After getting out of the car, Ji Lin'an didn't immediately enter the supermarket. Instead, he got out, opened the back door, bent down to check under the driver's seat, took a few photos with his phone, and then pulled me into the supermarket. We sat down in the rest area outside the checkout area, and I quickly asked, "Do you suspect there's a bug in the car?"
Ji Lin'an nodded: "When you went to check the truck's trunk this morning, I happened to open the car door to pick up Kaka's phone that had fallen on the back seat floor mat. I glanced down and saw a red light flashing under the driver's seat. Before I could see clearly, I heard you exclaim, so I told you not to speak when I couldn't confirm what it was in the car."
Ji Lin'an opened her phone to check the photos she had just taken. After zooming in, she saw a small black box with a red light under the driver's seat. There was a string of English words on it, which she recognized: "Made in China." She looked up helplessly and said, "I thought it was an explanation of what this black box was for, and I was even happy for two seconds, thinking that my English had improved."
Ji Lin'an smiled faintly: "There's another string of smaller characters below. Do you know what it means?"
I took a closer look, then looked up and gave an embarrassed smile: "This is beyond my knowledge. I returned all my knowledge to my teachers when I graduated."
Ji Lin'an smiled and shook his head: "It means military eavesdropping device."
I frowned: "Wu Feng wouldn't be so bored as to install this thing in his car, would he?"
Ji Lin'an nodded: "Yes, it shouldn't be him pretending. He has no reason to pretend."
I pondered for two seconds: "The only people who touched the car were you, me, Wufeng, Qianliyan, and Kaka. Excluding you, me, and Wufeng, Qianliyan couldn't have installed a bug, so it's Kaka. But why would Kaka install a bug?"
Ji Lin'an shook his head in puzzlement: "I can't guess what her purpose is in doing this."
I was puzzled. "I always felt that what happened between Kaka and Xilang this morning wasn't so simple. When I asked Kaka what Xilang did to her, Kaka's expression was a bit strange. When I asked her if she had a driver's license, she wanted to nod, but then she said she didn't. Only people who have had a driver's license for a while would habitually nod when asked. But she said she would only turn 18 after the apocalypse started, and it would be impossible for her to get a driver's license during that time. So when she realized what was going on, she chose to say she didn't have a driver's license. But I suspect she lied about her age. Like you said before, she doesn't seem like a child of that age."
Ji Lin'an nodded at me: "Yes, and Xi Lang's sudden appearance..."
Ji Lin'an seemed to suddenly realize something and said to me in surprise, "We've all overlooked something very important."
Before Ji Lin'an could speak, I instantly realized, "That's right! From Jiang Kexin and Zhu Chen to Xilang today, the system didn't issue any approach warnings when they appeared!"
Ji Lin'an nodded seriously: "Yes, at first I thought Jiang Kexin had some kind of ability to interfere with the alarm, but then things happened so suddenly that we didn't have time to think about it. Now it seems that the warning has been lifted."
I frowned: "So, right now, we could be attacked by lucky guys at any moment, without any warning."
Ji Lin'an looked around warily: "There is no such thing as absolute safety anymore. We must always be vigilant."
I nodded: "Do you think Kaka and Xilang know each other?"
Ji Lin'an shook his head: "They don't seem to know each other, but they don't look like they're meeting for the first time today. If you were the one who met Xilang today, would you agree to let him hypnotize you on the first meeting?"
I shook my head: "Impossible. I wouldn't do it even if it were someone I knew. After all, I'm a girl. I can't let myself fall asleep in front of a man if I can't guarantee my own safety."
Ji Lin'an nodded: "So, unless Kaka is really very naive, she wouldn't do such a thing. But she's not naive. Judging from her behavior these past few days, she doesn't seem like the kind of person who would do something like this."
I massaged my throbbing temples: "And when you asked Xilang why he knew we were there, Kaka chimed in, saying she had posted photos on social media. I refresh the page all the time so I can be on the front lines of the gossip, but I've never seen any of Kaka's posts. Unless I don't own the platform she posted on, or she's lying."
I pondered for a moment and said, "Don't you think there's something hidden in Xilang and Xiao K's conversation? It's like Xilang is showing off something to Xiao K."
Ji Lin'an sneered: "Just showing off your numbers, I guess, like one salesperson showing off their clients to another."
I raised my index finger and shook it, saying, "Yes, yes, that's exactly the feeling. And when Xiao K pressed Xilang for answers, Xilang didn't want to tell Xiao K our location, as if he was worried that Xiao K would come and steal our business."
Ji Lin'an rubbed his forehead and lowered his head, smiling wearily. "We thought we could hide in these deep mountains and forests and be safe, but it seems we can't find peace now. If it's really as we think, he won't leave unless we go to G City with Xilang. How could he possibly abandon his prey that's already in his mouth?"
I slumped against Ji Lin'an's shoulder, feeling deflated: "What kind of place is G City anyway? I'm getting more and more curious now."
Ji Lin'an put his arm around my shoulder and said, "Let's wait and see what Jiang Kexin has to say. After all, you saved her life. Let's see what she has to say when she gets to G City."
I looked up and sat up straight: "Alright, that's the only way. Let's go. Kaka said we should have hot pot, so let's go inside and find some ingredients."
Ji Lin'an nodded, got up, and pulled me into the shopping area. After wandering around for a while, I said helplessly, "I forgot that this supermarket has been completely looted. I even said I saw food in the frozen section. It seems I was just imagining things."
Ji Lin'an patted my shoulder lightly: "Let's go for a walk around the neighborhood and see if other supermarkets have it."
I nodded dejectedly. Ji Lin'an and I drove around the town for half a day. There were convenience stores almost everywhere, but no frozen food. I turned to Ji Lin'an and said, "Forget it, let's go back. I still have some dried goods in my space. I'll grab some dried mushrooms and seaweed to make do. There's also some leftover lamb offal from yesterday in the fridge, that should be enough."
Ji Lin'an nodded in agreement, and we drove back to the shelter. Kaka and Wufeng had already prepared the hot pot base, and Wufeng had also prepared yesterday's lamb offal and put it on the table. I quickly went into my space to take out the dried goods and soak them in water. When Qianliyan saw that we had returned empty-handed, he immediately ran up to us, grinning wickedly: "What have you two been doing? You've been wandering around for so long and haven't brought anything back."
To avoid arousing suspicion from Xilang and Kaka, I pretended to blush and ignored Qianliyan. Ji Lin'an frantically gave Qianliyan signals to shut up, and Qianliyan laughed even harder: "Oh, I understand."
After half an hour of tinkering in the kitchen, we finally got to eat hot pot. Seeing everyone laughing and chatting at the table, I felt even more agitated, with an inexplicable sense of unease. Perhaps this was just the calm before the storm.
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