Zhou Hai Mei was also awakened by the commotion.
"An An, what's happening? Who's knocking on the door?"
Xu An glanced back at Zhou Hai Mei and said reassuringly,
"It's nothing. Get up and get dressed. Let's go down and see what's going on."
Zhou Hai Mei quickly got out of bed, dressed in a flash, and even went to the bathroom to wash her face with the leftover water from yesterday.
Seeing that the people inside still weren't opening the door, the man outside angrily kicked the door.
"Open up, damn it! Did you steal the stuff? You're not opening the door after all this time, are you hiding something!"
The man's kicking foot missed its target.
Xu An opened the door and sidestepped, and the man outside, unable to stop his momentum, nearly did a split in front of Xu An.
"Damn! You slut, are you playing with me..." The words got stuck in his throat. Before he could finish, a gleaming long saber was at the man's neck.
Xu An's expression had turned so cold it could freeze. "Watch your mouth!"
The man was still in a ridiculous half-crouched, stumbling posture, but looking at the scene before him, no matter how arrogant he was, he couldn't manage a single smile.
Moreover, it was the apocalypse, and killing wasn't illegal.
"My lady, my lady, I have a foul mouth. Spare my life," he said, slapping himself hard on the cheeks. "I just lost my things and I'm anxious. You're a survivor too, you know how important supplies are to us, right? All my supplies are gone. I just slept, and even my underwear from my bag is missing. How could I not be anxious?"
Xu An saw his practiced movements and knew this man was probably just verbally abusive.
Seeing a hint of grievance on his face, Xu An showed a look of disgust and instinctively moved away from the man.
Such bad luck.
"You lost your stuff, what's it to me? Why are you knocking on my door?"
The man looked down, hesitant and unwilling to say.
Xu An moved the tip of her saber a few inches closer to the man's neck, pressing against his throat, but her face remained serene.
It sent chills down one's spine.
"I'll say it, I'll say it!"
"It was the landlady's idea. She said to have everyone come down first. Their inn doesn't have a back door. As long as she locks the front door and checks the guests one by one, she can find out who stole our things."
It had to be said, the landlady of this establishment was indeed clever.
Although this method was crude, it was the simplest and most effective.
This way, not only could they find an excuse to keep all these people in the hotel, but they could also search everyone's bags under the guise of checking, thus knowing who had supplies and how many.
After Xu An and Zhou Hai Mei exchanged glances, they were both certain of one thing.
This establishment was undoubtedly a trap.
Such things should have been commonplace. Compared to the terrifying monsters shrouded in the dense fog,
these visible human nature were even more abhorrent existences.
"How many people are in your group?" Xu An, having found the crux of the matter, asked.
Although the man didn't know why this beautiful woman was asking this question, under the circumstances, with a saber at his neck, he didn't dare to hide it even if he wanted to.
"There are eight of them."
Xu An's face showed an expression of "as expected."
When they entered yesterday, they had counted from outside the door. There were at least four or five passenger pickup trucks, so they guessed there wouldn't be few people in this inn.
To control so many people, one would need sufficient firepower and manpower.
Clearly, this man's team was essentially working for the landlady of this establishment for free.
Xu An thought for a moment and then asked, "Did the landlady of this place send you anything last night, or did her little daughter come to deliver anything to you?"
After listening for a long time, the man also sensed something was wrong.
Anyone who had survived in the apocalypse to this point wasn't a fool. Some things were only hinted at. With Xu An's slight hint, the man immediately understood.
"Yesterday, the landlady said it was their own stored mountain spring water, and she gave us some. We drank it, and it seemed fine."
It was the apocalypse now. Even if they had enough manpower, they usually slept in shifts.
Even those who were asleep would have a certain level of alertness.
But yesterday, after the eight of them drank the water, they slept very soundly. They lost all their supplies without even knowing it.
"You also received mountain spring water yesterday?"
The man immediately understood everything. Who would be so kind as to lock up their entire establishment just to help them catch a thief?
Unless the owner of this establishment intended to trap them from the start!
Xu An nodded.
At this point, it was all very clear. There was nothing left to misunderstand.
The man's originally bewildered face now showed a look of anger.
"Damn it, that bitch dared to plot against me! I'll skin her alive!"
Xu An smiled mockingly. "Do you think your brothers downstairs are still standing there intact?"
A moment of panic flashed across the man's face. "How is that possible? My brothers are all armed. That woman..."
Halfway through his sentence, the man couldn't continue.
He remembered the landlady smiling obsequiously as she held a basin of congee and walked up to them.
She said, in the name of their supplies being lost, they would provide them with a free meal first.
He felt unwell today and didn't eat. Soon after, everyone complained of stomachaches.
This was why only he had gone around knocking on doors to get people to come down and search for their supplies.
Xu An looked at the man and knew that this person's teammates had most likely fallen into the landlady's hands by now.
"Wait here. We'll get organized and go down with you. But if you want to live, you'd better listen to us and don't act rashly, or else..."
Xu An didn't finish her sentence, but the threat in her words was self-evident.
The man quickly nodded. "I'll listen to you. I'll listen to you. As long as you can save my friends, I'll do whatever you say."
Xu An: "Go down now and say we're right behind you and will be down soon. First, confirm if your friends are safe. Don't make a fuss. Wait for us to come down, and then we'll act according to the situation."
The man nodded hurriedly and then headed for the stairs.
Xu An turned back to look at Zhou Hai Mei, who was waiting in the room.
"That landlady is really suspicious?"
"Eight or nine times out of ten."
As Xu An spoke, she unzipped her backpack and took out milk and bread, handing them to Zhou Hai Mei.
"We have a tough fight ahead. Eat something first."
Zhou Hai Mei looked confused. That person was waiting downstairs to harm them, so why was Xu An still in the mood to eat here?