Chapter 36 - 34: Being Followed and Self-Massage

Chapter 36: Chapter 34: Being Followed and Self-Massage

The next day.

Xia Yu got up, washed her face, drank a glass of warm water, and then chatted on the phone with her uncle for a while.

"They’ve started the work?"

’Uncle is as reliable as ever.’

She began to eat her breakfast slowly, savoring every bite.

After ten years in the Apocalypse, just being alive was a luxury, let alone eating a proper meal. Having been reborn, she naturally wanted to cherish these moments.

After her meal, she casually washed her bowl and chopsticks. Looking at the spotless, grease-free kitchen, Xia Yu couldn’t help but smile. "Little Tian is as much of a clean freak as ever."

’Does he actually treat doing chores as a form of exercise?’

’I just wonder if his small frame will be able to handle cleaning a place as big as the apocalypse survival base.’

This made her even more determined to find resources that could enhance her physical fitness—if for no other reason than to ensure her brother had the stamina to clean the apocalypse survival base.

「In the time that followed.」

Xia Yu took out a sheet of paper. It was densely covered with dates, monetary amounts, and locations. A closer look revealed them to be the records of Liu Daqing and Nian Dali’s illegal transactions.

She took a photo of it and sent it as a multimedia message to Liu Daqing’s personal phone number.

The personal phone number was just one of the contact methods she had obtained from Nian Dali. If Liu Daqing didn’t reply all day, she wouldn’t mind sending it to his personal email.

Or she could go to his residence and discuss the matter with him in person.

If all else failed, she could always go find Liu Daqing’s son.

Afterward, lacking proper equipment, Xia Yu began to train the Power in her fingers, palms, arms, and legs using furniture and her own body weight.

An hour later, she started working on her core Power.

Another hour passed.

She took a short break to drink some water, then immediately began training her reflexes, full-body coordination, and explosive strength—all of which were directly related to combat effectiveness.

Even when she reached her body’s limit, she didn’t stop. Forcing herself to endure the physical exhaustion, she continued to train, trying to push her limits and make herself stronger.

In the Apocalypse, one was in constant danger and always had to conserve some energy. It was impossible to break through one’s limits just by training; that could only be done through combat and killing.

Before the Apocalypse, however, the situation was the complete opposite. This period was a greater test of self-discipline; she absolutely could not afford to slack off.

「At 12:30 p.m.」

After working out all morning, she was famished. She took a quick shower, dried her long hair, and went downstairs to the Shaanxi Noodle House.

「At that moment.」

"Baby, here, have a bite."

"You have a bite too, sweetie."

Inside the noodle shop, a couple was feeding each other noodles. Their public display of affection was so over-the-top it was a little sickening.

Just as the man finished blowing on a noodle to cool it down for his girlfriend, he saw Xia Yu. His eyes immediately went wide, and he accidentally shoved the noodle right into his girlfriend’s nose.

"Is she pretty?"

"Yeah, pretty."

"Let’s break up."

"Huh? Baby, don’t be mad! I... I just thought her hair tie was nice and wanted to buy one for you."

"Don’t follow me, you scumbag."

Seeing the couple’s dramatic breakup, the other patrons in the noodle shop were secretly delighted.

Used to this sort of thing, Xia Yu calmly ordered a bowl of Qishan-style noodles.

When Qishan-style noodles were made well, they were truly delicious.

And as it happened, this shop was famous far and wide for its delicious Qishan-style noodles.

It was Xia Yu’s favorite. The familiar taste from the very first bite filled her with nostalgia. An impractical thought even crossed her mind: ’After the Apocalypse hits, should I capture the owner and make him cook noodles just for me at my base?’

Of course, the thought was fleeting.

She slowly savored a full two bowls.

After scanning the code to pay, Xia Yu returned home.

Peeking through a gap in her window, she saw a figure downstairs looking around furtively.

"Wang Quanzhi?"

Her elegant brows furrowed slightly. ’Hasn’t a warrant already been issued for Xie Shaokun? Why is a police informant still watching me?’

This would severely restrict her movements.

If not for her strong sense of vigilance and exceptional counter-surveillance skills, she probably wouldn’t have even noticed Wang Quanzhi tailing her. After all, plenty of people had been sneaking glances at her just now, some even taking pictures.

’Could I use this to my advantage and further clear myself of suspicion?’

Xia Yu’s eyes lit up as a rough plan began to form in her mind.

「Dinnertime.」

She didn’t go out to eat, because her younger brother would be back to cook.

A small incident occurred during dinner.

"Sis, has the food been that good lately? You’ve gained some weight."

"The New Year is almost here, shouldn’t we be eating well? What’s wrong with gaining a little weight? Besides, it only went to the right places, not the wrong ones, okay? Why are you so nosy?"

Xia Yu rolled her eyes.

Her brother’s powers of observation were as sharp as ever, which was a real headache. Fortunately, she never coddled him and shut him down so directly that he didn’t dare ask any more questions, saving her a lot of explaining.

「After dinner.」

Xia Tian finished cleaning up and started on his homework.

Once he was done, he took out some books for self-study while pondering the news he’d recently learned: Xie Shaokun had disappeared. The police had even sent people to his school to investigate the guy. With a little digging, Xia Tian discovered that Xie Shaokun had actually become a wanted fugitive, apparently connected to the Mist Event.

’He was that capable? How come I never noticed before?’

’And what’s the deal with the Mist Event, anyway?’

’It’s happening all over the world, and there are so many monsters inside... Something big is about to happen.’

Xia Tian realized this was no small matter and delved deeper into his research. ’Should I get Wang Zhe to build an apocalypse survival base and stock up on food and Weapons, just in case?’

Determined to protect his sister, he quickly made up his mind.

The next step was to get a large sum of money.

He began to formulate a plan.

PING.

Just then, a message from Wang Zhe arrived: "Exams are over in a couple of days. Want to go hang out? I heard a lot of the fruits and vegetables over at the Joyful Picking Garden are ripe. Want to go check it out together?"

Xia Tian rubbed his tired eyes. He figured it would be nice to go out and have some fun before the New Year, so he picked up his phone and typed a reply.

「Elsewhere.」

Xia Yu, who was giving herself a massage to soothe her sore muscles, finally received a reply from Liu Daqing.

She stopped what she was doing and opened her phone...