“So just because she’s pregnant, she doesn’t have to go? Well, I’m on my period. Does that mean I get a few days off too?”
Zhang Meng complained unhappily.
“Is it just because she has a powerful brother that she gets special treatment?”
“That’s right.”
The usually silent Su Han finally spoke.
“If you also had a powerful brother who could bring food back for you, then you wouldn’t have to go either.”
Su Han rarely spoke, but whenever he did, every sentence left people speechless.
Zhang Meng’s face immediately darkened.
“Brother, just let me go.”
Wen Lan wanted to go for two reasons.
First, she didn’t want to make things difficult for her brother.
Second, her storage space had doubled in size, and she needed to stockpile supplies.
The longer she waited, the fewer supplies would remain.
Wen Che still refused to let her take the risk.
“Wen Che, come with me.”
Su Han pulled Wen Che aside.
Wen Lan had intended to use her perception ability to listen in on what Su Han was going to say.
Instead, an invisible, untouchable psychic barrier appeared around them.
My senses are being blocked?
What are they talking about that’s so secretive?
About ten minutes later…
Su Han returned with Wen Che.
Wen Che’s brows were still tightly knit, and he clearly looked reluctant.
“Wen Lan, you’ll go out with us once every three days.”
Su Han said calmly.
Wen Lan’s eyes lit up.
She could finally go out and gather supplies.
She still needed to prepare baby necessities.
Although Wen Che wasn’t happy about it, Wen Lan quietly explained her reasons to him.
After thinking it over, he could only agree.
He simply resolved to keep an even closer eye on her whenever they went out.
This time, Zhang Meng had no excuse left.
Even a pregnant woman was joining the mission.
She had no choice but to grit her teeth and go as well.
Still, after today, she’d only have to go once every three days, giving herself two days to rest between missions.
She was quite satisfied with that arrangement.
Now that her brother had agreed, Wen Lan could head out with the team that very day.
“Don’t worry. Your honorary big brother will definitely protect you.”
“She already has a real brother.”
Wen Che frowned and replied coldly.
“Today’s destination is a food processing factory. It’s quite far away—over an hour’s drive.”
Most scavenger teams started by searching the county first.
There were fewer people and fewer zombies, making it relatively safer.
Vehicles were limited, so everyone squeezed into one of two modified seven—seater vans.
Zhang Ye drove.
Su Han sat in the front passenger seat.
Wen Che kept hold of Wen Lan.
“You have to stay alert at all times, understand?”
“I will.”
Across from them sat Zhang Meng.
After what had happened, she was too embarrassed to even look at Wen Lan.
People were selfish.
Everyone fought for their own interests.
Wen Lan understood that.
After all, there was a saying:
“Every man for himself.”
By now, Wen Lan’s perception ability had expanded to a fifty—meter radius.
“Stay close to me.”
Wen Che remained extremely protective of his sister.
Zhou Wen noticed the small bag hanging across Wen Lan’s chest.
Inside was the specially made flowerpot holding the Fo—Ti plant.
His ability was plant manipulation.
He could stimulate plant growth and control plant energy.
Yet after only a few days, the energy emanating from Wen Lan’s Fo—Ti had become noticeably stronger.
He had carefully nurtured his own little orchid, but it hadn’t changed at all.
He was beginning to doubt his own abilities.
Still, he felt too embarrassed to ask Wen Lan how she was taking care of her plant.
So he kept stealing glances at her.
As a result, Wen Lan constantly felt two different kinds of attention on herself.
One was someone’s gaze.
The other was someone’s psychic probing.
“…”
Clunk… clunk…
The van suddenly made a series of strange noises.
A second later, black smoke poured out from beneath the hood.
Bang!
Flames burst from the engine compartment.
Thick black smoke immediately billowed upward.
Wen Che instantly released a massive sphere of water, extinguishing the fire before it could spread.
“Cough… cough…”
Everyone hurried out of the vehicle.
The fire had spread frighteningly fast.
Had Wen Che not reacted in time, the entire van would have been engulfed in flames within seconds.
The doors might even have warped from the heat, trapping them inside.
“The engine’s blown.”
Zhang Ye sighed.
Nowadays, cars were consumable resources.
Every vehicle lost was one less available.
They would have to search for another one.
Otherwise, even if they found supplies, they wouldn’t be able to transport them back.
That was one of the reasons they went out scavenging every single day.
“Without a vehicle, how are we supposed to collect supplies?”
“Even if we make it to the factory, we won’t be able to carry anything back.”
Wang Hui frowned.
The biggest problem was that losing their transportation would delay everything.
“The nearest place to us now is Qingmou County.”
“We’ll look for another vehicle along the way.”
“We’re heading toward Qingyuan County.”
Zhang Meng immediately grew nervous.
“Qingyuan County? There must be a lot of zombies there.”
“What are you afraid of?”
“Your Mist Barrier can hide us from zombies.”
“Out of everyone here, you’re the one who should be least afraid.”
Wang Hui shot back without hesitation.
Wen Lan realized Wang Hui argued with practically everyone.
She always looked dissatisfied with somebody.
Wen Lan simply shook her head.
The Dragon Nation had a massive population.
Even a small county held hundreds of thousands of people.
Considering that most had turned into zombies…
One could imagine just how many zombies remained.
Fortunately, the mysterious fog had appeared at night.
Most people had been inside their homes.
Large cities were the exception.
Their nightlife was much livelier.
County towns and villages were much quieter after dark.
The group had no choice but to continue on foot.
From time to time, zombies suddenly appeared along the road.
With Wen Lan accompanying them this time, extracting energy crystals from zombie bodies became much faster.
“These zombies are changing too.”
Their bodies had become noticeably tougher.
After walking into the county, they discovered a motorcycle dealership.
Everyone siphoned gasoline from abandoned cars and filled several motorcycles.
They were soon ready to ride.
Wen Che took Wen Lan.
Ji Feng rode with Wang Hui.
“Zhou Wen, over here.”
Zhou Wen shot Zhang Ye a helpless look before climbing onto the back of Su Han’s motorcycle.
“Zhang Meng, hop on.”
Zhang Ye didn’t dislike her.
She was just a young girl.
“Thank you, Brother Zhang.”
Zhang Meng thanked him sincerely.
Still, when she looked toward Su Han, disappointment flickered across her face.
At eighteen, it was the age of dreams and romantic fantasies.
Su Han was handsome, powerful, and the team captain.
He naturally had an irresistible aura.
Wen Che was gentle and refined…
But he was completely obsessed with his sister.
Ji Feng was older and had a five—year—old son.
Zhou Wen looked like a stereotypical science nerd—awkward and absent—minded—always carrying a flowerpot wherever he went, just like Wen Lan.
Wen Lan was even more exaggerated.
She had come out scavenging during the apocalypse with a pot containing nothing but a withered tree stump hanging from her chest.
Although Zhang Ye had a scar across his face, he was humorous.
To Zhang Meng, he was the most normal man on the team.
Traveling by motorcycle was much faster.
Even so, Wen Che didn’t dare ride too quickly.
Rumble…
A deep peal of thunder suddenly rolled across the sky.
“It’s going to rain.”
They sped toward the county.
Su Han led the group in front while using his psychic ability to monitor their surroundings.
Zhou Wen held a miniature tablet displaying a nationwide map.
About twenty minutes later, they arrived at a supermarket.
Several dried corpses still lay outside the entrance.
Thunder continued rumbling overhead.
Yet the rain stubbornly refused to fall.
The air, however, had become unbearably oppressive.
“Brother… there’s something wrong with the air.”
After her perception ability evolved, Wen Lan could clearly sense even the tiniest particles floating around her.
Something unfamiliar was mixed into the air.
“The air?”
“You’ve got to be kidding.”
“If there were something wrong with the air, we’d all be dead.”
Wang Hui frowned.
Wen Lan said nothing.
She simply sensed an unknown substance drifting through the atmosphere.
Quietly, she covered her own nose and mouth.
She motioned for her brother to do the same.
“Everyone, head into the supermarket first.”
“Clear out the zombies as quickly as possible.”
“Yes, Captain.”
Once Su Han gave the order, no one argued further.
“Lanlan, wait here.”
“Come inside only after we’ve finished clearing the zombies.”
“Okay.”
“I… I’d like to stay here too.”
Zhang Meng frowned.
She was afraid of zombies.
Wang Hui looked at the two of them with undisguised contempt.
She had thought that after returning to the safe zone, she’d finally be rid of the useless Wen Lan.
Instead, they had gained an even more useless teammate.
Wang Hui had completely given up.
She decided she’d just focus on collecting her own supplies.
“Fine, fine. Stay here.”
“Captain, just let Zhang Meng wait outside.”
“She’s only a young girl and doesn’t have much fighting ability anyway.”
Zhang Ye was mainly worried she’d follow him around and become a burden.
The last few times he’d taken her out, everyone else wisely kept their distance.
Only Zhang Meng insisted on sticking to him.
Whenever she saw a zombie, she either screamed or threw up.
And she would randomly activate her Mist Barrier.
Not only could the zombies no longer see anyone…
Neither could the rest of the team.
The entire battlefield turned into complete chaos.
“Whatever.”
Su Han replied indifferently before heading inside to eliminate the zombies.
Soon, only Wen Lan and Zhang Meng remained outside.
“Sister Lan… I really didn’t mean what I said before.”
“I really am terrified of zombies.”
“Mmm.”
“Sister Lan… I honestly didn’t know you were pregnant.”
“Mmm.”
“Sister Lan… why do you always carry that flowerpot around?”
Wen Lan: “…”
She was about to be driven crazy.
She had originally planned to take advantage of everyone clearing zombies inside the supermarket to loot the nearby shops.
Instead…
Zhang Meng kept chattering nonstop in her ear.
ROAR!
Wen Lan suddenly spotted a huge tiger standing atop an abandoned car.
No…
It should be called a mutated tiger.
Its fur was completely gone.
Only wrinkled, shriveled skin covered its body.
Its pale gray eyes bulged unnaturally from their sockets.
“A… a mutated beast!”
“Ahhh!”
Zhang Meng’s trademark three—stage scream.
With Zhang Meng around, Wen Lan’s ability suddenly didn’t seem quite so useless anymore.
The next instant…
Dense white mist exploded outward, covering the entire area.
This was Zhang Meng’s ability.
Within the mist, only Zhang Meng herself could see clearly.
Terrified, Zhang Meng hurriedly retreated.
The mutated tiger had originally charged toward the sound of her scream.
But the sudden fog caused it to lose its sense of direction.
Thanks to her perception ability, Wen Lan could still clearly sense everything around her despite the mist.
She immediately sprinted toward a nearby shop.
This was the perfect chance to shake Zhang Meng off.
Zhang Meng ran straight into the supermarket.
The moment she entered, she canceled her ability.
The fog outside quickly dissipated.
The mutated beast immediately spotted Wen Lan.
With one tremendous leap, it lunged toward her.
By then, Wen Lan had already entered the shop.
The tiger smashed through the glass entrance in an instant.
Shards of glass scattered across the floor.
ROAR!
The shelves inside collapsed with a deafening crash.
Wen Lan rolled across the ground, narrowly avoiding the flying debris.
But she was still a fraction too slow.
A shard of glass grazed her cheek.
A drop of blood trickled down, landing on the flowerpot hanging against her chest.
The black Fo—Ti absorbed that single drop of Wen Lan’s blood.
Its entire body suddenly gleamed with a dark luster.
The exposed portion of the Fo—Ti unexpectedly began to grow.
Wen Lan only felt a brief sting across her face.
The wound healed almost immediately.
The mutated tiger’s roar echoed through the shop, vibrating in her ears.
Wen Lan pulled a military dagger from her storage space.
It was the weapon that had been issued to her earlier that day.
The cold touch of the metal helped restore a measure of clarity to her mind.