Back to Xie Lingruo's side, just after the three had finished lunch, they were interrupted by a group of uninvited guests—the rumbling of a bus engine could be heard from outside, immediately putting the group on edge.
The trauma from the last encounter with strangers was still fresh. They feared it might be another group of heartless people looking to use them as cannon fodder, so all three quickly grabbed their weapons, fully prepared for a fight.
Just as they were bracing themselves for trouble, the people outside arrived at their courtyard door. Fortunately, they were at least polite enough to knock instead of barging in.
Upon hearing the knock, Xie Lingfeng immediately called out, saying that this house was already occupied and asked them to choose another place. Luckily, the people outside were fairly reasonable and ended up settling in the neighboring building.
Still feeling suspicious, Xie Lingruo decided to investigate, using her psychic ability to scan the group and figure out who they were.
Turned out, this group was made up of college students led by a teacher, totaling a little over a dozen people, both men and women. The whole group was noisy and rowdy, and it was clear that the teacher could no longer keep them in check.
Seeing the situation unfold in her mind, Xie Lingruo finally relaxed a bit. Her biggest fear was that another band of violent thugs would show up. But if it was just students, they were far less threatening.
Back when the apocalypse first broke out, Xie Father and the others had made a firm decision: their family wouldn't take in outsiders. After all, they didn't know who was trustworthy. If they were betrayed, it could cost them their lives.
Since they had already eaten and now had unknown people next door, Xie Lingfeng proposed that they leave quickly, and head for the nearest auto dealership.
Right now, they had a few tons of gasoline, but not enough vehicles—just two SUVs and the van that Xie Lingruo had rented before.
So their next move was to stock up on more durable and high-performance cars. More and more people were starting to venture out in search of supplies, and it wouldn't be long before others realized how valuable cars were—they had to act fast.
As they were driving out, they happened to pass by the teacher from earlier. He looked about thirty years old, polite and scholarly, but obviously exhausted from the recent chaos. Still, he greeted them with a smile.
Thankfully, he was tactful and didn't try to stop or delay them. But his students weren't nearly as well-mannered. A few clueless ones approached, especially after seeing how nice their SUVs were.
At that moment, a messy-haired girl came up and tried to flirt with Xie Lingfeng. Judging by the scheming glint in her eyes, Xie Lingruo immediately pegged her as trouble.
The girl, An Ya, realizing her looks weren't getting her anywhere, began speaking in a fake, cutesy tone:
"Big brother, where are you going~? Want to team up with us?"
Unfortunately, her hair was sticky with grime, and even from a short distance, the sour stench from her body was overwhelming. Xie Lingruo couldn't understand how someone could be so shameless as to approach others like that.
Why didn't An Ya realize her own condition? Mostly because everyone in their group was filthy, and no one judged each other based on appearance—she simply had no self-awareness.
Faced with the messy girl, Xie Lingfeng gave her a cold, "I don't know you, don't talk to me" look.
Seeing that he was ignoring her, the girl stomped her foot and slunk back into the house in defeat.
The teacher standing nearby was mortified. He hadn't expected his student to be so shameless. It was obvious that these three were competent—clean hair, clean faces—clearly not the type who needed to team up with others.
Xie Lingruo and her group didn't waste time with this group any longer. They got into the car and drove off, heading straight toward the auto dealership marked on their map.