Chapter 170: Chapter 170: High-Temperature Scorching
Xie Ning couldn’t figure out what was wrong with Li Dawei and his group.
Why did they have to start tailing them the moment Ningning’s vehicle moved?
"I have a feeling... Do you think the Li siblings believe that you, Ningning, can lead them to safety? Is that why they’re dead set on following us?" Song You’ai analyzed the crux of the problem.
Xie Ning didn’t even have the energy to complain about them.
This time, Song You’ai was driving. Xie Ning took out a bottle of mineral water and had a sip. "Mom, should we turn on the AC for a bit?"
"Let’s just bear it. A round trip to that container terminal will burn a lot of fuel. We don’t know what the future holds, so we should conserve what we can."
"It’s so hot." Xie Ning raked her fingers through her wind-tousled bangs. "Aren’t you the one who hates the heat the most?"
Song You’ai grinned at her, then suddenly pulled out a small glass bottle from beside her and stuffed it into her daughter’s hands.
It was icy to the touch. Xie Ning couldn’t help but laugh. "Mom, you even made ice cubes?"
"Of course. Tonight, Mom will make a block of ice for your room. If we put it in front of the electric fan, it should cool things down a bit."
For now, this was all they could do to save electricity and fuel.
The vehicle was queued up at the exit. Xie Ning poked her head out to look. Four or five cars and minivans were lined up ahead, all waiting impatiently to be let through.
The entire Lanshan Lake Base now only had two main gates, north and south, for pedestrians and vehicles to pass through.
Compared to the few vehicles leaving the base like them, many more were coming in through the three entrance barriers.
"Even more people are coming today than yesterday." Comrade Song You’ai poked her head out the driver’s window and suddenly waved vigorously at someone in the distance.
"Auntie, where are you two headed?" Zhai Ruobai and Xue Feng walked up to the car, greeting Xie Ning with a smile.
"We’re just going for a drive nearby, see if there’s anything we can scrounge up." Comrade Song You’ai was very blunt, wearing an expression that said, ’No need for secrets among friends.’
Xie Ning looked at the sky, speechless.
"You two should be careful out there. We’ve cleared most of the zombie gathering spots near Lanshan, but the situation is unclear in areas farther out. You need to stay alert."
"Don’t worry." Song You’ai nodded with a wide smile. "We’ll just look around for two hours and come right back."
Xie Ning bent down, picked up a large bag of Metal Knives from her feet, and handed it to her mother.
Seeing this, her mom quickly passed the bag out the window.
Xie Ning tilted her head and glanced at Zhai Ruobai. "Take this to your boss."
"Wow, you made this many Metal Knives? This is great." The bag felt heavy in Zhai Ruobai’s hands; he roughly estimated there were at least twenty of them.
’This time, I should be able to get one for myself. No need to be jealous of that kid Wu Meng anymore.’
"Xiao Bai, are all these cars heading out to look for supplies?"
"Yeah. The closest supermarket to the base is about a twenty-minute drive, but..." Zhai Ruobai shrugged helplessly. "After so many waves of people searching it, I figure it’s probably empty by now."
"So, when we come back to the base, do we still have to register and go through a physical check?"
"Yeah, it’s just a routine check. It shouldn’t take too long."
"Alright then." Seeing the cars ahead start to move, Song You’ai quickly waved to the two young men. "We’re heading out now."
"Goodbye, Auntie."
Xie Ning didn’t even want to complain about her mother’s knack for getting chummy with strangers.
’She’s certainly getting very familiar with Xiao Gu’s teammates!’
"Ningning," Song You’ai said, driving up behind the car in front. "How are we going to shake the tail behind us?"
Xie Ning’s lips curled into a smirk.
Just as Comrade Song You’ai drove through the base’s main gate, before Li Dawei’s car could follow, Xie Ning leaned out the window, aimed at their tire, and let loose.
A Metal Spike instantly pierced Li Dawei’s front right tire.
Xie Ning stuck out two fingers and gave a cool, jaunty wave to the car behind them.
Li Xiang, her face full of fury, leaned out of the passenger seat and howled. With a BANG, she jumped out of the car.
Even when the RV was far down the road, Xie Ning could still hear the Li siblings roaring at the base entrance, "Officer, that woman just now used her superpower to puncture our tire!"
"Aren’t superpower fights forbidden inside the base?"
"Doesn’t what she did violate the base’s regulations?!"
"Didn’t see a thing. What superpower puncturing a tire? You sure you didn’t just get a flat?"
"Comrade, don’t worry. The base has a garage. I suggest you head over there and get your tire patched. Patching a tire is pretty cheap, I think. Only five pounds of rice for one patch."
Song You’ai drove on, unable to hold back her laughter. "You, my child, are truly vicious."
She had made the Li siblings wait in line for ten minutes, only to make it impossible for them to follow her out.
Xie Ning snorted. "They got off easy."
She rested one hand behind her head, her gaze following the row of withered yellow trees that were slowly receding.
Just then, the sound of crying reached their ears.
They turned to see a small electric scooter on the side of the road, burned down to nothing but a hollow shell.
Fortunately, the two people who had been riding it were unharmed, though they looked utterly wretched.
"How could it have caught fire?" the woman demanded, her sobs shaking the heavens. "What do we do now? Are we supposed to walk to the supermarket?"
Song You’ai glanced over, still shaken. "Could it be because of the heat? Did the battery just spontaneously combust?"
Xie Ning wasn’t sure of the reason either.
The RV drove past the miserable couple, and Xie Ning turned her head to take another look.
"Ningning, what are you looking at?"
"Nothing." Xie Ning shook her head.
’It’s just that I thought the man who was riding the scooter looked a bit like my college gym teacher.’
"Mom, turn left," Xie Ning prompted.
Up ahead, the road for cars leaving the base split off.
Most people turned right, heading toward the supermarket.
Only one or two cars, like Xie Ning and her mother, turned left toward the cruise ship terminal.
The small car drove along Ta Lake. The woman holding the dog couldn’t help but turn and glance back at the RV that was following them. "What’s going on? That mother and daughter followed us, too."
"Honey, you don’t think they’re also heading for the containers, do you?"
The man driving had a grim expression. "It’s very possible."
"Then what do we do? Should we get out and get rid of them?" the dog-holding woman shrieked. "They came into the base with the military. It looks like they have deep ties with them."
"She’s a Superpower User. How are you going to ’get rid of’ her?" the man cursed, his face dark. "Stop talking such nonsense. Instead of wasting time on that, you should be thinking about the exact location of that shipment of canned goods you mentioned."
"It’s definitely at the container terminal," the woman said smugly. "Hmph, I would know. I was the one who signed for the company’s shipping order."
"The company originally planned to use this batch of canned food for a promotion. It was a rush order, so shipping by water was a bit faster."
"They were going to use them as little gifts to trick old people into signing up for more and buying more travel packages."
The man spat. "Your boss is a real piece of work, preying on uneducated old folks like that."
"What do you know." The woman shot him a glare. "It’s like Jiang Taigong’s fishing—only the willing get hooked."
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