The night gradually descended.
Upon receiving the enthusiastic invitation from Nie Yuan and his two companions, Luo Xiao Le and Mo Chen arrived at their small base on the second floor.
It was a makeshift convenience store, serving as a transit point, stocked with simple drinks and biscuits.
It seemed Nie Yuan and his group’s initial search for a base had been quite successful.
With food and drink available, it was no wonder they had managed to survive here for so long. It was even rumored that a few of them had awakened special abilities.
However, the store was extremely small. Even with careful rationing, supplies were gradually dwindling.
This was why Nie Yuan and his group had taken the risk to venture downstairs in search of food.
Several other people were seated inside the small store.
There were men and women, likely the classmates Nie Yuan had mentioned.
"Everyone, on our recent supply runs, we encountered several crises, and it was these capable individuals who saved us," Nie Yuan’s voice carried a sense of pride he couldn’t quite articulate.
The people in the store raised their hands in greeting.
However, their attitudes were somewhat reserved.
"So it was you who saved our companions. Thank you. But all of us have awakened abilities now, and we will protect our own from now on," a young man sitting nearby stated their gratitude indifferently.
The others didn’t even say a word.
Seeing their somewhat arrogant expressions, Luo Xiao Le raised an eyebrow, seeming to understand.
Had they developed a sense of superiority?
As if no one else had abilities.
Oh, Luo Xiao Le herself didn't.
She awkwardly touched her nose.
"These few have also awakened abilities," Nie Yuan whispered as a reminder.
"Oh?" The young man in the center finally spoke, "What kind of abilities?"
Nie Yuan introduced them again with enthusiasm, "This one has awakened ice-element abilities, capable of condensing frost." He pointed at Zhu Hui.
The others looked over with surprise. Ice-element abilities were excellent offensive powers, and they hadn't expected this young woman to possess one.
Zhu Hui straightened her back with pride, basking in their admiration.
"This one has awakened sound-element abilities, capable of gathering intelligence," Nie Yuan said, palm facing upwards, gesturing towards Zhou Xiao Jun.
"Not an offensive ability?" the young man sneered, curling his lip. "All of us have offensive abilities."
"Then what about the abilities of the remaining few?" The others' gazes uniformly turned to Mo Chen, Luo Xiao Le, and Luo Shu.
"We don't have abilities," Luo Xiao Le blurted out.
After all, given Mo Chen's personality, he wouldn't speak to them.
"Oh, so you don't have abilities..." The disdain in the young man's eyes grew more pronounced.
"These few are very skilled," Nie Yuan added somewhat defensively.
Nie Yuan's expression turned displeased. His companions had become somewhat arrogant after awakening their abilities, which he could tolerate.
But he had personally witnessed the strength of Luo Xiao Le's team.
Seeing the people he respected treated this way by others made him somewhat angry.
"Nie Yuan, they did save you, which is indeed commendable," said a young man with slicked-back hair, sitting in the center, his tone laced with a hint of flippancy.
"However, even with our all-offensive abilities, dealing with zombies is a struggle. If you bring people without abilities back to the camp in the future, we cannot guarantee their safety."
He slowly opened his eyes and looked at Luo Xiao Le with a hint of contempt, "Especially someone like this, who appears so frail."
"Oh, don't worry, we won't seek your protection," Luo Xiao Le said, finding a corner to sit on the other side of the small store.
Her limbs were aching, and she urgently needed rest and to replenish her energy.
After all, they still had to venture into the dangerous large supermarket tonight.
She took out a pack of bear biscuits from her bag.
"As for food, you don't need to worry about us, we have our own," she said calmly, shaking the biscuits in her hand.
Facing people who judged by appearance, she was too lazy to waste energy arguing with them.
Little did they know, upon hearing the rustling of biscuits, others opened their eyes in surprise.
There were many of them, and the store's supplies were already depleted. They hadn't eaten for a whole day.
Mo Chen's lips curved into a smile, and he imitated her.
He slowly sat down and also took out a full pack of chocolates from his bag.
The others began to swallow audibly.
Luo Shu also chuckled slyly, "Heh heh."
He sat down with a practiced air.
And took out a bag of preserved fruits from his bag, making "tsk tsk" sounds as he ate them with relish.
The others were stunned into silence.
Could this group have their bags stuffed full of food?
Food was so hard to find now, where did they get so much to eat?
"Cough, cough..." The previously flippant young man frantically signaled to Nie Yuan and his group, hoping they would ask for some food.
Nie Yuan's face turned red as he moved a few steps towards Luo Xiao Le.
"Um..." he began hesitantly.
Before he could say anything, Luo Xiao Le directly tossed three packs of instant noodles from her bag.
"???" Nie Yuan was filled with excitement. Was this heroine so generous!
"You can have the food, but you'll have to pay. It's not free," she said between bites.
"No problem!" Hearing Luo Xiao Le's condition, those young men felt a pang of guilt.
They had indeed looked down on her just now.
But being willing to share supplies was the most precious thing at this moment.
Money had long since become worthless paper.
They quickly pooled some money together and handed it to Luo Xiao Le.
Then they wolfed down the instant noodles, breaking them apart and sharing them.
"Why give it to them? They hold their heads higher than the sky!" Luo Shu said, looking at them with disdain.
"They all have abilities. If we don't share supplies, they might try to rob us, which isn't worth it. We can find more supplies," Luo Xiao Le had considered many things.
"Tsk tsk, as expected of our captain, so far-sighted!" Luo Shu secretly gave a thumbs-up.
"By the way, Xiao Le, when Zhou Xiao Jun awakened his ability this morning, I also felt a bit unwell."
"Luo Shu, you have a fever too?" Luo Xiao Le exclaimed in surprise.
"No... it's just that I feel... a surge of energy within me..." Luo Shu's expression was sincere, "But it wasn't until just now that I think I could control it..."
As Luo Shu finished speaking, he subtly reached out towards the side, and the bear biscuits in Luo Xiao Le's hand disappeared!
Immediately afterwards, he waved his hand again, and the bear biscuits reappeared!
This time, it was Luo Xiao Le's turn to be dumbfounded.
The light was incredibly dim, but she stared intently at Luo Shu's forehead.
Only then did she see that, like Zhou Xiao Jun, a strange white vortex resembling a Tai Chi symbol had appeared on Luo Shu's forehead.
"You have abilities!" Luo Xiao Le whispered in surprise, "Could it be... space-element?"
"It... seems so?" Luo Shu himself was somewhat disbelieving.
Just now, it was as if he had suddenly mastered this power, able to store things in a space that only he could see.
"About how much volume can your storage space hold? Can it fit everything in a supermarket?" Luo Xiao Le looked at him, filled with excitement.
A plan was gradually forming in her mind.
"Roughly... I can feel it, it's about as big as your house..." Luo Shu closed his eyes, carefully sensing the space within him.
Luo Xiao Le nodded with delight. It seemed storing half a supermarket's worth of goods would be more than enough.
At the same time, she felt a touch of envy.
It seemed all her companions were awakening abilities!
Only she would never have any.
"Alright, finish eating quickly and get some rest. It's great that you've awakened an ability! Tonight, we're going to do something big," Luo Xiao Le's eyes sparkled with excitement.
Luo Shu, who always enjoyed stirring up trouble, felt his appetite increase even more upon hearing Luo Xiao Le's words.
He quickly finished his preserved fruits.
...
There was little entertainment in the apocalyptic nights, so everyone went to bed early.
In the dead of night, a pair of clear eyes suddenly opened.
"Cough, cough!" Luo Xiao Le feigned a light cough.
Mo Chen and Luo Shu, who were beside her, understood.
The three of them quietly got out of bed.