Apocalypse: I Can See Health Bars
Chapter 26: Little Bro, Sis Is Scared, Can Sis Sleep in Your Room?

Chapter 26: Chapter 26: Little Bro, Sis Is Scared, Can Sis Sleep in Your Room?

The white light of the phone screen reflected in Lin Fan’s eyes. Only now did he understand what Su Qing had just said.

He could tell she was really worried about him, so he opened his mouth to comfort her, "Don’t worry, I’m hard to kill..."

But halfway through the sentence, something felt off.

So, he went back to the bedroom, found his own phone, and sat back down on the sofa.

His chat history with Su Qing was still on the unsent message: "I just saw this. Sister Su, are you home?"

Without hesitating, he tapped the input field and typed:

"Sorry to make you worry [facepalm emoji]. It’s nothing, I’m really hard to kill. Don’t worry!"

Then he hit send!

After reading the message on Lin Fan’s phone, an imperceptible smile lifted the corners of Su Qing’s mouth.

And so, the two of them sat on the sofa, shoulders touching, each looking at the other’s phone as they chatted by text.

"You really are hard to kill [thumbs-up emoji]."

"The moment you went down, I went back to the sixth floor to watch the rope."

"I’d only just gotten back to the sixth floor when a piercing shriek echoed from downstairs."

"I thought it was an earthquake."

"That scream gave me a massive headache, and my ears hurt too."

"I had to stick my head out the window and desperately cover my ears just to keep from passing out."

Lin Fan finally understood why Su Qing’s Life Value had dropped.

It was the sonic attack. Lin Fan and the monster were on the 4th floor, while Su Qing was on the 6th. The fact that it could still harm her through two floors...

’But that just made my two potions all the more valuable.’

Lin Fan picked up his phone and typed:

"[dizzy emoji] Yeah, there was a Mutated Zombie on the 4th floor that could scream."

"That scream nearly sent me to my grave. Luckily, I have a secret remedy for dizziness [smirking cat sticker]."

"Secret remedies cure major illnesses! [thumbs-up emoji]."

Lin Fan hesitated for a moment and decided not to tell Su Qing what the remedy was.

Su Qing read Lin Fan’s message, her fingers flying across the screen again:

"After that scream stopped, I knew something had happened to you, so I rushed downstairs."

"I ran to the door of the 4th-floor apartment, but I couldn’t get in. I knocked, but all I heard was a constant CLATTERING from inside. I figured you were fighting the monster."

"Then, a little while later, there was another scream."

"Only this time it wasn’t as loud, and it didn’t hurt my ears as much."

"A little while after that, the door opened, and you collapsed."

"You scared me to death! [shocked emoji]."

"I thought something terrible had happened to you! I was afraid something would chase me out, so I quickly shut the door and carried you back home on my back."

"You were covered in blood..."

Typing this, Su Qing glanced at Lin Fan. Not caring whether he saw or not, she repeatedly hit the backspace key, deleted the last part—"so I changed your clothes"—and hit send.

Of course, Lin Fan noticed Su Qing’s subtle action. ’But isn’t it obvious?’ he thought. ’Like a louse on a bald man’s head. If she didn’t change my clothes, who else could it have been...?’

"Eek—"

At this thought, Lin Fan suddenly remembered his earlier dream. The scene from the dream made him shudder involuntarily.

’I must have been a real mess back then. No wonder Su Qing changed her clothes too.’

’She must have gotten covered in blood from carrying me back.’

But her words confirmed it for him: the monster had indeed screamed again later, but he hadn’t heard it at all. This meant his earlier theory was essentially correct.

’I really was completely deaf at that moment.’

’And I really did regain some of my hearing later on.’

Then, Su Qing typed another message on her phone:

"Your face was covered in blood then, and there was blood in your ears too. I got dizzy from the shockwave all the way upstairs. You were so close... How are your ears? Will they recover?"

She hit send and handed the phone to Lin Fan.

While he was looking at the phone, Su Qing reached out, turned Lin Fan’s face, and tried to peer into his ear. But it was too dark in the room to see anything.

Lin Fan really didn’t want her to see, either. Given the state of his hearing, his inner ear was probably a wreck, his eardrums definitely ruptured. ’She’d be terrified if she saw that.’

He picked up his phone and typed a reply:

"My ears are fine. It’s temporary, they’ll heal. I have a special secret remedy for ears."

He handed the phone to Su Qing, who responded by rolling her eyes at him.

"What are you, a veterinarian or a quack doctor? So many secret remedies! [smack emoji]."

With that, she playfully shoved Lin Fan’s arm.

Lin Fan jokingly typed back:

"I’m a quack veterinarian."

"Don’t worry, my ears will be fine in a couple of days. I know what I’m doing."

"Sis, it’s getting late. You should go back and get some rest."

He then showed Su Qing his phone, pointing at the time on the screen.

23:12

It was already past eleven.

Having eaten his fill, Lin Fan was also ready to rest. After all, his observations of Su Qing had taught him that the key to recovering Life Value was the simple trifecta of eating one’s fill, drinking enough, and sleeping.

Besides, in just this short time, his own Life Value had already recovered to 140/190. It seemed that recovering Life Value was indeed closely related to eating.

Su Qing looked at Lin Fan’s phone but showed no intention of getting up. She fidgeted a little, typing on her own phone, then deleting what she wrote. After a few rounds of revisions, she finally showed the phone to Lin Fan:

"Little Brother, I’m scared. Can I sleep in your room?"

Lin Fan froze when he read the message. He looked up at the woman beside him, who seemed a bit shy and vulnerable in the dim light.

’Scared?’

A moment’s thought, and he understood why.

’I’m half-deaf right now, so I can’t hear a thing. Of course it doesn’t bother me.’

Before, just a few zombies downstairs at night were enough to keep him from sleeping. Now, there were dozens, even hundreds of them gathered below.

Even if he couldn’t hear it, he could imagine how terrifying the sound must be.

Besides, after spending the last two days together, Lin Fan had noticed their relationship was changing.

If this had been the night before last, Lin Fan would have rejected her without hesitation. Even though she was a delicate beauty, in his eyes, *that sort of thing* was far less important than his own life.

At first, he had seen them as just two neighbors thrown together by the chaos of the apocalypse. Lin Fan needed a helper, and Su Qing needed food.

But in just two short days, he’d discovered that Su Qing was adapting to this new world with incredible speed.

She had gone from begging for food to bravely choosing to fight alongside him, earning his approval and becoming a part of his survival plan.

The monster’s sonic attack yesterday had clearly injured her too; even her Life Value had dropped.

But she had still bravely gone downstairs to the 4th-floor apartment and dragged his unconscious self back home, which must have taken a great deal of effort.

And now, she was taking care of him with meticulous attention, almost like family.

’...And she’s beautiful, has a killer body, cooks delicious food, and has a pleasant voice.’

So, without any hesitation, he readily picked up his phone and sent an [OK] sticker.