But now that she'd already switched to an S Tier Artifact, it was too late for Bai Ling to regret it. Luckily, the outfit was pretty comfortable. It felt almost like fleece.

The alloy knife hilt was for Bai Ling too. Her combat power was still too low. With these two divine-tier items, Duan Heng figured even a normal elite Zombie wouldn't be her match.

As for the knockout black tea...

For now, it didn't seem that useful. Duan Heng tossed it into a kitchen cabinet.

"By the way, it's been quite a while. Should we check on the neighborhood committee? Maybe someone's already found the elite monster."

"Yeah, let's take a look."

After busying themselves for most of the day, the two finally remembered the actual important matter. If Bai Ling hadn't brought it up, Duan Heng probably would've still been admiring her new outfit.

He couldn't help it. In his previous life, he'd barely ever seen Bai Ling in girls' clothes. Now such a cute beauty was standing right beside him. How could he not sneak a few extra glances?

"But from the looks of it, Bai Ling can already wear girls' clothes on her own without any prompting. This part of the training has been a huge success. Mm-hm!"

Thinking that, Duan Heng nodded in satisfaction.

Meanwhile, Bai Ling had already taken out her phone. She was cheerfully checking the residents' group chat. After one whole morning, the unread messages had hit 99+. She scrolled through them for a while, only to find the usual stuff: people playing victim, asking for help, complaining, and condemning the neighborhood committee for doing nothing.

But just as Bai Ling was starting to think these residents had said nothing interesting at all, one message suddenly caught her attention:

&Beiming Youkun: See that?! I got a video of that Zombie! It's on the first floor of Building 2, Unit 12!

Below that was a short video. It showed a blurry shot of a Zombie's back as it slowly climbed in through a window into the residential building. Unlike the other Zombies, this one's skin had completely rotted away. Its whole body was covered in blood, and its size was shockingly huge.

Its terrifying, oversized muscles were exposed right on the surface. The bloody sight was horrifying to look at. It was at least two meters tall, and its claws had turned sharp and black. On the lawn, there were even torn-off iron window bars it had ripped apart. It was hard to imagine just how much strength this Zombie had.

&Beiming Youkun: This Zombie actively hunts people, and it can climb walls too! Whoever it is, can someone come quick?! If this keeps up, everyone in the whole complex is gonna get eaten! I can't handle it alone!

"Oh my god, that's terrifying!"

"Is that even still a Zombie? That's a monster!"

"I need to get out of here. This residential complex isn't livable anymore! I'm going to find a government shelter!"

Under the video was a flood of panicked messages from the residents. Seeing how completely lost they were, Bai Ling was speechless for a moment.

Run? Run where? Who knew if there were even stronger Zombies outside the complex?

Instead of being scared, wouldn't it be better to gather up and kill it? At least then they'd gain some levels.

After spending so many days around Duan Heng, Bai Ling's mindset had already changed without her noticing. At the very least, when danger appeared, she was much calmer than normal people.

Besides, even if she couldn't beat it, Duan Heng would protect her properly.

Soon enough, an even more interesting exchange appeared in the chat. It was that "Queen Guo" who was always popping up before, and now she was busy PUA-ing the men in the group:

"The complex is in danger. Isn't this exactly when you men should step up? Time to show some manliness!"

"As men, you should have a sense of responsibility. Protecting weak girls like us is your duty."

"Besides, it's not like you're alone. There's only one Zombie. Just organize and kill it, done. I can't believe I even have to remind you. So stupid."

By the last sentence, "Queen Guo" was practically lecturing the men in the group in a tone full of disgust. Every word dripped with contempt.

And right after she finished, the chat exploded into an even fiercer argument. As expected, everyone was flaming her:

"Huh? Now you remember you're weak? So this isn't the time to scream about gender equality anymore?"

"All talk, huh? If you're so smart, why don't you go? Aren't independent women supposed to be the best?"

"Bet she's some hundred-kilo fairy princess!"

At that moment, all the men in the group mysteriously united on the same front. They kept tagging Queen Guo's ID and firing back.

But Queen Guo's skin was obviously even thicker than Auntie Li's. Even in this situation, she refused to back down. Like a dead duck with a hard beak, she still snapped back:

"Leaving facts aside, if I were a man, I'd have gone already. Unlike you cowards!"

"A few words and now you're all triggered. No grace at all. A whole bunch of grown men bullying one little girl. What woman would ever like trash like you?"

After saying that, Queen Guo even sent a smiling emoji. That smug little grin instantly ignited the wrath of every man in the group. The next hundred-plus messages were almost all people cursing each other out. Even some women who rarely spoke joined the battlefield.

The whole residents' group chat had turned into a toxic mess. The people from the neighborhood committee, and the ones actually asking for help, couldn't get a single word in. Even Bai Ling felt secondhand embarrassment watching it.

If they have time to argue, that elite Zombie might've already eaten several more people. If it keeps growing, won't that just make things worse? These people are way too absurd.

Why is this Apocalypse nothing like what I imagined? Shouldn't survivors be uniting to fight monsters together? If this keeps going, they're doomed sooner or later...

Even though the group chat drama had nothing to do with Bai Ling, and Duan Heng was there to protect her anyway, she still felt uncomfortable.

Or rather, she felt sad at how rotten these people were.

Modern humans had long grown used to pampered, comfortable lives. When crisis came, very few people would step up without asking for anything in return, lead everyone, and shoulder the responsibility. The more developed the city, the more obvious this became. A society that worshipped profit above all had already corroded the minds of most people.

In their previous life, Duan Heng and Bai Ling had simply been too naive. They always thought they could save everyone and help humanity survive the Apocalypse. No matter the cost, they built shelters and led teams against the Zombie Tide.

And in the end, what did that get them?

They were treated as thorns in the side by countless allied survivor groups whose interests they threatened. Then they were abandoned in the endless Zombie Tide, and died there without ever receiving rescue.

So Duan Heng knew this better than anyone.

In the Apocalypse, you could only trust yourself.

The ugliness of human nature was already showing itself in this little residential complex. And Duan Heng was no longer the saint he had been in his previous life. This time, he wouldn't care about anyone except Bai Ling.

But then—

Just as Bai Ling was sighing over these people's short-sightedness, she suddenly felt both feet go light and her body tilt. Someone had actually picked her up from behind!

"Eh?!"

The sudden change made Bai Ling cry out. By the time she came back to herself, she realized she was already lying in Duan Heng's arms. He'd carried her, body and legs together, straight into the elevator. Her cute little white boots swung helplessly in midair, and her small hands had no choice but to wrap around his neck so she wouldn't fall.

The moment Bai Ling realized she was being carried in a princess carry, her face instantly turned red. Shame and humiliation surged up at the same time. But all she could do was glare at Duan Heng with puffed cheeks and curse at him:

"What the hell is wrong with you now?! Put me down!"

"Idiot."

Duan Heng laughed and answered casually. As he spoke, he pressed the elevator button. Slender Bai Ling was so light in his arms, like a little cat. One slight jostle made her press even closer against him. She could only cling to his neck with a face full of shame and anger, blushing so hard she looked ready to drip blood.

"You were the one staring at your phone so hard you got lost in it. I called you twice and you didn't hear me. Look at the bottom of the group chat. Someone's already gone after the Zombie. We need to hurry over and steal the kill."

"Eh?"

Hearing that, Bai Ling quickly picked up her phone. Sure enough, she saw Auntie Li's latest message:

&Committee Sister Li: Don't worry, everyone. The mutual aid squad has fully set out to hunt the Zombie! We'll protect everyone's safety. We also hope everyone will cooperate with the neighborhood committee in the future! Hand over your supplies for unified distribution!

The timestamp on that message was clearly ten minutes ago. The fight between the men and women in the chat had been so intense that Bai Ling had completely forgotten the important part.

"Ugh..."

Realizing she'd messed up, Bai Ling couldn't help making a stifled little sound. Since she had no way to refute Duan Heng, she could only turn her head away and bite her lip. She looked ridiculously cute.

But very soon, she suddenly realized something. She whipped her head back around and demanded:

"No, wait! You could've just grabbed my hand and pulled me along. Why did you have to carry me?!"

"Well..."

Duan Heng narrowed his eyes, admiring the way Bai Ling gritted her teeth in his arms. Then he replied with a smiling face:

"Because I wanted to. You're a girl now, aren't you?"

"Y-you pervert!"

The moment those words came out, Bai Ling's eyes went wide in shock.

She shoved hard against Duan Heng's chest, trying to break free from his arms, but the huge gap in strength made it completely useless. After several failed attempts, she could only struggle and shout in humiliation:

"I'm your bro! Doing this to me is defiling the pure friendship between us! Don't become some beast controlled by your lower half, Duan Heng!"

...

"Bro, you smell so nice."

"Ahhh, help—"