69: Why did you bring a vase?

Although Xie Yi was a hooligan, facing this world turned upside down, he had long been filled with fear.

Unlike those well-informed officials, he knew almost nothing about this disaster and was completely unprepared.

By the time he realized something was wrong, it was too late. He could only attach himself to people like Lu Gui, hoping to get some resources, but CEO Lu was very stingy. No matter how hard he worked, he only received one or two boxes of supplies.

In comparison, Bai Wanning was practically a living Bodhisattva; at least she was willing to give twenty boxes.

He would be a fool not to accept this olive branch. Xie Yi agreed without hesitation.

In this situation, who would complain about having too many supplies?

"Then can I bring a few people with us?" He saw an opportunity and immediately became exceptionally proactive.

Bai Wanning naturally had no objection. She nodded in agreement and told him to prepare.

Although Xie Yi was not liked by CEO Lu, he was not incompetent.

He had managed to smuggle a jet ski from CEO Lu's possession early on, and now it came in handy.

With the jet ski, Bai Wanning and Xie Yi quickly arrived at the hideout of Xie Yi's group.

Bai Wanning looked at the once bustling and lively shopping center, now deserted with only a few zombies wandering the streets, slowly searching for the scent of humans.

The water level was not as high as before, so walking on the streets was no longer a problem, though occasionally, when the current was swift, people or objects would float.

She gazed at the desolate and dilapidated street, letting out a soft sigh of "tsk, tsk, tsk."

She knew that most humans were still trapped in their homes, foolishly waiting for the higher-ups to rescue them—how naive.

Bai Wanning, possessing information from both the past and the present, understood clearly that waiting for those higher-ups was meaningless.

They had initially fled, only taking action when they realized the gravity of the situation.

These higher-ups first established bases in safe zones, deployed sufficient human resources, and gradually consolidated their power. Only after successfully eliminating that terrifying organization did they begin to send people for "rescue."

But by then, the zombies had already evolved, and human travel had become even more dangerous.

In contrast, Bai Wanning knew better that now was the best time to search for supplies. The success rate of acquiring resources was higher at this time, and the zombies as a whole were relatively weaker.

"With so much water, they don't seem to smell us," Xie Yi muttered in a low voice, looking at the zombies slowly wandering in the flooded streets, his tone a mix of doubt and luck. "When CEO Lu and I were at the hospital, they pounced on us as soon as they smelled us."

Seeing the hollow eye sockets of some zombies, Xie Yi guessed that these creatures probably relied on other senses to detect human presence.

Bai Wanning heard him say this but did not respond.

Of course, she knew that the reason these monsters hadn't attacked them wasn't because the water blocked their scent, but because she had preemptively masked everyone's aura and the noise of the jet ski. Otherwise, they would probably have been besieged by now!

Not wanting Xie Yi to do anything foolish in her absence, she kindly reminded him, "Don't go out casually without protection or weapons. They aren't too strong right now and can't harm people temporarily, but who knows what they'll become in the future."

Upon reaching the small auto repair shop where the thugs were hiding, Bai Wanning saw several zombies lurking at the entrance from a distance.

Her heart sank; these were most likely Xie Yi's subordinates who had turned. Sure enough, she heard a low sob from Xie Yi.

"Xiao Zheng, Xiao Yao... you idiots, why didn't you hide quickly when you saw these dangerous things coming!" Xie Yi mumbled as he parked the jet ski at the entrance of the auto repair shop, his gaze warily sweeping over the two zombies on the raised platform and the four or five slowly moving ones nearby.

"Stay here," Bai Wanning ordered in a low voice, jumping off the jet ski. She moved swiftly, charging directly towards the zombies.

Her dagger, combined with her special abilities, quickly decapitated them. Of course, she was very cautious in her actions, unwilling to easily expose her abilities.

At this point in time, the world was still unaware of the existence of the supernatural.

If her abilities were discovered by someone with ulterior motives, once captured, not only would the higher-ups try to win her over, but they might even place her in a position beyond her control.

What she desired was merely a stable and peaceful environment for her son to grow up in an undisturbed world, rather than stepping into a vortex of power and danger.

Therefore, Bai Wanning carefully controlled her strength, cleanly and efficiently dealing with the zombies.

She then extracted the zombie cores from their bodies, absorbed some of the energy, and stored the rest in her space pocket for later use.

Turning to look at Xie Yi, who was staring blankly at the corpses, she said indifferently, "I know you can't kill them, so I'll take care of it. Don't blame me for being heartless."

Xie Yi certainly wouldn't blame her.

He knew very well that once his brothers turned into these monsters, they could never come back. Bai Wanning taking action herself was actually helping him bear that pain; although his heart still grieved for their loss, none of this could change the facts.

He wiped away a tear, looked up at her, and said sincerely, "Boss, don't worry, I understand there's no meaning in them being alive. Since they're already dead, of course, I won't blame you."

Bai Wanning saw that Xie Yi was more understanding than she had expected, and a hint of satisfaction appeared in her eyes. She clearly remembered that in her previous life, many people remained stubbornly attached to their loved ones after they turned into zombies, refusing to let go, even clinging to those monsters and preventing others from acting.

When she decisively killed those zombies who had no hope of returning, they would turn around and curse her as an evil person, an executioner. Some even harbored resentment towards her, going so far as to plot revenge, vowing to kill her.

In contrast, Bai Wanning preferred dealing with smart people like Xie Yi.

Xie Yi walked to the blinds and gently knocked on the metal door, "Baozi, are you in there?"

With a soft "ding" followed by a muffled "thump," the side door of the shop quickly opened.

A baby-faced man poked his head out. Seeing Xie Yi, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief and whispered, "Boss, you're back? Come in quickly! Hurry, or those things will come over!"

Xie Yi didn't hesitate and immediately led Bai Wanning into the shop.

There were twenty-five people in total inside the shop.

Xie Yi's brothers were initially surprised to see him bring back a woman, but they quickly relaxed, knowing Xie Yi's lecherous nature.

"Boss, we know you like pretty girls, but why are you bringing one back now?" one of his subordinates couldn't help but ask.

They themselves were barely getting enough to eat; one more person meant one more mouth to feed.

Their supplies had been almost halved after the tsunami, and their personnel had suffered heavy losses. Now they had nothing left, so where would they find extra food to support a beautiful vase who could only be a burden?

Moreover, in their opinion, this woman had no value apart from her good looks.