IT Girl, Liang Siqi

In the early hours of the morning, Lin Chen cleared out the dock and turned to walk towards the port office building, which was still lit up.

Now that he was here, he wanted to "finish things right." He needed to see if there were any other people or things worth noting hidden in this building.

Locking onto the location of the main entrance, he flashed past the horde of corpses and the closed glass doors in no time, appearing directly in the hall.

As soon as Lin Chen entered, he was drawn to the sounds of fighting not far away.

A muscular man, over 1.9 meters tall and dressed in a port security uniform, was wielding a heavy baseball bat and fighting a zombie. His movements were steady and his attacks ruthless, clearly indicating that he had been trained.

Several other young people, also dressed in security or work uniforms, were nearby, armed with makeshift weapons such as fire axes and steel pipes, providing tense support and cover.

There were several onlookers nearby. At this moment, one of the middle-aged men, who looked like a leader, couldn't help but urge, "Zhang Cheng, aren't you a king of soldiers? Hurry up and kill him. This is the last zombie."

The other hundreds of survivors in the hall were all watching from a distance, and none of them noticed Lin Chen's sudden appearance.

Lin Chen didn't hesitate, nor did he even approach. He raised his hand, and a crisp gunshot echoed through the hall.

The bullet pierced the zombie's forehead precisely, abruptly halting its forward lunge, and it collapsed to the ground with a thud.

Only then did everyone realize that Lin Chen had suddenly appeared.

Zhang Cheng whirled around, his eyes sharp as an eagle's, instantly locking onto Lin Chen, who was holding a gun. He quickly scanned Lin Chen—no military uniform or police insignia, dressed in a black combat uniform, but holding an M4A1. His demeanor was cold and aloof, his eyes terrifyingly calm; he was no ordinary person.

"Thanks." Zhang Cheng walked towards Lin Chen first, put away his stun gun, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and asked cautiously, "What's your name?"

Lin Chen did not answer, his gaze falling on the several zombie corpses beside him, which were already dead and had their heads broken open.

—The crystal core has been removed.

He understood. The secret had indeed been revealed.

On the third day of the apocalypse, the first group of people who dared to try and continuously consume crystal cores could no longer hide their identities. The network was still operational, and the news had likely already spread.

"Have you eaten the crystal cores?" Lin Chen asked directly, his gaze sweeping over the burly man and the young man behind him.

"Not bad." The burly man nodded frankly. "The zombies outside are getting harder and harder to deal with. We have no choice but to fight. We found that this stuff was useful, so we gave it a try."

"How much did you eat?"

"My comrades and I each have ten," the burly man said, pointing to himself and five or six young men behind him. "The extra crystal cores were distributed to other colleagues, hoping to improve their physical condition and increase their chances of survival."

Upon hearing this, Lin Chen sighed inwardly.

If he still hasn't awakened after consuming ten crystal cores, it can be basically determined that he does not possess the "talent" to awaken.

That little bit of physical enhancement is a drop in the ocean. However, two of the young people did show energy fluctuations, seemingly indicating they had awakened, but the intensity of these fluctuations probably didn't exceed level D.

Even when they themselves were struggling to survive, these veterans still shared the crystal cores that could bring them power with the weak. This kind of spirit was quite rare in the early days of the apocalypse. They were truly worthy of being soldiers from the People's Liberation Army.

"If you have nowhere to go in the future, or if you can no longer hold this place," Lin Chen said calmly, his tone slightly gentler, "you can come to the east of the city, near the university town, to the Tianshui Garden villa area to find me. I will build a shelter there."

He paused for a moment, then said, "By the way, my name is Lin Chen. You can give me your name later."

After saying that, he turned and walked deeper into the building.

"Wait a moment!"

A clear female voice rang out, trembling slightly, yet the speaker tried to remain calm.

The crowd parted to form a single passage.

A woman walked out slowly. She was about twenty-five or twenty-six years old, with short, ear-length hair and bright, intelligent eyes behind frameless glasses. Her dark gray business suit remained impeccably neat even in the apocalypse, highlighting her slender figure. Her face was refined, and her demeanor was both capable and scholarly.

Lin Chen paused slightly.

—It was the woman in the monitoring room, dumbfounded, almost thinking she was dreaming. Lin Chen, however, was unaware that he had been exposed.

"Mr. Lin," the woman took a deep breath, her voice trembling slightly but trying to focus, "you just said... you live in Tianshui Garden near the University Town in the east of the city?"

Lin Chen raised an eyebrow, neither confirming nor denying.

"I live over there too! The 'Shuxiangyuan' residential complex next door!" The woman spoke quickly, her voice urgent. "My parents are still at home; they're old and their health isn't good..."

Lin Chen turned around, a half-smile on his face: "Asking for help, and you don't even give your name?"

The woman blushed. "I'm sorry! My name is Liang Siqi. I have to go back! Please... take me back with you!"

Lin Chen sized her up. Intelligent, calm, observant, and adept at seizing opportunities.

Liang Siqi's heart pounded like a drum. She had witnessed the miraculous collection process firsthand in the monitoring room! She knew better than anyone that the man before her possessed unfathomable strength.

"Why not go with them?" Lin Chen pointed to Zhang Cheng's team. "Wouldn't it be safer to stick together with my colleagues and these veterans, supporting each other, than to be a complete stranger like me venturing into the city alone?"

Liang Siqi bit her lip: "Mr. Lin, I work for 'Smart Harbor Technology,' not a port employee. Before the blood rain broke out, the port system malfunctioned, and I came here for after-sales service, but I'm stuck here. I have to go back! Please... take me back with you!... My parents are really old and in poor health. Every day we delay, they face greater danger. I can't wait."

Her voice was lower, but more resolute: "I know this is presumptuous and dangerous. But I have no other choice."

Lin Chen remained silent.

He could certainly take her with him, without lifting a finger. But he wasn't a saint.

"I'm sorry," he said calmly, "we're complete strangers, and I have other things to do, so it's not on my way."

Liang Siqi's heart sank. A complete stranger? — This person wasn't willing to save her for nothing; they were waiting for her to state her terms!

What could she offer in exchange? Food and clean water? The other party clearly had plenty. Her beauty? She wasn't willing to lower herself for that.

Technology! A flash of inspiration struck her.

She looked up abruptly, her gaze no longer evasive, but unusually firm: "Mr. Lin, I am one of the core development engineers of the port's intelligent scheduling and automation control system. This system covers real-time monitoring of the entire port area, remote equipment control, logistics optimization, and security linkage."

"You just mentioned wanting to build a shelter. I can do the following for you: First, develop and upgrade an automated monitoring and security system suitable for the base, integrating night vision, thermal imaging, and motion sensing to achieve unmanned early warning;

Second, if the base has automated equipment such as patrol robots, defensive weapon stations, or even production lines, I can program and integrate them, making them obey your command, saving manpower and improving security and efficiency; third,

Third, she lowered her voice: "My expertise lies in low-level system permissions and network protocols... With your permission, I may attempt to penetrate or take over the electronic systems of a designated target."

Lin Chen stopped completely.

He slowly turned around, and for the first time, his gaze towards Liang Siqi revealed a clear and undisguised appreciation.

He was testing the waters. Unexpectedly, he gained something unexpected.

Automated monitoring, equipment integration, and "hacking" skills? This is practically the ultimate talent for a post-apocalyptic base!

"The conditions are good." Lin Chen nodded, his tone calm yet subtly different, "However..."

He paused, his gaze lingering for a moment on Liang Siqi's beautiful face and slender figure, before uttering a request that instantly widened her eyes and made her cheeks flush:

"One more condition: Be my woman. If you agree, come over now. I promise you'll be home to see your parents before dawn."

In this apocalyptic world, he wants resources, talent, beauty… he wants them all. Especially women who are talented, intelligent, beautiful, and can remain calm in crucial moments; he won't pretend to be aloof and let them go.