Gu Xiangwan saw the eager expressions on the men’s faces and looked at Lin Ran with displeasure:
“Miss Lin Ran, why don’t you try persuading President Zhou? At a time like this, you should prioritize the bigger picture.”
She still couldn’t bring herself to call Lin Ran “Young Madam,” as it made her feel inferior, like she was her caretaker.
Using “Miss Lin Ran” seemed more equal, and she could accept that.
She continued:“Who knows what’s going on at Jingdem. This is the perfect opportunity for us to stockpile supplies.”
Lin Ran rolled her eyes at Gu Xiangwan.“What? You can’t sway Big Brother, so you come at me instead?”
“You think you’re the only one keeping the big picture in mind?”
“My Big Brother is far-sighted and strategic. I trust that whatever decision he makes is the best one for the moment.”
“Others are bullying us, and we’re just supposed to keep shrinking away?”
“You said it’s the apocalypse—why not be bold? What’s the point of awakening abilities if we’re just hiding in the villa waiting for a helicopter? Why risk nothing by venturing out?”
Lin Ran paused, letting her words sink in.
She wasn’t trying to cling to the male lead or curry favor.
She just understood the situation.
The male lead was right—the main gate was blocked by zombies, and who knew how long it would take for them to disperse?
Since they were idle anyway, it was better to deal with these people.
She was curious what abilities these people had to dare provoke hundreds of zombies.
She also understood that the male lead wasn’t just taking revenge—he was showing his subordinates that those who followed him wouldn’t be bullied.
If they had to swallow their pride before every thug, how would they survive in Jingdem, surrounded by aristocrats and talented survivors?
As she expected, Meng Yan, He Sheng, and Secretary Wang all looked excited.
Zhou Wangye glanced at Lin Ran, surprised at her passionate words.
He hadn’t expected her to say something so articulate.
Still, it felt good having someone on his side.
“President Zhou, let’s go now!” Meng Yan said, rubbing his hands together.
Zhou Wangye: “Not yet. Wait until they return.”
Everyone immediately understood his plan—the others would bring supplies back to the gate.
Then, both the people and their supplies could be taken in one move.
Sure enough, half an hour later, two SUVs emerged from the distribution center, one following the other, heading toward the main gate.
As they approached, their speed didn’t slow; in fact, they accelerated.
When they were about ten meters from the gate, the lead SUV shot out an ice spike, apparently trying to smash the gate.
So among these people, there was someone with ice-type ability.
That power could be fun—shaved ice in summer, ice houses in winter.
Most importantly, combined with water abilities, you could create something like “Thousand-Mile Ice Seal”—just thinking about it was exciting.
Not to mention, forming ice spikes for assassination made it even more dangerous.
Hm? Something’s off.
Why couldn’t she copy the ability?
Could her copying power have a limit?
Counting carefully, she currently had:
Male lead’s lightning and water abilities
Female lead’s space ability
He Sheng’s metal ability
Secretary Wang’s wood ability
Little brother Zhou Yi’an’s fire ability
That totaled six types of abilities.
Fine, if she couldn’t copy this one, so be it.
Don’t be too greedy.
Just as the ice spike was about to hit the gate, He Sheng used his metal ability to control a nearby car, smashing the ice spike.
The next moment, the second SUV shot flames toward the business car.
No wonder they were so brazen—there were two ability users among them.
Zhou Wangye controlled a water column to extinguish the fire.
They didn’t expect the business car side to have so many ability users and tried to escape.
Gu Xiangwan released a large stone from her space ability, blocking the car’s path.
They tried to reverse and hide back in the distribution center,
but Zhou Wangye struck lightning toward the rear of the SUV, stopping them.
A minute later, several people stepped out of the SUV.
The leader was a tall, muscular young man, about 17 or 18, all sinew and muscle.
“I’m Zhang Qiang, with ice-type ability,” he said.“I’m also the captain of this Ice-Fire Squad. Before the apocalypse, I was a fitness coach.”
“Everyone, we were wrong just now. We apologize. We’ll give you a third of our supplies—no, half, okay?”
He wasn’t truly sorry; he realized that if he didn’t apologize, he might die, hence the apology.
Previously, after dumping zombies on them, he had observed through the rearview mirror, noticing wood and metal abilities.
Compared to his ice and fire, he thought his side had the advantage.
Who knew they also had lightning, water, and space abilities?
So he had no choice but to get out and admit fault, hoping they’d spare them because of the supplies.
He also begged Zhou Wangye:“Could you let us join your team? We’re eight people total. The other six don’t have abilities but are strong; one is even a provincial martial arts champion.”
He recognized the man before him as their leader.
Everyone else obeyed this man’s orders, and the fact that he had dual abilities only strengthened their loyalty.
Zhou Wangye said nothing.
Lin Ran understood his thoughts.
The male lead would never let these strangers join, especially since their character was questionable.
Even though they had admitted fault and offered half their supplies, if he killed them now, his subordinates might think him cruel.
Perhaps sensing the storm in Zhou Wangye’s eyes, Zhang Qiang grew more fearful.
He realized he couldn’t be lenient today; his legs trembled.
Lin Ran was delighted—she could now copy Zhang Qiang’s ice ability.
She restrained herself, not copying it.
Knowing the male lead’s personality, Zhang Qiang wouldn’t survive.
She worried that if she copied the ice ability and he was killed immediately after, she didn’t know if the copied ability would disappear or stagnate.
She had read the original story—Zhang Qiang’s fate was to be killed by the male lead.
At that moment, Gu Xiangwan approached the male lead:“President Zhou, this is exactly the time we need people. Besides, we do need someone with ice abilities. Why not recruit them?”
Women are always women—always eager to show their sense of righteousness.
She didn’t notice that all these people looked hostile, none easy to get along with.
Even now, some dared to eye Lin Ran inappropriately.
Yes, Gu Xiangwan was deliberate.
She hadn’t intended to speak, but seeing Zhang Qiang’s subordinates sneaking glances at Lin Ran with obvious intentions, she persuaded the male lead to keep them.
Lin Ran, seeing Zhou Wangye still silent, grew anxious.
She didn’t want to join a team with these people.
She was just a mindless flower vase—whatever she said would seem reasonable to others.
So she spoke to the male lead:“Big Brother, they were scheming against us just now. If we really let them join, I’m afraid they’ll push me into the zombies.”
“You know it—zombies terrify me most.”
Hearing this, Zhang Qiang quickly looked up to refute her:“We wouldn’t…”
But then he saw a stunningly beautiful face, better than a celebrity.
With an incredible figure, holding her would surely feel amazing.
He secretly swallowed, thinking: If I could sleep with her once, it’d be worth dying for.