This is a situation Chen Wan didn’t want to see. Once the noise stops, it means the zombies will scatter throughout the building again. She has to be extra careful not to make any loud noises. Thinking quickly, she took out a remote-controlled car from her bag, installed the batteries, and kept it ready by her side. This little gadget might just save her life.
Upstairs, Jiang Yanxin also noticed the silence below. Her heart was in her throat. No more noise from below—did Chen Wan die? Jiang Yanxin felt a mix of emotions she couldn’t quite describe. It wasn’t exactly sadness for Chen Wan, but more about how long she and her daughter could hold out. She leaned against the wall, watching her daughter sleep peacefully, feeling utterly lost.
Meanwhile, Chen Wan was carefully hiding between two cars, trying to stay well-concealed. After a while, the footsteps in the basement grew more numerous. Some zombies from the supermarket had entered the basement through the east and west passages. Chen Wan just hoped no zombies would come near her.
She checked the system time. There was still an hour and a half until the RV fusion was complete, meaning it was now 3:30 AM, not far from dawn. After getting the RV, she would have to go upstairs to find Jiang Yanxin and her daughter. There wouldn’t be enough time to search the supermarket for supplies. When she passed by the food section earlier, she noticed that Zhang Qiang and his group hadn’t cleaned it out completely. There were still plenty of cookies and chips on a row of shelves. Chen Wan decided to use the remaining time to gather some supplies from the supermarket.
She put her plan into action. Turning on the remote control, the little car’s lights shone brightly as it moved according to her commands. The light made it particularly eye-catching in the basement, and the zombies, devoid of life, were indeed attracted to it.
Chen Wan didn’t rush to get up. She controlled the car to circle the garage, leading the zombies towards the west exit. Most of the zombies in the basement followed the car, while many others remained in the supermarket. Chen Wan carefully entered the supermarket from the east corridor, enduring the overwhelming stench as she moved forward.
At times like this, her mind became even clearer. They needed not only food and water but also clean clothes and hygiene products. She planned to gather as much as possible, as she didn’t know when they would be able to resupply after getting on the RV.
First, she avoided the zombies and went to where she had found the radio earlier. She packed five radios and a lot of batteries into her bag. Then, she took two more radios, installed batteries, and quietly exited the building through the main door.
Chen Wan placed one radio about ten meters from the main door and turned it on. She then placed another radio near the side door and turned it on before sprinting towards the back door. The zombies, lacking intelligence, would rush towards the sound.
Taking advantage of this distraction, Chen Wan entered the supermarket through the back door. She quickly located the bag section, grabbed a backpack and two duffel bags, and headed to the clothing section. The clothes here were almost untouched, as Zhang Qiang’s group had likely raided the specialty stores on the upper floors. Chen Wan didn’t mind; as long as the clothes were clean and wearable, they were good enough. In the dimly lit hall, she grabbed some clothes and pants from the shelves, along with three boxes of underwear and some clothes for Jiang Yanxin’s daughter. Her backpack was now full.
Next, Chen Wan found the food section and, in the dark, located some canned goods and several bags of instant noodles on the floor, all of which she stuffed into the duffel bags. She also grabbed any candy and bottled water she could find, filling another duffel bag to the brim.
With one duffel bag left, she headed to the hygiene section. The noise from the zombies outside was still loud. Chen Wan hurriedly packed toilet paper, shampoo, body wash, toothbrushes, and toothpaste into the bag. Within minutes, the last duffel bag was also full.
Chen Wan wanted to gather more, but her weak body couldn’t carry any more. Taking advantage of the zombies’ absence, she quickly made her way back to the basement through the east corridor. Passing the toy section, she grabbed a plush toy for Jiang Yanxin’s daughter and stuffed it into her bag. She returned to her hiding spot, placing the three large bags beside her. In addition to the backpack with clothes, she also had a bag with radios and a kitchen knife.
This trip had exhausted Chen Wan. She drank a bottle of water in the dark but didn’t have the strength to gather more supplies. She had about forty minutes to recover before the RV fusion was complete. Once it was done, she could load the supplies onto the RV and go to the fourth floor to pick up Jiang Yanxin and her daughter. She didn’t want to leave the supplies here, as they might get contaminated by the zombies.
Time passed slowly. Chen Wan felt slightly better but still weak. She took a deep breath and asked the system, “How much longer?”
“Ten minutes until the RV fusion is complete. Please be patient,” the system replied emotionlessly.
Chen Wan looked towards the truck. It was as if an invisible wall surrounded it; no one outside could see or hear what was happening inside.
Chen Wan gripped the narrow knife in her hand, contemplating whether Zhang Qiang and his gang would make a move so early around five o’clock. Ten minutes later, the mechanical voice of the system echoed in her mind again: “Congratulations, host. The RV has been fully integrated. Would you like to bind it now?” Chen Wan quickly gave the command in her mind: “Bind.”
In the next moment, an RV appeared out of thin air in the previously unclear area. The basement was too dark for Chen Wan to see the RV’s exact appearance, but she felt that this RV was wider, longer, and taller than any she had seen in her previous life.
“RV upgrade system binding initiated, current progress eleven percent…” After another ten minutes, the system’s mechanical voice sounded again: “The RV upgrade system is now fully bound. The host can issue commands at any time.”
Chen Wan cautiously approached with her belongings and silently gave the command in her mind: “Open the door.” As soon as she thought it, the RV door opened. Using all her strength, she threw several bags into the RV and climbed in herself. As soon as she entered, the door closed, and the interior lights came on.
Chen Wan was stunned after a quick glance. This was practically a luxury apocalypse RV. Fearing the light might attract things from outside, she quickly ordered the lights off and exited the RV.
This time, Chen Wan was going upstairs to fetch people. She traveled light, carrying only a narrow knife, and walked slowly upstairs. Most of the mindless zombies had been drawn to the first floor or the basement supermarket by her earlier disturbances, leaving the emergency stairs empty and giving Chen Wan a chance to quickly ascend. She wasted no time and hurriedly climbed up.
As dawn approached, Jiang Yanxin grew increasingly uneasy. If Chen Wan was dead, Zhang Qiang would still come for her and her daughter.
Jiang Yanxin looked at her child and forced herself to stay calm as she woke her up. She gritted her teeth and said, “Yang Yang, listen to Mommy. Mommy hasn’t come back yet, so we can’t wait any longer. Mommy will carry you, and you need to be good, okay?” Although still sleepy, the child nodded obediently. Her head, once adorned with beautiful braids, now had uneven spikes thanks to Chen Wan, who had cut them while Jiang Yanxin was away, saying it was too troublesome to wash her hair.
Jiang Yanxin tied the clothes holding their food around her body, picked up her child, and gripped the blood-stained axe in her hand. She walked step by step towards the door. It was just dawn, and if they could run out smoothly, they might survive.
Just as Jiang Yanxin was about to push the door open, she saw a figure in the snack shop where they had stayed last night. She gently pushed the door open a crack and silently observed the situation across the way, constantly encouraging herself: “It shouldn’t be Zhang Qiang’s people. Don’t be so pessimistic. What if Chen Wan isn’t dead? Now is not the time to cry. If you’re scared, what about your daughter? She’s only three years old.”
Building herself up mentally was one thing, but how could she not be afraid? If they were caught and humiliated, Jiang Yanxin couldn’t bear to think about what she would do for her daughter’s sake.
At this moment, she gripped the axe tightly, her eyes red as she stared at the snack shop’s door.
While Jiang Yanxin was unsure who was in the snack shop, Zhang Qiang’s henchmen had arrived at the building’s entrance. They were stunned by the horde of zombies in the lobby.
“Damn, where did all these zombies come from overnight? Could it be Chen Wan and her group?” Green Hair cursed.
“You’re giving her too much credit. Look at how scared she is. Enough talk. Leave two people to ride the motorcycles and draw the zombies away. The rest of you, follow me upstairs to find them,” Baldy said after some thought. After all, with so many zombies suddenly appearing, he didn’t believe it had nothing to do with Chen Wan and her group. So, they decided to start searching from there.
