Li Yang noticed that everyone seemed to revolve around Ji Heng and take him as the center. It was clear that Ji Heng was the leader of this group.
He gritted his teeth and stepped forward to greet them. “Hello, I’m Li Yang.”
Although he said “you all,” it was obvious he was speaking to Ji Heng.
Ji Heng didn’t mind. Seeing someone take the initiative to greet him, he simply nodded.
Seeing that Ji Heng barely acknowledged him, Li Yang felt a little embarrassed, but in this apocalypse, what use was face?
He continued, “The thing is, a few of us are heading to B City. If I wasn’t mistaken, there should be supplies in the convenience store earlier. Could you spare some for us?”
Lu Jingze frowned upon hearing that the others wanted supplies. Supplies were precious now—they weren’t something to give away casually.
And they had just asked for them outright. Why should he hand anything over?
“What will you give in exchange?” Lu Jingze asked bluntly.
“You… you… there’s so much in a convenience store, and you can’t even use it all yourselves. Can’t you spare a little for us?”
Luo Xun, standing nearby, couldn’t hold back and spoke up in protest.
“No.”
“You…”
“Luo Xun.”
Li Yang whispered to stop him from saying more. They hadn’t even gotten the supplies yet. If they antagonized the group now, there would be no hope at all.
Ji Heng thought for a moment. Traveling to B City with a bodyguard team, the journey these past two days had shown him that they couldn’t reach it quickly.
If that were the case, by the time they arrived, the situation there might have already changed completely.
Along the way, expanding the team meant that, even if trouble arose later, they would have some ability to protect themselves.
“Are you an ability user?”
As Li Yang and Lu Jingze were in a standoff, he had just been about to say something more when their leader suddenly asked him.
“Yes, I’m a fire-type, but my power is limited for now.”
Li Yang noticed that Ji Heng’s gaze swept lightly across him, as if inquiring about the others.
“They’re all non-ability users, but they’re agile. They’ve been fighting zombies alongside us the whole way.”
Li Yang understood immediately what mattered most now. In this apocalypse, if one had no value, one could be discarded in an instant.
“Our supplies aren’t given away lightly. You could consider joining our team and become one of us.”
Li Yang didn’t expect such a stroke of luck from a casual inquiry.
Of course, he agreed without hesitation. The group had relied on each other for survival all along, and seeing the world in chaos, he felt anxious.
This team seemed powerful. With a strong organization to rely on, why not? He had no ambition to be a leader anyway.
“I’m willing.”
Li Yang agreed immediately, glancing at the other three.
Luo Xun, Chen Jing, and Xu Xiaoyan were all non-ability users. Seeing Li Yang’s agreement, they naturally had no objections.
“We’re willing too.”
Li Yang quickly introduced everyone to each other.
Seeing that their boss intended to take new members, Lu Jingze relaxed his guard and stopped being so aggressive.
As the introductions continued, everyone shared their names, and they began to recognize each other’s faces.
“Tian Le, give them some food, one backpack each.”
With a thought, Tian Le produced backpacks filled with supplies from the spatial storage, handing one to each of them.
“Pack the supplies fully each day, in case anyone gets separated.”
“Thanks.”
“Rest for ten more minutes. If nothing else comes up, we’ll continue on.”
Ji Heng made the decision. They still had to quickly find a hotel to rest for the night.
The night was dangerous; staying outside wasn’t wise.
Later, Li Yang realized just how powerful the team he had joined was. Every member was an ability user, and their abilities were clearly stronger than his.
Earlier, seeing that he was the only ability user in the car, he had felt proud—at least in some respects, he was special.
Now, seeing Ji Heng’s entire team consisted of ability users, even a child who had just learned to walk, he nearly collapsed inwardly.
Were ability users so worthless in this apocalypse?
Li Yang nearly collapsed in despair, and Luo Xun and the other three non-ability users felt even worse. Why were they non-ability users?
Actually, the number of ability users was naturally far smaller than non-ability users.
Ji Heng’s team members simply had good physical conditions; their potential had just been awakened.
Li Yang and the others could only consider themselves extremely lucky to encounter such a team. As for despair, in comparison to survival, it was trivial.
Ten minutes later, Ji Heng’s group got back in their vehicles and continued on.
In the car, following the pre-downloaded apocalypse maps on the tablet, Ji Heng instructed the route over the radio.
“About 100 kilometers ahead, there’s a hotel. Everyone, full speed ahead.”
They could hope to go full speed, but whether they could was another matter.
As they left the city center, traffic eased, and the scattered zombies of Western Zhou were fewer.
After joining the team, Luo Xun and the other non-ability users no longer felt as anxious as before.
Having a powerful backing gave them a sense of security, making survival feel more achievable.
The three weren’t clueless. Whenever help was needed, they actively participated.
They joined in fighting zombies, taking tools to clear the way, confirming that, as Li Yang had said, they were fairly agile.
Together, they cleared debris and zombies along the road, occasionally moving obstructing vehicles. Hours of travel passed quickly.
Finally, as dusk fell, they arrived at the hotel.
The hotel sign, long unmaintained, no longer lit, and Western Zhou lay in darkness.
Through the faint light on the windows, they could see that someone must still be living inside.
“Open the door, we’re staying here.” Lu Jingze pounded and shouted inside.
“No room. Leave.” A man’s voice came harshly from within.
“This is polite first, then force. If you don’t open, I have plenty of ways.”
Lu Jingze responded politely. After all, if the door broke and zombies got in during the night, it would be far from pleasant.
“Hurry up and leave.”
“Fine.”
He no longer wasted words. Placing his hand on the doorknob, he concentrated his supernatural ability. With its output, the lock began to deform slowly.
Moments later, the door loosened and could be easily opened with a slight push.
The people inside didn’t expect the door to open so easily, without even the sound of breaking.
They were frozen at the doorway, staring in disbelief.