"Boss, all the crystals are here, check them out!"
Chen Wenjing held out a handful of crystals to An Nuan.
The mechanical bird opened its mouth. After An Nuan poured the crystals into it, it spat one back out to her.
"Yours, yours, upgrade, upgrade!"
"This color is so ugly!"
The rustic color reminded her of a toilet. She guessed it would taste bad when swallowed...
"It suits you, it suits you, it's very suitable!"
"Got it, wait a moment."
An Nuan took out the dumplings she had cooked in the morning from her spatial storage, packed them in a plastic bag, and hung it around the mechanical bird's neck.
The mechanical bird tilted its head, gently rubbed its beak against her face, flapped its wings a few times, and flew away.
An Nuan called everyone to get in the car to go home, but Chen Wenjing suddenly stopped.
"One, two... there are over forty people, a few of them are ability users, but the exact number is uncertain. They also have cars! They're coming this way."
An Nuan quickly put the snow vehicle into her spatial storage.
Things that didn't belong to this era couldn't be exposed in front of people yet.
As soon as she put away her things, she saw the convoy approaching.
The lead vehicle looked like a Transformer, with a massive snowplow attached to the front, clearing a path for them.
"Did you kill all these?"
The man in the passenger seat rolled down the window and took off his goggles.
He raised an eyebrow at An Nuan and her group, "Do any of you have superpowers? I'm an ability user too, I can control wind."
He then demonstrated, twirling a small clump of snow around his hand.
An Nuan exchanged a glance with Luo Luo, who immediately stepped forward.
A team full of ability users was too conspicuous.
Chen Wenjing and Hai Changfeng's abilities were too enviable and needed to be hidden from public view.
Xiao Long was too young and still a little koi, so he couldn't be discovered either.
Luo Luo was the most suitable candidate.
"I do, I can control vines."
Luo Luo conjured two vines.
The man whistled, "Cool! We have a plant-type ability user in our team too, but she can only make a few flowers for now. But this is good, adds a bit of fun!"
"Wow, a tiger!"
"What tiger, a lion! It must be a lion!"
The people in the convoy behind spotted Juanzi and Daizi. The appearance of the two cats startled the man.
He exclaimed in surprise, "Are they mutants? How did you tame mutants!"
"What mutants, you're so rude! They're my pet cats, they just grew a bit bigger these past two days."
"Is that so."
The man was quite clever and didn't dwell on the mutant cats. He glanced at An Nuan's group.
[Five ordinary people, traded for two variants and one superpowered individual, is it worth it? But their combat power should be decent, after all, they killed so many zombies. At least the person with the vines is quite skilled.]
Chen Wenjing secretly pulled An Nuan's hand, her eyes filled with fierceness.
An Nuan understood, of course.
No one was foolish. There was no such thing as saving someone for no reason.
It was all a decision made after weighing the benefits.
The others in the team had contributed more or less, allowing them to band together.
The leader, the most powerful, was likely this man.
An Nuan spoke first, "Do you need anything else? If not, we're leaving. It's too cold, and it's not safe outside."
"Don't go, I'm Guo Tao. Would you be willing to join my team?"
"No."
The six of them said in unison. Guo Tao cursed inwardly, [Damn, they're quite something!]
Exactly!
An Nuan found his team to be trash. Joining them would only slow her down and reduce her efficiency.
Just as they were about to leave.
A woman in the back seat also poked her head out, "Stop! You killed so many zombies, did you get a lot of supplies? We're out here searching for survivors. If you got any supplies, share a bit. We have a large group and a lot of consumption."
"Auntie, have you ever seen anyone fighting zombies for food? We killed zombies, not people."
Chang Kai Tong coldly turned his head, and the woman immediately exploded.
"What did you say! Don't think you can say whatever you want just because you're young. No one here spoils you."
"We don't need you to spoil us either. Let's go our separate ways, minding our own business. There's no need to force ourselves together. Guo Tao, don't you think so?"
[They killed so many zombies, they can't be ordinary people. Better not offend them, let's see first.]
Guo Tao smiled, "Don't misunderstand, we have no intention of harming you. We just want to see if there's anything to trade."
"No."
An Nuan refused flatly, leaving Guo Tao momentarily speechless.
[Damn, this woman is feisty!]
Chen Wenjing glared at him fiercely, wishing she could chop him with her laser knife.
"Meow!"
"Roar! Roar roar roar!"
The two cats meowed frantically, pulling An Nuan and Luo Luo towards the rubble of the rock face.
An Nuan felt the snow shaking and the air swirling. She understood instantly.
"Avalanche! It's an avalanche! Find cover quickly!"
An Nuan led the team into the ruins.
Guo Tao reacted quickly and immediately signaled his convoy to form a vehicle wall nearby. Those with faster vehicles rushed into the ruins.
Chang Kai Tong had just sorted out his spatial storage when he heard a rumbling sound from outside. The entire space was vibrating.
Everyone waited in fear for a while. The noise and vibration gradually subsided, but there was still a sense of shaking.
There was a Turtle Mountain south of Wenfeng Road, and the avalanche likely originated from there.
For the time being, no one dared to go out, and they all huddled in the cave.
Chang Kai Tong's original intention was to protect his small team, but he didn't expect so many people to follow.
He frowned and complained, "It's so crowded!"
"Shh, let's keep our distance from them."
An Nuan was also annoyed. She had finally gathered the crystals and just delivered them to Hei Yan when she ran into these people.
If it weren't for them, An Nuan would be comfortably taking a bath and having a late-night snack at home!
Fortunately, the mechanical bird had already left, otherwise, there would be another麻烦 now.
An Nuan found a clearing. The few of them and the two cats squeezed together, which was relatively comfortable.
Guo Tao had someone count their people and confirmed that six were missing.
"It seems they didn't make it in time to escape and were buried by the avalanche. A Ting, distribute some food to everyone. We might have to spend the night here."
Liu Ting took out a bag from her embrace. It looked small but had a huge capacity. She distributed water and biscuits to over thirty people, and it seemed like there was still more inside.
Guo Tao brought over some biscuits and water.
"Here, consider it a gift to friends."
"No need. You keep it. We don't need it."
"Don't be polite. We're in the same boat now. Helping each other is only right."
[Once you eat my food, it'll be harder to refuse my conditions.]
Guo Tao's gaze fell on Luo Luo, with a look of determination.