Chapter 30 Cooperation
The migrating convoy resumed its journey in a somber atmosphere. After resting and taking stock of the losses at the service station yesterday, the atmosphere in the convoy was even more tense, like a taut string that could snap at any moment.
Ruan Ning's modified off-road vehicle continued to drive steadily in the middle of the convoy.
Unlike the anxiety permeating many vehicles around them, those inside their cars, while equally vigilant, lacked the panic of running out of fuel.
Before setting off, Lao Chen went to great lengths to procure four barrels of military-grade fuel for her. Combined with the opportunity to refuel at the service station yesterday, their fuel reserves were relatively plentiful. This "confidence" was especially valuable on the perilous road ahead.
The road ahead remains difficult.
The broken bridge forced the convoy to detour along rugged county roads, moving at a snail's pace. The potholed road surface tested the vehicles' durability, and the frequent starts and stops caused some vehicles in poor condition to break down completely.
Each pause was accompanied by anxious honking and a tinge of despair from behind.
Around noon, the convoy was once again halted due to roadblocks being cleared ahead. Ruan Ning noticed that a military ambulance carrying seriously wounded soldiers had been forced to stop on the side of the road because it was running out of fuel, and the medical personnel were anxiously trying to get help from the command vehicle.
Seeing this, Ruan Ning's eyes flickered slightly. She told Zhou Min to stay in the car and keep watch, while she got out and walked towards the command vehicle. She didn't mention fuel directly, but instead found Commander Wang, who was in a state of utter distress.
“Commander Wang,” Ruan Ning said calmly, “my water-based ability might be able to help clean the wounds of some of the injured, saving some precious disinfectant water.” She showed a small ball of clear water that she had condensed in her palm.
Commander Wang glanced at Ruan Ning with some surprise. He naturally recognized her as the water-elemental ability user that Old Chen from the logistics department often praised, and he vaguely knew that she had some connections. "Comrade Ruan Ning, you're very thoughtful. There is indeed a water shortage right now, especially medical water." He paused, seemingly hesitant, and lowered his voice, "Do your vehicles have enough fuel...?"
Ruan Ning understood that this was the beginning of a deal. She couldn't appear to have so much to offer that she could give it away easily, nor could she completely refuse, especially since the other party possessed military power.
“It can last for a while longer,” Ruan Ning replied skillfully. “If the route goes smoothly, we should be able to reach the next possible supply point.” She didn’t say exactly how far it could last, but she implied that it wasn’t an unlimited supply.
Commander Wang nodded and said no more, but simply arranged for a soldier to take Ruan Ning to the temporary medical point to help.
This seemingly one-sided "contribution" by Ruan Ning is actually a tacit gesture of goodwill and a gesture of goodwill. She demonstrated her value, expressed her willingness to cooperate, and implicitly acknowledged that she possessed certain resources, but not to the point of being treated as a fat sheep to be exploited at will.
In such a chaotic environment, maintaining a delicate, mutually beneficial relationship with the military, which holds the power of order, is wiser than simply hiding or confronting them.
Ruan Ning worked in the medical area for about an hour, using condensed clean water to help clean the wounds. Her water-based abilities were exquisitely controlled, and the water flow was gentle and clean, earning the gratitude of the medical staff.
As evening fell, the convoy managed to set up camp on the outskirts of an abandoned industrial area. The area was densely packed with buildings, had limited visibility, and was therefore more dangerous.
Zhou Min brought new information: "The detour route is worse than expected, and I heard that there are traces of mutant cluster activity on a section of the road ahead recently."
Lin Yan cursed, "This is never going to end!"
The hooded woman, who had been silent all along, drew a simple symbol on the dusty car window with her finger—a simplified diagram resembling a factory warehouse, with a skull symbol next to it representing danger.
"Is there something here?" Zhou Min pressed. "Danger? Or...supplies?"
The hooded woman nodded, then shook her head, indicating uncertainty, but something was definitely unusual there.
Ruan Ning stared at the symbol, lost in thought.
They have enough fuel for the time being, but what about other supplies? Food, medicine, weapon parts, special tools? The unknown means risk, but it may also mean opportunity.
The next morning, before the convoy set off again, Ruan Ning told Zhou Min and Lin Yan to wait in the car while he went directly to Commander Wang, who was directing vehicle dispatch.
"Commander Wang, do you have a moment to chat? About the route we're taking." Ruan Ning got straight to the point.
Commander Wang rubbed his bloodshot eyes and gestured for Ruan Ning to follow him. They walked to a relatively quiet spot behind a truck. "Comrade Ruan Ning, have you found anything?"
Ruan Ning didn't waste any words and said directly, "We have received unconfirmed intelligence that there is an abandoned industrial warehouse area about five kilometers to the right front. The intelligence indicates that there may be supplies there, but it is also marked as dangerous."
Commander Wang frowned: "Unverified intelligence? Is the source reliable? We've already wasted too much time by taking a detour."
“The source cannot be guaranteed 100%, but it’s worth investigating,” Ruan Ning said calmly. “Our team can be responsible for forward reconnaissance, but we need the military to provide fire support and cover. If we find supplies, we will take a portion first, and the rest will go to the military. If we encounter uncontrollable dangers, the military must ensure our retreat route.”
At this moment, an officer in charge of logistics interjected urgently, "Commander Wang, our fuel reserves can only last for two more days at most! If there are any supplies in that warehouse, even finding some spare parts or tools would be good! We can't just watch the convoy break down!"
Regiment Commander Wang glared at the logistics officer, but his eyes betrayed his helplessness. He looked at Ruan Ning: "How do you plan to conduct the reconnaissance? How many men do you need?"
“It’s just our small team of four. Smaller numbers, smaller target, more agile. We need a fully fueled military motorcycle for reconnaissance and advance, and a military walkie-talkie for communication. You send two armored vehicles to follow us three kilometers behind, ready to provide support or cover fire at any time.” Ruan Ning’s plan was clear and concise.
"Just four women?" A young guard next to him blurted out instinctively, his tone tinged with doubt.
Lin Yan walked over unnoticed. Upon hearing this, her eyes widened, and she slammed the fire axe in her hand onto the ground with a thud: "What's wrong with women? We women kill just as many zombies as you men."
Commander Wang raised his hand to stop the guards. He gave Ruan Ning a deep look, then glanced at Lin Yan, who had a fierce expression, and at the hooded woman behind Ruan Ning, whose presence was extremely low but impossible to ignore.
He recalled Ruan Ning's help in the medical area yesterday, and their conspicuous modified car that had been making waves along the way.
"Alright!" Commander Wang finally made up his mind. He was a decisive man. "Do as you say! Xiao Zhang, go and prepare motorcycles and walkie-talkies for them! Second Company, First Platoon, two armored vehicles, follow me! The rest of you proceed slowly as planned, maintain communication!"
"yes!"
Half an hour later, a military off-road motorcycle drove away from the main convoy. Ruan Ning was driving, Lin Yan was sitting on the back holding an axe, and Zhou Min and the hooded woman stayed in the modified vehicle, keeping pace with the armored convoy behind.
The motorcycle nimbly navigated the abandoned highway, quickly approaching the area indicated by the hooded woman. It was a sizable factory area, the rusty factory buildings resembling silent behemoths.
"Small numbers of zombies have been spotted," Ruan Ning reported over the walkie-talkie.
"Received. Continue reconnaissance. Be careful."
Ruan Ning parked his motorcycle at a high vantage point and walked with Lin Yan towards one of the largest warehouses. The warehouse door was ajar, and a stench of decay emanated from within.
"I'll go first," Lin Yan said in a low voice, gripping the axe tightly.
"Together." Ruan Ning conjured a small water shield in her hand and held it in front of her.
The two silently slipped into the warehouse. It was dimly lit and filled with abandoned machinery and crates. Several zombies roamed the corners.
Suddenly, Zhou Min's voice came through the walkie-talkie, urgent: "Ruan Ning! Be careful! Thermal sensors indicate multiple large heat sources are gathering deep inside the warehouse! It's not zombie mode! It might be mutants!"
Almost at the same time as Zhou Min's warning, several pairs of scarlet eyes lit up from the shadows deep within the warehouse! A deep roar rang out, and three figures suddenly pounced out—they were a size larger than ordinary zombies, covered in rough keratin, and their arms had mutated into huge bone hammers!
It's a Hammerbreaker! A strength-type mutant!
"Back off!" Ruan Ning shouted, and the water shield instantly expanded, blocking Lin Yan's path!
"Bang!" A hammer-wielding creature's bone hammer slammed into the water shield, producing a dull thud. The water shield rippled violently, and Ruan Ning's arm went numb.
"Damn it!" Lin Yan roared, not only did she not retreat, but she also slid to the side to avoid the other attack, and with all her strength, she chopped the fire axe at the knee joint of the hammerer!
"Crack!" The axe blade embedded itself deeply, and the mutant let out a painful roar, its movements faltering.
"Commander Wang! Three strength-type mutants spotted! Requesting fire support! Coordinates sent!" Ruan Ning shouted into the walkie-talkie while maintaining the water shield.
"Hold on! The armored vehicles will arrive in five minutes!"
Five minutes! It felt like an eternity!
Ruan Ning and Lin Yan fought and retreated, using the warehouse shelves as cover. Ruan Ning's water shield was mainly used to block heavy blows, while Lin Yan used her speed and strength to harass and counterattack. Her axe left deep marks on the mutants, but it was difficult to kill them.
A hammerer, seemingly enraged, slammed open the shelf, and a huge bone hammer smashed straight into Ruan Ning's face!
Ruan Ning's eyes narrowed, and the water shield instantly transformed, no longer blocking directly, but turning into a viscous, swirling stream of water that wrapped around the mutant's arm, causing it to shift slightly!
The bone hammer grazed Ruan Ning's shoulder and slammed into the ground, sending shards of stone flying!
Just then!
Boom! Boom!
Two large holes were smashed open in the warehouse wall! Two armored vehicles, like steel behemoths, rushed in, their heavy machine guns spitting out angry tongues of fire!
"Da da da da—!"
A storm of bullets instantly enveloped the three hammerers! Their thick keratinous layers were like paper in front of the heavy machine gun; the mutants were forced to retreat repeatedly, their flesh and blood flying everywhere!
"Well done!" Commander Wang's voice came through the armored vehicle's loudspeaker. "Clean up the battlefield!"
Under the cover of armored vehicle fire, Ruan Ning and Lin Yan quickly dealt with the injured mutant.
After the battle, the soldiers began searching the warehouse.
Sure enough, they found something! In a relatively intact small warehouse, they discovered more than a dozen unopened barrels of industrial lubricating oil, several boxes of well-preserved high-energy compressed military rations, and even a small box of medical supplies and some weapon parts!
Looking at the supplies, Commander Wang finally smiled. He walked up to Ruan Ning and said, "Comrade Ruan Ning, we owe you a great deal for your intelligence and bravery. As agreed, you have priority in selecting supplies."
Ruan Ning didn't stand on ceremony. She mainly selected the box of medical supplies and some weapon parts, which were urgently needed by the team and difficult to obtain. The large quantities of military rations and lubricating oil were left for the military, relieving their immediate crisis.
This successful collaboration not only provided Ruan Ning's team with valuable supplies, but also established their trust and "valuable" image with the military.
When they rode their motorcycles back to the convoy with their harvest, many people looked at them differently.
Cooperation is sometimes a better way to survive in this apocalypse than going it alone, and Ruan Ning clearly understands this well.
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