Chapter 46: Chapter 46: Water Meter Inspection

The wood contained some moisture and kept crackling as it burned. The aroma of stewed tomato canned meat wafted out, accompanied by a bubbling sound.

Su Changxing sat cross-legged in front of the bonfire, his face illuminated by the flames. Before him lay a box of steaming self-heating rice; he clasped his hands and softly said, “Praise the food.”

Only when truly lacking food does one understand its value. Now he understood why there was a ritual of gratitude before meals.

[Leader, we have found a target near Zeng Lin’s corpse. He’s eating, cooking stewed tomato canned meat… and self-heating rice with salted vegetables and meat.]

Cai Jing stood on the rooftop, peering from a monocular towards the building where Su Changxing was.

“What the hell is self-heating rice? Is he here for a picnic?” The young man beside her, hands in pockets, commented.

On the other side, amidst zombies littered across the residential area, a middle-aged man with half-long silver hair floating in the air looked at his phone and furrowed his brow: “Self-heating rice? Stores shouldn’t produce such a thing, right?”

Then he replied on his phone: Don’t stir up any additional trouble. Just leave as soon as you retrieve the item. Try not to engage him closely. We’re short of people, it’d be troublesome if anyone dies.

Cai Jing tucked the telescope into her pocket and asked, “Can you perceive if he is a Superpower User?”

The young man shook his head and said, “No, the distance is too far unless we get closer.”

“Will you go with me? That would be close enough.”

“I’m a non-combatant.”

“So, will you go or not?”

“Go, go.”

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Su Changxing was enjoying his meal heartily when he caught sight of two people walking towards Zeng Lin’s corpse from the other side of the street in his peripheral vision.

One of the young men stood by the corpse and waved cheerfully at him.

The Security Bureau?

He observed the woman’s black tight combat suit and immediately formed this judgment; ordinary people wouldn’t wear such attire, though it couldn’t be ruled out as potentially being law enforcement.

“Seems they’re investigating the corpse, checking the cause of Zeng Lin’s death? Would they pursue a murderer even under such conditions?”

Su Changxing’s expression turned heavier, and his eating movements slowed down. From his angle, he couldn’t see what the woman crouched on the ground was doing.

If the Security Bureau truly intends to investigate him for murder in the future, it would be extremely troublesome. Considering superpowers, he doesn’t doubt the bureau’s ability to find the killer.

The young man turned back and whispered, “He’s not a Superpower User.”

“Hmm, then he should be some survival expert type, living so well alone. He might even be famous; I just don’t follow wilderness survival shows,” Cai Jing calmly said, looking at the blue crystal emerging from Zeng Lin’s corpse.

The young man fixed his gaze on Su Changxing at the window and whispered, “Pity I don’t follow it either. If he were a gaming streamer, I might know him.”

“You don’t need to whisper; he can’t hear,” Cai Jing said, placing the formed blue crystal from Zeng Lin’s chest into her pocket.

“True. It feels like we’re doing something shady. Is it common for people in our line of work to feel this way?”

“Just you.”

“Hey, he’s gone. Did he leave?”

The young man suddenly realized the head at the window had disappeared.

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Su Changxing slowly ate his meal, seemingly enjoying the food, yet there was no taste in his mouth.

“Knock, knock, knock~”

A knock sounded from the door.

Su Changxing, with food in his mouth, shouted, “Who’s there? What’s the matter?”

Here, people should maintain the basic vigilance, so not opening the door is the most usual approach.

“I’m Lin Xiuyu, from the Security Bureau.”

“Security Bureau?”

“We’re a special department, sort of like…”

“Police, right? You’re the police. Are you here to deliver supplies or to protect me to a safe place?”

Su Changxing leaned against the wall beside the door, holding a Steel Saber with one hand and speaking.

In an apocalypse, being investigated like this feels strange. Right now, his mind is racing; if these two insist on coming in, what should he do?

Run or fight?

Fighting means killing again, and he has a premonition that if he kills these two, he’ll completely be at odds with the Security Bureau.

If order stabilizes, he’ll become a fugitive.

This is absolutely not a joke!

If they have the intent to come in, fleeing becomes his best choice.

“Yeah, close enough to the police.”

“Close enough?”

“Yeah, exactly.”

“We will establish a gathering point nearby in the next couple of days; the specific location will be posted on the forum. Here are my credential papers; you can check through the peephole.”

“The peephole is clouded with dust.”

Su Changxing said but did not really go over to check.

Because if they break in while he’s looking, it would put him at a significant disadvantage.

“No worries, just passing on this information. The gathering point needs combat-capable people like you. As for supplies, I won’t deliver them; you seem to be faring well.”

Su Changxing sensed that the other party definitely saw him eating and glanced around the four corners of the room. Only the opposite building had a view inside.

It turns out these two initially observed him, held apprehension, but for some unknown reason relaxed their vigilance and even specifically came to console him.

“Okay.”

“Alright, we’re leaving now. Hope we’ll meet again.”

The pair, a man and a woman, walked out of the hallway again, with the zombies on the street indifferent to their presence.

Lin Xiuyu, hands in pockets, said, “His reaction was normal enough, just oddly calm, not worried we’d seize his self-heating rice.”

Cai Jing thought for a moment and said, “You still remember his self-heating rice. Why didn’t you just ask him for it?”

Lin Xiuyu shrugged helplessly, “Isn’t it because the boss strictly prohibits us from snatching other people’s belongings to prevent unnecessary conflict.”

He squinted slightly.

“Moreover, he might have been responsible for the murder; there’s no need to provoke him. Here is the Dark Forest; there’s no trust between people.”

“Haha, I still trust you, of course.”

Cai Jing flatly said, “I believe you.”

“I don’t believe you believe.”

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Watching the two leave, Su Changxing exhaled slightly, guessing they weren’t here to investigate the murderer but to retrieve something from Zeng Lin.

Yet he had clearly scavenged yesterday and confirmed Zeng Lin should not have anything on him.

“Another question is how they pinpointed Zeng Lin’s location.”

“Superpower?”

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