Currently, Helen still needs Russ as a teammate. She doesn't dare to guarantee her survival in the post-apocalyptic world alone. So, even though she dislikes Russ, forming a team with him at least ensures someone to watch over her.
But now, Russ is showing unexpected restlessness.
Helen always feels that Russ will eventually turn against her. In the past, there have been a few close calls because she refused his advances.
Otherwise, Russ, who has always harbored lustful intentions, would have taken advantage of her. Today, their almost-ruptured relationship has left Helen concerned.
If only her teammate were Waldo...
Helen opened the chat window with Waldo almost instinctively and unconsciously typed, "Waldo, it would be great if you were by my side."
During these days, Waldo has been buying information from other survivors. The production of resources around the villa area has sharply declined due to the increasing number of arrivals. That's why he chose to purchase information.
The advantage is that most of the information being sold is about silver-level resource boxes or small groups of zombies, which is perfect for Waldo. By exchanging some daily supplies, like bread and water, he can obtain silver-level information and even have a chance to get gold-level resources, without feeling like he's at a loss.
However, gold-level resources are still too scarce. Since obtaining the gasoline generator last time, he hasn't been able to come across any gold-level resource box information.
Of course, it's also possible that other organized groups have already found out about them in advance. After all, the multitude of survivors, especially Sheriff's team, has a significant presence.
So, at this moment, Waldo was sipping his drink and scrolling through the chat channels, carefully examining each message.
Ding!
A private message window popped up, displaying Helen's message. Helen has been in contact with Waldo during this time, exchanging essential supplies with him.
She would trade a bundle of firewood for twenty pieces of bread, or two lighters for ten bottles of water, and so on. They have regained their former camaraderie as classmates and became as familiar as they were in the past.
However, when Waldo opened Helen's chat box and saw the message, he almost spewed out his soda in surprise. The ambiguous nature of her words caught him off guard, and he couldn't help but let his imagination run wild.
Waldo blinked and discreetly glanced at Alanna, who had just gone upstairs. Then, he replied calmly, "?"
After sending the message, it showed as "read."
However, Helen retracted the message she had sent to Waldo as if she had done it on impulse. She had been lost in thought about past events until Waldo's message prompted her back to reality.
Helen quickly noticed her mistake and retracted the message. Luckily, the time between sending and retracting wasn't long, so she was able to do it. If she couldn't, she would have been too embarrassed to face Waldo.
Blushing, Helen sent an explanation: "Sorry, I made a typo."
Waldo couldn't help but find it amusing. "Are you going to exchange supplies with me again today?"
Helen pursed her lips and sighed. "I wanted to chat with you, is that not allowed? Is our relationship reduced to just transactions?"
When Waldo saw the message, he sensed the underlying resentment from Helen and found it quite interesting.
Waldo quickly replied with a playful tone, "Hahaha, of course not! We are classmates, after all. You can always talk to me, and occasionally, I can be your emotional trash can. But, there's an extra fee."
Helen let out a sigh. "So, I guess I'm really just a friend to you."
But that's what sets Waldo apart from other guys. He's not like them. He's aware of how attractive she is.
Helen had known this for a long time. From a young age, boys in her class were too shy to talk to her. Love letters from the next classroom kept piling up.
When she was younger, she might have felt a bit proud of it. But as she grew older, Helen realized that the boys around her were too shallow. She couldn't find them interesting.
Until she met Waldo.
The first time she encountered a guy who was indifferent to her.
There were previous encounters, but they were all for show, attempting to attract her attention.
Initially, Helen thought Waldo was one of those guys.
But as time went on, she discovered that Waldo seemed genuinely uninterested in her.
Unfortunately, this guy doesn't seem to like her.
Being from a poor background, he's not concerned with romance; he just wants to make something of himself.
Helen remembered when she tried to test the type of partner Waldo intended to find in the future, only to receive a mischievous and self-deprecating animated emoji.
"I don't have time for any damn love stories now. I just want to make money!"
Waldo chuckled to himself and continued scrolling through the messages, not letting Helen's message affect his focus on gathering information.