Soon, Qian Chuanchuan tossed the matter to the back of her mind. She looked out at the empty street through the window and began to worry about a more pressing issue—who was she going to sell the remaining thirty buns to?
“By the way,” she poked the system, “did those four people from yesterday actually promote my shop when they went back?”
“Why hasn’t anyone shown up yet?”
According to her plan, shouldn’t they have come galloping over the moment they heard there was a bun shop selling fresh, hot buns?
【Perhaps the base is quite far from here! Or maybe they felt it was unsafe to travel at night. After all, the agility of zombies at night is several times higher than during the day.】
Qian Chuanchuan rubbed her chin and thought it over, deciding that Sansan made sense.
Maybe they were already on their way.
She cheered herself up and patted her cheeks. “Yeah, I’ll wait a bit longer!”
The reality was exactly as the human and system duo suspected.
When Song Jin and the other three returned yesterday, they had indeed promoted for Qian Chuanchuan.
At first, no one believed them, until he produced two white, plump, and still-warm buns. Only then did some people inquire with half-doubts about where the shop was.
Song Jin: “It’s right at the corner of the commercial street on the east side of An City. A shop called ‘Satisfaction Guaranteed.’ They only take zombie crystal nuclei and gold. The prices aren’t expensive either; one crystal nucleus buys five buns, and one gram of gold buys three.”
The crowd immediately erupted into a frenzy.
However, some remained skeptical and stayed in a “wait-and-see” state.
After all, in the apocalypse, having enough food for oneself was already a blessing. How could anyone possibly bring food out to sell?
And at such a low price!
The portion of people who were skeptical but wanted to see for themselves originally intended to leave immediately. However, it was already late by the time Song Jin and his group returned. The city under the shroud of night was several times more dangerous than during the day—the zombies’ perception in the dark was stronger, and their movements were much swifter.
Consequently, they could only suppress their urgent feelings and endure the long night.
During this season, dawn came very early. At just after three in the morning, the eastern horizon was already tinged with a layer of hazy, grayish blue.
A dozen or so people were already fully equipped and ready. Carrying their weapons, they drove off toward the direction Song Jin had described.
At this moment, they were indeed on the road.
…
Back with Qian Chuanchuan, she was getting bored while waiting, so she turned around and made another thirty buns to fill the two empty steamer trays.
After the newly added thirty buns were fully steamed, she still didn’t see a single soul.
Just as she was about to take out her phone to play for a while.
Suddenly—
The roar of engines echoed from a distance, followed by the ear-piercing screech of tires braking hard.
Qian Chuanchuan jerked her head up.
“Someone’s here!”
Outside the window, three off-road vehicles parked crudely by the roadside. With a “clatter,” the car doors were pushed open, and over a dozen people stepped out. They scanned the surroundings with alert eyes before their gazes landed collectively on Qian Chuanchuan, who was standing inside the bun shop.
Qian Chuanchuan skillfully flashed a professional sales smile:
“Welcome to ‘Satisfaction Guaranteed’ bun shop! Would you guests like to buy some buns?”
The dozen or so people looked at each other, all somewhat surprised.
Yesterday, Song Jin and the others had only mentioned there was a bun shop here with cheap prices, but they hadn’t said who owned it, and the others had forgotten to ask.
To their surprise, it was actually a young girl!
Those who had cars in the apocalypse and traveled such a long distance were mostly ability users, so the people who came today were all ability users as well.
Now, seeing that the shop owner was merely a young girl, it was inevitable that some would feel a sense of contempt.
They felt that no matter how powerful a young girl could be, there was a limit. With so many of them, it was impossible that they couldn’t deal with one girl.
Thus, someone stepped forward to ask: “Are you the boss of this bun shop?”
Sensing the man’s dismissive attitude, Qian Chuanchuan didn’t get angry; she simply retracted her professional smile.
“Yes. Do you want to buy buns?”
“We’ll buy! We came here specifically for buns. But before we buy, shouldn’t you give each of us one to taste first to see if they’re actually good?”
At this point, another man stepped forward, looking Qian Chuanchuan up and down through the window with a greasy, disgusting gaze.
His mouth also spouted incredibly shameless words.
“Have you been having digestive issues lately? Did you accidentally crap out your brains?”
Qian Chuanchuan looked at the man, her expression turning completely cold.
The others behind him said nothing, nor did they stop him.
Clearly, they intended to watch and see how things played out.
After all, few people who survived the apocalypse were truly kind-hearted.
Moreover, they had come here specifically to test the waters.
If this boss had no real skill, they would make their move and take their share of the spoils.
If the boss turned out to be capable, they could use this chance to see just how strong she was.
After being insulted by Qian Chuanchuan, the man’s face instantly turned ugly.
He was a Level 4 fire ability user. A fireball immediately appeared in his hand, and he hurled it toward Qian Chuanchuan.
He didn’t forget to curse: “Damn it! You bitch, I think you’re looking for death!”
Qian Chuanchuan watched the man who had flown into a rage over a single insult.
Only four words came to her mind.
—Incompetent, impotent rage.
She watched coldly as the fireball drew closer, never moving an inch.
Regardless of what she was thinking inside, she couldn’t lose her momentum!
Besides, she had the system; what was there to fear?
The fireball suddenly slammed into a transparent barrier three inches from the window.
In the next second, the orange-red ball of fire flew back at an even faster speed, dragging a blurred afterimage across everyone’s retinas.
Boom!
A precise trajectory.
The fireball smashed directly into the man’s face, which was still twisted with anger. Amidst the scattering sparks, the sizzle of burning flesh could be heard.
The man had no time to react at all.
A blood-curdling scream rang out. The man clutched his face and fell straight to the ground like a charred log. The smell of burning mixed with the scent of roasted meat drifted in the morning breeze. His fingers remained in a clutching position over his face, and the beads of blood seeping from under his nails evaporated instantly in the high temperature.
The man was dead.
The entire scene fell into a deathly silence.
The man who had spoken first was now scared out of his wits.
He stood frozen on the spot, nearly wetting himself, his legs trembling uncontrollably.
It couldn’t be helped; he had been standing right next to the guy and felt like death had just brushed against his own face.
His attitude hadn’t been great earlier either—would he be next?
This girl had counter-killed a Level 4 ability user without even moving a finger. He was also just a Level 4 ability user. If she wanted to kill him, wouldn’t it be as easy as child’s play?
The more the man thought, the more terrified he became, and the more he thought.
Finally, he fell directly to his knees.
Qian Chuanchuan: “…”
Qian Chuanchuan ignored him, her inner thoughts somewhat complicated.
This was the first time she had killed someone… No, it wasn’t exactly her who killed him; technically, it was the system’s protective barrier that did it.
She didn’t feel the man’s death was unjustified; in fact, she felt he deserved it.
But from this moment on, she truly felt for the first time that she had arrived in the apocalypse.
Qian Chuanchuan quickly suppressed the complex emotions in her heart. Her gaze swept over the people who had been watching the show, her tone somewhat impatient: “Are you all going to buy or not? Don’t waste my time.”