The vehicle had barely rolled into camp when Rick's group crowded around it.

Beth threw herself directly into Lin Feng's arms, clinging to him like a sloth, draped entirely over him.

No words. Just tears pattering steadily down, dripping onto Lin Feng's neck and soaking through a wide patch of his collar.

Lin Feng supported Beth with one arm and patted Beth's back with the other, while his eyes slid sideways to Rick with a silent question: what happened?

Rick held out an open hand, curled all five fingers into a fist, then snapped them open. Mouth shaping the sound: "Boom."

Lin Feng got it immediately. When he'd blown that warehouse earlier, the noise had carried straight to the ears of the supply-gathering crew, and now here they were.

He rolled his eyes. Better not let me find out who told her. Because if I do, I'm going to make your shoes so tight you'll be begging me to stop.

"All right, stop crowding. Orion, keep the training going. Andrew, don't forget the UV lights and generators.

Marcus, go check how Abraham's group is holding up, then put together a plan for acute infectious disease prevention. Everyone else — rest if you need to rest, do what you need to do."

"I'll head out a bit later and scout for gas stations, see if we can sort out the camp's fuel problem."

Daryl and Merle traded a look. Want us to come?

Lin Feng shook his head. This trip had a personal angle to it, he wanted to farm some experience and give himself a real boost.

That near-miss earlier had set off an alarm he couldn't unhear, and it had ripped away the comfortable lie of settled, peaceful living.

They weren't safe. He wasn't strong enough. The world outside was dangerous.

Going out to level up wasn't optional. It wasn't up for debate.

The group dispersed. Weapons got stowed, preparations got made, and those who needed rest went to get it.

He pulled up his current stats and experience panel:

[Strength: 7]

[Constitution: 7]

[Agility: 6]

[Endurance: 7]

[Perception: 6]

[Spirit: 6]

Experience Points: [193/400]

As for confidence, his storage space held enough survival supplies for three months of solo living, and that wasn't even counting the weapons. Handguns of various makes, two Remington shotguns, an AR-15, an M4, and enough ammunition to make a serious mess of things. More than enough to go out and have some fun.

The real prize, though, was the rifle suppressor stored alongside that M4. It would slash the weapon's noise down to almost nothing, and its kill efficiency wasn't remotely in the same league as a recurve bow.

Now that I've got the good stuff, who needs the backup plan?

He was still mentally working through his walker-culling strategy when Beth suddenly pushed up in his arms, tear-blurred eyes finding his face. "Lin — I want to come too."

Lin Feng's instinct was to say no. Bringing someone along meant a completely different approach, and efficiency would drop off a cliff.

Beth went quiet. Lips pushed out into a pout you could hang an oil jar from, and the tears started up again, steady and soft, the picture of someone who'd been wronged, who wanted to be angry but didn't quite dare.

"Beth, going out is dangerous. I can't keep eyes on you every second."

"I know. But I'm not scared. I can shoot, and I can take care of myself."

"But, mmph—"

Beth went on the offensive, cutting off whatever he was about to say and launching a full counterattack.

It was a while before they finally separated, a faint glimmer trailing between them as they pulled apart.

Beth's cheeks were flushed. Forehead pressed against Lin Feng's, Beth pressed one more soft kiss there, then tucked that face into the crook of his neck.

Lin Feng breathed in the clean scent of Beth's hair and exhaled slowly, something complicated moving behind his eyes.

After a long moment, Beth murmured: "I'm really glad you came back safe. But you're not taking me with you, and I'm a little unhappy about that. I've decided, for the next three days. No, two days. Actually, one day, one whole day, I'm not going to talk to you."

The corner of Lin Feng's mouth twitched upward. A low sound of acknowledgment.

Beth thumped his chest, not hard, not soft. "Bad man. Put me down."

Lin Feng let go, bent slightly, patted the thighs still hooked around his waist to make sure the landing was safe, and set Beth down on the ground.

Beth stood there frozen, staring at Lin Feng with an expression of complete disbelief, like watching something that defied all known laws of nature.

This, how, how could someone be this stupid?!

How could he not tell the difference between a joke and something said in anger?!

Was his entire head packed with reinforced concrete?! There was no other explanation for how anyone could be this dense!

Beth shot him one fierce glare, turned on heel, and ran toward the cabin.

From the second floor of the distant cabin, Hershel lowered the binoculars, let out a cold snort, yanked the curtains shut, and headed downstairs to comfort Beth and deal with that brat.

Lin Feng stood where he was and scratched his head. Completely lost. What just happened? Why the sudden mood change?

Across the camp, Marcus was pressing both lips together so hard the face had gone tight, running back through every painful moment of the past twenty years, and it still wasn't enough. "Sorry. That wasn't on purpose."

"Not on purpose?" Merle said from beside him, grinning wide. "So it was on purpose, then."

"Shut it, Merle." Marcus elbowed him and didn't dare look up at Lin Feng, but neither of them could kill the smiles on their faces.

Good news: Lin Feng wasn't a lovesick fool.

Bad news: he didn't have a brain, either.

After the laughter died down, Marcus looked up and turned serious.

"Lin. I think you should go talk to Beth. Just, at least let Beth know she matters to you."

"...Do I look like she doesn't?"

"Aren't your actions obvious enough?"

"What did I even do?"

"..."

Marcus pressed a hand to his forehead. Forget it. There was no getting through to someone whose head was filled entirely with fighting.

Said nothing more, just pulled Merle along toward the far end of camp to start organizing the disinfection work.

Lin Feng stood there for a moment, turning it over. Brain cycling slowly. Nope. Couldn't figure it out.

Fine. Forget it. A hundred walkers today, that'll burn it off.

He headed straight for the weapons tent, loaded a batch of rounds into a pack, swung by a second tent for an M4 and a fire axe, and walked to the pickup.

He twisted the key.

The passenger door swung open. Beth climbed in with a backpack, dropped into the seat, and snapped the seatbelt on without a word. Arms crossed. Eyes forward. Cheeks puffed out. Not looking at him.

Lin Feng sat with it for a moment.

Then he started the truck and drove out of camp.

➤ Next: Then Let It Be Here, Heh-heh

Chapter 78 - Then Let It Be Here, Heh-heh

Lin Feng drove southwest, following Beth's directions toward a country gas station. It wasn't large, but it was enough for the local farmers to refuel their seeders and harvesters.

If you kept going along the same highway for another hundred miles or so, there was a full-scale service station — a much bigger operation.

Listening, Lin Feng started running the numbers in his head. First thing was to see how long the small station's reserves would last. If it could carry them three months, then clearing that hundred-mile stretch of road wasn't out of the question.

He also filed away the agricultural equipment. He asked Beth for the exact locations of the seeders and harvesters, making a mental note to drive them back to the farm one by one.

It was mid-May. In a little over half a month, the winter wheat across the surrounding farmlands would start coming in.

When that happened, it would be a race against nature, harvest as much as possible, as fast as possible, or watch it rot in the fields.

Which made the harvesters critical.

Then there was the storage problem. Hershel's barn had already been converted into a food warehouse, and there wasn't much room left. Storing the grain somewhere else didn't sit right with him, and building a dedicated wheat barn from scratch would eat up time and labor he didn't have.

Maybe grind it all into flour and vacuum-seal it?

Either way, fuel consumption was going to become the camp's biggest resource drain. Whether any of this was even executable came down to one thing: how much fuel they could find.

Lin Feng's brows drew together. "Beth, besides that service station a hundred and fifty miles out, are there any closer gas stations?"

Beth shook their head. "No. Not many people live out here, and there's not much traffic, so there's nothing else."

Lin Feng let out a quiet sigh. Right. Excellent farmland, but the tradeoff was always the same, industry lagged far behind.

After checking this nearby station today, he'd have to push further out.

Beth turned to look out the window, face a little flushed, fingers twining together in their lap, visibly restless.

The truck moved at a solid clip, but there were enough back roads and turnoffs to slow things down. It took roughly an hour before Lin Feng spotted the gas station Beth had mentioned.

It was exactly as described, small, a handful of houses nearby, a short strip of shops, an auto repair place, and a diner, all tucked together.

The pickup hadn't even rolled to a full stop before the engine noise pulled the walkers out of those shops. Low moans and ragged snarls broke the quiet as they stumbled toward the truck.

Lin Feng took one look at the situation outside. Not many. A little over a dozen. He could handle it alone.

He glanced over at Beth. "Don't get out yet. Wait until I clear a safe spot, then I'll come back for you. All right?"

Beth nodded and produced a Glock 17. "I brought this, Lin. Don't worry — I can protect myself."

Lin Feng unclipped his seatbelt, gave a short hum, swung his M4 onto his back, grabbed the fire axe, and got out.

He closed the distance in a few strides, then drove a front kick straight into the nearest walker's chest, sending it airborne. It crashed into the cluster behind it and took several of them down.

Space cleared. Lin Feng raised the axe.

His technique wasn't pretty. It didn't need to be. Clean, efficient, like splitting firewood. Chop, pull back, chop, pull back.

Every stroke landed on necks and arms. It didn't take long. The ground was a mess of severed limbs and rolling heads.

Beth sat there with a hand pressed over their mouth, blinking wide.

When this man fought, every trace of his usual easygoing manner was gone. He moved like an enraged brown bear swinging its claws, deliberate, powerful, tearing through anything in reach.

Beth kept watching. The flush on their face deepened for no clear reason, and they shifted in their seat, suddenly restless.

Out in the tangle of bodies, Lin Feng pushed forward steadily, each movement broad and unrestrained. The three feet around him seemed like forbidden ground, not a single walker made it through intact.

The final axe swing dropped the last one. A severed head rolled across the pavement.

Lin Feng caught his breath, then started on cleanup.

Which brought up one of the more obnoxious facts of the world: severing a walker's neck didn't stop the head from working. The jaws still moved. They could still bite.

Ridiculous. Accurate.

He turned the axe around and worked with the flat poll, hammering down again and again, like smashing watermelons, fluid spraying with each impact. He wrinkled his nose against the stench, brought the axe down one last time, then walked back to the truck.

"Beth, you can come out. Take the keys with you."

Beth pulled the key from the ignition, pushed the door open, and headed over.

Two steps out and the smell hit like a wall. Beth doubled over, dry-heaving several times before finally managing to straighten up.

"Let's move, Lin. That's worse than the manure in the cattle pen."

Lin Feng nodded and led the way into a two-story wooden house nearby.

"Wait here while I check the place. I'll come back once it's clear. Sound good?"

Beth gave an agreeable hum and looked around. Not as nice as home. But it would do.

Yeah. This would work.

Lin Feng set the fire axe down, drew his Bowie knife, and started working through the rooms. Kitchen, bathroom, master bedroom, second bedroom, study, one by one, methodical. No walkers. He slid the knife back into its sheath.

"Beth, once I head out, stay in here. Lock the door. Don't open it for anyone but me. Wait for me."

Beth holstered the handgun and nodded. "Got it. Go do what you need to do."

Lin Feng caught something in the tone, a thread of anticipation he couldn't quite place. He didn't press it. He picked up the axe and headed out.

Beth locked the door, climbed the stairs to the second floor, and opened the master bedroom.

A stale, dusty smell rolled out. Beth walked to the dresser, dragged a finger across the surface, and frowned at the grime.

Into the bathroom — faucet turned on, water running. The frown eased.

It wasn't much, but...

Heh.

Beth grabbed a towel from the bathroom and got to work. Wiped down the table and chairs. Threw open the window to air the room out. Found a bottle of perfume and spritzed it around in a few passes.

Then Beth opened the closet, dug out a set of sealed bedding, and stripped the master bed down to remake it fresh.

When it was all done, Beth fell face-first onto the mattress and buried their face in the pillow.

A muffled, conspiratorial giggle rose from somewhere in the bedding.

Heh-heh.

➤ Next: No Dinner, Only