Just as Jiang Yanxin was breaking out in a cold sweat, Chen Wan continued, “You keep it for self-defense. No need to give it back to me. I still have that axe. I just washed it, so it doesn’t smell as bad now.”
As if remembering something, Chen Wan got up and walked out again.
Jiang Yanxin finally loosened her grip on the blanket and took a few deep breaths.
Chen Wan had discovered her hidden fruit knife, but fortunately, she didn’t pursue the matter.
Jiang Yanxin’s mind was in turmoil.
On one hand, she feared that Chen Wan was still the same scumbag as before.
On the other hand, she was afraid that Chen Wan had truly changed, which was an unknown terror for her.
As an Omega trying to survive the apocalypse with a three-year-old child, it was incredibly difficult.
They had no one to rely on.
Could she really trust this person in front of her?
Chen Wan knew that Jiang Yanxin probably kept the knife to defend herself against her, but she didn’t mind.
After all, the original Chen Wan was indeed a scumbag who needed to be guarded against.
As long as she didn’t provoke Jiang Yanxin, Jiang Yanxin shouldn’t act against her.
Even if she did, she wouldn’t be a match for her.
Chen Wan had just found an unopened case of mineral water between the first and second rows of shelves.
She decided to move the entire case to their resting area.
At Zhang Qiang’s place, they barely had anything to eat, and even drinking water was a rare occurrence.
Under the moonlight, the child saw her mommy carrying a case of water and instinctively licked her lips.
She was thirsty but didn’t dare to tell her mommy.
Mommy had already tried to abandon her several times.
She had to be obedient and eat less so that mommy wouldn’t find her troublesome and abandon her again.
Chen Wan opened a bottle of mineral water and handed it to the child, speaking as gently as possible, “Yangyang, drink some water. It’s good for your health.”
The child stood there, unsure of what to do.
In the past, mommy would drink first, and if she wanted to drink, she had to beg mommy.
Even then, mommy might not give her any water, thinking she was a bother.
Seeing the child standing there without saying a word, Jiang Yanxin took the water from Chen Wan, glanced at her, and whispered, “Thank you.”
“No need.”
Chen Wan shook her head and handed another bottle to Jiang Yanxin, signaling her to drink.
Jiang Yanxin stared at Chen Wan’s expression and took the water.
She first let her daughter drink a few sips.
Seeing that her daughter wanted to drink more but didn’t dare, Jiang Yanxin felt a deep hatred for Chen Wan.
It was all because of Chen Wan’s actions that her daughter had become so cautious.
Jiang Yanxin coaxed, “Yangyang, drink some more water, okay? You haven’t had any water for days.”
The child pursed her lips.
She heard her mommy’s words and wanted to drink more, but she was afraid that mommy would think she drank too much and abandon her.
So, she kept looking at Chen Wan.
Chen Wan noticed the child’s gaze and smiled at her, saying, “Your mommy is right. Drinking more water is good for you. There’s plenty more, so don’t worry about saving it.”
Hearing that mommy also agreed she could drink more water, the child happily nodded and took several more sips from the bottle.
Seeing her child like this, Jiang Yanxin felt a deep pain in her heart.
Chen Wan drank a few sips of water, then got up to search the shelves again, bringing back all the edible items she could find.
In the apocalypse, food and water were the most essential.
She needed to gather everything she could find.
She quickly opened a few packs of biscuits and started eating.
She had a tough battle ahead.
Once daylight came, Zhang Qiang would definitely send people to search this area.
It was too dark to leave now, and who knew if they would encounter a large group of zombies on the way.
The best plan was to quickly bind the RV mentioned by the system and leave with Jiang Yanxin and her child before dawn.
Chen Wan quickened her eating pace and asked the system, “What time is it now?”
“It’s exactly eleven o’clock at night. What are your plans next? Do you want to bind the RV?”
The system’s purpose was to correct the off-track plot.
The whole book should revolve around the RV.
Her host hadn’t even bound the RV yet.
If her host faced any life-threatening danger, the system would be directly erased by the Cosmic Bookstore!
“Okay, later you still help me check the surroundings. I want to try my luck in the mall’s underground parking lot. But generally, RVs don’t park in underground lots. If there’s no RV, can we bind a regular car first?”
Chen Wan voiced her concerns, knowing that large vehicles usually couldn’t enter underground parking lots.
“Yes, but it would require multiple small cars to merge, and it would take more time.”
“Alright, once we go down, you continue to scan the surroundings,” Chen Wan thought and said in her mind.
“Understood, host. System 111 is always on standby,” the mechanical voice of the system responded again.
Chen Wan thought for a moment, then got up and took an aluminum pipe from the shelf, handing the axe to Jiang Yanxin.
“You hold this. After I leave, block the door like I did earlier. Our situation is too dangerous now. I want to check the parking lot to see if we can find an RV or some other vehicle. Zhang Qiang and his people won’t give up easily. We should leave before dawn.”
When Jiang Yanxin heard Chen Wan’s words, her first reaction wasn’t happiness or concern for Chen Wan’s safety.
Instead, she instinctively feared that Chen Wan was up to something again, suspecting that Chen Wan might abandon her and the child like many times before.
Being abandoned by someone close was too painful.
Jiang Yanxin had experienced it once.
Chen Wan had always intended to hand her over to Zhang Qiang.
But tonight, Chen Wan seemed like a different person, unexpectedly taking her and the child to escape.
However, this deeply ingrained emotion spread, making her feel a chill in her heart just hearing Chen Wan’s words.
Jiang Yanxin didn’t take the axe.
Instead, she grabbed Chen Wan’s arm, her voice trembling, “Are you really going to find a car, or are you abandoning me and the baby? Or are you going back to surrender to Zhang Qiang and hand me over to him?”
Jiang Yanxin’s eyes reddened, and despite the dirt on her face, her beauty was still evident.
Chen Wan understood Jiang Yanxin’s concerns and explained, “Don’t worry, I won’t abandon you, and I definitely won’t hand you over. You’re not an object, and your freedom shouldn’t be controlled by me. Without a vehicle, we might be caught by Zhang Qiang tomorrow. Time is running out, and I don’t know what the situation is in the parking lot. I need to go down quickly.”
Jiang Yanxin’s grip on Chen Wan’s arm tightened.
Chen Wan looked at Jiang Yanxin, unsure of her intentions.
Just as she was about to pull her arm away, Jiang Yanxin moved.
Chen Wan looked at Jiang Yanxin and saw her red eyes and sniffing nose as she hugged her.
Chen Wan was taken aback, not knowing what was happening.
Why was Jiang Yanxin suddenly hugging her?
The next moment, Jiang Yanxin moved closer, her eyes slightly red, and spoke in a somewhat coquettish tone, “You mustn’t lie to me. Yangyang and I are really scared. Promise me you won’t leave us, okay?”
Although Jiang Yanxin’s words were in a coquettish tone, she felt a wave of nausea inside.
If not for the baby, she would rather die than beg this scumbag in front of her.
She wished she could take out the fruit knife in her pocket and stab Chen Wan a few times.
But rationality told her she couldn’t do that; she had to think of the child.
Chen Wan didn’t know if it was her imagination, but she felt a sweet grape scent from Jiang Yanxin, making her want to hug her.
Chen Wan clenched her fists, resisting the urge, and tried to look away from Jiang Yanxin.
Although she was straight, hugging and cuddling with a girl made her nervous, especially since she was single in her previous life.
Chen Wan cleared her throat and promised, “Don’t worry, I’ll be back soon. I won’t abandon you. Keep the axe; it might save your life in a critical moment.”
Jiang Yanxin nodded slightly, “Okay.”
She got up from Chen Wan’s embrace.
The child, hearing that mommy was leaving, fearfully snuggled into her mother’s arms.
Was mommy going to abandon both of them this time?
The child thought of the zombies she had just seen, trembling and holding back her tears, which still fell one by one.
Jiang Yanxin tightly held the child, softly comforting her, “Yangyang, why are you crying?”
The child buried her head in Jiang Yanxin’s arms, her voice choked with sobs, “Mommy, is mommy going to leave us?”
Chen Wan felt a pang of guilt at the child’s cautiousness.
She walked over and gently patted the child’s back, comforting her, “Mommy is just going out for a while. Be good and stay here. I’ll be back when you wake up.”
The child’s eyes were still filled with tears.
She looked at Chen Wan softly and asked in a small voice, “Really?”
Chen Wan nodded and patted her daughter’s head, “Really, mommy will be back soon.”
Then, she turned her gaze to Jiang Yanxin and instructed, “Be very careful. Zhang Qiang’s people shouldn’t come before dawn, and the zombies won’t gather if they don’t hear any noise. I need to go down quickly.”
Jiang Yanxin stared intently at Chen Wan, her hands trembling slightly as she held Zai Zai.
Finally, she nodded.
After calming Zai Zai and telling him to stay put, Jiang Yanxin followed Chen Wan to the door.
Chen Wan quickly moved the chair blocking the door, pulled out the aluminum strip wedged in the door handle, and gently opened the shop door to go out.
After she stepped out, she hurriedly closed the door again and gestured for Jiang Yanxin to block the door properly.
Having walked in the dark for a long time, Chen Wan was not completely blind in the darkness.
She decided to take the same safe staircase she had used earlier, trying to avoid direct encounters with zombies.
Holding an aluminum pipe in her hand, she slowed her steps.
Fortunately, this time she went down without any incidents and didn’t encounter any zombies.
After reaching the first floor, Chen Wan observed her surroundings and saw that this level was the supermarket entrance.
She only had a useless steel pipe in her hand, which wouldn’t be effective against zombies.
Before heading to the basement, she needed to prepare properly.