The crossbow was actually somewhat heavy, and Ruan Zhe didn’t know how to use it. So Fu Yinli stood behind her, supporting her hands, teaching her how to aim before shooting.
He could tell she really wanted to learn. That was why, even after hearing movement earlier, they hadn’t shown themselves immediately—but the bastard smashing their car window was truly unbearable.
Ruan Zhe fired without hesitation. The fear she had of killing someone in her heart began to collapse as well. Even though the man wasn’t dead, she had still pulled the trigger.
The man fell to the ground. The little boy who had been hiding nearby bolted away in an instant.
Truly a case of “fatherly love and filial devotion.”
Fu Yinli stepped forward, stepping on the man’s back as he pulled the bolt out. The bolt was precious—they needed to recover it whenever possible.
“This car really has suffered…” Ruan Zhe felt even more heartache for the RV. It had only been used a few times, and already it looked like this.
It was battered and broken, no longer resembling a brand-new vehicle at all.
But they couldn’t stay here long. Where there were living people, there would be zombies.
The area around the wet market wasn’t just next to shopping centers—it was surrounded by residential buildings, mostly older housing complexes.
No one knew what might be hiding inside those apartments.
The man on the ground wasn’t quite dead yet. The blood was washed away by the heavy rain, and his groans were barely audible.
Heavy rain had many downsides, but also a few advantages. Zombies weren’t afraid of water, but their movement was still affected. By instinct, they preferred dry areas where they could move more easily—unless they detected humans, in which case they would disregard everything.
As for how zombies detected living beings, it might be sound, or scent—but both were heavily masked by rain.
Even the sound of their vehicle was drowned out.
They didn’t plan to head into the residential buildings either; those places might already be full of zombies inside each household.
After leaving the wet market, they moved away from the residential area and found a small pharmacy by the roadside.
The pharmacy was next to a courier shop. People usually picked up medicine and parcels at the same time before heading home.
Unfortunately, the courier shop had little left, and even the small pharmacy looked like it had been looted.
In times of crisis, no one was foolish—they would all try to secure food and medicine first.
For example, cold medicine and fever reducers were almost gone. They only managed to get one or two boxes. The rest were swept directly into Fu Yinli’s backpack—he didn’t even check what they were, just scooped everything in.
Then the two quickly crossed to a hardware store opposite. This turned out to be an unexpected windfall.
It had also been looted, but since many things were still useful, and they were planning to build up their farm, the two of them simply took everything they could.
Common hand tools: wrenches, screwdrivers, pliers, hammers; measuring tape, utility knives, scissors, saws, levels, and squares.
Small parts they would need for building fences: screws, bolts, nuts, washers, expansion plugs, various nails, rivets, cable ties (nylon), springs, and spacers.
Plumbing supplies: faucets, hoses, drainage fittings, sealing tape, glass glue, plugs, tees, elbows, shower heads, and pipe connectors.
They also took some electrical supplies, along with locks, door and window fittings, paints, adhesives, and auxiliary materials.
Finally, they grabbed household cleaning supplies and basic protective gear.
They didn’t take everything from every shop. Seeing the mother-daughter pair earlier, and the father-son duo just now, they knew there were still survivors nearby.
They would never underestimate anyone just because they had a “golden finger.”
As soon as Ruan Zhe got into the car, she pulled all the curtains open. The window smashed earlier by the man had been patched by Fu Yinli using two boards.
But inside the RV, she still felt like there was a draft somewhere. With rain this heavy, she worried it would leak inside.
The brand-new vehicle—now already a “broken little car”—moved slowly through the rain.
Why not find somewhere to take shelter? Because they didn’t know when the rain would stop. In fact, it seemed to be getting heavier every day, as if each day was the “lightest” rain it would ever be.
Using the rain as cover, they still wanted to gather more supplies. But in the city, it was far more dangerous than in the forest.
Not even two kilometers after leaving the wet market, their vehicle had already attracted the attention of zombies.
From the seemingly quiet residential areas, zombies rushed into the rain, chasing after the car and trying to cling onto it to devour the two humans inside.
Ruan Zhe, having exhausted herself from collecting supplies, sat in the car holding her weapon, watching the waves of zombies through the open window.
The rain slowed their movement slightly.
“Hold on,” Fu Yinli said.
He made a sharp turn into a street, only to crash head-on into a zombie. He kept the accelerator down and simply rammed through.
With visibility limited, they could only try to drive through areas with fewer buildings.
If they wanted supplies, they had to enter the city. If they wanted safety, they had to head to remote areas—it all came down to a choice.
And they weren’t even familiar with this city at all.
With zombies chasing behind them, they couldn’t even tell direction. The rain made them nearly crash several times. Only after shaking off the zombies did they slowly reduce speed.
They passed a funeral home and a crematorium before leaving the busy district, eventually driving into a half-open gate and stopping near a sheltered area.
They first observed from the car—no one appeared. There was only a single building with a crooked sign that read just one character: “Fishing.”
The rest of the signboard was missing.
They got out with weapons and searched the entire place. No people. Everything inside was old and dilapidated; even the furniture was in poor condition.
This place was an abandoned fishing park.
The owner had likely shut it down long ago.
Inside, they saw a small body of water with fishing platforms along the shore. Further out were pavilions, and opposite them were rows of crumbling brick buildings, many already collapsed.
But the tackle shop still had fishing rods, lines, nets, and landing nets. Though most were too old, they still managed to salvage some usable ones.
In the rest area, there were long tables and benches, which Ruan Zhe stored into her farm.
The water area itself was relatively well preserved, separated by floating buoys and nylon ropes, with wooden signs listing fish species.
“Are there still fish here?” Ruan Zhe asked. Their raincoats did little against the downpour; both were already soaked through.
She wiped her face, trying to see if anything was alive inside.
But with no one maintaining the place, the chances of fish surviving seemed low.
Fu Yinli handed her a landing net. He was also completely drenched. “Try it first.”
Before he even finished speaking, Ruan Zhe closed her eyes and scooped into the water—
Then she suddenly cried out.
Of course, it wasn’t because she caught a fish.