— Xia Jiaojiao nodded and smiled, but the smile in her eyes was faint. No matter how nice the words were now, once Gu Ran appeared, protecting herself would only be secondary, and perhaps even a burden. If she still relied on Leng Yifeng as in her previous life, she would have truly lived in vain. It would have been better to not awaken her memory and just die in that pile of zombies. Chapter 16: Going Out to Gather Supplies Again
Leng Yifeng withdrew his hand and quietly watched Xia Jiaojiao, who was sitting obediently. Although she was smiling, he felt as if a thick film separated them, making it impossible to see or understand clearly. As if thinking of something, the light in his beautiful eyes dimmed, and he called her softly, "Jiaojiao..."
— Yes? What is it? She turned to ask.
Leng Yifeng hesitated for a long time, then gave a faint smile. "It's nothing, I just wanted to ask if you're hungry, what do you want to eat? I'll make it for you."
— I want to eat so many things: spicy boiled fish, sweet and sour pork ribs, scrambled eggs with tomatoes...
When it came to food, Xia Jiaojiao became a little excited. Although she didn't starve during those six years, having food comparable to what they ate in the prosperous times was impossible. Plants and animals had mutated, and seasonings and ingredients were even harder to find. She was determined to hoard more seeds and grow what she wanted to eat in the future.
Leng Yifeng didn't interrupt her. After she listed a bunch of dishes, he smiled and said, "Okay, but I can't cook all these dishes at once. I'll cook a few for you first, and we'll take our time."
— Okay. Thinking that electricity and gas would soon be cut off, she added, "Brother, my Space can keep things fresh. When we have nothing to do, let's cook and prepare food. The internet is gone too. I'm afraid the power and gas might suddenly go out one day, and then it'll be over." Although she had collected many gas canisters from those shops, as well as backup generators from warehouses and shopping malls, they weren't enough in the long run. They would still need to go out and collect more supplies.
Leng Yifeng nodded and got up. "Alright, then I'll go cook now."
Xia Jiaojiao also got up. "I'll help you."
Leng Yifeng, who had intended to refuse, saw her eager expression and changed his words. "Okay."
Soon, sounds came from the kitchen.
— Jiaojiao, you put too much rice.
— It's okay, I'll put the leftovers in the Space.
— Jiaojiao, you took too much meat.
— It's okay, cook more, I'll put the leftovers in the Space.
— Jiaojiao, you washed too many vegetables.
— It's okay, cook more, I'll put the leftovers in the Space.
In the end, Leng Yifeng silently cooked everything she had taken out and stopped mentioning that she took too much...
Neither of them went out again before the power and gas were cut off. Whenever they had time, they were cooking and preparing food. Xia Jiaojiao's Space was filled with bowls and bowls of cooked food, most of them her favorite dishes. Fortunately, they lived in a villa, so the aroma didn't spread far and dissipated. No one nearby came to cause trouble. It was unclear if it was because the villa area had few residents originally, or because there were few survivors in the villa area now. After all, with so many zombies outside, many people's supplies ran out, and they didn't dare to go out to search for supplies. Neighbors became convenient targets for begging for food.
After the power outage, the September weather made the temperature outside and inside extremely frustrating. Xia Jiaojiao started to miss the ice cubes made by people with Ice Element Supernatural Ability. They were cool and durable. Thinking of Ice Element Supernatural Ability inevitably reminded her of Gu Ran, and Xia Jiaojiao's mood became even more irritable.
Leng Yifeng was sitting beside her, fanning her with a fan. He keenly sensed her frustration and said softly, "Is the heat unbearable? How about I get the generator and try to fix it?"
— But the noise is very loud. It's troublesome if it attracts zombies or ill-intentioned people.
Xia Jiaojiao was tempted, but the generator was a large commercial one they picked up casually while collecting supplies. Its noise was not ordinary. Moreover, they had only collected a little fuel, and it would run out soon. Thinking this, there were too many supplies that needed to be stockpiled. Xia Jiaojiao felt she couldn't sit still any longer. She stood up, her expression serious. "Brother, let's go out and find supplies. Let's look for generators, gas, fuel, seeds, and anything else we see. Our car doesn't have much fuel left either. If we don't find oil soon, it will be even harder to find later." All supplies would become scarcer over time. Their food situation was largely resolved, and now it was time to focus on necessities. Leng Yifeng also stood up. "Okay, let's go look." He had initially thought they had collected enough supplies, but after the power and gas outage, he realized their preparations were still too insufficient. Leng Yifeng instantly scanned all the maps he knew in his mind. After confirming where to look for supplies, the two took their weapons and went out. "Why do I feel like there are more and more zombies?" Xia Jiaojiao looked at the zombies outside the car, which were clearly more numerous than when they had last gone out, and felt a pang of fear at the impending zombie tide. In her memory of the past six years, they had experienced several zombie tides, each resulting in heavy losses. Although they escaped the first zombie tide in her previous life, they had come back once. Who knew what would happen or if there would be any deviations? Xia Jiaojiao didn't think that awakening her memory meant she could survive safely. Instead, she became even more cautious. "Yes, there will probably be more and more in the future." Leng Yifeng agreed, his hands driving the car without hesitation, hitting the zombies blocking their way. Bumping and rattling all the way, the two first arrived at a farmers market. Xia Jiaojiao said excitedly, "Farmers market! Let's go inside. There must be seeds for sale."
— Yes.
Leng Yifeng found a place without zombies to park the car. Xia Jiaojiao put the car into her Space, and the two, armed with large knives, walked into the farmers market. As soon as they entered, the stench of decay mixed with the smell of blood hit them. In the dim hall, some zombies were wandering aimlessly, while others were tearing at something. Hearing the noise, their cloudy eyes all turned towards them, and they let out a "hoarse" growl from their throats. "Stay behind me." Leng Yifeng protected Xia Jiaojiao behind the door, gripping his saber with his right hand, faint blue electric light already appearing at his fingertips. He stomped his foot and lunged at the nearest zombie like a leopard. The blade, carrying an electric arc, slashed down. With a "zzzz" sound, the zombie's head instantly turned black and exploded, scattering pieces of flesh on the ground. Xia Jiaojiao, shrinking behind him, felt her heart pounding rapidly. However, she took advantage of the opening Leng Yifeng cleared to collect nearby usable supplies into her Space. She knew she couldn't help in combat and could only scavenge supplies as quickly as possible. The first shop sold grain and oil. She collected oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, seasoning packets, etc., from the shelves. Buckets of water, rice, flour, eggs, etc., along the wall, as well as many dried goods, dried mushrooms, wood ear fungus, kelp, etc. There were also many dried fruits and snacks: walnuts, almonds, dried mangoes, etc... She didn't take anything that had already spoiled in the freezers... Her hands moved quickly, but her ears were always listening to the movement behind her. Leng Yifeng was very fast at killing zombies. Thunder element formed a net of light around him, and every slash produced a "zzzz" explosion. The zombies' roars gradually weakened. The hall was left with only his heavy breathing and Xia Jiaojiao's rustling as she searched for supplies. Chapter 17: Encountering Difficulties
Xia Jiaojiao came to Leng Yifeng's back and said softly, "Okay, next one."
This farmers market wasn't particularly large. Many of the perishable vegetables in the vegetable selling area had already rotted. Moreover, so much time had passed, and someone had already come to search. Xia Jiaojiao could only casually collect some edible vegetables and fruits she saw along the way. Their main goal was the items in the shops. Although most of them were similar to the items in the first shop, they didn't mind having too much. They collected as many consumables as possible. Along the way, they collected many personal items, household items, handmade woven baskets, pottery utensils, toys, etc.
Xia Jiaojiao finally collected the vegetable seeds she had been thinking about, and even got other surprises. There were actually fruit tree saplings. Without time to examine them closely, she collected them all. At the seafood section, most of the seafood had already died due to lack of electricity and oxygen. They didn't pay much attention, and after collecting enough, they stopped. Xia Jiaojiao thought of the crystal cores in the zombies' heads and stopped Leng Yifeng, who was about to leave. "Brother, wait." Then, under Leng Yifeng's confused gaze, she walked to the corpse of a zombie that had half its head cut off. She put on gloves and began to dig into the zombie's head. Her movements were fluid and unhesitating. Leng Yifeng was surprised. "Jiaojiao, what are you doing?" Was she so hateful towards zombies that she wanted to vent her anger even after death? Xia Jiaojiao didn't answer, but her eyes lit up when she touched a crystal core. She took it out and saw it was a white crystal core. She excitedly showed it to Leng Yifeng. "Brother, look, this is a zombie crystal core. It's useful."
Leng Yifeng raised an eyebrow. "What's the use of this?" As he said this, he poked the crystal core with something from the side. It was small but very pretty. "People who awaken Supernatural Abilities can improve their strength by absorbing zombie crystal cores. Don't underestimate it." Xia Jiaojiao was a little displeased by his dismissive action. Oh well, ignorance is bliss. She took out another glove and threw it to him. "Quick, dig out every zombie and get the crystal cores."
Leng Yifeng obediently took the glove and put it on, asking confusedly, "Jiaojiao is so smart, but how did you know?"
She paused, then said righteously, "I told you to read more entertainment, but you never listened, always working and earning money. Of course, it's from novels!"
— Ah? Leng Yifeng's expression turned stiff. That was a perfunctory excuse.
— Oh, let's not talk about it anymore. Let's get back to business. She then pretended to be busy digging for crystal cores and stopped asking further questions. Fortunately, Leng Yifeng didn't ask any more questions. He squatted down like her, digging into the zombies' heads one by one. In the end, the two dug out 22 crystal cores, all white. "Not bad, keep them for me." Xia Jiaojiao was very satisfied. She put the crystal cores into her Space and dropped them into a basin filled with spirit pool water. Oh, speaking of which, the spiritual-type crystal core she soaked last time had undergone a qualitative change. The dense power inside had increased by more than double. Although Xia Jiaojiao was very curious about the changes after absorbing the crystal core soaked in spirit pool water, there was no one with spiritual-type Supernatural Ability around, so she had to suppress her curiosity. Now that she had white crystal cores that could be absorbed by any Supernatural Ability, her brother could test them first. Leng Yifeng, who was being treated as a test subject, was completely unaware of Xia Jiaojiao's thoughts. However, even if he knew, he would probably willingly try it. Because he knew she would never harm him, just as he would never harm her.
The two left the farmers market and stopped to search for supplies in places with fewer zombies. Along the way, they encountered other people who were also out searching for supplies, some alone, some in groups of two or three, or in larger groups. However, everyone tacitly went their own way, but their eyes were full of vigilance, and everyone feared that the other party would suddenly attack. When encountering people, Xia Jiaojiao didn't dare to collect supplies into her Space in front of others. The two just casually took some things and left. They didn't find a place that exclusively sold gas canisters, so they could only go into food shops they saw and take all the gas canisters. "There's a large electronics city ahead. There must be many generators inside." Leng Yifeng pointed forward.
— Let's go quickly. Xia Jiaojiao was impatient. She wanted to find a generator with low noise as soon as possible, otherwise she couldn't sleep in this hot weather. "Yes."
Perhaps because the electronics city didn't sell food, people's first choice in the apocalypse was to find food and drink. Therefore, there were many fewer zombies in such a large electronics city than they had expected. The two moved lightly, avoiding distant zombies. For those they couldn't avoid, Leng Yifeng would efficiently solve them with his saber. Xia Jiaojiao collected some of every type of appliance she encountered: air conditioners, refrigerators, washing machines, televisions, air purifiers, rice cookers, microwaves, ovens, gas stoves, etc... Anyway, her Space was large enough, so she wasn't afraid. Of course, they finally found the generators they were mainly looking for, collecting generators of different brands, sizes, and powers. They also collected various accessories and lubricating oil. Additionally, they found some machine oil and diesel fuel stored by the merchants, which was a pleasant surprise for them.
"I know there's a gas station nearby. Let's go there." Seeing that she had collected enough, Leng Yifeng suggested.
— Okay, that's all we need. I hope there's still some oil left. Xia Jiaojiao nodded, but her hope was not high. She was afraid it had already been looted by others. "It's okay, at worst I'll go to a few more gas stations, and there are many cars." Leng Yifeng wanted to pat her head, but seeing the dirt on his hands, he stopped. Xia Jiaojiao smiled. "Are you going to steal oil from cars?"
Leng Yifeng also smiled. "Yes, what are we taking now that isn't stealing?"
— Haha... That's true. Then let's take a couple of good cars if we see them, and even better if we find an RV... In the future, when we're constantly fleeing before reaching a base, we'll have to live outdoors. Having an RV would make things much more comfortable.
— Okay, Jiaojiao thinks of everything. "Yes, I know... Let's go, let's go." Xia Jiaojiao's face turned a little red. Her brother had always praised her unconditionally since she was young. After regaining the memory of their estrangement, she felt particularly awkward whenever he praised her now.
As they approached the gas station, the number of zombies began to increase. Both of their expressions turned serious. Xia Jiaojiao straightened her body and looked into the distance, frowning. "We can ram through, but it will definitely attract other zombies. You can't kill them all by yourself." Her ability was insignificant, and it was good enough not to be a burden to him. Leng Yifeng also saw the predicament and gritted his teeth. "If we don't ram through, we can't leave either. Let's ram through. If there are too many zombies, we won't stop and will just drive away."
— Okay, if this gas station doesn't work out, we'll try another one next time. Xia Jiaojiao didn't put pressure on him. Safety was the most important thing. Leng Yifeng glanced at her before looking back, a smile tugging at his lips. "Okay, hold on tight. Chapter 18: Asking for Help
As soon as Leng Yifeng finished speaking, his foot on the accelerator began to exert force. The car's engine roared like a beast as he floored the accelerator. More than a dozen zombies were blocking the front of the car, crouching and wandering. Hearing the noise, their cloudy eyes suddenly turned towards the speeding car. "Hold on tight!" Leng Yifeng's voice was carried by the wind. Xia Jiaojiao tightly gripped the handrail, watching the approaching zombie horde outside the windshield. The car, like an out-of-control iron beast, crashed directly into the zombie pile. The front of the car forcefully hit the chest of the first zombie. With a "crack," a bone-snapping sound, the zombie was sent flying backward, knocking over two of its companions behind it. Leng Yifeng didn't slow down. He sharply turned the steering wheel, crushing three zombies under the tires. The sticky sound of the tires crushing rotten flesh was grating. "Zzzzt—" The electric arc at Leng Yifeng's fingertips shot towards the car door. Blue electric light spread along the metal body of the car. The approaching zombies, as soon as they touched the car door, convulsed and sputtered, their charred flesh splattering onto the car window. Xia Jiaojiao, huddled in the passenger seat, watched Leng Yifeng shift gears and steer in one fluid motion, the car weaving through the zombie horde like a serpent. The car front smashed the lunging zombies, the wheels crushed scattered body parts, and occasionally, zombies that slipped through clung to the car door. Leng Yifeng would step on the brakes, use inertia to fling them off, and then step on the accelerator again to crush them. In less than half a minute, the zombies on the road leading to the gas station were scattered everywhere, some stuck under the car, some lying on the ground with only half a body left, and rotten blood flowed down the cracks in the road. The scene was bloody and terrifying. Xia Jiaojiao suppressed the urge to vomit, her face pale, and voiced her observations. "Zombies on the other side heard the noise and are coming this way. Judging by sight, there are more than twenty. There are about four or five zombies inside the gas station. You've used a lot of your Supernatural Ability, and it might be dangerous if you stay here..."
Leng Yifeng grunted. Combining her words with the number of zombies he saw, he decided to take a gamble. "We'll wait." He wanted to use the same method to kill the zombies coming from the other side. Even if it failed, they could still drive away. Xia Jiaojiao saw that he was relatively calm and her heart also steadied. "Okay." They didn't wait long before the zombies swayed over. Even the few zombies inside the gas station were attracted. Leng Yifeng rammed them in the same way. Xia Jiaojiao held her breath, feeling fortunate that their car was of good quality. She used to say her brother was obsessed with cars, but now she felt it was good that he was; not only was his driving skill good, but the car was also well-modified. Otherwise, a normal car would have broken down long ago with such treatment? They still had many cars in their garage, but none were as durable as this one. They would definitely need to replace cars often on the road, and Xia Jiaojiao now felt that collecting cars was urgent. "Screech..." The car's brakes screeched. Outside the car, only two zombies that couldn't get up were baring their teeth and struggling at them. Leng Yifeng breathed a sigh of relief. "Don't get out yet. Let's wait and see if any more zombies come."
Xia Jiaojiao nodded obediently. After waiting for a few minutes and seeing no zombies approaching, Leng Yifeng drove the car into the gas station. After parking, the two got out and walked towards the refueling area, each holding a box taken from Xia Jiaojiao's Space. Each box could hold about seventy to eighty jin of gasoline. Leng Yifeng took down the fuel gun and put it into the box. After operating it, gasoline began to flow out. Both of their faces relaxed into smiles. "There's oil! I'll go fill it up nearby." Xia Jiaojiao took a box and was about to go to the side. Leng Yifeng stopped her and took the box from her hand. "I'll do it. You stay here. When it's full, switch boxes."
Xia Jiaojiao felt it would take too long, so she took out three more boxes. "It's too time-consuming to wait like this. Brother, you take two boxes, and I'll take two, and we'll do it together." Leng Yifeng paused, then smiled. "Jiaojiao's idea is very good. This will indeed be faster. But I think it's best if you stay by my side. We'll do it one by one, it doesn't matter if it's slow." Although letting her refuel by herself wasn't far, he worried that zombies might suddenly appear, and he didn't dare to take that risk. Seeing his determined gaze, Xia Jiaojiao took a box and said, "Okay, I'll listen to you."
Then, Leng Yifeng was responsible for dispensing the oil, while Xia Jiaojiao was responsible for holding the boxes and observing their surroundings.