This feels so much better.
Chen Yi leaned against the cool bathroom tiles, letting out a long breath. His skin still felt feverish; if only he had air conditioning to cool down properly.
He really couldn't take it anymore—he was going to die from this heat.
The temperature outside had risen at least ten degrees compared to yesterday. The already blazing summer had now transformed into a literal furnace.
He'd rinsed himself with lukewarm water several times already. Only by feeling the damp coolness on his skin did he finally feel some relief. He'd genuinely been on the verge of heatstroke earlier, his head swimming with dizziness.
So beautiful…
Chen Yi gazed at his reflection in the foggy mirror: those water-blue eyes glistening with mist, skin so delicate and pink it seemed it might bruise at a touch.
That fairy-like face was flushed, the tender, smooth complexion appearing devastatingly fragile. Especially that delicate, vulnerable air about him—it could absolutely awaken 200% of a woman's protective instincts.
"Brother, aren't you done showering yet?" Li Miao'er's soft voice called from outside the door.
She was leaning against it, her large, dewy eyes trying to peek through the frosted glass at the alluring scene inside. If Ye Qing'er weren't standing right there watching, she might have already broken the door down.
"Okay, okay."
Chen Yi grabbed a dry towel to wipe off the water, then changed into a clean light-blue T-shirt and white shorts. He kind of missed the climate-controlled clothes from his past life.
Gulp.
Ye Qing'er and Li Miao'er stared at the boy who had just emerged from his shower, their eyes practically glued to him. They really wanted to just take him back into the bathroom for a nice, shared bath—a beautiful mandarin duck soak.
"Stop staring. Hurry up, let's go check the community's power distribution room. There should be a generator there."
Chen Yi wordlessly pinched Sister Meow's cheek, then headed to the utility room to grab three umbrellas and two flashlights. The sun outside was ferocious; better to take some shade.
"Xiao Yi, you have to stick close to me when we go out. Don't run off on your own."
Ye Qing'er took an umbrella, leaning in close to him. She caught the rich, enchanting fragrance wafting from him and looked at his moist, pink lips.
She suddenly felt her mouth go a little dry, her saliva production inexplicably speeding up.
"Yeah, don't worry, Miss Qing'er."
Chen Yi smiled lightly and nodded. With his physique, his only option was to stick close to Sister Miao and Sister Qing'er. With their protection, he didn't need to fear zombies at all.
Li Miao'er walked over holding a large blade with both hands. Watching Ye Qing'er leaning so close to him, she suddenly felt an urge for the sword in her hands to taste some human blood.
"Meow, is this your new weapon?"
Sensing the cool, sharp murderous aura, Chen Yi gently pushed Sister Qing'er aside and trotted over to Sister Meow, kneading her little face.
"Brother, isn't this blade super domineering? Give it a name for me~"
Li Miao'er pursed her pink lips, gently nuzzling against his palm. If only that glaring lightbulb weren't right beside them…
"Meow, isn't this the old Tiger Machete from before? Oh, welded to a long pole now. Then let's call it the Tiger Fang Broadsword from now on."
Chen Yi glanced at the large blade in her hand. The image of a cute little loli wielding a meter-long greatsword to slash people… just thinking about it…
He felt a slight urge to laugh. The dissonance was just too strong.
"That's so lame, not domineering at all~"
Li Miao'er pouted. How could he come up with such an old-fashioned name?
"Fine, then name it yourself."
Chen Yi pushed her away without another word and stepped out the door. The hallway was even stuffier than inside.
All he wanted was to quickly get a generator back, install it, then lie down in an air-conditioned room and sleep comfortably.
"Brother, how about 'God-Slaying Blade'? Way more domineering than the name you gave."
Li Miao'er followed, her cherry lips pouting. If it weren't for that nuisance Qing following behind, she'd really want to push him against the wall and bully him for a while—teach him a proper lesson.
"Xiao Yi, my mace here is called the 'Blissful Rod'. One tap is guaranteed to send someone straight to heaven~"
Ye Qing'er grinned, waving the steel-spiked club in her hand. If it hit someone, it would instantly create dozens of small holes, sending them flying straight to the blissful pure land. How could that not be… blissful?
"Yeah, the names are all great. That's fine."
Pfft—
Chen Yi opened his umbrella, covering his mouth as he couldn't help but chuckle. That mace name was just too funny… and kind of resembled that item. So blissful.
"The temperature really is over ten degrees higher than yesterday, no wonder it's so unbearably hot."
Chen Yi wiped the sweat from his forehead as they hurried toward the community's property management office.
He remembered the power distribution room was on the first floor of the management building.
"Brother, wait. There are zombies inside."
Li Miao'er pulled Chen Yi to the side, winking at Ye Qing'er—a signal that she'd open the door, and to remember to protect her brother and not be reckless.
Grrraaawwl!!
Just as Li Miao'er pushed open the old, rusty iron door of the distribution room, two stench-emitting zombies lunged out. The already dim environment became even more oppressive.
Thwack! Thwack!
Ye Qing'er swung her club with all her might twice. The zombies hadn't even fully rushed out before—
Splat!
Like watermelons, the zombies' heads instantly burst apart. Foul liquid and minced meat splattered everywhere.
The upper bodies were almost flattened. The zombies twitched and collapsed. Li Miao'er, who was closest, was sprayed with the vile fluid and stood frozen on the spot for a few seconds.
Smelling the stench on her body and the disgusting rotten flesh, she raised her blade, wanting to chop this worthless dead dog to pieces.
She'd been this close—and Ye Qing'er dared to explode the zombie's head like that?!
Blergh—
Li Miao'er leaned on her blade, vomiting by the doorway. She'd just eaten a full meal and was subjected to this. She really wanted to kill someone.
"Sister Qing'er, couldn't you be a little gentler?"
Chen Yi ran over, patting Sister Meow's back. The poorly ventilated basement was now filled with an even more pungent stench that made one's eyes sting.
"Uh… I'm just used to hitting zombies like that."
Ye Qing'er covered her mouth, letting out a guilty snicker. Luckily, she was farther away, with only a few splashes of zombie blood on her. She could just wash it off outside later.
"Meow, there's a bathroom upstairs. Go wash off with some water."
Chen Yi switched on his flashlight, illuminating the scene before him. It was truly hard to look at directly—the zombies were no longer recognizable as human, the ground littered with rotten flesh and black fluid.
Holding his breath, he rushed into the power distribution room. In one corner, he spotted a brown diesel generator.
Its surface was covered in a layer of black grease and dust, so grimy its original appearance was barely visible.
Chen Yi wiped the dust off the machine's control panel with his hand, looked it over, and smiled. "Sister Qing'er, this generator weighs about two tons. It's a water-cooled, low-noise model, a 200KW intelligent start-stop backup generator. The machine itself still seems in good condition."
"Xiao Yi, will this thing be easy to disassemble?"
Ye Qing'er knelt down, peering at the components under the generator. She really didn't understand this kind of machinery.
"Very easy. Unscrew the bolts, remove the parts and wiring on it, then reassemble and connect the lines, and it's ready to use."
Chen Yi covered his nose, taking small breaths. He swept the room with his flashlight and spotted two open toolboxes not far away, likely belonging to the two zombies on the ground.
"Sister Qing'er, just remove these mounting bolts and we can push it out."
Chen Yi handed the screwdriver to Sister Qing'er, then moved aside to disconnect all the wires and components from the generator.
He planned to get two new wires to connect to the switch in the house, then cut off all the irrelevant wiring.
That would save a lot of trouble, and he wouldn't have to worry about other lines being damaged.
"Milk Qing! Just you wait—I'll definitely break your legs next week!"
Li Miao'er ran back over furiously. She'd rushed upstairs and washed several times with water, scrubbing her skin red and swollen before finally getting rid of the stench on her body.