Ji Rourou saw Liu Hu's thoughtful expression and knew she had achieved her goal. She stopped adding fuel to the fire and quietly observed Liu Hu and his group.
Three men and three women, they seemed much more reliable than that useless Fang Chang. Her gaze drifted to Lin Zhuoran, and she couldn't help but feel suspicious.
She had felt that this woman was out of place with Liu Hu's group since the beginning. Now, seeing the other girl tightly clinging to her, it felt even more like Lin Zhuoran was being held captive.
However, she wasn't foolish enough to expose them. Sometimes, playing dumb was the smartest move.
...
In the fire escape, Xu An, who had just recovered from her exhaustion, was unaware that people outside had already set their sights on her.
If Xu An had known she missed the dog-eat-dog drama between Ji Rourou and Fang Chang, she would probably have felt very regretful.
She watched as the space tree grew much larger after absorbing the mushrooms, and the dense fog around the spiritual soil completely dissipated.
She was immediately delighted.
"It looks like I can start planting when I get back."
In her previous life, it was thanks to this vibrant land that she was able to persevere for so long.
It's just that there were no seeds left at that time. She searched everywhere and only found half a sprouted potato. She planted the potato in it on a whim, hoping for the best, and to her surprise, it actually grew.
Later, she survived for many years by eating boiled potatoes.
But even boiled potatoes were considered a rare delicacy at that time.
When planting in space, the growth cycle of crops is different from the outside. No matter what crop it is, it only takes one month to mature.
Gou Dan ran over and rubbed against Xu An's head, as if comforting her. Xu An found a piece of jerky in the space and fed it to Gou Dan. Gou Dan shook its head and stayed by her side.
Between her and the jerky, Gou Dan decisively chose her. Xu An was filled with emotion, "My good boy~ I didn't raise you in vain."
Burying her head in Gou Dan's soft fur, she took a deep breath and vigorously petted its head before feeling completely revitalized!
Gou Dan looked at the jerky that had been put back, completely bewildered.
Wasn't it just being polite, and they really weren't going to give it any?
I'll report you for entrapment!
Then, Xu An checked Gou Dan all over again and was relieved to find no abrasions.
If it weren't for Gou Dan just now, she wouldn't have been confident in subduing that rabbit-headed monster by herself.
After she recovered her strength, she leaned on the handrail and stood up, walking over to the rabbit-headed monster's corpse. She found a black body bag from the space, took it out, put the rabbit-headed monster's body in it, and then put it back into the space.
Xu An instinctively felt that this thing might be useful later, so she kept it.
The space was large anyway, so Xu An found a corner and tossed the body bag aside.
She picked up the long knife and shotgun that had fallen on the ground and slung them over her shoulders.
When she fired earlier, she hadn't thought much about it. The sound was so loud, and if it attracted people, it would be a threat.
Lin Zhuoran's face suddenly appeared in Xu An's mind.
She thought without much emotional fluctuation, "This mall is so big, there are probably more people than just Lin Zhuoran's group. I should be careful."
She felt her way along the wall, with Gou Dan, and disappeared into the fire escape.
It wasn't until she emerged from the narrow passage and saw her reflection in the light outside that Xu An realized she was covered in bloodstains.
Thinking it was the monster's blood, she felt a bit disgusted, but considering the crowded and watchful eyes around, she gave up the idea of changing clothes.
She had no choice but to endure her discomfort and continue searching for useful supplies with Gou Dan.
On the outskirts of the mall, with the fall of the rabbit-headed monster, the zombies that had previously kept their distance from this area seemed to have received some kind of revelation and were once again shuffling towards Wanda Plaza.
The dense zombie tide was enough to make one's scalp tingle just by looking at it.
Not only the zombie tide, but Ji Rourou, leading Liu Hu and others, was also searching the entire mall for Xu An.
Unaware, Xu An was still collecting supplies with Gou Dan, not knowing that danger was approaching her.
As she turned a corner, she arrived at a women's clothing store, which displayed various qipaos. She walked up to the front, picked up a qipao in ink wash color, and examined it.
"Gou Dan, do you think this qipao would look good on Grandma?"
Gou Dan looked at Xu An with its cute, dull eyes, as if asking, "Do you think it's appropriate to ask a dog this question?"
Xu An couldn't help but laugh at herself after she spoke. How could she think of asking a dog if clothes looked good?
She thought it looked pretty good anyway.
Without further ado, she collected all the qipaos in the clothing store and then turned to leave.
Just as she came out of the store, she heard a woman exclaim, "That's right! It's her!"
Xu An was stunned. The words seemed to be directed at her. She looked back vigilantly to see who it was, only to be surprised to see an "acquaintance."
Truly, it's a case of enemies meeting!
"Ji Rourou, it's been a long time!" Xu An thought to herself.
Liu Hu and his group walked up and only then got a clear look at Xu An's face, pausing for a moment.
They weren't unaccustomed to seeing beautiful women. Ji Rourou, Su Youyou, and even Lin Zhuoran beside them were all rare beauties, each with their own style.
However, in the apocalyptic world, these beauties had become gaunt and skinny due to lack of water and food. After months of not bathing, their charm had diminished to less than a third.
Even so, Ji Rourou was considered outstanding. Although thin, she at least looked very clean.
Despite this, Ji Rourou was worlds apart from the woman in front of her.
Liu Hu looked at Xu An, her aloof temperament, the blood-stained hem of her clothes adding to her mysterious and distant aura, her flowing hair, and her fair complexion, making her a veritable temptress.
Not to mention the majestic dog accompanying the beauty.
Xu An was like prey that every man wanted to conquer.
It remained to be seen who the "prey" would be in this contest.
"Oh, do I know you?" Xu An didn't see Fang Chang in the crowd. Fearing a trap, she suppressed the invasive gaze of the man in front of her, feeling a wave of nausea.
The moment Lin Zhuoran in the crowd saw Xu An, her eyes lit up. But before she could make a move, Su Youyou, standing beside her, noticed her unusual behavior.
"What? Met an old acquaintance and want to ask for help?"
It was this sentence that interrupted Lin Zhuoran's thoughts. She steadied herself and pretended to be indifferent, "Can't I just look at the pretty young lady more?"
Su Youyou scoffed and said nothing more.
Lin Zhuoran knew that she couldn't acknowledge Xu An now, otherwise, she wouldn't be able to save herself and might even drag the other party down with her. She remembered Xu An's earlier warning and didn't want to implicate her.
"We didn't know each other before, but now we do," a man with a buzz cut and a fierce look walked out from behind Ji Rourou, with a flattering smile.
Ji Rourou also seemed surprised by Xu An's beauty, and her heart immediately sounded an alarm. She felt a sense of danger she had never felt before.
One had to admit that women's intuition was incredibly powerful. Even though Xu An showed no extra expression or movement.
Yet, Ji Rourou could see intense killing intent in Xu An's eyes.