With half an hour left before the potion wore off, Xia Chang decided to seize the moment. "A Miao, shall we make another trip across to retrieve the luggage?"
A Miao nodded.
This was the final step of their plan. Their efforts over the past two days had all been for that piece of luggage—they absolutely had to retrieve it successfully!
Qian Zhenzhen noticed A Miao's hands were shaking and quickly went over to ask, "Are you alright? Do you need to rest?"
Wearing a blood-splattered mask, with damp hair falling over his forehead and his gray-gold eyes glinting with a cold light, his whole being emanated an air of suppression and frenzy.
"...I'm fine," he answered hoarsely.
After some discussion, the wandering team decided to have Lu Qin go along.
The luggage was heavy, and if Xia Chang had to carry it on his back, he wouldn't be able to fight properly or keep watch for danger.
"I'm being left behind again?" Song Ziyi complained dramatically—well, his wounds hadn't fully healed yet.
Lu Qin instructed, "Stay here and help Boss Qian, don't wander off."
"I know, stop nagging." Song Ziyi waved them away. "Come back soon!"
Although Xia Chang and Lu Qin were both carrying guns, Qian Zhenzhen still took out her handgun and gave it to A Miao. "Be careful."
He gave a soft sound of acknowledgment and took it.
After the three left, silence suddenly fell around the inn. While the potion's effects still lasted, the two who remained began clearing the battlefield, dragging away corpses to be buried and burned.
Time slipped by quietly, and soon half an hour had passed.
"Urgh—" Song Ziyi stood in a corner, leaning against the outer wall as he retched violently. The potion's effects had worn off, and the side effects were kicking in. Faced with the unusually foul environment, he couldn't hold back the discomfort in his stomach.
Qian Zhenzhen felt a headache coming on, as if two fists were punching her temples from left and right, making her head ring with each impact.
She forced herself to keep working to distract herself, but suddenly, from far to the north came some kind of sound, faint and uncertain, like... an explosion?
She whipped her head around, stopping her work with the shovel to look north. "Little Song, did you hear something?"
Song Ziyi, who had vomited until he had no strength left, waved his hand to indicate he hadn't heard anything.
Maybe it was just her headache making her hear things...
That's what Qian Zhenzhen thought.
At five twenty-four, a full hour past the expected time, the three who had gone out still hadn't returned.
Autumn days were short, and darkness approached quickly. Wind whipped through the mountain forest, clouds obscured the setting sun, and rain threatened overhead.
Qian Zhenzhen's anxiety grew, and even Song Ziyi forgot his stomach discomfort, muttering nervously: "Why aren't they back yet? It's just getting a bag... and there are three of them..."
He suddenly remembered something and asked in alarm: "Boss sis, that sound you said you heard earlier, was it..."
His words trailed off. Song Ziyi clenched his fists, threw down his tools, and ran north. "I'm going to check the riverside!"
"Little Song!"
Qian Zhenzhen called out, but he had already bounded away like a rabbit. She quickly ran into the inn to lock the doors and windows, then chased after him toward the river.
Under the dim sky, the river surged forward, its waters carrying grass, wood, and sand downstream. Near the gravel beach, zombies and beasts struggled in clusters, trapped on the underwater reefs.
Unable to climb up the riverbank, they could only howl at the living people on the shore. After a few days, or perhaps after tonight's rain, the rising waters would sweep them away.
"Brother Xia— Sister Qin—" Song Ziyi rushed into knee-deep water, cupping his hands around his mouth to shout toward the opposite shore, "Where are you?!"
After calling twice, nothing changed. Only the howling of zombies and beasts answered him.
Qian Zhenzhen worried about snakes in the water. "Little Song, come up first!"
Song Ziyi waited until the cold wind whipped his face and raindrops began to fall, then waded back to the gravel beach and ran upstream along the riverbank.
They encountered no dangers along the way—perhaps because the nearby zombies and beasts had all been lured away and killed earlier.
Qian Zhenzhen chased Song Ziyi for four or five hundred meters until he fell into a muddy pit.
Diagonally across from them, a wooden raft lay silently dragged into the reeds.
None of the three had returned.
Song Ziyi crawled out of the pit, muddy and soaked, the bandage on his left eyebrow nearly falling off in the wind. His pale young face streamed with tears, like a broken toy bear discarded beside a rain-soaked garbage can.
He grabbed Qian Zhenzhen's hand, his fingers ice-cold. "What should we do, Boss sis? They must be in danger—let's go save them quick!"
"Calm down first!" Qian Zhenzhen, knowing his youth and impetuousness, explained patiently: "All three of them have guns. If they were really in danger, we would have heard something. Never mind A Miao—your team has been wandering for years. Xia Chang and Lu Qin are experienced veterans. How could they run into trouble without making a sound?"
Besides, in the system, A Miao's attribute panel remained normal, with no "injured" or "damaged" status showing.
Night was falling and rain was coming; rushing to the other shore in poor visibility might not only fail to find them but could put themselves in danger too.
"But didn't you hear a sound?"
"That wasn't gunfire!"
Qian Zhenzhen pulled up Song Ziyi, who had collapsed on the ground, and patted his head. "Come on, let's go back to the inn first."
...
Heavy rain fell all night long, thunder rumbling and lightning flashing.
Qian Zhenzhen stared at the system panel, afraid to miss any messages. She had no appetite, merely making two cups of milk powder.
The two sat anxiously in the living room all night, their cups still full when dawn came.
Song Ziyi, who had been lying on the dining table, straightened up and looked blankly out the window. "Is it morning?"
Qian Zhenzhen suddenly stood up, knocking over her stool. "Come on, let's go to the river!"
Outside, a light drizzle still fell. The temperature had dropped considerably, making them both shiver.
Song Ziyi stared unblinkingly at the opposite shore, then suddenly pointed. "Boss sis, look at that!"
Through the misty, rainy dawn, two beams of light pierced the open woodland.
Beep beep beep—
An armored off-road vehicle came racing through, crushing dead branches and leaves, driving over the bumpy mud terrain, heading straight for the riverside.
Just as it neared the water's edge, the vehicle swerved with a roar, coming to an abrupt stop with a piercing screech.
[Your employee [Qian Zhenmiao] has brought back supplies!]
[Special profit mechanism has been refreshed, please check!]