Apocalypse Escape: Day One of Survival

Chapter 186: Chapter 186: None of Your Business

As they neared the docks, Xie Ning paused.

A woman in a white dress and stilettos was smiling as she walked toward Gu Chen and his team.

She smoothed back a few strands of hair that had been tousled by the gentle breeze, her voice soft and pleasant. "Brother Gu Chen, what a surprise to run into you here. I came with Captain Wang and the others from the City Defense Team to check things out."

"Miss Zhang, I meant to tell you this last time." Gu Chen paused, giving the woman an awkward look. "I’m younger than you, so you should probably... just call me by my name."

Every time she called him Brother Gu Chen, it sent a shiver down his spine.

Xie Ning glanced at the men of all ages trailing behind their captain and saw more than a few of their lips twitch.

A few couldn’t hold it in and had to turn away to keep from bursting out laughing.

That was a huge slap in the face to Miss Zhang.

Zhang Biyun had to use a great deal of effort to keep the smile fixed on her lips.

"Brother Gu Chen, you’re such a kidder." Zhang Biyun once again tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, her smile a bit stiff. "I noticed that even Wang, who’s in his forties, calls you ’Chen’ in your team."

Wang Bingwu rubbed his completely bald head and gave a simple-minded grin. "It’s because we’re on the same team. The captain is naturally our ’big brother’."

The implication was clear: outsiders shouldn’t try to cozy up to them.

The smile on Zhang Biyun’s lips was about to crumble.

Being publicly humiliated time and time again, even someone with skin as thick as a fortress wall would feel the burning shame.

Meanwhile, Song Youzhi and his group had already walked briskly to Gu Chen’s side, greeting him with a smile. "Xiao Gu, let’s get going."

Xie Ning, however, hesitated, her feet dragging.

She felt it wasn’t a good idea to approach at a time like this.

She was someone who absolutely hated trouble.

This Miss Zhang had obviously brought the City Defense Team here specifically for Gu Chen and his people.

She just wanted to pick up some leftovers; she had no desire to get involved in any other drama.

Gu Chen’s expression immediately brightened when he saw Song Youzhi’s group. "Uncle, Uncle Youzhi, where’s Ningning?"

"Isn’t Ningning right behind us?" Song Youzhi turned and saw his daughter making faces, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. "Hey, where’s Ningning? Where’s your sister?"

Xie Ning was dawdling on the steps, dragging her feet, when she suddenly noticed everyone looking in her direction.

Her uncles were even waving vigorously at her.

The girl frowned, steeled herself, and walked forward. Her tone was steady. "I think we should start with the *Ta Lake Eighteen*."

"Aren’t you going to introduce us, Brother Gu Chen? Who are they?" Zhang Biyun asked with a smile, but her eyes, sharp as daggers, swept over Xie Ning’s face.

"It’s none of your business," Gu Chen replied, clearly having no intention of engaging with Miss Zhang.

Zhang Biyun’s face instantly flushed crimson. She couldn’t believe Gu Chen would humiliate her so completely in front of so many people.

"Ningning, Aunt Song, let’s go." Gu Chen walked straight over to the two of them and smilingly tucked a small tub of ice cream into Xie Ning’s hands.

"Eat it quick before it melts," he said, then turned and led her away as if no one else existed.

Xie Ning felt as if countless gazes—gossiping, curious, and resentful—were about to bore a hole through her back.

’I knew it. Trouble.’

Still, the slightly melted chocolate ice cream was delicious. The pure chocolate flavor was incredibly rich.

’No wonder Mom always says Xiao Gu has everything.’

"Miss Biyun, should we follow them?" Captain Wang of the City Defense Team asked, glaring in the direction Gu Chen and his group had gone.

"Find out who those people are."

’Gu Chen called them ’uncle’? Could they be relatives of the Jingji Gu Family?’

’And who’s that girl he’s fawning over?’

A shadow fell over Zhang Biyun’s heart, and a hint of malice crept into her expression.

She didn’t know why, but she’d disliked that girl on sight.

’She has the face of a little seductress.’

’It’s the apocalypse, yet you can still find a girl so clean and neat. It’s almost unbelievable.’

"So, are we still going to search for supplies?"

"Of course." Zhang Biyun sneered, her gaze shifting to the boats on the right. She pointed to one at random. "Let’s go there."

Xie Ning glanced back, a single eyebrow raised slightly.

Gu Chen, walking beside her, immediately noticed the girl’s subtle movement.

He followed her gaze, then quickly whispered, "Ningning, I don’t know that woman well. Besides, she’s way older than me."

Xie Ning scooped a spoonful of ice cream into her mouth and shot him a look. "I get the feeling you have a lot of ’little sisters’."

A ’little sister’ here, a ’little sister’ there. Last time, Song Xue was also chasing after him, calling him "Brother Gu Chen."

The thought of that address term made Xie Ning shudder.

"Nonsense. You’re the only little sister I acknowledge, Ningning. The others are just shamelessly trying to cozy up to me."

The number of people who had tried to get close to the Jingji Gu Family was countless. He’d dealt with it his whole life and preferred not to think about it.

Gu Chen took a couple of steps forward and spotted two zombies running excitedly toward them along the riverbank.

Seeing Xie Ning remain silent, Gu Chen channeled all his frustration into a Thunderball, which instantly blasted the two zombies to smithereens.

Xie Ning stopped in her tracks, her eyes wide.

’Gu Chen’s superpower level seems to have... increased, too.’

Gu Chen turned his head and saw the girl staring, captivated and curious, at the spot where his lightning had struck.

He immediately ran back to her side, grinning. "Little sister, think your big brother’s pretty awesome?"

Xie Ning felt the urge to both laugh and make a sarcastic comment.

’Who praises themselves like that? He’s so shameless.’

Gu Chen blinked his charming eyes, a wide smile on his face. He leaned in and whispered, "Ningning, make some more metal bars later. I’ll enchant them with some lightning for you. You can keep them for self-defense."

Xie Ning froze for a moment, blinking as she stared at him.

Gu Chen whispered with a grin, "I know you can store things. Last time, before the winding mountain road, I saw you pull out that electric net to smash the zombies in a pinch."

"But don’t worry, neither I nor Lu Wei told anyone."

"It’s a secret between heaven, earth, you, me, and Lu Wei."

Annoyed yet amused, Xie Ning rolled her eyes at him. "Everyone on my team already knows."

Gu Chen: "..."

’Fine. That’s a little frustrating.’

’And here I thought it was a little secret between me and Ningning.’

"Ningning, did you sense that there was something wrong with the boat the City Defense Team went to?"

"Something’s a little strange," Xie Ning said with a frown. "But the danger level shouldn’t be too high."

"We were here before. There were a lot of zombies, but their abilities seemed pretty average," Xie Ning analyzed. "I’m guessing it’s because they were trapped in the cabins for so long that they never got exposed to the acid rain."

Gu Chen nodded and waved to the people behind him.

A dozen or so burly Power-type Superpower Users cleared a path, moving some heavy iron bars from the dockside to create a clear retreat route for everyone.

Song You’ai and her group followed behind the soldiers to pick up anything left over. Ji Taixian, in particular, wanted to grab everything he saw.

He even picked up several of the iron bars to take back.