049 : The search for supplies did not go smoothly; the shops and supermarkets around Jinxin Community had long been looted clean, leaving nothing but empty shells and scattered ruins. With no other choice, they had to venture farther afield. Yet after searching in a wide circle, they found absolutely nothing. They couldn't possibly return empty-handed. Luo Yesheng's heart stirred as he thought of Feilong's former camp—the Sunshine Holiday Hotel. The members of the Flying Dragon organization have set up camp at the Holiday Inn, so there must be plenty of supplies there. Now that their leader, Feng Leijie, is dead and most of the ability users within the organization have perished, it's uncertain whether the survivors will continue to stay at the Holiday Inn. Since no supplies can be found in the surrounding area anyway, it might as well be worth checking it out. The most interesting phenomenon encountered along the way was running into some zombie beasts; however, before they could even approach, those creatures hastily fled and vanished without a trace.

If they had any thoughts, they'd probably be thinking: "Damn it, isn't it better to stay in your own territory? Why come here and mess with us?"

Of course, the cause of this situation was that humanoid zombie controller—the Level 5 Zombie. Creatures of the same kind can more easily sense danger and oppressive pressure. After Grandpa upgraded to Level 5, even if there were zombies or zombie beasts within a five-li radius of Jinxin Community, every single one of them kept their tails tucked and hid away. However, farther away from the surroundings of Jinxin Community, the numbers of zombies and zombie beasts actually increased. However, when Luo Yesheng's modified vehicle passed by, if viewed from above, one could see the living dead fleeing for their lives, occasionally interspersed with corpse beasts, as if chased by ghosts from behind. At first, Luo Yesheng cautiously raised the car windows to prevent any reckless creature from suddenly rushing over and frightening the little snowball sitting in the passenger seat.

Later, noticing how the little girl pressed her face eagerly against the glass, keenly observing the scenery outside, and confirming that a level-five zombie was guarding the vehicle—making no zombie foolish enough to approach and risk dying again—he lowered the windows, allowing Bianbian to excitedly stick half her head out to watch the continuously retreating city center. Glancing at the little girl's curious face, Luo Yesheng thought, What's so interesting to look at? The city had long fallen into ruin; broken limbs and shattered bones were visible everywhere. The ground was covered in a layer of rotting dust, and the air hung heavy with a pungent stench that made one's stomach turn. Every corner, every spot, proclaimed to the survivors the suffocating despair of this world. Yet to the five-year-old child currently exploring, each of these scenes held a different meaning; in her eyes, every brick and tile was something entirely unique.

Passing by a shop that used to sell accessories, Xiu Jin saw its contents smashed into a pile. Through the broken display window, he could make out some dolls hanging on the wall inside. Though covered in dust and looking filthy, their features suggested they would regain their beauty with just a good cleaning. Luo Yesheng's gaze swept over the ugly little bear Bianbian held in her hands.

"Bianbian, would you like to swap it for a prettier doll?"

"No."

Bianbian shook her head firmly, hugging the bear tighter. Her eyes curved into happy crescents.

"I have Gray-Gray now. Gray-Gray is very pretty."

Alright then. Luo Yesheng forced himself to look away from the gray teddy bear, deeply concerned about the little girl's taste. The only one he could talk to in the car was Bianbian. Luo Yesheng said, "Let's go check out a hotel first. If there are people there, we'll trade crystal shards for supplies."

"If there's no one, we'll look somewhere else."

Bianbian nodded obediently. Forty minutes later, the iron-clad beast slowly came to a halt on the street at the entrance of the Holiday Inn. Obviously, the remaining members of Flying Dragon had already evacuated, meaning they would have taken all the supplies with them. There was little point in going inside to investigate further.

"There will be lots of soft, fragrant blankets inside that we can take home," Bianbian said, clearly aware of the hotel's nature and unwilling to let anything go to waste.

"Also knives, spoons, and forks. Uncle Zhu Yuan ate several spoons already; we don't have many left at home."

True, the hotel certainly doesn't lack these; they also fall under the category of "supplies."

Luo Yesheng drove the car straight to the entrance. Bianbian's small hands struggled somewhat to unbuckle the seatbelt. Neither the adult nor the child was in a hurry to get out. After about two minutes, several zombies stumbled anxiously out of the hotel entrance, quickly detouring around the metal beast and hurrying away. These were all ordinary zombies, their limbs severely stiffened, yet at this moment, each one seemed desperate to swing their legs as fast as possible.

"Grandpa is so amazing!"

Bianbian turned around and handed Grandpa a "Amazing Card,"

her tone brimming with pride. The clever little girl had long noticed that those monsters feared Grandpa, who was also a monster, thus reinforcing in her mind once again the impression that Grandpa had become even more powerful. Grandpa is always the most amazing one~ The Level 3 zombie let out an unhappy howl, its equally gray-white, cold eyes fixed on Bianbian, as if saying: Why didn't you praise me? It even seemed a bit aggrieved. Bianbian noticed immediately and curved her eyes without falling behind: "Uncle Zhu Yuan is also very amazing."

Luo Yesheng could see from the rearview mirror the expression displayed by that Level-3 zombie—it looked just like a child who had received their favorite candy. Only heaven knows why he could read such an emotion from a zombie's face. Then Bianbian added, "But you're still not as amazing as Grandpa."

Thus, Luo Yesheng had the privilege of witnessing how a zombie could shift from "happy"

to "dejected."

"…"

Oh well, in any case, these two zombies were constantly reshaping his understanding of reality. After a while, Luo Yesheng and Bianbian entered the hotel, with the two zombies following at a moderate distance behind them. Since Bianbian wanted knives, forks, bowls, and plates, Luo Yesheng relied on his experience to quickly locate the hotel's kitchen. Only after confirming it was safe did he gesture for Bianbian to enter. The hotel kitchen was spacious, divided into several sections. From the traces left behind, it was evident that someone had used this place not long ago. Luo Yesheng discovered a box inside a standing cabinet, containing an unopened set of tableware. All made of crystal, they were quite beautiful. He tapped the cup of instant noodles with his knuckle; the crisp sound indicated it was a high-quality, expensive brand. Surviving alone in the wilderness, Luo Yesheng cared nothing for material comforts—he was the type who could sleep even in a coffin.

Food just needs to taste good and fill the stomach; he never cared whether it was served in a bowl or something else. Yet after living with Bianbian for a while, influenced by the little girl, he had inexplicably become "refined."

Upon seeing beautiful crystal tableware, his first thought was how stunning it would look arranged on the dining table. His "little mistress"

would love it. In the past, Luo Yesheng would never have wanted such things—they took up space and served no purpose. Now… he casually stuffed more than a dozen sets into the supply bag.

"Uncle Zhu Yuan, that's not edible!"

Bianbian curiously looked left and right, with the elderly zombie following closely behind her. Ever since reaching level five, Grandpa still wouldn't allow Bianbian to get close to him—for instance, holding his hand or trying to hug him—but the distance between them had noticeably decreased; he could now stand almost directly behind her. With an elderly zombie providing close protection, Luo Yesheng could finally feel at ease letting the little girl wander around the back kitchen. Thus, while Bianbian was "treasure hunting,"

she saw Uncle Zhu Yuan hugging a basin and gnawing on it. The little girl felt utterly helpless—why did Uncle Zhu Yuan like eating such things so much? The Level 3 zombie, who had secretly tried to take a bite, realized it had been spotted and reluctantly let go of the large basin. It then shifted its target to an unused steel wool pad on the stone counter and, taking advantage of Bianbian's inattention, quickly shoved it into its mouth. Then it spat it out with a series of "pui pui pui"

sounds. Worse than grass. …… Bianbian pulled open a drawer and found a brand-new pack of cleaning cloths along with several packs of plastic gloves. Though hardly anything special, the little girl treated them like precious treasures, her small face blooming with a smile like a flower as she murmured to herself, "These can be used to wash dishes."

To make her "treasure hunting"

more convenient, she handed Huihui over to Grandpa to hold. Having likely leveled up, and having absorbed a considerable number of crystals during this period, the elderly zombie, once thin as a sheet of paper, had gained quite a bit of flesh, just like Bianbian. The towering elderly zombie held the gray teddy bear delicately in its five-fingered hand, its attention occasionally drawn to the red stitching on the bear's arm. A strange impulse urged the old man to tear that thread away. Because… it was too ugly. The drawer slightly ajar was beneath the sink. As she placed her "treasure"

into the bag specially meant for supplies—with a soft "thud"

—the little girl noticed a small door around the corner; the sound seemed to have come from behind it. The Level 3 zombie paced back and forth in the kitchen, occasionally clattering things around, so Bianbian couldn't be sure whether there were truly sounds coming from behind the door. Grandpa lowered his head again to look at the red thread on Little Bear's arm. This time, he couldn't hold himself back and raised his other hand—his palm was a deathly bluish-gray, his nails even darker, nearly black. The long nails that had only been trimmed yesterday with Luo Yesheng's help had, after just one day, grown back into sharp curves. Grandpa wanted to use his sharp nails to pick apart the red stitching. After stuffing in several sets of crystal tableware, Luo Yesheng began searching for something edible, though without much hope. The Level 3 zombie forced itself into the gap between the bottom shelf and the floor, managing to squeeze in only half its head before getting stuck.

The door was ajar. Bianbian glanced at Grandpa, then at Luo Yesheng on the other side; Uncle Zhu Yuan hadn't noticed it. A few seconds later, Bianbian shouted loudly, "Uncle Luo, there's a door here! I heard sounds coming from inside!"

Sounds? Luo Yesheng's expression turned grave, and he quickly approached. ……

"Huh? Your Highness, she didn't push the door open herself? How strange."

The intelligent butler passed behind the sofa, glancing at the screen where all the data was clearly displayed. The smart robot couldn't help but voice its puzzlement. According to its understanding, humans possessed endless curiosity, along with a fearless spirit of seeking answers amidst danger—or more accurately speaking, a certain tendency to court death. Based on this understanding, in situations like this, most people would be unable to resist pushing the door.

"…You're actually spying on me playing games?"

The Seventh Prince, who had been lying on the sofa completely absorbed in his game, was startled by the sudden, silent remark from the intelligent butler. His face darkened until it seemed ready to drip venom. The intelligent butler defended itself: "Your Highness, you are mistaken. I was not spying; I merely passed by. As you know, when my eyes rotate, they automatically scan the surroundings, and the images on your screen are transmitted to my database. This is not spyi…"

"Silence!"

"Understood."

The obedient butler fell silent, yet just before doing so, it asked in an inquisitive tone, "Your Highness, according to past data, every time you play this child-rearing game, you are exceptionally cheerful. However, over the last two days, you have become angry thirteen times while playing. What is the reason?"

"Get out!!!"

This time, the smart butler rolled away promptly. ※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※ Promoting a friend's little story; cute readers who are interested might want to take a look~ "Live-Streaming Farming After Divorcing the Movie King"

by She Mi Xia Tian transmigrates into a popular young actress in an entertainment industry novel, with a breathtakingly handsome husband: the movie king, Chi Zhi. Little did she know that her husband had only entered into a contractual marriage with Xia Tian for the sake of his first love, the female lead; now that the contract had expired, he was solely focused on divorcing her to pursue his first love once again. Recalling how the original owner, desperate to avoid divorce, lost herself and resorted to every possible scheme, only to end up ruined, disgraced, and meeting a miserable death. Xia Tian, who now possessed a heaven-defying spatial pocket capable of growing anything delicious, shivered: "Bye-bye then, sir~"

Having come to her senses, Xia Tian decisively divorced, retired from show business, and left the entertainment circle; she was going to— Divorce! Stay away from the main plot! Keep clear of the male and female leads! Live life on your own terms! On the second day after the divorce, Chi Zhi received the news: #Shocking! A popular young actress, unable to cope with the blow of divorce, has left the entertainment industry to become a farmer!# Chi Zhi: … Day N Since the Divorce: #Confessing to Xia Tian Online, Heading to the Fields to See the Most Beautiful Farmer# #While Other Fans Boost Ratings and Organize Support Campaigns, Tian-Tian's Fans Watch Geese, Harvest Melons, and Farm in the Clouds# Xia Tian farms, practices wellness, teases geese, and livestreams, watching her fan count soar as she becomes the most beautiful farmer in history… Then one day, Chi Zhi drags over a small suitcase: "Wifey~ I noticed you might be missing someone to warm your bed, no?"

Xia Tian [with an icy expression]: "Not needed!"

The next day, the top fan in Xia Tian's livestream room declares his love online: [ "Tian Tian, Tian Tian, I love you! Just like a mouse loves rice!"

] Meanwhile, the "Zhi Le"

fans discovered that their idol's Weibo signature had changed to— 【On the banyan tree by the pond, Zhi Le is chirping summer away~】 Xia Tian: "!"

Where's your dignity? What happened to the cool, aloof, untouchable persona you promised? And what about swearing the female lead was your eternal white moonlight?