Chapter 38: Seeking a Base

Lin Qingqing's deliberate avoidance made Lei Min, who was already conflicted, even more hesitant to speak her mind.

"Forget it," Lei Min thought to herself. "There will be plenty of time later; I'll bring it up when the opportunity arises."

However, she was unaware that Lin Qingqing had already made up her mind to find a base as soon as possible and dump this "dead weight."

After the apocalypse, zombies were fierce and supplies were scarce. Survivors began forming groups to stay alive; only those like Lin Qingqing, who possessed great personal ability and did not rely on ability-enhancing potions, insisted on remaining free and unattached.

Consequently, aside from the Rongcheng Base established by the official authorities—which was the largest—many smaller bases had sprung up around cities of various sizes. These bases were typically led by the strongest team or a coalition of teams. While their sizes varied, the philosophy that "might makes right" remained a universal truth.

Given Lei Min's innate abilities, she would never be a weakling anywhere she went. Moreover, the girl was clever, agile, and had a strong sense of integrity, so Lin Qingqing was not worried about her failing to survive.

Resolved to send Lei Min away, Lin Qingqing spent the time after leaving the wetland park circling Rongcheng, searching for signs of a base. They avoided the highways, sticking to back roads to steer clear of areas that had been densely populated.

However, their luck was poor; they hadn't encountered a single living soul for the better part of the day. Seeing that they were approaching the Rongcheng airport, Lin Qingqing quickly turned the car around in a different direction.

"Sister Lin, what are you looking for?"

Seeing Lin Qingqing constantly changing directions without any intention of stopping, Lei Min guessed she must be searching for something.

"Looking for living people!"

Lin Qingqing felt somewhat frustrated. Having encountered Chu Wei and then Lei Min’s group earlier that morning, she had mistakenly assumed that survivors were everywhere near Rongcheng. Who would have thought that after searching for nearly an entire day, she wouldn't see a shadow of a living person? If she didn't find anyone soon, she would have to give up for the day.

Lei Min assumed Lin Qingqing was looking for people to gather information, so she wisely kept her mouth shut. Lin Qingqing didn't intend to explain. She cross-referenced the city map, carefully considering places in the vicinity that might serve as a base.

Schools, factories, and shopping malls were excellent choices. These places offered spacious areas, and their perimeter walls provided a significant safety boost, not to mention that kitchens and living quarters were already set up. If anyone wanted to develop a base, these three types of locations would be the top choices. Even Lin Qingqing herself had used a kindergarten as a base in the past.

Following this logic, Lin Qingqing checked several more locations, but unfortunately, apart from zombies, she found no traces of human activity.

"Could it be that this area is too remote?"

Lin Qingqing frowned. Taking this route, the first area they encountered was an old district of Rongcheng. After the apocalypse broke out, the most dangerous areas were the densely populated cities. Although all the surrounding bases were gradually exploring into Rongcheng—searching for supplies while hoping to rescue more survivors—the closer one got to the city center, the more numerous and dangerous the zombies became.

To this day, search and rescue teams were still hovering on the outskirts of the city. As a result, many people were still trapped inside, their fates unknown.

Although this old district had narrow, crowded streets, the buildings were quite aged. Because development had been slow, many of the younger residents had moved away. With a smaller population, the number of zombies was naturally much lower. That was precisely why Lin Qingqing had dared to approach Rongcheng from this direction.

After circling around the low-rise six-story residential buildings for a long time, they still found no trace of survivors. Even the shops along the road showed no signs of having been visited. They couldn't help but wonder, "Did everyone living in this neighborhood turn into zombies?"

Lin Qingqing felt that was unlikely. She had specifically noticed the street signs; this area had been a residential quarter for a state-owned enterprise many years ago. After the enterprise dissolved, most of the younger people moved into the city for work, leaving behind only retired staff and impoverished families.

After the apocalypse erupted, perhaps most of the elderly had been unable to escape their fate, or if any had survived, they were likely keeping their doors barred, too afraid to come out.

"Looks like there's no hope for today."

Lin Qingqing parked the car in front of a convenience store, intending to stock up on supplies before finding a safe place to rest. Perhaps because the store was still open when the apocalypse struck, there were over a dozen zombies gathered at the entrance.

When the zombies heard the sound of the car braking, they all began to swarm toward them. Lin Qingqing and Lei Min stepped out of the vehicle, and with tacit coordination, they circled the car, clearing out the entire group of zombies as if herding ducks.

After the zombies were dispatched, the two walked into the store. As expected, both shop assistants had turned into zombies—one was trapped behind the checkout counter, and the other had the lower half of their body pinned under a collapsed shelf.

The store was thick with dust. Though it wasn't large, the shelves were full. Lin Qingqing, with swift and precise strikes, dealt with the two zombies, and then she and Lei Min began scavenging for useful supplies.

Excluding inedible or rotten items, they packed up everything that was easy to carry and store. Just as they finished and were about to load the goods into the car, five men walked out from the street corner, trembling. They looked quite old, with hunched backs and stooped postures; two of them even had completely white hair.

They held brooms and wooden sticks, their eyes filled with wariness as they looked at the two women.

"Put the food down," the lead old man shouted at them.

Lin Qingqing glanced at them but ignored them, walking straight to the car to put the items into the trunk.

"Did you hear us? Put the stuff down! These all belong to us—who told you to take them? Put them down right now!" The old man who had spoken earlier became agitated as he saw them loading the car.

"Yours? Are you the owners of this shop? Then why didn't you take them earlier?" Lei Min asked, puzzled.

"There were those man-eating monsters before," someone blurted out, only to be glared at fiercely by his companion.

"Oh, so you waited for us to clear out the zombies just so you could swoop in and rob us of the spoils?" Lei Min sneered.

"Pah! Robbery? Everything on this street belongs to us neighbors! You two shameless thieves aren't allowed to take our things!" The old man spat a thick glob of phlegm on the ground, speaking with a sense of entitlement.

"Hey, what kind of tone is that, you old—"

Lei Min, feeling indignant, was about to step forward to argue, but Lin Qingqing stopped her with a wave of her hand.

"Don't bother arguing with them; it's useless."

As she organized the supplies, she said coolly to the group of old men without looking back: "We are only taking these. There is plenty left inside. The zombies have been killed and it's safe; you can go in and get them yourselves."

Since it was a convenience store located at the entrance of a residential area, the daily necessities were quite complete. Lin Qingqing, living on her own without the facilities to cook, only took some ready-to-eat food. The car had limited space, so she hadn't touched any of the rice, flour, or oil that required preparation.

These were exactly the kinds of supplies the local residents needed most. She felt this was a fair distribution—everyone got what they needed—especially since they had helped kill the zombies the residents were too afraid to face.

However, the old men were not about to be that reasonable.

"No! You have to leave all of it for us! You aren't allowed to take a single thing! And you—you need to move the rest out for us as well! This food is the ration for us neighbors; what are we supposed to do if you take it all?"

The old man from before stared at them, one hand on his hip and the other pointing at Lin Qingqing and Lei Min, his tone full of self-righteousness.