Chapter 5
The feeling from Chen Mengzhou's fingertips—thick calluses and icy sweat—was completely different from the neatly dressed people in her future dreams, who seemed to have escaped the primitive survival stage. This was the feeling of being alive, struggling in the mud of the present.
The man, using her strength, stood up, grimacing as he stretched his bruised arms and legs. The expression of gratitude on his face became even more vivid. "Thank you so much! If it weren't for you, I would definitely have died here! My name is Zhao Jun, Jun is the character for mountain! What's your name, young lady?"
He took the initiative to introduce his name, his tone warm, trying to quickly build a closer relationship, but his eyes quickly swept over Shen Mengzhou's body like a searchlight, assessing her condition, equipment, and those overly calm eyes.
Zhao Jun. His name sounded quite tough. With his relatively solid physique and those shrewd eyes, he certainly didn't look like a wimp who would just wail and wait for death.
"Chen Mengzhou." She announced his name, her tone still flat, no emotion evident. She didn't ask further questions, like what specific supplies his previous team had "gotten by good luck." Some things don't need to be broken in a hurry.
"Miss Shen!" Zhao Jun readily adopted a more familiar address. "Your skills... are truly amazing! I've never seen anyone as skilled as you..." He gestured, a mixture of awe and fear on his face. "Those monsters can't even get close to you!"
He was testing her, wanting to know the details and limits of her "little tricks".
Chen Mengzhou didn't respond. Her gaze passed Zhao Jun and reached the street beyond. A few wandering zombies, seemingly attracted by the sounds of fighting and the smell of blood, were staggering towards them.
"Follow me if you can still walk." She said briefly, turning and walking towards an alley perpendicular to the direction the zombies were coming from. "Try not to make any noise."
She didn't check to see if Zhao Jun's injuries were truly "not a problem," nor did she offer to share his backpack—even though it looked considerably bulgier than hers. In the apocalypse, showing weakness or excessive kindness could be interpreted as ulterior motives or weakness.
A subtle flicker of surprise flashed across Zhao Jun's eyes, as if he hadn't expected the other party to be so decisive, even a little cold. He gritted his teeth, endured the pain in his body, and quickly followed Chen Mengzhou, trying to make his steps light.
"Miss Shen, where are we going now?" He asked in a low voice, his breathing a little unstable due to the rush to catch up. "I'm very familiar with this area. Our team has searched for supplies here before. I know a few relatively safe places to stay."
He began trying to provide value in exchange for trust and dominance.
Chen Mengzhou continued walking, her eyes scanning the windows and intersections on both sides of the alley, looking for any zombies that might suddenly pounce. Zhao Jun's "familiarity" was exactly what she needed right now.
"Let's find a place with a good view where we can rest temporarily," she said, without specifying a specific direction. Instead, she posed the question, "Which spot do you think is best? It should be easy to defend and difficult to attack, and preferably have multiple escape routes."
She was testing his sincerity and ability, and also using his "familiarity" to improve her own map cognition.
Zhao Jun's eyes flickered rapidly, his mind clearly weighing the pros and cons. If he pointed to a truly good place, he might expose some of his secret bases; if he pointed to a bad place, it would appear worthless and he might be immediately abandoned by this seemingly decisive and powerful woman.
"Yes!" He hesitated for only two seconds before making an immediate decision. He pointed northwest, "Across this alley, there's an old library. Although it's a brick-concrete structure, it hasn't completely collapsed, and the main structure is still quite solid. It has three floors, and the staircase is narrow. If you block the entrance to the staircase, it's difficult to get up from below. There's a small attic on the top floor with a great view, and you can see what's happening in several nearby streets. There's also an abandoned freight tunnel behind the library, so if things go wrong, we can evacuate there."
The description is detailed, both the advantages and disadvantages are mentioned, and it seems very sincere.
Chen Mengzhou glanced at him. A library? An interesting choice. Books were useless in the apocalypse, but such places were usually well-built and, as he'd said, easily defended and difficult to attack.
"Lead the way." She said it briefly, without showing whether she was satisfied or not.
"Okay! This way!" Zhao Jun seemed relieved and hurried to the front to lead the way. He kept a low profile, but every turn and every choice of path seemed extremely skillful and experienced. It was obvious that his familiarity with this area was not an exaggeration.
The two of them, one in front and one behind, silently and swiftly moved through the ruined alleys. Chen Mengzhou remained alert, half of his mind used to perceive the danger in reality, and the other half repeatedly recalling and chewing on the information in that future dream.
"Contribution points", "gene enhancement potions", "time and space turbulence"... these words are intertwined with the dilapidated reality before our eyes.
She glanced at Zhao Jun's back, especially the slightly bulging part of his waist that he subconsciously protected.
Gene Enhancement Agent Type I (Defective)...
The first "variable" in reality has appeared.
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