134 - Cinderella’s Dream: Together Forever

After breakfast, the sky showed no signs of clearing. Chen Wan looked worriedly at the winding mountain road not far away. "Can we drive up there in this weather?" Yiyi responded reassuringly, "As long as we're careful, it should be fine. If the rain keeps pouring down endlessly, it'd be more dangerous to stay where we are." "Alright then, let's drive slowly." With a large truck towed behind the RV and the challenging mountain road ahead, they had no choice but to proceed cautiously. Chen Wan sat beside Qin Ke, staying vigilant by constantly observing their surroundings. Jiang Yanxin and Jiang Wan Ning were keeping Zai Zai and the dogs company. Chen Wan had distributed crystal cores to everyone, ensuring that even the dogs each had a daily supply of ten crystal cores. Jiang Yanxin and the others were busy feeding the dogs with them. Zai Zai had already finished his share and was watching eagerly as his mom and aunt fed the dogs. Though tempted, he knew that this was the dogs' meal and contented himself with watching. An hour later, they successfully descended the mountain road. As they approached the entrance of the expressway to Quanzhou City, a long line of vehicles blocked their path. However, the advanced RV could absorb and store these smaller cars. Chen Wan and Yiyi collaborated using three mechanical arms to gather all nearby small cars and over ten big trucks into the system. In total, they collected 710 small cars and 18 large trucks. Combining with their previous haul, Chen Wan now had 2,031 small cars and 256 large trucks in stock. Qin Ke drove the RV into Quanzhou City without issues, but the eerily quiet streets lined with buildings seemed shrouded in gloom — possibly due to the persistent rain. Gradually, zombies, drawn by the commotion, started surging towards them. Chen Wan furrowed her brow at the sight. While dealing with the approaching zombies with the mechanical arms, she also kept an eye on the refrigerated truck behind them. Current circumstances prevented them from ramming zombies as they had done before. Making sudden stops or starts could cause the large truck following them to crash into the RV, which was far from ideal. Jiang Yanxin had already considered this problem. While speaking to Yiyi, who was driving, she began flipping through an ancient Greek picture book. "Yiyi, try to lure in more zombies. I'll use my powers to harvest some crystal cores," Jiang Yanxin suggested. Unlike before, the situation was now different with the 10 tons of octopus meat loaded in the truck behind them. She didn’t want the meat tainted by the scent of zombies. "Okay," Yiyi agreed, sounding the RV’s horn. The piercing noise ripped through the air like thunder, breaking the surrounding silence. The rhythm of chaotic footsteps grew denser, alerting both Chen Wan and Jiang Yanxin. Those with stronger mental abilities had heightened senses of their surroundings. Even Zai Zai, lying on Hua Hua, sat up, pointing outside with pursed lips, "Mommy, there are bad things out there. I'm scared." "Don't be afraid, sweetheart. Mommy's here. Let your aunt hold you tightly," Chen Wan reassured him while using the mechanical arms to fend off zombies nearing the RV and the truck. She hadn’t considered how Zai Zai, lying on Hua Hua, knew there were zombies outside when he couldn't see them. Sensing Zai Zai's fear, the Hua Hua merged to form a circle around Jiang Wan Ning, who held Zai Zai, seemingly to shield him. Seeing the increasing number of zombies gathering, Jiang Yanxin decided to materialize Zeus. Truth be told, frequent sparring sessions with Chen Wan in the spiritual realm had substantially increased her threshold. She could now sustain Zeus for over half an hour without exhausting her mental capacity. Zeus appeared reluctantly, initially fearing he would be used as a power source again. Despite being the king of gods, Jiang Yanxin frequently treated him like a mere battery, which irked him greatly! However, upon seeing the zombies, Zeus felt relieved — this time, it seemed he wasn’t just a power bank. Following Jiang Yanxin’s command, Zeus nonchalantly pointed a spear forward. A large horde of zombies began retreating. These zombies, having gained some intelligence, sensed danger. But Zeus wasn't about to give them any chance. With a casual wave of his spear, pale blue glimmers spread out like dandelion seeds. A mere touch was enough for the effect to swiftly spread throughout their bodies. Zombies standing close together transferred the effect quickly to one another. Soon, many were engulfed in pale blue electricity, disintegrating into ash. Some zombies attempted to flee. Zeus swung his spear forcefully again, leaving the zombies with no escape. They all succumbed to the current, turning into dust whisked away by the rainy mist. Yiyi promptly drove forward, collecting all the Tier-2 zombie crystal cores from the ground. In merely a moment, they had acquired 2,312 cores, raising their total tally to 6,951 crystal cores. Chen Wan's and her team's actions did not go unnoticed by nearby survivors who were hiding. "Who on earth are these people? And what's up with that foreign guy? He just wiped out all the zombies!" "I have no clue. Could they be superhumans? They're way more powerful than any we've ever encountered. Who are these people in the RV?" "I don’t know for sure, but they're definitely not regular folks. Let's continue laying low." As the world continued plunging deeper into the apocalypse, the term "superhuman" began surfacing among the public. Some acquired abilities by chance through consuming crystal cores, while others were guided by various nations and organizations who discovered the cores' effects. After Yiyi finished collecting the cores, she continued driving through Quanzhou City, intending to go as far as possible. Their prior encounters with four Tier-3 mutant animals seemed a stroke of luck. Despite driving all morning, they hadn’t come across any more Tier-3 mutant creatures. After another twenty minutes, they approached midday yet remained without significant findings. However, in the distance, a faint beam of light caught Chen Wan's attention. It appeared to come from a convenience store where someone peeked out, seemingly signaling to them. "There seems to be someone at that convenience store," Chen Wan said to Yiyi. "Indeed, and it looks like they’re signaling us. Should we go over there?" Yiyi asked, glancing in that direction. Chen Wan, considering the unfamiliarity of Quanzhou City, replied, "Drive over and take a look." Without realizing it, a handgun had appeared in her hands. If they could gather intel from survivors familiar with the area, that would be invaluable. Information about trade markets or even black markets could prove useful since they hadn’t encountered any Tier-3 mutant beasts to barter with their amassed resources. As Chen Wan pondered these matters, the RV slowly pulled up in front of the convenience store. From the partly open entrance, they saw a young female alpha in her twenties holding a flashlight. Her beam was quite conspicuous in the dim light. Chen Wan lowered her window slightly, maintaining a firm grip on her handgun. Facing the woman, she asked, "Is there something you need?" Noticing that Chen Wan wasn't getting out, the woman sensed her caution. Offering a friendly smile, she spoke in a moderate tone, "I advise you not to drive further south or to the survivor base called 'Ming Tian.' The leader there is not a good person; once you're in, it’s hard to get out alive." "How do you know this?" Chen Wan, still clutching her gun tightly, probed further. "I heard it from someone. My group and I just arrived at Quanzhou City from another province. We planned to head to Beijing and stopped here after rescuing someone who escaped from that 'Ming Tian.' I don’t want more survivors walking into a trap," the woman explained sincerely, sounding devoid of any malice. "So, do you warn every survivor passing through here? Aren't you afraid we'll be the bad guys who ignore your warnings and rob you?" Chen Wan questioned coldly. "I inform everyone, though not many stop or believe me. I've got ways to protect myself, but I can't let fear of being harmed deter me from helping," the woman continued. Chen Wan was momentarily taken aback, recognizing the woman’s large-heartedness. In these dire times, maintaining considerations for strangers was noteworthy. While she inwardly regarded the woman as kind, she also thought she might be slightly naive. "True, we're new here in Quanzhou City. Can we ask you some questions?" Chen Wan pondered a moment before asking. "If you ask, I’ll certainly tell you what I know," the woman replied without hesitation, though a flicker of concern crossed her face before she continued, "Do you have any medicine? The girl I saved is injured and still running a fever. I’ve already searched every shop nearby, and they're all empty. If you have some antipyretics, it might save her life. But if it’s not convenient, that’s okay; we’ll figure something out." Chen Wan was momentarily stunned by the woman's kindness in seeking medicine for a stranger. In this post-apocalyptic world, where everyone's survival seemed to hang by a thread, this woman's willingness to worry about others left Chen Wan at a loss for words. "Is there any place in Quanzhou City like a trade market or black market? Somewhere we can exchange supplies? We’ve run low on resources and need to trade for more," Chen Wan asked after a moment's thought. The woman paused, seemingly unsure. "There’s no military base in Quanzhou City, so I doubt there’s a formal trade market. But if you need, you might try Qingji City. There’s a military base there, and they likely have places to exchange goods." Chen Wan nodded, sensing that the woman wasn't lying. They had heard General Lu mention it on the bridge earlier—there was indeed a base in Qingji City.