Chapter 42: Tan Yanmei's Ruthlessness!

Time passed minute by minute. After eliminating 27 zombies, an hour had slipped by unnoticed. 

Huang Ming holstered his pistol, closed the window, and took out three bottles of vintage 1982 Pulpy Orange from the fridge. He handed one to each of the girls before gulping down several mouthfuls himself, then plopped onto the sofa.

Just as he was about to close his eyes for a quick rest, his phone buzzed. It was 2:30 PM - a message from Zhou Ting.

"Ming, they just took out three more guys, including that Xiao Liu. The girls didn't get a scratch - it went perfectly smooth. The guys were completely drained after...you know...no strength left at all."

"Zhou Ting, stop calling me 'Ming.' I'm only a sophomore - you're a senior. Just use my name. So what's their plan for the remaining six guys?"

"That doesn't matter. You gave me food - that makes you my elder brother. They wanted to finish them all at once, but Wang Gang and the others don't seem interested in these girls. Honestly, none of those twelve are lookers compared to the other girls in the group. So now they're at a stalemate."

Before Huang Ming could reply, another message came:

"They figured Wang Lei has Gao Weiwei, Wang Gang and Ma Tao are entangled with Wang Xue, so they targeted Ji Dayong and two others. But the bait didn't take. They're still scheming."

"By the way, who's leading this operation?"

"A senior named He Fang, and another called Tan Yanmei - they're from the same hometown. This Tan Yanmei actually admitted in the group that she was the one who tipped off Wang Qiang from Building 7, causing that early morning confrontation at the cafeteria. If not for Wang Lei stepping in, they would've really clashed."

Huang Ming was shocked. He never imagined there'd be a traitor in their own Building 10, conspiring to weaken their male students by pitting them against another building's forces. This was clearly premeditated.

"This Tan Yanmei is something else," Huang Ming mused. "First sowing discord, then using honey traps. Wang Gang and his crew are in for trouble."

Zhou Ting agreed wholeheartedly. "Absolutely! Two of today's six dead guys were her doing. She acted as bait twice herself and got the biggest share of supplies."

Sensing danger, Huang Ming warned: "Ruthless to others, even more to herself. Keep an eye on her. I bet she's already noticed me and Li Chang'an. Tell Li Chang'an to barricade his door when sleeping - wouldn't want uninvited nighttime visitors."

Zhou Ting's heart leapt to her throat at the warning. The thought of those girls breaking in terrified her - she stood no chance against them.

"Oh god! I completely forgot about that! We need alarms - something to wake us if they come. But...what if they all rush in at once?"

Huang Ming reassured her: "Relax, you won't die. Li Chang'an alone is enough, as long as he doesn't sleep like the dead."

At 160+ pounds with combat gear and a katana from Huang Ming, if Li Chang'an couldn't handle a dozen weakened girls at full strength, he didn't deserve to live.

Zhou Ting sighed in relief. She trusted Huang Ming's judgment - Li Chang'an did look powerfully built. Still, she'd set up noise traps tonight - maybe stacked cups that would crash loudly if disturbed.

At 3:30 PM, Zhou Ting updated: "Ming, two more guys took the bait - not Ji Dayong though. The girls are making their move now."

By 4 PM: "They took care of those two smoothly! Only Wang Gang, Ma Tao, Wang Lei and Ji Dayong left now."

"What's their next move?"

"The group's divided now. Half think they should stop - they've already gotten plenty of food from eight dead guys. No need to risk more."

Just as Huang Ming predicted - once supplied, they lost their life-or-death desperation. The remaining four guys had lucked out.

"Seems this is over for now. Keep me posted if anything changes."

"Will do!"

At 5:13 PM, Gu Anqing and Liu Shuang'er finally finished their project - a brand new combat suit.

"Huang Ming! Come try this on!" Gu Anqing called.

He rushed over to find both girls drenched in sweat, their slender figures clearly outlined, foreheads beaded with perspiration. The Pulpy Orange he'd given them earlier was long gone - they'd clearly worked hard all afternoon, both physically and mentally.

Huang Ming took the suit and changed right there without hesitation. Neither girl seemed bothered - Shuang'er looked like she'd seen it all before, while Anqing turned away slightly, a bit embarrassed.

The suit fit perfectly - black metal exterior armor with soft inner lining, complete with matching helmet, gloves and knee-high boots. Designed like stealth nightwear with metal plates to withstand zombie attacks, it had noticeable weight but nothing Huang Ming's trained body couldn't handle.

Moving around to test flexibility, he found no discomfort. "Fits great! Thank you so much - you've worked hard."

Gu Anqing waved it off. "Half the credit goes to Shuang'er. The comfortable inner lining is her handiwork - took her all afternoon."

Noticing Shuang'er's pouting face nearby - looking like someone owed her a fortune - Huang Ming quickly added: "Shuang'er, thank you. Such skillful hands!"

Shuang'er rolled her eyes and stuck out her tongue. "Pfft! Too little too late! Bleh!" 

Her antics sent Gu Anqing into a fit of giggles.