She keenly sensed something was off.
But before she could think further, Su Su had already returned with the can of meat.
At the very moment she turned around, the black snake’s tail abruptly stopped mid-strike, once again appearing obedient.
Pang Cancan: “…”
She took the can of meat Su Su handed her, hesitated for a long time, but in the end, decided to swallow down her urge to tattle.
This black snake used to bite her in front of Sister Su Su, but now, it had become much better at pretending.
If she provoked it, it would retaliate by punishing her baby instead.
That raw, untamed beastly nature seemed to be gradually fading, replaced by a human-like cunning that had yet to be polished.
From Xiao Hei, Pang Cancan finally understood why people had long debated—was human nature inherently evil, or was it inherently good?
Xiao Hei was probably the former.
No… maybe it was her own fault. She knew perfectly well this creature couldn’t be provoked, yet she had still pushed Sister Su Su to check her injuries.
Pang Cancan gently stroked her baby, silently offering gratitude in her heart—Thank you, Baby, for taking that beating for me.
Su Su didn’t notice the underlying tension.
To her, it was just another case of Xiao Hei’s possessiveness flaring up, unwilling to share its prey with Cancan.
So, she simply stuffed the last bits of roasted rabbit straight into Xiao Hei’s mouth.
“H City and S City have both fallen. Tomorrow, we’ll stick to the original route and head straight north!”
“Alright!”
Perhaps it was because of the encounter with the mob of survivors during the day, but from that night on, Su Su, Pang Cancan, and Xiao Hei took turns keeping watch.
Nothing happened overnight, and they set out as usual the next morning.
As they continued their journey, the number of vehicles and survivors they encountered increased.
Su Su maintained a steady speed, never slowing down, avoiding a repeat of the previous day’s situation.
However… while passing through a remote town, their off-road vehicle was unexpectedly stopped.
“Where are you from? Get out of the car!”
Several ability users blocked the road, their greedy eyes first sweeping over the well-modified off-road vehicle.
“Lord, this car is nice!”
“Our base barely has any decent off-road vehicles. If we take this one, it’ll be so much easier to go out and hunt zombies!”
The only Tier 5 ability user in the group rubbed his chin, clearly tempted.
But people who could drive a vehicle like this were usually powerful ability users themselves.
This small base’s leader hesitated—until he caught sight of the two women inside. His eyes instantly lit up.
By all logic, any woman who had survived this long in the apocalypse was either ruthless or living under someone’s protection.
But… the woman in the driver’s seat was simply too stunning, making it impossible not to instinctively categorize her as the latter.
Could she be some bigshot’s discarded lover after S City fell?
The leader’s concerns vanished instantly, and his resolve to seize the vehicle was set in stone.
“Get out!”
A sharp ice spike stabbed into the ground just inches in front of the off-road vehicle—nearly piercing the tire.
Su Su’s gaze swept coldly over the ability users blocking the road. Repeating her previous tactic, she ordered: “Move aside.”
A surge of mental energy flooded toward them.
The lower-tier ability users immediately stepped aside in unison.
Only the Tier 5 leader hesitated for a couple of seconds before snapping back to his senses, looking around in confusion. “What’s wrong with you all?”
No one responded. His subordinates remained fully conscious but found themselves unable to control their own actions.
Realizing something was off, the leader turned to the woman in the driver’s seat. “You’re a psychic ability user?”
Su Su didn’t answer.
She had just discovered the limitations of her ability—
Upon reaching the Tier 5, her power could finally start affecting humans. Against ability users below the Tier 3, as well as ordinary people, she had absolute control. But against 4- and Tier 5 ability users, or even higher, her influence was significantly weaker.
If she were to rely on this in battle, it would serve only as a minor support ability at best.
“Cancan.”
Pang Cancan, who had been ready and waiting, responded loudly, “Got it! Leave it to me!”
The car window rolled down, and the venomous insect shot out. The moment it took flight, it split into dozens of smaller insects, swarming toward the Tier 5 ability user.
The once-arrogant leader let out a scream.
He finally realized that he had misjudged the situation and bitten off more than he could chew.
Ten minutes later, a tiny venomous insect that had been overlooked bit him on the back of his neck. His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
Su Su drove the off-road vehicle forward a dozen meters, then casually pointed at a Tier 3 ability user who was still under her control. “Why did you just happen to block our way?”
In the apocalypse, bandits and robbers were inevitable.
But for a group that included several Tier 4 ability users and even a Tier 5 leader to be stationed outside the city specifically to ambush passersby—how did they know there would be valuable supplies to steal? Going out to hunt zombies would be far more efficient than waiting here for the right target.
The Tier 3 ability user, unable to resist, spilled everything he knew. “The leader said that with S City fallen, a lot of people would be fleeing to nearby towns. If we block the roads here, we can seize supplies and also capture people to expand our base.”
Su Su frowned. “Why does your base need that many people?”
Small bases had limited capacity. If too many people flooded in, it would quickly throw everything into chaos.
“Our base was just established. Right now, we only have about a dozen ability users and a little over a hundred ordinary people.”
“Hah?” Pang Cancan exclaimed in surprise. “That even counts as a base?”
With so few people, a small-scale zombie horde could wipe them out in minutes.
“We all escaped from S City and just set up this base recently.”
No wonder.
Su Su exchanged a glance with Pang Cancan.
The high-tier ability users who fled from S City either sought out larger, established bases or formed their own, hoping to claim territory for themselves.
This group was clearly the latter.
Having gathered all the information she needed, Su Su saw no point in wasting more time on them. She stepped on the gas and drove straight out of the town.
For the next hundred kilometers, the events of G City repeated themselves.
S City had been overrun for some time, and various small bases had sprung up all around it—each still in its infancy.
The problem was that they were all wary of each other.
Instead of focusing on infrastructure, these fledgling bases had started blocking roads, preventing ability users and ordinary survivors from reaching other bases.
Left with no choice, Su Su had to take detours around every town. When she couldn’t avoid them, she struck hard, forcefully clearing a path forward.
That was until they encountered a convoy of dozens of large vehicles.
The moment they ran into them, Su Su and Pang Cancan had just sat down for lunch.
The expired turkey-flavored instant noodles in the pot weren’t even fully cooked yet when the convoy pulled up right in front of them.
Pang Cancan tensed up, watching them cautiously. “What do they want?”
A Tier 3 ability user got out of the vehicle and ran toward them.
As soon as Su Su and Pang Cancan took defensive stances, the person stopped about fifty meters away and politely asked, “We are survivors from S City’s base. Our leader sent me to ask if you have any extra maps for trade?”
Maps—they did have a few.
Before setting off, they had gathered national and regional maps from the Southern Base.
For those who never left their base, maps were just useless pieces of paper. But for travelers, they were one of the most valuable resources.
There was no way Su Su would trade them away.
She responded coldly, “We don’t have any maps.”
The person looked disappointed but turned back to relay the response to his group.
In the back seat of the convoy’s leading vehicle, a handsome man opened his eyes and sneered, “Two women traveling alone, leisurely cooking noodles—how could they not have a map?”
“Then…?”
“Go ask again. Tell them we’re willing to exchange a Grade 5 crystal for one.”
“Understood.”
The messenger ran back to the two young women and relayed his leader’s offer.
A Grade 5 crystal for a map?
That was an absurdly extravagant deal.
Su Su’s gaze shifted toward the lead vehicle in the convoy. She guessed that the leader of this group was either a Tier 5 ability user who had no shortage of crystals or a rare Tier 6 ability user.
The former could be dealt with. The latter…
She instinctively evaluated her own side’s combat strength—three Tier 5 ability users. If it came down to a fight, they wouldn’t necessarily be at a disadvantage.
Without hesitation, she shook her head. “I already said we don’t have a map. Do you think I would lie to you?”
The messenger awkwardly rubbed his hands. “Ladies, we’re just survivors who escaped from S City’s base. We mean no harm. Look, the dozen or so vehicles behind us are filled with ordinary people we rescued along the way. They need a place to settle. The bases along the way are blocking everyone, and we just want a map to find a safer route, to ease the burden on those civilians.”
His words were full of sincerity, emotional and reasonable.
Su Su was slightly moved. “Your leader seems like a decent person.”
“Exactly! Our leader has been rescuing ordinary people along the way and even distributes supplies to them for free…” The man eagerly listed all the good deeds their leader had done.
Free distribution of supplies?
Other than Wei Yan, who had once looked after his fellow villagers, Su Su had never seen a second truly selfless person in the apocalypse.
Both she and Pang Cancan sensed something off—this leader was either genuinely altruistic or had ulterior motives.
Once the messenger finished speaking, Su Su sighed regretfully. “Too bad I don’t have a map. Otherwise, I’d definitely give you one.”
The man was dumbfounded.
He hadn’t expected that after saying so much, with the two women clearly showing signs of being moved, they would still reject him so mercilessly.
Frustrated, he returned to the vehicle.
The handsome man inside lifted his gaze. “No need to say anything. I heard it all.”
Ability users had excellent hearing, and he had clearly caught every word spoken by those two young women.
No maps?
He was inclined to believe they were lying.
Even a Grade 5 crystal couldn’t tempt them… Their strength was likely at Tier 5 or even higher.
“Forget it. Let’s move.”
If things didn’t work out, he would just have to force his way through those small bases blocking the roads, one by one. At most, it would delay his arrival at the location he had already set his sights on.
The convoy finally drove off.
By then, the expired turkey-flavored instant noodles in the pot had finished cooking.
Along with it, a pot of cola chicken wings was also ready.
The cola was expired, and the chicken wings came from a wild domestic chicken that Xiao Hei had dragged in from the wilderness. Whether it had wandered out from a base or not was anyone’s guess.
“Good thing ability users have strong stomachs,” Pang Cancan said, stuffing a piece of chicken into her mouth before shoveling in a heap of turkey noodles. “Otherwise, I wouldn’t even get to enjoy all this expired food.”
Su Su absentmindedly fed Xiao Hei while staring in the direction the convoy had driven off.
She didn’t know why, but she had a strong premonition—
As if they were destined to cross paths again, sooner or later.