The three of them walked back in silence.

Yu Hongfei escorted them back to Building 6. Lin Chu retrieved the medicines she had taken earlier from the warehouse from her spatial storage and handed them to him.

The medicines had already been packed in a large burlap sack.

Since medicines expire, Yu Hongfei only took one sack’s worth.

When he reached out to receive the bag, Yu Hongfei hesitated for a moment before saying:

“Lin Chu, I can pay you in advance for your share from dissecting ten zombies. If there’s anything you want to exchange for, just tell me now.”

Lin Chu frowned slightly at his serious expression.

“Why so sudden? Didn’t we agree you’d give me a list tomorrow?”

“Besides, I’m not in a hurry to exchange anything. There’s no need for you to pay me that many points in advance.”

Yu Hongfei scratched his head, unsure how to explain.

Seeing this, Lin Chu suddenly recalled her earlier suspicions.

“You also have a special mission, don’t you?”

Upon hearing this, Yu Hongfei sighed and nodded.

“Yes. Once a mission participant reaches the third world, they can choose to take on an advanced mission. Completing it comes with a decent reward.”

“Decent” in this case simply meant a large number of points.

He had come to this world specifically to accumulate points, so naturally, he wouldn’t pass up an opportunity to earn a lot of them.

“Is your mission related to the F City survivor base?”

Yu Hongfei nodded again.

That was why, earlier, when the couple mentioned the F City base, he had continued asking questions.

“I don’t know how long I’ll be gone. If something happens to me… I don’t want you to have worked for nothing. It’s better if I pay you upfront…”

“No need.”

Lin Chu shook her head.

Even if he didn’t return, she could still redeem points on her own for the corpses she had dissected—nothing would go to waste.

If Yu Hongfei thought the mission was dangerous, it clearly wasn’t a low-difficulty one.

“You should hold on to those points. If something unexpected happens, at least you’ll have the means to buy a useful item.”

She didn’t want her partner to die.

If he kept those 100 points and survived, he could generate at least 200 points’ worth of value for her later.

Lin Chu wasn’t short-sighted.

Yu Hongfei shook his head.

“There’s nothing in the system store that can help me with this mission.”

That wasn’t entirely true. The system did have items, but high-level tools weren’t something you could buy with just 100 points.

Lin Chu understood this, and a thought crossed her mind. She brought up an idea she had considered a few days earlier.

“You’re saying… you’ll trade space with me for something?!”

Yu Hongfei’s voice involuntarily rose with excitement at the good news.

Lin Chu nodded.

“I remember you said before that Ma Yan’s physical enhancements weren’t just from fitness pills.”

At the time, Lin Chu had guessed that Yu Hongfei’s comment meant that after leveling up or through special channels, the system granted access to more advanced pills.

But if she wanted to increase her odds of survival, she needed to enhance her physical strength—and the sooner, the better.

When she finished explaining, Yu Hongfei immediately understood what she was referring to.

“That thing does exist…”

But it was expensive.

Fitness pills only cost 50 points, but that pill—that one—cost 350 points.

Also, not every mission participant was qualified to buy it.

He just happened to be one of the few who were.

Because of the high price, he had never been willing to spend the points to enhance his own body.

350 points—nearly all he had.

But now, the thought of Lin Chu offering him a spatial item made his heart burn with excitement.

After all, space storage was always in high demand but short supply.

Body modification pills were rare, yes—but some people at least had the qualifications to buy them.

Storage space, on the other hand, could only be obtained through sheer luck.

He also knew Lin Chu probably wanted to strike early—boost her strength while the mission difficulty was still relatively low—so she could survive more emergencies and build power for future worlds.

From his perspective, it was a favorable deal.

You could only use the body-modification pill once, but it wasn’t limited in the store. If he saved up more points later, he could still buy another.

Plus, in an S-grade world, one of the major challenges was that he might not be able to activate his shelter in time.

If he had spatial storage, his odds of survival would increase significantly.

Yu Hongfei was very tempted.

But he still reminded Lin Chu, “Are you really sure? This is a spatial item—it’s way rarer than a pill.”

Lin Chu nodded.

She already had two storage spaces. Ma Yan’s was just a redundant one for her and already exposed to others. Trading it would generate more value.

No matter how good a storage space was, you had to stay alive to use it.

Ever since she learned that Ma Yan had used a special modification pill, that pill had become her top priority.

It was a good deal for both of them.

Yu Hongfei, of course, had no idea that Lin Chu had other spaces. He just felt like the heavens had sent her to save him.

Delighted, he agreed readily and bought the pill she needed from the system store.

Lin Chu handed over the portion of supplies that had belonged to Zheng Ziyu, then entered the shelter—ostensibly to empty the storage space, but in truth just to put on a show.

She hadn’t stored any of today’s items in Ma Yan’s bracelet space at all.

Timing it just right, she exited the shelter and handed the bracelet to Yu Hongfei, accepting the black-red pill from him in return.

The moment she touched it, it radiated a gentle warmth.

Lin Chu was a little surprised, but since she wasn’t back in the shelter yet, she didn’t examine it further.

Yu Hongfei cradled the bracelet like a treasure and couldn’t wait to try it out—stuffing the medicine sack in, pulling it out, then stuffing it in again… over and over.

After a few repetitions, he glanced at the two women, scratched his head awkwardly, and said,

“Heh, first time getting a space item. Just a little excited, that’s all…”

Lin Chu chuckled and reminded him,

“Don’t show it off too much outside. It’s best to carry a backpack to cover it up.”

“This space doesn’t preserve fresh food well—it spoils easily.”

Yu Hongfei nodded, saying he understood. Then he grew serious again:

“I’m heading to the F City survivor base tomorrow. I might be gone five to ten days. If I don’t return, don’t come looking for me.”

He paused, then added:

“Be careful. A single mission world doesn’t just deploy two groups of participants. More people may be sent in later. If that happens, stay alert.”

He had already asked about the F City base—it was located in the mountains over 100 kilometers from their compound, situated in a remote area on high ground, easy to defend and hard to attack. That’s why the government had chosen it as a base.

A round trip would take several days.

After leaving a few more warnings, the three of them parted ways.

Lin Chu and Yu Hongfei hadn’t hidden their deal from Zheng Ziyu.

That was intentional.

Even if the trade had gone smoothly, she wanted the two people who knew she had spatial storage to believe it was now gone.

This was her way of protecting herself.