Chapter 295 - 293: You’re Free to Scram

In the end, the woman gave up and boarded the bus, huffing angrily as she held her child.

She looked around and saw that the back of the bus was already full. Only two seats remained up front, on the right side near the door.

Xie Ning was sitting in the first seat by the door, looking over a map in her hands.

Wang Pinglang had volunteered to drive, claiming to have several years of experience with large vehicles.

After getting a basic rundown of the survivors from Building Five, Xie Ning didn’t say much and just let Wang Pinglang drive.

The deliveryman sat opposite Xie Ning, telling Wang Pinglang where to turn and which roads to take.

The woman with the child sat down in the seat next to them, still huffing. She immediately started yelling at the driver, Wang Pinglang. "Hey! Who’s the captain of this rescue team? I want to file a complaint against one of your members."

A thin, gaunt middle-aged woman sitting beside Xie Ning heard this and frantically tried to signal the woman with the child to be quiet.

"What’s the matter? Aren’t they the ones the safe base sent to rescue us? The base definitely paid for this service, right?"

"How can they be like this? They won’t even look after the elderly and children?"

"Look at Brother Bu. His eighty-year-old mother is in her condition, and they won’t even arrange a more comfortable seat for her. What is it, Ms. Yu? Why do you keep tugging on me? Was I wrong about something?"

Xie Ning stood up, walked over to the driver, and held up the roster in her hand. Her voice was cold. "I am Xie Ning, captain of the Starfire Team. It’s true we’ve been commissioned by the base to rescue all of you."

"See? I was right!" the woman with the child shot back. "The base sent them to rescue us, so what’s with the attitude? Every last one of them is acting all high and mighty. It’s not like we owe them anything."

"I already told that young girl on your team that my back has been weak ever since I gave birth. But she was completely unreasonable! She wouldn’t let me and my child on the van and sent us to this bus instead."

"Did you give birth to that child for the young girl on my team?" Xie Ning interrupted coldly.

The woman froze. Her grip on her child tightened, and an unnatural expression flashed across her face. "You... How can you say something like that?"

"If the answer is no, then shut your mouth. I’m only going to say this once." Xie Ning’s cold gaze landed on the woman. "And do not interrupt me while I’m talking. If you can’t manage that, you can get off this bus."

The woman clutched her child and flinched, as if frightened by Xie Ning. She shot a terrified glance at her.

"On my watch, everyone is equal. There are no special considerations for children or the elderly. You are responsible for your own family. Nobody here is a helpless infant, so don’t get it in your head that the world owes you special treatment."

"There are so many suffering people in this world. Do you think the Starfire Team can take care of them all? The saviors you were hoping for aren’t here. You were right about one thing: we’re just a team of mercenaries, paid to do a job."

"If you’re unsatisfied, uncomfortable, or unhappy with this arrangement, feel free to get off the bus now." Xie Ning’s icy voice filled the vehicle. "If you understand me and want to stay, then keep your mouths shut and listen."

"The base will provide you with two meals a day: one at ten in the morning, and one at six in the evening."

"Don’t question what I’m saying. If you have doubts, you can get lost. I’m all about freedom here; I won’t force anyone to do something against their will."

"I’ll repeat myself: if you’re uncomfortable, if you’re dissatisfied, if you’re unwilling to follow my commands, you can get off the bus right now." Xie Ning said coldly, "Open the doors."

Wang Pinglang quickly opened the doors. The bus fell dead silent; you could have heard a pin drop.

Everyone shrank back in their seats. No one dared to move, and no one wanted to.

’Are you kidding? We’re already set to go back to the safe zone. Who would get off now and go back to a life of fear, hunger, and cold?’

’At least at the base, our basic survival is guaranteed.’

Xie Ning’s cold eyes swept over the passengers. "Since no one has any objections, I’ll take that to mean you all agree to follow my rules."

"One last thing. Keep your mouths shut. If you want to live, don’t let out one of your... *intriguing*... screams in the middle of a zombie horde."

"I’ll give you one warning. The second time, you’re out. Don’t say I’m unreasonable—I’m giving you one chance to screw up. Life is precious. I suggest you all cherish it."

"Pass the roster around and sign yourselves in. Whether you sign it or not is your business."

"Drive." After speaking, Xie Ning sat down, put in her earbuds, and pulled her hood up to cover half her face, saying nothing more.

Just then, a line of text floated across her Satellite Bracelet: *Ningning, send location.*

’She didn’t even want to deal with this guy.’

After a three-second debate, she reluctantly sent her location again, attaching a "pig head" sticker.

’Idiot!’

’He’s asked for my location several times already. Has he ever managed to find me?’

Little did she know how much trouble she was causing.

Every time she sent her location, she would immediately take off, leaving Gu Chen and the others to chase her relentlessly while also cleaning up the messes she left behind...

For example, when they tracked her to the bathhouse on the old street, they ran into an unexpected swarm of cockroaches and rats.

After finally dealing with all that, Gu Chen remembered how much Ningning loved Crystal Cores, so he had his men collect every last one for her.

’He had no idea what he’d done to suddenly make the girl so annoyed with him.’

’But Ningning definitely likes Crystal Cores. Maybe this could help him get back in her good graces?’

And so, Xie Ning kept running, and Gu Chen and his team kept chasing. By the time they reached the abandoned repair shop, Ningning was long gone...

After this happened a few more times, a sweat-soaked Gu Chen angrily smacked the innocent-looking Zhai Ruobai. "Are you an idiot?! Why didn’t you call in a helicopter from the base?!"

"You didn’t say I could, big bro!" Zhai Ruobai whined, looking incredibly wronged. The eyebrows on his boyish face scrunched together.

Lu Wei, sitting in the back seat, looked up expressionlessly from his tablet. "I don’t think chasing her like this is working. You need to figure out their final destination and just wait for her there."

"Yeah, yeah!" Zhai Ruobai nodded eagerly. "Big bro, listen to what Lu Wei is saying."

’Even though he didn’t usually get along with the guy, there was no denying Lu Wei was smarter than his brother. At this moment, Zhai Ruobai couldn’t help but shoot Lu Wei a look of approval...’

Gu Chen glanced down at the locator on his wrist. "They’ve reached Canghua Home."

Lu Wei studied the map on his tablet. "Then we’ll go to Zone 3 to wait for her. Hold on, there looks to be a residential complex over there. Let’s wait for her there instead."

’At her pace, clearing out all of Canghua Home will probably take until tomorrow.’

’If we fight our way there collecting Crystal Cores, we should be able to meet up with them at that residential complex by tomorrow afternoon.’

"Hey, why don’t we just go straight to Canghua Home? They’re definitely spending the night there!"

"You don’t know a thing," Lu Wei said, pushing up his glasses. He looked up at Zhai Ruobai and gave him a gentle, scholarly smile. "We need to give the young lady some time to cool off. By the time we show up tomorrow with three big bags of Crystal Cores, she won’t be angry anymore."

Gu Chen thought that made perfect sense. He smacked the baby-faced Zhai Ruobai on the head. "You don’t know a thing!"