Suspicious Stranger

Out of consideration for human decency, Zhao Tianlei nodded to Chen Yao beside him, and only then did Chen Yao press the unlock button. Hearing the sound, the three of them were overjoyed and quickly opened the left and right rear doors, scrambling inside. Cheng Yao, seeing this, didn't say much and stepped on the gas pedal, continuing to drive forward.

"Handsome guy, where are you guys headed? The city is full of terrifying zombies right now, it's very unsafe." Once they got into the car, the two men remained silent, but the woman immediately spoke to Zhao Tianlei, seemingly trying to find out their destination.

Zhao Tianlei didn't answer the woman's question. Instead, he asked, "Who exactly are you people? Are you together?"

The woman clearly hadn't expected Zhao Tianlei to ignore her question. She pouted slightly in dissatisfaction before putting on a pitiful expression. Although the woman's action seemed well-hidden, it didn't escape Zhao Tianlei's peripheral vision. He saw it clearly in the rearview mirror. Especially the two men on either side of the woman, who had been silent the whole time, but their eyes made Zhao Tianlei feel uneasy; they were definitely tough characters.

"What? You're not going to answer? Is there a problem?" Even so, Zhao Tianlei still pressed on.

The woman immediately said, "The three of us are family. This is my boyfriend, and this is my younger brother. We run a small business. Yesterday, we were talking with a client, and unexpectedly, this situation arose. While we were talking, the client turned into a man-eating monster. There were many other people around who also turned into zombies. We barely managed to escape the city in our car, and then we had an accident right here. It was chaotic all around, so we hid in the car and didn't dare to come out until we heard a car approaching just now, which is when we bravely came to ask for help."

After speaking, the woman turned to Zhao Tianlei and Cheng Yao and asked, "I've finished. What about you two? You and this little sister seem very close. Could you be a young couple? But judging by your ages, you're clearly students. How could ordinary students afford to drive this car? Did you perhaps find this Porsche Cayenne on the road? Also, you seem to have plans. Where are you going?"

Zhao Tianlei said without any concealment, "You're right, we are students. Students from Huazhong Business College in Yuzhou. Almost everyone at our school has turned into a zombie. We also escaped all the way here. Yesterday morning, I heard a radio broadcast. It said the government and the army had started rescue operations and established survivor bases. We're planning to head there, either drive directly to a survivor base or hope to encounter a search and rescue team on the way."

As soon as Zhao Tianlei finished speaking, the three people in the back exchanged glances. There was no hint of excitement on their faces regarding the survivor base and rescue teams that Zhao Tianlei mentioned. The man sitting behind Zhao Tianlei directly spoke to him, "Brother, is that backpack you're holding full of food? We haven't eaten for almost a day and have no strength. Can you spare some food?"

Hearing the other party's words, Zhao Tianlei remained silent. The woman in the middle quickly took off the gold bracelet on her wrist and handed it directly to Zhao Tianlei, saying, "Handsome guy, please give us some food. Sister is so hungry I'm seeing stars. I'll give you this gold bracelet as payment for your food, what do you say?"

Perhaps worried that Zhao Tianlei would refuse, the woman specifically emphasized, "Sister's item is absolutely pure gold. Even if you sell it at a low price, it's worth a lot of money."

After the other party finished speaking, Zhao Tianlei silently opened the zipper of his backpack, took out a few loaves of bread and some sausages, and then gave them a bottle of water. "Money is useless to me now. You can keep that. I don't want it. I'll give you this food."

Looking at the few loaves of bread and sausages in her hand, the woman didn't say anything. However, after receiving only one bottle of water, she couldn't help but complain, "Handsome guy, don't be so stingy. There are three adults here, and you're only giving us one bottle of water. How can we drink enough? Your backpack looks pretty full, clearly with a lot of things. Give us two more bottles of water."

As soon as the woman finished speaking, Cheng Yao, who was beside him, couldn't help but interject, "This food and water were found at the risk of our lives. It's already very good that we're giving it to you for free. Moreover, you should know that water is even more important than food. We don't have much with us either. We're treating you to this meal for free. From now on, you'll have to rely on your own abilities to find food."

In Cheng Yao's opinion, Zhao Tianlei was too kind-hearted. The woman behind them kept acting spoiled. If she continued with this tactic, Zhao Tianlei wouldn't be able to refuse her heartlessly, so Cheng Yao stepped forward to reject the three of them.

After Cheng Yao finished speaking, the two strange men clearly showed a hint of ruthlessness in their eyes. However, the woman waved her hand first and said, "Okay, okay, little sister, what you said is indeed very reasonable. Sister thanks you for the food this time. We'll work hard to find our own in the future. You drive, we're all starving, let's eat first."

Saying that, the woman began to open the bread and eat it with the sausages, taking large bites. The men on either side didn't say much and also started eating. From their eating habits, it was evident that they were starving. One loaf of bread and two sausages each. Although it wasn't enough to fill them up, it could still replenish some of their energy. However, for three adults, it only took a few minutes to finish. After they finished eating, the three of them looked at each other.

The woman spoke to Zhao Tianlei again, "Handsome guy, sister advises you to take a different route. To get to the base, you have to go through the city, which is very unsafe. It would be too much of a loss to die in the mouths of those zombies before even reaching the base. Look, if we combine our strengths, we have a car. Even if you're unwilling to help us next time, we can find our own food. As long as we find a safe place and wait, it will be fine for the search and rescue personnel to come directly to us, and then we can go."

Zhao Tianlei didn't take the woman's kind reminder to heart. Instead, he refused, "Really? If the city is unsafe, we'll take a detour from somewhere else. No matter what, we have to see for ourselves, otherwise, we won't be reconciled. If you don't want to go, we can stop the car at the intersection ahead and let you get out. You can find a place to hide yourselves."

"******, you brat. From now on, if you don't want to die, listen to me. Otherwise, I'll shoot you. Hand over that backpack you're holding to me first." As he spoke, something was pressed against Zhao Tianlei's head, and a cold feeling instantly washed over him.