Of course, not only did they seize Lin Zhuoran's supplies, but they also withheld her food.
Each day, she was given only one compressed biscuit and half a bottle of mineral water, nothing else.
They themselves, however, feasted on chicken legs, instant noodles, and sausage.
Lin Zhuoran clenched her eyes shut in resentment, doing her best to control her body so it wouldn't tremble and reveal any clues.
At the same time, she felt heartbroken that the supplies she had painstakingly hoarded were being so carelessly wasted.
Liu Hu glanced irritably at the supplies piled in the corner. "Stop asking! You ask three times a day, aren't you annoyed? They're right there, are you blind!"
Lin Youyou dared not speak again, quietly and obediently resting her head on the man's shoulder, lost in thought.
If they had rationed their supplies, they could have easily lasted for a month. But ever since they gained control of Lin Zhuoran, they began to waste food with abandon.
It had only been about ten days since the volcanic eruption, yet the remaining supplies they had wouldn't last more than three days at best.
No one present knew how long this hellish weather would continue.
...
This silence did not last long, only a few blinks of an eye.
Xu An faintly heard some footsteps, followed by the sound of fingernails scraping against the outer wall.
Then came piercing screams, wails, the cries and curses of countless people...
Years of ingrained alertness made Xu An sense that something was amiss.
She had previously scouted this cluster of villas. Even if there were survivors, they would be very few, countable on one hand.
But where were the screams coming from outside now? She did not rashly pull open the curtains to see what was happening. Her long experience of surviving the apocalypse had honed a calm mind.
However, before she could even ponder it, someone answered her question.
The screams spread to the front of Xu An's house. Someone was continuously banging on the outer door, shouting loudly.
"Save me... help me... there are monsters outside... it's zombies! Zombies are biting people!"
The violent commotion also woke Xu Yan from her sleep. She suddenly opened her eyes, her expression bewildered, just about to ask her daughter what was happening.
A slender, fair hand reached out and tightly covered Xu Yan's mouth.
Xu Yan was startled and about to struggle when she realized the hand belonged to Xu An. She immediately stopped.
Xu An made a shushing gesture to her mother before removing her hand from Xu Yan's face.
Then, she took Xu Yan's hand and gently wrote two words on her palm.
As Xu An's finger traced each stroke.
Xu Yan's heart felt as if it were being squeezed in a fist, bit by bit.
"ZOMBIES"
There really were zombies in this world!
Even though Xu An had previously warned her that zombies would appear soon, those were monsters that existed only in words.
When she found herself in the midst of it, she realized it was a completely different matter.
Although she couldn't see zombies yet, the shouts and howls from outside, deafening and ringing in her ears, sent a chill down her spine.
The people outside did not stop banging on the door simply because there was no response. On the contrary, more and more people joined in.
Gou Dan seemed to be frightened as well, wanting to get up and run to Xu An's side, but Xu An made a gesture for him to lie down and wait.
So, it obediently stayed still.
"Is anyone in there? Is anyone inside!"
"Stop knocking! If no one answers, just smash the door open! Those monsters are about to charge in!" a hurried male voice called out, clearly indicating recent exertion from running.
The woman who had been knocking seemed to agree with the man, picking up the axe in her hand and rushing towards the iron lock on the door, chopping at it.
After all, it was the apocalypse; who would care about breaking and entering?
Xu An's villa had a two-courtyard design.
The outermost area was a small garden, and outside the garden was an iron fence gate. Beyond this gate was the inner door.
She hadn't considered installing an electric fence on the iron gate, but doing so would have revealed that someone was home.
So, she abandoned the idea.
After the man smashed the iron lock, he waved his axe and instructed, "You guys close the iron gate first to hold back the zombies for a while. Once I break down this door, we'll rush straight in!"
Several men and women behind the man responded with "Okay."
Accompanying the sound of the man's axe blows were the urgent calls of the crowd.
A few girls, with crying voices, screamed loudly, urging the man to hurry, to hurry faster!
Xu An, hugging her mother, sat on the bed. She wasn't worried at all about them breaking down the door.
The doors and windows in this area had been reinforced by her. They were only sturdier than those in the high-rise buildings.
Her only concern was that she wouldn't be able to go to the supermarket to collect supplies today.
It seemed that ever since she was reborn, these disasters had always come earlier. If she hadn't been so well-prepared, she would likely have been caught completely off guard.
However, the group outside was indeed a nuisance. She wondered if they had met while fleeing and decided to stick together; there seemed to be about seven or eight of them, scattered about.
Don't blame Xu An for being heartless; she had learned from experience.
She would rather watch these people die at her doorstep than open the door to let them in today.
Even if it meant choosing between her mother and herself, and the entire group of survivors.
She would firmly choose to survive herself!
Being a saint was something she had done enough of in her previous life. It was time for her to live by the principle, "I'd rather betray the world than let the world betray me!"
That good deeds go unrewarded was her personal experience; no amount of persuasion would change her mind.
After hacking away for a long time, the man discovered that the door had been specially modified. Ordinary knives and axes could not open it.
He thought about smashing the glass and climbing in via the natural gas pipe.
But after searching the yard, he couldn't find any large stones.
It was impossible for him to find any. What he could think of, Xu An, who had lived through the apocalypse for ten years, would have already anticipated.
She had cleared the garden outside the villa long ago.
His eyes hardened as he looked at the axe in his hand. Grinding his teeth, he took a step back and swung the axe towards the glass.
But he didn't expect the glass to be tempered glass as well.
Hilarious! It couldn't be broken at all!
Not only did they fail to break the glass, but their only weapon also met its glorious demise in this continuous struggle.
The wooden handle bounced back from the glass and struck a boy guarding the door directly on the head.
"Damn it, who the hell hit me!"
Fortunately, the handle had detached from the axe head.
Otherwise, this boy would have been smashed to death by his own people before being bitten by zombies.
"Damn it! Is the owner of this house an idiot!" The man was desperate, standing there with bloodshot eyes, looking helplessly at the villa before him, regretting choosing this particular house.
Who in their right mind would install nano-level security doors and bulletproof glass!
Why would this idiot waste money on such things!
Xu An, who had inexplicably become the target of their frustration, comforted her mother while her mind wandered.
"What should I eat for lunch?"
...