C3 Chapter 3

Ignoring the noise outside, Liu Wenmei glanced at her reddened hands. She quickly rinsed them under hot water, then started searching through her space. She remembered she had a vial of physical enhancement serum.

Her Consciousness was strong, but her original strength didn’t match this body. That mismatch was why she couldn’t control her power properly. If it kept going like this, this body would get hurt easily.

In the later days of the apocalypse, scientists developed a drug that strengthened the body. After drinking it, your physical condition would reach its optimal state. Paired with some body-training techniques, her current problem could be fixed fast.

Even in the apocalypse, this stuff was valuable. She’d originally set this vial aside as a reward to motivate her team to hunt zombies more aggressively. She hadn’t expected she’d be the one to use it. As for the training methods, everyone in the late apocalypse knew them. She figured it wouldn’t be long before she could fully control her strength.

After she found the vial, Liu Wenmei drank it in one gulp. The entire absorption process was painless—slow and steady. Half an hour later, she opened her eyes, lifted her arm, and studied the firmer muscle. She was satisfied.

Sensing that Huang Guihua and Liu Wenbing were still waiting outside, she casually pulled two pieces of malt candy from her space, planning to slip them to Liu Wenbing when his grandma wasn’t looking.

She got dressed and stepped out of her room, spotting Liu Wenbing sitting by the front door. Every so often, he rubbed his back. The moment he saw her, he jumped to his feet.

“Mei, you’re done washing up? Wenbing, why are you just standing there? Hurry up and go pour out your sister’s bathwater.” His grandma tugged Wenmei to sit under the eaves and immediately started bossing her brother around.

“Coming, coming. I was just waiting for my sister to come out so I could dump it,” Liu Wenbing said. He jogged into Liu Wenmei’s room and carried the water out. He wasn’t stupid—he was still counting on his sister’s goodies.

“Mei, eat this egg cake first. Now tell Grandma—what’s going on with that strength of yours?”

Seeing Liu Wenbing go to dump the water, Huang Guihua quickly pulled out an egg cake wrapped in a clean handkerchief from her pocket and pressed it into Liu Wenmei’s hand.

She’d just seen the bruises on Liu Wenbing’s back—one big patch of blue and purple. Huang Guihua couldn’t help but wonder: What if that fortune-teller had been right? Had Mei’s luck finally turned?

Liu Wenmei took the egg cake and raised an eyebrow. This old lady had plenty of good stuff. Weren’t they always saying nobody had enough to eat back then? Yet in no time at all, she’d had sweetened egg water, and now there was an egg cake too.

“Grandma, I don’t know either. After I fell in the river, I just… ended up like this.” Liu Wenmei didn’t explain any more. The more you said, the more you could mess up.

Huang Guihua grabbed Liu Wenmei’s hand and looked it over from every angle. Other than it looking prettier, nothing seemed different.

“Forget it. Don’t tell anyone about this. I already talked to your brother—told him to keep his mouth shut. You be careful out there. Nobody can find out.” Huang Guihua held onto Liu Wenmei’s hand, feeling both sweet and bitter.

Sweet, because with an ability like this, no one would dare bully her Mei again. Bitter, because if word got out, the neighborhood gossips would have a field day—and once too many people knew, who would want to marry her Mei?

“Sis, you got anything good for me?” Over there, Liu Wenbing had finished pouring the water and came running over, eyes locked on the egg cake in Liu Wenmei’s hand.

“Go on, get out of here. There’s nothing for you.” Their grandma hurried to shoo him away as he charged over.

Liu Wenmei quietly pulled back the candy she’d meant to give him and handed the egg cake to Liu Wenbing instead.

Liu Wenbing grabbed it and bolted out of the yard, stuffing it into his mouth as he ran.