Chapter 13 Relaxation
Having confirmed that she had shaken off the mysterious and dangerous man, Ruan Ning approached the SUV as quickly as possible. She carefully checked her surroundings to make sure there were no ambushes or followers before deftly unlocking the door, getting in, and starting the engine.
The SUV roared and drove away from the perilous area. She was even more cautious on the way back, avoiding any places where there might be living people or large groups of zombies, choosing only secluded and dilapidated paths.
When the familiar, fortress-like apartment building finally came into view, Ruan Ning's tense nerves relaxed slightly.
She carefully parked the car in a secluded corner of the underground garage, checked that it was safe around her again, then put the car away in her storage space before dragging her exhausted body toward the stairs.
The heavy security door opened and closed, the sound of the deadbolt clicking crisply and reassuringly.
Finally... I'm back.
The moment she stepped into the foyer, all the bloodshed, fighting, crisis, and suspicion outside seemed to be shut out by this door. Although a faint smell of disinfectant still lingered in the air, left over from her previous cleaning, this was her lair, her temporary haven.
Ruan Ning didn't do anything immediately. Leaning against the cold security door, she slowly slid down to the ground, letting out a long, deep breath. The fatigue accumulated from an afternoon of intense fighting, as well as the mental pressure from her brief confrontation with the mysterious man, washed over her like a tidal wave.
She sat quietly for a few minutes, not thinking about anything, just emptying her mind and feeling this rare and fragile peace.
She only managed to stand up when her legs started to feel numb. The first thing she did was take off her raincoat and trousers, which were stained with blood and sweat and smelled terrible, and threw them, along with her gloves, into a large, specially prepared sealed bag and tied it up tightly.
Then, she went into the bathroom.
There was no electricity, so naturally there was no hot water. But she was already used to it. She took out some pre-stored warm water that had been sun-dried from her storage space, dipped a towel in it, and carefully wiped her body. The cool water touched her skin, sending a slight shiver down her spine, but it also washed away the stickiness and grime, invigorating her.
Looking at her young face reflected in the mirror, a face etched with weariness and coldness, Ruan Ning gently patted her cheeks. Thankfully, she wasn't injured.
After washing up, she changed into clean and soft loungewear. The comfort of being wrapped in the fabric almost made her let out a satisfied sigh.
She went to the living room and turned on a rechargeable desk lamp. She took out a steaming bowl of beef rice from her spatial storage, and a slightly chilled energy drink mixed with water from the spatial spring.
Sitting on the floor by the window, leaning against the wall, she ate her food in small but quick bites. Rice and beef wouldn't normally make her feel particularly delicious, but when she was starving, they were an unparalleled treat.
The icy drink slid down my throat, quenching my thirst and slowly replenishing my strength and energy.
After finishing her meal, she disposed of the trash and then took out a basic book on fluid mechanics that she had casually put in her space earlier. She hoped to find some inspiration for developing water-based superpowers from it. Under the faint blood-red moonlight shining through the window, she slowly flipped through the pages.
There were no howls of zombies, no scheming of the living, only the soft rustling of pages turning and her own steady breathing.
This moment of relaxation and peace is invaluable.
She knew that such moments wouldn't come often. Tomorrow, the day after... she would still have to leave this safe house, face an even more brutal apocalypse, pursue power, and implement her plan step by step.
But at least for this moment, she allowed herself to temporarily shed all her armor and defenses, simply as a weary survivor, quietly enjoying this brief respite, allowing her body and mind to slowly recover in this island-like tranquility.
The night is still long, and so is her journey.
The next day, as the crimson dawn once again replaced the deep darkness, Ruan Ning was already fully prepared to depart.
After a night's rest and the nourishment of the spatial spring water, yesterday's fatigue has been swept away, and the consumed supernatural energy has been fully restored. In fact, the water-based energy even feels a bit more solid than before.
She clearly understood that fighting and attrition were themselves a form of cultivation.
They still quietly drove out of the underground parking garage, the SUV like a silent beast, navigating the maze of ruins and abandoned vehicles.
Today, she chose a new direction—an area dominated by old-style residential buildings and low-rise shops, where alleyways are complex and the zombie density may be high, but it may also hide corners that have not been extensively looted, and... more hunting opportunities.
The car stopped in a secluded spot some distance from the target area. Ruan Ning parked the car and continued on foot, blending himself into the shadows of the broken walls and ruins.
Compared to yesterday, the streets seemed less vibrant. The number of survivors scrambling for food had dwindled, perhaps because readily available supplies in the vicinity had been completely looted, or perhaps because... many of those who came out never made it back.
The atmosphere of despair in the air grew even stronger.
She passed by the entrance of a residential compound. The iron gate was twisted and open, and from inside came the continuous howls of zombies and sporadic crashing sounds. Clearly, the living people inside had either escaped or... become part of it.
In front of a smashed jewelry store, she saw two fresh corpses—not zombies, but living people. One had its throat bitten open, and the other had a dagger embedded in its chest. Scattered around them were pieces of gold and silver jewelry, gleaming uselessly in the blood-red light.
It seems so ironic in the end times to die for things that cannot be eaten or drunk.
"Get out of the way! We found it first!"
A low, stern rebuke came from a small alley ahead.
Ruan Ning approached silently and saw that the back door of a convenience store had been pried open. Five or six sallow-faced, emaciated men were blocking the doorway, holding sticks and kitchen knives, confronting another group of people inside.
The two men glared fiercely at each other, like hungry wolves fighting for territory, ready to draw their swords over the possible remaining food in the shop.
Ruan Ning swept past the alleyway indifferently, without stopping. This kind of struggle will only increase in the days to come.
She continued deeper, heading specifically towards the areas where the low growls of the zombies were coming from.
At an intersection, she saw a sizable horde of zombies, about twenty or thirty in number, surrounding an overturned bus and pounding on its body. Faint cries of terror and pleas for help could be heard coming from inside the bus.
Ruan Ning glanced at them coldly and then walked around them. She was not a savior, nor did she have the ability to rescue a stranger from a horde of corpses.
She chose a relatively quiet street, but one where shadows seemed to flicker behind the balconies and windows of the residential buildings on both sides. Scattered zombies roamed here, making it perfect for her practice.
Having locked onto a zombie rummaging through a garbage dump, Ruan Ning didn't immediately use her supernatural abilities. Like a hunting leopard, she stealthily approached, using the abandoned newsstand and vehicles as cover.
When she was close enough, she suddenly sprang into action! Her footsteps were swift and silent, and the machete in her hand drew a deadly arc—
Pfft!
A precise severance of the head, blood splattering everywhere. The zombie didn't even have time to let out a complete roar.
She skillfully searched for crystal cores, but found none, so she immediately moved to another location to look for the next target.
This time, she tried to use her supernatural abilities. When another zombie spotted her and roared as it charged at her, she stood still, raised her hand, and focused her mind.
A light blue water arrow, more refined and faster than yesterday's, shot out!
Whoosh—Pfft!
The water jet struck the zombie precisely in the eye socket, its powerful penetration directly damaging its brain. The zombie's forward momentum came to an abrupt halt, and it collapsed to the ground.
"My control has improved." Ruan Ning was slightly pleased, feeling that this attack consumed less energy than yesterday, yet the effect was better.
She constantly changed her position and attack methods, sometimes using melee slashes, sometimes using ranged water arrows, and even trying to deal with two zombies attacking from different directions at the same time—using water arrows to slow down one's movement, while simultaneously dealing with the other at close range, and then turning around to deal with the one injured by the water arrows.
The battle pace was intense and efficient.
Just as she finished off a zombie in pajamas with a water arrow and was about to catch her breath, a window on the third floor of a nearby residential building was suddenly flung open!
An elderly woman with gray hair and a haggard face leaned out, clutching a small cloth bag tightly in her hand, and called out to Ruan Ning in a low voice with all her might:
"Girl! Girl! Help me! I'll give you food! I still have some rice!"
The old woman's eyes were filled with desperate pleading. She shook the cloth bag in her hand, which probably contained her last remaining food.
Ruan Ning looked up and gave her a cold look.
Almost at the same moment the old woman made her voice, several zombies wandering nearby were immediately attracted, roaring as they converged on the building and began ramming the unit doors and windows.
The old woman turned pale with fright, hurriedly pulled her back, and closed the window, but her pleading eyes seemed to still be conveyed through the glass.
Ruan Ning withdrew her gaze expressionlessly, and without the slightest hesitation, quickly turned around and disappeared into the shadows of the alleyway beside her in a few leaps.
She didn't have any extra compassion to squander, and she certainly wouldn't risk attacking a residential building that might be besieged by zombies for a mere bit of food.
In the apocalypse, everyone must be responsible for their own survival.
Her training for the day is not over yet; the hunt continues.
On this brutal path to survival in the apocalypse, she must be as hard as stone and proceed with extreme caution.
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