Bai Yaoyao really couldn't stand Doggie's behavior anymore, and she could see the disdain in Big Meow's eyes, so she simply tossed Doggie back into her space. She had run out of patience with Doggie for the day.
Fortunately, everything had worked out perfectly, and they had gained an incredibly badass new companion. Bai Yaoyao suddenly felt that Doggie might actually have done something good.
In a cheerful mood, she headed toward the entrance with everyone else, hoping the survivors in the villas would move a little faster and not hold them up.
As soon as they reached the entrance, she noticed something was off. The survivors were huddled together, not daring to speak, while Lulu stood with hands on hips, glaring at them. Perhaps because of the awakened lightning ability, the fine hairs around Lulu's hairline stood slightly on end.
"What happened, Lulu?" Bai Yaoyao asked with a suppressed chuckle. Lulu looked so cute when angry.
Before Lulu could answer, the man they had met in the First Villa spoke up. "Are you her superior? I want to report her! Is this any way to treat ordinary citizens?"
"Exactly! What kind of rescue operation is this? We're practically starving to death. How are we supposed to walk if you won't feed us?" a woman in her forties or fifties chimed in from behind him.
Bai Yaoyao smiled faintly. She had no intention of explaining anything and simply let Little Crook out.
She had seen far too much of this in her previous life. This was a wealthy neighborhood, after all. Their families had probably had some clout before the apocalypse, and they had yet to face reality.
"Little Crook, throw those two into a trash bin."
Everyone screamed and backed away. Little Crook picked out the two who had spoken first with unerring accuracy, extended several branches, bound them, and tossed them straight into a large green trash bin ten meters away.
The man went right in, but the woman was a little plump, so Little Crook gave her a few forceful pokes before closing the lid in an almost human gesture and obediently returning to Bai Yaoyao's side.
Big Meow stared at Little Crook in astonishment.
This new master of mine seemed pretty badass. Good thing we didn't fight. Apart from that stupid dog, her other tricks were all impressive. That mutant plant looked like no pushover.
"Does anyone have any other questions? Feel free to ask. If not, we'll be setting off," Bai Yaoyao said gently.
Everyone fell silent.
"Good. Let's go."
Bai Yaoyao led the people from the villa neighborhood back to the first residential compound.
Before they even got close, they heard an uproar. Without waiting for Bai Yaoyao's instructions, Little Crook rushed forward with practiced ease, bound the loudest and most aggressive complainers, and hoisted them into the air.
There just weren't any usable trash bins. They were all broken and didn't look capable of holding anyone.
Little Crook glanced at Bai Yaoyao. Seeing the approval in her eyes, Little Crook straightened proudly and lifted the captives even higher.
I was still the one Master valued most. That stupid eldest brother was no match for me, and the new little third sibling was nothing to worry about either.
There were nearly a hundred survivors gathered there, and their chatter was enough to give anyone a headache. After Little Crook hoisted the troublemakers into the air, they quieted down for a few seconds before descending into chaos again.
Perhaps they thought a whole crowd couldn't be punished. With so many people around, they grew bolder. After spending so many days frightened and frustrated, they wanted to let off steam by shouting.
Looking at the twenty-odd people from the villa neighborhood standing quietly, Bai Yaoyao suddenly felt they were actually quite well-behaved.
Bai Yaoyao had no desire to take center stage. This wasn't her job.
The people making a fuss just wanted something to eat. After starving for so long, that was only natural. It wasn't as if she were possessed by some heartless bandit.
So she looked at Team Leader Wang with encouragement and expectation in her eyes.
As though inspired, Team Leader Wang shouted, "Anyone who keeps talking gets no food and no ride! If you don't believe me, try it!"
Bai Yaoyao noticed that only a handful of people were stirring up trouble. Most were guarding their luggage closely and keeping out of it.
For instance, the mother carrying her child from Building One stood at the very edge of the crowd. The child seemed to have been crying the whole time. The woman gently covered the child's ears, swaying slightly and murmuring...
It sounded like, "Mommy's here, Mommy's here. Don't be scared, baby. Don't cry..."
Seeing that Team Leader Wang had brought things under control and was already organizing everyone to board the vehicles, Bai Yaoyao headed to the next residential compound with her teammates.
Most of Zhenglin Avenue consisted of wealthy neighborhoods, and the population wasn't particularly dense. There shouldn't have been many zombies, but so much time had passed that they had wandered farther afield, leaving quite a few on the road.
Big Meow wanted to show off some skills, so the cat fought especially hard, charging at the front alongside Xiaomi. Human and cat began competing to see who could kill more. Well, Xiaomi lost spectacularly.
Bai Yaoyao followed behind, happily enjoying the break. Watching with satisfaction as Big Meow killed zombies at lightning speed, she tossed a Large Bone to Doggie in her space.
After working together for days, everyone had become increasingly coordinated. Each of them could make full use of their abilities' unique strengths in combat, so even when they encountered level-three zombies, they could take them down quickly.
Only after the Dark Night Squad had completely cleared the third and fourth residential compounds did Team Leader Wang finally arrive with everyone else.
They were officials, after all. The principle of serving the people had been with them for over a decade, while the apocalypse had only lasted a few short days. Their mindset wasn't so easy to change, and they couldn't disregard other people's feelings entirely the way Dark Night did, so they had taken a little longer.
"Captain Bai, you're so fast! This is incredible!" Wang Chengcheng jogged over and praised her sincerely.
"Thanks for the compliment. We're going to rest for a bit to recover our energy and have some lunch while we're at it," Bai Yaoyao said.
"Of course, you should. I'll get you something to eat. Do you eat Self-Heating Mini Hot Pot? Captain Meng specifically asked me to bring some for you." Without waiting for Bai Yaoyao's answer, Team Leader Wang hurried to retrieve a large bag from the vehicle, afraid she might refuse.
Bai Yaoyao accepted it without hesitation. "All right, thank you."
Monkey cleared out a ground-floor room, and everyone went inside to eat. Bai Yaoyao opened the bag and found Self-Heating Rice and Self-Heating Mini Hot Pot, along with some Braised Eggs and ham sausages.
Meng Qilin had prepared everything thoughtfully, but there were people all around outside, and these foods had strong aromas.
There was no need to worry too much about what others thought, but eating delicious food inside while a crowd went hungry outside, with such strong smells wafting out, really would have been a bit much.
So she found the Shaanxi Trio in her space: Cold Skin Noodles, Stuffed Bread, and Bingfeng. They were perfect for this weather.
She sent Little Crook back into her space and took out three fish for Big Meow. Mutant beasts had big appetites, so she wasn't worried about any going unfinished.
Big Meow's eyes went wide. Was this what having a master meant? Wow, that smelled good. So good! Much better than the mutant rats I caught myself!
Before you continue