No Need

The trunk was full of canned meat, canned fish, and canned beef. The seats were piled high with rice, noodles, cooking oil, cigarettes, and alcohol, several kitchen knives, along with some snacks and fast food that Ye Hangzhi had never tried before.

He even brought back two barrels of diesel.

Not only that, Huo Ze had also caught two fat rabbits along the way, clearly of the non-mutated variety. The two rabbits were guarded by Jin Wu and were very well-behaved.

"Mr. Ye, these are things I took from the convenience store at the gas station. I also went to the supermarket and the pharmacy, nowhere else."

Although he didn't want to react to Ye Hangzhi, Huo Ze still proactively reported his whereabouts, being very obedient and sensible.

Ye Hangzhi discovered that after this trip, Huo Ze’s state seemed much better. When he spoke while looking up at him, those dark eyes also became brighter.

He truly had never seen such a capable, pitiful child.

"Do you like going out to play that much?" Ye Hangzhi asked with an arched eyebrow.

Huo Ze froze, then suddenly gave a bitter smile. "No, I am very grateful to you for taking me in."

Leaving the valley for two days, he deeply realized that his vigilance was gradually fading; clearly, he had lived in leisure for too long.

Compared to almost never having a good night's sleep in his previous life... Huo Ze looked at this mysterious man who always appeared leisurely and at ease, and his heart couldn't help but well up with a sense of frustration.

Living in the valley, it seemed he didn't need to think about anything; just listening was enough.

This place was like a peach blossom spring, making him almost forget the miserable state of the outside world when the apocalypse began.

Currently, exotic beasts and mutated plants had not yet shown their full power, but the city was already in ruins, like a pile of rubble. It seemed that when electricity and the internet vanished, even if the surrounding zombies weren't many and could be defeated together, humanity would still be unable to avoid chaos and crisis.

Huo Ze recalled the passersby he met on the road yesterday; the expressions on their faces were all the same—nothing but despair.

But he had been very lucky in both lifetimes, not being trapped in the ruins of large cities during the most chaotic times.

Seeing Huo Ze’s face gradually grow complex, like a pitiful little bird filled with loneliness, Ye Hangzhi simply formed a seal and cast the Cleansing Spell on the dust-covered boy.

Immediately after, Ye Hangzhi clasped his hands behind his back and spoke in a profound tone, "Mhm, now you know. I wasn't bullying you."

Huo Ze: ...

When going up the mountain, his face had been scratched by branches in several places, and there were quite a few bloodstains on his hands, which had been covered by dirt earlier and weren't clear.

After being cleaned, the bloodstains on his fair skin became even more obvious, making him look even more pitiful.

Especially this feeling of being clean without a speck of dust truly made it hard for Huo Ze to adapt. To make matters worse, at this moment, both puppies were in high spirits, looking at him with sparkling eyes, their noses constantly sniffing... He felt like he had just been stripped clean and scrubbed countless times by a mysterious alien, prepared to be put into a pot to cook.

Huo Ze was much bolder now, his gaze full of resentment. "Mr. Ye, what exactly did you do to me?"

Ye Hangzhi was stared at until he couldn't help but cough once, feeling as if he really had bullied the boy.

"It's just a Cleansing Spell, don't think too much of it," he instinctively spoke to reassure him.

Huo Ze took a deep breath and said through gritted teeth, "Isn't doing that too much trouble for you? I can boil water to wash myself. Really."

Fine, it seemed he had turned a good deed into a bad one again.

Ye Hangzhi truly didn't understand why Huo Ze was angry; those dark eyes were filled with resentment he didn't dare to voice.

After all, his puppies loved the Cleansing Spell; it made their fur glossy and their bodies fragrant and soft...

"Alright," Ye Hangzhi nodded in agreement, then confirmed, "You won't need it in the future?"

"Absolutely not!"

Huo Ze affirmed with certainty.