Early the next morning, Xie Lingruo got up and prepared breakfast, and even filled the gas tank of the vehicle in her space that they planned to use today.
After finishing everything, the Xie family sat quietly at the table in the living room and ate breakfast.
By the time Xie Father and the others drove out, it was already 7:30 AM.
They didn't encounter many zombies on the road—mainly because they were still close to Anshi Base, and people often went out on missions in the area, cleaning up zombies as they went.
Since it was just the three of them, the Xie family could only take a mission to a small warehouse in the suburbs. Xie Lingruo chose this destination mainly to prepare supplies for the winter in advance.
Although her space was already well-stocked, she didn't want Xie Father and Xie Lingfeng to overly rely on her. Sometimes, working for something yourself is better than being handed everything.
Another reason was to help Xie Lingfeng improve his wind-type power during this outing—so he could collect more crystal cores for her to store in her space.
As for Xie Father, bringing him on missions served two purposes: one, to train him and see if he might awaken an ability later; and two, to keep him from getting bullied if left alone at the base.
The truth was, in this world, life for ordinary people would only become harder, especially with another round of Red Rain in the future, which would mutate both animals and plants, further increasing the pressure on human survival.
Before getting out of the car, Xie Lingruo gave each of them a backpack, in case they were separated—so they would at least have some supplies on them.
Xie Lingfeng felt a warmth in his heart at how thoughtful his sister was. He couldn't help but think: She's really grown up and matured. So sensible and caring. I wonder which brat will be lucky enough to marry her someday...
As soon as they got out of the car, the winter clothing factory came into view. Xie Lingruo quickly pushed aside all unnecessary thoughts and used her mental ability to scan the area.
Once she confirmed that there were only a few scattered zombies in the building, she withdrew her mental probe. Using abilities for long periods would only drain her energy.
There were so few zombies here because, first, it wasn't working hours when the apocalypse broke out; and second, few people came here now—everyone was more focused on gathering food.
Soon, the Xie family cleared out the ten patrol zombies, with Xie Lingruo specifically targeting the spot where crystal cores were located, so the others could see for themselves that zombies had crystal cores.
She then explained to them how she used the cores to enhance her ability.
Xie Lingfeng wasn't foolish—he understood that his sister was telling him this so he could grow stronger, and that would make their family's future more secure.
Afterward, Xie Lingruo took the lead in searching the warehouse. They collected quilts, military coats, and all kinds of winter clothing. They were lucky to also find over a hundred jin (50+ kg) of coal in the kitchen—probably meant for cooking. Now, it had fallen right into their hands.
When they returned to the base, they had to quarantine again, but since it was their second time entering and they were ability users, it only lasted three hours.
In the following days, the Xie family went out regularly on missions and scavenged for materials.
The good news was that a few days ago, Xie Father awakened a water-type ability in a moment of crisis, and Xie Lingfeng's wind power had also reached Level 2.
During this period, Xie Lingruo often visited the trading market, not only to stock up on gold jewelry (for future use), but also because she hoped to track down those few scumbags as soon as possible—before they caused trouble again.
Finally, her efforts paid off. Xie Lingruo spotted them—they had once again formed a team.
A few days later, in the early morning, an "accidental death" incident occurred in the base: four young men were found dead in their rental housing.
Most people assumed they had committed suicide, and the incident was discussed for a while, but eventually, faded away without a trace.