One should only take on as much as one can handle. Call her selfish if you like, but for now, she could only protect herself. As the saying goes: In the apocalypse, kill the saints first. That might be a bit absolute, but it wasn't without reason. When your abilities aren't strong enough, it's best not to test human nature.
Then, some went to look for barreled gasoline, while others refueled the vehicles. For Jiang Yuntan's car, Xue Zhao went to refuel, while she and Shen Hegui looked for barreled gasoline or containers that could hold gasoline.
Shen Hegui walked up to her and asked, "How was it? Did you find anything over there?"
Jiang Yuntan shook her head calmly. "There are only two oil tankers there. The warehouse is empty. I don't know if the tankers have any fuel—I'm not familiar with that—but their tires are flattened."
She definitely couldn't say yes. Actually, she could have said there were a few barrels, since she had used up the remaining two cubic meters of space in her storage to fill with barreled oil. She could have just taken a few barrels out of the showcase. But who would believe a warehouse had only a few barrels? She wouldn't, and she didn't like leaving clues or vulnerabilities, so she simply said there was nothing.
"There probably is some, but we can't take it with us. Let's first look for ready-made barreled oil," Shen Hegui said calmly.
The two entered the gas station and saw that the once neatly arranged shelves had been moved, their contents taken down and set aside. Through the shelves, Jiang Yuntan and Shen Hegui saw the women isolated behind them, their exposed skin covered in purple bruises. When they saw the two enter, their eyes were filled with fear and wariness.
Jiang Yuntan glanced around and found nothing special besides some food and daily necessities. On the surface, neither her space nor the car's space could hold any more food. So neither of them felt like taking food; what they wanted now was only gasoline.
After a circuit, they found no gasoline barrels, so they decided to look elsewhere.
As they passed the women enclosed by shelves, Jiang Yuntan unconsciously stopped. She said, "The people outside have all been dealt with. You can take the supplies here and leave quickly; you never know when the zombies might come."
Then, without lingering, she took Shen Hegui and left.
They reached the next room and found Lin Tingxue and Lin Xuan already there, each holding two gasoline barrels. Jiang Yuntan saw they were fifty-liter barrels, presumably left by the staff. Lin Tingxue spoke first, "There are about ten more inside. You can go get them."
Shen Hegui acknowledged her with a grunt and motioned for Jiang Yuntan to follow him.
Lin Xuan muttered discontentedly, "Why did you have to tell them? I don't think these four barrels are enough for us. I was planning to come back for more."
Lin Tingxue replied, "Brother, even if we take more, when they run out of fuel, we'll have to stop and wait for them anyway. And there will be more gas stations later. When we reach the next one, there'll be space in the car, and we can take more then. Besides, this gas station is small. Even if we didn't tell them, they'd find it eventually. Might as well do them a favor. There are empty barrels over there; after they finish, we can take some too."
"Fine," Lin Xuan said with a sigh. But maybe she had a point. He had been too impatient lately. Such simple logic wasn't lost on him usually.
Jiang Yuntan and Shen Hegui looked at the counted barrels in front of them. Neither showed any intention of putting the barrels into their space. Shen Hegui glanced around and told her to get the stacked empty barrels, planning to take them out and fill them with fuel using the pump.
Understanding his intent, Jiang Yuntan stored about ten empty fifty-liter barrels into her space, filling it to the brim. Then, at Shen Hegui's signal, she carried two empty barrels in each hand and went out.
By the car, she handed the empty barrels to Yu Ke and the others to fill up. That way, they didn't have to carry the heavy barrels out like Shen Hegui had.
Could Lin Tingxue carry one in each hand because her ability strengthened her body? Or had she trained after being reborn? If Lin Tingxue had been reborn before the apocalypse, knowing it would come, why did she follow Lin Xuan to Hai City instead of staying at the safe base in Jing City? Unless she had a reason she couldn't avoid coming to Hai City.
Thinking this, Jiang Yuntan unconsciously touched the red jade bracelet on her wrist. Was it because of this golden finger? Or to foster a bond of fighting side by side with Shen Hegui? If Lin Tingxue was reborn, why wasn't that written in the book? And what had happened in the life before Lin Tingxue's rebirth? She felt that if she knew these things, many problems would be solved, but for now, it was still a fog.
Lin Tingxue, standing not far away, saw the warm, glossy red bracelet on her wrist and subconsciously fixed her gaze on it. Blood Jade Bracelet! How could Jiang Yuntan wear it again?
Shen Hegui turned and noticed her stare. Following her gaze, he saw Lin Tingxue staring at the bracelet on Yuntan's wrist. He frowned slightly. It seemed Lin Tingxue was really interested in that bracelet.
Jiang Yuntan felt the intense gaze on her and, seeing it was Lin Tingxue, directly rolled her eyes at her, acting as if she didn't know why Lin Tingxue was looking at her, just showing aversion.
Lin Tingxue was startled, not expecting Jiang Yuntan to notice. But seeing the eye roll, a faint smile curved on her lips.
Shen Hegui's eyes deepened. He looked away without a trace. Before, he might have thought Yuntan was being spoiled like everyone else. But later, he felt something was off. It was Lin Tingxue who seemed to be deliberately provoking Yuntan, stirring up her hostility. Lin Tingxue seemed to hold many secrets.
For instance, the Lightning Element Ability crystal nucleus in his palm.
Soon, as the crystal nucleus lost its energy and turned to powder, Shen Hegui smiled to himself.
Lin Tingxue, feeling guilty after being glared at, thought of Qiao Chengming and decided to wander around.
Seeing that Lin Tingxue and her group were gone, Jiang Yuntan took the opportunity to take out the empty barrels from her space, letting Xue Zhao and Shen Hegui quickly fill them with fuel while she kept watch.
Well, she knew how to take care of herself.