Upon hearing Chu Jiangyue’s words, the girl opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but seeing Chu Jiangyue’s expression, she ultimately said nothing.
"Then... Then I’ll go back to the car."
"Mm."
Chu Jiangyue didn’t soften her stance upon seeing the girl’s pitiful demeanor.
It’s the apocalypse, and she’s willing to bring her back, even giving her a free meal is being very generous to her.
If she’s discontent because she didn’t receive more, Chu Jiangyue wouldn’t hesitate to throw her in the snow and leave her be.
She’s not some Saint Mary, willing to let her cling on endlessly, draining her dry.
When the girl came to see Chu Jiangyue, she hadn’t closed the door to the lounge, so many people saw what happened inside.
Some thought Chu Jiangyue was too ruthless, while others believed the girl was taking advantage.
Yet, in the end, no one spoke up, for Chu Jiangyue was their key to survival in this world.
And whether the girl would follow them back to Jianglin Hotel was uncertain.
No one would offend Chu Jiangyue for a stranger.
After tidying up her sleeping gear, Chu Jiangyue started to prepare dinner.
This time, Granny Hua had made several ready-to-eat dishes for Chu Jiangyue.
Chu Jiangyue took out a plate of pork and corn dumplings this time.
However, Chu Jiangyue only had a pot but no hot water, so she went to find Lin Xuyuan. Fire Ability can be much more useful in the wild compared to other superpowers.
As compensation, Chu Jiangyue gave Lin Xuyuan 5 dumplings.
Even though there were only 5 dumplings, Lin Xuyuan happily accepted and quickly used his superpower to heat the water and cook the dumplings for Chu Jiangyue.
Ultimately, Shen Zhigui and the others each took one of the 5 dumplings and shared them amongst themselves.
After eating and drinking, Chu Jiangyue took her pot back to her tent and soon fell asleep.
From the silver-white SUV, the girl watched as Chu Jiangyue took her pot to find Shen Zhigui and the others, then watched with envy as Chu Jiangyue ate the entire pot of dumplings by herself.
The aroma was so enticing that she could smell it even from inside the car.
Though she was saved by Chu Jiangyue, realizing they were the same age but in completely different circumstances inevitably made her feel unbalanced.
But considering that her life was saved by Chu Jiangyue, she thought it wasn’t right to be jealous of her savior.
With such conflicted emotions, the girl unwittingly fell asleep.
The next day at dawn, Chu Jiangyue opened her eyes.
"Host, you’re awake! It’s been a peaceful night."
It must be due to the Bloodthirsty Thorn Vine; there were no mutated plants or animals around.
However, once some time passes and the vine’s intimidation wanes, mutated animals or plants might appear.
Chu Jiangyue nodded, then took out toiletries from the system backpack to freshen up.
She then packed away her essential travel tent and stepped out of the lounge.
Outside, Shen Zhigui and the rest had already tidied up and were ready to depart.
Chu Jiangyue nodded to each of them in acknowledgement, then walked to the parking lot, to the driver’s seat of her silver-white SUV, opened the door, and got in.
Shen Zhigui and others also opened their GPS, chose the silver-white SUV as their vehicle, and followed behind Chu Jiangyue’s car.
The noise of Chu Jiangyue getting in the car roused the girl from her sleep in the back seat.
"You’re awake, we’re getting ready to depart. If you have a place you want to go, let me know; if it’s on the way, I can drop you off."
Of course, if her destination was not on the way, Chu Jiangyue would only give her two options: one, follow her car and eventually return to Jianglin Hotel; two, choose a place to get off the car.
Chu Jiangyue considered herself quite democratic.
"I... I heard there’s a hotel opened in City B where you can buy food and have a place to stay.
I really had no other options, so I came out to try my luck, and unexpectedly..."
Unexpectedly almost dying outside.
In the extreme cold of tens of degrees below zero or even a hundred, she dared to just go out; Chu Jiangyue admired her courage.
But from what she said, her original destination seemed to be Jianglin Hotel, just showing... she was somewhat lucky.
"I just left Jianglin Hotel, but since we’re just setting out now, it’ll be a while before we return.
You can tag along in my car during this time, but you’ll need to purchase any food with Crystal Cores.
I’ll give you a list of prices later, you can browse to see what you want to eat, and prepare the Crystal Cores accordingly."
Outside, she couldn’t register an Identity Card, so the girl could only give the corresponding amount of Crystal Cores, which Chu Jiangyue would order from the System Mall directly.
"Really? So there is indeed food at the hotel, and clean rooms to stay in?"
Hearing Chu Jiangyue’s words, the girl became visibly excited.
She had only heard it mentioned in passing but hadn’t heard clearly at the time because it was far away.
"Yes, but the more economical rooms are occupied now and the remaining rooms are quite expensive. If you wish to live in the hotel, you’ll need more Crystal Cores, or some gold, silver, and jewels."
Since she was a potential guest of Jianglin Hotel, Chu Jiangyue’s attitude towards the girl softened a little.
"Then... I’d like to buy food now. Could you tell me how many Crystal Cores it would cost?"
"For yesterday’s steamed buns, 1 Level 1 Crystal Core can buy 2, but the Refreshing Iced Beverage needs two Level 1 Zombie Crystal Cores."
Upon hearing that the Refreshing Iced Beverage required 2 Level 1 Crystal Cores, the girl was astonished.
But considering its purity, it seemed reasonable to sell at this price.
She hadn’t lived in a base before so she didn’t know that Chu Jiangyue’s prices were far cheaper than those at the base.
"I... I don’t have many Crystal Cores on me, but I promise to try my best to dig out more once we rest."
The zombies were frozen stiff due to the extreme cold, so even ordinary people could dig out their Crystal Cores.
However, there were also dangers from mutated animals and plants outdoors; previously, she hadn’t dared to collect many Crystal Cores.
But with so many superpower users around her now, the girl felt that if she tried hard enough, she could surely collect many Crystal Cores.
"So, are you buying anything now?"
"Yes! I want to buy two steamed buns first! I’ll give you the Crystal Cores, can you keep track of them for me? I’ll find you later if I want more steamed buns?"
She’s an ordinary person, and carrying steamed buns would quickly make them cold and hard; it’s better to have Chu Jiangyue keep them, and then get a hot bite when needed.
This little favor was something Chu Jiangyue didn’t mind.
"Sure."
Getting Chu Jiangyue’s response brightened the girl’s eyes; she finally took out 5 Level 1 Zombie Crystal Cores from her pocket and handed them to Chu Jiangyue: "I’ll take 2 steamed buns first."
As for the thirst-quenching Refreshing Iced Beverage, the girl thought it best to wait and buy after saving more Crystal Cores.