Chapter 25

Chapter 25: A Penny Can Stump a Hero – The Door to Rebirth in the Apocalypse

Volume 1, Chapter 25: A Penny Can Stump a Hero

After Gu Ning calmly spoke these words, the hall fell into a brief silence.

Gu Siyuan thought carefully and said, “Alright. Learning some martial arts, not to hurt others, but for self-defense, is a good idea. Find a reliable school. Do you want to learn Taekwondo or Sanshou or something?”

They actually started discussing it seriously.

“I haven’t decided yet,” Gu Ning said, picking up her bowl and continuing to shovel rice into her mouth. “I’ll go out later to see if there’s a place close to home.”

“Should I go with you?” Gu Siyuan asked.

“No need, I can go alone,” Gu Ning said, speeding up her eating.

Gu Mama glanced at Gu Siyuan with concern but didn’t say anything. Although she was worried, she couldn’t follow Gu Ning every time she went out.

Seeing Gu Ning eat so quickly, she added, “Eat slower, no one’s competing with you.” She noticed that since Gu Ning returned, her appetite had increased significantly. Before, she only ate a small bowl at home, claiming to maintain her figure. But now, she was wolfing down her food, eating at least three bowls each time. Gu Mama’s gaze suddenly turned strange as she looked at Gu Ning’s right hand. “Why are you wearing a glove on your right hand in this heat?”

Gu Ning paused her eating and said, “I was handling something dirty earlier, so I wore a glove to keep my hand clean.”

After finishing her meal like a whirlwind, Gu Ning said, “I’m ready to go out. If I don’t make it back for dinner, you can start without me.” Just as she opened the door, she was startled to see someone standing there, momentarily wondering if she had returned to the apocalypse. “Method?”

The person at the door was Method, dressed casually, about to knock when the door opened.

Both people inside and outside were equally surprised.

Hearing his name, Method took a closer look at the girl standing in front of him, who was a head shorter, and exclaimed, “You’re Gu Ning?” He was shocked. The last time he saw her, she was covered in dirt and mud, unrecognizable. Now, seeing her clearly, she was actually quite pretty, with skin as smooth as a peeled egg… Wait, what was he thinking?!

“Ah! You’re that Officer Fang from the other day! Come in, come in!” Gu Mama, who was about to see Gu Ning off, immediately recognized Method. She pushed Gu Ning aside, grabbed Method’s hand, and pulled him inside, calling out to Gu Siyuan, “Old Gu! Go make some tea! The officer who helped us find Gu Ning is here!”

Gu Siyuan quickly stood up and went to the kitchen to make tea.

Method, overwhelmed by Gu Mama’s hospitality, was pulled into the house. He called out to Gu Siyuan, “Uncle, no need for tea! Don’t trouble yourself! I just came to check on Gu Ning.”

Gu Ning looked at the door, then at Method, who was being pulled to sit on the sofa by Gu Mama. She closed the door and returned to the room.

“Actually, I just came to see how Gu Ning is doing,” Method said, placing the fruit basket he brought on the table, feeling a bit awkward under Gu Mama’s enthusiastic welcome.

“You didn’t have to bring anything! Just come as you are,” Gu Mama chided. She hadn’t gotten a good look at him at the police station, but now, seeing him sitting upright with short hair and wearing a light linen shirt, he looked clean and handsome. Gu Mama couldn’t help but smile more and more.

Gu Siyuan placed a cup of tea in front of Method and said with a smile, “Thanks to you, Ningning has recovered well.”

Method thanked him and glanced at Gu Ning, saying, “Yes, she looks quite spirited.” A far cry from the disheveled and numb image she had the other day.

But the way she looked at him… was a bit strange.

Method felt awkward. “Uh, I just came to check on her. I saw Gu Ning was about to go out, so I’ll head back now…”

“Let’s go together. I have something to ask you,” Gu Ning suddenly said.

“Huh? Uh, okay,” Method nodded to Gu Ning’s parents and stood up.

“Wait, I need to grab something,” Gu Ning suddenly remembered the list she had in her clothes. She went into the bedroom.

She pulled out a plastic bag from under the bed and reached into her pocket, pulling out the list along with the green orb she had taken from the zombie dog’s head. She glanced at it and stuffed it back into her pocket. She tied the plastic bag and shoved it back under the bed. Then she rummaged through the cabinet under her desk and took out her ID card.

She opened the door and walked out, calling to Method, “Let’s go.”

Method was slightly taken aback. He felt that Gu Ning’s attitude towards him was too casual. He wondered if they had met before, given that she had called him by name the first time they met.

With a head full of questions, he followed Gu Ning out.

“Method, do you know any places where I can learn close combat techniques?” Gu Ning asked as they walked downstairs. Since Method was a police officer, he might know.

“Why do you ask?” Method asked. After a pause, he added, “Uh, Gu Ning, have we met before?”

Gu Ning suddenly stopped mid-step, her expression momentarily dazed. She had unconsciously confused this Method with the one from the apocalypse. Her tone was the same as when she spoke to him in the apocalypse, completely forgetting that she wasn’t actually familiar with this police officer Method. The last time they met, he had brought her back to the police station… Switching between two worlds was really confusing. Gu Ning felt the urge to sigh.

Then she said, “That’s not the point.”

Method: “…” He really wanted to ask, then what is the point?

“Did you watch the National Martial Arts Championship?”

Method: “…” The topic change was too abrupt.

“I watched the live broadcast last night. Why?”

Gu Ning’s eyes lit up slightly. “That Yin Sang, if I wanted to reach her level, where would I need to go to train?”

Method was speechless for a moment before saying, “To reach her level, the most important thing isn’t where you train, but that it would take at least ten years, and you’d need some talent.” He paused, suddenly thinking of Gu Ning’s previous disappearance. Maybe she wanted to learn some self-defense techniques. He kindly added, “If you just want to learn self-defense, you don’t need to reach that level. Just learn some basic self-defense techniques and pay more attention to safety precautions…” His words were cut off by Gu Ning’s gaze. He sighed and said, “I don’t know about other places, but when I was in the military, they had that kind of training.”

Gu Ning pondered for a moment and then said seriously, “Can I go to the military to learn?”

Method looked at Gu Ning’s serious face and was once again speechless. He struggled to reply, “If you have connections in the military…”

Gu Ning’s eyes lit up. “Like a company commander?”

“For family members, visiting is no problem, but staying for a certain period and participating in training might be difficult,” Method said.

This issue would have to wait until she returned to the apocalypse to ask Third Brother for a solution, Gu Ning thought.

“Do you have a car?” Gu Ning suddenly asked.

Method was stunned. “Uh, yes.”

“Can you do me a favor?” Gu Ning said.

“What?”

As Gu Ning and Method walked downstairs to get into the car, two middle-aged women from her building were returning home together. Seeing Gu Ning about to get into a car with a man they hadn’t seen before, their eyes lit up with curiosity. They stopped and asked, “Ningning, going out with a friend?” Their eyes kept darting towards the car, where Method sat awkwardly, smiling at them.

Gu Ning coldly looked at the two women, who had also been on the minibus. She didn’t even bother to be polite, directly opened the car door, got in, and said to Method, “Drive.”

Method was stunned but then drove away.

“What’s wrong with Gu Ning? She’s come back acting like some delinquent. She didn’t even greet us, so rude. Her father’s a high school teacher, you know.”

“My son told me that the man’s car isn’t cheap. Gu Ning was missing for a while, maybe she got herself a sugar daddy?”

“No way?”

“Why not? Her mom had heart surgery half a year ago, cost tens of thousands. She’s still on expensive imported meds. How much can Old Gu make as a high school teacher? Gu Ning just graduated, where did all that money come from? Look at her now, the way she looks at people is different, like she’s too good for anyone. I bet she’s someone’s mistress!”

Meanwhile, back at Gu Ning’s house, Gu Mama was also worried after seeing Gu Ning off. “Old Gu, Ningning wants to learn martial arts. It’s good, but it costs money. With our current situation, we can’t borrow more, can we?”

“My salary is coming soon this month,” Gu Siyuan said with a frown. “Should we ask Big Sister, Second Sister, and Yuezhou to extend the repayment date?”

Gu Mama said, “Big Sister and Second Sister won’t be a problem. But Yuezhou… Sister-in-law called the day before yesterday to remind us.”

Gu Siyuan sighed and comforted Gu Mama, “I’ll think of something.”

Meanwhile, Gu Ning was in Method’s car, heading towards the hospital.

Once in the car, Gu Ning took off her stuffy glove, revealing the bandage on her hand.

Method opened his mouth but didn’t ask. He was full of questions about Gu Ning, but strangely, despite her casual and commanding attitude, he didn’t feel annoyed. He just followed her instructions without thinking.

When he realized how strange his behavior was, he was holding Gu Ning’s registration number in the hospital lobby, waiting while Gu Ning had temporarily left after saying she’d be back.

Method looked at the medical record and registration number in his hand and muttered to himself, “What am I even doing?” He had sacrificed half of his day off to accompany someone he had only met twice, with whom he had exchanged less than twenty words, to the hospital for registration???

Meanwhile, Gu Ning stood outside the hospital at an ATM, staring at the balance in her bank account in silence.

300 yuan.

She had almost forgotten that Gu Mama had heart surgery half a year ago, which had drained the family’s savings and left them in debt. The money she had saved from part-time jobs over the years was also gone. After the apocalypse began, living under the shadow of death every day, her nerves constantly on edge, she had completely forgotten about her family’s dire financial situation.

No wonder her mom had hesitated when she discussed it with her dad earlier. She had thought her mom had other concerns, but it was because of this…

Gu Ning withdrew all 300 yuan, sighed, and felt the weight of being stumped by a single penny.