I struggled to calm myself and avoided waking another beast. After taking a deep breath, I sighed and slipped Mu Qinglan off my body. She weighed a lot more than earlier and her muscles looked more toned and... well, sexy.
"Sleep well, Qinglan."
Though she was my trump card, immune to the virus or disease but I didn't want to overuse her and tried my best to treat Mu Qinglan like a human.
This time, it paid off.
▼ Mu Qinglan has reached Stage 2!
Mu Qinglan has reached the next step
Mu Qinglan is the first recorded Human to reach Stage 2!
+ John Wang Enhancement Bonus!
You Fed Qinglan the first Stage Two Core!
Mu Qinglan's Affection +70
I couldn't believe that finally, Qinglan had reached the level of Loyalty plus like Shen Yifei, this would enable me to relax a little more around her. But the amount of ZKP and EXP made it feel like the system planned for me to face such danger.
That buying those items when facing Stage 2 was all part of its grand scheme.
'Am I being paranoid?'
There wasn't enough information, and he didn't know if the disease was from some broken lab somewhere or an alien or magical lifeform. But it wasn't the time to be worrying about something ... If Qinglan survived and evolved, then others could.
Since I reached my current level of spirit, I could sometimes see a faint essence that flowed from zombies when killed. This essence would float into the people that attacked or helped kill it.
The essence must be what helped bring someone to the brink of Evolution.
Because my stats increased when fighting the zombies near Old Lei's house and I didn't evolve or take any special items.
'Let's find out...' I thought.
But I couldn't leave Mu Qinglan alone here with Wang Yun in the building.
We planned to hold a vote in the evening.
To see if the women wanted to go out and kill zombies while looking for resources.
With our current strength, the mall wasn't an option but suicide.
I wanted to help train both Shen Yifei and Jiang Roulan to reach the level needed to fight zombies like Mu Qinglan.
With countless things on my mind, I decided to train before it was time for dinner, wanting to improve myself and get used to my changes before leaving.
Also hoping that Qinglan would wake up.
Dinner wasn't anything special... no, it was delicious, really delicious! But you can only eat special fried rice with leftover meat or a microwave meal so many times when working till late each day.
And Qinglan didn't wake up.
"Thanks for the meal."
I let out a long sigh and looked at Jiang Roulan and Shen Yifei. It seemed they brought some food to Wang Yun to avoid him complaining. But I didn't care so much. He wasn't someone I planned to keep or let become one of my followers.
'Once Jiang Roulan enters my system...' I thought.
Suddenly as I thought of countless ways to make the fat man squeal before death. Jiang Roulan, holding a bottle of whiskey and two glasses, approached me. Her face looked a little complicated, and I wondered what she might have to ask.
"Its..." I noticed her resistance and pulled back.
"Well, shall we have a drink first? Yifei do you want some?"
Shen Yifei was a strange woman that I only accepted into the group because she was pretty and the system convinced me to. Even now, she gained me experience points, though much less than killing zombies. I could reach Rank Four at any moment now.
"D-Don't mind about me, I've got something to do..."
What could she have to do in the apocalypse and inside my house?
I couldn't help but wonder.
We moved to the veranda because Shen Yifei seemed a little strange, and I couldn't help but keep looking back.
'Maybe she knew the reason?'
The cool evening wind blew across the balcony, distant shots and shouts still echoed in the red sky, while the wind chimes created a calming background sound. I enjoyed drinking there because it felt like the rest of the world didn't matter.
"....so, being a cop was that fun?"
"Yeah! I loved being in power, not told to sit down or back off, with this..." She rubbed her pistol with a huge grin, different from her usual self. "Even those sexist fucks backed off when I revealed my identity, not my family, or name... but my authority!"
Jiang Roulan wasn't the straight-laced woman I thought—she enjoyed drinking, watching fights, but that didn't mean she was a feminist who hated men. She also longed for romance, but with her family, it seemed she became jaded.
"Sounds like a powerful feeling."
"Hah, it is... but I wanted to meet a nice man before the world ended."
"Oho, a nice man. What's your type?"
I was truly interested, and not having much experience myself... these conversations with women helped.
"Someone strong... not that I want to be protected, though I do. It's more, having someone who would kick a criminals ass beside me and cover me if there was a fight. But if either of us are sick... we'd look after each other, you get me?"
It was a little tedious because I couldn't get drunk yet.
The drunk cop rambled about things for almost an hour as she started to sober up a little.
"Ahem! Can you forget... some of that?"
I sipped the cold coffee that Yifei had brought out a few minutes ago. As if she could tell when I wanted a coffee or hard drink, she always offered first.
"I'll forget if you tell me what you wanted earlier, and don't bullshit me."
She looked at me with her wet eyes, a little dazed from the alcohol, but she shook her head and nodded, as if convincing herself.
"I need your help, please... take me to my apartment!"
What kind of request was this?
Because I didn't understand the context, I felt a little irritated.
Where did she live, and how far would I have to travel? If this woman wasn't an S-Tier woman, would I have to endure...
However... she then said her address and my anger faded. The location wasn't far. It suddenly made sense because she lived on the opposite side of the business complex and the direction we were currently facing.
"If I take you, I want a reward."
She looked at me with a slightly troubled face, but then she tapped her lips, dragging her teeth along them before nodding.
"As long as it's not something... too far."
"I see... then, is it just me and you going? Qinglan is a little injured from last night and I don't want to leave her alone with... that guy here."
"We can take him... at worst he could be a meat shield right?"
This time I was shocked...
If I had an affection meter, then it would have just increased by 50 for Jiang Roulan.