The group surrounded the elderly, the weak, the women, and the children in a protective formation, then opened the warehouse door.
The moment they stepped inside, Chen Xu stopped and signaled to his two companions. There was someone in the warehouse.
His mental ability made him particularly sensitive, allowing him to distinguish between humans and zombies.
The three immediately became alert. Sometimes, in the apocalypse, humans were even more terrifying than zombies or mutated plants and animals.
The warehouse was not very large, and one could see its entire interior at a glance. With the sun not yet fully set, the whole space was clearly visible, and there was no one in sight.
Their attention shifted to a small door at the back of the warehouse. The three exchanged glances, then quietly approached it.
Chen Xu gripped the handle while the other two positioned themselves on either side, ready to respond at any moment.
As soon as the door opened, a chair came flying straight at Chen Xu, followed by a bolt of lightning striking toward them.
Chen Xu had already been prepared. He dodged swiftly, releasing his mental power at the same time.
Ice had already formed in Liu Dong’s hands, ready to attack.
“Sis?” At that moment, a drowsy voice of a little girl came from inside the room, as if she had just woken up.
The woman beside her hurriedly covered her daughter’s mouth and looked toward the doorway in terror.
Everyone froze.
At the same time, the crackling of lightning grew louder, as if it could strike them at any moment.
“You’ve misunderstood. We just came here to rest since it’s getting dark. We mean no harm,” Chen Xu called out quickly.
Han Wei’s wife, along with Chen Xu’s parents and the three children, also stepped forward from the doorway.
Seeing the pregnant woman and the children, the people inside clearly hesitated, and the lightning around them subsided considerably.
“We’re very sorry to disturb you, but it’s getting dark and we can’t go much farther. Please believe us, we really don’t mean any harm. Could you let us stay for one night? We’ll leave first thing in the morning,” Han Wei’s wife said sincerely as she stepped forward.
The people inside remained silent.
“Forget it, don’t make things difficult for them. We might scare the children. Let’s go a bit farther and see if there’s somewhere else,” Mother Chen said.
Chen Xu and the others nodded. The whole family looked exhausted, but they did not press the matter and turned to leave.
Just as they were about to step out of the warehouse, the person behind them spoke again. “You can stay. There aren’t any safe shelters nearby.”
The voice clearly belonged to a girl.
After speaking, she closed the small room’s door, making it clear that the two groups would not interfere with each other.
Chen Xu and the others finally relaxed. Everyone was completely worn out, and they truly did not have the strength to look for another place.
They found a corner to settle down. Chen Xu and the others took out dry rations and a bottle of water from their bags.
Each person got a piece of the rations, and each could only take a small sip of water.
The three men discussed taking turns keeping watch through the night.
Meanwhile, inside the room, someone pressed her ear against the door, listening to the sounds outside.
“Qingqing, there are so many of them. Is it dangerous to let them stay?” The one who spoke was a frail-looking woman.
The girl called Qingqing was none other than Su Qingqing, who had only recently left Hope Town. She had brought her parents and younger sister out of the base, which had taken considerable effort. Fortunately, on her way back, she had found a van. It did not have much fuel, but it could still run for a while.
Traveling intermittently, they had spent two days reaching H City. The van had completely broken down, both from running out of fuel and from attacks by mutated plants.
Night had already fallen. They were still some distance away from Hope Town, so the family had no choice but to spend the night here.
“It should be fine. They even have a pregnant woman and children with them. If we force them out now, it would be sending them to their deaths.” Su Qingqing thought of the timid little girl in the group and the heavily pregnant woman, and in the end, she could not bring herself to be heartless.
The woman noticed the struggle in her eyes and gently patted her head. “If Qingqing says it’s fine, then it’s fine. We’ve already been a burden to you on this journey. I told you before, you should have just taken your sister. Your father and I don’t matter.”
“That’s not acceptable. We’re a family. We have to stay together,” Su Qingqing said firmly. Her family was her final bottom line.
“Big sister is amazing. She’ll definitely drive away the bad people.” The little girl clenched her fists, her eyes filled with trust.
After speaking, she took out half a flower roll she had been reluctant to eat, tore off a small piece, and put it into her mouth, narrowing her eyes in contentment.
The woman smiled gently and lovingly stroked her daughter’s head, silently hoping that the place her daughter described was truly as wonderful as it sounded. If so, their family would no longer have to live in constant fear, and her daughter would not have to struggle so hard for their sake.
“Big sister, is it true that the cute lady you mentioned can create food and let us live in a beautiful house?” the little girl asked, her voice full of anticipation.
Su Qingqing nodded. “It’s true.”
That night, the little girl fell asleep with a smile on her lips, dreaming of endless flower rolls and a tent that belonged only to their family of four.
The silence was broken the next morning by faint rustling sounds coming from far away.
“Mutated rats!” It was Han Wei’s turn to keep watch, and from a distance, he saw a large mass of black shapes rushing toward them.
His shout instantly woke everyone inside.
In the apocalypse, the smaller the mutated beasts, the harder they were to deal with, because they often appeared in groups.
Su Qingqing and her family also heard the noise. Their expressions changed drastically as they hurriedly gathered their belongings to leave.
A knock sounded at the door. Outside was Chen Xu. “There are mutated rats outside.”
Su Qingqing was momentarily stunned. She had not expected Chen Xu to come and warn them.
“…Thank you.”
Chen Xu did not say anything more and quickly left.
After packing up, Su Qingqing led her family out of the warehouse. Chen Xu’s group was already gone. Seeing the mutated rats drawing closer, her scalp tingled with dread.
Electric sparks flickered in her hand, and fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead. Over the past two days of protecting her family, she had sustained many injuries, though she had kept them hidden. The confrontation with Chen Xu’s group the previous night had already pushed her to her limits. Now, facing so many mutated rats, she felt even more powerless. She began to think about how to get her parents and sister to safety.
“Get in the car.”
Just as she was considering how to escape, a minibus honked in the distance. Chen Xu leaned out from the driver’s seat.
Su Qingqing did not hesitate for long. She brought her parents and sister onto the vehicle.
The bus sped away, while the mutated rats chased after them, drawn by the scent of flesh.
“Thank you,” Su Qingqing said after a brief silence, standing beside Chen Xu.
“Consider it repayment for your kindness last night,” Chen Xu replied with a faint smile.
Looking at the shadows still chasing behind them, Su Qingqing gritted her teeth, thought for a few seconds, and then said, “If you trust me, drive in that direction. There’s a town there where we can take shelter.”
Previously, she had not intended to reveal the town, as she did not want to bring unknown danger to Mayor Miao. But after seeing Chen Xu and the others’ actions, she believed they were not malicious people.
“A town? Where would there still be a safe town now?” Han Wei asked skeptically.
“I was planning to bring my family there from the start. I can’t explain everything, but as long as we reach that town, we’ll be safe. My family is in this car too. I wouldn’t joke with their lives,” Su Qingqing said calmly.
Chen Xu thought for about half a minute, then glanced at the fuel gauge. “Alright, we’ll go to that town.”
During his watch the previous night, he had siphoned some fuel from a nearby vehicle. If something went wrong, he could still drive everyone away.
Liu Dong opened his mouth as if to speak, but ultimately said nothing.
The people in the vehicle exchanged glances, their hearts filled with unease about the uncertain future.
With Su Qingqing guiding the way, the vehicle soon arrived outside the town. The words “Hope Town” seemed even brighter than when she had first seen them.
Su Qingqing’s heart pounded as the town grew closer. Her joy intensified. Finally, they were almost there.
“There really is a town,” Han Wei’s wife murmured.
At that moment, Miao Suisui was standing at the gate, looking outside through the railing. She had been wondering why Su Qingqing had not returned after several days, worrying whether something had happened to her on the way.
Just then, the roar of a vehicle engine sounded in the distance. Miao Suisui instantly perked up. Someone was coming, but who?
As the vehicle drew closer and closer, she could see that there were quite a few people inside.
The vehicle drove straight into the town, and Miao Suisui instinctively took a step back.
“S… system, you really can protect me, right?” she asked nervously.
“Yes, host. There is no need to worry about your safety,” the system replied patiently.
The moment the vehicle entered the town, the mutated rats behind it instantly lost their target.
The vehicle also could not move forward beyond a certain point, as if an invisible force was blocking it.
“What do we do? The vehicle won’t move!” Chen Xu shouted.
“Look behind us!” Liu Dong’s voice rang out in the cabin, almost cracking with excitement.
Everyone turned to look. The mutated rats were running around in confusion, as if wondering how their prey had suddenly disappeared.
Before Chen Xu could fully relax, he saw a girl standing in front of them.
She had fair skin and delicate features, wearing a Snow White-style pajama set. In her hand, she seemed to be holding food. She was looking at them with surprise.
“Mayor Miao,” Su Qingqing waved down at her. “I’m back.”
“Miss Su, so it’s you. You gave me quite a scare.” The moment Miao Suisui saw Su Qingqing, her heart settled.
Su Qingqing helped her parents out of the vehicle, and her younger sister followed behind.
“You should get out too. Mayor Miao has houses here for rent and food available. As long as you have crystal cores, it’s fine,” Su Qingqing said, turning back to Chen Xu and the others.
“Could this be a trap?” Liu Dong whispered into Chen Xu’s ear.