The water level rose day by day. By the third day of the torrential rain, the water depth in the residential complex approached one meter.

The relentless downpour extinguished the hopes of countless survivors.

Survivors on lower floors were forced to self-rescue. With the elevators now out of service, they could only use the stairs, but many stairwell entrances were blocked by furniture. They had to expend their already limited energy moving the obstacles away.

The water surface slowed the zombies' movement significantly. Some survivors seized this opportunity, crafting simple makeshift boats to escape the complex.

The Long-Legged Woman was among them.

She had somehow obtained food, enduring until now with enough strength to flee.

All survivors in the complex witnessed her escape, but none held much hope for her success. The water wasn't deep enough yet—zombies could still move. Waiting until the water reached several meters depth would have been safer.

The most critical factor was how much strength the Long-Legged Woman had left after starving for so long?

She'd likely exhaust herself just escaping the complex, then get caught by zombies and become one of them.

Li Xuan watched as the Long-Legged Woman gradually disappeared from view, a slight smile curling at the corners of his mouth.

Ever since obtaining the intelligence about the Little White Snake, he had been contemplating how to intercept it.

He still didn't know whether Huo Shuangshuang had found the Little White Snake yet.

There were three possibilities regarding the snake's location: first, it had already been found by Huo Shuangshuang and placed in the settlement; second, it hadn't been found yet and was hiding in the room where Huo Shuangshuang raised it; third, it had been found but hadn't been delivered to the settlement yet, currently moving with Huo Shuangshuang.

Later, the Long-Legged Woman came to his door, begging for some food.

Compared to over a month ago, she had become much thinner. Her once enticing plump thighs had turned slender, transforming into the type more popular among younger men.

It had to be said—the Long-Legged Woman was truly beautiful. When slightly plump, she was exceptional; now thinner, she resembled a model.

This time, Li Xuan let the Long-Legged Woman enter.

Not because he preferred the slender type, but because he wanted to use her to gather information for him.

Time returned to two days earlier

Yun Lan, the Long-Legged Woman, entered in a daze. She had prepared herself for rejection from Li Xuan, coming this time just to try her luck. She couldn't hold on any longer—she had reached her limit.

Entering the living room, Yun Lan's first sight was the pile of chocolate and instant noodles in the corner, along with bagged chicken legs and dried duck. Before the apocalypse, she rarely ate such things to maintain her figure. Now seeing them, her throat itched uncontrollably, saliva filling her mouth. She desperately wanted to shove the food into her mouth immediately, even if it tore her throat.

Li Xuan observed Yun Lan's expressions and movements, inviting her to sit.

"Please, have a seat first."

"Oh, okay."

Yun Lan sat down nervously, her eyes constantly drifting toward the food in the corner.

"Something to drink? Cola or mineral water?"

"Could I have both?"

"Of course."

Li Xuan took out a bottle of cola and mineral water, placing them on the table while quietly watching Yun Lan drink eagerly.

The sugar in the cola gave Yun Lan an indescribable sense of happiness, making her whole body tremble slightly as she greedily swallowed every drop.

After finishing everything, Yun Lan barely came back to her senses, murmuring, "So delicious."

"I can be your woman. As long as your methods aren't too extreme, I can accept anything. Just don't let me go hungry." Yun Lan said while taking off her jacket. Before coming, she had washed herself thoroughly with rainwater, clean and fresh with the scent of shower gel.

"I want you to do something else." Li Xuan said.

Yun Lan froze for a moment. She couldn't help her surprise—she knew her own situation best. Besides this enticing body, she had nothing else worthwhile to offer.

Had Li Xuan invited her in not because he grew tired of that woman with the beautiful voice and wanted to change tastes?

"What thing?"

"How did you survive this past month?" Li Xuan asked.

He was actually quite surprised by Yun Lan's visit.

He had thought she escaped long ago. After all, with no food at home, her only way to survive would be to go out searching.

When deducing the Giantization Fruit intelligence earlier, he speculated that Yun Lan died before the second version, which was why Yang Taozi acted alone in the second version. Otherwise, given Yang Taozi's possessiveness, he would never have let Yun Lan go.

Yun Lan blurted out, "I didn't sell my body. Besides my dead husband, no one has slept with me."

"That's not what I meant." Li Xuan said.

Yun Lan collected herself for a moment before explaining, "After Yang Taozi died, I wanted to search other rooms for food, but I acted too late. Every room had already been scavenged by complex survivors. I only found some leftover food.

Later, I discovered mushrooms growing under the bed in the north-facing bedroom of unit 1602. My phone still had power then, so I searched and confirmed the mushrooms weren't poisonous. I ate a few, kept most, and started growing mushrooms following online tutorials."

Li Xuan understood, "So that's how. You survived by eating mushrooms. Did your cultivation succeed?"

"Half succeeded. At first they grew well, but later they stopped. Otherwise I wouldn't be this starved." Yun Lan said.

Li Xuan changed the subject—he didn't care about mushroom cultivation techniques. "I need you to escape. When the water level rises enough to restrict zombie movement, escape and find the rescue teams. Help me look for someone."

"Me? Escape? Wouldn't sleeping with you be easier?" Yun Lan said, pointing at herself.

"As payment, you can eat here for two days—as much as you want. After completing the task, I'll give you plenty of food and water." Li Xuan offered.

Yun Lan's eyes flickered, "Aren't you afraid I won't come back after finding the rescue teams? If I reach the settlement, I won't lack food or drink. Your offer wouldn't be attractive anymore."

"The settlement has many people. Sooner or later food will run short. You can live there first, then come to me when supplies dwindle." Li Xuan said.

Yun Lan met Li Xuan's gaze, frowning slightly, unable to decide.

"Who do you want me to find?"

"A girl named Huo Lingling. She has a sister named Huo Shuangshuang. I want to know whether Huo Shuangshuang rescued Huo Lingling." Li Xuan stated.

"Don't you have Huo Lingling's contact information?"

"I do, but I can't reach her. To be honest, I'm Huo Lingling's boyfriend. We planned to announce our relationship in October, but the apocalypse suddenly separated us. I'm very worried about her and want to bring her here." Li Xuan said with complete seriousness.

Yun Xiuzhi, standing on the television, rolled her eyes. She didn't believe Li Xuan had a girlfriend—that Huo Lingling woman must have something special about her, at least being very beautiful, for Li Xuan to make his move.

Hah~ Men~

Yun Xiuzhi thought with a tinge of jealousy.

Yun Lan raised her hand, "Let me think about it."

"If you're worried about Huo Lingling, why don't you go rescue her yourself?"

Li Xuan shook his head, "I already looked for her but couldn't find her. Remember? I only returned to the complex on the second day of the apocalypse."