Annan furrowed her brows: *How much longer are these people going to pester me?* If it gets out of hand, she might just let them have it with her knife!
Fuming, she grabbed her trident dagger and made her way to the door, only to hear a warm male voice from outside.
"Miss Annan, sorry to bother you. I'm Zhao Ping'an, I live on the floor above you."
Zhao Ping'an?
The end-of-days enthusiast who had turned the 15th floor into a fortress?
Her mood softened slightly as she opened the armored door, glancing outside.
The man before her had a fair, clean face, with gold-rimmed glasses perched on his nose.
"How can I help you?"
Zhao Ping'an stared at the graceful young woman before him, finding it hard to connect her to the deadly killer he had seen earlier.
How on earth did those delicate arms wield a heavy chainsaw with such force?
He cleared his throat, trying to calm his nerves. "We met in the elevator before. I'm sure you noticed, I've bought quite a lot of vegetable seeds…"
Actually, he was here to flatter his idol! In the post-apocalyptic world, strength was vital, but even before the disaster, he had always admired powerful people.
He looked at Annan's serious expression, and suddenly felt nervous as he continued, "My mother has grown some fresh vegetables. I wanted to offer you some."
He opened the bag in his hands, revealing two large bunches of garlic shoots and lettuce.
Annan raised an eyebrow. What was this about? Sharing food with neighbors in the midst of the apocalypse?
She declined immediately. "Thank you, but I don't really need it."
She never trusted gifts that fell from the sky.
Zhao Ping'an was stunned for a moment. He knew she had plenty of supplies, but eating dry rations all the time could get monotonous. Fresh vegetables—there was no reason to refuse them, right?
Had she been growing vegetables too?
Annan looked at him. "Is there anything else?"
Zhao Ping'an's mind raced. No, he couldn't let this chance to get closer to his idol slip away!
He glanced at the steel door and suddenly had an idea. "Would you like me to help electrify your door?"
Annan was taken aback. What was he up to now? Offering vegetables and now suggesting modifications to her door?
Did he have a crush on her?
Annan shivered. *Buddy, please don't go falling for me in the apocalypse! I'm not your type.*
Seeing the confusion on her face, Zhao Ping'an realized she had misunderstood and quickly tried to explain:
"Idol, I don't mean anything bad. I just want to be friends. The world's tough right now; the more friends we have, the better, right?"
*Idol?* Annan chuckled inwardly. So this post-apocalyptic fan was just here to buddy up because of her strength.
Noticing that her expression had softened a little, Zhao Ping'an continued eagerly, "I'm useful, you know. I'm good at research, designing mechanisms. I used to be a sought-after talent for several tech companies…"
Annan couldn't help but laugh at his desperate self-promotion.
Zhao Ping'an was indeed talented. She thought for a moment. His electric door idea was pretty good, so she asked, "What would you want as payment for helping me modify the door?"
Zhao Ping'an immediately waved his hand. "No need for payment. I'm free anyway, I'll do it for you for free."
Annan wasn't in the habit of taking advantage of others. "How about I pay you with food? Would you prefer rice or snacks?"
Zhao Ping'an protested, "Really, no need, it doesn't take much effort."
Annan frowned. "If it's free, forget it. I only deal with equal exchanges."
Zhao Ping'an quickly responded, "In that case, snacks would be fine."
Annan nodded, thinking that this fan probably had enough food in his home.
They agreed, and Zhao Ping'an rushed upstairs to fetch his tools. Annan turned back into her apartment to continue eating.
If she didn't hurry, her vegetables would get cold!
After a few bites, she heard the unmistakable sounds of work starting outside her door.
She stayed inside, letting Zhao Ping'an handle things. She didn't know the first thing about mechanism design and couldn't help, so it was best to just enjoy her meal.
After finishing, she rummaged through her storage and pulled out a variety of snacks: spicy chicken feet, beef jerky, dried plums, cola, and various spicy strips. She even grabbed two packs of sunflower seeds—one plain, one five-spice—for Zhao Ping'an's aunt.
When she stepped outside, she saw that Zhao Ping'an had already electrified both doors in the hallway.
He was grinning brightly. "I had some extra materials, so I also modified your armored door. Just flip this switch here, and a shooting hole will open up."
He demonstrated as he spoke.
Annan glanced at what she was holding. Hmm… maybe she hadn't grabbed enough snacks?
Looking around, she noticed that even the blood stains in the hallway had been cleaned up by Zhao Ping'an.
That was really thoughtful!
Realizing she had grabbed too little, she hurried back inside, fetched more snacks, and filled two large bags. When she returned, she handed them over to him.
Zhao Ping'an took the two bags of snacks with a look of surprise.
This wasn't the world before the disaster. Back then, snacks were nothing, but now a single pack of beef jerky was worth fighting for outside.
This girl really was kind! She'd only asked him to modify her door, which was no big deal, but she still gave him so much food.
Zhao Ping'an looked at her with even more admiration.
Annan couldn't help but feel uncomfortable under his gaze. *What's this? Does he think it's not enough?*
"Idol, would you like me to help you modify your entry door too?"
Zhao Ping'an looked at the entry door to 1402. His idol really was cautious, wasn't she? She'd already put two layers of security on the hallway doors, and now she wanted to do the same with the entry door.
Three layers of protection—talk about thorough!
Annan smiled at his enthusiasm. It had been so long since the apocalypse began, and everyone else was down and out. It was refreshing to see someone so full of energy.
"No, thank you," she said.
With the two doors in the stairwell modified, Annan felt safe enough. She wasn't about to let just anyone into her home. Besides, apart from the Liu brothers, no one knew that her entry door also had two layers of security.
Although Zhao Ping'an seemed sincere, she'd learned the hard way not to trust anyone too easily.
Zhao Ping'an scratched his head. "Alright, I'll head back now. Thanks for the snacks."
Annan nodded and watched as he turned to leave.
Just as he was walking up the stairs, he suddenly turned back, a serious look on his face. "Idol, if you need anything, don't hesitate to ask me!"
Not one to reject someone who meant no harm, Annan nodded slightly and watched him leave in high spirits.
She tested the modified doors again. They worked perfectly. From now on, if anyone dared to bother her, she could just zap them and then open fire. No need to step outside.
Perfect.
Back on the 15th floor, Zhao Ping'an had just entered his home when his mother's loud voice rang out:
"So? Did that little brat not take your arms and legs off?"
"Mom! My idol's a girl, not some night demon!"
Hu Cuilan grinned. "Oh, so your idol slices people like vegetables, huh?"
Zhao Ping'an handed her the snacks. "What's for lunch? I'm starving."
"Pfft, playing nice with others, then coming home like a king! You cook, don't ask questions!"
As she scolded him, she quickly opened the snack bags.
"Oh!" Her eyes lit up.