136 - Cinderella’s Dream: Together Forever

Chapter 136 - Novels by Banxia Jiang Yan Xin helped the groggy girl and fed her an antipyretic. Nearby, several people waited while, inside the RV, Jiang Wan Ning and the others had already finished cooking. Yi Yi opened the door to invite Chen Wan and the others to eat first. Seeing the girl still asleep, Chen Wan decided to eat before bringing back some hot food for Wei Si Yu and the others. After all, there was too much octopus meat, and it would lose its quality if left in the freezer for too long. As soon as Chen Wan stepped into the RV, she was hit by the delicious aroma of octopus. The one cooking today was Jiang Wan Ning, who made octopus fried rice. The fragrant fish mixed with rice had such an inviting aroma that it made one feel they couldn't get enough. Before eating, Chen Wan steamed another pot of rice, explaining, "This is for Wei Si Yu and that girl. After we finish eating, I'll bring some octopus meat over to them." Jiang Yan Xin nodded, "If what Wei Si Yu said is true, then that place called 'Tomorrow' shouldn't exist." "Yeah, those students are just in high school, and yet those brutes did such things." Chen Wan's mood soured at the thought. "I'll go too," Shen Ming Yan interjected. Chen Wan turned to look at Shen Ming Yan, understanding her intention, "Alright, but that girl needs to stay here and rest. We'll see if Wei Si Yu and the others want to go with us. I can sense that all four of them have abilities." "Okay," Shen Ming Yan nodded. After the meal, Chen Wan braved the rain to retrieve a substantial amount of octopus meat from the large refrigerated truck. Meanwhile, the rice had just finished cooking. Since their own vegetables were not yet ready, they had to use pickled vegetables as a side dish, stir-frying them with the octopus in oil before adding the rice. Chen Wan served five large bowls of fried rice, covered them with plastic wrap from a supermarket, and they all carried them to the convenience store. The girl's IV was nearly empty, and Chen Wan handed a bowl to Wei Si Yu, "You should eat something too. This is mutated octopus meat we caught last night; it tastes pretty good." Wei Si Yu and her group, having come from another province, were down to just two packets of compressed biscuits, one of which they had just fed to the girl. None of them mentioned their hunger while Chen Wan and the others went to eat, but they hadn't really eaten properly since two days ago, and the convenience store had long been cleared of any edible supplies. "I really don't know how to thank you. You've already helped treat this girl, and in these end times, resources are precious. You should keep it for yourselves." Wei Si Yu was hungry but felt it was inappropriate to take food from strangers they had just met. Such a bowl of rice could save a life in these times. "No need to stand on ceremony. We have a connection with this child, and I wanted to help. Just eat up; we might need to join forces later to get supplies," Chen Wan smiled and said. "Supplies?" Wei Si Yu asked, puzzled. "Yes, that place called 'Tomorrow' shouldn't exist. Once that girl wakes up, we'll ask for more details. We're planning to take a look at 'Tomorrow'," Chen Wan stated calmly, as if visiting 'Tomorrow,' a shelter base, was just a casual outing. "Are you serious about going to 'Tomorrow'? But you’re just a few people," Wei Si Yu was taken aback by Chen Wan's proposal. They were all ability users, but even they hadn't dared to go to 'Tomorrow' alone. "If we go, there will be five of us," Chen Wan remained unfazed. Despite the danger of the mission, she didn’t plan on taking Jiang Wan Ning, especially since 'Tomorrow' sounded like a den of wolves. Jiang Wan Ning hadn’t awakened any abilities yet, and going there would be too risky for her. Wei Si Yu bit her lip, contemplating for a moment before speaking, "Alright, the three of us will go with you. Li Li will stay to take care of that girl." "Alright, hurry and eat. I'll remove her IV," Chen Wan noticed the glucose bag was almost empty. She gently removed the IV from the girl and pressed on her hand. After the medication and IV, the girl regained some strength. She slowly opened her eyes, her face still pale. Noticing the woman beside her was dressed differently from the one who rescued her, she shook her head to clear her vision and focus on Chen Wan. Upon recognizing Chen Wan's face, the girl’s pale face brightened slightly with joy, tears welling up in her eyes. "Sis? You’re the sister who helped us at the highway service area." The girl burst into tears as she spoke. Chen Wan quickly comforted her, "It’s me. I never thought we’d meet again. What happened to you? And what about that place called 'Tomorrow'?" Jiang Yan Xin and Shen Ming Yan hurried over to console the girl. The girl, seeing Jiang Yan Xin as an Omega, leaned into her embrace and cried harder. In the convenience store, the only sound was the girl's sobs. Chen Wan and the others fully understood, considering a child her age in the pre-apocalyptic world would still be at school without a care in the world. How could they ever be ready to face such harsh realities? The girl they encountered was Qiao Shi Rui. After crying for a while, she gritted her teeth to recount her ordeal at 'Tomorrow,' "The five of us hadn’t been in the gymnasium long before the military began transferring people to the largest base in Punan City, supposedly for unified management. We were grouped together in one area because there were many students. Though the base was chaotic, soldiers guarded the student quarters, allowing us a few days of relative peace, despite not having enough to eat, it was at least somewhat safe." Qiao Shi Rui paused, tears streaming down her face, and took a deep breath to continue, "Later, the base fell to a zombie attack. High-ranking military officials abandoned it. A few of us, along with two seniors from the same school, escaped Punan City in two cars. Hearing that Beijing had the country's largest survivor base, we headed south." Seeing her struggle to speak with dry, cracked lips, Chen Wan opened a bottle of mineral water and handed it to her, motioning for her to drink a few sips before continuing. Qiao Shi Rui was too weak to hold the bottle steady, so Jiang Yan Xin took it, helping her drink. Qiao Shi Rui felt slightly better, then continued, "We reached Jeolla City, where other refugee survivors told us about a civilian survivor base called 'Tomorrow.' Everyone was eager to go, believing it to be a place where all were equal, where people worked to re-establish order. At that time, we were out of food, so we joined many others on the way to 'Tomorrow.' But upon entering, we sensed something was wrong. Everyone inside looked distraught; without resources or crystal cores to trade for food, one had to do grueling labor. Almost no young Omegas were seen on the streets, and it was a kind-hearted aunt who warned us to hide the Omegas to avoid trouble." As Qiao Shi Rui spoke, her voice grew heavier, and she began to tremble. "Our class president, Li Yue, and Fatty, all three Alphas, worked themselves to exhaustion doing the hardest labor just to keep us fed. Initially, the two seniors also suffered with us. Then one day, many outsiders, armed and dangerous, came to our dwelling and tried to take me and Zhao Jing Jing away. I saw Gong Yu and Wang Ming Xuan, the two seniors, among them; they had betrayed us, revealing our location to avoid further labor and to become enforcers under Ming Feng and Ming Jue. Fatty resisted them trying to take us, and Ming Feng shot him twice in the knees. They then forced Gong Yu and Wang Ming Xuan to stab Fatty, and those beasts did..." Her voice quaked, and she nearly fainted from recounting the ordeal. Her companions had turned traitor, killing Fatty, and she and Zhao Jing Jing were taken and humiliated. Ming Feng and Ming Jue were no human beings; they ravaged her and Zhao Jing Jing, then sent them to work at 'Tomorrow's' nightclub when they lost interest, subjecting them to constant abuse. Li Yue and the class president tried to save them multiple times, only to be beaten severely, leaving Qiao Shi Rui uncertain of their current state. As for her own escape, she had fainted during service duty, deemed a goner by those at the nightclub, who dumped her with other exhausted or dead Omegas at the landfill. She clawed her way out, driven by the hope of rescuing her friends still trapped. Despite everything, her friends were the only reason she fought to survive. Qiao Shi Rui, clenching her jaw, laid bare her grievances before them, eventually breaking into a hopeful appeal to Chen Wan and Qin Ke, "Chen Wan-sister, I know you’re all strong and capable people. I saw you handle so many zombies at the service area that day. I beg you, please save Jing Jing and the others. I'll do anything you ask, truly." Exhausted from speaking, her face paled even further, Qiao Shi Rui’s plea rang sincere, yet hopeless. Listening to her story had already fueled Chen Wan's anger. She reassured, "Focus on recovering your strength. We'll bring all your friends out of there." "Sister, thank you all so much. I’m so fortunate to have met you," Qiao Shi Rui sobbed. Chen Wan sighed and continued to ask, "Does that base have any requirements for those who enter? Like weapons, for instance? Also, do you know where the laboratory is?" "To enter 'Tomorrow,' you have to surrender your weapons, but food and other supplies can be brought in. As for the laboratory, it's in the building where Ming Feng and Ming Jue live. They have installed power generators and the building is filled with cameras." This information was something Qiao Shi Rui picked up while entertaining guests at the nightclub. Her only thought then was to gather as much intel as possible to survive and avenge Fatty. "Alright, you take a good rest. We'll prepare to set off soon." "Lili will stay here to take care of you. Don't worry, everything will be fine," Wei Si Yu also offered her reassurance. Back in the RV, Chen Wan, along with Ye Lan and Jiang Zhao Yuan, discussed the arrangements. Ye Lan and Jiang Zhao Yuan would stay with Jiang Wan Ning to take care of Zai Zai. With four mutated dogs now as well, Chen Wan wasn’t worried about the RV's safety.