“I just can’t stand how she does nothing and still reaps all the benefits!”
With that, Wang Hui turned around and stormed off.
Watching her leave in anger, Ji Feng sighed.
“I’ll go check on her. She doesn’t mean any harm.”
Beside a roadside sign…
“Just hang in there a little longer, Wang Hui. We’ll reach Jiangyang City soon. Once we retrieve that batch of equipment, Wen Lan will return to the safe zone. She won’t be staying with our squad anymore.”
“I know. I just can’t stand how she keeps slacking off. Does she even realize how precious food is in the safe zone? People fight, cause trouble, even risk killing each other just for a single meal.”
“And what does she do? She casually trades the food she found for a useless children’s storybook!”
“So what if she has a great brother?”
Wang Hui was genuinely furious.
She had trained hard and defeated countless others just to earn a place on this team.
Joining the squad meant her family would have guaranteed support inside the safe zone.
But what about Wen Lan?
She clearly had no idea that everyone here was risking their lives searching for supplies.
The first time Wang Hui faced a zombie, she had been terrified too.
Terrified of being bitten.
Terrified of getting infected.
Every time they returned, they had to undergo a full—body inspection.
Even sleeping outdoors, she never had a peaceful night’s rest.
Wang Hui was still angry.
And more than a little jealous.
Jealous that Wen Lan had such a wonderful brother… and even the captain’s protection.
Meanwhile, Wen Lan accepted the two remaining energy pearls.
It was her first time seeing a pink one.
She quietly placed it into her space.
The space absorbed the pink energy pearl first.
All she had to do now was wait for the energy to return to her.
Their vehicles were beyond repair.
They had no choice but to continue on foot.
Wen Che glanced at Wen Lan worriedly.
Her physical condition was nothing like that of professionally trained special forces soldiers.
He wasn’t sure whether she could keep up with their pace.
Abandoned vehicles littered the provincial highway.
Zombie corpses were scattered everywhere.
Most of them had already been dealt with.
The zombies they encountered along the road had all been hacked apart.
Whenever Wen Lan sensed an energy pearl, she dug it out.
Along the way, she collected quite a few crystal beads.
Every blue one she found went straight to her brother.
Zhang Ye noticed that Wen Lan still had a red energy pearl in her hand.
“Little Lan… uh…”
He coughed awkwardly.
“Would you be willing to give me that red energy pearl? I’ll owe you one.”
There were simply too many zombie corpses along the road.
They couldn’t possibly smash open every single one to search for energy pearls.
Someone with Wen Lan’s sensing ability had an enormous advantage.
“Sure.”
She agreed without hesitation.
After all, he was her brother’s good friend.
“Haha!”
Zhang Ye grinned from ear to ear after obtaining the fire—element red energy pearl.
Zhou Wen noticed the green pearl still in Wen Lan’s hand.
After hesitating for quite a while, he adjusted his glasses.
He was wondering how to ask politely.
Zhang Ye had somehow managed to get one so easily.
“Miss Wen… would you be willing to give me your green energy pearl?”
“I’ll owe you one as well.”
Wen Lan didn’t think it was a bad deal.
Although the babies inside her space could absorb other types of energy pearls, she still hadn’t discovered what abilities they would return to her.
Maybe it was because they hadn’t absorbed enough yet?
“Okay!”
She nodded and handed the green one to Zhou Wen as well.
Having benefited from Wen Lan’s generosity, both men became noticeably friendlier toward her.
Since Wang Hui was the fastest, she went several kilometers ahead to scout the route.
A few minutes later, she returned riding a motorcycle.
She reported the situation to Su Han.
Time was running short.
“We’ll split up.”
They now had two motorcycles.
One belonged to Zhang Ye.
The other was the one Wang Hui had brought back.
Each motorcycle could carry one passenger.
“Wang Hui, take Ji Feng with you. Zhou Wen, come with me. We’ll head to the outskirts of Jiangyang first.”
They needed to locate the equipment and clear out the zombies.
Besides being a plant—element ability user, Zhou Wen was also a hacker and programmer.
“Wen Che, Zhang Ye, you two are responsible for finding a cargo truck.”
Wen Che checked the time.
“Let’s meet in Jiangyang City by six o’clock if possible.”
“Got it.”
The motorcycles roared to life.
Moments later, they sped away, leaving only the three of them standing amid the chaotic streets.
“There are usually plenty of cargo trucks along provincial highways. They’ll probably just need a little repair.”
Vehicle repair was one of Zhang Ye’s specialties.
After walking for more than an hour, they really did find a cargo truck parked beside the road.
“The engine still works. The tires have some problems. I spotted an auto repair shop back there, so I’ll grab some tools.”
Zhang Ye pointed toward the road behind them.
“Wen Che, just take these tires off first.”
“Okay.”
Zhang Ye left to fetch the tools.
Using the equipment from the truck’s toolbox, Wen Che began removing the enormous tires.
Each one was incredibly heavy.
“I’ll help!”
“Lan, don’t. Those tires are really heavy. You won’t be able to move them.”
“I don’t want you getting hurt again.”
Wen Che hurriedly stopped her.
To him, his little sister had always been someone he treasured and spoiled.
Wen Lan simply grabbed a tire with both hands…
And casually tossed it aside.
Wen Che froze.
“They’re not that bad. They’re not heavy at all.”
Each tire weighed at least dozens of pounds.
Wen Lan herself didn’t even weigh a hundred pounds.
Yet she had lifted such a massive tire with unbelievable ease.
He had spent nearly every day with his sister.
He had never once seen her train.
Energy pearls only enhanced supernatural abilities…
Didn’t they?
Watching her treat those heavy tires like toys, Wen Che was utterly stunned.
But more than surprise, he felt relieved.
The stronger his sister became, the safer she would be.
He had already decided.
Once they returned, he would personally teach her combat skills so she could protect herself.
Soon, Zhang Ye returned, dragging a cart loaded with tools.
The two men worked together repairing the cargo truck.
Meanwhile, Wen Lan found herself with nothing to do.
After the babies absorbed more crystal beads…
Her sensing range had expanded to twenty—five meters.
More than an hour later, the repairs were finally complete.
“Why do I smell barbecue?”
Zhang Ye was already drooling.
“Brother! Here!”
He turned and saw Wen Lan holding two freshly grilled chicken drumsticks.
“W—Where did those come from?”
Wen Lan didn’t want to reveal her spatial storage.
“Isn’t there a little convenience store over there? I found them.”
At that moment, Zhang Ye wasn’t interested in where the drumsticks had come from.
He only wanted to know one thing.
Would he get one?
“Wen Lan… you know, your brother and I are comrades.”
“We’ve fought together on the battlefield.”
“And I’m a few years older than you.”
“Could your big brother have just one bite?”
For the sake of barbecue, Zhang Ye had completely abandoned his dignity.
“Give you one?”
Wen Lan frowned slightly.
She had spent quite a while grilling these.
“But I’m just an insignificant ability user who’s more of a burden than anything else.”
With that, she took a big bite out of her drumstick.
The skin was crisp.
The meat inside was tender and juicy.
Delicious.
Even though it had been frozen, it was still wonderfully flavorful.
Humans really were meat lovers.
Just eating meat made her feel much happier.
The squad usually only had sausages.
How could those compare to freshly grilled chicken?
As soon as she bit into it, the rich aroma spread through the air.
Zhang Ye felt as though he’d been struck by culinary heaven.
His mouth flooded with saliva on its own.
It smelled incredible.
Absolutely incredible.
“Who said you’re useless? I’ll fight anyone who says that!”
“Da Che! Da Che!”
“Say something nice about me to your sister!”
“From today on, I’ll be her godbrother!”
“All right, Wen Lan. Give him one.”
Wen Che had already noticed the extra giant drumstick she was hiding behind her back.
Wen Lan finally took it out and handed it to Zhang Ye.
Ignoring the heat, Zhang Ye took a huge bite.
The crispy skin cracked.
Hot, juicy meat burst with flavor.
Only after finishing the grilled chicken did the three of them continue their journey.
Along the way, Wen Che and Zhang Ye were responsible for killing zombies.
Wen Lan was responsible for locating the energy pearls.
“Brother, this one’s in the head.”
“Zhang Ye! This one’s in the chest!”
The three of them divided all the energy pearls equally.
“I’ll just take the red one. You two can keep the rest.”
After receiving Wen Lan’s giant chicken drumstick—and with her pinpoint guidance letting him retrieve energy pearls with a single strike—Zhang Ye had saved a tremendous amount of effort.
Now he was much more generous toward her.
Though one thing still puzzled him.
Whenever they were traveling in the truck…
Wen Lan was either listening to music or telling stories.
And every single one was a children’s story.
They were so soothing that he nearly fell asleep listening to them.
Wen Che also noticed his sister’s unusual behavior.
Had the apocalypse traumatized her mentally?
Once they returned to the safe zone, he planned to have a proper talk with her.
Passing through a small village, they found very few residents left.
Only elderly zombies shuffled about slowly.
“Brother, I need to use the bathroom.”
“Ahem…”
Wen Che didn’t think much of it.
Zhang Ye, however, looked rather embarrassed.
“All right. Just don’t go too far.”
“Take your weapon.”
Wen Che reminded her.
Things were different now.
Danger could appear at any moment.
Wen Lan nodded eagerly and hurried off.
The truth was that her enhanced perception had detected something.
Sure enough…
She found a hidden cellar in the village.
When their truck had driven past, she had expanded her sensing ability.
To her surprise, the cellar was filled with sweet potatoes.
She really had incredible luck.
She quietly transferred more than half of the sweet potatoes into her space.
Only after that did she return to call her brother.
“What kind of luck does your sister have?”
“She finds frozen chicken legs at a convenience store, then goes to the bathroom and discovers a hidden cellar?”
Zhang Ye couldn’t help sounding envious.
The military had already searched most of the provincial highways for supplies.
Only the cities remained largely untouched because there were too many zombies.
Especially a cellar this well hidden.
It would have been almost impossible to find.
Soon, three large baskets of sweet potatoes were loaded onto the back of the cargo truck.
Wen Che knew perfectly well that his sister had secretly stored plenty inside her own little space.
Not only would he never expose her…
He would help keep her secret.