110 - Cinderella’s Dream: Together Forever

In the early afternoon, around 2 PM, Yi Yi cruised through the streets of Funan City, searching for something. Chen Wan sat beside her, helping with the lookout. Their camper van now boasted three mechanical arms, significantly easing their encounters with zombies. While driving, Yi Yi detoured to the river that runs north-south through Funan City, refilling the camper van's 11,200-liter water tank to its brim. Once refueled, Yi Yi steered the van back onto the main roads. After nearly forty minutes of searching, Chen Wan spotted an abandoned goods recycling company in the suburbs. "Look over there," Chen Wan pointed at the company across the street. "It seems to be quite a large operation." "Yeah, the yard is big, and there's a warehouse. It doesn't look like just any ordinary scrap yard; let's take a look inside," Yi Yi replied with a smile. It seemed their lengthy search was finally paying off. They drove into the recycling company's yard and parked the camper van not far from the warehouse. Chen Wan noticed that perhaps due to its suburban location, the yard wasn't teeming with zombies. She called their four-person team to disembark, leaving Jiang Wan Ning to stay behind with her parents in the van to look after Zai Zai. Equipped with handguns and machetes provided by Chen Wan, the group prepared to face whatever awaited them. Five or six zombies noticed their presence and charged towards them, but the small group of undead was hardly a challenge for Chen Wan and her team. She and Yi Yi advanced on the zombies with confidence. With her skills in melee combat significantly enhanced, Chen Wan lashed out, sending a zombie flying with one kick and swiftly beheading two others with her blade. Her speed was a blur, leaving Jiang Yan Xin and the others watching in awe. Yi Yi, being at Level 4 along with their Level 4 camper van, dispatched her own trio of 1-2 level zombies with ease, neatly decapitating them before conducting a quick perimeter check with Chen Wan to ensure no further undead approached, then moved towards the warehouse. Motioning for the rest to follow, Chen Wan called out to Jiang Yan Xin and the others, "All clear. Let's see if there’s anything useful in the warehouse." "Be careful, everyone," Jiang Yan Xin cautioned. Just as Yi Yi approached the warehouse, she glanced at the main building, her eyes landing on a window on the sixth floor. "Stay alert; there are people in the building—quite a number, maybe ten or more." Thanks to the camper van's upgraded scanning range of 80 meters, Yi Yi could detect life forms within the building. Chen Wan glanced at the building. "Let's focus on the warehouse first. As for whoever is in there, as long as they don't interfere with our search, it’s fine." Nodding, Yi Yi followed Chen Wan into the warehouse. Meanwhile, on the sixth floor, Dong Zi watched Chen Wan's group with clenched teeth, speaking to Zhang Qiang. "Boss, doesn't that vehicle look like the camper Chen Wan was driving in Wei Bei City? And those figures, two of them resemble Chen Wan and Jiang Yan Xin." Zhang Qiang's face darkened as he responded, "Whether it's that waste Chen Wan or not, barging into my turf is unforgivable. They won't leave here alive." The group, having previously resided in Wei Bei City, moved towards Funan City after hearing broadcasts about a survivor base. Equipped and heavily armed, they arrived at the city a day or two before Chen Wan's group, intending to establish themselves at the base. However, a zombie attack forced their retreat, and they decided to make the recycling company their stronghold. Zhang Qiang chose this location wisely—it was near the outskirts, with fewer zombies, and the company contained a variety of useful materials, from expired food and drinks to steel tools. Nestled beside a main road, any survivors seeking refuge would swiftly fall prey to Zhang Qiang's crew. "As for inside here, there are still expired biscuits and wine," Dong Zi noted. "Boss, we need to intercept them quickly. If it is Chen Wan, that van is bad news. We must prevent them from returning to it," the bespectacled man urged. "What do you know? The boss isn't intimidated by a few women. Not now," Dong Zi snapped at the guy in glasses. Zhang Qiang, his gaze fixed outside, coldly instructed, "Shut the yard's gate. Lock these dogs in. If they've walked into our trap, we'll catch them all. Arm up and follow me downstairs." His crew lacked firearms, having surrendered them at the base. They relied on the machetes scavenged from the site. Noticing Chen Wan's group was similarly equipped, Zhang Qiang felt reassured, confident in his remaining ace up the sleeve. "Let’s go capture those women," Dong Zi urged, grabbing his machete. Leading his team out, Zhang Qiang sneered, "If it really is Chen Wan, once we subdue them, we can have our fun. Don’t hold back." "You’re the best, boss," laughed the man with the afro. "Since we left the base, we haven’t had much fun." "That’s right, following the boss is like having an emperor in the apocalypse, much more reliable than those base officers," chimed in a punk with red hair, quick to flatter. Zhang Qiang, hearing the flattery from his underlings, couldn't help but smile. Wrapping his arm around Sun Yue Jie's waist, he turned to his gang. "If that day ever comes, you’ll be the greatest heroes by my side." While Zhang Qiang's team puffed themselves up, Chen Wan's group entered the warehouse. Without electricity, they threw the doors wide open. Yi Yi retrieved several flashlights from their compressed storage for convenience. Chen Wan swept her flashlight through the warehouse shelves, illuminating items such as old magazines, knives, and clothes. Qin Ke, who was moving quickly, called out from deeper within. "Chen Wan, come see, I found some steel!" The group hurried over to see entire shelves, and the aisles too, filled with steel. "Is this enough?" Qin Ke asked Yi Yi, excitement and nervousness evident in her voice. "It’s plenty!" Yi Yi replied, glancing at a shelf stocked with metal alloys. "This company is well-organized, everything categorized neatly, making it easier for us to find what we need." "Let’s start packing," Chen Wan said as she moved to grab some supplies. Yi Yi looked towards the main entrance. "No rush; someone’s headed our way, probably looking for trouble." Chen Wan and her group also looked outside. She set down her pushcart. "We'll head over, deal with the trouble, then load up." Qin Ke nodded eagerly, driven by her longing to see Yan Yan again. As Chen Wan's team stepped out, Zhang Qiang led his gang towards them, having locked the yard's gate tightly, forming a trap. Upon exiting, the two groups caught sight of each other from several meters away. Chen Wan momentarily paused, surprised to see Zhang Qiang, not expecting to encounter this scoundrel here. Equally surprised, Zhang Qiang sneered arrogantly. "Chen Wan? Well, well, well, my efforts in Wei Bei City weren’t fruitless after all. I searched for you and Jiang Yan Xin for days, and here you are. Heard you killed a bunch of my guys? Let's see how a waste like you can do any killing." Chen Wan's expression remained calm as she replied, "I didn’t expect to see you here either. Saves me the trouble of hunting you and your scum down; every one of you deserves to die." "How dare you speak to the boss like that, Chen Wan?" the henchman with red hair spat venomously. "The boss will be the emperor of this apocalypse..." Before he could finish, Chen Wan and her team burst into laughter, Chen Wan shaking with amusement at the absurdity of it all. The red-haired man, seeing Chen Wan and her group unfazed and even laughing, was thoroughly incensed. "What are you laughing at? Am I wrong?" Chen Wan chuckled, speaking between fits of laughter, "If you’ve got a problem, go get it treated. The lot of you think you can become emperors? That's why some men remain naive until the end." "You dare speak to the boss like that? You'll be begging for mercy soon enough," the red-haired man continued to argue with Chen Wan and her group. Feeling his earlier bravado diminish, Zhang Qiang waved the red-haired man silent. Despite the brief satisfaction, it was starting to feel a bit ridiculous. Suppressing his anger, Zhang Qiang feigned a gentle demeanor as he spoke, "Chen Wan, here's the deal—I’ll give you, a so-called 'waste', a chance. If you take your darling to my bedroom right now, I might just spare your life. Otherwise, things won't end well for you or your friends. See these guys behind me, this group of Alphas and Betas? You three might just end up... exhausted to death." A man with an afro gleefully added, "An Omega we grabbed at the Funan base couldn't handle more than five of us before she kicked it. I wonder if you could last any longer? While you might have two Alphas, we don't discriminate against beauty—even if you two are Alphas. The prettier, the more thrilled we get, and your fate could be even worse than hers." Qin Ke clenched her fists first, finding these scum unworthy of being called human. Zhang Qiang, seeing Chen Wan's group silent, assumed she was scared again. He smugly turned to Jiang Yan Xin, "What's wrong, Chen Wan? Weren't you just tough-talking? Why so quiet now? Afraid again, just like before? Thinking of handing your wife over to me? I still remember you pleading for me to let you go—pathetic. I'll count to ten. If you don't willingly bring her to me, my guys will act." With that, Zhang Qiang brazenly began counting down, "10, 9, 8..." Chen Wan, considering the building tension, decided that it was the perfect time to make her move.