"What are you planning to do next?"
Xu An looked at the other person calmly, her gaze sweeping over the ground. Lin Zhuoran was not ruthless enough; the girl lying on the ground had only been shot through the thigh, rendering her immobile, but she was not dead.
She didn't know the specific grievances between these people, nor did she want to. She just felt that Lin Zhuoran was not decisive enough.
However, this was probably the other person's first time hurting someone, so being unable to deliver a killing blow was understandable.
But... Xu An's eyes darkened slightly, showing a hint of disappointment in Lin Zhuoran.
"Thank you for saving me," Lin Zhuoran said softly, returning the dagger Xu An had thrown to her.
"You don't need to thank me. Strictly speaking, this is mutual assistance, not me saving you."
After going through this, Lin Zhuoran gradually understood Xu An's intention to keep her distance from others.
Not all kindness is rewarded; she had proven this through her own experiences during the months of torment.
Mutual non-obligation was the most comfortable way for people to interact.
"By the way, have you seen the man with glasses I mentioned earlier?"
"Yes, he was killed by Liu Hu and the others."
"Tsk, that saves me some trouble."
"Do you have a grudge against these two?" Lin Zhuoran couldn't help but ask her doubts.
"A grudge? No, I simply wanted to kill them."
Xu An smiled indifferently, the blood spattered on her cheeks making her face appear even more alluring.
Lin Zhuoran was stunned for a moment, her heart suddenly pounding. She bashfully lowered her head, not daring to ask further, her ear tips flushing slightly.
She was blushing at a girl. It must be because Xu An was too beautiful, it had to be!
It definitely wasn't because she had some strange preference!
Xu An didn't notice Lin Zhuoran's anomaly, thinking she was reluctant. She casually asked, "There's another girl over there, what are you going to do with her?"
"There are wandering zombies here, Su Youyou's leg is already crippled by me, she's no different from a dead person. As for..."
She turned to look at Zhou Ru beside her, remaining silent.
Zhou Ru, however, stepped forward and knelt before Lin Zhuoran with a "thump."
"Sister Zhuoran, I'm sorry..." She didn't say anything more, even her apology was delivered with a numb expression. She found something she had been hiding all along and handed it to Lin Zhuoran.
"This is the car key I found in that man's backpack... and... thank you." A smile of relief appeared on her face.
After speaking, Zhou Ru turned and left without waiting for Lin Zhuoran to take the car key. She struggled to climb onto the skylight of the mall and jumped down.
No one stopped her.
Xu An tilted her head, looking at Lin Zhuoran curiously. She hadn't spoken to stop her either, so she wasn't entirely beyond redemption.
Perhaps death was the best release for Zhou Ru.
When Qian Qian tried to escape before, Zhou Ru had prepared to go with her. If Lin Zhuoran hadn't intervened, she would have ended up the same way as Qian Qian.
Zhou Ru had always regretted listening to that bitch Su Youyou's instigation and betraying Lin Zhuoran.
But there was no regret medicine in this world. Since she had done it, she had to accept whether it was right or wrong.
Xu An watched everything unfold before her, her heart unmoved.
In her previous life, she had experienced scenes a thousand times more tragic than this. Her heart had long since become twisted through that daily torment.
Fortunately, apart from being a bit indifferent to outsiders, she hadn't completely lost her humanity.
Just then, Gou Dan suddenly began to bark frantically. Small animals were the most sensitive to anomalies.
Xu An sensed that something was wrong. The ground of the mall had a subtle fluctuation, as if some colossal being was approaching them.
She immediately pulled Lin Zhuoran and ran towards the underground garage.
As expected, as soon as the two reached the garage, a large horde of zombies surged towards them.
Although Lin Zhuoran had been hiding and dodging all this time, she had never seen such a terrifying number of zombies.
Her fingers trembling, she used the car key Zhou Ru had given her to start the engine. Following Xu An, the two hurried, and before the zombie tide could surround Wanda Plaza, they broke out.
The two sped away until they reached a sparsely populated park, where Xu An slowed down the car.
This area was also a development zone. There were only a few small zombies, shorter than a Wuling Hongguang, wandering around, posing no significant threat.
The two sat in their respective cars. Lin Zhuoran's Great G was much taller than Xu An's Wuling Hongguang. Sitting in the car like this, she could look down at the crown of Xu An's head.
She knew in her heart that perhaps it was time for them to part ways.
Although Xu An hadn't asked her to leave all along, she hadn't invited her to travel together either.
Moreover, she couldn't travel with Xu An. She still had to go to the neighboring city to find her sister. Due to Liu Hu's appearance, she had wasted a lot of time, and she knew in her heart that her sister was likely in dire straits.
But what if?
Even if there was only a one in ten thousand chance, she had to go and see. She had been orphaned from a young age and had relied on her sister, supporting each other to get to where they were today. When stocking up, she had called her sister and urged her not to be as foolish as herself, not to be a sucker for no reason!
However... Lin Zhuoran mused, should she tell Xu An about the message she had accidentally deciphered earlier?
But even she herself was not sure about the authenticity of that message. If she had deciphered it incorrectly, it might end up harming the other party.
As Lin Zhuoran hesitated, Xu An spoke.
"Lin Zhuoran... I can't take you any further."
"I know," Lin Zhuoran's thoughts were pulled back by Xu An's words. She said with a bitter smile, "The names you told me before were all fake, right? That car, you actually bought it yourself to use, didn't you?"
After hearing Fang Chang say that Xu An lived in Yuhu Tianxia, Lin Zhuoran knew that her words back then were probably all lies.
Given the other person's level of vigilance, she probably even faked her name.
"Special circumstances, after all, people's hearts are unfathomable, and one must be on guard," Xu An did not deny it, admitting it frankly.
"Then can you tell me your name?"
Xu An's lips curled. She had expected Lin Zhuoran to ask for supplies, but instead, she asked for her name, which she found amusing. What was going on today? Everyone she met was asking for her name.
"Xu An."
Despite her internal complaints, Xu An still told the other person her name.
"Xu An, I know you have supplies, and I'll trade them for a piece of information. But this information was also something I deciphered by chance. Whether you believe it or not is up to you to judge! ... Are you willing?" Lin Zhuoran's tone was firm, as if she had made up her mind to make a deal with Xu An.
"Sure, tell me, what information?"
Xu An encountered such a fun girl for the first time. She clearly wanted something but was still stubborn enough not to lower her face, opting instead for a "transaction" of "information."
She didn't think Lin Zhuoran had any valuable "information," but she appreciated the girl's attitude.
Compared to Ji Rourou's shameless and insatiable demands based on her perceived weakness, she clearly preferred someone like Lin Zhuoran who understood the concept of "quid pro quo."
After all, she absolutely disliked freeloaders!