The zombie was struck dead by the steel pipe and fell to the ground, lifeless.

A refined young man wearing gold-rimmed glasses appeared from the side.

Sasha furrowed her brow. Was her score just taken away like that?

She opened her interface and took a look.

The points she had just earned on the way had already barely crossed 3000 points, enough to exchange for the Crimson Warblade.

She wasn’t really missing much by these few.

Sasha was about to exchange for the Crimson Warblade right away when the refined young man walked over to her.

He nervously watched the few remaining zombies in the store and asked with concern:

“Little sister, are you okay? What are you doing all alone in such a dangerous place?”

She had already lost her points, and now this guy was coming to chat her up.

Sasha shot him an annoyed look.

His clean shirt and gold-rimmed glasses were stained with some blood, and his face showed an unhealthy pallor.

It was obvious that he lacked physical strength.

His hand gripping the steel pipe trembled slightly from overexertion.

He gave her a friendly smile, his gaze clearly showing worry.

Sasha quickly assessed him in her mind: this guy posed no threat to her.

But she wasn’t interested in playing along with his little "protect the innocent girl" act.

She was about to brush him off with a casual response:

“I’m fine, big brother, thank you!”

Sasha flashed her trademark sweet, harmless little girl smile.

But just at that moment, a system prompt rang in her mind.

[Task requirement: Charisma value: 5, host's charisma value: 8, qualified.]

[Ding! Task triggered: The Disease Named Love (1/?) Accept Lin Hao’s help.]

*[Series task reward: Random attribute points 2.]

Sasha was stunned. Was this a task requiring charisma points?

It seemed different from the previous regular tasks. This one even had a name.

The denominator for the task progress was marked with a “?”, which might mean different choices could lead to different progress.

For example, if she let this refined young man be bitten by a zombie, the task might end immediately.

What was most tempting was the task reward—attribute points!

Though they were random, there was no reason to complain.

Sasha had been worrying about how to earn more attribute points to strengthen herself.

She immediately changed her mind and decided to take on this task.

Lin Hao looked at Sasha, puzzled.

This little girl, dressed in a fine and beautiful outfit, with an innocent look and a sweet, adorable appearance, seemed like the kind of pampered child who had been raised in luxury.

How could she be out here all alone?

Had she come out looking for food because she was starving?

Lin Hao wiped the zombie blood off his glasses, trying to make himself seem more approachable.

He continued to quietly ask:

“Are you out here alone looking for food? Where are your parents?”

Since he was going to do the task, he decided to go all in with his act.

Sasha then put on a sad expression and answered:

“I got separated from my parents... and I don’t have any food, so I came here to look for something to eat...”

Upon hearing the little girl’s response, coupled with her pitiful appearance, Lin Hao’s expression softened.

He thought to himself, this heartless apocalypse had even pushed a little girl to this point.

He then spoke in a gentle voice:

“It’s okay, if you’d like, you can come with me, big brother will protect you.”

“There’s food at my place, are you starving?”

Lin Hao was the type of tall, pale, and frail young man, his voice also very gentle.

If Sasha were just an ordinary little girl, she might have been starry-eyed by his kindness.

After carefully analyzing Lin Hao's expression and eyes, Sasha couldn't detect any malicious or lewd intentions.

But even if there was some hidden agenda, it didn’t matter. She could complete the task and then get rid of him.

He was probably just an ordinary good person, passing by and wanting to help a homeless, hungry little girl.

Sasha couldn’t help but think:

Although it’s nice that there are good people in the world who help those in need, someone like Lin Hao, who helps right away, would probably die very quickly in this world.

That was the cruel truth.

Sasha pushed the dark thoughts aside and flashed her amber-colored eyes, pretending to ask cautiously:

“Really… really?”

Lin Hao looked at her with those pitiful little eyes, smiling gently as he nodded:

“Of course, you don’t have to be afraid!”

“But first, big brother has to collect some ingredients here. Wait for me, stay close, and be careful of those monsters!”

Sasha nodded obediently and then added:

“I was just about to collect some food too!”

She revealed the large backpack she was carrying.

It was a bit too big for her fragile-looking frame, and the bottom of the backpack nearly reached her skirt.

Sasha had originally planned to use this backpack to carry the meat and vegetables.

She decided to fill it now, and when the task was done, she would take it back with her.

Lin Hao had no objections.

But first, they had to deal with the remaining zombies in the store.

Lin Hao picked up the steel pipe and approached the zombies.

Watching him slowly deal with the zombies one by one, Sasha felt nervous.

She was worried he might get killed, and then her task would be over.

This guy was too weak. After killing one zombie, he needed to rest for a bit.

But Sasha just followed him quietly, not offering any help.

If she rushed in to help, her character setup might fall apart, and she wasn’t sure if she could still continue the task.

So, as long as Lin Hao wasn’t in immediate danger, she would stay in character as the obedient, sensible little girl.

Finally, the last zombie was cleared away.

Lin Hao put down the steel pipe and sat at the counter, wiping off the blood that splattered on him.

After resting for a while, the two of them started gathering the remaining stock from the store.

Sasha kept stuffing vegetables and meat into her large backpack.

She opened the glass door of the fridge.

Beef brisket, pork belly, chicken breast, and even steaks—Shen Yiyue, the foodie, would probably go crazy with excitement.

Luckily, the cold storage kept the fresh meat from being ruined by the zombies.

There were also plenty of vegetables like lotus root, cauliflower, and green vegetables. Sasha grabbed some of those as well.

She glanced at Lin Hao and noticed he was only taking meat, avoiding vegetables altogether.

It was strange.

If he really had food at home, why was he risking so much just to get so much meat?

But despite her curiosity, Sasha wasn’t interested in probing deeper, and she continued to fill her bag.

Soon, both of them had gathered their items.

Lin Hao carried several large plastic bags since he hadn’t brought a backpack.

Sasha’s large backpack was so full it looked like it might crush her.

Lin Hao tried to offer to carry her bag and have her hold lighter items, but Sasha refused.

“It’s okay, big brother, look!”

Sasha walked a few steps, carrying the bag, showing that it wasn’t a problem for her.

Lin Hao had no idea that, with Sasha's strength, one punch could probably break his gold-rimmed glasses.

“Let’s go, we’re heading home.”

Lin Hao didn’t press further and was ready to take Sasha back to his place to eat something first.

The two of them left the store.