Chapter 112 Take Them Away

Her words were cold and direct, offering no comfort or assurance, yet they rekindled a faint light in the women's eyes. Hope, however faint or harsh, was better than nothing.

"We accept! Thank you! Thank you all!" The woman in the lead nodded repeatedly, tears welling up in her eyes again, but this time they were filled with emotion.

She immediately turned around and shouted to the other women, "Quick! Did you all hear that? Thirty minutes! Find food! Find water! Find weapons! Find a car! Anyone who can drive, step forward! Hurry!"

The women seemed to be infused with life, their brief confusion and sadness replaced by a sense of urgency.

They quickly dispersed and rushed to the corners, shacks, and even the warehouses where the fierce battle had just taken place, frantically searching for anything that might be useful.

Someone found half a bag of rice, someone found a few bottles of water, someone picked up a machete and a stick from next to the body, and someone ran to a few old cars in the corner of the parking lot and tried to start them.

Ruan Ning and the other two remained in the car, while Da Huo cautiously observed the bustling crowd. Lin Yan and Zhou Min watched the women struggling to survive, their eyes filled with complex emotions, but neither of them said anything more.

In the apocalypse, thirty minutes is enough to decide the life or death of many. Ruan Ning gave them a chance, but it was only a chance. Whether they could reach the Northwest from here on out ultimately depended on themselves.

Thirty minutes passed quickly.

The women moved quickly; their survival instinct overcame their exhaustion.

There were 32 people in total, and they managed to get five vehicles that were still operational: three vans, one small truck, and one old jeep.

Every vehicle was crammed full. They scavenged the remaining supplies in the base: several bags of rice, some compressed biscuits and dried meat, several boxes of well-sealed bottled water, several machetes and iron bars, several rolls of relatively clean bandages and painkillers, and even found two small cans of gasoline.

There wasn't a lot of stuff, but it was slightly better than I expected. People were packed together, and sweat glistened in the dim headlights.

The woman leading the group, Sun Hong, her face covered in sweat and grime, ran to Ruan Ning's car and said in a hoarse voice, "Everyone's here."

Ruan Ning nodded, the engine roared, and the car drove out of the base's dilapidated gate. Fire ran alongside the vehicle.

After driving for three or four hours, the horizon turned a very faint grayish-white, no longer pure black. The air was still stuffy, carrying the lingering coolness of the night before it had been evaporated by the blazing sun, but the temperature could be felt slowly rising.

Ruan Ning parked his car beside a gravel beach far from the main road. The cars behind him stopped one by one, turned off their lights, and the world fell into a hazy, gray-blue silence.

Everyone got out of the car to stretch their stiff bodies. Ruan Ning and the other two ate a simple meal. Da Huo rested by the car.

On the other side, Sun Hong led the women to gather together, distributing a small amount of bottled water and compressed food that they had brought from the base.

Their clothes were more clearly visible in the dim light: stained with dark dirt, repeatedly soaked and dried by sweat, and emitting a sour, rotten smell after a night of stuffiness.

While they weren't exactly naked, traveling in such clothes in the increasingly hot weather was undoubtedly torture. Their shoes were also mostly tattered and worn.

After finishing her meal, Ruan Ning walked to the trunk of her SUV.

With her back to everyone, she opened the box, reached inside, and, under the cover of the gradually brightening daylight, took out a large bag of clothes tightly bound with a gray waterproof cloth. Inside were clothes she had casually collected from some shopping mall in the past, mostly lightweight T-shirts, cargo pants, light jackets suitable for summer, and a batch of mesh sneakers and canvas shoes.

She carried the package to Sun Hong and her group and placed the items on the gravel ground.

"Change into these." Ruan Ning's voice was calm and even. "They're clean and easy to walk in."

After saying that, she turned around and walked back to her car, stood by the station, and looked at the gradually clearing outline of the wilderness in the distance.

Sun Hong paused, looking at the bulging package on the ground, then at Ruan Ning's retreating figure. She crouched down, untied the ropes, and lifted the waterproof tarpaulin.

Inside were stacks of clean clothes and shoes of various colors. Although some styles were not attractive and the sizes were mixed up, the fabric felt dry and soft to the touch, and there was no odor. In the apocalypse, this was nothing short of a luxury.

The women gathered around, and some couldn't help but let out a low gasp.

Sun Hong took a deep breath and began to quickly allocate the supplies. There was no fighting, only quiet negotiation.

As the daylight gradually brightened, they quickly took off their dirty, stiff, and smelly old clothes, changed into clean and comfortable new clothes and shoes that fit well.

The movements were swift, and the only sounds throughout were the rustling of fabric against each other and the occasional low hiss.

After changing, the women still looked tired, but the lingering sense of dejection had faded considerably. They moved with a lighter touch. They all looked in Ruan Ning's direction, their eyes filled with a complex mix of emotions: gratitude, hope, and a renewed spark of life.

Sun Hong walked a few steps away from Ruan Ning's car and said solemnly, "Thank you." She didn't say much, but her tone was sincere.

Ruan Ning simply nodded slightly and opened the car door: "Rest for half an hour, then we'll set off."

Zhou Min and Lin Yan watched as Ruan Ning distributed the clothes to the women, and neither of them said anything.

Having spent time together, they had long since figured out Ruan Ning's temperament—she seemed cold and aloof, spoke little, and was ruthless, but she had her own principles. She would show no mercy when it was time to kill, and she wouldn't stand idly by when it was time to help, though her methods were usually direct and silent.

The half-hour break ended. Ruan Ning said to Zhou Min, "You drive the next section."

Zhou Min nodded and moved to the driver's seat. Lin Yan sat in the passenger seat, organizing the map and compass. Ruan Ning got into the back seat, closed her eyes to rest, but maintained a basic level of alertness with her mental energy.

The convoy restarted and continued heading northwest in the increasingly bright daylight.

The temperature is rising very quickly.

After the sun had completely risen above the horizon, the heat enveloped us like an invisible blanket. Even with the windows open, the air coming in was hot. The dashboard showed the outside temperature was already close to thirty-five degrees Celsius and was still rising.

"This awful weather, it's getting hotter and hotter." Zhou Min wiped the sweat from her forehead, her eyes fixed on the road ahead. The road surface was bleached white by the sun, and the heatwave distorted the distant scenery.

Lin Yan looked at the map, her brows furrowing slightly: "At this pace, we need to find a place to stop before noon. We can't travel during the hottest part of the day; the car can't handle it, and neither can we. Ideally, we should find a shady spot or a place near a water source to rest for a few hours, and then continue after the hottest part of the afternoon has passed."

“Pay attention to the roadside,” Ruan Ning said from the back seat, her eyes still closed. “Abandoned factories, warehouses, or places shaded by tall trees. Stay away from the city and main roads.”

"Understood," Zhou Min replied, slightly reducing her speed to observe both sides of the road more carefully.

The five cars following behind were clearly also feeling the heat. They dared not turn on the air conditioning, afraid of wasting fuel; they knew fuel was hard to find these days, and preferred to endure the heat.