"To be honest with you, we swept through several villas to the north but didn’t find any supplies, so we gave up. After all, searching for supplies consumes energy, and finding nothing is just a foolish waste of it."
Xie Ning’s expression relaxed slightly. "I see. No wonder we were waiting for you at the southernmost house and you never showed up." She nodded as if it all made perfect sense. "Believe it or not, the villa’s door just pushed right open."
"As long as we’ve cleared the air." Martin also nodded in understanding and smiled as he raised his wrist to check his watch. "Miss Huang, look, it’s almost nine o’clock now. The hail has basically stopped, and an umbrella can block the smaller bits."
"How about we hit the road now?"
"That’s great!" Xie Ning’s eyes lit up, and she immediately showed a hint of delight. "Couldn’t be better. Let’s get moving now."
"Hey, Miss Huang, shouldn’t you have some breakfast before you go?"
"No, no." Xie Ning patted her bulging backpack. "We’ve already eaten breakfast. We can leave right now."
Seeing her anxious to leave, Martin actually felt a slight sense of relief.
Over the past two days, because they couldn’t find Xie Ning and Beichen, they had been holding frequent meetings, urging Ms. Hao to locate the pair with her ability as soon as possible.
They had once thought the two were feigning weakness to prey on the strong, and had definitely escaped during the chaos at the club when the "Little Sweetie" virus broke out.
They never expected that two days later, the pair would actually walk right into their trap.
’Not only that, but they even brought back supplies. What a... naive and kind young couple.’
"Miss Huang, don’t be in such a hurry. Although we’re also ready to go, we still need to do a head count."
Xie Ning quickly stepped aside, nodding with a polite smile. "Of course. You go ahead, Ma."
Although Martin hated her guts, he maintained his simpleminded smile on the surface.
The head count was quickly finished. Besides the core members—Martin, Chai Lei, Ms. Hao, and Gong Pingfan—there were fifteen regular members, all of them bone-thin men.
Unlike the core members, who had down jackets and other warm clothing, these men were all thinly dressed.
Even though they layered on as many T-shirts and shirts as they could, the few thin layers offered little protection against the wind.
Xie Ning glanced over, a saintly, compassionate expression on her face. "Riding on the tractor like that, they’ll freeze to death, won’t they?"
"It’s fine. We have a small truck for the cargo. We can take them along, no problem. They can sit in the cargo bed."
’The thin walls of the cargo bed would, at best, block some of the biting wind. After a bumpy, grueling journey like that, it was hard to say if they would even reach Chaoyang Base alive.’
Ms. Hao’s lips twitched into a smirk that didn’t reach her eyes. "Since Miss Huang is so kind-hearted, why don’t you take off your down jacket and help them?"
Xie Ning clutched her jacket tighter, a look of frightened indignation on her face as she shot Ms. Hao a harsh glare. "They’re your teammates who have been through thick and thin with you, not my subordinates. If anyone should contribute, it should be you! Don’t you all have winter quilts? How about lending them out to block the wind?"
Ms. Hao sneered and turned her head away.
The rattling of iron chains came from nearby.
Xie Ning looked up, her pupils suddenly contracting.
A burly man with a scruffy beard, his white T-shirt hanging in tatters, was kicked twice and herded in their direction.
Trailing behind him was a trembling girl. Her dull, yellow hair was limp, her body was bone-thin, and her yellow sweatshirt had turned black with grime.
Beichen leaned close to Xie Ning and whispered, "The Water Ability User?"
Xie Ning’s gaze was fixed on the scruffy-bearded man, who looked to be in his fifties.
Although his face was black and blue from being beaten and his cheeks were completely sunken, she could still recognize him from his distinct features.
In her past life, he had meticulously taught her the Fighting Skill. Though an ordinary person, his spirit was stronger than anyone’s.
Xie Ning’s retired veteran master, Ke Li!
Xie Ning forced a cold, detached smile. "Ma, who are these two?"
"Oh, just a couple of nobodies." Martin turned his head, shooting a vicious glare at the old veteran.
If it weren’t for that damn woman, Zhao Yanhan, threatening to kill herself unless they kept the old veteran alive, Martin would never have allowed the old man to live this long.
They still had to rely on Zhao Yanhan’s Water Ability.
Martin wiped the vicious look from his face and turned to Xie Ning with a smile. "We can head out now."
Xie Ning suppressed the murderous urge in her heart and followed Martin and the others outside.
They had a small box truck loaded with canned food, which they had also packed with quite a few people.
There was also a semi-open flatbed truck loaded with baskets of meat.
One look was enough to nearly make Beichen vomit. Xie Ning quickly squeezed his hand, turned him around, and boarded the tractor at the front.
Martin and Gong Pingfan had already found seats.
Gong Pingfan was holding the iron chains attached to Ke Li and Zhao Yanhan.
After the tractor started up with a CHUG-CHUG-CHUG, it moved slowly, but the biting wind and fine hail lashing their faces still made Zhao Yanhan shiver uncontrollably.
As expected of a man of iron, Ke Li’s single, thin, torn white T-shirt offered no protection from the wind and biting chill.
But even though he was frozen to the bone, his lips blue with cold, he didn’t even let out a single groan.
Xie Ning sat across from them. Unable to openly stare at her master, she could only observe him secretly.
Having spent the last few days with her, Beichen had become somewhat familiar with the girl’s temperament. He could clearly sense her inner turmoil and the huge fluctuations in her emotions.
He glanced at the iron-willed man across from them, frowned, and pulled a thin wool blanket from his bag, tossing it directly onto the pair.
Feeling Xie Ning’s turbulent emotions calm down slightly, Beichen secretly raised an eyebrow.
’So it really is that guy across from us affecting this brat’s mood?’
’So they know each other?’
’How strange. I’m so curious! How do they know each other? Did they know each other from before?’
’Then how come the iron-willed man had no reaction when he saw Xie Ning?’
’But Xie Ning’s emotions are going haywire, and she’s desperately suppressing a murderous rage.’
"Thank you, thank you." With tears in her eyes, Zhao Yanhan quickly pulled the thin blanket and wrapped it around the iron-willed man.
"What’s this, Mr. Zhong? Feeling sorry for them?"
"If you let my uncle freeze to death, I’ll kill myself right now! Then you won’t get a single drop of water from me! Don’t think I won’t take you down with me!" Zhao Yanhan turned her head to glare at Martin, her bloodshot eyes full of hatred.
"Threatening me?" Gong Pingfan raised a hand to grab the woman by the neck.
Xie Ning shot a kick out, landing it squarely on the side of Gong Pingfan’s leg. "Are you annoying or what? If you want to fight or kill someone, do it somewhere else. Don’t buzz around in front of me."
The kick made Gong Pingfan’s calf ache, his muscles twitching in spasms. He was instantly filled with rage and resentment.
Just as he was about to get up, Martin pushed him back down. "Pingfan."
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