Transmigrating into a Wasteland Cannon Fodder Slag A [GL Yuri] - Chapter 27.2

After dealing with the zombies in the office, Yan An used a desk to block the glass door and motioned for everyone to go inside. The office had a glass door, so they had to hide in an inner room to avoid being seen from outside. The two betas had been cowering and shaking while they fought the zombies, with no intention of helping. Yan An understood. They were just two ordinary people with terrible weapons. They had no fighting experience, so they were completely helpless against the zombies. But people like that wouldn’t survive long in the apocalypse. To stay alive, they had to find a way to protect themselves.

She pretended to look around the office before pulling out a screwdriver. Then she took apart an office desk and handed the legs to the two women. 

“If you run into a zombie, use this to smash or stab it. Don’t expect us to protect you. You saw how hard it was for us to deal with all the zombies out there.” 

Yan An had given them better weapons. The desk legs were long, hollow, and not too heavy. They were much better than a wrench and a badminton racket.

“Th-thank you,” the two women said fearfully. They had seen how easily Yan An shot down the zombies, one after another, and were terrified. What if she decided they were a liability and killed them?

Yan An ignored their thoughts. Once she was done, she went into the manager’s office and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window to look at the mall. She frowned at the scene below. “There are still a lot of zombies.”

Gu Xia looked as well. “Should we charge in?” 

Even though many zombies had been drawn to Building A, there were still thousands left. They were swarming the streets, alleys, and the mall entrance. The B building was closest to the mall’s underground parking garage, which was also packed with zombies. There weren’t this many the last time they were here.

Yan An suddenly felt that something was wrong. The two female betas with them were alive, so why didn’t they attract zombies? The mall had attracted so many. Was it because there were so many people in the mall? It was possible.

Yan An thought for a moment and then shook her head. They had been on the move all day, and it was now afternoon. Hours of constant stress took a huge toll on a person. “Let’s rest here and wait for them to come out.”

Gu Xia didn’t believe they would. “What if they don’t?”

“Then we leave,” Yan An said decisively. “We’ll leave tomorrow morning at six.”

Yan An sent a message to Hei Ye on her phone. She watched the circle next to the message spin for over ten seconds before it finally went through. As long as Hei Ye received the message, she would have all night to decide. They were only fifty meters from the mall. No matter if Hei Ye’s team decided to come and get them or leave on their own, letting them get in the car under pressure would be a sign of good faith before they started working together. Yan An thought that since they had gotten so close to the mall and had lured most of the zombies to Building A, clearing the way, Hei Ye and her team should have no problem choosing either option.

Gu Xia nodded in agreement. “Okay, we’ll wait for them all night.”

Yan An pretended to take food and water from her bag and gave it to Gu Xia. She began to eat to regain her strength while waiting for a reply.

*******

Meanwhile, Hei Ye saw Yan An’s message. She looked at the little girl and the young man next to her. “Xiao Feng, you must protect Xiao Hua. Don’t let Fang Qiang get her again.”

Last time, when Yan An and Fang Qiang were facing each other, Xiao Feng had snuck up to the fifth floor and successfully rescued Xiao Hua. The two groups had then decided to work together, and the matter had been dropped, but Fang Qiang was full of suspicion and would definitely look for another chance to get his hands on Xiao Hua. After all, Xiao Hua had a healing ability. She was like a walking bl00d bank.

Xiao Feng was a bit scared. “But, Sister, Fang Qiang’s men are too strong. If you’re not there, I don’t know if I can hold them off.” He had lost Xiao Hua before and didn’t want to lose her again.

Hei Ye thought for a moment. “Then you hold Xiao Hua and follow behind me.”

“Okay.” Xiao Feng quickly picked up the five- or six-year-old girl and followed Hei Ye to find Fang Qiang.

On the fifth floor in the movie theater, Fang Qiang was standing by the window, staring down at the situation. He wasn’t surprised to see Hei Ye and looked at Xiao Hua with a greedy glint in his eyes. “You came.”

Hei Ye’s eyes narrowed. She stood about five or six meters away from him by the window. It was a safe distance, a place where Fang Qiang couldn’t ambush her.

Hei Ye looked outside at the mall. The zombies below had thinned out a lot. She knew why. “Yan An and Gu Xia have lured the zombies away. It’s time for us to leave.”

Fang Qiang’s eyes narrowed. “Are you saying we should just get in the car, pick them up, and leave for a safe zone?”

That was exactly what Hei Ye meant. “Instead of having Yan An and her group come back in and attract more zombies, we should just go out and meet them.”

This was the best way to save time and reduce their risk of facing zombies.

But Fang Qiang clearly wasn’t on the same page as Hei Ye. “The city’s network has already crashed. We’re blind. Leaving the mall would be suicide, wouldn’t it?”

Everyone had their own ideas, and it was difficult to change their minds. Hei Ye only wanted to leave. Her thoughts were the same as Yan An’s: to not leave was to wait for death. “But right now, our only chance is to get to the safe zone at the Pingzhou Island military base. Whether you come or not, I’m leaving.” If they waited any longer, there was no telling what they would face.

Seeing Fang Qiang still hesitant, she added, “Do you know why so many zombies have gathered outside the mall? We eliminated a wave before, and Gu Xia and her group eliminated another one when they came in. But in just one or two days, so many zombies have gathered outside. Do you think they won’t break in?”

Fang Qiang’s corrosive ability was powerful. He could eliminate many zombies, and the two vehicles in the garage—an RV and an armored car, were essential for their escape. They could drive right through the streets, but the keys were in Fang Qiang’s hand. This was also why Hei Ye wanted to team up with him. The streets were full of abandoned cars, some of them blocking the way. They needed the armored car to lead the way and crash through them. Fang Qiang could also use his ability to corrode cars they couldn’t get through, essentially paving the way.

Fang Qiang looked at the zombies outside and finally made a decision. “Okay, tell Yan An that we’ll leave the mall in the car tomorrow morning at six. Tell them to be ready to get in.” Then, his tone became much colder. “I want the armored car.” 

The armored car was a much safer bet than the RV for breaking through the siege.

Hei Ye immediately agreed. It was a good deal if Fang Qiang was willing to lead the way.

******

On the other side, Yan An quickly received the reply and began discussing the plan for tomorrow with Hei Ye. The terrible network made their conversation frustrating and slow, but they managed to finalize a plan.

Meanwhile, the two beta women were telling Gu Xia their story. The one with glasses was named Zhang Xiu, and the other, Huang Yunyun. They were property managers for the office building and had sealed themselves in the control room when the apocalypse broke out. It was because no one else could get in that they were able to survive. Huang Yunyun, who was more talkative, explained how they had survived. “The control room sounds strict, but we had a lot of snacks hidden in the cabinets inside. We would even change our clothes in there. We’d only hide our clothes when an inspection was coming, because the company was so cheap! The men had a changing room, but we didn’t, so we had to find a private place to change.”

“Luckily, there was a blind spot in the control room’s surveillance. We would change our clothes there, and it’s also where we stockpiled snacks, fruit, and drinks. We’ve been surviving on those for the past month. To make them last, we mixed the drinks with a lot of tap water. It was the only way to keep our energy up, but even that wasn’t enough for a whole month. So we drank tap water for two days, and… and then you came.” As she spoke, both Huang Yunyun and Zhang Xiu’s eyes welled up with tears. That one piece of bread had truly saved their lives.

Huang Yunyun looked at Gu Xia with teary eyes. “We just want to survive. We won’t be a bother. If you’re escaping, can you take us with you? We’ll do anything you ask, as long as you take us.”

Survive? Who doesn’t want to survive? Huang Yunyun thought that because Gu Xia gave them bread, she was a soft-hearted person. Gu Xia was kind, but her kindness had a limit. She wouldn’t let strangers be a liability. Huang Yunyun and Zhang Xiu were liabilities. They couldn’t see it now because the number of zombies was manageable, but if there were too many, they wouldn’t be able to look after anyone else.

Seeing Gu Xia was silent, Zhang Xiu quickly chimed in. “As long as you let us follow, we won’t do anything to betray you, and we won’t make you waste your energy protecting us.”

“You two ladies look so kind. You’ll definitely take us with you, right?”

At that last sentence, Yan An lowered her eyes and took Gu Xia’s hand, stepping in front of her to keep her from being the bad guy. “You’re not asking us for this. You’re asking the car’s owner.”

“You guessed right; we are trying to escape Pingzhou City. But what do you have that would make them take you with them? They’re willing to take my girlfriend and me because we’re capable. In the apocalypse, strength is everything. If you bother my girlfriend’s rest again, you can stay here while we leave.” The two women’s words sounded sincere, but they were trying to emotionally blackmail Gu Xia. If they hadn’t been so talkative and had not tried to manipulate Gu Xia, she might have put in a good word for them when the car came tomorrow. But now, it was a different story.

Suddenly, Yan An seemed to think of something and added, “You two stay in this room. We’ll go next door.” Since they had made everything clear, she got up and pulled Gu Xia by the arm to the office next door, just in case the two women tried anything.

It was a two-person office, likely for the accounting department. Yan An found a foldable bed inside and unfolded it. “You rest here. I’ll go look for another one.”

Just as she was about to leave, Gu Xia suddenly grabbed her hand. “Let’s sleep together.”

“Huh?” Yan An was confused.

 “But this bed is too small, isn’t it? We’ll have to be really close.”