Although Jiang Xingrui was annoyed, he wasn’t as unprincipled as Lu Yao, so he didn’t beat up Qin Ye. 

As dusk fell, a faint glow appeared outside, but the rain was still coming down. The rain was tinged with a dark red hue by the twilight, and countless dark red raindrops fell thick and fast upon the city.

“Let’s stay here tonight,” Lu Yao suggested.

Jiang Xingrui raised an eyebrow, a hint of impatience at the corner: “What makes you think I’d agree to that?”

Lu Yao said earnestly, “Then I’m begging you—please, just stay here.”

Jiang Xingrui: “……”

That feeling of punching cotton was truly frustrating—he just couldn’t land a hit. How could this guy lack even a shred of a master’s poise?

Qin Ye chimed in from the side, “The boss is giving you a chance to investigate us thoroughly—isn’t that a good thing?”

Those words made Jiang Xingrui pause for a moment, then he smiled, softening the sharpness and irritation between his brows a bit: “Alright. That’s what you guys said.” 

“Oh.” Lu Yao ruffled Qin Ye’s hair: “You’re growing up fast, kid.”

Qin Ye: “Hehe.”

“You’re even good at setting up plays now. From now on, when I’m chasing someone, you’ll be my wingman, okay?” Lu Yao said. 

Qin Ye: “With your skills, you don’t need help chasing someone. I bet you’d trip them up first…” 

Lu Yao’s expression turned stern: “Your ability to make snarky remarks has improved too, you little smart aleck. Shut up.” 

Qin Ye clamped his mouth shut tight—this time, he was the one feeling awkward.

Jiang Xingrui watched their exchange from the side and suddenly felt a bit regretful about staying. He felt like there were bugs crawling all over him.

Dinner: Buddha Jumps Over the Wall.

Oh my gosh, it’s that luxurious.

Golden Broth Buddha Jumps Over the Wall—delicious abalone, tender beef tendons, and shiitake mushrooms soaked in rich broth… Paired with fragrant steamed rice, this dinner was simply out of this world.

This Buddha Jumps Over the Wall was, of course, one of the gifts Lu Yao’s former boss had received. Although, strictly speaking, it was actually a ready-made dish. 

Qin Ye ate happily, while Jiang Xingrui, sitting beside him, whistled when he saw the dinner: “Not bad—quite a feast.”

This suggested that these delicacies hadn’t particularly surprised Jiang Xingrui.

During his brief interaction with Jiang Xingrui, Lu Yao didn’t get the impression that he was someone who was good at acting or enjoyed it. That meant Jiang Xingrui still had plenty of supplies.

“Actually, there were some unexpected developments,” Lu Yao said as he ate Buddha Jumps Over the Wall. “What?” Jiang Xingrui asked.

Lu Yao: “I originally thought I’d be welcoming a third companion, but as expected, you…”

Jiang Xingrui said, “I’m a member of the Torch Dragon.”

Lu Yao nodded. “So it’s the Torch Dragon. I’ve heard a little about it.” 

Jiang Xingrui shot a contemptuous glance at Qin Ye, who was standing there with his mouth agape in surprise: “Like I’d believe you…”

Lu Yao felt embarrassed and smacked Qin Ye on the back of the head, nearly sending him tumbling into his bowl.

“If you’d just slipped up, I could’ve pried a little more information out of you,” Lu Yao said, tapping Qin Ye on the head. “Can’t you just act the part properly? Keep this up, and I’ll hit you hard enough to make you slip up.” 

Qin Ye said in terror, “No, boss! Please don’t hit me until I slip up…”

Jiang Xingrui held his chopsticks, finding it hard to swallow. “Could you guys… please not do this while we’re eating?”

“Oh, okay.” Lu Yao pulled his hand back. “Then I won’t be flirting anymore. It really isn’t appropriate to show off our affection while eating—it’ll make the other person full.”

This time, Qin Ye and Jiang Xingrui were both taken aback:

“Is that what you call ‘spreading the love’?” 

“We might have different views on flirting…”

The meal ended on a fairly harmonious note. 

After dinner, both sides were actually feeling a bit eager. But since they’d already decided to stay the night and had plenty of time, rushing things would only backfire.

“Would you like to take a tour?” Lu Yao asked. 

“Sure,” Jiang Xingrui said.

After dinner, Lu Yao showed Jiang Xingrui around the house, leading him to a bookshelf with an antique charm.

The former owner’s spacious apartment was quite luxurious. They walked into the study, and Jiang Xingrui looked at the antique bookshelf and remarked, “It’s quite cultured.”

Taking a closer look, the books on the shelf included *Kazuo Inamori’s Management Philosophy: Respect the Divine and Love People, Altruistic Management*, *The Poor Charlie’s Almanack: The Wisdom of Charlie Munger*, *Replacing Employees with AI*… 

Jiang Xingrui shot Lu Yao a sidelong glance.

Lu Yao: “Don’t let my appearance fool you—I’m a boss, too. After all, men are all smooth operators, so looking at me like that is totally out of line.” 

Jiang Xingrui: “Have you been watching too much Japanese anime? What kind of ridiculous tone is that?”

“Actually, that’s the tone from an otome game,” Lu Yao cleared his throat and said, “Come chat with me for a bit. I’ll explain the underlying logic of this task, help you find a starting point, align the granularity, and close the final loop…” 

Jiang Xingrui: “…Fine, fine, fine. I’ll take your word for it—you’ve been a manager before.”

Lu Yao suddenly broke into a smile: “Actually, here’s the thing—this house belongs to my boss.” He said this while studying Jiang Xingrui’s expression

“I’ve hated that bastard for ages. After the apocalypse hit, I killed him, took the keys, and moved into his place.” 

It suddenly felt colder.

The air around them was being drawn away bit by bit.

Jiang Xingrui’s brow furrowed sharply, and the smile in his eyes was instantly washed away by the rain.

Lu Yao still wore the same smile as before: “What’s the matter? It’s survival of the fittest—isn’t that perfectly normal?”

There was no trace of a smile in Jiang Xingrui’s eyes: “I advise you not to make jokes like that.” The corners of his lips turned down, his gaze as sharp as a knife. The atmosphere was extremely tense, with a taut string hanging in the air.

Lu Yao stared straight at him: “How do you know I’m even joking?”

“You said you killed your boss after the apocalypse, but you were still living in that rental apartment just a few days ago. Besides, a lot of things in this house haven’t been touched.” Jiang Xingrui said slowly, “You took the key—you did—but you didn’t take it after killing someone.”

Lu Yao laughed: “Okay, I know you don’t like this kind of joke.” 

The tension in the air eased slightly.

It was as if someone had opened a window; the stifling air became a little more refreshing. 

After that, Lu Yao briefly showed Jiang Xingrui around the house; the atmosphere between them wasn’t exactly friendly.

Night fell. The rain had eased, but it was now falling more finely and densely than it had in the afternoon. It was time to go to sleep.

Qin Ye was heading toward his room when Lu Yao grabbed him by the arm: “You’re sleeping with me tonight.” 

Qin Ye: “What?!”

Jiang Xingrui leaned against the doorframe and chuckled, “Even though you seem so confident on the surface, are you actually worried I’ll come after you two tonight?”

Lu Yao: “Do you know how angry it makes me when you bring this up so bluntly?”

Jiang Xingrui: “Really?”

Lu Yao: “Yes, that’s why I’m going to take my frustration out on Qin Ye—I’m not afraid of you making a move.” 

Jiang Xingrui felt the corners of his mouth twitch involuntarily: “Do as you please. No need to report back to me on this.” 

“Sure thing, sure thing.” Lu Yao dragged Qin Ye into the room.

Lu Yao closed the door, then used the flashlight on his phone to turn on the desk lamp. The room was instantly bathed in a warm yellow glow.

The curtains weren’t drawn completely tight; a sliver of night sky peeked through the gap.

Lu Yao lay down on the bed and stretched. Qin Ye lay down on the bed as well.

Now it’s time for our late-night chat.

“Boss, are you really worried that Jiang Xingrui will kill us tonight?”

“Pretty much.” Lu Yao stared at the ceiling. “I’m fine, but I’m mostly worried he’ll kill you.”

Qin Ye sat up abruptly in bed: “Huh???”

Lu Yao added, “But he seems like a good guy.”

After all, when he heard that this house had been obtained by Lu Yao through murder and robbery, Jiang Xingrui got angry.

Qin Ye hesitated for a moment and asked, “Boss, I’ve actually been meaning to ask this for a while. You’ve put me through all kinds of tests, but you seem to be letting your guard down a bit too much with Jiang Xingrui…”

Lu Yao: “Didn’t you take in a single word I said about Jiang Xingrui?”

Qin Ye: “Uh, well…” He thought back for a moment. 

Lu Yao had no choice but to spell it out plainly: “Actually, from the very beginning, I’ve been demonstrating my value to him—my value as a partner. I’ve been sending him signals that I’m useful. So even if he’s a good guy or a bad guy, it doesn’t matter. As long as he’s human, he needs a partner.”

Qin Ye: “But what if he’s not just an ordinary good guy or bad guy, but some kind of deranged maniac?”

“Then I’d just change my pitch,” Lu Yao said, spreading his hands. “Since he’s set his sights on me, there’s bound to be a way to handle it. If he’s truly deranged, I could tell him I’m conducting zombie breeding experiments—and from there, we’d make progress together and become allies.”

Qin Ye: “Right, boss, you’ve got it all figured out…” He stopped mid-sentence and looked horrified: “Ah! We’re conducting zombie breeding experiments! That’s not right! That’s inhumane! That sounds totally twisted!”

Lu Yao: “…Is that just now sinking in? I thought you were actually into this type.”

“No, I really didn’t realize…” Qin Ye’s expression grew increasingly horrified. “Big Shot… we… we aren’t the villains, are we…” 

Lu Yao: “Don’t be ridiculous. How could villains be law-abiding like me? I’m a model citizen.”

Qin Ye was even more terrified: “Looking at it that way, you seem even more like a villain—paranoid and all… and Lawful Evil…” 

Watching Qin Ye lose his composure yet again—which, of course, was no surprise—Lu Yao said menacingly, “Duckhead, if you say I look like a villain one more time, I’ll take you down right here and now.” 

Qin Ye：“……”

Qin Ye closed his eyes, utterly terrified.

“I’m going to sleep. I’m going to sleep right now.”

Lu Yao also closed his eyes to rest. He wasn’t sleeping; he was thinking things through.

At the moment, he didn’t know what the organization 【Torch Dragon】 was like, but given Jiang Xingrui’s righteous character, this organization called 【Torch Dragon】 was not bad. 

After all, when Jiang Xingrui mentioned 【Torch Dragon】, his eyes lit up; he was proud of his place in this organization. If 【Torch Dragon】 were an evil organization, Jiang Xingrui wouldn’t have had that look on his face.

It’s quite rare—and also a stroke of luck—that the two people he’s encountered since acquiring the system have both turned out to be good people.

As for Jiang Xingrui’s strength, it seems he’s still struggling a bit to take down a Tier IV zombie on his own, but at that moment, none of them had brought out their secret moves.

The fact that someone as powerful as Jiang Xingrui ventured out alone to hunt a Tier V zombie indicates that he is not part of the organization’s leadership.

In a post-apocalyptic organization like this, with less than three months having passed, the hierarchy likely still revolves around the strongest members.

Someone even stronger than Jiang Xingrui… what kind of person would that be?

While analyzing all this, Lu Yao asked, “Qin Ye, you’re still awake, right?”

Qin Ye: “Nope, boss.” Not only was he awake, but he was wide awake.

Lu Yao: “Actually, I’m not asleep either. I’ve been thinking about other things.”

Qin Ye: “Hmm…”

Lu Yao asked earnestly, “So does that mean we’re sleeping in the same bed but dreaming different dreams?” 

Qin Ye：“……”

Qin Ye: “Boss, just say whatever comes to mind in your dreams… Never mind, I’m just going to go back to sleep—even my dreams make more sense than what you’re saying.”

Not long after Qin Ye said that, he really did fall asleep.

Listening to Qin Ye’s steady breathing beside him, Lu Yao thought to himself, This kid is really honest—he said he’d sleep, and he actually did. Lu Yao wasn’t sleepy at all. He’d received too much information these past few days, and he needed to start making plans early.

What the future held, and which direction he should take—these were all questions staring him in the face. Lu Yao got up and quietly opened the door.

The hallway was shrouded in the darkness of night; the door across from him was closed tight, not even a sliver of a gap. He stood in the doorway, staring at that door for a few seconds.

Inside, Jiang Xingrui sat in the corner, twirling a short knife between his fingers, his eyes fixed on the door on this side. Separated by a wooden door and the air between them, the two stared silently at each other for a moment.

After quite a while, Lu Yao turned and left, heading to the living room to pour himself a glass of water.

With a stranger in the house, Lu Yao couldn’t sleep.

He carried out a round object wrapped in a black plastic bag from the bathroom, unwrapped the two layers, revealing the head of a Level IV zombie inside. As usual, he took a photo first.

Jiang Xingrui’s voice came from behind him: “Are you taking this photo to post on your Moments too?”

Lu Yao wasn’t the least bit shy; he replied matter-of-factly, “Yes.”

He handed his phone to Jiang Xingrui.

Jiang Xingrui looked down and saw the accompanying image: A Level IV zombie’s round head. Caption: When will this life ever end? 

Jiang Xingrui’s hand trembled; he felt as if he’d seen something disgusting.

“You’re staying up in the middle of the night just to do this?” he asked, at a loss for words.

“Oh,” Lu Yao said with a smug grin, “It’s past midnight—time to post a new WeChat Moment.”

Today is the last day.

That means once he posted one more WeChat Moment, this task will be complete! 

He’ll be able to enter the new giveaway right away! 

Jiang Xingrui: …

Why was he out in the middle of the night instead of sleeping? Why was he torturing himself like this? Wouldn’t it be better to just sleep peacefully at his place?