[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-after-i-fully-prepared-for-the-apocalypse-the-un":3,"chapter-after-i-fully-prepared-for-the-apocalypse-the-un-after-i-fully-prepared-for-the-apocalypse-the-un-chapter-173":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","After I Fully Prepared for the Apocalypse, the Ungrateful Cried with Regret",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":20,"prevChapterSlug":21,"totalChapters":22,"novelImage":23},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":16,"volume":17,"translator":18,"content_hash":19},146337,236,"Chapter 173: Going with the Flow","after-i-fully-prepared-for-the-apocalypse-the-un-chapter-173",173,"\u003Cp>It was already afternoon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone took advantage of the break to eat and replenish their energy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yvonne Willow took out the marinated mutant pheasant meat from before and handed it out to the others along with some bread.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They’d found a vacuum sealer and packaging at a restaurant at the foot of Rexton Mountain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So, they had sealed the marinated and cooked chicken in vacuum packs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Over the past few days, they had nearly finished the meat from those two giant pheasants.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nina Jacobs was still trying to figure out how to investigate the other car without being too conspicuous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unexpectedly, the people who had gotten out of the car first opened the driver’s side door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If you can’t get any food, you can just wait here and starve to death.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We know you haven’t eaten today,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>but no matter what you get, you bring it back to us first,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>understand?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The threatening words from Fifi Stone and the others reached Nina Jacobs’s ears.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Immediately after, a girl as thin as a skeleton stepped out of the car.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She looked about seventeen or eighteen, her head hanging low as she shuffled forward one small step at a time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hurry up.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A boy shoved her, nearly knocking her over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The girl kept her head down without a word, her messy hair obscuring her face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The blazing sun made her steps unsteady.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a moment, she finally reached their vehicle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as she was about to knock on the window, it rolled down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She saw a beautiful face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bright eyes holding a reserved sharpness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was reminded of a line she had memorized from a textbook—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"A glance, and a dazzling light remains; a long cry, and breath like an orchid.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But she hadn’t forgotten her \"mission.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hello, could you spare some food?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sheila Rhodes lowered her head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What’s your name?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was a hint of anger in Nina Jacobs’s voice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But that anger wasn’t directed at Sheila Rhodes; it was for those people.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The group was standing not far away, watching her for their amusement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"My name is Sheila Rhodes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Could you... spare a little food?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I haven’t... haven’t eaten in almost two days.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sheila Rhodes stammered, as if painfully reciting something from memory.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You can.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nina Jacobs got out of the car.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking at Sheila Rhodes’s raised face, she pulled an energy bar from her backpack and handed it to her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Eat it right here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You can go after you finish.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nina Jacobs said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Eat it... here?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sheila Rhodes didn’t understand what Nina Jacobs meant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But following Nina Jacobs’s gaze, she finally understood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was afraid that if Sheila took it back with her, the others would just snatch it away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nina Jacobs unwrapped the energy bar and stuffed it directly into her hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sheila Rhodes moved her cracked and peeling lips, finally turning her back on the group in the distance and devouring the food in large bites.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She quickly finished the energy bar, and Nina Jacobs opened another and handed it to her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Are they bullying you?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pascal Paige had also noticed something was wrong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She got out of the car and asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The girl was too thin, as if she’d been starved for a long time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sheila Rhodes shook her head, but her voice trembled slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Where’s your home?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nina Jacobs finally asked the question she’d been wanting to ask.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This Sheila Rhodes did bear some resemblance to the blurry photograph she remembered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But she was too thin now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So thin she was almost unrecognizable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"My home is in City A. It’s still very far from here.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sheila Rhodes adjusted her glasses and replied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’It really is her.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nina Jacobs had already made up her mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The only problem now was how to get Sheila Rhodes to come with them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just then, Chase Gallagher also opened his door and got out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looked Sheila Rhodes up and down, his eyes filled with shock.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Your name is Sheila Rhodes?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You’re from City A. Do you have a... relative named Warren Rhodes?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing Chase Gallagher’s words, Sheila Rhodes was stunned for a moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nina Jacobs hadn’t expected Chase Gallagher to know even this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But this made it convenient for her to use the situation to her advantage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"How do you... know my grandfather?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Warren Rhodes was indeed her grandfather.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It had been her parents’ idea to send her to City J for school.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She had lived in City A before that, but she didn’t recognize Chase Gallagher.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, after she confirmed it, Chase Gallagher’s expression became inscrutable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Is she someone you know?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nina Jacobs was pulled aside by Chase Gallagher.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her expression was one of slight, yet perfectly measured, surprise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chase Gallagher, on the other hand, was rather excited.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Warren Rhodes is our country’s current supreme commander.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I heard a while back that they’d put out the word they were looking for his granddaughter, Sheila Rhodes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I never thought she’d turn up here.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chase Gallagher didn’t hide anything, telling her everything he knew.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What a coincidence.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But it looks like those people are bullying her pretty badly.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nina Jacobs pointed into the distance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sheila Rhodes had finished her energy bar and had been called back. The group was now berating her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The Rhodes Family has a reputation for integrity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Besides, Warren Rhodes was brought back out of retirement, and his immediate family would never use his name for personal gain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It’s normal that they don’t know her identity.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chase Gallagher explained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Chase Gallagher’s eager expression, Nina Jacobs knew he was waiting for her decision.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Warren Rhodes... I’ve definitely read reports about him before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Rhodes Family has produced decorated heroes for generations. To think a family member would fall to this state...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But since we’ve run into her, I think we should help her out.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After Nina Jacobs stated her position, Chase Gallagher nodded emphatically.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even before the apocalypse, he had deeply admired Warren Rhodes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had wanted to test into the command headquarters’ intelligence department, but unfortunately, he had failed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Therefore, while he was in City A, he paid special attention to any information about the headquarters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Warren Rhodes did an excellent job of keeping his family’s information private.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If it weren’t for the apocalypse, no one would have known he even had a granddaughter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meanwhile, a fresh handprint had appeared on Sheila Rhodes’s face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her other cheek was red and swollen from being pinched.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You did that on purpose, didn’t you? Trying to hoard supplies for yourself?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If it weren’t for the fact that you can drive,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>we would’ve thrown you to the zombies long ago!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zoe Morgan kicked her to the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I think she’s just playing pitiful on purpose\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>to get other people’s sympathy!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Who knows, maybe she’s even trying to seduce the men in that car.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’m not.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sheila Rhodes protested.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You’re just a country bumpkin from out of town. I don’t think you know your place.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fifi Stone grabbed Sheila Rhodes’s hair, but just as she was about to teach her a lesson, she was struck by a sudden force.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"AH!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fifi Stone screamed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was Chase Gallagher’s Wind Ball. He hadn’t held back, and the blast sent her flying more than three meters away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was the first time Nina Jacobs had seen Chase Gallagher use his Wind Element Superpower.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although she knew he had only just awakened the Wind Element, the impact certainly looked impressive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zoe Morgan and the others were stunned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But she reacted quickly, immediately explaining:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"She stole and ate our supplies, that’s why we were teaching her a lesson.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You can’t just attack people without asking what’s going on.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Oh? What did she steal and eat?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nina Jacobs walked over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For some reason, the man from before hadn’t frightened them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But a single glance from Nina Jacobs made Zoe Morgan start to stammer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"She... she...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Anyway, she just stole it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zoe Morgan took two steps back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nina Jacobs helped Sheila Rhodes up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She noticed that the girl’s eyes held no anger, only a profound sense of calm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was as if she had already grown accustomed to such beatings and verbal abuse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We know her family.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From now on, she’s traveling with us.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chase Gallagher stated, leaving no room for argument.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"How can you do that?!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She’s our classmate! Who’s going to drive without her?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unless...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>you let us ride in your car, too.\"\u003C\u002Fp>",1398,"2026-05-29T03:44:18.636Z","2026-06-01T04:29:06.436Z",1,"novelbin.me","5bfa609e61396f662e9eb6d729d6aa06d287f32530135690f677c55fe7146482","after-i-fully-prepared-for-the-apocalypse-the-un-chapter-174","after-i-fully-prepared-for-the-apocalypse-the-un-chapter-172",312,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fafter-i-fully-prepared-for-the-apocalypse-the-un-cover.jpg"]