It seems Xie Li isn't going to give in easily anytime soon.
Guess I'll have to let her go hungry for a while and see what happens.
If worst comes to worst, maybe she'll end up as zombie bait.
In this world where survival is everything, Chen Du doesn't plan on keeping someone around if they're not useful.
In normal times, he might've kept her around for company.
But now, his only focus is staying alive.
"Enough thinking about that," Chen Du muttered, shaking his head to clear his thoughts. He stripped off his clothes and hung them neatly on a hanger, leaving himself in nothing but a pair of boxers.
Xie Li tensed up, pulling her knees closer together, and snapped, "What do you think you're doing?!"
Her words sounded like an accusation, but the tremble in her voice, combined with her delicate features, only made her seem more vulnerable—and perhaps even more tempting.
Chen Du narrowed his eyes and said, "I'm not stupid enough to waste energy on anything unnecessary when resources are so tight."
Caught off guard, Xie Li blushed and tried to retort.
"You…"
Chen Du flopped onto the couch, pulling a blanket over himself, cutting her off mid-sentence.
"Save your breath. Instead of yelling, you should get some rest."
With that, he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.
Before long, soft snores filled the room.
Left with no choice, Xie Li lay down on the cold floor, trying to rest. But hunger gnawed at her stomach, keeping her tossing and turning through the night. The lemon water earlier had only made things worse, churning in her empty stomach.
The next morning, sunlight streamed through the window, waking Chen Du.
He stretched lazily, sat up, and glanced at Xie Li with a smirk. "Well, would you look at this? A panda sitting right here. Did animals start joining the apocalypse too?"
Xie Li sat slumped against the wall, her face pale, eyes bloodshot, and dark circles framing her sunken eyes. Clearly, she hadn't slept a wink.
Too exhausted to argue, Xie Li ignored Chen Du's teasing. Her mind felt foggy, her body drained.
All of this was exactly what Chen Du expected.
A woman who'd gone all day without food, finally getting some water—but lemon water of all things—was bound to toss and turn all night from hunger.
"Hungry? Want breakfast?"
Chen Du held out a sandwich to Xie Li's mouth.
The smell hit her nostrils, and her stomach growled loudly in response.
But she clenched her jaw, resisting the urge, and turned her head away stubbornly.
Chen Du grinned and gave her a thumbs-up. "Impressive willpower!"
Then, without hesitation, he took a big bite of the sandwich himself.
As he chewed, he exaggeratedly moaned, "Mmm, delicious!"
After successfully breaking down Xie Li's defenses for the morning, Chen Du opened his mailbox.
True to form, the system had delivered today's supplies.
Unlimited 9mm bullets!
Such critical ammunition—and unlimited, no less!
Chen Du's heart raced with excitement.
But he quickly calmed himself. After all, finding a gun compatible with these bullets wouldn't be easy. Even though suitable weapons would eventually appear on the trading platform, time was running out.
The abandoned supermarket he called home could be overrun by zombies at any moment. If they decided to charge in, he'd be done for.
Without wasting another second, Chen Du logged into the trading platform and started browsing.
By noon, despite finding a few decent items, he still hadn't spotted what he truly needed.
During lunch, Chen Du picked at a plate of fried rice, then suddenly sighed. "This is tough."
Beside him, Xie Li, her voice weak and raspy, said, "If you're going to eat, can you at least not do it right in front of me?"
Chen Du shook the plate lightly and replied, "I could, but why bother?"
Xie Li didn't argue further. She simply lay back down, closed her eyes, and pretended to ignore him.
Chen Du continued muttering to himself, "This fried rice is way too greasy. Can't finish it."
Just as Xie Li thought he was done, she heard the unmistakable sound of food hitting the trash bin. She opened her eyes sharply.
Sure enough, Chen Du had dumped the entire plate of fried rice into the trash!
"What are you doing?!" she shouted angrily.
Chen Du turned to her with a grin. "Simple. If I can't eat it, I throw it away."
Xie Li stared at him in disbelief. "Are you insane? That's perfectly good food! Do you even realize how selfish you're being?"
Chen Du shrugged nonchalantly. "Oh, you want it? You seem pretty worked up about it. Fine, I'll give you some. I've got plenty more."
Xie Li glared at him fiercely before lying back down and closing her eyes again.
Watching her swallow hard at the lingering scent of food in the air, Chen Du couldn't help but smirk inwardly. Let's see how much longer you can hold out.
Chen Du opened the chat channel and began scrolling through recent messages.
After surviving the chaos of the first day, many players were adapting to life in the apocalypse. Some reported scavenging for supplies, while others claimed to have killed zombies already. Of course, far more had become meals for the undead.
As Chen Du scrolled, one message caught his eye:
ID 85856: "Selling an M9 pistol. Any takers? PM me with offers!"
The post sparked a flurry of comments.
ID 23452: "Damn, some people are already armed on Day 2. All I've got is a damn razor."
ID 23345: "So jealous!"
"…"
Chen Du immediately sent a private message.
"Hey, is the gun still available? What's your price?"
The seller replied quickly.
"It's still here. Interested? I want 100 bottles of water and 100 units of food, any kind."
Chen Du suppressed his excitement and countered cautiously. "That's ridiculous! Scavenging is brutal right now. Just staying alive is a challenge. Besides, that pistol probably doesn't even have bullets left—I'd have to buy ammo separately!"
The seller typed back, "What's your offer?"
Chen Du replied, "At most, 10 bottles of water and 10 loaves of bread."
There was a long pause before the seller responded.
Chen Du's heart pounded as he waited. Just as he considered raising his bid, the reply came.
"Fine, consider it a gesture of friendship."
There was no doubt this pistol was worth far more than that.
But the current circumstances were extraordinary—survival took precedence above all else.
Those who could spare extra food and water were few and far between, leaving him with no alternative.
The other party listed the M9 on the trade interface.
Once both sides confirmed, the deal was struck, and the supplies began shipping through the mail system!