Still hoarding supplies in the apocalypse? I'll just go on a killing spree and looting!

Wang Tao leaned against the other side of the car door in the back seat.

With the back of his head pressed against the hard backrest, his eyes were wide open, staring blankly at the narrow shooting window above him.

"If my mom knew what I did today, she'd definitely take the train all the way from our hometown to beat me up," Wang Tao suddenly said, his voice hoarse. "She told me to run away if I was in danger, and not to try to be a hero."

An Yan turned to look at him, and the pencil that had been spinning in her hand suddenly stopped.

"Why did you suddenly bring this up?"

"I'm just a little homesick." Wang Tao sat up straight, his expression a complex mix of longing, fear, and worry.

"Me too." After An Yan finished speaking, she lowered her head and frowned in thought.

Silence fell in the back seat once again.

Charlene was fast asleep, leaning on Qin Ying's shoulder, even on the bumpy armored vehicle.

Sitting at the very back, Lin Tanzhi couldn't help but ask, "Do you know them?"

The "them" he was referring to were Lin You and Mu Xue.

An Yan glanced up at Lin Tanzhi, then ignored him and continued to ponder.

Wang Tao spoke up, saying in a calm tone, "I've met him once."

Disappointment flashed across Lin Tanzhi's face, and he kept his mouth shut. He wanted to learn about Lin You and the others' situation from this group of college students.

But the result was not very satisfactory.

After all, they had only met once, so it was obviously not very reliable for them to try to get any information from it.

After a moment of silence, Wang Tao scratched the back of his head, unzipped his jacket, and then zipped it up again.

The crackling sound was a bit noisy.

"That wounded woman, three of her men died. She was lying in the hallway, covered in blood. We could have just ignored her."

An Yan stopped spinning the pencil again, clenched it tightly in her hand, frowned and asked, "What do you want to say?"

"I don't know." Wang Tao zipped his jacket all the way up and then unzipped it, which earned him a glare from Qin Ying.

Reluctantly, Wang Tao lowered his voice and said, "I just felt... when I was knocking on the handrail on the fourth floor, I thought I was the main character. But when I went down there, I realized that the real battle was fought by Sister Lin all by herself. I just knocked on the handrail."

"You think you're the main character?" An Yan looked at him strangely, her lips twitching as if she wanted to laugh but didn't.

Wang Tao stared at An Yan's expression, momentarily stunned.

Then I laughed out loud.

The laughter was soft, but everyone in the back seat heard it.

Qin Ying pushed up her glasses and glared at Wang Tao again, clearly very dissatisfied with his repeated noise.

Wang Tao immediately raised his hand to indicate that he understood.

He then leaned back in the hard chair, staring at the buildings flashing by outside the shooting window, lost in thought.

The back seat of the car fell into complete silence.

Mu Xue glanced at the back of the armored vehicle in the rearview mirror, then turned her gaze back to the windshield.

It hasn't been long since the apocalypse, and the entire city of Z has become incredibly desolate and quiet.

All the bustling crowds and heavy traffic have disappeared.

It seemed that within a few days, all of humanity had perished except for them.

Lin You leaned back in the driver's seat, her right hand on the steering wheel, her eyes scanning the surroundings out the window.

Mu Xue rubbed the back of her neck. The armored vehicle's seat was really uncomfortable; it was hard, and when it was bumpy, she felt like she was being thrown off the chair.

Mu Xue spoke casually, as if she were chatting about what to eat in the cafeteria today.

"I still don't understand why you saved Sister Zhou."

Lin You leaned back in her seat, her right hand resting on the steering wheel, her gaze sweeping across the abandoned gas station covered in vines outside the window.

He turned the steering wheel, bypassing the gas station on the side road, and asked in a calm tone.

What do you think?

"It feels a bit strange. You killed those eight bandits without hesitation, but the other four who did the same thing received your help."

"Anything else?"

"And... those four college students, I don't think they're of any use, even though they're my juniors."

Lin You tapped her fingers lightly on the steering wheel, seemingly deep in thought.

"Actually, you're asking the same question all along: you think I'm starting to become kinder and more soft-hearted, right?"

Mu Xue nodded hesitantly.

"I've met these four people once; they're college students with nice personalities. I feel like they could be of some use to the base. As for Sister Zhou... their faction is quite powerful; this is the only way to avoid trouble."

"So you saved her because you thought she would repay us?"

"Mu Xue... please don't think of strangers like that in the future. I only saved her to avoid trouble."

Mu Xue shrugged and said, "I don't think they can find us. After all, it was the alien beasts that killed them, not us."

Lin You didn't know how to explain the level of chaos after the apocalypse.

After thinking for a moment, he said, "...Sometimes, all you need is suspicion, not evidence. Especially after the apocalypse."

Mu Xue looked at Lin You in surprise and said, "You mean they're going to attack our base?"

"This is highly likely to happen. If they don't take a tough stance, they'll be in for a lot of trouble later."

Mu Xue frowned. "Just because someone died?"

Lin You once again steered the armored vehicle around. The cement road in front of them was somewhat narrow, barely allowing the armored vehicle to pass.

As Lin You drove, she said, "Of course, it's not just about people dying. They need to flex their muscles and show others that we're not lambs to the slaughter. Only in this way can they avoid more trouble."

Mu Xue thought for a moment and continued, "But three of her men died, and she's going back alone. I don't think that's a good thing for her."

"At least she's still alive, isn't she?"

Mu Xue thought for a moment, then didn't argue, and continued wiping the shotgun.

"Squeak..."

The car stopped, and Mu Xue glanced outside. There was a narrow cement road outside.

Both sides are decorated with simple signs, most of which advertise various kinds of snacks.

"Why did you stop?"

Looking at the scene outside, Mu Xue asked.

Lin You had already picked up her gear, opened the car door, and said, "You haven't forgotten that we came out to search for supplies, have you?"

Mu Xue paused for a moment, then lowered her voice and said, "I have it on me, and it seems that Professor Shen's injury cannot be delayed any longer."

Lin You smiled, but what she said sent chills down one's spine: "It's nothing, just a broken bone, it won't kill you."

Xia Lin was woken up by Lin You pushing her with her hand.

She opened her eyes and realized that she had fallen asleep without knowing when, her cheek resting on Qin Ying's shoulder.

There was also a glistening drool left on his shoulder.

This made Charlene blush, and she said awkwardly, "Sorry, I accidentally fell asleep."

Qin Ying pushed up her glasses, which had slipped down to the tip of her nose, and asked, "What's wrong, Sister Lin?"

"There's a pharmacy up ahead," Lin You pointed to a three-story building along the street not far away.

The red cross sign above the building's entrance reads "Liqiang Pharmacy".

Next to the pharmacy was a small supermarket with its roller shutter door half open and unclaimed parcel packages scattered around the entrance.

Charlene rubbed the red marks on her face. "Isn't Professor Shen's medicine enough?"

"Hmm. I guess so. Are you going to wait in the car, or come with us to collect some medicine?"

Xia Lin looked at Qin Ying, who smiled at her before replying, "Me, Brother Tao, and Brother Lin are going with you. The other two will stay in the car. By the way, Sister Lin, do you have a weapon?"

Lin You nodded. "Yes, do you need them?"

It wasn't that Lin You was reluctant to part with the gun; the main problem was that putting firearms in the hands of a novice was irresponsible and risked their life.

Qin Ying breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Give it to An Yan. She performed very well during military training, and the instructors all praised her as a potential sniper."

Lin You looked at An Yan, who nodded and explained, "My brother works in the military region, and he often went to target practice with me when we were kids."

Lin You thought for a moment and gave Mu Xue a couple of instructions. Mu Xue went straight to the driver's seat and, as if to avoid attracting attention, took out an M16 rifle from her spatial storage.

Because armored vehicles have metal compartments that separate the driver's seat from the rear seats.

They did not see that Mu Xue took the gun out of the space.

Seeing An Yan skillfully inspect the guns, Lin You finally felt relieved and reminded her, "If you encounter any danger, just shoot. I'll come out to rescue you."

An Yan nodded, indicating that she understood.