The Old Residential Area

The buildings here were old, likely constructed in the 70s or 80s.
The highest was only five stories, and there were certainly no elevators.

Jiang Chu parked the car next to a building, unscrewed a bottle to take a few gulps of water, then pulled three small chocolate bars from her pocket and tossed them to the two of them.

"Replenish your stamina."

Jiang Chu and Ji Chen spoke almost in unison: "Let's rest here for the night first."

"We'll rest here for the night. It's best not to head to the safe zone too early."

Chen Qing Qing took a small bite of her chocolate, then winked playfully at Jiang Chu: "What great chemistry~"

Ji Chen said calmly, "If we go over too early, we might be turned into research subjects. So... it's best to temporarily hide our abilities."

"You're right." It was currently the early stage of the apocalypse, and ability users were too rare. She and Ji Chen were among the first to awaken their abilities.

If they could avoid exposing themselves, they should. Otherwise, they might be dragged into a laboratory by that maniac Dr. X to serve as his research materials the moment they entered the safe zone.

Jiang Chu gritted her teeth. Chen Qing Qing suddenly shivered and raised her hand to promise, "I absolutely won't say a word. If I do, I'm a dog... Bah, if I do, I'll die a horrible death and turn into an extremely ugly zombie."

Jiang Chu smiled. "I believe you."

Staying in the car forever wasn't an option either.

The facilities of this old residential area were very cramped, and it seemed there were no survivors left here. The number of zombies they could see with the naked eye was only about ten, which was indeed much fewer than outside.

She had intentionally checked the system map, which calculated by region. The zombies in this residential area were few, but the entire region was still light red, meaning they would still face danger once they left.

But she was glad because there were now two ability users among the three of them.

A Spiritual-type ability user. Jiang Chu suppressed the smile on her lips, but she couldn't hide it completely because Spiritual-type ability users were truly too precious and rare.

"Let's go." She took the lead, opened the car door, and stepped down.

Ji Chen followed closely behind. Chen Qing Qing was dazed for a moment, pocketed the remaining half of her chocolate bar, and immediately followed them with her backpack.

The corridor had no lights.

After Jiang Chu entered the building, she waited for Ji Chen and Chen Qing Qing to catch up, then casually locked the stairwell door behind them.

"Be careful." Ji Chen stabbed a knife behind her back.

It was an elderly zombie moving slowly.

The knife that had been lodged in his shoulder this morning could already be used as a weapon by evening. Jiang Chu was very pleased with his adaptability. She held his hand and delivered another strike to the zombie's head.

Ji Chen's face flushed slightly.

Almost all the doors here were locked, and they didn't encounter a second zombie along the way.

They reached the fifth floor, and Jiang Chu stopped. This apartment had an old wooden door that looked very flimsy.

"Let me!" Chen Qing Qing's eyes shone. Finally, there was a place where her strength could be of use. Fearing they wouldn't believe her, she added, "I've learned boxing and Taekwondo. I'm very strong."

She was eager to try. Ji Chen and Jiang Chu took two steps back, leaving space for her to show off.

"Will kicking the door open attract zombies?" Chen Qing Qing warmed up, got into position, and asked.

Jiang Chu replied calmly, "Just kick it. The zombies here aren't dense. Even if they break through the corridor door downstairs and come up, we can handle them. The most important thing is to find a place to spend the night first."

With her reassurance, Chen Qing Qing felt as if she had been injected with a stimulant. After warming up for less than ten seconds, she delivered a powerful kick forward. The flimsy wooden door was indeed kicked open from the outside.

The door collapsed inward.

Jiang Chu turned on her phone's flashlight and shone it ahead.

The owner of this apartment had probably moved out some time ago. There wasn't much furniture in the room, and it wasn't large, only about 60 square meters.

There was quite a bit of dust on the floor. She flipped the switch on the wall, and the incandescent light in the living room instantly lit up.

She raised an eyebrow. "Good luck. The power isn't out here yet."

Immediately after, she ran into the kitchen to check. The pots and pans were still there.

Chen Qing Qing felt like a deflated balloon and instantly slumped onto the sofa. Today's journey had been too intense for her.

Jiang Chu planned to cook something to replenish their stamina. She didn't want to expose her space, so she could only choose instant noodles.

She was already used to it, so she didn't mind. Instant noodles were good too; being able to eat a hot bowl of noodles in the cold night of the apocalypse was already a dream for many.

"Let me cook." Ji Chen followed her, speaking in a low voice. The distance between them was barely a knuckle's width.

Jiang Chu agreed. Seeing Ji Chen hesitate to turn on the tap, she advised, "If we want to survive long-term... we can only adapt to the current world."

When they left the car earlier, she had brought a hiking backpack containing several bottles of purified water. She told Ji Chen to wash the pot and then rinse it again with a bit of purified water.

Then she poured three bottles of water into the pot.

"Later, I plan to go down and see if there are any grocery stores or warehouses. Storing more food definitely won't go wrong."

Ji Chen's well-defined hand rested on her wrist. "I'll go with you. Also," he seemed slightly embarrassed, "thank you."

Jiang Chu's smile instantly brightened. It was enough that Ji Chen could remember her kindness.

She was no longer the naive Jiang Chu of the past. In her heart, benefits always occupied the largest share. Even saving Ji Chen had personal feelings involved... but the long-term benefits were far greater.

She wanted to be able to utilize everything to serve herself. This wasn't easy, and it was also a psychological test for a survivor.

But so what? She wasn't a parasitic flower sheltering behind others. In an era where the strong ruled, she also wanted a share of the pie.

Living another life, she had instead become highly ambitious. Although ability users held a high status in every base, she still didn't want to live a life of reading others' expressions.

Therefore, she wanted to establish a survival squad and create the strongest survival base.

Seeing her lost in thought, Ji Chen smiled softly. He skillfully washed the bowls and chopsticks. Once the water in the pot boiled, he put in three packs of noodles and added the seasoning packets, letting the aroma spread.

Jiang Chu slipped the fully charged phone into his coat pocket.

Chen Qing Qing seemed to have a post-traumatic stress response, occasionally staring at the door, fearing a zombie would suddenly appear from the darkness.

Seeing Jiang Chu come out, she pointed at her phone and said, "Quick, look at the group chat. The school supermarket was cleaned out by the guys from the dorms."

Jiang Chu unlocked her phone to check WeChat. In the school group chat were photos taken from various angles. About thirty men were looting supplies in the supermarket, snatching nearly a third of the items, but they had also lost half of their people.

Now everyone knew they had to unite.

A few survivors spoke arrogantly in the group: "Getting food is a piece of cake. Beautiful girls are welcome to join our team; we can even pick you up."

Such words at this time—the malice was obvious at a single glance.

Chen Qing Qing said angrily, "It's truly disgusting and ridiculous. Taking advantage of the chaos to act lawlessly, yet there are still people begging to join their team."

Jiang Chu sighed, "Because they have no other choice."

Most ordinary people without abilities only had two paths: life or death. If they didn't want to die, they had to use any means to survive.

But how could one simply survive? To obtain protection, one had to give something up, regardless of whether they were male or female.

The weak had no human rights in the apocalypse.