Chapter 19: Should They Be Abandoned?

"We can finally go out and find some supplies!"

Zhang Xinrou's fear was instantly swept away by excitement. Why be afraid? Tang Miao was so powerful; as long as she was around, there was nothing to fear!

She rolled over and continued talking to Tang Miao, "Let's go out and see if we can find some cement or similar materials. We can bring them back to build a wall and maybe get a new sofa. The current one has several huge holes in it from Zaizai’s digging."

"We’re also running out of body wash. The others always crowd together when they bathe, and it takes forever to rinse off the soap. We should also find a place to scavenge a water heater; washing in cold water these past few days has given me a headache..."

Zhang Xinrou’s enthusiastic planning made Tang Miao swallow the bad news. She listened quietly until Zhang Xinrou finished, then reminded her, "We leave at 6:00 AM tomorrow sharp to stock up on new supplies. The sooner we finish scavenging, the sooner we return to the farm."

"Got it!"

The next day, the farm was shrouded in morning mist. As the first light touched the horizon, Tang Miao was already parked at the edge of the farm’s protective barrier in a black sedan.

She had stored all the conspicuous facilities of the farm into her spatial storage. From a distance, the farm now looked like it was occupied only by zombies.

Sitting in the new car, Zaizai crawled excitedly against the interior walls. Jiang Nanxing had been guarding the car from outside; he wanted to go along, thinking he could help.

"Miaomiao, together."

The teenager's hoarse voice made Tang Miao feel a pang of guilt.

Zhang Xinrou squinted. "Huh? I just realized, why do you call her Tang Miao? Your little sister calls her 'Mom,' so you should call her 'Mom' too!"

Hearing this, Zaizai, who was hanging from the car ceiling, chimed in excitedly, "Aba aba!" Call her Mom!

"Oh, alright, alright, just wait at the farm," Tang Miao said with a laugh, turning to the upside-down Zaizai. "Zaizai, watch the two chickens in the back seat. No snacking."

"Aba aba!" Mission accepted!

Threads of golden light spread from Tang Miao’s fingertips, wrapping around Zaizai. Zaizai descended from the ceiling to the back seat, clutching the two trussed-up black-bone chickens tightly.

Jiang Nanxing moved urgently, pulling out a new small stone and handing it to Tang Miao through the window. "Waiting for you, to return."

Tang Miao’s grip on the steering wheel tightened, but she didn't respond.

Zhang Xinrou stared at Jiang Nanxing and took the stone, looking suspicious. "I’ve noticed you’re always picking up stones for Tang Miao lately."

He had even secretly polished it into the shape of a heart.

A humming sound filled the air. The protective barrier rippled like water before dissolving into points of light.

[Host, the novice protection period has ended. The shield has vanished.]

Tang Miao closed the car window. "Zhang Xinrou, buckle up. We’re leaving."

Seeing the car about to start, the zombies gathered around, especially the dormitory auntie, who ran to the front.

She took out the eggplants and cucumbers she had hoarded, knocking on the window to ask Tang Miao to take them.

Everyone crowded around, communicating urgently.

The dormitory auntie: "Be careful on the road, what time will you be back? Do you want us to make lunch?"

The college students: "Auntie, it's no use if you make it; we don't eat the same food."

Skinny-Tall: "Sister Miao, that well can't stay like this. We need to find something to repair the well wall."

Fat-Chubby: "Boss, can you find more meat? We want to eat some too."

Tang Miao nodded repeatedly and started the car to leave.

Not long after driving away, Zhang Xinrou noticed in the rearview mirror that Zaizai had actually fallen asleep in the back. It was the first time she had seen the little creature sleep since they met. Seeing Zaizai swaying, Zhang Xinrou pulled him into her arms.

Tang Miao was observing the road conditions. In the rearview mirror, the group of zombies stood at the edge of the farm, watching her depart. Everyone was wearing colorful dresses and waving at Tang Miao. Among the crowd, Jiang Nanxing in his white shirt and jeans was particularly conspicuous. He just watched quietly, motionless, with no expression on his dull face.

A strange feeling washed over Zhang Xinrou—indescribable, as if she and Tang Miao were never coming back.

"Tang Miao, why didn't you take two more zombies with you? I feel like they’re pretty good at working; it would be convenient for them to help us scavenge for supplies."

Tang Miao didn't reply, but suddenly slammed on the brakes. Zhang Xinrou, who wasn't buckled in, lunged forward, and the two chickens in the back were thrown against the windshield.

"What's wrong?"

"Cluck, cluck, cluck!"

Tang Miao unbuckled her seatbelt, holding Zaizai in one arm and grabbing the chickens with the other.

"There are 16 people approaching from 17 kilometers away. At their current speed, they’ll be here in about 30 minutes."

"They all have guns. I’m not confident in my ability to protect everyone, so we need to change our location for now."

According to the map's red and green dots, they were killing zombies as they moved and looting shops along the way. Zhang Xinrou turned pale with fear, but her movements were swift.

Tang Miao put away the sedan and brought out the large cargo truck from her space.

Not far away, Jiang Nanxing saw this, turned back to release the zombies locked in the enclosure, and led the others, including Skinny-Tall and Fat-Chubby, running toward Tang Miao.

"Roar?" What's happening? Why are we running?

"Roar!" Don't ask, just follow Brother Jiang!

Tang Miao had them climb into the cargo bay, wrapping them in various clothes until only their eyes were visible. She covered them with quilts and piles of lumber. Though confused, they lay down perfectly still. Jiang Nanxing volunteered to stay in the cargo bay with the zombies.

As she closed the cargo door, Tang Miao warned, "No matter what happens, do not make a sound. Understand?"

They nodded silently, while Jiang Nanxing watched Tang Miao without blinking, his gray pupils trembling slightly.

Back in the driver's seat, Tang Miao set off without delay. Zaizai had woken up, feeling groggy, and sensing the atmosphere in the car, even he stopped his "aba aba."

Zhang Xinrou now understood that Tang Miao had wanted to leave Jiang Nanxing and the others behind and take only her and Zaizai. But the truck was too big a target, and a group of sixteen people was even more conspicuous.

"Tang Miao, can you put them in your space?"

"I can't."

Tang Miao had tried many times over the past week while they were busy, but the space consistently identified them as living beings and wouldn't store them.

Tang Miao’s initial intention was that less trouble was better than more; before she was fully established, she didn't want to clash with other factions. She had considered taking the initiative to eliminate the 16 people to ensure the farm's safety for a while. But if the Red Fire Safe Zone received no feedback, they would send even more firepower. At that point, while Tang Miao could protect herself, she couldn't guarantee she could keep everyone else safe.

Yet, abandoning them was something she couldn't bring herself to do.

Screw it! There will be a way when the car reaches the mountain, and the boat will straighten out when it reaches the bridge! One step at a time!

Fortunately, the area wasn't a flat plain; the winding roads, buildings, and mountains blocked the view, preventing the Safe Zone people from noticing them too quickly.

"Tang Miao, where are we moving to now?"

"...There’s a shopping district nearby. We’ll hide at the Baihui Plaza first."

Tang Miao needed to verify a few things through practice. There was a cross-river bridge near Baihui Plaza; if things went wrong, she could lead everyone across and then destroy the bridge.

On the wide asphalt road, the group stopped and started, eventually pulling over near the edge of Baihui Plaza. The 16 people split up to sweep the entire plaza and the surrounding shops.

The massive plaza was silent, devoid of both people and zombies. The shop walls and floors were splattered with dark red blood, and rotting corpses were scattered about, emitting a foul stench.

The leader observed the surroundings and mused, "Looks like it’s already been scavenged. See if the two people our boss is hunting are here. Search carefully! Don't miss a single corner!"