Chapter 354: You Can

Seven or eight people hurriedly stuffed supplies into the vehicles; just as the two cars ran out of space, Ju Wuying pulled a set of car keys from inside the room.

"Big Brother Zhang, Little Ju says she hid a car in that courtyard over there."

Yi Xiaoling translated while glancing at Ju Wuying in surprise—she had no idea any of this was happening.

"Lüzi, go get the car from Ju Wuying and bring it back."

Zhang Su found nothing strange about it—Ju Wuying had made it all the way from Shanhai District to Qingxian; her abilities were clearly no ordinary matter.

"Me? Alright… fine…"

Wu Lue's expression froze as he held two large buckets of pure grain liquor; he forced a nervous laugh, handed the baijiu to Chen Hanzhou, and reluctantly followed Ju Wuying out of the courtyard.

In the time it took to smoke one cigarette, a spotlessly clean Toyota Sienna pulled up to the courtyard gate; inside were ten cases of five-liter bottled mineral water, now frozen solid into ice blocks, with four or five caps burst open from expansion, plus several cans of food and snacks.

"Plenty of supplies—were you planning to flee at any moment?"

Zhang Su leaned in to glance into the trunk and teased.

"Little Ju says… this was prepared before the big freeze. I originally planned to head to Qincheng once I recovered."

Yi Xiaoling translated for Ju Wuying.

"Alright, your car is requisitioned by the organization. The alcohol you pulled from here is exempt from the warehouse—keep it under your own management."

Zhang Su patted the car's body with a conspicuously generous gesture.

Ju Wuying froze upon hearing Zhang Su's words and quickly spoke a rapid string of sentences.

"Little Ju asks… won't the other supplies be under our management anymore?"

Yi Xiaoling offered a faintly embarrassed smile—she already suspected the answer.

"We didn't have time to explain our camp's rules to you properly. All supplies are centrally managed and distributed to ensure no member goes cold or hungry. Anything you find yourself can be claimed at ten percent as a bonus; the rest must be turned over to the camp warehouse."

"Don't think we're hiding anything or that I have special privileges. Honestly, I can't even use up my own bonus share, let alone my ration—our camp's living standard is excellent. You two are lucky to have found us."

After listening, Ju Wuying said something else to Yi Xiaoling; Zhang Su could tell she still had doubts. Without waiting for translation, he waved his hand: "You two haven't joined any group since the disaster—your confusion is understandable. But after living here a while, all your questions will be answered. Our camp now has nearly a hundred people, all getting along. That proves our rules have no major flaws."

"Big Brother Zhang is right, Little Ju. Our worries might be unnecessary! They even took in a little girl like this—they can't be that bad."

Seeing Su Xiaoya diligently helping with chores, Yi Xiaoling reflected: before the disaster, she'd planned to flee with villagers from several nearby hamlets, but was targeted by bullies. Had she not overheard their plot and escaped in time, she would have suffered the same fate as the other young girls.

Even if being violated meant survival, she wouldn't have minded—but when she later sneaked back to the village to scavenge after they left, she found many women dead in abandoned courtyards, of all ages, some already turned into zombies, pitiful and horrific.

That experience led her to choose solitary survival afterward. But she had only the will, not the ability. Later, while scavenging, she was targeted again—had Ju Wuying not appeared in time, she would have met the same grim end…

Su Xiaoya gave a faint smile in response to Yi Xiaoling's words. She couldn't judge Tianma Isle objectively—Tianma Isle had killed her sister, yet it had also saved everyone left in Kuanzhuang. Deep down, she bore no hatred toward Zhang Su.

Ju Wuying didn't care about Zhang Su's assurances—she repeatedly confirmed the bonus policy for scavenged supplies. Once satisfied, she relaxed; this was her final fallback, and she trusted her own abilities.

With an extra vehicle, the group quickly loaded all remaining supplies, with room to spare.

The three vehicles lined up outside the courtyard gate. Neither Ju Wuying nor Yi Xiaoling drove. Yi Xiaoling sat in the second row of the Sienna; Wang Xin was behind the wheel, Chen Hanzhou in the front passenger seat. Ju Wuying sat in the second row of the Big Dog; Lu Yubai drove with a dark expression, while Wu Lue sat awkwardly in the front passenger seat—the silence inside was unnerving.

The FJ Cruiser led off, followed by the Big Dog, with the Sienna bringing up the rear. Though not in the same vehicle, Ju Wuying and Yi Xiaoling both turned instinctively to gaze back at the courtyard they'd once called home, trying to imprint the memory into their minds—only turning forward again once the vehicles rounded the bend.

While the Big Dog's atmosphere remained awkward and tense, the Sienna's mood was relaxed.

"Uh, I'm not being nosy or anything," Wang Xin smiled into the rearview mirror. "Xiaoling, were you into girls before the disaster?"

"You say 'I'm not being nosy'—that means you definitely are."

Yi Xiaoling replied with rare wit, then sighed. "Before the disaster, I wasn't like this. But after what happened… sorry, I don't want to condemn all men—but I'm terrified of what men might do to me."

"Don't worry, both me and Xiao Chen have partners. Our camp doesn't tolerate abuse or harassment."

Wang Xin offered reassurance.

Chen Hanzhou seized the moment: "Actually, I want to ask—Sister Ling, what exactly is Ju Wuying's background? How is she so strong?"

Since losing his arm, Chen Hanzhou's obsession with martial power had far surpassed his former self—especially after receiving his prosthetic limb. Seeing Ju Wuying's never-before-seen combat technique filled him with excitement.

"I'm curious too. How did you manage to subdue her? I saw her weapons were confiscated—your firearms must be far more powerful."

Yi Xiaoling smiled faintly, her tone curious, not accusatory—she knew Ju Wuying's strength well; without firearms, Ju Wuying could easily handle three or four opponents alone.

"We never clashed directly. We were flying a drone to locate zombies when Ju Wuying spotted it, tracked us down, and begged us to save you. Brother Su saw how strong she was and naturally asked her to surrender her weapons."

Chen Hanzhou spread his hands.

"You might not know about Japan's Ju family—I didn't either until Little Ju told me. The Ju family is an ancient lineage in Japan, with over a thousand years of history. At one point, they ruled the entire country, but later lost power in various struggles and gradually declined. The outside world assumed the Ju line had died out, but they merely retreated into deep forests and preserved their bloodline."

"No way… really? Are you serious? Is this even legit? Can we call them royal descendants?"

Wang Xin's expression turned strange, finding it wildly dramatic.

Chen Hanzhou didn't react as exaggeratedly as Wang Xin—he harbored other questions. "Does her lineage have anything to do with her strength?"

"She told me her martial arts are family-taught. Beyond that, I don't know. Honestly, I wasn't that interested, so I didn't press further—and she didn't volunteer more. Sorry…"

Yi Xiaoling gave an embarrassed smile. Asking about someone's ancestral lineage felt odd, so she took whatever Ju Wuying chose to share.

"Hidden clan… martial arts legacy…" Chen Hanzhou murmured softly, his eyes gleaming with thought.

The Big Dog remained awkwardly silent throughout; the Sienna buzzed with lively chatter; the FJ Cruiser's two occupants were bickering…

"You promised me! You promised twice! Why are you going back on your word? You can't do this!"

Just moments ago, Zhang Su had declared they'd return directly to Tianma Isle. Su Xiaoya's heart sank—could a camp leader really be so unreliable?

Zhang Su glanced at Su Xiaoya. "Don't you see the cars are nearly full? Going back to Kuanzhuang won't yield much. Why waste time? I swear—tomorrow, I'll take you. No more broken promises!"

"I won't take anything, just take a quick look—maybe one or two bags, won't take up space. Please!"

Su Xiaoya pleaded, clasping her hands together in a begging gesture. She knew force wouldn't work—this man didn't respond to that. Only persistence, soft and steady, stood a chance.

"Hmm… tsk."

Zhang Su clicked his tongue. There was still space in the vehicle—he simply didn't want to touch anything related to Su Lei. But breaking his word to a little girl wasn't acceptable. He finally nodded. "Fine, fine, fine. I'll take you. But no long delays—I'll call 'go,' and we leave. Got it?"

"Okay!"

Su Xiaoya agreed eagerly, slumping back into her seat, silent.

"Huh?"

Yet barely a minute passed in quiet when Zhang Su let out a startled exclamation—the vehicle slowly pulled over to the roadside.

"Brother Su, Brother Su—the zombie herd in the western fields—it's moving wrong!"

At the same moment, Lu Yubai's voice crackled through the radio.

Everyone in the car turned westward—there, a massive horde of zombies was slowly shifting southward. Not stretching to the horizon, but numbering no less than five thousand.

(End of Chapter)