Ulterior Motives

Seeing the smile on Gu Lin's face, the thuggish men exchanged glances, thinking he was scared and becoming even more brazen.

One of them warned, "Buddy, I suggest you stay out of this slut's business."

The bald leader also chuckled, "How about this? Bow to us a few times, and we'll let you join in with this chick!"

This sparked a burst of laughter among the thugs. "Our boss knows how to have fun!"

"I agree! Hahaha!"

"Playing with this little boy will be even more fun. Look at him, he probably tastes great!"

Two of them rushed to grab Li Qianxin, while three others advanced on Gu Lin.

Gu Lin squinted his eyes. Little boy? He was 1.88 meters tall, and these punks thought he was a little boy?

As the three men approached, Gu Lin glanced at the surveillance cameras.

Tsk, they were still on. The mall hadn't lost power yet, so the cameras were still running.

Even with his mask, he couldn't ensure absolute safety. He couldn't kill these men.

Feeling a bit regretful but not showing it, Gu Lin stepped toward the advancing men.

Seeing this, Li Qianxin, struggling against the two men holding her, shouted, "Boss! Kill them!"

"Ah—!" She was cut off by a harsh slap. One of the men holding her spat, "You little bitch, keep yapping and I'll take you right now!"

Li Qianxin fell silent but looked at Gu Lin with hopeful eyes, praying he could handle these thugs.

Others gathering supplies nearby heard the commotion but chose not to get involved, looking down on the thugs for wasting time on pleasure instead of focusing on gathering resources.

In these times, getting more supplies was far more important.

As Li Qianxin hoped, the three thugs were no match for Gu Lin.

As a family member of a crucial national research personnel and due to his young age, Gu Lin had received combat training to protect against foreign spies.

Plus, his past experience surviving ten years in the apocalypse had honed his skills further.

With a dependent like Bai Weiwei, Gu Lin had fought desperately for survival, doing whatever it took.

His combat skills now far surpassed those of these street thugs.

As the first thug's punch neared him, Gu Lin kicked him away.

The other two paused, shocked by his swift kick, giving Gu Lin the chance to kick them each.

His thick-soled snow boots were hard, and the three thugs were quickly on the ground.

Seeing this, one of the men holding Li Qianxin drew a fruit knife and pressed it against her neck, "Don't come any closer, or I'll kill her!"

Gu Lin frowned, his previously good mood soured. He hated being threatened. These men had struck a nerve.

Li Qianxin, seeing Gu Lin's suddenly cold expression, thought he truly cared for her, feeling inexplicably happy and gazing at him with affection, "Boss, save me, I'm so scared..."

She believed his previous aloof demeanor was just an act. She had a pretty face, after all. If she could charm these thugs, why not Gu Lin?

Feeling relieved, she wasn't as scared of the knife anymore.

Gu Lin, tall and imposing, exuded safety. His recent swift kicks were impressive.

If she stayed with him, she'd be well-off regardless of any future disasters. Determined to cling to him, she was unafraid even with the knife at her throat.

Meanwhile, the three thugs who had been kicked down got up.

Seeing their leader pull out a knife and Gu Lin stop moving, they felt confident again.

"Spit! What the hell! Get on your knees and apologize to us properly. Beg us nicely, and maybe we'll let you two live!" The thugs advanced on Gu Lin, swearing, "Ungrateful scum, stay still and don't make us use the knife!"

"Be sensible and kneel to apologize, or your little girlfriend's pretty face will be ruined!" The thug with the knife moved the blade from Li Qianxin's neck to her face.

The thugs smirked confidently, as if they already saw Gu Lin kneeling and begging for mercy. Gu Lin, however, remained calm.

As he took a step closer, the thugs barked, "Stop! Don't move! Kneel right there!"

They couldn't let this strong fighter get any closer. Gu Lin's lips thinned as he lost all patience.

A small, purple lightning bolt, like a snake, slithered out from under a sample bed and wrapped around the ankles of the thug holding Li Qianxin.

Gu Lin seized the moment and gave Li Qianxin a look. She understood instantly, threw herself backward to dodge the knife, and rolled onto the sample bed.

In the next instant, the two thugs who had been holding her suddenly convulsed and fell to the ground as if struck by a stroke.

They twitched on the ground, as if shocked by a high-voltage electric baton, but Gu Lin had controlled the force carefully, only paralyzing them without even singeing their hair.

The remaining three thugs saw their leader fall and tried to flee, but Gu Lin quickly took them down in a few swift moves.

After ensuring the thugs couldn't get up, Gu Lin glanced at Li Qianxin, who was sitting on the bed and looking at him with starry eyes. He pointed to the bags and said, "Take them. Let's go."

Li Qianxin's face lit up with joy. She quickly jumped off the bed, carefully sealed each bag, and found a rope to tie them together in pairs.

Gu Lin watched silently, his lowered eyes revealing nothing of his thoughts.

He was conflicted about how to deal with this troublesome woman.

Taking her home was out of the question; human nature is unpredictable, and he had vowed never to be soft-hearted and take in just anyone again.

But if he just left her somewhere, and she survived with these supplies, she might recognize him when he and Gu Xue headed to the base...

Then the fact that he had countless supplies would surely spread like wildfire.

Before most survivors developed their abilities, Gu Lin didn't want to reveal his space.

If he brought her back to the neighborhood and found her an empty apartment, she would undoubtedly come knocking for food, drink, and all sorts of supplies.

Give them to her? Having such a parasitic person clinging to him would be disgusting!

If Gu Lin repeatedly refused her, Li Qianxin would surely spread the word about his supplies, inciting others to rob him while she reaped the benefits.

This woman was a menace and couldn't be kept around.

Gu Lin couldn't think of any reason to let her live and stay by his side.

Li Qianxin's calculating eyes revealed her intentions. Even if Gu Lin saved her out of mercy, he wouldn't dare keep such a person around.

Even though she was a medical student, Gu Lin feared she might stab him in the back or deliberately use the wrong medication.

Li Qianxin finished tying all the bags, turned around, and saw Gu Lin still looking indifferent. She felt a bit displeased.

"Can't you help me a bit?"

Didn't this man have any sense?

She was a campus beauty, and although her family wasn't very wealthy, her looks were still impressive.

This guy just stood there watching her, not even offering a hand!

If it were her previous admirers, she would have kicked them away long ago, demanding gifts worth thousands to make up.

But now, she couldn't do that.

This man certainly gave a sense of security, with great skills and a presumably great body.

And she had seen Gu Lin without his mask before—he was quite handsome.

If she could sleep with such a man, she wouldn't lose out.

Even if he was a bit dense, she could deal with it.

After securing his supplies, she could figure out a way to poison him and his sister, claiming all the supplies for herself—wouldn't that be wonderful?

With their own thoughts in mind, the two dragged the bags along the ground and left the supermarket.