They found many things in the small town, but few were directly edible. Most had already been looted. In the warehouse of a shopping mall, they discovered some rice and flour. Although the quantity was substantial, considering the tens of thousands of people on the road, it was barely enough to satisfy a craving.
They then patiently searched through abandoned houses, going from one to another for half a day, collecting salt, sugar, and other necessities. They filled a truck and began their return journey.
The woman they had seen that morning was also an ability user. She led a dozen "underlings." Because of her ability to fight zombies, she held considerable influence among the town's survivors. Upon hearing that the army was relocating, a portion of the town's survivors wanted to join them. This town was not far from a coastal city, and staying put meant a difficult survival for ordinary people.
The soldiers were very clear about the potential dangers on the road, stating they couldn't guarantee food supplies or the safety of everyone in case of a large-scale attack. These words deterred some, and fewer than a hundred people ultimately decided to follow them.
Among them were the three people they had met that morning.
Some drove cars, while others climbed onto the roof of the grain truck. The people still couldn't all fit. Finally, they found a large truck in town and managed to cram everyone in.
Just as they were about to leave, someone asked, "Where is Comrade Zhao?"
Zhou Chuan frowned and scanned the group, but he couldn't find the person.
"Has anyone seen them?"
"No."
"She seemed to have gone over there with her boyfriend."
Zhou Chuan's expression turned grim. As a soldier, obeying orders was ingrained in his very being. At the same time, he strongly disliked it when others disobeyed orders.
Especially in a situation where everyone else was ready, and one or two individuals refused to comply.
He slung his rifle over his shoulder and walked in the direction the person had pointed.
In a small supermarket not far away, Zhuo Jin pointed at seemingly useless items on a shelf. "Put these into the space."
Chong Yan looked bewildered. "Ah? What space?"
Zhuo Jin was now certain he had lost his memory, and his intense obsession with her was the only reason he had reacted that way upon seeing her.
"You have a space. It's here."
Zhuo Jin pointed to his abdomen. "Close your eyes and sense it carefully."
He was already a god; he was bound to have his own domain, whether in his sea of consciousness or his dantian.
"But I only see a small golden dot."
"That's it. Try to put these things in."
Chong Yan tried, half-believing, half-doubting. At first, there was no reaction. Just as he was about to give up, the entire shelf before him vanished into thin air.
"Wow! It's real! I see it, it's inside me!" He pointed to his abdomen, his eyes filled with astonishment.
"Mhm," Zhuo Jin said, looking elsewhere. "And these, put them all in."
Chong Yan repeated the collection process. He was a bit clumsy at first, sometimes failing, or collecting extraneous items. But he quickly became more adept.
Soon, he had stored everything usable in the supermarket into his space.
The two of them walked out of the small supermarket, chatting and laughing. Chong Yan would say something, and Zhuo Jin would laugh. A few storefronts away, there was a maternal and infant store. The two of them, in tacit understanding, headed inside.
When Zhou Chuan found them, he saw their backs.
He pursued them angrily. Entering the maternal and infant store, just as he was about to erupt, a pile of tissues stacked messily on the counter suddenly disappeared.
His eyes widened. Across from him, Chong Yan was casually collecting items while talking to Zhuo Jin.
"...I don't feel like they're my parents at all. That woman was ugly and fierce, but they insisted I marry her. Luckily, I ran fast."
"Mhm, Ah Yan is so smart."
"It's all because you were late, hmph!"
"Mhm, my fault."
Zhuo Jin felt the gaze and looked up. Her first thought was to silence him permanently.
"He, he, what kind of ability is this?"
"Spatial ability," Zhuo Jin dismissed the earlier thought. "I discovered it by chance. I wanted to bring him here to test it. So, are we going back?"
"Mhm," Zhou Chuan swallowed and walked over. "How big is it?"
"What?"
"How big is the space? How much can it hold?"
"I don't know. I'm still trying."
Zhou Chuan said, "There was another female comrade with a spatial ability before. She said it was about ten square meters."
Spatial ability wasn't part of the established lore. That meant she was a pseudo-female lead.
The spiritual spring space had limitations. Initially, it was only a few square meters, and the spiritual spring could only drip water drop by drop. It would only become powerful as it leveled up.
Zhuo Jin looked at Chong Yan, increasingly feeling that the female lead's plot could be applied to him. This was a high-spec version.
"His is probably larger. He's already stored a lot of things."
As she spoke, Chong Yan collected another row of bottles and jars, things like baby lotion and baby cream. The items in a maternal and infant store were naturally mostly for children.
Zhou Chuan watched him clear out everything in the store, even collecting several cans of milk powder, then asked, "Can you still store more?"
Chong Yan replied, "Yes."
Zhou Chuan took out his communicator and told the group to leave without waiting for them.
He then turned to the two of them. "The people here are also planning to go to other cities. Let's search further and take anything useful with us."
The two had no objections.
Chong Yan followed Zhuo Jin's lead. Zhuo Jin intended to mold him into a savior. In this apocalyptic era, supplies were necessities.
By this time, it was almost dark. They quickly searched the town. Having spent the day looking for food, Zhou Chuan remembered many useful items in various shops. However, he didn't go into them, instead leading them directly to the shopping center.
Besides food, there were many other things here: from ordinary tools to large appliances and furniture, daily necessities, practical tools, pots and pans, bedsheets and blankets, toothpaste and toothbrushes, shampoo and body wash. Anything that might be useful, Chong Yan stored in his space.
Zhou Chuan went from initial shock to profound astonishment. By the time the three of them left with flashlights, he was numb.
It was this shock and numbness that made him a little lost. As they were walking, Chong Yan suddenly pulled him back, preventing him from stumbling.
At the same time, he felt an immense threat.
The three of them shone their flashlights. In the darkness, Jiang Shuang's green eyes reflected the light, staring intently at them.
The scene was somewhat terrifying.
Without hesitation, Zhou Chuan raised his gun and fired.
The owner of the eyes leaped several meters into the air and lunged at them.
He quickly pushed the two people beside him to the ground, flipped over, and lay on his back, firing several more shots.
The monster fell from mid-air. Before it could even twitch, it was undeniably dead.
He got up and walked over, squatting down to examine the monster's corpse. He discovered it was a black, large cat with two heads. The two heads were of different sizes, and its body was about the same as a normal husky.
He touched it. The texture was not like that of a freshly deceased animal but rather like something that had been air-dried for a long time.
He turned his head. Zhuo Jin was dusting Chong Yan.