Dimensional Store: Welcome to the Apocalypse Apartment - Chapter 19

Lin She wore a black trench coat over a dark gray turtleneck sweater, covering his neck. The whole person looked like a painting in dark tones.

Below his neck, his skin was gradually hardening, and scales were beginning to grow.

“Egg.” His dark green eyes swept over the box. His black lips barely moved, the answer gurgling out from his throat.

He guessed it instantly. Gu Huaiwei’s eyes flashed with surprise. “How did you know?”

“I smelled it.”

Gu Huaiwei twitched her nose, but she couldn’t smell anything at all.

So she asked, “Lin She, this might sound a bit strange, but… are you human?”

Lin She’s black short hair was smooth and neat, hanging by his face. His dark green eyes were like gemstones, cold and mysterious, shining with an enigmatic light.

He said nothing, just quietly stared at Gu Huaiwei, not blinking for a long time.

Like a machine that had lost its connection, he didn’t answer the question.

Gu Huaiwei felt a chill down her spine under his gaze.

Although Lin She didn’t show any aggression, that kind of stare was unsettling.

She couldn’t describe the feeling, as if something ominous was clinging to her.

“Forget it, pretend I didn’t ask.” Gu Huaiwei changed the subject, deciding it was better not to probe into other people’s secrets.

“Alright.” He responded quickly, as if he’d suddenly come online.

They had brought a lot of things this time, filling up the entire staff warehouse, leaving Gu Huaiwei with nowhere to rest at night.

Lin She spent most of his time sitting in the lobby. Gu Huaiwei had never seen him sleep.

Sometimes at night, he would open a red umbrella and go out into the Radiation Storm, returning in the morning when the hotel opened.

He never said where he went.

Gu Huaiwei never asked.

The Upper District was far from the Oasis Hotel. Even if Lin She went, he couldn’t make a round trip in a single day.

The plan to have Lin She hand out flyers at the Upper District gate was put on hold for now.

However, as a tech enthusiast, Lin She, through relentless effort, developed an app that could connect to the Underground City’s network, allowing customers to select and book rooms online.

Gu Huaiwei uploaded photos of the hotel rooms to the app. Even without beauty filters, the themed rooms looked as beautiful as a paradise before the nuclear apocalypse.

With the app successfully launched, Gu Huaiwei took advantage of her lunch break to cook hot pot in the hotel, brought out ice-cold cola, and celebrated with Lin She.

The aroma of hot pot filled the entire lobby.

Inside the hotel, Qian Duoduo, who was drinking strawberry-flavored Nutrient Solution, smelled the hot pot from outside, smacked her lips, and found the expensive Nutrient Solution in her mouth bland and tasteless.

It used to be her favorite flavor.

But it couldn’t compare to the spicy, savory aroma drifting in from outside.

Traditional meat and vegetables were hard to preserve, time-consuming, labor-intensive, and couldn’t provide complete nutrition.

Other than being delicious, they had no advantages.

Only those in the Upper District, who had no survival pressure, would eat such things.

Thinking of this, Qian Duoduo took a hard sip of the pink Nutrient Solution.

But the smell of hot pot didn’t just make Qian Duoduo’s stomach churn like a washing machine; the other guests in the hotel weren’t feeling much better either.

Although it had been more than 200 years since the nuclear apocalypse wiped out most species,

The instinct engraved in living beings made them crave traditional food.

Nutrient Solution could keep them alive,

But it couldn’t satisfy their desire to eat.

After injecting the Inhibitor, Xiao Youqi originally wanted to lie down and rest on the hotel bed.

But the smell of hot pot kept him awake.

He weighed the Gold Coin in his hand and took the elevator downstairs.
There was no space in the staff warehouse, so Gu Huaiwei set up two small stools and, taking advantage of the lunch break, started cooking hotpot behind the counter.

When Xiao Youqi found her, she was sitting in front of a steaming mandarin duck hotpot, using public chopsticks to pick leafy greens from the clear broth side.

The broth was crystal clear, with a few tender green vegetable leaves floating on top. The delicious aroma wafted over, tantalizing Xiao Youqi’s taste buds.

He swallowed hard.

“Gulp-”

The sound was especially loud.

Gu Huaiwei heard it and lifted her head. “Why don’t you have some too?”

A smile appeared in Xiao Youqi’s silvery-gray eyes.

He was just about to save his Gold Coins, shamelessly sit down, and mooch a meal, when he suddenly felt a distinctly unfriendly gaze.

In an instant, it sliced through the air, shooting toward him like a sharp blade.

Xiao Youqi snapped back to his senses and looked in the direction the chill had come from.

Gu Huaiwei noticed Xiao Youqi stiffen and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“N-nothing.” Xiao Youqi took three Gold Coins out of his pocket. “I’ll buy a small bowl from you, but I won’t sit here to eat.”

“Sure.”

Gu Huaiwei took out two empty bowls and separated the food from the beef tallow and clear broth sides for him.

Fresh leafy greens, silky tofu, springy shrimp paste… She used the public chopsticks to give him a bit of everything.

“Here you go.” The bottom of the bowl was a little hot, so Gu Huaiwei wrapped it in a damp towel before handing it to Xiao Youqi.

“Thanks.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to sit down and eat together?”

Xiao Youqi glanced warily at Lin She. “No need.”

“Alright then.” Gu Huaiwei flipped the Gold Coins in her hand, the corners of her lips lifting. “If you want to eat again next time, you can come find me.”

With that, Gu Huaiwei tossed Xiao Youqi a bottle of ice-cold cola.

“This is a freebie. Come by often!”

Xiao Youqi’s fingers gripped the cold cola bottle. There seemed to be liquid inside…

By the looks of it, it must be precious water resources.

“Thanks.” Xiao Youqi accepted the cola. He could never have too much water.

Once Xiao Youqi left, Gu Huaiwei’s smile faded.

Just now, she had sensed it.

Xiao Youqi hadn’t sat down to eat because of Lin She.

She looked at Lin She.

Lin She was skillfully mixing dipping sauce, adding sesame paste, minced garlic, cilantro, and crushed peanuts to the dish.

His actions were no different from a human’s.

Why was Xiao Youqi so wary of Lin She?

Gu Huaiwei was a bit puzzled.

After Lin She finished mixing the sauce, he added a few drops of aromatic vinegar. He looked up at Gu Huaiwei with a gentle expression and pushed the sauce toward her. “I’ve made a portion. See if you like it.”

“No need, I’ll make my own.” Gu Huaiwei declined his kindness; she didn’t eat cilantro.

Lin She handed her an empty plate.

In terms of social etiquette, he was very gentlemanly.

During their time working together, Lin She had shown strong work abilities and solid skills. He never pried into her affairs. Aside from some odd behaviors, he was, in every other way, a nearly perfect work partner.

It was just… Gu Huaiwei always had a strange feeling.

It was something instinctual.

No evidence.

Forget it.

Gu Huaiwei couldn’t explain why she had that fleeting sense of strangeness, so she didn’t dwell on it.

She began scooping chili sauce to make her own special hotpot dip.

Meanwhile, out of Gu Huaiwei’s sight, Lin She lowered his head, lifted his bowl to cover his mouth, and quietly extended a slender, forked tongue, curling up a slice of fatty beef from the bowl and swallowing it whole.

His dark green pupils contracted slightly.

A bit spicy-still, it tasted better raw.