Apocalypse: I Can See Health Bars
Chapter 18: He Who Eats Food Is an Outstanding Man

Chapter 18: Chapter 18: He Who Eats Food Is an Outstanding Man

"These stitches can’t bear any weight. See? If you undo all of them, it becomes a single rope..."

"This... can it really hold that much weight?"

Su Qing took the dog leash, skeptically tugging at it with both hands. But of course, with her strength, it was impossible to damage the nylon rope in the slightest.

"It can... Don’t let its thinness fool you. This nylon stuff can hold a few hundred pounds without a problem..."

"..."

Su Qing was noncommittal, but she still started working with Lin Fan, dismantling every dog leash into a rope.

With two of them working, things went much faster than with just one person alone.

Before long, all ten dog leashes were dismantled.

"Uh... Sister Su, why don’t you take a break? I can handle the rest myself..."

Lin Fan, figuring she must be tired after moving things all morning and then making lunch, told her to take a rest.

However, Su Qing’s attention was on something else.

"You know, you can just call me Sister, or Sister Qing. I’m not that much older than you..."

She had been too embarrassed to mention it, but hearing "Sister Su, Sister Su" all the time made her feel ten years older, so she suggested he use a different name.

Lin Fan didn’t mind. ’It’s just a name, after all.’

"Sister Qing?... Uh, okay.

Sister Qing, why don’t you take a break? I’ll tie these together."

But Su Qing showed no sign of leaving, instead sitting to the side and watching the ropes curiously.

"I was meaning to ask, how are you going to join these together? With knots? Will that be strong enough?"

Lin Fan picked up two of the ropes to demonstrate for Su Qing.

"Watch. You twist these two together like this, then fold them into two identical loops, and then you pass these two through here..."

Lin Fan explained as he demonstrated the steps.

"This is called a sheet bend. It’s specifically for joining two ropes together. When you pull on it like this, it won’t come undone unless the rope itself breaks."

Lin Fan put his strength into it, grabbing both ends of the knot and yanking them outward with all his might.

"SCREECH—"

The nylon rope made a grating sound that set one’s teeth on edge. The initially loose knot instantly tightened under the immense force, cinching down into a hard, solid lump.

"See? The more force you apply, the tighter it gets."

"Wow! How do you know how to do that...?"

Su Qing watched as Lin Fan tied the knot with what seemed like a magic trick. The two ropes were now firmly joined together. No matter how hard she pulled, the knot only grew tighter and showed no sign of coming apart!

"Learned it from a short video. I saw it a while ago and just remembered it. Never thought it’d actually come in handy..."

Pleased with his handiwork, Lin Fan used the same method to tie all 10 ropes together. He then tied the two ends to each other with a tension knot, the kind often used in surgery, forming a large loop. When doubled up, this created a nylon rope approximately seven meters long.

It was more than long enough to get from the sixth floor to the fifth; it could even reach the fourth.

Lin Fan coiled the rope, picked it up, and was about to leave when he glanced out the window and backed away.

It was a bright, sunny day, and the sun at one or two in the afternoon was at its most scorching.

Daylight hours were precious, but not *that* precious. With the sun beating down so fiercely, Lin Fan decided it was best to avoid its full force.

So he decided to rest for a while and head to the sixth floor once the worst of the heat had passed.

"Su... Sister Qing, I’m going to crash for a bit. Why don’t you get some rest too? I’ll head out once it’s a little cooler."

After all the activity, plus the fact that he hadn’t slept much the previous night, Lin Fan was genuinely exhausted.

"You must be tired..."

Seeing Lin Fan’s weary expression, Su Qing had a sudden flash of inspiration. ’This is the perfect chance!’

"Lie down here. Let me give you a massage to help you relax..."

As she spoke, she slipped off her slippers and knelt on the sofa, moving with a practiced ease as if she were in her own home.

When she saw Lin Fan wasn’t reacting, she gently patted her thigh, looking at him with a mixture of nervousness and anticipation.

"Er..."

’Another hard CC...’

Lin Fan just wanted to get some sleep. ’How am I supposed to fall asleep with Su Qing giving me a massage?’

’But as the old saying goes, he who takes a favor owes a favor...’

"Alright then. Sorry to trouble you, Sister Qing..."

Lin Fan could only reluctantly comply, lying back with his head in her lap.

Perhaps because she was wearing shorts, Su Qing’s thighs felt cool to the touch. They were full and soft, making for a very comfortable pillow.

Her small hands gently massaged his temples. Her fingers were also cool, and a faint, subtle fragrance mixed with the cool air wafted into his nostrils, feeling incredibly pleasant.

Lin Fan opened his eyes, wanting to see Su Qing’s expression, but unfortunately, his view was mostly blocked, and he couldn’t see a thing...

...

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP... BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP...

An alarm blared, waking the two of them from a deep sleep.

He felt the "pillow" under his head twitch, and then the large, soft weight was lifted from his forehead.

’I can’t believe I actually fell asleep.’

’Even more surprising, Su Qing fell asleep too, while holding my head...’

Lin Fan sat up as well, shaking his head to clear it.

"Oh, sorry... I was massaging you and ended up falling asleep myself..."

Su Qing slumped sideways onto the sofa. She had probably fallen asleep while kneeling, and her legs had gone completely numb.

Now that she had changed position, the blood started to circulate again, and a painful, pins-and-needles sensation shot through her legs.

"Ahh, it’s asleep, it’s asleep... Ah, that hurts..."

She moaned softly while rubbing her thighs.

Lin Fan felt a tingling on his forehead too. He went to the mirror and saw that something—whether it was Su Qing’s nightgown or her underwear—had pressed a lace pattern onto his skin...

’I slept really well, though. Made up for a lot of the sleep I missed last night.’

...

Stretching lazily, Lin Fan went to the bathroom to wash his face, rubbing away the lace pattern on his forehead.

’I have no idea what’s up with these zombies. Are they nocturnal or something?’

’They shriek all night but are much quieter during the day.’

He thought that since Su Qing had given him a massage, maybe he should return the favor and help her with her legs...?

But when he came out, Su Qing was no longer in the living room. The doors to both his apartment and 302 were open; she must have gone home.

He was a little disappointed his plan had fallen through, but getting down to business was more important.

Lin Fan waited for Su Qing to return, then grabbed the rope, and the two of them went up to the balcony of 601 together.

After eating and taking a nap, Su Qing’s health had recovered to [73/100].

She was recovering quite quickly. At this rate, she’d probably be at full health in another day.

He hadn’t called her up because he needed her to go downstairs and fight monsters, but rather to help him by keeping an eye on the rope.

This was Lin Fan’s first time attempting such a dangerous stunt, so it was safer to have someone lend a hand.

He found a few articles of clothing in the delivery guy’s wardrobe and padded the windowsill and the area behind the outdoor AC unit to prevent the rope from fraying.

He then passed the rope loop out through the air conditioning hole, worked it around the exterior wall, and pulled it back inside.

This way, the entire section of the balcony wall acted as an anchor for the rope.

The walls of this kind of old residential building were very thick, made entirely of a brick-and-concrete mixture.

Lin Fan pulled on the rope to test it. It was more than strong enough to support the weight of one person.

He then stuffed some more clothes into the air conditioning duct to prevent the sharp edges of the opening from rubbing against the rope. Furthermore, when the rope was pulled taut, the AC unit’s copper pipes would also help bear the pressure, eliminating the possibility of the rope being frayed and severed.