One week later,
the battle of hoarding supplies remained fierce and desperate.
In the evening, Shi Su brought a bag of items over and placed them on the living room dining table.
"Cakes!!!"
As if equipped with a radar, Chu Yue instantly detected that one of the bags contained what she wanted. After rummaging through it, she looked slightly disappointed.
"This isn't the strawberry cake I like..."
Yet despite her verbal complaints, her body was honest; she quickly tore open one of the packages and began eating with gusto.
Shi Su took a few more items out of the bag and handed them to Xiaopeng, who was drooling profusely.
The cakes had been found by the zombie subordinates, and she had already checked them with a food detector, so they were safe to eat.
At that moment, Chen Jiao walked out of the bedroom holding a bag of instant noodles. Seeing the cake in Shi Su's hands, she couldn't help tightening her grip on the wrinkled plastic bag.
Ever since her blunder at Sea Tide, she hadn't dared to make another move recently.
Shi Su was far more difficult to handle than she had anticipated...
Without a foolproof plan, she was afraid she would only end up arousing suspicion.
As she drew close to Shi Su, Chen Jiao wiped the fierce look from her eyes in a split second, replacing it with her usual harmless expression.
"Susu, do you have any more instant noodles over there?"
Shi Su was in the kitchen preparing dinner. "Yeah, go get some in the living room."
Chen Jiao put on an embarrassed act. "Thanks, I'll pay you back later."
Shi Su casually replied, "Sure."
Anyway, zombie subordinates were currently helping her find fresh food, and her home was piled high with instant noodles everywhere. Having someone help clear some out in time was actually not a bad thing.
She opened the refrigerator, which was packed so full it was about to burst, and took out ten steaks.
Outside the residential complex, people were packed tightly in lines just to collect steamed buns and water, while here she had meat, eggs, milk, and fruit in abundance...
This sense of superiority was surprisingly satisfying...
Right then, she suddenly felt a gaze lingering on her from behind.
Turning around, she saw that Chen Jiao hadn't left after all...
Right now, the woman was leaning against the doorframe, staring intently at the steaks in her hands.
"Are these what you brought back from going out during the day?"
Not wanting Chen Jiao to figure anything out, Shi Su replied, "Yeah, it took me forever to find them."
Chen Jiao curled the corners of her lips. "To be able to get this many—anyone who didn't know better would think the zombies helped you get them!"
"..."
Shi Su turned back to continue pan-searing the steaks, not wanting to continue the conversation.
Yet Chen Jiao seemed eager to chat.
"Susu, when you go out to get things, don't the zombies notice that you're different from them?"
With her back to Chen Jiao, Shi Su flashed a cunning smile—she had known this question was coming!
"Lately the outside is full of people starving to death, and the zombies are all fighting to chew on them, so they didn't have time to bother with me at all! I just had good luck these past few days; there were some right on the road as soon as I left the complex, and figuring I might not find any if I waited another couple of days, I just picked up a few extra."
Sure enough, upon hearing this explanation,
Chen Jiao dropped the line of questioning and let out a reluctant, "Oh..."
Still wanting to say something,
Shi Su abruptly cranked up the heat, and the oil in the pan instantly sizzled and spattered everywhere.
Chen Jiao let out a yelp, covered her pustule-covered face where the hot oil had splashed, and bolted out of the kitchen.
Hearing her grab a box of instant noodles from the living room and hurry back into her room, Shi Su was finally satisfied and turned the heat back down to continue searing the steaks.
The person was finally gone...
She stared with a smile at the thick, golden-brown, sizzling chunks of meat in the pan.
Just thinking about how her mouth would soon be full of that fresh, juicy meat made her feel like drool was about to drip from the corner of her mouth any second.
Just then, a burst of violent commotion suddenly entered her ears.
She hurriedly turned off the stove and rushed out of the kitchen.
"Don't anyone go outside—Zhang Mingqiang from next door is coming with a knife!"
Xiaopeng was still lost in the bliss of eating delicious cake. Hearing Shi Su's words, he looked completely bewildered.
"I didn't hear anything, Sister Susu. Did you hear wrong?"
Chu Yue also stopped chewing her cake to listen. "I didn't hear anything either."
Shi Su had no time to explain and quickly bolted the door.
The moment she locked it,
heavy pounding echoed from the entrance.
"Open the door! Open up right now, or see if I don't chop you bastards up!"
Shi Su gestured for everyone to stay quiet,
listening intently to the commotion at the door.
Yet the person outside clearly knew someone was inside.
"Don't try to pull that crap with me! I heard people in your house talking, and you even locked the door just now. Everyone else is waiting in line for steamed buns, but your household doesn't even show their faces—you must be hoarding a whole house full of food and drinks!"
The women hadn't bothered to go wait in line because they had plenty of food at home, figuring they would leave the rations to others who needed them. They never expected that it would give away clues to someone with ulterior motives...
"I had a whole house full of food stored at home—fess up! Was it you who stole it?!"
Shi Su listened to the curses outside, accompanied by the dull thuds of a blade hacking against the door.
Her door...
Only scum like this would have the nerve to murder and pillage at someone else's place when they ran out of food and drink themselves!
Because she could frequently listen in on the neighbors' tawdry little adult films for free at home, she rarely kept her 50-meter Auditory Detection turned on all the way.
Even so,
she had just heard this piece of trash clanging around and going on a rampage with a knife inside his home across multiple walls.
Now, listening to the relentless pounding at the door,
Shi Su clenched her fists.
If making a move hadn't been too high-profile right now, she really would have thrown the door wide open and sent a bone spur straight through this scumbag's skull!
However,
someone else had already put her thoughts into action...
Chu Yue gave a grand wave of her hand right where she stood,
and a clattering sound echoed from the doorway as something dropped to the ground.
"What the hell is wrong with this knife, why won't it listen to me?!"
At that moment, Sister Huo had already flung the door open and casually leaned sideways against the doorframe.
"What mad dog is out here barking."
Zhang Mingqiang was already blind with rage from cursing. Seeing Sister Huo, he snatched the knife off the ground.
"Didn't expect to find such a pretty babe in the Forbidden Zone! Well, I'll hack you up just the same..."
Before he could finish, the knife in his hand was slapped flying by a single swipe from Sister Huo's palm.
The next second, he was sent flying by a kick.
Fearing Sister Huo might go too heavy on him, Shi Su hurriedly followed her outside.
Arriving at the doorway,
she saw Sister Huo already pressing her foot down heavily onto Zhang Mingqiang's chest.
"Still dare to come and cause trouble again?"
The big, burly Zhang Mingqiang was struggling desperately under Sister Huo's foot, still spewing foul language from his mouth.
Yet Sister Huo had already gathered a blazing ball of intense flame in the palm of her hand, looking as though she could turn him to ash on the spot the very next second.
After witnessing Sister Huo's combat prowess, the scumbag immediately caved in. "Big sister, big sister, I won't dare anymore, I really won't ever dare again!!"
Sister Huo withdrew her foot and flicked her hand.
The knife from earlier flew back along its original trajectory straight into her palm. The next second, the blade began to melt right in her hand.
"If you ever dare to come back again, your fate will be just like this knife."
...
The heavy door slammed shut amidst Zhang Mingqiang's panicked gaze.
Inside, Xiaopeng and Shi Su burst into cheers.
"Sister Chu Yue, you rock!"
"Sister Huo, you rock!"
Meanwhile, Chu Yue merely rolled her eyes expressionlessly. "You call this anything at all?"
Shi Su stood nearby with big, starry eyes,
reminiscing about how cool Chu Yue had looked kicking a man flying and breathing fire just now. This woman was quite literally her dreams brought to life...