No matter what, the outside world was indeed dangerous. Out of basic human concern, Zhao Tianlei nodded at Chen Yao beside him, and only then did Chen Yao press the unlock button. Hearing the locks click, the three of them were overjoyed. They hurriedly opened the rear doors on both sides and scrambled inside. Seeing this, Cheng Yao said nothing and continued driving.
"Handsome, where are you planning to go? The whole city is crawling with terrifying zombies now. It's very dangerous." Once they were in the car, the two men remained silent, while the woman immediately asked Zhao Tianlei, seemingly trying to find out where they were headed.
Zhao Tianlei did not answer the woman's question. Instead, he asked, "Who exactly are you? Are you together?"
The woman clearly had not expected Zhao Tianlei to completely ignore her question. She immediately pursed her lips in mild displeasure, then put on another pitiful expression. She seemed to conceal her movements well, but they did not escape Zhao Tianlei's peripheral vision. He saw everything clearly through the rearview mirror. In particular, the two men sitting on either side of her had remained silent the entire time, but the looks in their eyes made Zhao Tianlei deeply uneasy. They were definitely vicious characters.
"What? You don't want to answer? Is there a problem?" Even so, Zhao Tianlei continued pressing her.
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 negotiating a deal with a client when, unexpectedly, this happened. In the middle of our conversation, that client actually turned into a man-eating monster. There were many people around us too, and they all became those zombies. We barely managed to drive out of the city, but as soon as we got here, something went wrong. Everything around us was in chaos, so we hid in the car and didn't dare come out. It was only when we heard a vehicle approaching just now that we worked up the courage to come ask for help."
After finishing, the woman turned to Zhao Tianlei and Cheng Yao and asked, "I've finished. What about you two? You and this little sister seem to be very close. Don't tell me you're a young couple. But judging by your ages, you're obviously students. How could ordinary students afford to drive a car like this? This Porsche Cayenne couldn't have been something you found on the road, could it? Also, judging by the way you look, you seem to have a clear plan. Where are you going?"
Zhao Tianlei answered without hiding anything. "You're right. We're students from Huazhong Business College in Yuzhou. Almost everyone at our school turned into zombies, so we escaped all the way here too. Yesterday morning, I heard a radio broadcast saying that the government and military had begun rescue operations and were also establishing survivor bases. We're planning to head there. Either we'll drive directly to a survivor base, or we hope to encounter a search-and-rescue unit on the way."
To Zhao Tianlei's surprise, as soon as he finished speaking, the three people in the back exchanged glances. They showed not the slightest excitement at the mention of survivor bases and rescue teams. The man sitting behind Zhao Tianlei spoke directly to him. "Brother, is that backpack you're carrying full of food? We haven't eaten for almost a day, and we're completely out of strength. Could you spare us something to eat?"
After hearing him, Zhao Tianlei remained silent. The woman sitting in the middle hurriedly removed the gold bracelet from her wrist and handed it to Zhao Tianlei. "Handsome, give us something to eat. Big Sis has been hungry for a whole day and is seeing stars. Take this gold bracelet. Consider it payment for your food. How about it?"
Perhaps worried that Zhao Tianlei would refuse, the woman deliberately emphasized, "This thing is pure gold. Even if you sell it cheaply, it'll still be worth quite a bit."
After she finished speaking, Zhao Tianlei silently unzipped his backpack and took out several pieces of bread and some sausages. He then gave them a bottle of water. "Money is useless to me now. Keep that. I don't want it. Take this food."
Looking at the bread and sausages in her hands, the woman said nothing. But when she saw that she had received only one bottle of water, she could not help complaining. "Handsome, don't be so stingy. There are three adults here, and you only gave us one bottle of water. How could that possibly be enough? Your backpack is bulging, so you clearly have plenty of supplies. Give us two more bottles of water."
As soon as the woman finished speaking, Cheng Yao could no longer hold back and said, "We found this food and water by risking our lives. Giving it to you for free is already generous. Besides, you should know that water is even more important than food. We don't have much left either. We'll treat you to this meal for free, but from now on, you'll have to rely on your own abilities to find food."
In Cheng Yao's eyes, Zhao Tianlei was simply too kindhearted. The woman in the back had begun acting spoiled, and if she continued attacking him like this, Zhao Tianlei would have no way to harden his heart and refuse. That was why Cheng Yao stepped forward to reject the three of them.
After Cheng Yao finished speaking, a trace of ruthlessness appeared in the eyes of the two strange men. But the woman waved her hand first and said, "All right, all right. What you said, little sister, does make sense. Big Sis thanks you for the food this time. We'll work hard to find our own food from now on. Drive on. We're starving too, so let's eat first."
As she spoke, the woman opened the bread and began wolfing it down with the sausages. The men on either side of her said nothing and began eating as well. It was obvious from the way all three of them ate that they had been starving. Each person got one piece of bread and two sausages. Though it was not enough to fill them, it at least restored some of their strength. For three adults, however, it took only a few minutes to finish everything. Afterward, the three of them exchanged glances.
The woman spoke to Zhao Tianlei again. "Handsome, let me give you a word of advice. We should take another road. To reach the base, we'll have to pass through the city, and it's very dangerous in there. Don't get killed by those zombies before you even reach the base—that would be a terrible trade. Look, the few of us together have people and a vehicle. Even if you don't want to support us next time, we can find food ourselves. As long as we find a safe place and wait there, the rescuers will eventually come for us directly. We can go with them then, and it won't be too late."
Zhao Tianlei paid no attention to the woman's well-intentioned warning. Instead, he refused. "Is that so? If the city is unsafe, we'll take a detour through somewhere else. Either way, we have to take a look, or we won't be satisfied. If you don't want to go, we can stop the car at the intersection up ahead and let you get out. You can find somewhere to hide yourselves."
"You little bastard! From now on, anyone who doesn't want to die will listen to me, or I'll blow your head off! Hand over that backpack in your arms first!" As he spoke, something was pressed against the back of Zhao Tianlei's head, and a bone-chilling cold instantly surged through him.
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