Xu An followed Gou Dan to the back of the shelves and found a corpse wearing a red vest.
The body was lying face down, so Xu An couldn't see its face, but its posture indicated it had died in great pain.
The corpse had already begun to rot, emitting a foul stench.
Xu An immediately stopped Gou Dan from moving forward, pulling him back.
This person was likely a supermarket employee. It was unclear how long they had been dead.
Looking at the corpse, despite having prepared herself mentally, Xu An still felt a pang of emotion. She asked Gou Dan to guard the entrance.
She then circumvented the corpse and began moving the goods.
Without further delay, she transferred all the supplies into her space.
It was surprising that this small supermarket, located next to a gas station, had such a good variety of items.
With Gou Dan's help, she discovered a small warehouse behind the supermarket, which was also full of supplies.
Xu An unceremoniously took everything into her possession.
After finishing up at the supermarket, she walked out with a satisfied expression and headed towards the refueling area.
She looked at the fuel dispensers, realizing they were embedded in the ground and couldn't be directly transferred into her space unless she took the entire gas station.
While it wasn't impossible, the thought of the decaying corpse lying in the supermarket sent a shiver down her spine.
"Forget it, I'll just pour the gas out and transfer it into my space properly."
Saying this, she took out ten large barrels she had custom-made in her space and prepared to fill them in batches.
While filling the gas, she and Gou Dan remained vigilant, constantly patrolling the gas station.
Gou Dan suddenly barked, and Xu An followed the sound of his voice. About 500 meters behind the gas station, she spotted three tanker trucks.
Xu An was overjoyed. With these three trucks, they wouldn't have to worry about energy issues in the future.
Moreover, these tanker trucks could be directly transferred into her space.
Thinking this, she took out a jerky strip from her pocket and fed it to Gou Dan, patting his head.
"Good dog! I'll reward you with a big bone tonight!"
The girl and her dog excitedly ran towards the tanker trucks, thus failing to notice the vehicles approaching from a distance.
Xu An excitedly placed the tanker trucks into her space with Gou Dan and prepared to return.
However, as she neared the gas station, Gou Dan suddenly let out a few low, uneasy growls.
Sensing Gou Dan's unease, Xu An immediately retrieved her dagger from her space and held it ready for defense.
She instructed Gou Dan to lie down behind the gas station and remain silent, while she herself crept along the wall of the supermarket, pressing herself against it to minimize her presence.
As expected, a strange vehicle had entered the gas station.
"Boss, the supermarket is empty. There's only a corpse inside, nothing else."
The man addressed as "Boss" had a fierce scar on his brow, extending from his scalp to his eyelid, as if he had been struck on the head with a blade.
He ignored his subordinate's words and stared intently at the refueling gun that was currently in use.
"Someone has already been here. Search for them. They shouldn't have gone far."
He then looked at the pink Wuling Hongguang parked in front of the supermarket, his eyes filled with malice. A sinister smile played on his lips.
"Perhaps it's a young woman!"
Seeing his boss's expression, the subordinate immediately understood and turned to begin searching.
He could only silently complain in his heart: At a time like this, when they can barely find enough food, he's still thinking about finding women…
Hiding nearby, Xu An listened to their conversation, her heart filled with trepidation. This man did not look like a benevolent person.
And the clothes they were wearing – had they forgotten to change in their haste to escape, or was it deliberate?
The two men were wearing prison guard uniforms!
Xu An's expression immediately changed. After some thought, she re-hung the dagger at her waist and quietly took out her hunting rifle.
In her two lifetimes combined, she had never used a gun before.
In her previous life, although she had killed people, she had never felt as uncertain as she did today.
She observed the two men not far away. Apart from slightly chapped lips, their stamina was clearly abundant.
The man called "Boss" held a rebar in his hand, while the other held a cleaver.
Xu An didn't know if they had any other weapons she couldn't see.
Not to mention their physique, which was clearly larger than hers.
Xu An dared not underestimate them.
After a moment's thought, she first put away her hunting rifle and dagger, composed herself, and adjusted her breathing.
She would be discovered eventually, so it was better to take the initiative. Sitting idly by was not her style.
She called Gou Dan, and together, the girl and her dog approached the men as if they had just finished surveying the surroundings and were returning.
As soon as Xu An saw the men, before they could react, she preempted them.
"Who are you?!"
The leading man looked at Xu An's heavily covered face and felt a pang of disappointment. However, upon noticing her shapely curves, a surge of wicked desire rushed to his head.
"Little sister, don't be afraid. We are survivors passing by, looking for supplies. Have you found anything?"
The man's gaze was dark. He had already inspected Xu An's car and found nothing in it, but that didn't stop him from testing her.
Xu An shook her head. "No, there's only gasoline here. I plan to take some gasoline and leave to find a place further away."
"Are you police?" Xu An asked, feigning innocence and ignorance.
The scarred-faced man seemed momentarily taken aback. He glanced down at his prison uniform, then looked up after a pause, nodding repeatedly and mumbling.
"Yes, yes, we are prison guards. We escaped from prison overnight during the volcanic eruption. Little sister, don't worry, we are not bad people."
Xu An, however, scoffed inwardly. Did he believe his own words?
At this moment, the subordinate who had left earlier returned and whispered something into the man's ear.
The scarred-faced man's expression sharpened, and his smile towards Xu An became even gentler.
Xu An also noticed that the two men had turned their gaze towards Gou Dan, whom she was holding by the leash!
"Little sister, you've raised this little dog quite well."
As the man spoke, Xu An couldn't ignore the gulping sound from his throat.
She felt a wave of exasperation, wanting to roll her eyes to the heavens. How long would this man go on with his "brother" and "sister" act? Was he putting on a play?
And he dared to set his sights on Gou Dan!
She immediately took a step forward, shielding Gou Dan's entire body behind her.
"I'm only using one refueling gun. If you need to refuel, you can use the other one. I'll be leaving after I finish."
With that, she pulled Gou Dan, preparing to distance herself from the two men.
Just then, a sudden turn of events occurred. Xu An hadn't expected them to be so shameless, employing a diversion tactic against a young girl!