Park Su was somewhat dazed by his last sentence but quickly understood, "Am I really that important to you?"
Xu Nuo pulled him close, kissing him deeply, "Very important, more than you can imagine, so don't refuse my kindness, okay?"
Park Su felt his heart flutter from the affection, nodding, "Alright, but I can't take everything for myself. I worry about you too. You said we would grow old together, and you're the strongest fighter between us."
Xu Nuo chuckled, "Alright, with my wife saying that, I'll work hard. But you probably don't know, I actually have another method to speed up my cultivation without needing so many crystals."
Park Su blushed at the term 'wife', "Who's your wife, stop messing around!"
Xu Nuo, not pleased with the denial, hugged him tightly, "Who's messing around? You're my wife, and I treasure you!" Park Su, though initially resisting from embarrassment, couldn't help but enjoy Xu Nuo's embrace, which always gave him a sense of security. Moreover, Xu Nuo's hug was not intrusive but rather showed a deep respect for him, soothing the lingering pain from his past life where he had chased after someone who eventually pushed him into a horde of zombies.
When Park Su initially struggled but Xu Nuo firmly held him back, he gave up resisting, settling comfortably in Xu Nuo's arms. Xu Nuo was surprised by how easily Park Su showed this dependent side, which in turn made him feel guilty about having any other thoughts.
Especially with Park Su looking at him with such trust, Xu Nuo felt any misstep would be criminal. Thus, on the first night of their journey, they fell asleep in each other's arms, not doing anything more.
The next morning, the team set out again, but this time, the members no longer carried the arrogance of the previous day, showing more respect towards Park Su and Xu Nuo.
Park Su didn't feel much about this change, but Xu Nuo was quite pleased. It seemed that their display in the tents the day before had effectively intimidated them. He guessed correctly that for the following days, they would follow his commands obediently without causing any trouble.
And his guess was spot on. Today, as long as they followed Xu Nuo's orders, no one raised any questions like they had the day before; they simply executed the tasks. Moreover, their performance was better than yesterday, and no one tried to pry into Xu Nuo and Park Su's affairs.
The second town they visited that day wasn't as prosperous as the first but was a day's journey further from Base S. However, their haul was not less than the previous day's. By the end of the day, everyone was in high spirits, calculating that if they continued at this pace through the six towns Lu Xia had mentioned, they might indeed fill all the pickups they brought.
Although they hadn't seen their leaders collecting much themselves, Xu Nuo had promised to share half of what they collected. Given the current situation, even half would be a significant amount, ensuring their families wouldn't worry about food for a year. Importantly, over these two days, they mostly did manual labor while the leaders and vice-leaders handled the dangerous task of killing zombies.
This low-risk, high-reward scenario made everyone more enthusiastic and diligent, each hoping to collect more to gain a larger share.
Xu Nuo was pleased with their sudden diligence. While he had decided to give them most of the resources, keeping the majority of the zombie crystals for himself, if they collected enough and found items Park Su would like, he wouldn't mind trading some crystals to enhance their quality of life.
Park Su couldn't quite understand why everyone had suddenly become so compliant and diligent, but he felt that it was because these were genuinely good people from his past life, showing their earnestness.
On the third day, they were mostly on the move, only reaching the outskirts of their target town late at night. They settled in a decent village in the town's suburbs for rest, planning to scavenge the next day. However, they found another team had already occupied this village.
The lower-tier ability users immediately went on high alert. In this apocalyptic world, they had experienced being robbed by stronger teams due to valuable resources. Here, the number of people in this village clearly outnumbered them, and after two days of scavenging, they had already filled one container and half of another, making them cautious.
Although they had only risked their labor in scavenging, these goods were hard-earned, and they were not keen on losing them to others.
They considered perhaps they could sneak into the town under cover of night before the other team noticed them, or find another village closer to the town. They shared this idea with Xu Nuo, who, upon hearing that the nearest village was already occupied, frowned slightly. He didn't like adding unnecessary complications, but he understood the concerns of the ability users. He didn't think the other team could take their resources from him and Park Su, but if a fight ensued, protecting these lower-tier users would be troublesome. Opting for the simpler solution, he agreed to their proposal after a brief hesitation.
Shi Lei and the others breathed a sigh of relief seeing Xu Nuo agree. They were concerned that high-tier ability users might take offense, considering such an action as an insult, leading to conflict. Now, with his consent, they quickly organized the vehicles to turn back towards the main road, looking for another village to rest.
Ge Qing and Lu Shang, understanding Park Su and Xu Nuo's personalities, were not surprised by this choice. A late dinner and late sleep were not much of an issue for them.
However, plans often go awry. They couldn't change their route because not far down the road, they found it blocked by a mass of wrecked vehicles from a massive accident during the apocalypse. Clearing this would require significant time and manpower, and with the night setting in, it was not the time for such activities. They didn't know what lay ahead or how far they'd need to go to reach another village. Wandering around in the dark was dangerous; night reduced the effectiveness of ability users while enhancing zombie activity due to cooler temperatures and lack of sunlight. Thus, continuing to waste time here was unwise.
Their only option seemed to be rerouting through the village they had initially wanted to avoid. Xu Nuo, upon understanding the situation, immediately ordered the team to head back towards the village. Shi Lei felt helpless but kept his worries to himself, hoping nothing would go wrong.
Their convoy, though not large, consisted of big vehicles, making noise that was hard to miss. Before they even reached close, people from the village had already come out to check the situation.
Xu Nuo, while capable of handling such interactions, preferred not to bother. With Ge Qing and Lu Shang around, who he knew were adept at dealing with people from their time in the villa area, he saw no reason not to use their skills. Thus, he had instructed them to lead the convoy, anticipating they would handle any inquiries.
As expected, when people came out to investigate, Ge Qing and Lu Shang went to communicate with them. Xu Nuo, confident in their abilities, leaned back in the passenger seat, waiting for the outcome.
Park Su, with nothing to do, looked into the village, noting the many lit houses, suggesting a sizable group. He wondered if this might be the large convoy organization he had heard about in his past life.
Soon, Ge Qing and Lu Shang returned, smiling, and knocked on their car window. Park Su lowered it, looking at them questioningly. Ge Qing said with a smile, "The people from this convoy are quite friendly, and they're from Base S too. They've invited us to stay in the village with them."
"I see they're not the type to covet our resources, so I agreed. After all, we've been on the road all day; there's no need to wander around anymore. What do you think?"