The protagonist who hates losers is so sweet to me.

After calming down, Yu Qing began to figure things out. Perhaps Song Xinqi felt that Peng Shu had malicious intentions towards him?

Anyway, since Song Xinqi wouldn’t say anything, Yu Qing had to rely on himself to guess. Whether he guessed right or wrong, he could only convince himself.

But why couldn’t things be discussed properly? Song Xinqi was immediately aggressive, wanting to hurt others. Yu Qing didn’t know how Peng Shu was doing now.

Unable to find them, he had no choice but to wait at Peng Shu’s place.

After waiting at the door for a while, he saw a figure resembling Peng Shu slowly approaching from a distance. He walked up to meet him and noticed the marks on his neck.

Yu Qing frowned. “He choked you.”

“It’s okay, I just wasn’t as skilled,” Peng Shu’s voice was hoarse, and he smiled at Yu Qing.

“I’m sorry,” Yu Qing felt somewhat guilty. He had been dragged into this because of him.

Peng Shu waved his hand repeatedly upon hearing this. “It’s not your fault. You don’t need to apologize to me.”

The two walked to the door of the house together, and Peng Shu opened it. “Do you want to come in and sit?”

Yu Qing shook his head, silently watching him for a moment, hesitating to speak. Peng Shu sensed his hesitation and waited silently.

Yu Qing said, “I don’t know why Song Xinqi acted like that. If I go explain to him, he might just get angrier. To prevent such things from happening again, maybe we should have less contact in the future?”

Peng Shu froze momentarily, seeing the guilt in Yu Qing’s eyes dim for a moment, then regained its brightness. “But you’re right. I’m too weak right now, but I will become stronger.”

Yu Qing felt a bit nervous saying these words, afraid that Peng Shu might turn against him. He didn’t expect him to respond like this. “I don’t blame you. It’s just that Song Xinqi… I’m afraid he might hurt you.”

“I understand,” Peng Shu probed, “So, are we still friends?”

Yu Qing’s eyes lit up, and he nodded vigorously. “Yes!”

Seeing Yu Qing leave, Peng Shu made a silent resolution in his heart. He needed to become stronger first. Only by being strong enough could he qualify to pursue the person he liked.

Early the next morning, he found the guard. Upon hearing Peng Shu’s intentions, the guard questioned, “You want to switch to the armed category? Let me warn you in advance, although there are many rewards and points in the armed category, you have to face life-threatening situations every day. A second-level electric user really isn’t enough. By the end of the month, during the points evaluation, you might risk being expelled.”

His gaze was determined. “I know, but I still want to choose the armed category. I’ll bear all consequences myself.”

In the safe zone, compiling and summarizing data was a popular task with low thresholds and high safety. After grabbing the task, Tian Feiyun reported to the data room early. They needed to compile and verify the entry and exit situations of everyone in the base over the past half month, then sort them in order and list the fifty people with the lowest points for the upcoming bi-monthly pre-expulsion list.

It was a long and tedious process. After working for three hours, Tian Feiyun still had a large pile of data to go through.

He pulled out a sheet of paper from the pile and asked the person next to him, “Is this person’s points correct? There’s no task record for half a month, and the points are zero?”

The person leaned over to take a look. “Oh, Yu Qing, this is someone brought in by our leader. With someone big backing him, he doesn’t need to go on tasks. He was supposed to be kept separate. Maybe the person who organized yesterday was careless and mixed him in. Just put him aside.”

Tian Feiyun lived in the east district, the farthest from where Yu Qing lived in the west district. Yu Qing rarely went out and kept a low profile, causing Tian Feiyun to only discover him now.

He felt a bit unsettled seeing the blank task records in his list. “If he has no points, how does he eat?”

The person replied, “You don’t need to worry about that. He has a chef specially arranged by the leader delivering meals to him every day. Don’t think about these things. If you have the ability, go find someone to suck up to and gain benefits. There’s still a lot of data to organize.”

Tian Feiyun coldly snorted in his heart. He also had someone to suck up to originally. He was a second-level hypnotist, but the person he hypnotized yesterday died outside. He only found a bag of crystals in the house and had to come out to do tasks himself.

However, he didn’t expect the leader of this safe zone also had the hobby of nurturing vases. It was his own narrow-mindedness before. Since he wanted to cling to someone, why not cling to the biggest one? This person named Yu Qing became his breakthrough.

After finishing the task, he decisively gave up rushing for lunch and waited in the west district instead. Compared to doing tasks, he preferred being a vampire parasite, lying flat and enjoying life without effort.

Before long, he saw someone carrying a lunch box coming to Yu Qing’s house.

Opening the door was a slender young man with fair skin and handsome features, truly fitting the image of a flower vase.

Comparing himself to the increasingly dark and rough skin he had in the apocalypse, Tian Feiyun felt a hint of jealousy and envy.

Yu Qing was stunned to see the upgraded lunch. “How did the food upgrade like this?”
Wang Bo: “Um, it seems like a bountiful harvest recently.”

But even with abundant resources in the safe zone, his meals shouldn’t be this lavish. He had heard someone complaining at the notice board this morning about missing out on dinner due to arriving late.

“Is this ordered by Song Xinqi?” He guessed.

He was increasingly unable to understand Song Xinqi’s intentions. Yesterday, there was a sudden commotion in his yard caused by him, and today, an unbelievably sumptuous lunch was delivered.

Wang Bo followed Song Xinqi’s orders cautiously: “It’s not him.”

Yu Qing: “…”

Who would believe that!

“I don’t want it,” he said. “The previous meals were already enough. Resources are scarce after the apocalypse; we shouldn’t be wasting like this.”

He felt a bit guilty.

Wang Bo was in a dilemma: “But this is the boss’s order. I’m just a cook; I can’t decide.”

“Well,” Yu Qing reluctantly accepted, “Could you please go back and tell Song Xinqi not to waste like this in the future?”

Seeing Wang Bo’s distress, he sighed, “Never mind, I’ll talk to him myself. Thanks, Wang Bo. Bye.”

Seeing him accept it, Wang Bo relaxed and left the courtyard.

With a brimming lunchbox in hand, Yu Qing worried. He couldn’t finish all this by himself.

Thirty minutes later, Tian Feiyun saw him coming out with an empty lunchbox.

Yu Qing walked all the way to the cafeteria and handed the lunchbox to a familiar hydrokinetic ability user, thinking of going to find Song Xinqi to discuss the matter.

Arriving at the main building, he asked a passerby, “Do you know where Song Xinqi is?”

The person had some impression of Yu Qing: “The boss is out of the safe zone; not sure when he’ll be back.”

“Oh, I see,” Yu Qing said, turning back.

Tian Feiyun emerged from the shadows after he closed the door, his expression thoughtful.

Following Yu Qing, he realized he was straightforward and easily stopped to chat with many people he knew in the western district.

This was someone who was taken care of, a vase who didn’t know much, and was a bit naive.

Such people were the best to manipulate. He formulated a plan in his mind.

The next afternoon, Yu Qing checked the tasks on the bulletin board as usual. The tasks for the afternoon had all been taken, and it mainly mentioned the tasks to be released tomorrow morning.

Although he didn’t need to do tasks himself, he checked them every day. His free time was only for the first two months. Later, he would probably have to do tasks to earn points. He didn’t want to be disconnected from others, leading to not having enough food in the future.

After observing for so long, he realized his ability seemed to only assist others a little during zombie attacks in the wild.

Luckily, he had Yu Xiaoxue. She was excellent at finding crystal nuclei. If he could snatch a crystal nucleus task, it should be fine.

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew behind him. He turned around and saw a man running fast ahead.

“Give back my vegetables!” A person chased after the man and, when he reached Yu Qing, he seemed unable to run anymore, looking at the man in front of him unwillingly.

The man was Tian Feiyun, whose hypnosis ability had a certain degree of charm effect, but to use a person, he had to accumulate it daily.

In his script, Yu Qing would pity him and then stand up for him. Then they would turn into friends naturally, and he could benefit from him and then directly climb to the safe zone’s boss, Song Xinqi.

Tian Feiyun hired an actor to play this scene in his life. He cast a pleading look at Yu Qing and secretly activated his ability. Yu Qing’s expression momentarily clouded, but after a moment, he regained his composure and stepped back.

Yu Qing: “Why are you looking at me like that? Your vegetables were stolen, why are you staring at me?”

He found that his ability unexpectedly failed on Yu Qing, and in that moment of failure, his mind felt as if it had been attacked by something psychically intense, causing him to break out in a cold sweat.

But since the show had come this far, he had to continue.

He sat on the ground, his eyes vacant as he muttered to himself, “I spent three days’ worth of points to buy those vegetables.”

Vegetables were indeed very expensive in the safe zone, and many people had to tighten their belts just to get a taste of them, let alone compete with others for them.

Even Yu Qing felt sympathetic, but no one around wanted to help out Tian Feiyun.

This was the apocalypse; people were already holding on to their last shreds of conscience by not harming others, let alone helping them.

After finishing his act, Tian Feiyun glanced at Yu Qing to gauge his reaction, only to see him turn and walk away.

Tian Feiyun: “???”

He didn’t want his crystal nucleus to be wasted on something ineffective, so he quickly got up and chased after him, saying, “Can you help me? It took me a long time to buy those vegetables.”

Yu Qing turned back, puzzled: “But I can’t beat him either.”

Tian Feiyun was at a loss: “You have someone behind you, though. In the safe zone, who would dare oppose you? Isn’t it just a matter of saying a word!?”

Seeing his pitiful state, Yu Qing suggested, “Did you see what that person looked like? Why don’t I go find the guards and ask them if there’s a solution?”

As long as he could establish a connection with Yu Qing, Tian Feiyun pretended to be moved: “Thank you. I really don’t know what I would do without you.”

Yu Qing found him strange. With so many people here, why was he fixated on this useless person?

As they walked, Tian Feiyun kept complaining to him about how hard it was to earn points by doing tasks.

Yu Qing sympathized deeply: “People like that are really despicable.”

In the safe zone, points were equivalent to life. If everyone started stealing from each other, there would be no order left.

He found the guards and explained the situation at the bulletin board. Knowing who Yu Qing was, the guards assured him, “Don’t worry, we’ll catch the person who stole the vegetables and get justice for you.”

After thanking them, Yu Qing turned to Tian Feiyun: “The matter is resolved, but I’m not sure if your vegetables can really be recovered.”

“Anyway, thank you. I’m Tian Feiyun. Let’s be friends.” He looked into Yu Qing’s eyes and tried his ability again, “Where do you live? If the vegetables are found, I’d like to come and thank you properly.”

“I’m Yu Qing. You don’t need to thank me; I didn’t really do anything. You can handle talking to the guards yourself.” He said.

Though he liked making friends, Tian Feiyun was too forward: “Besides, didn’t you say your points were almost used up for buying vegetables? It’s better not to spend recklessly.”

Tian Feiyun’s ability lingered around Yu Qing but couldn’t penetrate. He cursed inwardly, frustrated by whatever was protecting him, but fearing backlash, he reluctantly gave up.

The two briefly interacted and then separated again, but Tian Feiyun didn’t stop tracking him.

Gradually, he figured out Yu Qing’s routine. Apart from checking the bulletin board in the morning, afternoon, and evening, Yu Qing went out to collect meals and occasionally took a walk with a snow leopard in the evening, rarely leaving his home.

The more he spied on Yu Qing’s life, the more envious he became. If he could latch onto Song Xinqi, he could have a life like this.

With a grasp on Yu Qing’s daily life, Tian Feiyun began to manufacture chance encounters to make his presence felt in front of him.

Back in the safe zone, Song Xinqi had been busy dealing with accumulated affairs for the past few days. Finally finding a bit of free time, he thought of a certain little waste he hadn’t seen in a long time and decided to check on Yu Qing’s recent activities.

Opening a one-way communication link, he heard the bustling streets in the background before a voice sounded behind him.

“Qingqing, what a coincidence, I’ve run into you again.”

Hearing this nickname, his fingers stopped tapping on the table, his brow furrowing deeply. Yu Qing had been seen with someone again during his absence.

Yu Qing had been out walking with the snow leopard when he heard the voice and turned around. “Tian Feiyun, hello.”

Tian Feiyun smiled as he approached, originally wanting to walk close to him, but then the threatening purr of the snow leopard from the other side warned him off.

For some reason, they kept running into each other recently. They chatted for a while on the road, and suddenly Tian Feiyun sighed, “Ah, it’s getting harder and harder to earn points lately.”

Yu Qing: “Why?”

Tian Feiyun: “The zombies outside are getting stronger again. Many of them are fused monsters. No one knows if you can eat animals fused with zombies. Food is getting scarcer, so prices naturally go up.”

“I see.”

Over this long period of time, Yu Qing had almost forgotten the specific plot of the original, but he knew that later on, the zombies would evolve crazily, and even high walls couldn’t stop the zombie hordes. Fortunately, Song Xinqi had foresight and had already built a safe zone on the sea, successfully evacuating everyone before the zombies broke through.

Whether he was included in that evacuation was uncertain. He had thought he was definitely done for, but because of the recent improvement in food, he felt there might be a chance. Perhaps Song Xinqi didn’t dislike him as much as he had imagined?

Tian Feiyun: “To save points, I only eat one meal a day. I’m so hungry.”

Yu Qing wondered, “Then why don’t you go do tasks? Now should be the time for tasks, right?”

Tian Feiyun hesitated and found an excuse, “Didn’t get one today.”

After saying a few more things, he realized that Yu Qing wasn’t falling for his traps at all, so he pointed out, “I’m really hungry. Can you lend me some food?”

Hearing this, Song Xinqi sneered inwardly. He knew this person had ill intentions. If Yu Qing didn’t recognize people and casually gave him the food he had given him, it would be a good reason to teach him a lesson.

“No, this is food I want to eat myself.” Yu Qing refused without thinking about it.
He looked at Tian Feiyun with a puzzled expression. Even if they were familiar with each other, in the safe zone, he wouldn’t unreasonably give away or ask for anything valuable.

This was the apocalypse. If he unleashed a lot of goodwill, he might attract unnecessary attention. Things could escalate into conflicts over favors or resources.

Where was the naive and innocent act? Tian Feiyun froze, unable to understand why Yu Qing could speak such cold and heartless words with such an angelic face.

“You’re not willing to help me even with this small matter?” He looked hurt. “I just need to borrow temporarily, and I’ll definitely return it once I earn enough points.”

Yu Qing pondered for a moment. “Then you should offer something in exchange.”

“What?” Tian Feiyun was taken aback.

Yu Qing tilted his head. “You’re asking to borrow food, right? In case I lend it to you and you refuse to return it, you need to offer something as collateral.”

Tian Feiyun bit his lip. “I don’t have anything to offer you.”

“In that case, I can’t lend it to you,” Yu Qing replied calmly.

Across the safe zone, Song Xinqi couldn’t help but chuckle. The little scoundrel wasn’t completely foolish.

Seeing Tian Feiyun’s various expressions, Yu Qing seemed to realize something. “So, this is your intention for getting close to me.”

Tian Feiyun: “???”

Yu Qing had a natural talent for distinguishing between good and bad people. In the eyes of others, he simply treated new acquaintances kindly or maintained caution with those he didn’t understand.

But he possessed this ability and had lived with it for two lifetimes without a single misstep.

From the very beginning, he felt something was off about Tian Feiyun. However, since he hadn’t done anything before, he kept quiet.

Now he finally understood. It turned out he had set his sights on his resources.

“Don’t misunderstand. I don’t have that intention,” Tian Feiyun tried to approach him, but Yu Xiaoxue suddenly growled at him without warning.

Yu Qing looked at him with guarded eyes. “If you don’t leave now, Xiaoxue will bite you.”

Afraid of the mutated snow leopard, Tian Feiyun reluctantly showed a stiff smile. “Since you’re not willing to give, I’ll leave. I really didn’t mean anything else. Since you don’t welcome me, I’ll go.”

Turning around, his expression instantly vanished.

For the next few days, Yu Qing didn’t encounter him again.

One day, he saw a recruitment notice on the bulletin board. Song Xinqi was assembling a new armed team for exploration, promising rich rewards but requiring strict internal qualifications and passing his personal test. The interview was scheduled for the afternoon.

Yu Qing was delighted. Did this mean Song Xinqi had returned? He wanted to discuss the food situation with him. The portions were too much; he had gained weight in just a few weeks.

After noting the time, he planned to wait a few hours before setting off. It would be best to arrive when the team selection was almost complete, minimizing the wait and seeing him immediately.

In the afternoon, Yu Qing arrived at the building. There were occasionally abilities from inside, dejected and leaving, probably those who had failed the interview.

Standing at the entrance was a tall man, hands behind his back, staring straight ahead with a unique aura.

Just as he was about to enter, the man stopped him. “Hello, please show your interview badge.”

“Huh?”

The man took out a metal pendant. “To interview for the exploration team, you need to wear this badge. Otherwise, you can’t enter.”

“I’m not here for an interview.” The man was tall, and he had to look up to see his face. “I’m here to find Song Xinqi.”

The man’s expression was stern. “Sorry, the leader doesn’t see outsiders.”

Yu Qing looked at the man, finally recalling his impression of him. “Aren’t you Peng Shu’s teammate?”

The man finally looked at Yu Qing’s face, remembering this bright and agile young man. “Yes…”

Someone passed by the entrance and saw that he was blocked by the man. He immediately intervened. “Wei Zheng, this is the boss’s person and can come in.”

Wei Zheng frowned and was about to say something when the man pulled Yu Qing into the building.

The man said to him, “This is the boss’s newly promoted deputy, Wei Zheng. He’s new and doesn’t know you. Don’t mind.”

“It’s okay.” Yu Qing waved his hands repeatedly. These people always thought he was Song Xinqi’s lover and were very enthusiastic about taking care of him.

“The boss is in the first room on the second floor. The team’s interviews are almost over, so you should be able to see him right away.”

Yu Qing nodded. “Okay, thank you.”

The man had other matters to attend to and hurried away after showing him the way. Yu Qing arrived on the second floor alone.

There weren’t many people on the second-floor corridor. He cautiously leaned out from the window to peek inside.

The scene inside startled him.

The room was dimly lit. Song Xinqi seemed to be asleep, sitting on a chair in the middle, his head drooping against the backrest.

Standing in front of him was a young man, whose back felt familiar to Yu Qing.

Slowly, the young man crouched down, tilting his head up to approach Song Xinqi’s gradually nearing face.

Yu Qing’s breath instinctively slowed as he covered his eyes with his hands. After a moment, unable to resist, he opened a small gap between his fingers to look again.

Just as the young man was about to touch Song Xinqi, he suddenly kicked him in the abdomen with force, kicking the young man far away until he hit the wall where Yu Qing was hiding. Yu Qing was startled and immediately crouched down, the glass window vibrating.

A dark aura emanated from Song Xinqi as he walked over to the young man writhing in pain. He kicked the young man’s head, who was now pale from pain.
He lifted the young man up and slammed him against the glass window. If Yu Qing had looked up at that moment, he would have seen the young man’s bloodied face.

“Tell me, what is your purpose for coming here?” Song Xinqi demanded.

Yu Qing crouched on the ground, his heart pounding. Even though Song Xinqi’s anger wasn’t directed at him directly, just hearing his voice was terrifying enough.

Unable to resist, he lifted his head and locked eyes with the person pressed against the glass window.

Tian Feiyun?

“Who’s outside? Get up!” Song Xinqi’s voice was filled with hostility.

Yu Qing trembled and shakily stood up.

Song Xinqi glared fiercely out the window. When he saw Yu Qing, his face froze for a moment, and a hint of panic flickered in his eyes.
——————–
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