Jiang Yuntan understood that everyone in the room was trustworthy. In the original book, Shen Hegui led such a team all the way back to Jing City. Along the way, everyone encountered their own opportunities, and Shen Hegui got the biggest one. So after returning to Jing City, he quickly carved out a place for himself.
Yu Ke, who had been lounging lazily on the sofa, immediately sat up straight. "Our little sister's ability is really convenient."
Shen Hegui gave him a faint glance, but Yu Ke didn't notice, looking at Jiang Yuntan as if she were a shining treasure.
Seeing how excited they were, Jiang Yuntan emphasized, "My space is only one cubic meter for now. I can't store much."
"That's enough, enough to hold several days' worth of food," Yu Ke said happily.
Shen Hegui gave Xue Zhao a look, and the latter understood, pulling out a large box from under the desk.
Shen Hegui opened the box and said in a low voice, "Those who know how to use them, take one gun first. Then Yuntan, store the remaining guns and ammunition."
"Also, store those two boxes of medicine, Yuntan."
Jiang Yuntan was stunned for a moment, then quickly recovered. She walked over and saw that one box contained six handguns, exactly one for each person, with the rest being ammunition. Indeed, a strong ally was a strong ally. Some people hadn't yet realized the reality of the apocalypse, while others had already found guns and ammunition and even collected two large boxes of medicine.
Jiang Yuntan glanced briefly and saw that the medicine mostly consisted of common drugs like anti-inflammatories, antibiotics, fever reducers, cold medicine, as well as hemostatic powder and bandages—all the usual stuff.
Shen Hegui looked up at her. "Father should have taught you. Do you still remember how to use it?"
Shen Qingshan, his father, was a retired chief who had been injured. Once, when invited to a visit, he had brought the original owner along and taught her how to use a gun, but the original owner hadn't taken it seriously.
Jiang Yuntan said sheepishly, "It's been too long. I've probably forgotten most of it."
Shen Hegui sighed resignedly. "Come here. I'll explain it to you again."
Jiang Yuntan trotted over and stood obediently in front of him. Having a gun in the early apocalypse greatly increased safety, so how could she not be enthusiastic?
Meanwhile, Yu Ke also took a handgun and handed it to Qi Ruoshui.
Qi Ruoshui waved her hand. "I don't know how to use it."
"It's okay, it's simple. You just need to be able to fire it. Take it for self-defense," Yu Ke said.
Qi Ruoshui was silent for a moment. "I'm afraid that if I hold it, before I can fire, the enemy will snatch it away, causing trouble for you all."
Yu Ke: ...
Qi Ruoshui continued, "At least Miss Jiang has her space to store it. I'm afraid someone will steal mine."
Besides, she was worried about accidental discharge.
"Alright, I won't force you," Yu Ke said.
Xue Zhao and Jiang Yufeng also thought she had a point and suggested that Jiang Yuntan store all the guns and ammunition first and only take them out when needed. Moreover, if everyone in their group carried one, it would be too conspicuous. If someone stole them or they attracted unwanted attention, it wouldn't be worth it.
Jiang Yuntan, who was nearby, heard these words but said nothing.
After teaching her, Shen Hegui instructed, "Don't use it unless absolutely necessary. Gunshots will attract zombies."
He added, "If your gun injures one of our own, I'll take it back."
"Okay, I understand." Jiang Yuntan nodded, looking at the box in front of her and feeling a bit more hopeful about life in the apocalypse.
Seeing how obedient she seemed, Shen Hegui said tactfully, "From now on, stay away from Lin Tingxue. Don't provoke her or get into conflicts with her."
Jiang Yuntan looked at him strangely. "Why don't you say that to her? If she doesn't come after me, who would want to bother with her?"
With that, she gave a light snort, moved away from Shen Hegui, and sat on the sofa next to Yu Ke.
Yu Ke was confused. "What's wrong? Why are you two fighting again? Brother Shen, you're older, can't you give in to our little sister?"
"It's nothing." Shen Hegui rubbed his temples but still explained, "I told her to stay away from Lin Tingxue, or she'll be sold without even knowing it."
When they were around, she was fine. They left her in the hotel, even had Qi Ruoshui accompany her, but she still got scratched by a zombie. He thought her soft and obedient act just now meant she had learned her lesson—but it was all fake.
Hearing his explanation, Jiang Yuntan felt a bit embarrassed. She had misunderstood.
She thought for a moment, then reluctantly said, "He said I'm dumber than Lin Tingxue."
Yu Ke cautiously advised, "Yuntan, maybe you should listen to Brother Shen. It's the apocalypse now, not the petty squabbles before. This is life and death."
Jiang Yuntan: ... Fine. It seemed the original owner's image was deeply ingrained.
But given that they were still saying such things, it meant they didn't hate her too much. As long as she didn't keep causing trouble, they wouldn't abandon her.
Just then, a knock came at the door.
Xue Zhao, being closest, opened it to find Lin Tingxue.
Lin Tingxue smiled and said, "Lunch is ready."
Everyone went out to eat.
As soon as Jiang Yuntan sat down, she heard Xia Chujing's sarcastic voice: "This is all from the ingredients Tingxue had delivered before the apocalypse because she wanted to learn to cook."
"And some people tripped Tingxue, nearly getting her killed by zombies. Now how can they shamelessly eat her food?"
Jiang Yuntan looked at the braised ribs, braised pork, steamed fish, and other dishes on the table, feeling puzzled. Lin Tingxue had ingredients delivered to the hotel to learn to cook before the apocalypse? She didn't learn at home but learned during a business trip? Something was off, very off.
Before she could say anything, Yu Ke spoke up: "Huh? I thought we were all sharing. We put the ingredients we collected over the past two days together."
"Now you're saying these are all things Lin Tingxue bought before, and our little sister can't eat? What do you mean? Are you saying that even though we brought things back, we're just freeloading?"
Shen Hegui's cold gaze also fell on Lin Xuan.
"Misunderstanding, it's all a misunderstanding," Lin Xuan quickly stepped in to explain. "She's just a kid who doesn't know how to talk. Xiaojing, apologize to Miss Jiang."
Xia Chujing was very unwilling, but when she heard that Lin Tingxue wasn't on her side either—
"Xiaojing, these are everyone's things. You shouldn't say things like that."
Seeing the gloomy expressions on Shen Hegui and the others, Xia Chujing felt fear and then said to Jiang Yuntan, "I'm sorry."
"Oh." Jiang Yuntan responded indifferently, not forgiving her, but only said, "I don't want to eat with them next time."