Chapter 392: Chapter 392

Maybe it was because his wife had comforted him in person the previous night, but by noon the next day Lu Ting, who had just crossed a line and personally killed someone the night before, looked surprisingly decent.

He sat at the dining table in a casual gray-blue tracksuit, leisurely eating lunch, and even his normally piercing features showed a hint of contentment.

As for Young Lady Shen, after a brief hormone-fueled high, certain ingrained images immediately resurfaced in her mind.

Especially when she woke the next morning and saw that someone, after removing the wig, clearly had a slightly balding forehead.

At a single glance, the little flame of danger that had just been rekindled in a critical moment instantly sputtered out most of its light.

She cast a glance at her increasingly delicate and adorable daughter’s face, and Young Lady Shen couldn’t help but sigh sadly. Supernatural ability could coolly increase physical strength, so why couldn’t it grow more hair?

Oh well. Considering how busy Ning Ning’s dad had been helping out lately, he was still somewhat reliable. And yesterday… ahem… his figure wasn’t bad either.

They’d make do. Where in the world is there a flawless perfect male god?

After that earlier incident, everyone in the villa who had supernatural abilities, An Ning included, trained even harder.

After all, whether it was the fall of the city center or the possible strengthening of the zombies, none of it was good news for the family.

Even Shen Qing began to fumble and try to figure out how to train her spatial ability. With most of the city already fallen and the zombie hordes bound to spread here sooner or later, it was wise to be able to take more with them if they had to evacuate when danger struck.

Even the idle Shen elders were helping brainstorm. After everyone’s efforts, they finally found a method.

"Fine control? Remote manipulation by thought?"

Huh? It actually seems to work!

After a few days of trying, Shen Qing became excited. Although the spatial expansion only grew a tiny bit, it was enough to thrill Young Lady Shen.

Life in the villa settled into a routine of the three family members steadily improving their abilities, occasionally listening to the faintly passing radio broadcasts.

Thanks to the earlier abundant food supplies, the solar power equipment, and An Ning’s occasional deliveries of vegetables and fruit, even with water and power cut off outside and most of the internet down, life inside the villa was still fairly decent for the family.

Of course, that “decent” is relative to the outside world; compared to before, it was nowhere near as good.

"Huh, so strange. Why do your grandma and grandpa seem especially concerned about Young Lady Shen’s supernatural ability?"

"They even ask a couple more questions about the couple’s relationship!"

Earlier, no matter how much the couple quarreled, unless it was extreme, the Shen elders rarely intervened.

At most, if their treasured daughter was unhappy, the elders would simply take her and the granddaughter out for a breather, and generously give money to shop till they dropped…

Watching Grandma Shen constantly encouraging her daughter, the system felt a bit puzzled.

Playing with a noticeably thicker ring of green vine in its hand, An Ning wasn’t too surprised:

"Because the situation is different now!"

Or rather, for the Shen elders, they’d lost some of the confidence to fully back their daughter financially.

"Actually, look back at before: one appeared to be a lifelong academic achiever, excellent in everything from childhood, plus a successful domineering CEO. The other was used to squandering extravagantly every day, a spoiled young miss who never liked studying and couldn’t focus.

"On the surface, the two didn’t seem very well matched, but in reality, apart from Young Lady Shen’s overly intense affection earlier, their statuses were, to a certain degree, equivalent."

"Like I said before, even if one day their marriage really did break, aside from emotional hurt, Young Lady Shen could still be a spendthrift, living carefree as a socialite."

"Even if the elders were to pass away someday, not even counting the shares in Shen Corporation, the various real estate properties and countless sky-high-priced jewelry collections would be more than enough for their daughter to spend for generations."

"Furthermore, even if she truly picked up some terrible habit and blew through billions of assets, the original body of Young Lady Shen could still receive a monthly family trust fund."

And that money would be enough for mother and daughter to live comfortably, maybe indulge a little.

Of course that possibility was slim. No matter how little Young Lady Shen loved studying, as a multi-year heiress of a rich family, the Shen matriarch had personally taught her social skills and how to read people.

"Ahem…" Thinking of the original body’s lifelong excellence, An Ning couldn’t help the corner of her mouth twitch.

After a moment she said somewhat dumbfoundedly:

"System, didn’t you notice back then that the elders were really invested in the original body’s upbringing?"

In other words, as long as she didn’t go astray, in the end, at worst there would still be an outstanding daughter to take care of them in their old age.

You can even do it that way! If you can’t ‘compete’ with the daughter, just ‘compete’ with the granddaughter—no matter what, you’ll finish the final support mission, right!

"Well… since they can’t support the granddaughter now, they’ll just support the daughter!"

The system twitched an invisible mouth.

There was another point: An Ning glanced at Lu Ting nearby, whose command of his own supernatural ability was becoming increasingly proficient.

The elders were cunning with age; their considerations were broader. Many times an unequal relationship was hard to sustain.

Especially for the dependent partner, even if feelings remained, subconscious neglect could easily occur.

Besides, with the enhancement of supernatural power, who could avoid becoming arrogant under great strength?

"Oh, so that’s why you, host, still refuse to let the domineering CEO dad fully regain his looks!"

Besides preventing Mom from falling head over heels, as some say, insecurity is the best dowry for a man, hehe!

The system nodded, wearing a face that seemed to say it understood everything.

"Ahem, is it possible that hair just doesn’t regrow well for him?"

System: Tsk, what a joke if I believed you!

In any case, days passed, communication equipment was on the verge of complete failure, and there were still no confirmed military updates on the local broadcasts.

To train abilities and maintain combat readiness, and to deal with potential threats, Lu Ting would periodically clear out waves of zombies near the villa.

But this day, when Dad Lu returned once more, his expression suddenly grew much grimmer, and he also looked distinctly disheveled.

Before Shen Qing could anxiously speak, Lu Ting reached into his pocket and took out a pale green crystal.

Amid the curiosity of those present, including An Ning, he spoke in a low voice:

"I dug this out of a ‘thing’ just now. Compared to the others, this ‘thing’ is clearly stronger in smell and even reaction ability. Inside its body, there was something ordinary zombies didn’t have before!"

Among them, the experienced Shen old master immediately spoke.

"That’s probably it!"

As he spoke, Lu Ting’s face was unusually stern. Hearing about it earlier was one thing, but this time he truly felt how troublesome this thing was. He’d also expended quite some effort just now.

More terrifyingly, if one of these things can evolve today, what about tomorrow? The day after tomorrow? With the increasingly dense corpses nearby recently, this area was bound to…

What Lu Ting thought, everyone else naturally imagined as well, and their faces involuntarily tightened.

After a moment of silence, Dad Lu began to speak:

"Just as I came back, I received news from members of a southern-bound ability team. Survivors have already established a base to the south, in Su City, not far from here…"

When he finished, everyone fell even more silent.

They now faced only two choices: first, stay put and wait for the northern army to arrive.

Compared with an unknown survivor base, the army clearly had superior weapons and disciplined abilities. But that advantage came with time: as zombies grew in number and strength in the city, they might spread here at any moment.

One slip could mean being completely surrounded.

Second, head south directly to the base, but that also held many unknowns.

Given the current lack of information, either option carried significant risk.

That night, before they could come to a decision, a sudden dazzling green light flashed from An Ning’s room…