…
“Xiong Ji, the brothers are staying upstairs. We can get in touch anytime.”
Zhang Jiaqi and Niu Weiwei seized this once in a lifetime opportunity to strike up a conversation.
Niu Weiwei smiled sweetly.
“Um… Hello, big brothers~ Are you putting together a team? Can I join?”
Zhang Jiaqi quickly chimed in.
“That’s right. It doesn’t look like your team has any women. I’m only twenty two, I’m still very young!”
The mercenaries had seen countless stunning beauties before. They casually looked the two women up and down.
Although the early days of the Apocalypse had already left them looking exhausted and worn, it wasn’t hard to tell from their features that they were indeed fairly attractive.
Still, Xiong Ji was their leader, so they had to ask for the boss’s opinion.
From beginning to end, neither Xiong Ji nor the other three spared the women a single glance. Instead, they spoke coldly to the men standing before them.
“You all know we’ve never formed teams with anyone else. How about this? We’ll only establish a cooperative partnership.”
The men opposite them fell silent for a moment. Realising Xiong Ji was offering them a compromise, they exchanged glances before narrowing their eyes with smiles once more.
“Alright, alright. We know your rules. Cooperation it is. Deal.”
Seeing that they had agreed, Xiong Ji had no interest in wasting more words. He simply nodded and shut the door.
As the mercenaries headed back upstairs, the last man in line whistled at Niu Weiwei.
“Pretty girl, if we need anything, we’ll come looking for you.”
Zhang Jiaqi and Niu Weiwei knew they had successfully made a connection. Delighted, they nodded repeatedly while putting on their most charming expressions.
It wasn’t until two hours later that Jiang Xun finally carried his little sister out of the Small World.
The other three took one look at his thoroughly satisfied expression and immediately knew what had happened.
Qin Shuo’s face darkened as he strode over and snatched the girl from Jiang Xun’s arms.
Jiang Xun had already gotten what he wanted, so he didn’t stop him.
“Did you settle things with them?”
Xiong Ji nodded. Li Tong had been thoroughly exhausted all day.
She just wanted to rest, curl up in a corner, and watch television.
Unfortunately, they gave her no such opportunity…
…
The heavy rain continued for another half month.
The violent winds had finally stopped, while the floodwaters had risen to the sixteenth floor.
At last, a faint trace of light returned to the sky, and it was no longer so dark that one couldn’t see a hand in front of their face.
The corridor gradually became filled with quiet movement once again.
Knock, knock, knock!
Qin Shuo, who had been kissing his little sister while holding her in the living room, immediately carried his precious girl into the bedroom.
The other three already knew why the visitors had come.
“Xiong Ji, the wind’s stopped, and we’re almost out of supplies. Want to head out and search together?”
They had no reason to refuse, so they nodded in agreement.
“We’ll get ready first. Give us a moment.”
The men outside nodded, and Nan Qi closed the front door before heading into the bedroom.
The weather was unbearably hot, and Qin Shuo drank large mouthfuls of water to quench his thirst…
Cough!
As time passed, they had gradually begun accepting the arrangement of sharing her together.
Even so, seeing it with their own eyes still made their hearts ache.
Nan Qi walked over and kicked Qin Shuo, who was kneeling on the bed.
“It’s your turn to go out. Hurry up and get lost.”
Qin Shuo frowned, his face full of irritation. He shot Nan Qi a glare, wiped his face with one hand, picked up the shirt lying beside the bed, and walked out.
Nan Qi locked the bedroom door behind him…
Outside, more than a dozen fully armed mercenaries had already assembled.
“Where’s Brother Nan?”
Jiang Xun answered calmly.
“One of us is staying behind to guard the house.”
The others nodded before shouldering their equipment and heading downstairs.
The residents shrank against the walls the moment they saw them, not daring to make the slightest sound.
With their specialised training, the group moved swiftly and efficiently. Their equipment was complete, and in no time at all they had successfully launched across the floodwaters.
The rain was still falling, but at least it was no longer a torrential downpour.
Given their experience and skills, travelling under these conditions was still manageable.
Since there was no wind, each inflatable boat had a large umbrella fixed above it, completely shielding the boat beneath.
Very few buildings still rose above the water now, but the group had thoroughly familiarised themselves with the area’s layout beforehand.
They didn’t waste a second wandering aimlessly, instead paddling directly toward their destination.
Eventually, they stopped beside a large shopping mall.
Around it, every imaginable means of transport had been tied up.
There were boats, inflatable rafts, floating platforms made from plastic bottles, crude rafts assembled from large sheets of foam, and countless other improvised vessels.
The sight only made everyone work faster.
After securing their inflatable boats, they immediately entered the building.
Working with disciplined efficiency, they split into teams of four and spread out to search the enormous shopping centre.
Jin said, “Xiong Ji, let’s check upstairs.”
All four of them had long legs and moved with remarkable speed. Before long, they had reached the staircase and climbed to the next floor.
There were already quite a few people there.
The moment the survivors saw them, they were visibly startled.
Once they noticed the firearms, they scarcely dared to breathe.
The newcomers were tall and powerfully built, dressed entirely in black with their faces covered and intimidating equipment strapped to their bodies.
Anyone searching for supplies could immediately tell they were not people to provoke.
Fearful yet unable to look away, everyone instinctively fixed their eyes on the four men.
This floor sold clothing.
As the group approached, the other survivors hurriedly stepped aside.
Jiang Xun pulled several large bags from his backpack and handed them to Jin.
Jin smiled faintly.
“Thanks.”
Jin was twenty five years old, older than all four brothers.
He had consistently ranked among the top three mercenaries in the Ghost Guild.
Unlike most, he preferred working independently, forming temporary teams depending on the difficulty of each mission.
Back on the battlefield, the five of them had looked out for one another.
Clothing wasn’t their priority, so they only grabbed two or three pieces before continuing upstairs.
The next floor was the food section, where the other mercenaries had also gathered.
The shelves were in complete disarray, with scraps scattered everywhere across the floor.
It looked as though the place had been utterly ransacked.
There wasn’t much left.
Whether the food was still edible no longer mattered.
With a sweep of their long arms, they stuffed everything they could into their bags.
The people nearby all retreated to the side.
Faced with over a dozen black clad mercenaries, no one dared make a move.
Forget trying to steal supplies.
Simply avoiding being robbed themselves was already a blessing.
Xiong Ji quietly counted their numbers.
There were still thirteen of them.
Not one more. Not one less.
Jin sighed. “No water. We can filter it, but we can’t keep drinking it like that forever.”
Qin Shuo laughed.
“Oh? Back in the trenches, you even drank urine. Now you’re suddenly so refined?”
Jin burst into laughter.
They packed so much food that, after looking over the mountain of supplies, they decided the inflatable boats had reached their limit.
Only then did they finally stop.
Xiong Ji looked at everyone.
“Let’s send one group back with the supplies first, then come back for another trip.”
It made perfect sense.
Supplies were incredibly precious, and no one knew when the disaster would end.
With so much lying right in front of them, no one was willing to leave it behind.
The mercenaries immediately agreed and decided to transport everything in rotating trips.