Park Su hadn't expected any sort of repayment from them; he had only spoken up because they reminded him of his own mother.
However, since their gratitude was sincere, he didn't mind accepting it. He nodded at them, indicating they should hurry and get in their car, as they were about to leave.
The boy, seeing his mother thanking Park Su, rushed up and hugged his leg, "My name is Chen Jinxuan. Big brother, what's your name? I've decided to take you as my role model and become as strong as you one day. Then I'll repay you and that other big brother for saving my mom!"
Park Su didn't expect the boy to actually repay him, but seeing the child's admiring gaze as he spoke made him feel quite accomplished. Lately, he had been holding onto others' "thighs," so being on the receiving end for a change felt a bit unusual.
But it was a nice feeling, so he patted Chen Jinxuan's head with a smile, "My name is Park Su, and he's Xu Nuo. Your big brother hopes you'll one day become even stronger than us."
Although Park Su said this, he thought it was possible for the boy to surpass him if he awakened an ability, especially if it was a strong offensive one. However, surpassing Xu Nuo seemed unlikely. He considered the conclusions he had reached earlier; surpassing heaven's favorite wasn't an easy feat.
He was watching Xu Nuo, who was manipulating zombies to fend off other zombies, when Xu Nuo suddenly turned his head and said with narrowed eyes, "Are you done? If you are, let's go. Don't you want to go to the supermarket to grab supplies? If we're late, they might be cleaned out!"
Upon hearing Xu Nuo's words, Park Su snapped back to reality, turning to Chen Jinxuan, "If you and your mom still want to follow us, get in the car quickly; we're about to leave."
Jinxuan, being sensible about priorities, and knowing his mother's determination to follow Park Su and Xu Nuo, immediately ran back to his mother, calling out as he went, "Mom, Mom, get ready to drive, Park Su and Xu Nuo are about to leave."
Lü Xia quickly finished refueling, opened the driver's door, and got in almost simultaneously with her son. On the other side, after giving his instructions to Jinxuan, Park Su got back in his car and drove up to Xu Nuo.
Without a word, Xu Nuo got in the car, leaving behind a talisman. Park Su didn't know what the talisman was for, but after Xu Nuo's succinct "Go," he instinctively hit the gas. They had barely driven away when a slight explosion was heard behind them.
Curious, Park Su glanced in the rearview mirror towards the gas station and saw the two zombies Xu Nuo had controlled earlier had exploded into pieces, their bodies, blood, and entrails scattered all over. Although he couldn't smell it, he could easily imagine the thick scent of blood now permeating the area, attracting more zombies to the gas station.
With this, the gas station would soon become a deadly zone, a place best avoided by anyone without sufficient strength to survive.
Therefore, even if there was any remaining gasoline there, the people in the two cars following them didn't have the luck to claim it.
Most importantly, with the nearby zombies drawn here, their drive would undoubtedly be much smoother. Xu Nuo truly lived up to his reputation; even a simple task like refueling was planned with such foresight.
However, now that they were heading to the supermarket, he wasn't sure what the situation inside was like, or if the good stuff had already been taken by the people in the two cars following them.
Then he remembered what Xu Nuo had told him earlier and leaned over to ask, "Since you can see things within two hundred meters, you must have known that one of the cars following us was that mother and child. Who are the people in the other two cars?"
Xu Nuo looked at Park Su's curious demeanor and felt a bit helpless, "Sit properly and drive. It's just the two of us here; there's no need to make such a fuss. The people in one of the cars are familiar to you.
I haven't seen the people in the other car before; they don't seem to be from this village, probably newcomers. However, the woman in there appears to have some fighting capability; she might have awakened an ability."
Park Su pouted, thinking his pose was to emphasize the mystery of Xu Nuo's abilities, as they do in the movies. Why did Xu Nuo have to be so dismissive?
As they spoke, their car stopped at the supermarket entrance. Park Su straightened up and continued asking, "Since you can see, tell me what's inside!"
Seeing Park Su's insatiable curiosity, Xu Nuo raised an eyebrow, "Are you trying to make me regret telling you my secret?"
Park Su rubbed his nose, "Why would I? It's foolish not to use a convenient tool, right? Besides, you mentioned that woman has an ability. Shouldn't you check what it is first? So we can be prepared. As the saying goes, know your enemy, know yourself, and you will never be defeated."
Xu Nuo found himself increasingly unable to handle Park Su's myriad of fallacies, so he simply ignored him. He leaned back in the passenger seat, scanning the supermarket with his spiritual sense, and frowned, "She's actually a metal ability user, and that car isn't the only one with an ability user. The middle-aged man driving is also one, but like you, he has a wood-based ability."
However, if there were two ability users in that car, why did everyone seem to follow the woman's lead? If Xu Nuo remembered correctly, the driver seemed to consult her quite often, indicating she was central to their decisions.
Was it because her identity was special, or was there another reason?
Xu Nuo suddenly found himself intrigued and warned Park Su, "Be careful of that woman when you go in," before getting out of the car.
Park Su watched Xu Nuo's back with a bit of confusion. He had no idea what woman Xu Nuo was talking about; please don't assume everyone could see inside other people's cars like him!
Of course, he only dared to think these words, not say them aloud. He followed Xu Nuo out of the car and headed towards the supermarket.
Meanwhile, Lü Xia, who had been following them, was hesitant. She could have gone into the smaller supermarkets to scavenge for supplies, but a large supermarket like this was sure to be filled with zombies, causing her to waver. She didn't want to leave Jinxuan alone in the car, but she was also worried about bringing him along, fearing she couldn't protect him.
Just as she was grappling with her indecision, Jinxuan tugged at her clothes, looking quite anxious, "Mom, you said we would follow them. They've already gone into the supermarket. Why haven't you gotten out yet?"
Lü Xia frowned, "It's probably very dangerous inside, and I'm worried about you..."
Before she could finish her sentence, Jinxuan puffed out his chest and said, "I know it's very dangerous. I'll take care of myself and won't cause you any trouble."
Lü Xia looked at her son, who was acting like a little adult, then at their meager supplies, and finally gritted her teeth, "Alright, let's go. But remember, if you see any danger, don't leave my side, and don't try to be a hero. We'll just collect some supplies and leave. There's no need to be greedy, understand?"
Jinxuan nodded and followed his mother out of the car, knowing she was looking for food for the two of them. However, he was more eager to see Park Su and Xu Nuo, these two brothers, in action.
That day, they had acted so quickly, and he had been too scared to watch closely. He only knew that they quickly dealt with the zombies that were about to harm him and his mother.
Park Su and Xu Nuo didn't have the time to worry about the mother and child. In the apocalypse, survival ultimately depended on oneself. The first floor of the supermarket was the household goods section.
After entering, Xu Nuo simply said, "I'll go upstairs to find food. You collect anything useful from the household items down here."
Park Su was about to protest when Xu Nuo raised an eyebrow, "Household items like food and clothing are your responsibility now. I have no idea what we need, but I know what I want to eat. I'm not interested in eating vegetarian every day."
Park Su immediately retorted, "How can it be every day? I've added plenty of meat to your meals recently!"
Xu Nuo scoffed, "Plenty of meat, you say? All minced meat that doesn't even taste like anything. If we're being honest, the day you prepared a hot meal was the day you didn't come back for lunch."
Seeing Park Su about to argue back, Xu Nuo quickly patted him on the back of the head, "Enough, stop wasting time. There are still zombies here to deal with. Once you've gathered enough, come find me upstairs. Remember, be wary of that woman. And don't get entangled by Meng Qiang's family."
Hearing this, Park Su had no more to say and nodded, turning to gather useful household items. Xu Nuo's words made it clear that the upstairs was much more dangerous than downstairs, and if he wasn't perceptive after so many years in the apocalypse, he would have wasted his time.
However, from what Xu Nuo had said earlier, did that mean the people in the other car he mentioned, the ones Park Su was supposed to recognize, were actually Meng Qiang's family?
Park Su couldn't help but admire the shamelessness of Meng Qiang's family. After the things they had said that day, they still had the audacity to follow and take advantage of them. Truly, there was no one quite like them.