"Stop!"
Just as the old woman was about to fight back, Green Radish stepped out of the crowd with deft timing.
Seeing that an Extraordinary had spoken, the survivors hurriedly cleared a path.
Their eyes held respect. Without the Transcendent Squad's relief rations, many of them might have starved to death on the road long ago.
Seeing Green Radish arrive, the old woman seemed to have found someone to rely on. She stretched out a dark, rough finger and pointed shakily at Lin Qi. "Your Extraordinary, you have to stand up for me!"
Her other hand covered her badly swollen cheek. It was not as though she had never been slapped before, but today's slap went beyond anything she had ever known.
It hurt-an agony that sank into her bones, making her entire body tremble uncontrollably from that single slap.
With her hands clasped behind her back, Green Radish surveyed the two like someone in authority, putting on an expression as though she knew neither of them.
"Your Extraordinary! Look at him! Just look at him!" the old woman kept clamoring.
Lin Qi, however, noticed a barely perceptible smile curl at the corner of Green Radish's mouth.
Green Radish looked at the old woman. "I'll treat you first. We can discuss him threatening you afterward."
"Ah, all right."
The old woman had not expected an Extraordinary to go out of her way to treat her. The pain really was more than she could bear, so she could only hastily agree.
Seeing her agree, Green Radish stepped forward again and placed her palm against the old woman's face. Once again, a mass of pink light enveloped her swollen cheek.
The swelling in the old woman's cheek began shrinking rapidly before their eyes until it vanished.
This was not the survivors' first time seeing Green Radish use her ability, but they still marveled at it.
Another day of envying the Extraordinary.
"It doesn't hurt anymore. It really doesn't hurt..."
The old woman's face was filled with delighted surprise too.
Feeling her cheek return to normal, her gaze quickly turned vicious. She was about to point at Lin Qi and launch into a tirade, only to discover that she could not extend her arm no matter what she did.
"M-my arm, what's wrong with it?" The old woman's face filled with terror. No matter how many times she tried, there was no response!
"Oh, just a minor side effect. I explained it last time." Green Radish looked at the surrounding survivors. "I don't lie."
"That's right, the Extraordinary did mention it last time!"
"The Extraordinary treated me last time. Don't panic. The side effects only last a day."
"Hey, so you're the guy. I'm jealous. I want that Extraordinary lady to treat me too..."
Listening to everyone talking over one another, the old woman finally sighed in relief. It seemed she had misjudged the Extraordinary.
But it was not over yet. Just as she was about to speak, she discovered to her horror that although her mouth opened, no sound came out.
Seeing this, Green Radish spread her hands helplessly. "The costs are random. Looks like today's matter will have to wait for another day."
The old woman opened her mouth, trying to speak, but could not make a sound.
She glared viciously at Lin Qi and tried to walk toward him.
Thud!
Instead, her legs suddenly gave way, and she fell headfirst to the ground again.
The old woman: ???
Green Radish had just stepped back into the crowd when she heard the noise and turned around. Seeing the old woman sprawled face-first on the ground, her big eyes filled with innocence. "Sorryyy. That's how the costs work. I can't remove them either. Hang in there. Just hang in there!"
The survivors: ...
The survivor who had just wanted Green Radish to treat him saw this wretched sight and hurriedly, quietly shelved that little wish.
Watching the old woman crawl across the ground like a maggot, Lin Qi understood that Green Radish was venting his anger for him.
He did not believe for a second that Green Radish's costs were random.
He had seen it himself: under Green Radish's treatment, Niu Wudi had suffered no side effects at all. Instead, his combat strength had soared.
The old woman's companions were all dead. With no one looking after her for a day, her fate went without saying.
As for the other survivors, he did not believe they would be kind enough to help someone who was nothing but a burden.
Lin Qi also understood where the Extraordinary stood.
At least Green Radish was on his side.
Lin Qi found a spot to park the off-road vehicle and began sorting his supplies.
He put the opened dried noodles and milk beneath the front seats, then began checking the remaining three cardboard boxes.
The first box contained a pile of snacks.
The second box contained two ten-kilogram bags of rice.
Lin Qi looked at the last cardboard box. It was completely soaked through, and this final box was also the heaviest of the five.
The box he had originally held hopes for now gave him a bad feeling.
Sure enough, when he opened it, the entire box was filled with broken glass mixed with all kinds of fruit!
The moment he saw its contents, Lin Qi even felt like skinning the bald man and his group alive.
Seven days into the apocalypse, most fruit had already rotted.
The cardboard box had held an entire box of canned fruit! Canned fruit! The kind that could be stored for ages! And in large jars, too!!!
The off-road vehicle's collisions had shattered most of the glass jars, spilling syrup all over the vehicle.
Broken jars meant that preserves meant for long-term storage had lost that very function. How could he not feel the loss?
After picking through everything, Lin Qi finally found thirteen more or less intact jars. He carefully wiped away the wet glass shards clinging to them and tucked them into the box holding the dried noodles.
There were still more than thirty broken jars left!
June's weather was rather hot. They definitely would not keep for long.
All he could do was mourn the loss while picking up pieces of assorted fruit and stuffing them into his mouth.
That said, the canned fruit tasted damn good!
To avoid waste, Lin Qi kept picking through the box until he had eaten three jars' worth, stuffing himself completely full.
Looking at the pile of canned fruit still left, Lin Qi found himself at a loss.
After pondering for a moment, he looked toward Wang Feng and his group, who were shooting the breeze nearby, then got out of the off-road vehicle and walked over to them.
It would go to waste anyway. As for why he was giving it to Wang Feng's group? He simply liked the look of them.
Lin Qi left the vehicle and headed toward Wang Feng, unaware that a pair of sinister eyes among the survivors was fixed on his back!
Sitting in the passenger seat, Scarface slowly withdrew his gaze from Lin Qi. His voice was very low, but thick with menace. "Number Two, how's the plan coming along?"
The driver addressed as Number Two nodded. "The plan is going smoothly. Quite a few survivors are willing to work with us."
"Good." Killing intent flashed in Scarface's eyes. "That kid seems to have made contact with the convoy's Extraordinary. We have to carry out the plan before they fully join forces!"
"Understood." Number Two nodded. "Don't worry. Based on the information I've gathered, our Command Seizure Plan is bound to succeed. When the time comes, the whole convoy will be yours, Boss!"
Before you continue