"An'an, shouldn't we be trying to escape? Why are you still leisurely eating here?"
Xu An calmly replied, "It's fine. Finish your meal quickly. I already have a plan."
Zhou Haimei was skeptical but also hungry. Thinking that it was better to eat than not, she sat at the table and picked up some bread.
"What's your plan? There are only two of us. Can we even beat so many people?"
Xu An looked at Zhou Haimei with a strange expression, swallowing the last bite of bread. Her gaze was cool as she said,
"Who said I'm going to fight them? There are so many people here. It's unlikely that every single one of them is the innkeeper's accomplice."
"The enemy of my enemy is my friend. We just need to watch them fight it out."
Xu An was quite vengeful. That man who disturbed her sleep earlier had not been forgotten.
After the two finished eating, they slowly walked downstairs. As soon as they reached the inn's lobby, countless eyes turned towards them.
"You two sisters have quite a lot of face, making so many of us wait for just the two of you."
"Did I ask you to wait for me?" Xu An directly retorted to the sarcastic taunt.
"You..." The person who spoke was a woman around thirty years old, with a voluptuous figure and still quite alluring. Standing beside her were two ordinary-looking, well-built men. One of them had his arm bare-handedly around the woman's waist, showing no shame in broad daylight.
Xu An noticed this and guessed that this woman was being so arrogant because of her lover. However, that was everyone's choice, and she couldn't interfere.
Xu An ignored her and walked past the woman. "Is there something you need?"
The innkeeper smiled kindly and emerged from the crowd. "Oh, young ladies, you're finally down. Last night, a group of residents had all their supplies stolen."
"What kind of world is this now? Not having supplies on you is like forcing someone to die! It was kind of me to gather everyone together to help find the missing items for our fellow residents."
As she spoke, the woman moved closer to a few fierce-looking men with sharp eyes. "These brothers are truly good people, willing to help me and everyone else search. I'll need the two sisters to cooperate and let us check if you have anything you shouldn't have."
Her words were quite blunt, practically calling Xu An and her companion the thieves who stole the supplies.
"On what grounds are you going to inspect my belongings? I didn't know there were police in the apocalypse."
Xu An's words were extremely arrogant, almost as if she were pointing at the woman and calling her nosy. However, her eyes kept glancing at the black bag on Xu An's back. Although her daughter had returned yesterday and said there was nothing in the bag, the innkeeper didn't believe it. She couldn't believe that these two sisters would carry an empty bag around.
Xu An looked at the innkeeper's gaze and regretted her rare act of kindness, now being harmed by such a fierce woman. Without the innkeeper saying anything, a few burly men stepped forward to accuse Xu An.
"You look so clean and tidy, young lady, but why are your words so foul? You know it's the apocalypse, shouldn't everyone help each other? Your resistance makes it seem like you're the one who stole the supplies!"
Looking at the beautiful woman before him, the man's heart was stirred, but he also felt a bit timid at the sight of the long saber in Xu An's hand. However, thinking that he could search her later, even if he couldn't have her, he could at least touch her, and his thoughts began to wander.
Zhou Haimei watched the man's vulgar gaze, which felt like disgusting slime clinging to Xu An.
With a "clack," the long saber was drawn from its sheath. The sharp glint of the blade flashed into the man's eyes, startling him and sending a shiver down his spine. He dared not make any further moves.
"Which eye of yours saw that I stole anything? You've said it all. It's quite interesting. No one does anything for nothing. Do you really think you're great benefactors dispensing justice here? Be careful not to be used as a pawn without realizing it."
Her eyes fell on the innkeeper hiding behind the men. Seeing the smugness in the innkeeper's eyes, Xu An smiled slightly, intending to provoke them and then reap the benefits when they started fighting. *What a pipe dream.*
Xu An unbuckled the backpack on her back, opened the zipper, and poured everything inside for everyone to see. She was deliberately defying the innkeeper.
"My belongings are all here. You can inspect them freely and see if any of them match your lost items. However, if they don't, I ask for an apology and for you to let us leave."
Suddenly, Xu An changed her tone. "It's not like this is a black shop where you can enter but not leave, right?"
As soon as she finished speaking, the innkeeper's eyes widened in exasperation. "What nonsense are you spouting? We kindly let you in yesterday, and how can you talk like this now? I do business with people from all walks of life, and I value honest dealings. How can you call me a black shop?"
Xu An let out a mocking sneer and remained silent.
Zhou Haimei stood by the table, tapping the sparse items on the table with the flat of her knife. "Open your dog eyes and see if any of your lost items are here."
The few people present were angry but dared not speak. They looked at the items Xu An had dumped out and made no move. The items laid out on the table were clear to see, and they didn't look like the items that group had lost earlier.
Xu An looked at the man standing behind the innkeeper and exchanged a glance with him. The man understood, shook his head at Xu An. This was something they had prearranged. Xu An knew that the man was signaling that his companions were safe. This gave Xu An even more confidence.
The innkeeper's eyes darted around, and she quickly came up with a new ploy. "Your backpack looks so big. How do we know there aren't any hidden compartments? You should hand over the bag for us to inspect."
"Exactly! We've had all our luggage checked. Why shouldn't yours be checked?" the woman who had previously taunted Xu An spoke again.
Zhou Haimei's eyes turned cold. "Don't push your luck too far!"
Xu An also appeared reluctant, and finally, as if forced, handed the backpack to the innkeeper. While the innkeeper was rummaging through the backpack, Xu An surveyed the people in the lobby. They were clearly divided into three factions: those who were indignant, those who were indifferent, and those who were somewhat angry. However, the angry ones were mostly individuals or pairs like Xu An, who were weak and had no ability to resist, so they could only let these people act recklessly.
Seeing that the innkeeper had searched for a long time without finding anything, Zhou Haimei felt relieved but also curious about Xu An's plan.
"If nothing was found, it just proves that we didn't take the items. Stop searching so hard." Then, before the innkeeper could speak, she added, "Since all of us residents have been searched and nothing was found, shouldn't you, the innkeeper, also let us search your premises for any lost items?"