Chapter 6: 6 A Bowl of Noodles
Having emerged from the consciousness space, Su Han was still somewhat surprised; he could clearly feel that the synchronization might not necessarily be due to his own abilities, but rather that the skills of the Angel Envoy inherently had the potential to synchronize, provided one could successfully comprehend them.
"If that's the case, the strengthening of humanity will not be limited to physical fitness. As time drags on, there will likely be more powerful individuals emerging."
After a moment of thought, Su Han realized that this situation was a double-edged sword: the chances of humans surviving would increase, but as individual power grew stronger, the destruction of order would become more complete.
However, this was a good thing for him since the presence of Fusion Ability gave him the possibility to acquire more skills.
Possibly, in this apocalypse, he might even achieve a status beyond his previous imagination.
"Dong dong dong"
The room's door was suddenly knocked on. Su Han's expression tensed, and he instantly activated Iron Skin, turning his body a dark hue; the Angel Envoy's flesh corpse also transformed, positioning itself in front of him, facing the entrance.
"Su Han, it's me and Meiyu," Gan Xinglei's voice came from outside the door.
"What is it?"
"Meiyu cooked some noodles this morning, made extra, and we brought over a portion for you."
Su Han was a bit surprised, but after a brief moment of thought, he seemed to realize something, then dispersed the Iron Skin, and ordered the Angel Envoy to go and open the door.
The Angel Envoy moved the sofa that was blocking the door and then opened it.
Outside, Gan Xinglei and Yan Meiyu were both there, Gan Xinglei holding a bowl of noodles in his hands.
"Come in."
The Angel Envoy's flesh corpse led the two past the entrance, always maintaining a distance between Su Han and them.
Though Su Han's strength had advanced further, and he had synchronized with a life-saving skill, being careful was still no issue.
Gan Xinglei and Yan Meiyu sneaked glances at the living room, noticing that the hundreds of kilograms of metal from yesterday had vanished by nearly ninety percent, and thought to themselves: "He really is no ordinary person."
"These are noodles I just made this morning. The conditions are simple, there aren't any side dishes."
Gan Xinglei placed the noodles on the living room coffee table, both of them standing at one side of the sofa, their attitude very humble.
The noodles were steaming hot, just ordinary dried noodles, freshly boiled, with a bit of soy sauce and some sesame oil, quite good indeed.
"You two, please sit."
Su Han sat opposite them, and the two sat on the sofa, appearing somewhat restrained, although Yan Meiyu seemed a bit more composed.
"It's early in the morning yet you made noodles, must have been tough."
He said it was tough, but he didn't touch the noodles, his eyes fixed on the two of them.
Gan Xinglei and Yan Meiyu, having been in the workforce for a not insignificant amount of time, naturally understood the implication.
Even in peaceful times, one worries about delivery personnel or kitchen staff spitting in takeout food, let alone now during the apocalypse.
Of course, the noodles weren't important; it was the pretext for today's meeting that was significant.
"Su Han, you are a clever man, and I'll get straight to the point.
We don't know how many monsters are out there, and rescue might not even be possible, so the two of us want to form a team with you for mutual support," Gan Xinglei stated their intent, adding at the end: "You being a capable individual, teaming up with you is us seeking a chance to survive, whether working as assistants or carrying things, it's all no problem."
Although both had the Book of Blood Spirit, actually taking down a monster like Su Han had wasn't easy.
There wasn't just one monster, and even having contracted an Angel Envoy, one's own flesh envoy might not necessarily be more formidable than a regular one; being surrounded would mean death.
Having more people, sticking together, that was the most likely way to keep alive.
Su Han didn't speak yet, just pondered; gathering resources alone was slow, and some items indeed weren't easy to move, being with more people had its benefits.
But with more people, resource distribution and some matters needed extra attention—there were advantages and disadvantages.
Seeing him in thought, Yan Meiyu suddenly spoke up, her voice soft yet clear: "Although Old Gan is a software engineer, he often runs outsourced projects, can drive, and has an SUV parked in our building's parking lot, filled up with gas the day before yesterday, so he can be our driver.
I used to work in real estate sales, I frequently visited this area, so if we really need to move, I can also be of help."
Su Han took another look at Yan Meiyu, not because his sister-in-law was beautiful, but because this sister-in-law indeed had something about her, having been a salesperson who knew how to grasp people's psychology.
In a few words, she had clarified what she could offer.
Yan Meiyu paused, then added, "And I also know some news."
Su Han's eyebrows moved, "Let's hear it."
"There might be survivors gathered in the first-floor lobby, or possibly a large number of monsters."
Su Han looked surprised and asked, "How do you know this?"
Yan Meiyu answered, "We are the homeowners. Many people were in the lobby looking at the fog and making a fuss about it yesterday morning."
With that, Su Han understood. When many people gather together, regardless of the mutation rate, there definitely would be corpses generated.
If people killed the corpses, naturally survivors would gather. If the corpses killed all the survivors, then there would certainly be a considerable number of monsters.
After the appearance of the "Big Eyeball" yesterday, the first floor turned into a major battleground.
"Do you have any backpacks in your room?"
Su Han suddenly asked the question. Gan Xinglei was initially stunned, then a broad smile appeared on his face as he quickly nodded, "Yes, yes, I always use backpacks when I travel, and I have several, including hiking backpacks."
"Go back and pack up first, I'll clean up the corridor. Today, we're going to clear the floors below."
Yan Meiyu was startled, then nodded, "Okay, thank you."
Since Su Han had agreed, it meant he had saved their lives, at least reducing the danger significantly. They were indebted to him now.
Time was limited, so the three of them decided to form a team and didn't continue to chat. According to their roles, Yan Meiyu went back to get the backpacks first.
Su Han took Gan Xinglei to the end of the corridor on the seventh floor, where they had killed corpses yesterday.
"Ugh"
Gan Xinglei nearly gagged as soon as they approached, overwhelmed by the stench of blood and rot, and he leaned against the wall to vomit.
His face was deathly pale, his stomach churning tumultuously, and his legs trembled uncontrollably.
Having lived for nearly half his life, it was the first time he had seen a person with their stomach hollowed out.
Su Han patted his back, "Get used to it, you'll see this sort of thing a lot more in the future. There's a corpse over there, try if you can form a contract."
He pointed to the corpse of a corpse next to the woman's body, which his Angel Envoy had killed yesterday.
Gan Xinglei wiped the vomit streaked with saliva from the corner of his mouth, his heart bitter. It was easy for you to say, how could anyone be as composed as you?
"I'll try. Su Han, do I need any sort of ritual?"
"Just call me Su Han, no ritual needed, just give it a try."
Though Su Han could form contracts with his Angel Envoy, he was still half-knowing about many things, so he also needed a reference.
Teaming up made searching easier and was also part of this consideration.
Gan Xinglei gathered his strength, then squat down beside the corpse, whispering, "Sorry about this."
He placed his hand on the corpse, trying to connect with the red "Book of Blood Spirit" in his hand, but after a long time, there was no response.
He was puzzled and looked back at Su Han, shaking his head, "Su Han, it doesn't seem to work."
Slaying the corpse didn't work, and Su Han thought for a moment about his experience with his roommate, then said, "I think I know what's happening. You need to kill a corpse yourself. Go home and grab a kitchen knife or an iron bar, and you'll have to do it yourself later."
When they returned to Gan Xinglei's home, Yan Meiyu had already found the backpacks, preparing a mountaineering bag for Gan Xinglei and a regular backpack for herself.
"You should go to my place and grab some kitchen knives for weapons, we'll need to clear some corpses later."
Yan Meiyu paused, looked at Gan Xinglei's expression, nodded, and said, "I'll get ready right away."