Xu An's face was slightly displeased. She had always disliked being touched, especially by a stranger.
Facing the other party's evasive movements, a fleeting look of shock crossed the little white flower's face, immediately followed by a hint of panic and calculation in her eyes.
"Sister, did you come from the cordon? Do you know any inside information? Can you tell us?"
Her expression remained as pitiful as ever, her eyes watery as if holding a clear spring, evoking pity.
However, her words were aggressive, each one stronger than the last.
Xu An frowned in annoyance.
She still didn't speak.
Zhou Haimei watched the girl in front of her with an expression of amusement.
She had initially thought her to be a harmless little white lotus, but now, seeing her questions directed at them without politeness, she felt the girl was leveraging the favor from earlier, attempting to threaten them.
The problem was, she wasn't the one who had saved them.
The man beside her hadn't said anything, yet the little white flower looked anxious.
"Sister, why aren't you speaking? You're not going to tell us, are you? Why are you so selfish? If it weren't for Brother Zhou Ming just now, you would have been in the mouths of the zombies. Hurry up and tell us! What's happening outside right now!"
By the last sentence, the little white flower seemed unable to maintain her act, her voice growing louder, almost like a roar.
Xu An's frown deepened. Ignoring the girl, she turned to look at the man.
It was true they had saved her, but trying to morally blackmail her with that favor?
That was a pity.
Neither Xu An nor Zhou Haimei were people of moral fiber.
"Is this your girlfriend?"
Zhou Ming looked at the little white flower beside him with annoyance.
He shook his head firmly.
"No, she's just the daughter of a friend. They entrusted her to me before they died, and I had no choice but to bring her along."
After a moment's thought, the man continued, "You don't need to mind her, but I still want to ask, why aren't they letting people out from the cordon?"
The man looked serious.
Upon hearing this, Xu An roughly pieced together their relationship.
She surmised that the man bringing the girl was likely out of necessity, but judging by the man's expression, he seemed deeply resentful of the girl beside him.
With that, she shed her previous reservations.
Before, she had feared this girl and the man were a couple and that the girl might try to threaten her.
Now, things were much better.
Even her voice became lighter.
"We're here on a business trip. We arrived in City B only a few hours ago when everything went chaotic. Because we hadn't checked into our accommodation in B City yet, we were staying at a small motel near the cordon."
"After the riots began, we wanted to leave, but as soon as we reached the cordon, we were told we couldn't go out."
Xu An began to fabricate lies without batting an eye, and the two opposite her listened attentively.
They were clearly believing her.
Zhou Ming asked, "Not allowed to go out? Are they isolating us?"
Xu An shook her head. "It would be good if it were just isolation. Look, the riots have been going on for so long, but instead of suppressing the zombies, they're guarding the outside, even setting up an electric fence."
"I knew something was wrong, but no matter how much we explained, they wouldn't let us out, so we could only come in a little."
Xu An paused. "As for teaming up, forget it. We sisters are used to acting alone. Besides..."
Xu An didn't finish her sentence, but her gaze clearly pointed towards the little white flower, who was now starting to look flustered.
"You still have someone to take care of. We'd better not trouble you."
Hearing the crisp and decisive refusal, a small ripple stirred within Zhou Ming.
He looked back at the woman beside him, who only cried and otherwise hindered him, a strange glint flashing in his eyes.
He was no saint. The arrow he had shot earlier was driven by selfish motives.
He rarely saw women from the lighthouse with such excellent skills.
People with such abilities were either from the military or people who frequently went on missions.
But regardless of which, they were far better than the woman accompanying him.
At the very least, they could protect themselves and provide some help, unlike the useless woman beside him who only cried.
Just like now.
The man deliberately put on an awkward expression.
"I know my sister is a bit timid. I was originally thinking that more people would mean more mutual support, which is why I asked about teaming up. But if you're not willing, I won't force you." He then glanced meaningfully at Xu An.
However, his gaze ultimately fell on the zombie he had shot earlier.
Following his gaze, Xu An understood everything.
This man, like the little white flower beside him, was a person with deep hidden motives.
For Xu An to have felt a moment of good impression towards this man initially, she now only wanted to curse herself for being blind.
As soon as the man on the other side finished speaking,
Before Xu An and Zhou Haimei could say anything, the little white flower on the other side seemed to have finally regained her composure.
With a choked sob, she began to accuse Xu An.
"We just want to team up with you. There's strength in numbers. Besides, Brother Zhou Ming just saved you. We're not bad people, why are you being so defensive?"
Although the little white flower said this, in her heart, she thought, this man Zhou Ming is so useless, what if he can't withstand the zombies? If she could team up with these two women, she would have two more scapegoats.
While the little white flower was calculating her moves, Xu An and Zhou Haimei had already seen through their intentions.
Zhou Haimei whispered into Xu An's ear, complaining softly.
"Damn it, these two are too shameless. They're practically showing their plans to me. They know they can't get out and now they want to find two free bodyguards to die for them?"
Xu An remained noncommittal, her thoughts aligning with Zhou Haimei's.
It seemed neither of them were easy to deal with. She gripped the gun tucked at her waist.
Her body tensed, remaining on high alert, just in case the man beside her suddenly went berserk.
As for the other little white flower, she was not a threat to be reckoned with.
"I told you we prefer to act alone. As for your help just now, we are very grateful. But we've told you about the cordon situation. Doesn't that cancel it out? If I hadn't told you, and you struggled to get there, with so many zombies, whether you could have returned alive would have been a question, right?"