The expressions on the few people's faces, their fleeting guilt, betrayed them.
Qin Chuan observed their expressions and assessed the situation privately.
It seemed no one was willing to take responsibility for this matter.
Therefore, there was still room for maneuver.
As long as there wasn't a death order from above, these people could still be saved.
After passing another convenience store, Xu An walked out dejectedly.
However, she wasn't planning to give up.
As long as she hadn't checked the last store, Xu An would absolutely not give up.
Along the way, Xu An and Zhou Haimei had been doing their best to avoid the crowds of fleeing people.
They dealt with the scattered zombies they encountered along the way.
When they encountered large hordes of zombies, they would skirt around them.
In this manner, they managed to get through without any major incidents.
Xu An glanced at the sky and said to Zhou Haimei beside her, "Let's find a place to rest first. We've been walking all day. We'll continue searching tomorrow after we get up."
Zhou Haimei first cautiously surveyed the surroundings. Then she looked at Xu An and nodded.
She agreed.
The two had rushed to District B as soon as they met that morning and learned the news.
They hadn't even had a sip of water along the way.
Both of them were already exhausted, relying solely on sheer determination to keep going.
Zhou Haimei observed the surroundings, her gaze falling on a low building nearby.
She pointed to the low building and said to Xu An, "An'an, let's go there. It looks like a deserted small building. Not too many people should be going there."
Xu An followed Zhou Haimei'sæ direction and saw where she was pointing.
It was a small building that was still under construction. The surroundings were a mixture of steel bars and concrete.
Precisely because of this, it would restrict the movement of less agile zombies.
Moreover, this place did not look like it was inhabited.
Zhou Haimei carried a spatial storage item, equipped with camping gear for the outdoors.
It was perfect for this situation.
With that, the two no longer hesitated. They crouched down, sticking close to the walls, and quietly moved towards the small building.
Before long, the two crossed the debris of steel bars and concrete and reached the terrace on the top floor.
The terrace on the uppermost floor was semi-enclosed. The projecting wall edge of the semi-enclosure was just enough to block the line of sight from people outside.
This created a natural barrier. Xu An and the others only needed to peek their heads out to see the streetscape outside.
However, people outside could not see the two people on the terrace.
After Xu An and the others came up, the first thing they did was blow up the only staircase leading to the terrace.
"An'an, won't the action of blowing up the stairs be too loud?"
Xu An had clearly considered this thought as well. She had a lot of soundproofing cotton in her spatial storage.
However, in a deserted small building, it would take time to wrap it with soundproofing cotton.
Xu An thought that since it couldn't be done silently, she might as well make a big deal out of it.
Perhaps it could even attract her mother's attention.
Xu An explained her plan to Zhou Haimei.
"The explosion sound will definitely attract zombies, but after we blow it up, we'll quickly retreat to the edge of the terrace. That way, the smell won't accumulate. The zombies might gather due to the huge explosion sound and might not disperse for a while."
"But I've seen the height of this staircase. As long as it breaks completely, zombies definitely won't be able to climb up. We'll be the safest."
"But won't the upper floor be affected by the explosion when the stairs are blown up?"
Xu An shook her head. "No, the stairs in this kind of house are additions. They're essentially wooden piles attached to the sides of a bridge. If the wooden piles break, the sides of the bridge won't collapse."
Xu An saw that Zhou Haimei still had some concerns.
"Mei Jie, do you trust me?" Xu An's gaze was sincere, as if she was making a solemn promise to the other.
"I won't let us fall into danger."
Xu An said each word, and Zhou Haimei's slightly anxious heart was instantly soothed.
"An'an, I trust you."
Their gazes met in mid-air. Both of them understood each other implicitly and did not ask any further questions.
Xu An and Zhou Haimei's cooperation was very seamless. Almost with a single look from Xu An, Zhou Haimei knew what Xu An was going to do.
The two of them, with the fastest speed, measured the approximate length of the stairs and calculated the amount of explosives needed to destroy the stairs.
They made precise calculations for both.
After all, if there were too many explosives, Zhou Haimei's worries might come true.
They might really be blown up into the sky.
Of course, this work was done by Zhou Haimei, as she had a background in the military.
Xu An only had the plan, but she knew nothing about calculating the amount of explosives.
Zhou Haimei was surprised and chuckled when she found out.
"Aren't you worried at all, what if I don't understand these things either?"
After all, calculating the amount of explosives was the most crucial part of their plan.
She looked at Xu An's confident demeanor and thought that the other was very proficient in this area.
Good heavens, truly good heavens.
At this moment, Zhou Haimei just wanted to say one thing to Xu An: "Amazing."
Xu An watched Zhou Haimei busily working, and she didn't stand idle.
She took out some convenient instant food from her backpack.
Given the limited conditions, she couldn't cook anything too complex.
Xu An had backup alcohol blocks and heated some instant food.
Since they couldn't light a fire, the flame from the alcohol lamp provided very little heat in the cold weather.
After heating for a long time, it only became slightly warm.
Xu An specifically found a sheltered corner to heat the food.
She found a spot nearby and took out the tent from her backpack.
Years of living had trained Xu An in outdoor survival skills.
With swift movements, Xu An single-handedly set up a two-person tent.
Her speed was so practiced that it was almost heartbreaking.
She then took out the sleeping bags, laid a layer of blankets on the ground to insulate against the ground's cold, and then placed the sleeping bags on the blankets.
After that, she took out all the hand warmers and heat patches she carried and stuck them inside the sleeping bags, warming them and the tent in advance.
Although the protective shield outside the lighthouse could block most of the cold air,
staying outdoors still brought a bone-chilling cold that pierced through one's very marrow.
After completing all the insulation work, Xu An went to check on the heated food.
She brought the food into the tent and continued to heat it slowly with the alcohol block.
Having done all this, Xu An crawled out of the tent, preparing to check on Zhou Haimei's progress.
As soon as she emerged from the tent, she couldn't help but shiver.
"Hoo~ It's so cold."