Mu Li waited in the apartment for roughly half an hour before Yue Suran finally returned. Had she delayed any longer, Mu Li would have marched right out the door to look for her.
“Ranran, why did you take so long? I was just about to go out and search for you.”
“Lili… I got the Boss killed. Sobbing~”
Up until now, Yue Suran had forced herself to stay completely composed in front of Ye Liangfeng, but inside, guilt was eating her alive. If not for her reckless impulse, Ye Liangfeng would still be living safely and soundly through the apocalypse. Why should he have to pay the ultimate price for her rashness?
“What happened? What’s wrong?”
Patting Yue Suran’s back with a soothing, worried hand, Mu Li offered her own shoulder as a comforting harbor since she didn’t yet know the details.
Sniffling, Yue Suran recounted everything that had just transpired. She had hurried back simply to brief Mu Li, intending to head right back out afterward to check the local steakhouse for any edible cuts of meat.
“No way! Going out there by yourself is far too dangerous—I’m coming with you.”
The moment Mu Li learned of Yue Suran’s plan, she rejected it flat out. If anyone was going out, she was going too. She had just traveled from the direction of the steakhouse herself, so she knew better than anyone just how perilous those streets were.
When she first set out, things hadn’t been too terrible since most people were still too terrified to step outside, leaving only scattered pairs of wandering zombies. Even so, anyone who lingered for even a moment was bound to draw a swarm. Under those conditions, she couldn’t possibly let Yue Suran venture out alone.
Though she deeply disagreed with Yue Suran taking such an insane risk over something as trivial as finding steak for Ye Liangfeng, she couldn’t just let her go alone.
“No, I can’t let you put yourself in danger. Just wait for me at home.”
Yue Suran had no desire to drag Mu Li into her reckless venture, but she once again underestimated her best friend’s stubbornness.
“Ranran, listen to me. You’re the only family I have left in this apocalypse; I don’t trust anyone else. Wherever you go, I go.”
Having witnessed the darkest sides of human nature long before the apocalypse, Mu Li was actually among the first to mentally adapt to the new world order. She meant every word—if there was anyone in this entire world whose back she could trust implicitly, that person was Yue Suran.
“Alright, fine. But if danger hits, you run as fast as you can and don’t look back at me.”
Catching the resolute determination in Mu Li’s eyes, Yue Suran finally relented. Even if she refused, Mu Li was clearly determined to tag along anyway. Rather than splitting up, traveling as a duo was the safest way to avoid unnecessary mistakes.
“That’s the spirit! Don’t worry, I can handle zombies too.”
Mu Li’s apartment was quite a distance away from this residential compound, meaning she couldn’t have possibly avoided running into the undead along her journey. Since Mu Li had managed to reach Ye Liangfeng unscathed, and they had successfully found Yue Suran together, she clearly had her own survival methods.
Checking her watch, Yue Suran noted that if they grabbed shared bicycles, they could reach their destination in under twenty minutes under good conditions.
Securing her backpack and locking the door behind them, Yue Suran and Mu Li moved with extreme caution all the way to the compound’s designated bicycle parking spot.
“Ranran, when did you learn such a wicked skill behind my back?”
Seeing Yue Suran effortlessly pick the lock of a shared bike, Mu Li finally understood why her friend had deliberately taken a detour over here.
Bicycles were infinitely better than cars. Along her journey here earlier, Mu Li hadn’t noticed any severe traffic gridlock, making bicycles the absolute most convenient mode of transport imaginable.
“I’ll explain later. We need to move fast.”
The sun would set shortly after six o’clock; they needed to be back by five at the latest, or the streets would become entirely too dangerous.
“Got it!”
If the situation hadn’t been so grim, Mu Li would have cheered out loud. Just look at how awesome my best friend is! An apocalypse like this actually makes things kind of exciting.
Along the route from the residential compound to the steakhouse, scattered groups of zombies could still be spotted here and there.
However, the movements of these zombies were far too sluggish. Often, by the time the monsters realized living humans were passing by, the two women were already long gone.
Still, they wouldn’t be able to take this exact path on their way back. A considerable crowd of zombies had already begun drifting toward their trail. Taking the same route back wouldn’t be a mark of bravery—it would be pure recklessness.
Perhaps because luck was on their side, it took them only a little over ten minutes to reach the entrance of the steakhouse.
“Wait, I’m certain there wasn’t a car parked here earlier.”
Mu Li couldn’t speak for other vehicles, but this bright red Ferrari was impossibly eye-catching. If it had been parked here when she passed by before, there was zero chance she would have missed it.
Before Yue Suran could reply, a man and a woman walked out from inside the steakhouse.
“Yo, looks like someone out there has even bigger guts than me.”
“Who are these two anyway? How could they ever compare to you, Young Master Li?”
“Hey, how about you two come home with this young master? I can protect you—as long as you lie down nicely and obey me. Pretty great deal, don’t you think?”
Li Ming pulled the woman beside him into his arm, ignoring her wince of pain as he groped her with brazen disregard.
The apocalypse sure is great, he thought. He could do whatever he wanted now. Before all this, Jin Jiayan had been snobbish and picky, looking down on everyone, but look at her now—submissively begging for his favor and doing whatever he demanded.
“Not interested. Please move out of the way.”
Mu Li felt thoroughly disgusted just looking at Li Ming’s eyes. How had a scumbag like this not been eaten by zombies yet?
“A lady’s request? Of course I won’t refuse. After you,” Li Ming said magnanimously, stepping aside to clear the path behind him. He simply refused to believe these two could go on ignoring him for long.
“Is there something wrong with that guy’s head?”
The more Mu Li thought about it, the weirder it felt. That guy hadn’t looked like a reasonable person at all—why had he yielded the path so easily?
“That guy just now was named Li Ming. His dad owns a supermarket chain—the biggest one in our city, in fact.”
Yue Suran had seen Li Ming and his father on TV before. Back when their main supermarket first opened, they had run heavy promotional ads for over a week straight. She had even gone there to buy discounted items during the grand opening.
“Oh, now that you mention it, I remember! No wonder he looked so familiar!”
She figured as much—no one except a filthy-rich playboy would dare drive around so ostentatiously in a sports car right now. The gas consumption alone was a nightmare, not to mention how easily the engine noise attracted zombies. People like him were either courting death or had a massive safety net backing them up.
“Forget about him. Let’s quickly pack some supplies and get back.”
Noticing that Mu Li was still dwelling on Li Ming, Yue Suran urged her to focus on stuffing their bags so they could make a quick retreat. She couldn’t shake the feeling that the look Li Ming gave them was sinister, and they needed to stay on guard.
Hearing this, Mu Li agreed and immediately quickened her pace.
Seeing Yue Suran packing a blowtorch, Mu Li gave up on taking only raw food. Since the power grid was out and cooking was impossible without fire, having a blowtorch meant they could actually enjoy a hot meal.
Once both of their backpacks were stuffed to the brim, the two prepared to make their exit.
Right at that moment, the roar of an engine revving came from outside.
“What’s going on?! Is Li Ming crazy? Doing that is just going to lure every zombie in the area straight to us!”
“Let’s go outside and check.”
The moment Yue Suran saw Li Ming’s bright red Ferrari waiting out front, she instantly knew what scheme he was pulling.
“So, how about it? Want a ride?”
Li Ming smirked smugly at the two of them. Anyone with half a brain would know which choice to make. Besides, he had already slashed the tires of those two shared bicycles earlier.
If they wanted to live, they would have to beg him.
And he was going to stand right here and wait for them to bend the knee.