Following a small path, the two of them headed toward Lin Hao's home.
Lin Hao walked ahead, still carrying a lot of things, but he kept vigilantly scanning his surroundings to protect Sasha.
He managed to avoid most of the zombies on the road, and it was clear that this wasn't the first time he had traveled this way.
Sasha, with her backpack full of meat and vegetables, closely followed behind him.
She casually opened the system panel and went to the [Weekly Special Offer].
Earlier in the store, she had intended to exchange for the Scarlet Battle Blade, but Lin Hao had interrupted her.
Sasha immediately clicked the exchange button.
Her points dropped from 3120 to just 120, but in her inventory, the [Scarlet Battle Blade (Enchanted)] appeared.
Sasha lightly summoned it, feeling a slight weight in her hand.
The Scarlet Battle Blade had materialized in her grasp.
This Tang sword looked even more beautiful in her hands than it had in the system preview.
Its entire body was crimson, as if dyed by fresh blood, and Sasha couldn't help but wonder how many people had died under its blade.
The size seemed to have been adjusted, likely auto-scaling to her body type.
It fit perfectly, easy to wield with one hand.
More importantly, Sasha felt the enchantment: Battle Intent (Physical +1, Mental Power +1).
Not only did her physical strength seem to increase, but the mental boost was even more apparent.
A refreshing sensation filled her body from the hilt of the sword, and her mind cleared as if a thick fog had been lifted.
It was like waking from a deeply satisfying sleep, then drinking a glass of ice-cold mint water—utterly refreshing.
She hadn't expected the boost to her mental power to feel so good.
Her senses seemed sharper now—she could see farther and hear clearer.
And the longer the blade, the greater the advantage in close combat.
It would be easier to deal with zombies with this weapon.
It was truly a good weapon, worth the 15,000 points she had spent.

"It’s just ahead; my home is on the 5th floor," Lin Hao said, pointing to a building ahead.
Sasha nodded and followed closely behind him.
They entered a residential area, where several zombie corpses could be seen piled up in one spot.
It seemed the people here had some form of organization, but Sasha couldn't understand why they hadn't gone out together to scavenge for supplies.
After reaching the 5th floor, Lin Hao opened the door to his apartment and invited Sasha in.
The apartment wasn't large, probably under 100 square meters, but the decoration was new, resembling a recently built home. The off-white wallpaper gave it a warm, cozy feel.
Lin Hao gestured for Sasha to sit, then began rummaging through the house for food.
He placed the fresh supplies he found on the dining table.
Sasha found a chair and sat at the table.
Soon, several bags of snacks were brought out, and Lin Hao said, "You must be starving. Feel free to eat these; I have some backup supplies too."
But Sasha noticed that Lin Hao’s "backup supplies" probably consisted of only one cardboard box.
It seemed he wasn’t too generous with himself, yet he had brought so much for her.
Sasha smiled sweetly and thanked him, though she didn’t eat the snacks Lin Hao offered.
He didn't seem to mind, so he was probably just a well-meaning person, but that didn’t mean Sasha let her guard down.
She looked around the apartment.
In the living room, a wedding photo hung prominently, framed in ornate gold.
The groom in the photo was Lin Hao, and the bride was a beautiful girl who looked like a perfect match for him—likely his wife.
They smiled happily, leaning closely together.
The photo was recent, indicating they had probably just married not long ago.
Before Lin Hao could ask why she wasn't eating, Sasha quickly changed the subject.
"Brother, where did the beautiful sister in the photo go?"
Lin Hao was momentarily taken aback, then offered a bitter, awkward smile.
"She’s gone... On the day the apocalypse broke out, she was bitten by a monster."
Lin Hao didn’t resort to any childish lies like "she’s gone far away" to avoid awkwardness.
Given that Sasha looked like at least a middle schooler, there was no need for such excuses.
Sasha immediately showed an apologetic expression.
"Oh... I’m sorry..."
Lin Hao shook his head dismissively and said, "It’s fine, it’s all in the past."
"In this world, maybe living is more of a torment than dying..."
Then he seemed to realize he shouldn't say something like that to a little girl and hurriedly added,
"Ah... sorry, I said something strange. Don’t mind me."
Sasha understood perfectly what he meant by "living being a torment."
But on the surface, she only showed a confused expression and didn’t respond.
After a while, she asked, "So, did the people in this neighborhood all work together to clear out the monsters?"
Sasha couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off.
At the mention of this, Lin Hao’s expression shifted slightly. He slowly said,
"Yeah, there’s a group of very capable people, well-armed, and plenty of them."
"They’ve cleared out all the monsters in the neighborhood."
"But, if you happen to run into them, you’d better avoid them. They’re not the nicest people."
He didn’t elaborate, but Sasha could sense there was more to it.
Living in a neighborhood controlled by someone likely required some form of payment or sacrifice.
"Go ahead and eat some snacks, don’t be shy. I’ve got more."
Lin Hao smiled again and didn’t press further, getting up to sort through the large bags of food he had brought back.
Sasha pretended to eat a snack, but secretly moved them to a hidden place.
Just then, loud banging sounds came from outside.
"Open up! Open the door!"
It was a gruff man’s voice.
Lin Hao frowned, his expression turning serious. He quickly told Sasha,
"Little sister, go hide in the study. No matter what happens or what you hear, don’t come out."
Sasha nodded seriously and headed toward the study.
It seemed some unwanted guests had arrived.
She quickly entered the study and glanced at the books on the shelf.
There were many biology and medical books, along with some difficult philosophy texts.
It looked like Lin Hao was well-educated, matching his scholarly appearance with glasses.
Meanwhile, Lin Hao had reached the door and slowly opened it.