Daily Life of Being Turned Gay by the Male Lead After Transmigrating into an Apocalypse – CH68

Chapter 68: Tobacco and Alcohol

“Xiao Chen, don’t even think about it. They were right; heading in there is practically throwing your life away…”

“But if we don’t stick behind them, what are we supposed to do?”

“I think… I think we should just find a place to scavenge on our own. If we’re careful, maybe we’ll get lucky…”

“Yeah, yeah, let’s team up. We can watch each other’s backs…”

Hearing the frantic whispers, Su Mubai’s tone softened as he offered a gentle reassurance: “Everyone, form small teams and stick together so you can look out for one another.”

“Search the small convenience stores or residential houses along the outer streets. Move quietly, and remember: safety first.”

The crowd finally settled down a bit. Gradually, they broke off into small groups of twos and threes, moving nervously but eagerly toward the outskirts of the county town in search of any remaining food.

Chu Yang watched their retreating figures without a word.

The trace of sympathy and reluctance in his chest ended right there.

In the apocalypse, no one could act as a permanent savior. Giving them a safe path this far was the most he could do.

Whether the road ahead was paved with thorns or smooth sailing, they had to walk it on their own two feet.

Turning his head, he met Jiang Jue’s gaze.

Jiang Jue gave a slight nod.

The squad turned and marched into the heart of the county town.

“Brother Jiang, do you think there are Tier 2 or higher zombies lurking around here?” Chu Yang asked as they walked, a hint of eager anticipation in his voice.

Jiang Jue had already quietly extended his mental perception, scanning the ambient movements in their immediate vicinity.

A moment later, he withdrew his senses and met Chu Yang’s bright eyes, answering with just two words: “Very likely.”

The crunch of their heavy boots echoed clearly against the silent, frozen asphalt.

Not long after crossing the town limits, four or five zombies stumbled blindly out of a narrow side alley.

Before Chu Yang even had time to raise his hand, Lin Xiao and Wang Qiang surged forward, flanking the undead from the left and right.

Wang Qiang activated his power instantly. The frozen dirt rippled as several earthen hands shot up from the ground, clamping firmly around the zombies’ ankles to lock them in place.

Lin Xiao moved in a blur. His long straight blade carved a frosty arc through the air, cleanly severing the neck of the nearest immobilized monster.

Though it was their very first time fighting side-by-side, their coordination was surprisingly seamless. In a matter of seconds, the small pack of ordinary zombies was effortlessly dispatched.

“Heh.” Lin Xiao gave his blade a sharp flick to shake off the dark blood, looking thoroughly pleased with his handiwork. “I feel like my power and my swordsmanship are syncing up perfectly; wherever I aim, I cut clean through!”

He leaned over to Su Mubai with a triumphant wag of his eyebrows. “Did you see that, Little Bai? Weren’t those strikes absolutely badass?”

Su Mubai looked at him, smiling warmly, and offered a thumbs-up. “Not bad at all. Fast and precise.”

“Damn straight!” Lin Xiao boasted, slinging an arm proudly over Su Mubai’s shoulder. “Don’t you worry, I’ve got your back from now on!”

Before he could finish his victory speech, his eyes suddenly lit up as though he had spotted buried treasure. “Yo! Look over there!”

Following his pointed finger, the group spotted a small corner shop. The storefront remained relatively intact, with the faded, peeling characters for “Tobacco and Alcohol” still clinging to the glass doors.

The door was padlocked, but the glass hadn’t been shattered, and neat stacks of cigarette cartons and liquor bottles were faintly visible on the dusty shelves inside.

“Smokes! And booze!” Lin Xiao’s eyes gleamed.

Before the outbreak, he had been a heavy smoker. Over the past month, the cravings had nearly driven him mad. Seeing a fully stocked tobacco shop was like a starving man stumbling across a bakery.

Chu Yang’s interest was piqued as well.

Though he didn’t smoke, he knew perfectly well that tobacco and alcohol were prime hard currency in the apocalypse—invaluable bartering chips for trading supplies.

“The door is padlocked. Smashing it open will make a ton of noise. Won’t that draw in more zombies?” Su Mubai asked with a frown.

“Let ’em come. With us here, what’s there to be afraid of?” Lin Xiao dismissed the concern with a wave, stepping up and delivering a heavy front kick right to the glass door.

Thud.

The reinforced glass rattled in its frame but didn’t so much as crack.

Chu Yang blinked in surprise before bursting into laughter. “Old Lin, your leg strength is pathetic! You can’t even kick down a sheet of glass?”

Lin Xiao pulled back his stinging foot and argued stubbornly, “Don’t blame me! This just proves our domestic glass manufacturing standards are world-class! The quality is flawless!”

Jiang Jue, who had remained silent the whole time, cast a sideways glance at the bickering pair and stepped forward.

Extending a single finger, a tiny spark of purple lightning crackled at his fingertip before striking the metal padlock with pinpoint accuracy.

Zzz—pop!

With a sharp sizzle, the heavy lock melted into slag. A second later, the entire glass door shattered with a deafening crash, crumbling into thousands of tiny, harmless fragments that rained down like coarse sand.

The doorway was open.

Lin Xiao’s eyes lit up immediately. He practically dove inside, making a beeline for the shelves and snatching up the nearest premium red carton—Chunghwa.

“Holy crap! They’ve got the good stuff!”

Chu Yang followed him in, his gaze sweeping over the dust-coated inventory.

Nanjing, Suyan, Chunghwa, Kuanzhai, Huanghelou, Double Happiness, He Tianxia, Peony, Da Qianmen… While they weren’t necessarily rare luxury imports, they were all highly popular domestic brands, and the stockroom seemed packed to the brim.

Casually grabbing a pack of He Tianxia, Chu Yang turned and offered it to Jiang Jue, who was leaning quietly against the doorframe. “Brother Jiang, do you smoke?”

Jiang Jue’s dark eyes dropped to the ornate pack in Chu Yang’s hand. He paused for a fraction of a second before giving a slight nod.

He used to smoke, though he had never been heavily addicted; he simply lit one up occasionally to clear his mind or steady his nerves while thinking. Once the world ended, sheer survival took precedence over idle habits, and the urge had naturally faded away.

Lin Xiao had already rummaged through a drawer behind the counter and found a plastic lighter. Tearing open his pack with eager, trembling hands, he sparked the flame with a crisp click and took a long, deep drag.

Exhaling a thick cloud of smoke with a heavy sigh of absolute relief, the tension melted from his brow. “Ah… it’s been too damn long. That’s the taste!”

Seeing Jiang Jue accept the pack from Chu Yang, Lin Xiao eagerly jogged over with the lighter. “Boss, here—let me light that for you.”

Jiang Jue shook his head, simply slipping the unopened pack of He Tianxia into the inner pocket of his jacket.

Across the room, Wang Qiang—another smoker, though strictly regulated by Li Yu’s watchful eye—took advantage of his girlfriend’s distraction. Moving with practiced stealth, he snatched two packs of his usual brand off the rack and shoved them deep into the side pocket of his backpack.

Though the shop appeared small from the outside, its inventory was surprisingly robust.

Beyond the liquor and cigarettes, several crates of bagged snacks and bottled beverages were piled in the back corner.

Chu Yang didn’t stand on ceremony. With a casual wave of his hand, he swept the entire stock of snacks and drinks, along with the vast majority of the tobacco and alcohol, directly into his spatial storage.

“Alright, that cleans out the good stuff. Let’s roll,” Chu Yang said, clapping the dust from his hands.

But the moment they stepped out of the corner shop, they noticed a solitary figure lingering just a few paces from the door—Jiang Lin.

She hadn’t followed the other survivors to scavenge the outskirts.

“Why didn’t you go search for food with the others?” Chu Yang asked, genuinely surprised to see her.

Jiang Lin wrung her fingers together, a painfully pitiful look crossing her delicate features. Her voice was soft, yet entirely clear: “I… I want to follow you.”

Chu Yang frowned deeply. “Didn’t I make myself clear earlier? The areas we’re heading into are swarming with high-tier zombies. Once a fight breaks out, we won’t have the manpower to babysit you.”

“That’s fine!” Jiang Lin shook her head frantically, a desperate, stubborn edge creeping into her tone. “I’ll look after myself! I swear I absolutely won’t hold you back! Really!”

She wasn’t a naive, self-righteous fool. She didn’t harbor any delusions of possessing “protagonist armor” that would magically allow her to survive this man-eating apocalypse with nothing but a basic, utility-focused Water Ability.

On the contrary, she saw the reality with crystal clarity: the men standing before her, especially Jiang Jue and Chu Yang, were not only overwhelmingly powerful but also… they were old acquaintances.

They acted methodically and had proven they weren’t cold-blooded or heartless. She firmly believed that if she swallowed her pride and clung to them tightly enough, they simply wouldn’t have the heart to abandon a familiar face to the wolves.

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