Luo Xiaole's backpack was instantly half empty, but she had deliberately chosen items with duplicate types. This way, even if she submitted one set, she would still have another in her bag to take to the food stall.
As long as she found enough different types of items to open the food stall, her future food supplies would basically be secured.
Luo Xiaole followed the soldier leading the way, passing through the training grounds and arriving in front of a dormitory building that showed signs of past conflict.
The dormitory building surprisingly had backup power and hadn't completely lost electricity.
At this moment, faint lights could be seen emanating from many of the dorm rooms, making them look as if they were already occupied.
The soldier on guard exchanged a knowing glance with the soldier who had brought them in.
So, this group had contributed quite a lot of supplies.
"I'll take you to the third floor," the guard soldier said casually, a blade of grass in his mouth.
"Will the third floor be a more luxurious single room?" the man with the slicked-back hair eagerly rubbed his hands, hoping for a better room.
After all, Luo Shu and Luo Xiaole hadn't submitted a small amount of supplies just now; they had watched it all.
With so many supplies, they should at least be able to exchange for a good room, right?
The escort led them to the third floor expressionlessly and opened one room on each side of the staircase.
With a "click," he flipped the light switch.
Luo Xiaole surveyed her surroundings. Both rooms were four-person dorms with bunk beds. The lighting wasn't very bright, and there was even a faint metallic tang of blood on the floor.
It seemed this place had also experienced a fierce struggle before.
The bedding on the beds looked like it had been used by someone else and hadn't been changed, crumpled into a ball in the corner.
"What? With all this food, this is it?" the man with the slicked-back hair was the first to complain, dissatisfied. "You guys aren't being fair!"
Unexpectedly, the escorting soldier also looked at him with disdain. "The young lady hasn't complained, so why are you making such a fuss?"
"Everyone else is sleeping in the large communal dorms below, crammed into one room. If you're not happy, you can go down and sleep there too. Besides, what time is it? This is a relief station, not a hotel. If you think the blankets are dirty, wash them yourself!"
"You can only sleep here for one night, and tomorrow you all have to leave! Men and women are not allowed to share rooms, and it's best if you behave and don't cause any trouble for me." The soldier spat out the grass root from his mouth.
He snorted impatiently and turned to leave.
"Damn it, we give things and still have to put up with this attitude," the man with the slicked-back hair also spat towards the soldier.
Turning his head, he noticed Luo Xiaole hadn't entered the room.
Instead, she stepped forward and stood in front of the boys' room, a smile on her face, staring at them.
"Luo... Boss, what are you doing? Your smile is giving me the creeps..." the man with the slicked-back hair felt a chill down his spine under her gaze.
"Did we, me and Luo Shu, provide the supplies today so you could come in here and rest for a night?" Luo Xiaole asked word by word.
"Yes... yes, thank you..."
"No need to thank me, because the supplies will be returned. These are just on loan from you," Luo Xiaole said, crossing her arms.
Those soldiers at the entrance had been collecting supplies. If they couldn't produce them, they might hand over the weapons Luo Xiaole had lent them.
Luo Xiaole felt it was necessary to be wary of soldiers like these.
Instead of letting the man with the slicked-back hair and the others hand over the weapons to the soldiers, causing more trouble,
it was better to share some food and take back the weapons in the process.
"If I recall correctly, we were just giving you a ride here, weren't we?" After all, at the small shop, the benefits they offered were only because they needed to borrow their territory to stay for a couple of days.
They were not her companions, and never would be.
"But we don't have any supplies on us now..." the man with the slicked-back hair and the others looked crestfallen.
"It's okay. If you have supplies, give me supplies. If not, weapons will do."
The man with the slicked-back hair and the others glanced at Mo Chen, who was leaning against the wall nearby, his uninjured hand holding two twin blades, his expression unclear in the darkness.
They swallowed and rummaged through their belongings for a moment, then reluctantly handed over a few weapons.
Including the two who had tried to snatch Luo Xiaole's ring earlier.
"I only have one left! I swear! You have to let us keep something for self-defense..." The two of them looked pathetic now. They had finally gotten their hands on a few weapons.
And now they were being forced to hand them over again...
...
Luo Xiaole returned to her room with a satisfied smile.
It was indeed more reassuring to hold her own weapons.
This room was just enough for her, Lin Xia, Zuo Ran, and the mother and child to stay in.
The child had gone in with Mo Chen and the others, as the army didn't allow cohabitation, even for children.
"Thank you so much for today." As soon as Luo Xiaole entered the room, the mother grabbed her hand gratefully, her eyes filled with tears.
"It's nothing, it's nothing." Luo Xiaole felt a strange sensation.
She had been bullied by her uncle and aunt since she was a child. After the apocalypse, because she looked too frail and lacking in combat power, many people had looked down on her.
To be honest, as long as she could achieve her goal of upgrading and transforming her body in the least costly way, she didn't care what others thought of her.
Because she didn't care about those people at all.
But now, she had done something that wasn't difficult for her, and she had received such gratitude from others.
She couldn't quite describe the feeling.
"Here, take this map." The mother lowered her voice and secretly handed her a piece of paper, a hand-drawn map.
"There are several forks in the road to get out of here. Several of the roadside signs are gone. I've noted down the signs at each fork. There's also a small path through the mountains that we accidentally discovered when we were escaping."
"I've memorized these roads. If you need it, take it. Consider it a small token of my gratitude."
The mother had noticed when they entered that Luo Xiaole's group seemed to consist of several different factions.
This was why she had quietly given this to Luo Xiaole just before lights out.
Luo Xiaole also gave her a grateful smile.
Great! Now that she knew the way, she wouldn't have to act with those people.
This was exactly what she wanted!
"Emergency situation at the entrance, all company commanders report for assembly!" A siren suddenly blared through the dormitory.
Luo Xiaole climbed onto the bed. The glass beside the bed faced the main gate of the military base.
She carefully wiped away the mist that had formed on the glass due to the cold weather and peered out the window.
The base's main gate slowly opened.
This time, the soldiers didn't have people get out of their vehicles to walk in. After some conversation at the gate, they somewhat obsequiously let in a vehicle.
People from the vehicle began unloading what looked like heavy weapons.
The last person to get out held a silenced pistol, with a gentle face.
Luo Xiaole's pupils constricted. Qin Mingyang!
He had indeed escaped from the airport.
However, he seemed to have fewer weapons than before, indicating he had been through a fierce battle.
Qin Mingyang was accompanied by three vehicles.
After all three vehicles had entered, the heavy gate of the base was about to close.
But it suddenly paused, then reopened.
In the darkness, a ghostly modified off-road vehicle, familiar with the route, drove in through the main gate.
It slowly pulled into the parking lot behind the military base.