"An'an, should we go back to the hotel now?"
"No, we have some things to take care of first."
Xu An smiled slyly, and Zhou Haimei knew from her expression that she was up to no good again.
Zhou Haimei swallowed the last skewer of grilled meat in her hand, her eyes sparkling with excitement. kAnshu伍.ξà
"Let's go now."
Xu An grabbed Zhou Haimei's hand, telling her not to rush, "Wait."
Zhou Haimei was confused, "Wait for what?"
"Wait until late at night, and wait for Chu Yu to let his guard down."
Zhou Haimei didn't understand why Xu An wanted to do this, but Xu An told her that they had to wait until the grilled meat stall closed.
"Didn't you say that Chu Yu was going to handle the grilled meat stall? Why are we getting involved?"
Xu An naturally couldn't tell Zhou Haimei that she planned to set a trap and retrieve the little mushroom in advance.
She had to prevaricate.
"Aren't you curious what kind of meat this grilled meat is made of?"
Zhou Haimei was stunned by Xu An's trickery. Although she was curious, she wasn't curious enough to follow someone in the middle of the night.
She had come to believe everything Xu An said.
The reason she could eat the grilled meat with peace of mind was that Xu An had said the meat was fine.
As long as she ate a little to satisfy her craving, it wouldn't be a big deal.
Zhou Haimei believed her completely.
"Curious!"
Hearing Zhou Haimei's firm answer, a smile spread across Xu An's face, and she couldn't help but pat Zhou Haimei's head.
Zhou Haimei was startled by the action but found that Xu An seemed to be teasing her.
She bent down, clutching her stomach, and laughed uncontrollably.
Zhou Haimei's face flushed, but soon she remembered the additional information Chu Yu had given them.
"An'an, do you really think Qin Chuan is fine?"
Upon hearing Qin Chuan's name, Xu An's smile froze on her face.
The joy in her eyes was replaced by worry.
"But even if we accelerate our journey now, we can't help someone far away. Everyone has their own destiny." As if comforting her, Xu An said softly, "Qin Chuan will be fine."
It sounded like a blessing, or perhaps a wish.
Xu An was also shocked to hear that Qin Chuan had encountered trouble in the South China Sea.
However, before Chu Yu could notice, Xu An had hidden her emotions.
Zhou Haimei, on the other hand, had fewer worries and anxiously inquired about Qin Chuan's situation.
Chu Yu, with that unreadable smile still on his lips, conveyed the news of Qin Chuan's unit being attacked by giant mutated sea beasts in the South China Sea.
Xu An couldn't discern whether Chu Yu was happy or sad from his expression, but she was shocked by his information-gathering capabilities for the first time.
After they descended from the lighthouse, they were like blind men crossing a river, almost scattered and unable to contact each other.
The only thing that could ensure their life signs was the identity card each of them wore.
Before descending the lighthouse, their identity cards were registered in the lighthouse's life detection system.
Once someone died, the information would be sent back to the lighthouse via a special satellite signal.
Therefore, up to this point, Xu An could only confirm her own and Zhou Haimei's safety.
She had no idea about the fate of others.
"The losses from the lighthouse this time are very serious. If Qin Chuan's team is wiped out, the lighthouse might..."
Chu Yu remained silent for a while, and as Xu An was about to ask again, Chu Yu spoke.
"Reduce the population again."
Xu An could never forget the moment she heard this, it was as if a bomb had exploded in her mind, leaving her in a state of shock.
Even after Chu Yu left, Xu An stood in place, unable to snap out of it for a long time.
"An'an, this is not something we can solve."
Zhou Haimei was more pragmatic than Xu An. Perhaps having experienced too many partings, her already resolute heart had become even more tightly sealed, with no room for doubt.
"If the lighthouse really has to reduce its population, the first to be affected will be those in the dark alleys and those in the relief camps."
Without waiting for Zhou Haimei's reply, Xu An broke the somber atmosphere herself, talking about tracking the grilled meat stall that night.
Since they were powerless to do anything about distant events, dwelling on them now would only lead to self-torment.
Rather than worrying about the future, it was better to focus on the task at hand.
"An'an, An'an, what are you thinking about?"
Seeing Xu An lost in thought, Zhou Haimei walked over and patted her shoulder, "What are you thinking about? I've been calling you for a while."
After confirming Chu Yu had left, they returned to the night market. To avoid attracting attention, they blended into the crowds near the periphery.
However, their eyes remained fixed on the grilled meat stall, never straying.
"An'an, how did Chu Yu know that Qin Chuan encountered trouble in the South China Sea? He said he returned to the southern base as soon as he descended from the lighthouse. We didn't have any communication equipment before, so how did he know?"
Zhou Haimei thought for a moment and propped up her chin, "Maybe it's because the southern base is close to the South China Sea?"
Xu An shook her head, "Even if it's close, driving back and forth would take a week."
They discussed it for a long time with no results, so they gave up.
They squatted by the roadside, guarding the grilled meat stall.
Xu An thought to herself that Chu Yu was indeed an extraordinary person.
Until late at night, the grilled meat stall's business remained booming.
Thanks to the stall owner's rule of limiting each person to three skewers, more people were able to taste the delicious grilled meat.
Zhou Haimei whispered, "At first, I thought they were just doing it for scarcity marketing. In this apocalypse, who has that much money to buy grilled meat?"
"It seems I was too naive. This southern base is indeed unfathomable, with so many people who can afford such expensive grilled meat."
"Thinking about it now, there's a reason for their purchase limit."
Xu An, however, was not impressed.
"There will always be rich people. The real concern is when people without money pretend to be wealthy, trying to appear affluent."
"Some things are not as simple as they appear. Take this purchase limit, for example. Your current thoughts are probably the same as the general public's, thinking the owner is limiting purchases for your own good."
"But if this scarcity marketing is allowed to become an unspoken industry rule."
"Then the price will inevitably be driven up."
"But in the current world, resources are limited, which means that if someone is wealthy, someone else will inevitably bear poverty and hunger."
"As I said earlier, this grilled meat is addictive, which is why I told you to try it in small quantities."
"But if you eat too much of this, it will definitely become addictive."
"Imagine, when everyone becomes dependent on this grilled meat, but the quantity of the grilled meat is fixed, then the price will inevitably continue to rise."
"When this item becomes unaffordable for everyone."
"What will happen to those who have become addicted?"