labor and fear had plunged them into a shallow sleep; even in their dreams, their bodies twitched unconsciously. Lin Xuan glanced at them. Laborers of this caliber, if they couldn't provide more value tomorrow, could only serve as bait for the zombies.
Lin Xuan pushed open the small door at the deepest part of the warehouse, his designated private territory. The compartment, once cluttered with miscellaneous items, had been cleared, the floor covered with several thick wool blankets, and a faint musty smell still lingered in the air.
However, the moment Lin Xuan stepped into the room, an extremely discordant fragrance wafted into his nostrils. It was the scent of some cheap yet strong perfume, mixed with the unique body odor of a woman.
Under the dim emergency light, Lin Yutong was lying on her side on Lin Xuan's blanket. She had clearly taken "careful" measures; her originally dirty foreign language department uniform was casually tossed aside, and she was only wearing an extremely thin black lace bra and panties—likely salvaged from a lingerie display in some corner of the supermarket.
Her slender, black-stockinged legs gleamed alluringly in the light. Her previously messy long hair had been smoothed down, cascading over her rounded shoulders. Hearing the door open, she slightly raised her head, her delicate face showing a deliberately practiced, pitiful fragility.
"Lin... Boss Lin, you're back..." Lin Yutong's voice was so soft it could almost drip with sweetness. She slowly sat up, her curves, encased in black lace, rising and falling dramatically with her movements. Her eyes held a hint of flattery and desperate resolve. "I thought it was too lonely here, and I was afraid you wouldn't be able to sleep, so I wanted to come over... to keep you company."
As she spoke, she gracefully moved towards Lin Xuan, her warm fingers attempting to touch Lin Xuan's hand. In such an apocalypse, a department beauty who was usually out of reach actively offering herself was an irresistible temptation for any man.
But Lin Xuan merely looked at her coldly, his gaze devoid of any desire, only the icy detachment of observing a specimen.
He sensed that Lin Yutong's heart was beating extremely fast, and her blood flow was accelerated—a sign of extreme fear and anxiety. She wasn't climbing onto this bed out of love or admiration; she was simply afraid, afraid that if she didn't offer her body, Chu Wenhai would discard her to the zombies outside like trash tomorrow.
This cheap transaction filled Lin Xuan with an inexplicable disgust.
"Who allowed you in?" Lin Xuan spoke, his voice so flat it had no inflection, yet it made Lin Yutong's body instantly stiffen.
"I... I just thought I could serve you better..." Lin Yutong bit her lip, unwillingly pushing out her chest, trying to display her last bargaining chip. "I can... as long as you save my life, I'll do anything, really..."
She reached out, wanting to undo the last restraint behind her, hoping to exchange it for even one more day of survival in this apocalypse.
Lin Xuan suddenly reached out, grabbing her fair, slender neck and pressing her against the cold wall. Lin Yutong let out a muffled groan of pain, her hands instinctively grabbing Lin Xuan's arm, her eyes filled with terror.
"Listen." Lin Xuan leaned close to her ear, his cold breath fanning her face. "Your body, to me, isn't as valuable as you imagine. Here, only those who can work are qualified to eat, qualified to sleep."
Lin Xuan let go, and Lin Yutong collapsed to the ground, coughing violently, her chest heaving even more intensely.
"Get more rest, Lin Yutong." Lin Xuan looked down at her. "Tomorrow you still have to follow Wang Peng and the others to reinforce the defenses at the back door. If you're 'too tired' tonight to move bricks, I'll have someone feed you to the zombies outside."
Lin Yutong looked up, her eyes full of disbelief. She had never imagined that the capital she was so proud of would be so pale and powerless before Lin Xuan. This sense of humiliation, of being completely denied, was more crushing than being treated violently.
"Get out." Lin Xuan pointed outside the door, leaving no room for negotiation.
"Lin Xuan... you..." Lin Yutong opened her mouth, but in the end, didn't dare to say the rest. She tremblingly picked up her uniform from the floor, haphazardly draped it over herself, covering the black lace that seemed especially ironic in the darkness.
She walked out of the lounge, head bowed, stumbling like a prisoner stripped of her dignity.
Chu Wenhai, guarding the door, scanned her disheveled figure with his cold electronic eyes.
Then Lin Xuan closed the door. He lay on the blanket, still retaining Lin Yutong's body heat, and closed his eyes.
Outside the door, Lin Yutong walked back to the common area. Wang Peng was awake now, watching her, observing her disheveled clothes and swollen neck, a flicker of intense jealousy and humiliation in his eyes.
"Oh, Miss Lin, the department beauty, got kicked out?" Wang Peng lowered his voice, his tone full of malicious mockery. "Looks like in his eyes, you're not even worth a piece of bread."
"Shut up!" Lin Yutong hissed, curling up beside Xu Mengya, tears silently falling.
The night was still long, and in this small supermarket, darkness was growing rampant in everyone's hearts.