"Do you know where I can buy vegetables around here?" Sasha put down her book and asked.

"Vegetables?" Shen Yiyue looked confused, opening another bag of chips.

"Yes, preferably a place that has both meat and vegetables," Sasha added.

"Hmm... I think there's a fresh produce store at the end of the street, just across two roads. I pass by it on my way to school," Shen Yiyue replied, chewing on the chips, her words muffled.

Seeing Shen Yiyue snacking again, Sasha figured she must have burned a lot of energy during the day. Or maybe, she’s just a foodie?

Right after, Shen Yiyue grabbed a bottle of chilled white peach sparkling water and took a long sip, releasing a satisfied sigh. It was the kind of carbonated joy only a couch potato would understand.

Sasha thought to herself: "Yeah, confirmed. She’s definitely a foodie."

She couldn’t fathom how Shen Yiyue maintained her delicate figure, given how much she ate. Most people would have turned into a tank by now.

Sasha silently grumbled to herself, then continued, "How do I get there? I plan to check it out tomorrow and pick up some ingredients."

Shen Yiyue blinked, surprised, "Sasha… you can cook?"

She couldn’t believe it. How could this little girl, who was already so tough, also know how to cook?

Actually, Shen Yiyue was an excellent cook herself, with unrivaled culinary skills. Her family always praised her cooking, but then added, "It's great, but please, don’t cook it again next time."

"Yeah, a little bit," Sasha nodded lightly, then added, "Can you draw me the location? I need to get some ingredients, especially meat. Your training really requires good nutrition."

"Yay!!!" Shen Yiyue bounced up from her chair, her excitement showing in her beautiful almond eyes, sparkling like little stars.

Looks like she hadn’t had meat in a while. She was definitely craving it.

She quickly grabbed a paper and pencil and started sketching the map for Sasha, saying, "Look... this is our supermarket..."

Shen Yiyue pressed up close to Sasha, her soft body touching Sasha’s shoulder and arm. Having just showered, the fresh scent of body wash wafted through the air as she leaned in.

The faint floral scent mixed with her youthful, fresh fragrance invaded Sasha's senses. Add to that the soft touch on her shoulder and arm, and for a moment, Sasha was distracted.

In her past life, Sasha had been orphaned young and then taken in and trained by an organization. She only interacted with two types of people: those she had to kill, and her superiors in the organization. Most of the time, she was on her own.

She had never been this close to anyone, especially not with someone so young, and in such a relaxed way. Plus, her current body was that of a little girl, and Shen Yiyue was completely unguarded around her.

Sasha didn’t know how to bring it up without making things awkward...

"Sasha, Sasha, are you listening?" Shen Yiyue waved the pen in front of Sasha's face, pulling her back to reality.

Sasha quickly snapped out of her daze, "Oh, yes, I’m listening."

Shen Yiyue didn’t pay it much attention and continued to draw the map.

Once Sasha had the location of the store, she went back to reading her book. Shen Yiyue, on the other hand, picked up a few magazines and started flipping through them, bored.

Later that night, Sasha set down her book, The Outsider, and said goodnight to Shen Yiyue before heading to bed.

Shen Yiyue, about to go to sleep, suddenly noticed The Outsider on the table. She hesitated for a moment, then quietly picked it up.

She was curious about what Sasha, this little girl, was reading.

The book started with a jarring line: "Today, my mother died. Maybe it was yesterday; I’m not sure."

Shen Yiyue silently thought, Wow, this protagonist is definitely quite the filial son.

She didn’t get through many pages before yawning and deciding to go to bed.

...

The next day, Sasha prepared to head out to the fresh produce store.

Before leaving, she reminded Shen Yiyue, "If I’m not back by the afternoon, just continue with your usual training."

"I’ll do my best!" Shen Yiyue was excited about Sasha’s exploration.

Sasha slipped out the back yard and left the supermarket. Not far from the entrance, she heard a cheerful system notification sound:

[ Ding! This week's special sale has been refreshed! ]

Sasha immediately perked up, quickly scanning the area to make sure no zombies had noticed her. She then opened the system interface and checked out the [This Week's Special].

There, she saw a blade that glowed with a cold light — a scarlet Tang knife:

[ Scarlet Blade (Enchanted): Original Price: 15,000 points ]

[ Current Price: 3,000 points, 80% off! ]

Sasha was taken aback. What did "enchanted" mean? She clicked on the detailed description of the weapon:

[ Scarlet Blade: A legendary sword, forged by a master craftsman. ]

[ Enchanted (Battle Intent): Grants +1 physical strength and +1 mental power to the user when equipped with the weapon. ]

Wow, this was great. It could directly add the stats she urgently needed during battle. Plus, it was 80% off!

She glanced at her points: 2,735, just a bit short.

[ This Week's Special ] would last for a week, and she figured she could easily kill a few zombies today to gather the rest of the points.

The sword was clearly not ordinary, and she had to get it.

With that thought, Sasha followed the map Shen Yiyue had drawn and headed toward the fresh produce store.

Since she was taking a side street, there weren’t many zombies on the way. She avoided the zombies near the supermarket and continued on her path.

Whenever she encountered zombies, she shot them down with her titanium alloy crossbow.

Along the way, she also ran into a few survivors. They looked frantic, glancing around as they appeared to be looking for food.

The apocalypse had been going on for several days, and people with little food left were forced to go out and scavenge.

In a situation like this, some people chose to take the risk rather than starve to death.

They saw Sasha, a clean and beautiful little girl, casually walking down the street as if she were out for a stroll.

They looked at her with both surprise and pity, probably thinking that she had been separated from her family and would soon meet her end at the hands of the zombies.

They had no time to help someone like Sasha, not when they weren’t even sure if they’d survive the night. They simply gave her a passing glance before continuing their search for supplies.

Sasha quickly found the fresh produce store Shen Yiyue had drawn for her. Luckily, there were no signs that it had been looted yet.

In a post-apocalyptic world with limited resources, people usually prioritized instant noodles, canned food, and biscuits — things that lasted long and were easy to carry.

Fresh produce stores were often overlooked. And in times like these, finding someone who still cared about balanced meals, like Sasha, was quite a rarity.

Sasha was indeed one of those rare ones.

She quietly pushed open the store’s door — it wasn’t locked.

Inside, a few staff zombies were wandering aimlessly.

Sasha aimed her titanium alloy crossbow at one of them, ready to strike.

Just then, a steel pipe slammed down hard on the zombie’s head!