Qin Lu

Following Sister Qian through several checkpoints, Lin Chen gradually understood the layout of the place.

The factory was converted into a shelter, with the original office building at its core and several dormitory buildings surrounding it.

Most of the guards we encountered along the way were women—young women, older women, and women carrying weapons.

A small portion of them were men, and all of them were quite capable.

Lin Chen recalled Commander Feng's words.

This leader is a woman with S-level superpowers; she is ruthless and decisive.

She led a group of female soldiers and used supplies and women to win over many male superhumans, firmly maintaining control over the area.

Using women to win over men can sometimes be quite effective in the apocalypse.

Sister Qian led him to the front of the office building and stopped.

"Wait."

She went in to report.

Yuanzai squatted at Lin Chen's feet, looking around curiously.

Shortly after, Sister Qian came out.

"Go in."

Lin Chen nodded and led Yuanzai into the office building.

The lobby on the first floor has been transformed into a reception area, with several sofas around a brazier, and the entire building is covered with thick thermal insulation.

The walls were decorated with paintings popular before the apocalypse, which made the place feel more "lively" than other places.

A woman was sitting in the main seat, holding a steaming cup of coffee and sipping it slowly.

She looked to be around twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, with her long hair pulled back and a languid, alluring air about her.

She was wearing a clean mink coat, which was excessively luxurious in this apocalyptic world.

She saw Lin Chen, and then the giant panda behind him, and her eyes flickered slightly.

Lin Chen gave her a very powerful feeling, as if a prehistoric beast was hiding inside him.

"A rare guest." She put down her cup, leaned back, and asked, "Where are you from? What's your name?"

Lin Chen sat down opposite her, and Yuanzi automatically squatted down at his feet, his eyes fixed on the woman.

"Yangcheng. Lin Chen," he said.

The woman raised an eyebrow.

"Guangzhou?" She looked him up and down. "A person walking all the way from Guangzhou with a giant panda?"

Lin Chen didn't respond to that.

"What should I call you?" he asked.

The woman looked at him for a few seconds, then suddenly laughed, a laugh that seemed to have a deeper meaning.

"My surname is Qin," she said, "and my given name is Lu."

She paused.

They all call me Sister Lu.

After Qin Lu finished speaking, she picked up her cup and took another sip, but her gaze never left Lin Chen's face.

That gaze held scrutiny, curiosity, and a hint of...greed.

Lin Chen seemed oblivious, casually glancing around.

"It's a nice place," he said.

"It's alright." Qin Lu put down her cup, leaned forward slightly, and rested her elbows on her knees. "Mr. Lin came all the way from Guangzhou just to see me?"

"I suppose so," Lin Chen nodded. "I heard that your place has the most supplies in Shenzhen, so I'd like to come and discuss cooperation."

"Cooperation?" Qin Lu smiled, her eyes crinkling into crescents, her face appearing somewhat alluring in the firelight. "What kind of cooperation?"

"Exchange supplies for crystal cores."

Qin Lu was stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing.

"Mr. Lin, you've come to the wrong person." She leaned back, resting her hand on the sofa armrest, her posture languid. "What I have in abundance here is supplies. Crystal cores? I'll keep them for myself."

Lin Chen looked at her without saying anything.

Qin Lu was also looking at him.

The two stared at each other for a few seconds.

Then Qin Lu suddenly stood up, walked around the coffee table, and sat down on the sofa next to Lin Chen. The distance between them was much closer than before.

"However..." she trailed off, her gaze sliding from Lin Chen's face to Yuanzai, then back again, "If you're willing to stay, I might consider it."

Yuanzai's ears twitched, he raised his head to look at her, and then lay down again.

Lin Chen's expression remained unchanged.

"Stay?"

"Yes." Qin Lu moved closer, lowering her voice, "I need someone like you here. Someone who can come all the way from Yangcheng must be quite capable. Stay with me, and you can use any resources you want, and choose any woman you like—"

She paused, a meaningful smile curving her lips.

"That includes me."

As soon as he finished speaking, the surrounding air seemed to distort slightly for a moment.

Lin Chen felt that Qin Lu in front of him suddenly became...exceptionally beautiful.

Those eyes seemed to speak, possessing an irresistible allure.

The languid allure emanating from her suddenly seemed to come alive, seeping into his mind in subtle ways.

Yuanzi suddenly raised his head and grinned at Qin Lu.

Lin Chen narrowed his eyes.

The silent unfolding of mental suggestion—

A powerful burst of mental energy erupted, and the thing that had invaded was instantly squeezed out of the brain.

An S-rank illusion-type mental attack? Lin Chen's lips curled up slightly.

He looked up at Qin Lu, his gaze clear and unwavering.

"Sister Lu," he said calmly, "this trick won't work on me."

Qin Lu's smile froze for a moment.

But she reacted very quickly, regaining her composure in the next second, even leaning back and laughing even more freely.

"Just kidding." She waved her hand. "Mr. Lin, please don't mind."

Lin Chen nodded, as if nothing had happened.

"Regarding the matter of exchanging supplies for crystal cores—"

Qin Lu looked at him, and her expression changed.

It was no longer the flirtatious, probing look from before, but a genuine, serious scrutiny.

"Are you really only replacing the crystal core?"

"real."

"How much are you planning to exchange?"

Lin Chen took out an iPad, flipped through the exchange price list, and casually handed it to Qin Lu.

"I'll exchange as many as you have."

Qin Lu took the iPad and her gaze fell on the screen. At first, she browsed casually, but after flipping through a few pages, she slowed down.

She turned a few more pages, then fell completely silent.

The items listed on the screen far exceeded her expectations. Food, medicine, clothing—that was all.

There are also firearms in the background.

Guns. Ammunition. Even grenades.

Qin Lu's finger remained on the screen, not moving for a long time.

Although the effectiveness of firearms has diminished, the fact that the other side can offer them in exchange demonstrates their formidable strength.

Lin Chen didn't urge him, but just leaned back on the sofa and waited.

After a while, Qin Lu raised her head, and the look in her eyes as she looked at Lin Chen had completely changed.

She was silent for a few seconds, then suddenly spoke:

"I have a stockpile of 500,000 first-order crystal cores here."

Lin Chen raised an eyebrow, waiting for her to continue.

"However—" Qin Lu paused, "I don't want supplies."

"What do you want?"

Qin Lu stared into his eyes and spoke clearly, word by word:

"I need you to kill someone for me."

Lin Chen was slightly taken aback.

He then smiled, a hint of amusement in his eyes: "Kill whom?"

"Bai Junming from the Foxconn base," Qin Lu said quickly, as if afraid she would change her mind, "S-rank, fourth level, his superpower is earth-based, and extremely powerful."

Lin Chen did not answer immediately.

He simply looked at her, his gaze calm, revealing nothing of his thoughts.

Qin Lu felt a little uneasy under his gaze, but she still braced herself and met his eyes.

A few seconds later, Lin Chen spoke, his tone indifferent:

"Since you think the other party is extremely powerful, why do you believe I can kill him?"

Qin Lu remained silent for a few seconds.

She looked intently at Lin Chen, her gaze filled with scrutiny and a kind of intuition that she herself couldn't quite explain.

"I feel you are stronger," she said, her voice soft but firm. "You give me a much more dangerous feeling than Bai Junming."