Before coming, Cui Ying had naturally been given the pharmacy's exact location. She had thought she would have to explain things to Bai Yaoyao first. After all, command of a team mattered, and even the route had to be carefully considered.
To her surprise, no one in the entire Dark Night Squad said a word. They followed her route exactly, charging straight into the fight even when there were hordes of zombies ahead!
It left Cui Ying feeling overwhelmed by the unexpected trust. In these early days of the Apocalypse, most Ability Users thought they were something special, each acting as though they were the invincible hero of the story.
Every time she worked with civilian Ability Users, she ended up swallowing a bellyful of frustration. Heaven, please have mercy. Let me team up with the Dark Night Squad on every mission!
Gradually, her gaze toward Bai Yaoyao turned adoring. Captain Bai is so cool. I love her...
Following Cui Ying, the Dark Night members found the pharmacy without any trouble. However, Cui Ying and Zhang Jiahui had limited storage space, leaving some of the medicine behind.
Bai Yaoyao noticed Cui Ying looking as though she wanted to say something but couldn't.
She took out a vehicle herself, pretending to free up space, and helped store some of the medicine. Then she had everyone help carry the rest outside and put it in the trunk.
She even announced exactly how many boxes of medicine she had stored in her space, showing no intention of keeping any for herself.
By the time they finished, it was almost one. Everyone was hungry, but none of them wanted to settle for a makeshift meal, so they simply headed straight back to the Safe Zone.
Meng Qilin had been busy at the base the whole time, run ragged by all the different people there.
He had always served in the military before. Aside from training, he also went on missions, and he had certainly lived through his share of life-or-death danger. But nothing had ever left him as overwhelmed as this.
If he had another chance, he would rather be a grunt in a suicide squad killing zombies than do his current job. It was mentally exhausting-so exhausting his hair was about to turn gray...
He was staring blankly at the gate when he suddenly heard a vehicle.
He immediately ran forward a few steps. Which team came back this early? Did their mission fail? Were there casualties?
Anxiety surged through him, until the moment he saw Bai Yaoyao. Whew. What a relief.
"Captain Meng, where should we take the supplies?" Seeing Meng Qilin standing there in a daze, not only failing to give directions but blocking the road, Bai Yaoyao couldn't help reminding him.
"Ah... um, into the tent on the right!"
After Bai Yaoyao led everyone in unloading all the supplies, Meng Qilin came over again, carrying a bag.
"Captain Bai, these are the Crystal Cores for this mission.
"Thank you all for your hard work. Cui Ying told me what happened. Thanks to you, we brought back the medicine that wouldn't fit, too. Once I have someone sort it out, would fifty boxes of commonly used medicine work as your share?"
Bai Yaoyao might not bring it up, but Meng Qilin couldn't leave it unmentioned. Cooperation only became smoother when both sides gave something in return. Helping once or twice without any benefit was generous enough, but over time, anyone would start having second thoughts.
Bai Yaoyao accepted the bag of Crystal Cores with satisfaction. She loved getting paid on the spot. These would be perfect for leveling up tonight!
As for medicine, she didn't need any. Fat Brother had bought quite a lot back then-at least more than today's haul, and more useful stuff, too. More importantly, Ability Users had little need for most medicines.
They had bought it with the intention of trading it to the base later. After all, ordinary people made up most of the base's population, and medicine was essential for them.
So she said directly, "It's fine. We don't need the medicine."
Naturally, Meng Qilin didn't think Bai Yaoyao genuinely wanted to help for nothing. Nobody had that much selfless enthusiasm to spare!
"Then is there anything you need?"
That was exactly what Bai Yaoyao had been waiting for. "We don't have many vehicles, so we'd like two military off-road vehicles. Would you be willing to part with them, Captain Meng?"
Meng Qilin agreed immediately. The authorities had no shortage of those, so he replied, "Sure. You can put them away right now."
"Thanks, but my space is full. Leave them there for now. Have you eaten, Captain Meng? Join us for a bite," Bai Yaoyao replied.
Meng Qilin hurriedly said, "No, no, go ahead and eat. I've still got things to do."
He didn't need to think to know that Dark Night's lunch would be especially lavish. It was one thing to join them for breakfast, but he couldn't keep mooching meals off them.
After Meng Qilin left, Bai Yaoyao and the others split between two tents and started eating lunch.
There were far too many people in the Safe Zone now, all ordinary people who could only eat bread or compressed biscuits each day. Quite a few children were crouched along the roadside, too.
Once they had filled their stomachs, everyone got ready to head out again. They were going hunting for meat! They craved it so badly that even their lunchtime Self-Heating Rice had seemed tasteless!
When they had first come in, Bai Yaoyao had noticed the woman holding the baby waiting by the roadside. From time to time, she glanced over at her, hesitating at length as though she wanted to approach.
But perhaps because Meng Qilin was there and everyone was discussing business, she had stayed where she was.
She was still waiting by the road, so Bai Yaoyao paused as she passed.
"H... hello. Thank you! These are for you. I heard they're useful to Ability Users." Holding her child with one arm, the woman offered seven or eight Level-Zero Crystal Cores with her other hand.
Bai Yaoyao raised an eyebrow. She hadn't expected the woman to have the courage to kill zombies. She reached out and took one. "One is enough."
"Please take them all. I don't have an ability, so they're no use to me." The woman kept holding them out.
Seeing all her teammates watching her, Bai Yaoyao felt a little embarrassed. Would I, Bai Yaoyao, be softhearted like that? What a joke!
So she frowned and said firmly, "I said one is enough."
She walked a few steps ahead and saw a crowd of people nearby looking their way. In the end, she couldn't help adding in a low voice, "Are you stupid? Hurry up and hide them. Once you get to the base, those will be currency!"
The woman froze, then quickly looked around. Realizing how many people were watching, she hugged the child in her arms a little tighter in fright.
Feeling his mother's warm embrace, the child nuzzled his head against her comfortably. When he saw Bai Yaoyao, he even broke into a grin.
Bai Yaoyao sucked in a sharp breath. Holy shit, this human baby is so cute. He even smiled at me!
Her first instinct was to leave immediately.
I, Bai Yaoyao, will never go soft.
But he smiled at me...
Bai Yaoyao raised her voice slightly. "Give me all your Crystal Cores!"
The woman hurriedly handed over the Crystal Cores she was holding.
Bai Yaoyao placed two cans of baby formula, two baby bodysuits, and two packs of diapers on the ground.
"We're even."
With that, Bai Yaoyao hurried away without looking back.
"Hehe, Sis Yaoyao, what was that woman thanking you for?" Monkey asked with a mischievous grin.
"Didn't we go rescue people together yesterday?" Bai Yaoyao said stubbornly.
"That doesn't add up, Sis Yaoyao. We were paired up, so why didn't she thank me? After you went downstairs, I even explained a few more things to her," Xiaomi said, exposing her excuse outright.
"Who knows? Hurry up. Do you want meat or not?" Bai Yaoyao threatened fiercely.
Fat Brother and Lulu exchanged a smile. Nobody could beat her when it came to having a sharp tongue and a soft heart!
And she called herself a cold-blooded killer every day. Yeah, right...
Before you continue