“Every time that guy brings people over and sees me like this, they insult my parents and demand points. If we don’t give them, they beat us. The wound on Dad’s left cheek still hasn’t healed. It’s all because of me that they’re suffering,” Jiang Wanning said, crying more and more sorrowfully, as if she wanted to pour out all her grievances to her sister in her dream.
The people in the tent were also paying attention to the commotion on Chen Wan’s side. Two people who were originally lying down to rest had left the tent midway and returned one after another, not understanding what was happening with Jiang Wanning.
Jiang Yanxin held her sister tightly. On her way here, she had anticipated that her sister would suffer and had even prepared herself for the possibility of not finding them. But seeing her sister like this in person still made her heart ache as if it were being twisted by a knife.
Chen Wan and the others heard about Jiang Wanning’s ordeal and clenched their fists tightly, especially Qin Ke. Such scenes always reminded her of her and Yan Yan’s experiences. Anyone who tries to force others into submission doesn’t deserve to be called human; they’re just beasts.
Seeing Jiang Wanning still looking a bit dazed, Chen Wan leaned over and touched her forehead, feeling the heat.
Chen Wan quickly took off the two backpacks she was carrying. Her own backpack contained some basic medicines, including fever reducers. She found the pills and gently patted Jiang Yanxin’s back, speaking softly, “Yanxin? Wanning has a fever, and it’s not looking good. Let’s have her take the medicine first. If the fever causes any other complications, it could be troublesome.”
After all, there are many cases of high fevers damaging ears or brains.
“Oh, right, right. Wanning, listen to your sister and take the medicine first,” Jiang Yanxin said, gently pushing the person in her arms a little outward.
Chen Wan had already prepared the pills and water and handed them over.
Jiang Wanning sniffled, looking at Chen Wan with some difficulty, smiling as she spoke, her eyes filled with tears, “This must be a dream. You two are getting divorced, so how could you still be together? This dream is too real, even needing to take medicine.”
Jiang Wanning, burning with fever, couldn’t distinguish between dream and reality and started talking nonsense.
“Alright, whether it’s a dream or not, take the medicine first, be good,” Jiang Yanxin said, handing the medicine to Jiang Wanning.
Jiang Wanning obediently took the medicine in her hand. She put the pill in her mouth but didn’t take the bottled water from Jiang Yanxin’s hand, frowning at the bitterness. After a long while, she took a few sips of water and swallowed the fever reducer.
She looked at Jiang Yanxin with some grievance, “Sis, why is the medicine in the dream also bitter? This dream is too real, but it’s good. It lets me see you properly before I leave.”
After saying this, Jiang Wanning hugged Jiang Yanxin and cried again.
Jiang Yanxin comforted her for a long time, and with Jiang Wanning’s body already weak, she soon fell asleep.
Chen Wan took out two men’s jackets from her backpack and covered Jiang Wanning with them. She leaned over and used tissues to wipe the tears from Jiang Yanxin’s face, soothing her softly, “Don’t cry, Wanning is fine. We’re not too late. Let her sleep well, and the fever will go down after sweating. As for the allergy, I’ll go out later to see if I can exchange points for allergy medicine. Oh, and we must keep an eye on her this time, no more beef jerky for her.”
Jiang Yanxin leaned softly against Chen Wan’s shoulder, letting Chen Wan wipe the tears from her face.
Qin Ke and Yi Yi also placed clothes under themselves and sat inside the tent.
The tent gradually filled with murmurs. The elderly woman sleeping in the middle saw that they were indeed a family and hesitated before advising Chen Wan and the others, “Girls, I think you should leave the base. It’s not safe here.”
Chen Wan glanced at the old woman and thanked her, “Thank you for the reminder. We’ll leave once we find my parents. Do you know where they’re working?”
“Ah, there’s no fixed place for moving goods. The laundry area is deep inside the base, near the river. I think you should wait here. It’s getting late, and they should be back soon,” the old woman advised.
“Alright, we’ll wait here for a while,” Chen Wan quickly thanked her.
Yi Yi handed Yang Yang to Qin Ke and smiled at Chen Wan, “I’ll go exchange for the allergy medicine. You all stay here and keep watch.”
Chen Wan nodded. She wasn’t comfortable leaving to exchange for allergy medicine, and among them, besides herself, the strongest was the system at the same level as the RV. After all, the zombies were only level 1, and the system was already level 3. Chen Wan hadn’t even seen Yi Yi in action yet.
“Yi Yi, be careful,” Chen Wan still reminded her.
Yi Yi smiled and said, “Don’t worry, I finally get to talk more. How could anything happen?”
After Yi Yi left, the tent was quiet for a moment before the murmurs started again.
“Hey, Jiang Wanning got involved with those guys. Do they really dare to come looking for trouble? And they’re all so pretty, aren’t they just sitting ducks?” a short-haired female alpha whispered to her companion.
“I heard that a few particularly tough women came to the base today. They’re all over six feet tall, with muscles all over, and they took care of Er Hu’s people. It shouldn’t be them, right?” another bald male alpha chimed in.
“Nonsense, look at how weak they look. Which one of them is over six feet? Those two alphas are about the same height as me, around 5’7″. How could it be them?” the short-haired female alpha immediately denied.
“Then they’re in danger. Those guys have seven people, and they have a big shot from Area A backing them,” a buzz-cut beta whispered.
“Yeah, that guy is just relying on having a big shot backing him. I heard he specifically provides new prey for someone in Area A, and none of the men and women he sends there ever come back alive,” the short-haired female alpha lowered her voice, so only a few of them could hear.
“Another unlucky day. When will this end? I thought life would be stable like before once we got to the base,” the bald male chimed in.
“But none of this has anything to do with us. We’re not outstanding in appearance, and we can’t be found in a crowd. As long as we don’t cause trouble, staying in the base is much better than outside. At least we don’t have to worry about zombies anymore,” the short-haired female alpha sighed, even feeling a bit lucky for her plain looks. In this world, being good-looking is a sin.
Chen Wan and the others rested in place, waiting for Yi Yi to return. Jiang Yanxin occasionally used a short-sleeved shirt as a towel, wetting it to wipe Jiang Wanning’s face.
Chen Wan watched from the side, unaware of the power of rumors. The morning’s events spread from one to ten, and by the afternoon, it had turned into what the short-haired female alpha had just said. It was said that Chen Wan and the others were all over six feet tall, with muscles all over, capable of punching people into the air. Even Yang Yang was said to be incredibly strong, with muscles all over his small body, and a punch from him was too much for adults to handle. Yet, despite how ridiculous the rumors were, some people actually believed them.
Because compared to the idea of four frail women taking care of Er Hu’s people, this version was obviously more acceptable. But no matter how it spread, Chen Wan didn’t care. She just wanted to find her people, rest, and leave as soon as possible.
On the other side, Yi Yi, with points in her pocket, casually asked a female alpha for directions, “Miss, can you tell me how to get to the place to exchange for medicine?”
The long-haired female alpha with a ponytail didn’t expect to be approached by such a good-looking person and stammered, “Just keep going this way, and the first corridor on the left, the ground floor of the building, is the place.”
Yi Yi smiled at her, “Alright, thank you.”
The woman clearly didn’t expect Yi Yi to just ask for directions. She had imagined a romantic encounter, but it turned out she was overthinking it. She watched Yi Yi walk towards the exchange point, feeling a bit worried. The base was full of mixed people, and she knew that anyone with a bit of beauty, whether woman or male Omega, didn’t end up well.
Yi Yi, however, was unaware of others’ thoughts. Although she was a bionic person, she didn’t like this oppressive place. If it weren’t for her host, she wouldn’t have come here. After all, sometimes the malice humans have towards their own kind is greater than that of zombies.
When Yi Yi arrived at the exchange point, she noticed a few men, both alpha and beta, following her with ill intentions.
The exchange point staff were all alphas, and when they saw Yi Yi coming alone to exchange things, they were surprised. A male alpha glanced outside and mechanically asked, “What do you want to exchange?”
“Exchange for a box of allergy medicine. How many points are needed?” Yi Yi didn’t mind the staff’s indifference and continued to smile, understanding that working this job every day could be tiresome, just like how she felt trapped in the system.
The male alpha looked at her and, still emotionless like a robot, said, “A box of loratadine is 10 points.”
“Okay.” Yi Yi handed a 10-point voucher to the man, who then handed the medicine to Yi Yi.
These exchange points always required points first before giving out items, as there were too many unreliable things happening in the base. Of course, robbing an exchange point was a serious crime, punishable by being locked in a special prison in the base.
Yi Yi took the medicine and was about to leave when the man, while organizing the goods, spoke in a low voice, still sounding like a machine, “It’s best to wait for your family or friends to pick you up. Don’t look back; you seem to be targeted.”
There were too many cases of people being targeted when they came alone to buy things, especially someone as beautiful as Yi Yi.
The staff at the exchange point saw many robbery incidents every day. Some bold ones acted right at the door, while others robbed on the road. As a result, over time, people came to exchange goods in teams or with family members. There were very few who dared to come alone.
Yi Yi chuckled softly, shaking the medicine box in her hand as she walked out, replying to the person, “Thanks, it’s nothing.”
Then, as if she really couldn’t see the five people at the door, she walked straight out.
