"The following are the main locations where zombies attacked today. Currently, 10 citizens have been infected. Patrol and mobile teams have been dispatched at the earliest possible time to minimize casualties.
The mobile team has been fully deployed to investigate the source of the zombies. Citizens are urged not to panic, to reduce outings, and to take precautions.
The news had been playing for half of its duration, still only mentioning zombies and the recent 'flu'…
Zhou Kaifeng frowned, looking puzzled. 'Why aren't these people making the mall stampede the headline? So many casualties…'
Probably saving it for the grand finale.
'That concludes today's news…'
Zhou Kaifeng was shocked.
There was no news about the shopping mall?
'How do you gather your information? Hasn't the mall incident been compiled yet?' He dialed the base card, connecting to a reporter.
'Young Master Zhou, there was no stampede at the mall today significant enough for reporting. We hope you will provide accurate leads in the future. Thank you for your cooperation.'
'Beep!' The call was abruptly hung up by Qin Mingyang.
He clenched his fist, a sinister glint in his eyes.
'Crash!' He violently threw a cup off the table, smashing it on the floor, shattering into pieces!
'How could this be… What did she do… I saw the stampede with my own eyes! There's no way that situation could have stabilized!'
'Young… Young Master…' His subordinate pushed the door open, startled by the scene, and then delivered another piece of news.
'That Luo Xiaole… the medicine in her shop hasn't even sold out yet!'
'What!' Zhou Kaifeng was completely bewildered now.
In this post-apocalyptic world, even with the city rebuilt, more than half the population was lost. Their numbers were less than one percent of what they were before.
They had hoarded so much stock from other places and her shop, enough to monopolize the city's medicine supply for half a month. How could there still be so much left?
'Damn it, we control the pharmaceutical factory. Where did she get the medicine?'
The ferocity in Zhou Kaifeng's eyes intensified.
'This bean sprout must be eliminated before the operation day. With such strength, she might truly ruin my plans.'
…
Meanwhile, Luo Xiaole was counting money in her villa.
Yes, looking at the balance in her system, she could hardly believe it.
Even though she had said the medicine supply was sufficient and there was no need to hoard, the surge in customers stocking up due to zombie outbreaks and medicine shortages today had caused her shop's turnover to skyrocket.
Her transaction points had surged to 6 million!
'Your account has received 6,024,500, with a balance of 6,117,135 shop coins.'
She rubbed her eyes in disbelief…
Then, she looked with great confusion at one particularly large transaction… 2 million…
This was a one-time deposit, meaning one customer had been exceptionally generous, buying tens of thousands of boxes of medicine at once…
Someone who would do something so foolish…
She thought carefully, and only one name popped into her head: Zhou Kaifeng…
'Pfft… Hahahaha, this is hilarious!' After hearing Luo Xiaole's account, Luo Shu and the others burst into laughter.
'This is Xiaole's ability! As long as Xiaole is fine, the pharmacy's medicine supply is endless! They want to clear it out? They'll need another five hundred years.'
'Talk about a sucker! Hahaha!'
'But we can't let our guard down.' Luo Xiaole shivered from the cold and rubbed her arms, about to go upstairs for a jacket.
Suddenly, a jacket was draped over her shoulders.
A faint, crisp scent of woody citrus instantly filled her nostrils, bringing a peculiar sense of satisfaction and security.
'Ahem…' A series of throat-clearing sounds followed.
Luo Xiaole no longer held back, smiling gleefully, and continued her topic.
'They are now acting openly, but I don't think it's just about hoarding medicine. They've stockpiled it, but according to Qin Mingyang, if they try to tamper with it or switch it…'
'The pharmaceutical factory,' Lin Xia interjected, learning to answer preemptively.
'Exactly!' She was just about to say that she planned to check the base's pharmaceutical factory in the next few days for any suspicious traces.
'I'll go check out the pharmaceutical factory!' Chen Xiaolin chimed in again.
'???' Luo Xiaole raised her eyebrows in surprise. Were her teammates all in the self-service catering industry now? Why were they so proactive!
'There's a zombie crisis outside these days, it's not safe for you to go. I can just take a stroll, and the zombies won't be able to do much to me.'
That made sense!
This task was thus entrusted to Chen Xiaolin.
'Also, today I replaced some of the cold medicine with buff potions. To verify Qin Mingyang's claims, we just need to see if the condition of those who took the buff improves.'
At the time, she hadn't fully trusted Qin Mingyang. Only experimentation could yield the answer.
Besides, her buffs had no side effects, so even if they were sick, taking them would be fine.
'Me! Me!' Luo Shu eagerly raised her hand. 'I'll investigate the patient's condition!'
'Me too! I'll go with you!' Zhou Xiaojun was also unusually excited.
He hadn't had a proper job these past few days, and his hands were itching.
He loved working now. It was impossible not to work; it would never happen!
'Ok! Here's the list of customers whose cold medicine was replaced with buffs!'
'Leave it to us, and just watch!'
Luo Xiaole found her teammates incredibly easy to manage!
'Oh, and Mo Chen, one more thing. Starting tomorrow, can you please teach me how to practice shooting~?' Luo Xiaole turned to face Mo Chen, her cheeks slightly flushed.
Now that she had her own system weapon shop, it wouldn't do to not know how to use a gun, especially as the shop owner.
Besides, she couldn't always fight from a distance. With the eve of unrest approaching, she needed to learn more skills to protect herself.
Being stared at by Luo Xiaole, Mo Chen's face inexplicably turned red, like a perfectly cooked duck.
'Then we want to learn too!' The rest of them clamored.
This was their chance! As the 'head of the household,' Luo Xiaole had equipped each of them with a set of weapons. If they didn't learn now, when would they?
'…Okay…' Mo Chen only managed to utter a single word through gritted teeth.
The living room was filled with a blindingly bright group of lightbulbs!!!
…
'Beep… Beep…' The base's communication card rang.
'Private room, usual spot.' Zhou Kaifeng's somewhat irate voice came from the card, reaching Cheng Miao's ears.
'Tsk, this young master, what's he angry about now.'
Ten minutes later, Cheng Miao was sitting in Zhou Kaifeng's usual private room.
'That Luo Xiaole, when are you planning to make your move!'
'Oh, why is Young Master Zhou in such a hurry?' Cheng Miao's tone was laced with teasing.
'She's ruining my plans!'
'Don't worry, young master. I've specifically arranged several teams to deal with her. They'll act tomorrow, tailor-made according to her 'weaknesses.' I guarantee she'll wish she were dead!'"