The protagonist who hates losers is so sweet to me.

Yu Qing made a list to raid supplies at the mall. When he left, he was carrying a huge hiking backpack, which almost seemed to crush his small frame. From a distance, it looked like the backpack was walking on its own.

A friendly middle-aged man saw him and exclaimed, “Wow, young man, you bought so many things!”

Yu Qing felt the weight on his back lighten a bit and turned his head with difficulty to see the man helping him hold the backpack. “Thank you, sir. Do you know where the Fengqing Hotel is?”

He remembered the hotel where the original owner and Song Xinqi stayed was called that.

The man thought for a moment, “You mean the Fenghe Hotel, right?”

“Uh, yes.”

The man clapped his hands, “What a coincidence! I’m going that way. My car is just ahead. Want a ride?”

Yu Qing subtly observed the man. He was wearing old work clothes with some black smudges on his face. He looked honest and not like a kidnapper.

“Sure, thank you.” Yu Qing happily followed the man and got into a truck.

The man was very enthusiastic and chatted with Yu Qing along the way, “Did you buy all these things for a trip?”

Yu Qing hesitated for a moment and then said, “Sir, you might not believe this, but a large group of zombies is coming soon. You should prepare some supplies and take your family east to escape.”

The man chuckled, “You must be joking. How could there be zombies in this day and age? Have you been watching too many movies?”

Yu Qing sighed inwardly. Only he and Song Xinqi had escaped from Tianluo Town, the first place where zombies appeared. The outside world had not yet received any news. According to the original text, the city would fall before anyone knew about the zombies. It was indeed hard to make people believe in their existence.

This man was the first person to show kindness to Yu Qing in this world, and he didn’t want to see him die. “I’m serious, sir. I’m not joking.”

Yu Qing opened his backpack to show the man all kinds of emergency supplies inside. “I’m not going on a trip. I’m gathering supplies to escape. These are all my preparations.”

The man looked inside and laughed, “You bought quite a lot. Can you carry all this?”

“I have a companion,” Yu Qing said, even though it wasn’t true yet. “We both escaped from Tianluo Town, which has already been overrun by zombies. It won’t be long before this city falls too. Please believe me.”

“Tianluo Town? I know the place. My uncle’s family lives there,” the man laughed, “If there were really zombies, wouldn’t they have called me?”

Hearing this, Yu Qing silently zipped up his backpack and hugged it, saying gloomily, “Why don’t you call them and see?”

The man glanced at Yu Qing, whose small face was buried under the large backpack, with only his round, bright eyes showing. His lashes were thick and long, and his eyebrows were fine and curved, giving him an innocent and cute look even when frowning.

The man thought that if his five-year-old grandson grew up to look like this, it would be wonderful. Thinking of his grandson, the man’s affection for Yu Qing grew. With the intention of helping a young man who couldn’t distinguish between reality and fiction, the man called his uncle’s family and put the phone on speaker. The loud beeping filled the truck as they both waited. The ringing was noisy, yet it highlighted a certain silence.

The first call wasn’t answered. The man, still unconcerned, tried another number. After trying three or four numbers with no answer, the man’s brow furrowed. “Young man, are you playing a prank on me?”

Yu Qing said, “No, I’m really sorry, but the people in Tianluo Town might not be able to answer the phone anymore. I’m not lying to you. Even if you don’t believe me, it won’t hurt to stock up on supplies. If the zombie outbreak really happens, you’ll be prepared.”

The man didn’t speak for the rest of the ride. When they reached the hotel, Yu Qing still didn’t know what the man thought. He had tried his best to persuade him. If the man didn’t believe, there was nothing he could do.

Yu Qing found his room, dropped his backpack on the floor, and collapsed on the bed. After resting for a while, he divided the supplies into two smaller hiking backpacks. After ensuring the weight of his own backpack wouldn’t hinder his escape, he secretly put a few bottles of water into the other backpack.

Since Song Xinqi was taller and stronger, he could carry more. Yu Qing didn’t want to slow them down with a heavy load.

Once he was sure his backpack wouldn’t hinder him, Yu Qing sat cross-legged on the bed, recalling the plot. Based on Song Xinqi’s reaction today, he should have just undergone his second evolution. The zombie siege would happen in two days. The original owner had spent those two days constantly annoying the protagonist, losing all favorability and almost dying to the zombies. Only then did they learn about the mental bond, forcing the protagonist to save the original owner and take him along.

Yu Qing had to convince Song Xinqi before the zombies arrived. He knew he was useless and could only try not to be a burden. Instead of trying to beautify himself, he decided to be honest and straightforward about his uselessness.

With this resolution, Yu Qing tried to use the mental link to sense Song Xinqi’s location. It was very difficult and took a long time, making him sweat profusely. When he finally sensed it, he felt an exhaustion as if he had been doing math problems nonstop for 24 hours. This was probably what it meant to be mentally exhausted.

Yu Qing lay on the bed to rest for a while, wiped the sweat off his forehead, put on his shoes, and went to find Song Xinqi according to the sensed location. Surprisingly, it was the mall he had just left!

The security guard remembered the good-looking young man who had just left with a large backpack and now returned, so he gave him a second glance.

Yu Qing wandered through the various sections of the mall. His sense of location wasn’t very accurate, but he managed to narrow it down to the large mall. However, finding one person in such a big place was still difficult.

Should he use the lost-and-found broadcast? Song Xinqi would probably kill him.

Perhaps because of the mental link, Yu Qing actually found Song Xinqi on the escalator after a short while. He quickly bypassed the people in front of him and walked up to Song Xinqi. “Song Xinqi, I need to talk to you.”

The escalator just reached the second floor. Song Xinqi didn’t even glance his way, pushing his cart forward.

Yu Qing called out to him twice from behind, but Song Xinqi ignored him. Yu Qing’s mouth twitched, and he ran over to block his path.

Song Xinqi stopped, his eyes filled with hostility that made him stand out from the surrounding people. He lowered his gaze to look at Yu Qing, who barely reached his chin. When did this person become so bold?

Yu Qing took the initiative, “I know you don’t want me to bother you, but you never give me a chance to talk to you properly. What else can I do besides being annoying?”

It was the first time Song Xinqi saw Yu Qing speak so confidently to him. Raising an eyebrow, he said, “So what? I just don’t want to listen to you.”

Yu Qing concluded that Song Xinqi was in a good mood and relaxed a bit. To avoid Song Xinqi leaving, he quickly said, “You’re gathering supplies, right? I have most of what you need. I hope you can take me with you. We can go to the hotel now and get the stuff.”

Song Xinqi’s face showed more ridicule. “Why should I?”

Yu Qing, tired from holding his hand up, lowered it and rubbed his sore arm. “We’re mentally linked. Our lives are tied together. I won’t survive long on my own. Though I’m useless…”

Song Xinqi laughed, “You actually know you’re useless?”

Yu Qing’s face was calm, “Yes, I know.”

What else could he do? Not everyone had the protagonist’s amazing abilities. Who wanted to be useless? If he had Song Xinqi’s powers, he wouldn’t need to rely on others.

Yu Qing said, “That’s why I need your protection. I’ll try not to cause trouble for you.”

Song Xinqi was curious about Yu Qing’s new tactic. “What can you do?”

Yu Qing replied, “I’ll run when I see zombies. I’ll eat on my own when I’m hungry. And with the mental link, it’s easy for you to find me if I get lost.”

Song Xinqi laughed softly, a low, pleasant sound, but unfriendly. “I hate useless people.”

“But you’ll die if you don’t take me.”

The atmosphere became tense. Song Xinqi stepped closer to Yu Qing. “Are you threatening me?”

“Not really. I’m stating a fact.” Yu Qing backed up a few steps, his voice steady. “We both know how weak I am. I can’t survive without you. We’re mentally linked. If I die, you’ll die too.”

Song Xinqi stopped. “What is this mental link? When did we get something like that?”

Yu Qing patiently explained, “It happened when you had a fever and I was nearby.”

It was intentional, but of course, he couldn’t say that. Yu Qing spoke sincerely, even though his eyes showed some guilt. “For some reason, I absorbed some of your mental energy. That’s how we got the link. It’s also why I can sense your location

. Try it yourself. You can sense it too.”

Song Xinqi didn’t believe him and only half-heartedly tried to sense something. He didn’t know how to sense anything and felt nothing.

Yu Qing eagerly asked, “Did you sense anything?”

Song Xinqi replied, “No.”

“How is that possible?” Yu Qing’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Maybe you didn’t try hard enough.”

It shouldn’t be like this. If he could sense it, the protagonist like Song Xinqi definitely should be able to.

Song Xinqi’s patience ran out. Just as he was about to tell Yu Qing to leave, Yu Qing said, “Wait, wait.”

He steeled himself and pinched his arm hard. It hurt so much that his arm quickly turned red, and tears came to his eyes. With teary eyes, he looked at the cold-hearted Song Xinqi. “Extreme pain can also be felt through the link. Do you feel any pain in your arm?”

He knew this body was as sensitive to pain as his original one. He was already in a lot of pain. In the past, his arm would have been broken by now, so Song Xinqi must feel something!

Song Xinqi looked at his uninjured arm. Maybe influenced by Yu Qing’s words, he felt a slight tingling, like tiny bugs crawling.

Yu Qing asked, “Does it hurt?”

Song Xinqi said, “No.”

Damn it!

Was Song Xinqi even human? How could this not hurt!?

Yu Qing trembled and reached out to pinch himself again. Song Xinqi, losing patience, was about to tell him to leave when he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his head, pressing his palm against his temple.

Yu Qing sensed something was wrong. The people around them looked pained, some even crouching down, holding their heads.

Song Xinqi frowned deeply, his mind buzzing, feeling dizzy and irritable, wanting to kill someone.

With his mental energy in chaos, Song Xinqi exuded a menacing aura, making people avoid him. However, Yu Qing didn’t fear Song Xinqi as much as before. Instead, he felt a refreshing sensation in his mind, clearing his fatigue from sensing Song Xinqi’s location.

It must be due to the mental link. Yu Qing wanted to explain this to Song Xinqi as proof. But before he could speak, Song Xinqi turned and walked away.

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