The zombie was instantly killed by the steel pipe, falling to the ground lifeless.
A well-dressed young man wearing gold-rimmed glasses emerged from the side.
Ning Yu frowned, had her points just floated away?
She opened her panel and took a look.
On the way here, she had already accumulated just over 3000 points, enough to exchange for the Crimson War Blade.
She didn't really mind losing a few points for these zombies.
Ning Yu was about to directly exchange her points for the Crimson War Blade when the well-dressed young man walked over.
While nervously eyeing the few remaining zombies in the store, he concernedly asked:
"Little sister, are you alright? Why are you alone in such a dangerous place?"
Already annoyed at having her points stolen, Ning Yu was further irritated by his attempt at conversation.
She sized him up with slight displeasure.
His clean shirt and gold-rimmed glasses were now speckled with blood, and his face revealed an unhealthy pallor.
He clearly lacked exercise.
The hand gripping the steel pipe was still trembling slightly from overexertion.
He displayed a kind smile, his gaze towards Ning Yu revealing obvious concern.
Ning Yu had already quickly completed her assessment: this guy posed no threat to her.
However, she had no interest in playing along with this well-dressed young man's "protect the little girl" charade.
She prepared to casually dismiss him:
"I'm fine, big brother. Thank you!"
Ning Yu flashed her trademark innocent and harmless little loli smile.
But just then, a system prompt sounded in her mind.
[Required Charm for task: 5, Host's Charm: 8, Qualified.]
[Ding! Task triggered: Love Sickness (1/?): Accept Lin Hao's help]
[Series task completion reward: 2 Random Attribute Points]
Ning Yu was taken aback. Was this a task that required Charm?
It seemed different from previous ordinary tasks. This one even had a name.
The task progress denominator was represented by a "?".
It was possible that different choices would lead to different progress outcomes.
For instance, if she let the well-dressed young man get bitten to death by zombies, the task would likely end immediately.
The most enticing part was the task reward - attribute points!
Although they were random attribute points, there was nothing to be picky about.
Ning Yu had been worrying about how to obtain more attribute points to strengthen herself.
She immediately changed her mind and decided to do this task.
Lin Hao looked at Ning Yu before him, filled with confusion.
This little loli was wearing a pretty, exquisite Western-style dress, looking innocent and naive, with sweet and adorable features.
She looked like the kind of pampered child who was the apple of her parents' eyes. How did she end up here alone?
Was she so hungry that she came out looking for food?
Lin Hao wiped the zombie blood off his glasses with his clothes, trying to make himself look as gentle as possible.
He continued asking softly:
"Did you come out alone to look for food? Where are your mom and dad?"
Since she had to do the task, Ning Yu decided to play her part fully.
So she put on a sad expression and answered:
"I got separated from my mom and dad, and I had no food, so I came here to look for something to eat..."
Hearing the little loli's answer, coupled with her pitiful appearance, Lin Hao's expression showed understanding.
He sighed inwardly at how this merciless apocalyptic world had driven even a little girl to this state.
He then said in a gentle voice:
"It's okay. If you'd like, you can come with big brother for now. Big brother will protect you."
"I have food at home. Are you very hungry?"
Lin Hao was the type of tall, pale, and thin sickly young man, with a very gentle voice.
If Ning Yu were truly an ordinary little loli, she might have been starry-eyed by now.
After carefully analyzing Lin Hao's eyes and expression, Ning Yu couldn't detect any malice or lewdness.
But even if there was malice, it didn't matter. She could complete the task and then kill him.
He seemed to be just an ordinary good person, passing by and wanting to help a homeless, hungry, pitiful little loli.
Ning Yu sighed inwardly:
Although the existence of good people in the world was beneficial for those in need of help,
people like Lin Hao who helped without hesitation would probably die very quickly in this kind of world.
This was the cruel reality.
Putting aside her dark thoughts, Ning Yu brightened her beautiful amber eyes and pretended to ask timidly:
"Really... can I really?"
Lin Hao, seeing her pitiful little expression, continued smiling and nodded:
"Of course you can! Don't be afraid!"
"However, big brother needs to collect some ingredients here first. Wait a moment, okay? Stay close to me and be careful of those monsters!"
Ning Yu obediently nodded, then said:
"I actually wanted to collect some ingredients too!"
She showed him the hiking backpack she was carrying.
It looked a bit too large for her seemingly delicate body, with the bottom of the bag almost reaching her skirt.
Ning Yu had originally planned to use this bag to carry meat and vegetables.
Now she decided to fill it up first and take it back directly after completing the task.
Lin Hao had no problem with this.
But first, they needed to deal with the remaining zombies in the store.
Lin Hao picked up the steel pipe and approached the zombies.
Watching him slowly take down the zombies one by one, Ning Yu felt anxious.
She was worried he might accidentally die and her task would be lost.
This guy was really too weak; he had to rest for a bit after killing just one zombie.
But Ning Yu just obediently followed behind him and didn't offer to help.
If she intervened rashly, she might ruin the character she was portraying.
She wasn't sure if she'd be able to continue the task then.
So as long as Lin Hao wasn't in mortal danger, she just played her role as an obedient and sensible little loli in the background.
Finally, the last zombie was cleared.
Lin Hao put down the steel pipe and sat by the counter, wiping off the splattered blood.
After resting for a while, the two finally began to raid the fresh food store's inventory.
Ning Yu's small hands kept stuffing vegetables and meat into her large bag.
She opened the glass door of the refrigerator.
Beef brisket, pork belly, chicken breast, and even steak - that glutton Shen Yiyue would probably be overjoyed.
It was fortunate that the refrigerator had protected these fresh meats from being ruined by the zombies.
There were also quite a few vegetables like lotus root, cauliflower, and greens, which she also took some of.
Glancing at Lin Hao, Ning Yu noticed he was only taking meat, completely ignoring the vegetables.
It was strange, come to think of it.
If he really had food at home, why risk coming out to find so much meat?
But curiosity aside, Ning Yu had no interest in delving deeper, and just silently continued packing things.
Soon, they had both gathered what they wanted.
Lin Hao was carrying several large plastic bags, as he hadn't brought a backpack.
Ning Yu's large backpack was bulging, looking like it might crush her at any moment.
Lin Hao offered to carry the backpack for Ning Yu and let her take the lighter items, but she refused.
"It's okay, big brother. Look!"
Ning Yu walked a few steps nimbly with the backpack, showing she was completely fine.
Little did Lin Hao know that with Ning Yu's physical abilities, one punch from her could probably shatter his gold-rimmed glasses.
"Let's go, we'll head home," said Lin Hao, planning to take Ning Yu back to eat something before deciding what to do next.
The two then left the fresh food store.