At one in the afternoon on the second day after Xue Qi arrived at Wen Jiuya’s house, the three of them finally had the chance to sit down properly and talk about what had been happening recently while eating lunch.
Because Wen Qiao had overslept, she had only gotten up at eleven. It was only after Wen Qiao said she was starting to cook and called her to get up that she finally got out of bed.
As a result, when Wen Jiuya came out, the two of them were already sitting quietly in the living room.
One of them was dressed in a printed teal-green slit qipao, with a white shawl embroidered with gold threads draped over it. On her ears were translucent jade-green jade earrings, and on her feet were original green slender high heels with a subtle shimmer.
She leaned against the sofa, quietly reading a book. She looked gentle and refined—though it would have been better if the book’s title hadn’t been The Overbearing CEO Falls in Love With Me.
【Qing Man】: A qipao with a shawl.
superpower: Wood-type, poison controllable. Suggested attack methods: wooden arrows, binding, cages…
Defense: max.
Jade earrings: food production max.
Green shimmering high heels: every inch of land is precious; can bring “life” in desperate situations, turning uncultivable land fertile and plantable.
The other person was no longer dressed in yesterday’s all-black outfit, but instead wore a gray hoodie layered with a baseball jacket, black wide-leg pants, and a pair of black chunky sneakers.
He lowered his head, holding a worn cloth as he wiped a blade—a Tang saber of seemingly good quality. It had already been polished to a bright shine, yet he was still wiping it. What a poser!
His hanging hair covered his eyes, giving him a cold and ruthless appearance, like the protagonist of a hot-blooded shonen series.
Wen Jiuya lowered her head to look at her own outfit—a cute green dinosaur pajama set, slippers on her feet, and a mouse-shaped headband she wore while washing her face still perched on her head.
Ahhh!
A groundhog-like scream echoed in her heart.
“You’re isolating and excluding me!” she said before running back to her room.
Xue Qi glanced at Wen Jiuya, then turned to look at Wen Qiao.
Wen Qiao didn’t even lift her head and continued reading her novel. “It’s fine, she’s just going to change clothes.” After thinking for a moment, she realized the meal was ready, but there didn’t seem to be any juice that Xiao Jiu liked.
She put down her novel and went to the kitchen to make some fresh juice.
When Wen Jiuya came out again, she was wearing an adorable blue Lolita outfit, with Mary Jane shoes on her feet. Her hair was braided into a neat small plait, with a pearl hairpin clipped to the left side.
This outfit was very particular, Wen Jiuya thought.
Xue Qi’s style today was “cold high school guy,” Baby Qiao Qiao’s style was “gentle and refined Republican-era shop owner,” and as for herself—she would be the returned-from-overseas young lady.
Perfect.
Seeing that Wen Jiuya was ready, Wen Qiao brought out the dishes and arranged them on the table, along with the freshly squeezed juice.
When Wen Jiuya saw that more than half of the dishes were her favorites, she gave Wen Qiao an adorably cute, coquettish expression.
Everyone picked up their chopsticks and began eating, while continuing the conversation they hadn’t finished the night before.
“Everything’s completely chaotic now—not just order, but even some basic moral boundaries. We can’t count on national rescue anymore.”
“As if you needed to say that. Before you came, Baby Qiao Qiao and I already dealt with a group of people,” Wen Jiuya said, rolling her eyes after swallowing a mouthful of food.
Xue Qi ignored her and continued, “In just one week of the apocalypse, the country has already suffered heavy damage. It’s not just civilians—there are zombies within the military as well. Because of their physical strength, they’re much harder to deal with than ordinary zombies, and their levels are higher too.”
Wen Qiao nodded. “I understand. That’s why the country hasn’t sent rescue—it’s already overwhelmed.”
“Exactly.” Xue Qi picked up some food with his chopsticks. “The reason I came so late is because I got some internal information. The country, along with some aristocratic families and wealthy individuals, has established several bases. Right now, the four major bases are: Base No. 1 in the Capital City, the Exemption Base in Fu Jiang, the Yunlai Base in H City, and the Minqi Base in C City, which is closest to us. Aside from these four large bases, there are also various smaller bases of different scales.”
Wen Qiao thought for a moment. “We can’t stay here much longer. I heard explosions this morning when I woke up. What are you thinking?”
Xue Qi replied, “Head north. Go to Base No. 1 in the Capital City. It was built with the large villa district of the Imperial Capital as its center, expanding outward for a thousand li. It’s directly under the Central Government and the Military Region, with complete facilities and strict regulations. Right now, it’s widely recruiting all kinds of talent.”
“It stands in stark contrast to the other three bases. The Exemption Base in Fu Jiang and the Yunlai Base in H City are privately built.”
“The Exemption Base was established by several aristocratic families in Fu Jiang. Most of the management consists of people from those families, and recently there have been quite a few ridiculous incidents due to management issues.”
“In contrast, although Yunlai Base is also a private base, it was established by Bai Gu, a rising business figure in H City. Its management consists of one of his uncles, two other uncles, and his pre-apocalypse assistant, Yang Shu. So far, it’s being managed fairly well—no major mistakes—but how it will develop still depends on the future.”
“As for the Minqi Base in C City, which is closest to us, it’s clearly a base formed spontaneously by civilians for safety, eventually led by Lin Han, the highest-level individual.”
After listening carefully, Wen Qiao said, “That works. But if Base No. 1 makes Xiao Jiu and me uncomfortable, we’ll move out.”
Xue Qi nodded. “Of course. It’s very far to Base No. 1—we’ll be traveling for a long time, and we’ll encounter many bases along the way. We’ll need to enter them.”
“On one hand, to evaluate potential places to settle in the future; on the other, to rest and replenish supplies during the journey.”
“Although I know about your superpower, Qiao Qiao, it’s not convenient to use it openly outside. The apocalypse has just begun—if it’s too overpowered, it will attract unwanted attention.”
“The place we’re heading to now is the nearest base to us.”
After he finished speaking, Wen Qiao had already eaten her fill. She put down her chopsticks, took a tissue, and wiped her mouth. “Alright. No time to waste. We leave at four this afternoon.”
The other two didn’t ask for Wen Jiuya’s opinion, because in the past, whenever they decided where to go for fun, it had always been the two of them making the decision—then informing her.