"What?"
Luo Xiaole blinked, surprised that Zhou Shoushan had come to her.
Ten minutes later, she was back at her doorstep.
Two imposing soldiers stood guard at the entrance of the villa, as if on watch.
As soon as Luo Xiaole entered the house, she saw Zhou Shoushan sitting upright on the sofa.
He didn't lean back against the cushions but sat bolt upright, exuding the dignity and demeanor of a soldier.
"Commander Zhou, what brings you here?" Luo Xiaole asked, a hint of curiosity in her voice.
Without any pretense, Zhou Shoushan quickly pushed himself up, his knees bending. He looked at Luo Xiaole with utmost seriousness.
"Little friend Xiaole, I need your help with something."
Seeing his expression, Luo Xiaole knew it wasn't a simple matter. She promptly led him to an empty conference room nearby.
From her food stall, she retrieved a pot of Pu'er tea.
"Commander Zhou, please have a seat and tell me all about it."
Luo Xiaole's calm tone stood in stark contrast to her delicate appearance.
For some reason, Zhou Shoushan, who had been feeling apprehensive, suddenly found a sense of peace.
"Little friend Xiaole, I'm aware of the recent situation with the weapon shops, and I know how much effort you've put into enhancements.
I heard you even took on missions. You must not have had a proper rest in a long time, have you?"
For some reason, Zhou Shoushan's expression seemed tinged with guilt.
Luo Xiaole studied his expression, pondered for a moment, and then ventured,
"Commander Zhou, are you in need of weapons?"
Zhou Shoushan looked up at her in surprise.
"Indeed... The situation lately has been dire. The military urgently needs a batch of melee weapons, and currently, only you, little friend Xiaole, can accomplish this."
Luo Xiaole thought about it and agreed without hesitation.
Zhou Shoushan wasn't one to stir up trouble. If he sought her out, it meant the matter was urgent.
"May I ask what has happened?"
"How did you find the last mission you undertook?" Zhou Shoushan countered.
Luo Xiaole furrowed her brow, recalling the snake-like zombies, and spoke with a hint of worry.
"The mutated zombies were extremely difficult to deal with. They were incredibly fast, acted in groups, and possessed a hypnotic effect."
"Precisely," Zhou Shoushan agreed emphatically. "In fact, our soldiers have also been attacked by these snake-like zombies, suffering heavy casualties.
Moreover, besides the mutated snakes, there seem to be other mutated zombies.
And due to the abilities of these mutated zombies, our defenders are highly susceptible to hypnosis, resulting in poor mental states and significantly reduced combat effectiveness. Even those with special abilities find it hard to resist this influence.
It's now extremely dangerous to go out to collect supplies or weapons."
"I see."
Luo Xiaole nodded. "No problem, enhancing weapons can be left to me."
"Then I'll trouble you, little friend Xiaole."
"If possible, I can send a thousand weapons over tomorrow. Can they be enhanced within two days?"
Luo Xiaole considered it.
While it would be strenuous, she believed she could manage with some effort.
"No problem, bring the weapons over."
"Alright, thank you for your hard work, little friend Xiaole." Zhou Shoushan finally relaxed and took a large gulp of tea.
"Also, regarding everyone's poor condition, I might have a solution, but now is not the time."
As long as she completed missions and accumulated enough emotional energy, she could unlock buffs in her item shop.
Perhaps they could cope with the current situation.
However, she didn't want to make any promises.
Zhou Shoushan looked at her again, a sense of surprise evident in his eyes.
"She is truly more unfathomable than I imagined!"
"Commander Zhou, there's one more thing, Ah Ling and the others..." Luo Xiaole began, her words trailing off.
Zhou Shoushan immediately put down his teacup, a hint of sadness in his eyes. "As soon as I returned to the city, I dispatched people to pick them up. But who knew it would be too late? My men didn't find Ah Ling in the villa; they must have left."
"I am truly sorry." Zhou Shoushan, usually so upright, lowered his head, his voice laced with sorrow.
"Alas, there's nothing to be done. I hope Ah Ling and the others are safe," Luo Xiaole said understandingly.
"I'll take my leave for today. The weapons will be delivered tomorrow afternoon. Thank you again, little friend Xiaole."
Luo Xiaole nodded and saw Zhou Shoushan to the door.
After Luo Xiaole re-entered the house, Zhou Shoushan lowered his voice and quietly asked his two trusted aides standing nearby,
"Are you monitoring Kaifeng's recent activities?"
"The person by the young master's side is indeed suspicious, but we haven't found any anomalies in the young master's actions."
"Continue to monitor them," Zhou Shoushan's brow furrowed as if deep in thought.
"Also, with the recent drastic weather changes and a large number of citizens falling ill, some people are deliberately hiring others to hoard medicinal herbs. Investigate who is behind this."
After giving his instructions, Zhou Shoushan left with his men.
"Xiaole!" Zhou Xiaojun leaped out from a nearby room.
"Heavens, Commander Zhou seems to be investigating his own son." He looked as if he'd just heard a juicy piece of gossip.
Luo Xiaole felt like kneeling before him. "How can you be eavesdropping on secrets every day?"
Zhou Xiaojun scratched his head. "I'm not always eavesdropping; I just happened to hear it."
Luo Xiaole made a shushing gesture at him. "You must never speak of such things carelessly in the future. If it truly involves secrets, it could be problematic."
"Understood, understood. Don't worry, my lips are sealed tight." Zhou Xiaojun nodded.
Thinking about the upcoming tasks, Luo Xiaole sighed and walked to the swing by the door, sitting down.
The courtyard was quiet now, with no one else around.
"You expect that guy Zhou Xiaojun to keep his mouth shut? You might as well expect him to take on ten percent of the zombies single-handedly."
Lin Xia's teasing voice drifted from behind.
Luo Xiaole turned her head and saw Lin Xia leaning against the doorframe, still looking as heroic and spirited as before.
"I remember when I first met you outside the supermarket, you were kidnapped and helpless.
Now, in the blink of an eye, even the commander comes to you personally for help."
Lin Xia smiled and sat down beside her.
"I knew it. Back then, in that situation, the person who still spoke up for me wouldn't be an ordinary individual. My judgment of people is quite accurate."
Luo Xiaole chuckled. "So, you turned around and saved me at the airport because you saw me as a potential investment?"
Her words made Lin Xia laugh heartily. "It's not entirely wrong to put it that way."
"But seriously, seeing you reminds me of my sister. If she were still alive, she'd be about your age now.
Unfortunately, she got lost three years ago.
After my father was betrayed by his subordinate, ambushed by the Green Dragon Gang, and finally died among the zombies, I had no one left besides my sister."
Lin Xia, usually so cheerful, lowered her head, looking a little forlorn.
"Well, then you can treat me as your older sister. If I had a sister like you, I'd be very happy." Luo Xiaole joked.
Hearing her say this, Lin Xia's eyes seemed to well up with tears.
"No problem. From now on, I'm your sister, and I'll protect you."
Lin Xia's tone carried an inexplicable firmness.
The two fell silent in the silhouette of the setting sun.
Since the apocalypse, Luo Xiaole had rarely had moments like this, where she could quietly enjoy something.
Life had always felt like a continuous cycle of escape, travel, and life-or-death combat.
As the sun dipped below the horizon and the surroundings grew dim, Lin Xia pulled her to her feet to head back.
"Also, sister, aren't you curious about how Mo Chen developed his combat skills?" Lin Xia asked, turning her head after a few steps.
"His skills are clearly not something honed overnight; they were forged in life-or-death battles, I can tell that at a glance.
His experiences, or rather, his background, might be far more complex than we imagine.
Sister, I want you to find happiness, but I also don't want you to be entangled in too much danger."
Luo Xiaole paused. She knew Lin Xia meant well.
However, on the other hand, hearing Lin Xia say this, she felt a strange pang of sympathy for Mo Chen.
When he was bullied in the alley, he was defenseless. If he hadn't possessed this mastery of combat, how did he acquire such life-or-death fighting skills later on?
...
After everyone had a pleasant dinner once again, Luo Xiaole lazily went upstairs.
She dumped the clothes Luo Shu had brought back onto the bed.
She intended to use her enhancement skill to strengthen them.
Recently, more and more things were causing her unease.
If she didn't reinforce some defensive clothing, she wouldn't feel secure.
[Defense Skill Activated: Iron Wall Shield!]
She reinforced all the clothes she had bought at the shop today in one go!