Chen Wan glanced at the 20 large trucks not far away and felt a bit numb.
Fortunately, this was the last time, she comforted herself.
To make things easier, Chen Wan put away the light machine gun and rifle she had just used.
She and Qin Ke each took a handgun and a large machete before getting off the vehicle.
In the apocalypse, machetes were surprisingly useful.
They were needed for skinning, cutting mutant beast meat, and were also great for chopping zombies.
Chen Wan thought that next time she came across a store selling knives, she must grab more, as these were consumables.
Last time, they ruined three knives just cutting mutant beef.
Putting her thoughts aside, Chen Wan climbed into the cab of a truck.
Looking inside from the outside, she saw it was empty.
After all, these trucks were neatly parked in parking spaces, so the owners were unlikely to be inside.
In the apocalypse, unless it was the military, people generally wouldn’t use trucks to escape due to their large size and the risk of traffic jams.
Chen Wan used the back of her machete to break the window, reached in to open the truck door, and swept away the glass shards on the seat.
She sat down and started connecting the truck’s wires.
Soon, she had the truck started, pressed the gas, and drove it to where a pile of small cars was parked, stopping only when the truck’s front was touching the cars.
Qin Ke was also successful, almost simultaneously driving her truck to the small cars.
The rest of their actions went smoothly, and they didn’t even need to use their guns.
Forty minutes later, Chen Wan and Qin Ke had all twenty large trucks lined up with the small cars, and they returned to the RV.
As soon as Chen Wan got into the RV, she gave the system a command: “System, all the materials for the upgrade are ready.
You can start the upgrade now.”
“The system has received the command. After checking, the materials required to upgrade the RV to level 3, including 300 small cars, 20 heavy trucks, and 5,000 level 1 zombie crystal cores, are all prepared. The upgrade will now begin, and it will take 15 hours. Please note, the RV cannot be moved during the upgrade, but all functions inside the RV can be used normally,” the system’s mechanical voice announced.
“What time is it now?” Chen Wan asked in her mind.
“It’s four in the afternoon,” the system replied.
“It’s four in the afternoon now, which means the upgrade will be completed by 7 a.m. tomorrow,” Chen Wan calculated in her mind.
“Yes, host,” the system responded, thinking Chen Wan was talking to it.
Chen Wan nodded.
All they had to do now was wait.
The upgrade time mostly covered the night, and they wouldn’t be driving at night anyway, so it didn’t take much time.
Chen Wan left the front windshield uncovered with steel plates to keep an eye on the surroundings, while all other windows were covered, finally allowing her to relax.
Jiang Yanxin looked at Chen Wan and said, “Go get some sleep.
You haven’t rested all afternoon.
I’ll keep watch here and call you if anything happens.”
Chen Wan nodded.
She hadn’t slept all night and had been driving all afternoon, so she was indeed tired and planned to take a nap.
Yang Yang hadn’t had a chance to cling to Chen Wan all afternoon, so now she reached out her little hands for a hug.
Chen Wan picked up Yang Yang, kissed her little face, and coaxed, “I’m going to take a nap.
Do you want to sleep with Mommy for a while?” Yang Yang nodded her little head and snuggled against Chen Wan, acting cute, “Yes!”
“Alright, let’s sleep for a while,” Chen Wan smiled and looked at Jiang Yanxin, “I’ll take Yang Yang to sleep for a bit.”
“I’ll keep watch here, don’t worry.
Qin Ke, you should rest too.
You’ve been busy all afternoon,” Jiang Yanxin urged them to rest more.
“Alright, I’ll take a nap too,” Qin Ke agreed, feeling a bit sleepy after only a few hours of sleep in the morning.
She grabbed a blanket and went to the bunk bed to sleep.
Jiang Yanxin seemed to remember something and quickly told Chen Wan, “Take out some beef, not too much. We’ll have beef noodles tonight. I’ll marinate the beef while you sleep.”
“Okay, thank you, dear,” Chen Wan smiled at Jiang Yanxin.
As she spoke, a piece of beef appeared in the basin next to the cutting board.
Jiang Yanxin raised an eyebrow at Chen Wan, surprised at how obedient she was, calling her dear without being prompted.
Her lips curled slightly as she replied, “It’s no trouble.
You and Qin Ke have worked hard too.”
Chen Wan looked at Jiang Yanxin with gentle eyes.
The little one in her arms, hearing Mom and Mommy talking, and hearing Auntie mentioned but not herself, quickly chimed in with her little voice, “I’m tired too!”
Chen Wan was amused by Yang Yang, pinching her little face, “Yes, our Yang Yang worked hard too, eating until her little belly was round at lunch, right?”
Yang Yang didn’t quite understand the meaning of “tired,” but at her age, she liked to mimic adults.
When Jiang Yanxin mentioned being tired, Yang Yang remembered it and thought Mommy really believed she was tired, not realizing Mommy was teasing her.
She quickly responded, “Yes! Very tired~”
The three adults were all amused by Yang Yang’s antics, even Qin Ke, who was already lying down, opened her eyes to look at the little one.
The little one didn’t know why the adults were laughing, so she laughed along with them.
“Alright, you all go rest,” Jiang Yanxin said, patting Yang Yang’s little face and urging them to sleep.
Jiang Yanxin sat on the sofa against the bathroom side, facing the front windshield, able to see outside at any time.
Chen Wan carried the little one back to the room and placed her on the bed.
Yang Yang pulled her little pillow and blanket over to Chen Wan’s side, lying down obediently and looking at Chen Wan, “I want to sleep next to Mommy.”
Chen Wan tucked Yang Yang in, leaned over to kiss her little face, and said with a soft laugh, “Alright, we’ll sleep next to each other.
Whatever my little darling says goes.”
Yang Yang was even happier being called a little charmer, reaching out with her chubby hands to touch Chen Wan’s arm and closing her eyes.
Seeing the little one starting to get sleepy, Chen Wan turned off the bedside lamp and lay down to rest herself.
Jiang Yanxin, feeling bored outside, alternated between watching “Campus Scum A” and occasionally glancing out the window.
However, nothing unexpected happened, just a few zombies wandering outside from time to time.
Seeing it was already past five, Jiang Yanxin tightened the beef a bit, rinsed it with cold water, blanched it, and added other seasonings to slowly braise it.
Once they woke up, they could directly cook noodles.
When Chen Wan woke up, it was already 7 PM.
The little one was nestled beside her, awakened by Chen Wan’s movements.
Chen Wan turned on the bedside lamp, held Yang Yang in her arms for a bit, and Yang Yang rubbed her eyes with her chubby hands, burying her little face into her Mommy’s embrace to wake up.
Chen Wan put Yang Yang’s shoes on, set her down, and opened the door to let her out.
Yang Yang immediately ran out excitedly, trotting over to Jiang Yanxin and cuddling up to her.
Chen Wan washed her face and came out too, seeing that it was already dark outside.
She lowered the steel plate on the front windshield, sealing the RV tightly, while letting the system monitor the surroundings.
Sitting in Jiang Yanxin’s lap, Yang Yang smelled the aroma of beef from the pot and, with her chubby hands, asked Jiang Yanxin sweetly, “Mom, what’s in the pot?” Jiang Yanxin chuckled, “It’s beef.
How about we cook some noodles with it later?” Yang Yang nodded eagerly, her little tummy already rumbling.
After Chen Wan came out, she took enough noodles for four people and started boiling water to cook them.
Qin Ke also got up, stretching her arms as she walked to the small dining area.
Seeing Qin Ke, Yang Yang reached out her little hands to her.
Jiang Yanxin laughed and handed Yang Yang over, “You really know how to spread the love, making sure Mom, Mommy, and Auntie all play with you, right?” Yang Yang nodded confidently, “Yes! Auntie hasn’t played with me today.”
Qin Ke bounced Yang Yang in her arms, coaxing, “How about I tell you a story later? I haven’t really played with you today.” “Okay,” Yang Yang nodded vigorously, snuggling up.
Chen Wan’s noodles were almost done.
She divided them into four bowls, adding plenty of beef from the pot to each, and finally some braised beef broth.
Worried it might be too salty, she diluted it with noodle water, completing a delicious bowl of beef noodles.
Jiang Yanxin and Qin Ke helped bring the bowls over.
Yang Yang’s eyes lit up at her special bowl, her little tummy already hungry.
Jiang Yanxin broke the noodles into smaller pieces for Yang Yang, who started eating happily.
The little one, a true carnivore, devoured a big piece of beef first, wriggling with delight.
Chen Wan teased Yang Yang, “Is it that good? Do you really love meat that much?” Yang Yang nodded vigorously, her voice sweet, “Yes! I love beef the most.” “Little glutton, eat up,” Chen Wan said, happy to see Yang Yang enjoying her meal.
Qin Ke thought for a moment and asked, “When are we leaving?” “Let’s go after 7 AM tomorrow.
The RV upgrade will be done by then.
We’ll drive through the city and see if we can reach Pingze City in a day, though without a map, we might take a detour,” Chen Wan replied, eager to reach Funan City, as Jiang Yanxin’s family was still unaccounted for.
“True, I don’t really know my way around Yuezhou City,” Qin Ke admitted.
“I’ll guide us tomorrow.
I’ve been there once and have a vague memory of the roads,” Jiang Yanxin offered, her memory still sharp enough to recall the parking lot location.
“Alright, I’ll keep Yang Yang company tomorrow,” Qin Ke smiled.
“Okay,” Jiang Yanxin nodded.
Yang Yang looked up, her bowl of noodles and beef more than half gone.
Hearing Auntie say she’d play with her tomorrow, she eagerly responded, “Auntie, play with me.”
Yang Yang’s cheeks were still puffed with food as she spoke, amusing the three adults to no end.
