Zhu Yanyan climbed off the camel uncomfortably and looked blankly at the snow falling all around her.

Where is this place?

"Young lady, you're awake? This is on the outskirts of Hengyang Town."

An elderly woman with a hunched back, wearing a headscarf, handed Zhu Yanyan a bowl of piping hot rice soup.

"It's cold, have some rice porridge to warm up."

Zhu Yanyan glanced warily at the rice porridge in the old woman's hand, then turned to look at the makeshift sheds around her.

The shed was very simple, just a piece of cloth and a few sticks put together, with an old iron pot placed under it.

In front of the fire was an old man, wrapped in a towel and wearing a faded cotton-padded jacket, shivering. After noticing that Zhu Yanyan seemed wary, he stood up, still trembling.

“Girl, don’t be afraid. We rescued you because we saw you injured in the desert.”

The old man's reminder made Zhu Yanyan realize that the maned wolf seemed to be injured as well, so she turned around to look for it.

Have you seen a maned wolf?

"It's okay, it's fine."

When the old woman saw Zhu Yanyan searching for the maned wolf, she quickly turned around and pointed to the maned wolf nestled in the quilt.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yanyan followed the old woman's gaze and was completely relieved after confirming that the mane wolf had simply reverted to its initial form.

She slowly dismounted from the camel, clutching her aching back as she entered the shed, then turned and took the rice porridge from the old woman's hand.

"Grandma, what is your surname?"

“My name is Granny Wang, and this is my husband, Zhang Tuozi. We are planning to go to Hengyang Town to take a boat to see our son.”

Granny Wang smiled with relief when she saw Zhu Yanyan take the rice soup.

"Hengyang Town?" Zhu Yanyan felt that the town Wang Pozi mentioned sounded familiar, as if she had heard of it somewhere before.

After a moment of contemplation, she realized that Hengyang Town was the next place she needed to pass through.

This place is currently overrun by zombies, and the volcano near Hengyang Town is also scheduled to erupt in the next few days.

Thinking of this, she solemnly reminded the two, "Hengyang Town is not safe right now, we can't go in."

"Young lady, are you from Hengyang Town?" Granny Wang turned to Zhang Tuozi with a dazed expression and asked the question with some doubt.

Zhu Yanyan naturally dared not reveal that she was a transmigrator, and could only smile at the two of them.

"I heard about it from someone else."

After she finished speaking, she looked curiously at the bungalow not far away, frowned and asked, "Isn't there an abandoned house in the back? Why don't we go inside to take shelter from the wind and snow?"

"That's because there are people there, and they won't let us in." Upon hearing this, Granny Wang avoided Zhu Yanyan's gaze, lowered her head, and drank the rice soup in her hand, saying with a worried expression.

"Young lady, we are so sorry that you have to suffer with us in this cold weather."

Zhu Yanyan roughly guessed who the people in that house were, but unfortunately, she was seriously injured and could not kill them all.

Now, all we can do is deal with the current situation first. With that thought, she clutched her stomach and got up.

"Grandma Wang, I need to use the restroom."

Seeing this, Granny Wang quickly got up and said softly, "It's not safe at night, I'll go with you."

"No need, I'm not used to having someone around." Zhu Yanyan helped Granny Wang, who was trying to get up, back to her seat, then turned and walked towards the huge rock.

As she left, Granny Wang pulled off her swaddling cloth, revealing a vicious smile, and turned to look at Zhang Tuozi.

"Trust me, right? This girl is definitely not simple. As long as we follow her, we can shake off those damn monsters."

"Shh, keep your voice down, don't let this beast hear you. You saw what happened during the day, this beast is not easy to deal with."

Hearing Wang Pozi's smug voice, Zhang Tuozi hurriedly made a shushing gesture at her and looked at the maned wolf with a flustered expression.

Granny Wang remained completely calm, waving her hand at Zhang Tuozi, "What's there to be afraid of? The sleeping potion it ate is enough to keep it asleep for three days and three nights."

As soon as they finished speaking, they heard Zhu Yanyan's rustling footsteps behind them, and the two quickly lowered their heads to wrap their handkerchiefs around themselves.

"Oh my, Grandma Wang doesn't know how so many good things could be found behind the stone."

Zhu Yanyan pretended to be surprised and jogged up to the two of them, pointing at the stone and shouting.

Upon hearing this, Granny Wang and Zhang Tuozi quickly got up and followed Zhu Yanyan. Sure enough, they could see a cart behind the stone.

The cart was loaded with all sorts of supplies, including tents, meat, eggs, and winter quilts and clothes.

"This... young lady, could you be a deity sent down from heaven?"

"This is too strange?"

Granny Wang clapped her hands excitedly, unable to stop smiling, and walked around the board twice.

Zhang Tuozi also looked at the open space covered with yellow sand in surprise, and the more he looked, the stranger it seemed. "Could this be some kind of trap?"

"Of course not. Perhaps the sandstorm swept in from elsewhere and we just happened to be there."

After noticing Zhang Tuozi's concern, Zhu Yanyan forced a smile and made an excuse to smooth things over.

"Grandma Wang, it's so cold outside, let's quickly set up a tent to keep warm!"

Granny Wang thought Zhu Yanyan's words made a lot of sense. She pushed Zhang Tuozi a few times and came to Zhu Yanyan's side with a smile to help push the cart.

"You're such a lucky girl, it's a blessing to have your parents."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yanyan pushed the cart with a half-smile, then turned back to look thoughtfully at the bungalow behind her.

If it weren't for the Zhu family interfering, she should have been the one favored by her parents and admired by others.

But because of them, he was ostracized everywhere, like a stray dog.

Even if her consciousness is completely destroyed, she will not let go of those who took everything from her.

The sound of a cart being pushed outside quickly carried back into the house. Xixi woke up groggily and looked towards the outside where the sound was coming from.

Upon seeing Zhu Yanyan, she immediately lost all sleepiness, her eyes widened, and she began to babble.

[They're really lucky to be alive; how did they survive that?]

But why do the people around her look so familiar?

[She's almost identical to the poisonous old woman described in the book, especially her hunched back; her appearance is remarkably similar.]

This poisonous old woman was the mastermind behind the poisoning of the people of Hengyang Town. She and her husband, Zhang Tuozi, were researching and developing poisons.

Using the townspeople as test subjects for medicine led to the spread of an untreatable plague.

The people were turned into living dead after suffering torture.

They left Hengyang Town with the antidote and hid in the desert for more than half a year.

It seems they came out this time because they believed the situation in Hengyang Town had improved, which is why they took the risk.

Zhu Yanyan received help from the Poisonous Old Woman after passing through Hengyang Town, and eventually killed the two after learning the Poisonous Old Woman's identity.

It seems the plot hasn't deviated from its expected course; the people I was meant to meet, I eventually did.

However, Zhu Yanyan, though brave, lacks strategy and may not be a match for the poisonous old woman and her husband. In the end, it remains to be seen who will emerge victorious.

The most important thing now is for everyone to stay away from Wang Pozi and her husband, and not to get close to them.