Transmigrating into a Wasteland Cannon Fodder Slag A [GL Yuri] - Chapter 31.1

As Yan An and her group entered the inn, Fang Qiang was already sitting inside. When he saw them, he didn’t bother to take his feet off the table. He simply told the two female betas massaging his shoulders to stop.

With a hint of mockery in his voice, he said, “I’ve been waiting for you all for a while now. I’ve already cleared out the zombies in the inn.”

Then he looked past them. “Where are Baldy and Monkey?”

No one wanted to answer him. After a long pause, Hei Ye finally spoke up. “They’re dead.”

Hei Ye had been dealing with Fang Qiang for a while and knew exactly what kind of person he was.

The next second, Fang Qiang waved his hand. “Hai Zi.”

The subordinate named Hai Zi immediately went out to check and quickly returned to report. “The front and back windows of the RV are broken, and so is one of the side windows. Baldy and Monkey are nowhere to be found.”

“What about the dash cam?” Fang Qiang didn’t even ask how the two men had died. He went straight to the dash cam.

Hai Zi shook his head. “It’s gone.”

“How could it be gone?” Fang Qiang grew agitated, and the suspicion in his eyes deepened. How could a coincidence like that happen?

Hei Ye spoke up to help them. “It must have fallen out during the fight with the zombies.”

But Fang Qiang wasn’t so easy to deceive, especially not when he was so paranoid. “That’s a bit too convenient, don’t you think?”

“And why aren’t any of you dead?”

This made Hei Ye unhappy. “Are you implying that we killed your men and that now you want to make us pay?”

Fang Qiang scanned the group. He couldn’t afford to offend any of them. He could only say, “That’s not what I mean. But why is it that your men are dead and this woman isn’t?”

He pointed at Huang Yunyun. “She’s so weak. How did she survive?”

It was normal for the others to be alive, but it was strange that his two subordinates were dead while Huang Yunyun, who only had a gun, had survived.

Yan An narrowed her eyes. She had no intention of getting involved. “I’m going to find a new car. Sis, come with me.”

She took Gu Xia’s hand, turned, and walked out.

Hei Ye clearly didn’t want to help Huang Yunyun either. She had done all she could, and her conscience was clear.

“I’m going to check the second floor. Xiao Hua, come with me.”

Hei Ye was determined to keep Xiao Hua by her side. She never wanted to let her out of her sight again.

Huang Yunyun hesitated for a moment, then quickly followed Hei Ye upstairs. “I’ll go with you.”

But Fang Qiang stopped her. “What’s the rush? Tell me how Baldy died.”

Huang Yunyun turned to look at Yan An, who was walking away, and Hei Ye, who was already on the second floor. Fear crept into her eyes. “It… the zombies killed him.”

She was smart enough to know not to try and put the blame on anyone else. If she did, no one would ever help her again, and she would be at Fang Qiang’s mercy.

“Zombies?” Fang Qiang sneered. “If you were dead, I’d believe you. But you’re not, and the dash cam is gone. Do you take me for a fool?”

Fang Qiang wasn’t completely sure. Even if he could shift the blame to Yan An and her group, the whole matter would likely be dropped because he didn’t dare to turn on them. For one thing, could he dodge a bullet from Gu Xia’s submachine gun? Even if he could, all of his subordinates would be wiped out. How would he rule without them?

So…

As she walked out of the inn, Yan An had already figured out what Fang Qiang was doing. “He just wants Huang Yunyun to submit to him, not to put the blame on any of us.”

With Hei Ye inside the inn, Fang Qiang wouldn’t dare to go too far. As long as Huang Yunyun held her ground, she would be fine.

“Sis, what do you think Huang Yunyun will do?”

Gu Xia had helped Huang Yunyun a lot. Yan An wondered if she was getting too soft.

But Gu Xia simply took a small sip from her bottle of water, put the cap back on, and looked at Yan An. “As long as she doesn’t show fear, Fang Qiang can’t do anything to her. If she makes a different choice herself, no one can save her.”

They were a team for now, but if Fang Qiang actually killed Huang Yunyun, everyone would feel uneasy, and even his own men would question whether they should follow such a man.

Gu Xia had helped Huang Yunyun out of a sense of solidarity with another woman, but from here on out, she needed to be independent. In the apocalypse, no one could rely on anyone else.

And what about Yan An?

Thinking this, Gu Xia couldn’t help but wonder about Yan An. They considered each other partners, but could a partner be truly trusted?

Then Yan An suddenly tapped her head. “What are you thinking? ‘Good advice can’t save a person who’s destined to die.’ Everyone pays for their own choices.”

“Gu Xia, in the apocalypse, we have to make endless choices. Every choice has a consequence, but we have to bear them. Just like me, I chose you to be my comrade. So every choice you make, every consequence even the bad ones. I will bear half of them.”

“Your choices are our shared choices.”

So when Gu Xia helped Huang Yunyun, Yan An didn’t say a word, but she was silently agreeing to face the consequences with her. If someone came looking for trouble because of it, would she stand by and do nothing?

Gu Xia was stunned. She was right. They were comrades. A comrade was more trustworthy than a partner. If Yan An could trust her as a comrade, she would give her the same trust in return.

In reality, she had unconsciously started to feel differently about Yan An a long time ago. Otherwise, she never would have allowed Yan An to get so close.

Otherwise, she would have never approached Yan An herself.

Gu Xia realized that her active interest in Yan An started when she carried her up the stairs on her back, or when Yan An, risking her own safety, went home with her? Or maybe it was every time they fought side by side.

Gu Xia could feel that Yan An’s playful banter was mostly just a way to help her relax and not be so tense. She was so worried about her family. Even though she had gone home and learned they had called for rescue and left, she couldn’t rest until she heard they were safe. So many rescue planes had been shot down. What if her family was on one of them? The road to the pier was so full of zombies. Did they really make it to the island and escape?

All of this was unknown, so Gu Xia was constantly on edge. Even when she slept, she remained vigilant. Only when Yan An lay next to her did she feel a sense of security and fall into a deep sleep.

It was an unconscious trust. Even though she was still suspicious at heart, she couldn’t lie to herself about it.

After leaving the villa, Gu Xia appeared normal, but inside, she was in a slump. Her family was the most important thing to her, and Yan An had keenly sensed this.

From time to time, Yan An would stir her emotions to prevent her from spiraling into a low mood. She would even talk about her family with her, like when she speculated on what kind of ability her sister would awaken.

All of this was based on the premise that her family was alive and well.

Yan An was trying to give her a reason to keep going, to prevent her from sinking into self-destructive thoughts, which could drown her.

She looked up at Yan An and saw the genuine concern in her eyes.

Gu Xia thought she was good at hiding her feelings, but Yan An could still see them. She didn’t know if Yan An simply understood her too well or was just that smart, able to accurately sense her emotional state.

In reality, Yan An didn’t know why she could sense Gu Xia’s emotions either. But she wasn’t going to let Gu Xia stay in a state of despair. In the apocalypse, a bad mood could easily lead to a disaster. Even in a peaceful environment, it could cause mental health issues.

Yan An looked at Gu Xia, gently poking her arm. “Why are you so quiet? Don’t tell me you’re touched?”

She was, but Yan An’s question instantly squashed that feeling. Gu Xia’s face remained as impassive as ever.

“Aren’t we looking for a car? What kind of car do you want?” Gu Xia smoothly changed the subject.

Yan An looked around. There were plenty of cars in the village, but their windows were nowhere near as durable as the RV’s. If the RV’s windows couldn’t block the zombies, a regular car’s windows wouldn’t stand a chance. To stop a zombie, the glass would have to be as strong as the steel on an armored car.

“If we can’t find a suitable vehicle, we’ll just use wire mesh and weld it on.”

She suggested welding wire mesh over the front and rear windows. For the back, it would be best to completely seal it off instead of leaving any glass, as a zombie might climb on and go unnoticed, only to pop out the moment they opened the door.

That would be a disaster, with a zombie greeting them with a friendly wave: “Hello, tasty treats!” A close encounter of the worst kind.

Gu Xia raised an eyebrow. “You know how to weld?”

“I do.” When it came to mechanics, Yan An was confident. She had once built and entered a robot into a prestigious international competition, where it won an award.

“Okay, then let’s find some metal plates and wire mesh,” Gu Xia agreed.

The zombies’ strength was immense, and they were even worse than wild beasts. A wild animal might retreat if it couldn’t achieve its goal, but not zombies. They would go into a frenzy at the sight of any living thing. If they were beasts, they were rabid ones and rabid beasts don’t follow logic. The memory of them crazily slamming their heads against the glass was still fresh in everyone’s minds.

Yan An took out her walkie-talkie and called out, “Hei Ye, find some welding equipment, as well as some metal plates and wire mesh to reinforce the RV.”

“Copy that, Old Yan.”

Hearing his casual nickname for her, Yan An simply let out a little huff and ignored him.

The two of them walked along the village street, sticking close to the walls to prevent any sudden attacks from behind. The strange silence of the village was unnerving, as if it were deserted or perhaps already cleared out. It was a shame their navigation system was broken; otherwise, they could have checked for any remaining survivors.

A faint, weak meow cut through the silence, grabbing their attention.

Yan An signaled for Gu Xia to stop. She gripped her gun, then cautiously backed away from the wall by a couple of meters. This would give her enough distance to react if a zombie were to suddenly appear around the corner.

After getting some distance, she quickly moved to the narrow space between two buildings. What she saw was a dog, gnawing on a cat carrier. Inside, a cat lay motionless and barely alive.

Just then, the dog sensed movement behind it and spun around. It had sickly white eyes, a rotting half-face, and patches of fur missing, as if from a severe skin disease. Its body was smeared with bl00d, whether from eating something or killing a living creature, she couldn’t tell. The moment it saw Yan An, it lunged at her with incredible speed.

Without a second thought, Yan An fired several shots. Just as the dog was about to reach her, a bullet struck its head, and it dropped heavily to the ground.

Something was wrong. She turned to Gu Xia, who had just raised her own gun. “I remember that dogs don’t get infected even if they eat rotten zombie flesh, right?” she asked. The virus would have had to mutate for animals to be infected.