Before Zhou Ziqi could speak, Ruan Qing'an had already stood up, gripped the Tang sword in his hand, and walked to the supermarket entrance first, looking out.
Zhou Ziqi, who was standing to the side, also opened his eyes. There was no trace of sleepiness in his eyes. He even maintained a vigilant posture, which allowed him to react at any time and decide whether to use a scalpel to slit the other person's neck or to run away.
Ruan Qing'an glanced at it and almost laughed in anger: "Just how much does this jerk distrust me?!"
Just then, Zhou Ziqi approached.
His tall and slender body bent slightly, his elbows resting on the glass door, his upturned phoenix eyes observing the situation outside. Faint car lights could be seen on the highway in the distance.
Immediately afterwards, it seemed as if they were turning to enter the service area.
"Looks like we have some uninvited guests."
Zhou Ziqi paused, then raised his hand and patted Ruan Qing'an's head, smiling affectionately, "Little Ruan should be able to handle it, right?"
"Boss, you should go and rest first."
Zhou Ziqi also turned around and went back to the cashier. Although he was supposed to be resting, he was still staring intently at Ruan Qing'an's movements.
...
Soon the SUV drove into the service area, and two men and a woman got out. One of them was as strong as a bear, with bulging muscles, while the other man was as thin as a monkey, presenting two extremes. The remaining woman was unremarkable.
"Zhang Si, are you sure you want to go that way?"
"Then you give me directions, Lin Da, how many times have you asked already!"
"Why the hell are you so angry?!"
The two men were about to start arguing when the woman stepped in to break them up, saying, "Alright, both of you, stop talking."
The woman's name was Li Dongmei, and she was the calmest person in the small group.
As she was speaking, she turned her head and suddenly noticed that the small supermarket still had faint emergency lights. It seemed that someone had managed to get the generator out, which was how they managed to restore some power.
What's truly bizarre is that there are people in this remote place.
Li Dongmei lowered her voice: "Stop making noise, there are people here."
Lin Da, who was as strong as a bear, finally reacted and glared fiercely at Zhang Si next to him: "Damn it, didn't you say this road was hidden and no one would find this place?"
Zhang Si ignored Lin Da's cursing and walked towards the supermarket with Li Dongmei. Lin Da, feeling awkward, had no choice but to follow.
The supermarket doors were tightly closed and locked with chains.
Li Dongmei stepped forward first and patted the door: "Friends inside, can you open the door? We mean no harm, we are just survivors passing by!"
But no one answered inside the supermarket. She could only vaguely see light behind the checkout counter and shadowy black figures. Li Dongmei couldn't help but frown, but before she could speak, Lin Da strode forward.
He kicked the glass door open: "Open the door!"
"Are you fucking crazy? The glass door is broken. Even if we get in, do you dare rest in an environment where zombies could come in at any time?!"
Zhang Si was so angry he was about to vomit blood. He scolded them in a low voice, then turned to the supermarket and said, "Sorry, we just escaped and are emotionally unstable. We just want to find a place to rest and leave as soon as possible tomorrow morning."
Inside the supermarket, Ruan Qing'an, hiding behind the checkout counter, propped himself up with his knife, looked at Zhou Ziqi, and spoke in a whisper.
'Boss, should we kick them out?'
'Otherwise what?'
Zhou Ziqi raised an eyebrow slightly, his smile undiminished.
Ruan Qingan then stood up, holding a knife in one hand with the tip pointing diagonally to the ground, and walked to the supermarket entrance: "Leave here."
Finally seeing someone come out, Li Dongmei subconsciously wanted to speak, but she met a pair of cold eyes. A petite girl in sportswear was holding a long knife, and her aura was extremely sharp.
Li Dongmei paused, then quickly said, "It's like this, we're fleeing here, heading to the Third Human Base—"
"We are people with superpowers, so you should be careful, young lady!"
Lin Da said in a rough voice, "There are plenty of zombies in this desolate wilderness. This broken glass door won't stop them. Don't think you can survive just by picking up a knife from somewhere."
"Yes, little sister, let us go in and rest. If anything happens, we can protect you. Humans should help each other."
Li Dongmei persuaded her earnestly.
But Ruan Qing'an merely frowned slightly, subtly shifted the blade, and looked at them with a cold gaze: "No need, please leave immediately."
Seeing that Ruan Qing'an was adamant and Lin Da was still trying to argue, Zhang Si quickly stepped forward and pushed him away: "We came from the neighboring city of S. If you want to go to the base, we can show you the way. We can also point out any other dangers along the way!"
S City?
Behind the cashier, Zhou Ziqi raised an eyebrow.
Just as Ruan Qing'an was about to refuse, he suddenly stood up and leaned against the cashier: "Xiao Ruan, open the door and let them in."
"Understood, boss."
Ruan Qingan nodded obediently before opening the supermarket door.
The three people looked at each other and then filed in, sitting down not far from Nguyen Thanh An and his group, maintaining a polite and distant distance.
The petite girl, clutching a knife, sat obediently cross-legged beside Zhou Ziqi, while the tall, slender young man bent his legs, poking the girl's cheek with a chocolate bar, his attitude casual and nonchalant.
Li Dongmei observed carefully.
Just then, Zhou Ziqi suddenly said, "You said you came from S City. I heard that it was overrun by mutated plants. Is that true or false? How did you manage to escape?"
"It's true."
Zhang Si nodded, still shaken, and said, "There are hardly any people left in S City. Because the surrounding vegetation covers a large area, half of the city has fallen. We only managed to escape by risking our lives."
"Is that so... So, mutant plants are very powerful?"
Zhou Ziqi asked again, his voice tinged with unusual excitement and enthusiasm.
But Zhang Si and the others didn't pay attention and continued, "They are quite powerful, but mainly because they are gathered together. If they are scattered, they are not as threatening as mutated animals and zombies."
"That's right, because the mutated plants mainly take root in one place. As long as you don't get close to their hunting range, nothing will happen. The reason S City is in this state is because their roots have spread to the point that no one knows the extent of their reach, and it's impossible to stop them."
Listening to their words, Zhou Ziqi pondered for a moment before saying, "Okay, thank you."
"You're too kind, you're too kind."
Ruan Qing'an listened silently, dutifully playing the role of bodyguard. When Zhou Ziqi didn't call her, she was just a knife that hadn't been drawn.
But when he looked down, Ruan Qing'an's leaden eyes flickered slightly. It seemed that Zhou Ziqi's target was inextricably linked to S City...
After a brief exchange, both sides fell silent again.
As darkness fell, the small supermarket fell into complete silence, and the highway outside was also almost silent.
Zhou Ziqi leaned against the corner of the wall with his eyes closed, covered with a blanket, seemingly asleep. Ruan Qing'an, on the other hand, held a Tang sword in one hand and leaned against the wall. Although he was asleep with his eyes closed, he seemed to be on high alert, his whole body tense.
Meanwhile, a small group of three people were also resting nearby.
But in the pitch black, a pair of eyes suddenly opened, and Lin Da, who was as strong as a bear, silently sat up.
\u0005\u0005\u0005\u0005\u0005
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com