Apocalypse Escape: Day One of Survival

"Come now! To fate for bringing us together. Miss Huang, Mr. Zhong, let’s all have a toast and thank the heavens for their mercy in giving us a chance to live."

"Hahaha, yes, let’s!"

Inside the CityArrow Club lobby, everyone had pushed three long tables together. Laid out on them was a rich spread of dishes, quite rare in the post-apocalyptic world.

There were various canned goods—pork, beef, vegetables, and fruit. There were even a few rare plates of stir-fried, vibrant green vegetables.

In the center sat a large basin of stewed pork with glass noodles, which gave off a faint, strange smell.

Only the higher-ups of this small team were seated at this table. Ma Xiaotian sat beside her father, her mouth already watering. She held up her bowl and immediately began to grab food.

Besides their table, three smaller tables were set up in the lobby. A dozen or so survivors crowded around them, scrambling to grab meat from the basins, their faces greasy with oil as they ate with gusto.

Xie Ning, affecting an air of elegance, took out half a bottle of water from her backpack. She poured it into her bowl to rinse her chopsticks and soup spoon, then casually splashed the dirty water onto the floor.

This action left the group at her table staring, utterly dumbfounded. A piece of meat even fell out of Ma Xiaotian’s mouth and onto the table.

Everyone stared at her with the most peculiar expressions, as if Xie Ning were a fool who’d just escaped from an asylum...

’What kind of world does she think this is?’

’Does she think she can still act like she’s at a restaurant in the old world?’

’The ice and snow had been a godsend they were all ecstatic about, and yet here was someone living a life of such unbelievable delicacy?’

’Truly a sheltered flower raised in a big base, isn’t she? So elegant and noble it’s enough to make you jealous!’

Ma Xiaotian picked up the meat that had fallen on the table and ate it. Her big eyes, glinting strangely, stared at Xie Ning as she said with a grin, "Wow, Ms. Huang, you’re so extravagant."

"We use water from the melted ice chunks outside for everything—washing pots, bowls, our faces, our bodies."

"Xiaotian," Martin said, patting his daughter’s head. He smiled at Xie Ning. "Miss Huang, don’t mind her. She’s just a child and doesn’t know what she’s saying."

Xie Ning committed to her role as a spoiled rich girl, widening her eyes and asking curiously, "Is... is your life this difficult? Um, aren’t there Water Ability Users who can provide water?"

Martin gave a bitter smile. "Our outpost has over thirty survivors. Sigh. We only have one Water Ability User, and the clean water he produces isn’t even enough for drinking, so of course we can’t waste it."

Xie Ning immediately offered a piece of bait. "My family has a lot of water. My dad stored more than a thousand cases of mineral water before the apocalypse. As long as you can safely escort us back to Golden City Base, I can have my dad give you twenty percent as a reward."

"Really?" Everyone looked overjoyed, except for the little girl, Ma Xiaotian. She pursed her lips, seemingly too disdainful to even pretend, and let out a soft snort.

Martin shot his daughter a warning glance.

Ma Xiaotian turned her head and mouthed something to him.

Xie Ning’s spiritual power was incredibly sharp, and she immediately caught Ma Xiaotian’s silent words: ’Dad, we just need to kill these pushovers. Why waste time talking to them?’

’What a... bloodthirsty little brat.’

Ma Xiaotian glanced at Xie Ning. Under her father’s warning gaze, she lowered her head to continue eating, but she was sneering inwardly.

’This foolish woman, still waiting for them to take her back to Golden City Base?’

’Sending her to her grave is more like it.’

’Her father’s stashed mineral water and other food would all be theirs sooner or later anyway. As if they’d care about a measly twenty percent reward. Hmph. How ridiculous.’

"Miss Huang, thank you so much for your help." Martin smiled, revealing a row of large, yellow teeth. "But the hailstorm has continued for the past two days, so the roads must be very difficult to travel."

"So I’d like to ask Miss Huang to be patient and stay at our outpost for a few days."

"Miss Huang, rest assured. As soon as the weather clears, we can immediately escort you and Mr. Zhong back to Golden City Base."

"Is that so?" Xie Ning feigned a thoughtful expression, then nodded in helpless resignation. "Sigh, it seems that’s the only option."

Martin breathed a sigh of relief, then smiled at Xie Ning again. "Miss Huang, I have a favor to ask, though it might be a bit much. I hope you’ll agree."

"Go ahead." Xie Ning nodded and smiled slightly. "Since Ma has promised to take us back, it’s only right that we help out a little."

"Ah, you’re too kind." Martin smiled so widely his eyes crinkled shut. "It’s like this. I heard that Gold Ability Users are quite exceptional when it comes to controlling metal—that they can even open locks at will?"

Xie Ning deliberately hesitated, a troubled expression on her face. "The Gold Ability Users you’re talking about, the ones who can freely manipulate locks... they must be powerful masters at the Third Rank or above, right?"

"I’m only First Rank," Xie Ning said with embarrassment, lowering her head slightly. "I probably can’t help Ma."

"Hah." Ma Xiaotian scraped a finger across her cheek and made a face at Xie Ning. "Someone your age is only First Rank? That’s hilarious, especially for someone who claims to be from a big base."

"Even in a small outpost like ours, my dad is already a Third-stage Power-type Superpower User."

Seeing the look of shock in Xie Ning’s eyes, Ma Xiaotian proudly tilted her chin up. "Impressive, right?"

Martin, however, just smiled sheepishly and scratched his head. "I’m making a fool of myself, Miss Huang. It was just a lucky break, a lucky break."

Xie Ning, however, put on a look of admiration at just the right moment, staring at Martin and gushing, "Ma, you really are incredible."

"Not at all, not at all."

Ma Xiaotian snorted. "What a suck-up."

Xie Ning had no desire to waste words on a little brat, so she ignored her and continued speaking to Martin. "I might not be able to help you much. Does Ma need a Gold Ability User to open locks?"

"Yes." Martin gave a bitter laugh. "We’re searching for supplies in Kowloon Warehouse Mansion. If we could search that entire residential complex, we should be able to gather a lot of supplies and solve our current urgent shortage."

"Unfortunately, this complex was built to high specifications, with electronic code locks and reinforced doors."

"Sigh. Axes can’t break them, and blades can’t cut them down. It takes several of us Superpower Users a great deal of effort just to take down one door."

"At this rate, it takes us several days just to get into one apartment to search. It costs too much time and energy. So I wanted to ask if you knew of any shortcuts."

The woman with short, curly hair beside him nodded in agreement. "But haven’t we heard that you Gold Ability Users can freely manipulate metal? Can’t you change the shape of a metal-reinforced door?"

Xie Ning gave an awkward smile and shook her head. "The kind you’re talking about must be high-Rank Gold Ability Users. For someone like me, my superpower energy would be gone after just a couple of uses. I don’t think I can do it."

"It’s alright. Miss Huang, don’t feel too much pressure. We’ll just go and give it a try tomorrow. How does that sound?"

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