Ze Yuan: "..."
Well, it had long been anticipated that Yu Qin's fate would be rather tragic.
The convoy stopped, and Zhang Bo alighted from his vehicle, approaching Lin Zhuoran and the others. "Let's take a break. It will be dark soon, and this area isn't very safe. We'll set off again tomorrow morning."
Lin Zhuoran had no objections, and Yu Qin's eyes glinted with triumph, naturally not refusing.
Everyone alighted from their vehicles, took out tents, and began setting up camp.
Two young individuals in white coats, appearing to be only in their early twenties, carried two large tin boxes and approached Zhang Bo.
"Teacher, you should sleep here tonight. We'll keep watch for you."
"It's alright. We'll take turns resting. There are still so many people. Even if you're young, you can't neglect your health."
"But the detection signal..."
Before the male student could finish, Zhang Bo interrupted him.
"It's fine. That thing won't run away. It's okay not to monitor it for a while. Although scientific research requires rigor, it also requires a balance of work and rest. If you exhaust yourselves, there will be no one to help me when we reach our destination."
The two young men were visibly moved. They fiddled with the cold instruments, then squatted down beside Zhang Bo, and the few of them huddled together to sleep.
These individuals were all scientists responsible for the exploration. The two guarding Zhang Bo were students who had luckily survived the apocalypse. It was after meeting Zhang Bo that they began to be guided by him in conducting some simple experiments.
The complex experiments were primarily hindered by the limitations of the hardware.
"So, these people trust Zhang Bo implicitly," Lin Zhuoran explained to Xu An.
Xu An nodded. "Didn't you say Zhang Bo brought his own guards? Why do we only see these two students?"
Lin Zhuoran pursed her lips and glanced at the man with a buzz cut sitting in the driver's seat. "Just him, the one driving. Someone Zhang Bo brought himself, and we don't know his background."
"You don't know his background, and you still agreed to bring him along?"
In the apocalypse, not all bases existed in peace and mutual assistance.
Many bases contended for resources, and some even engaged in conflict.
"This operation was initiated by Zhang Bo himself, and he wanted to bring his own people. No one had the standing to say anything."
After listening to Lin Zhuoran, Xu An had a general understanding of the rules governing these people's actions.
Whoever initiated the action was responsible.
"Sister Zhuoran, you haven't eaten tonight, have you? I have some rice congee here. Would you like some?"
Yu Qin, with a solicitous expression, carried a small pot of rice congee towards Lin Zhuoran. Of course, the rice congee in the pot clearly looked like enough for three people.
Xu An did not accept. Could Yu Qin be so kind?
Seeing that Xu An did not accept, Yu Qin did not show any sign of embarrassment. She retreated and offered the rice congee in her hands to Lin Zhuoran.
"I don't have any other intentions. If you don't trust it, I can drink it first myself."
With that, Yu Qin took out a pre-prepared small bowl, poured the rice congee from the pot into it, drank a mouthful herself, and then inverted the bowl to show everyone that she had indeed finished it.
Lin Zhuoran looked at the scene before her. Not wanting to sour the relationship, as both parties were important friends to her, she stood up, accepted the rice congee, and took the initiative to ease the atmosphere.
"You don't have to do that. How could we suspect that what you sent over isn't clean? We were just worried that you wouldn't have enough to eat yourselves. Thank you, Qin Qin."
Yu Qin did not expose Lin Zhuoran's pretense. Sometimes, adult dignity lies in such polite prevarication.
Zhou Haimei watched Yu Qin's retreating back, then looked at the rice congee in Lin Zhuoran's hand, her face displaying unadulterated disdain.
"This rice congee... what's the difference between it and plain water?"
As Zhou Haimei spoke, Xu An also became curious and leaned over to look, finding that it was indeed rice congee.
The rice was rice, and the soup was soup, coexisting independently.
Xu An: "What a... thick rice congee..."
Lin Zhuoran: "..." She shouldn't have reached out to accept the bowl.
Despite the disdain, the rice congee was at least warm. Xu An took out the dry rations from her backpack and, along with compressed biscuits and the powder packets from three instant noodle packs, re-boiled them in the pot.
Although it looked somewhat unappetizing, the taste was surprisingly good.
Lin Zhuoran ate with satisfaction. Since meeting Xu An, she found her dining standards had improved significantly.
Where no one could see, Xu An secretly took out salt from her spatial storage and sprinkled some in, along with dried meat floss she had prepared earlier.
However, fearing that the strong flavor would spread and be detected by others, she did not add much.
Even so, the three of them finished every last bit.
Lin Zhuoran, of course, tasted shredded meat in the garish, indistinguishable paste. She knew instinctively that Xu An was secretly adding extra food for them, so she silently ate the entire bowl of soaked biscuits clean.
The others, who had already eaten, watched the aroma wafting from the small fire Xu An had lit, and their stomachs growled with desire.
However, they had watched Xu An cook the entire process. It was just some thin rice congee and dry biscuits re-boiled, with some instant noodle seasoning added. They had not seen Xu An add any other food.
But why did it smell so good?
Yet, no one dared to step forward and ask for some. Firstly, none of them were familiar with the newcomer, Xu An. Secondly, Xu An had clearly only prepared enough for three people.
It was precisely three small bowls of soaked biscuits, not a single extra bite.
Xu An, holding her bowl, looked at the gazes directed at her with a hint of lingering desire, blinking dismissively.
Before setting off, everyone had brought enough supplies. At least for now, no one dared to openly snatch food.
Ze Yuan silently grumbled in his heart, "No wonder others are envious. That's clearly chicken porridge you made at home, turned into dry biscuits using a special method. As long as you boil it, it will be delicious. It's not a dry baked biscuit at all."
When it came to food, Xu An never compromised on her own comfort.
Xu An: "If you don't speak, no one will think you're mute."
After finishing their meal, the few of them rested briefly before forming circles, leaning against each other, preparing for rest.
While Xu An and her companions were discussing how the three of them would arrange their rest rotations, Yu Qin approached them again.
"Sister Zhuoran, there are only three girls on your side. Let me join you. The four of us can rotate shifts, and we can get more rest."
Before Lin Zhuoran could speak, Xu An directly and unceremoniously said, "If I recall correctly, there are also four people on your side. If you come over, won't there only be three people left there?" She then looked at Yu Qin with a genuinely innocent expression.