"How did you manage to escape then?"
"Without preparation, coming out would be suicide. I admit, over this past year, I've done many terrible things. I won't make excuses, but my only goal was to gather supplies and food as quickly as possible to escape with my daughter!" said Wang Han.
"Whether you're good or evil means nothing to me. Right now, I just need to know where your secret base is. At dawn tomorrow, we'll go there. I'll take what I want, then we go our separate ways!" Bai Wen said coldly.
"I can't tell you now. Even if I did, you probably wouldn't believe me. Tomorrow I'll personally take you there. I keep my word—once we arrive, you can take whatever you want!"
Bai Wen stared coldly at Wang Han. This man wasn't easy to deal with. It seemed he'd have to play it by ear tomorrow. While Wang Han kept saying he feared Bai Wen might kill him after learning the secret, Bai Wen was equally wary that this could be a trap.
With so many supplies stockpiled there, how could there not be hidden weapons? Given Wang Han's position as an instructor in the Black Cloud Safe Zone's defense force, hiding some weapons and ammunition would be simple. Bai Wen had to stay on guard.
"Then I'll go rest now—I'm completely exhausted. See you tomorrow!" Wang Han gave Bai Wen a tight-lipped smile before turning to enter Wang Ya's room, locking the door behind him.
Bai Wen sat on the sofa for a while before heading up to the third floor. SCV was hard at work, surrounded by piles of steel materials and leftover black gunpowder. She was currently crafting bullet heads and filling them with gunpowder, turning the empty casings back into live rounds.
Bai Wen asked curiously, "How much gunpowder do you have left for production?"
SCV continued methodically arranging the bullets as she reported, "There's none left. This is all we can make for now."
Bai Wen quickly counted—only about a hundred rounds total, with no pistol ammunition remaining.
"This isn't sustainable. Do we really have to rely on the Black Cloud Safe Zone for resupply?" Bai Wen frowned.
"Actually, no. I can directly convert energy crystals into materials. That way we wouldn't need to gather resources, and production would be much faster!" SCV explained.
"No way. After all these days of killing Zombies, we've only collected a little over a hundred crystals. We can't waste them on something so trivial," Bai Wen refused.
"But without ammunition, we can't hunt more Zombies or collect crystals. Trust me, making bullets only requires a tiny amount—it's absolutely worth it!" SCV insisted. She didn't want to keep gathering materials for ammunition either—it was too troublesome.
If she could directly convert crystals into the needed materials and shapes, then assemble them, things would be much simpler.
"Fine. Tonight I need three hundred sniper rounds and fifty pistol rounds. Work through the night to get them done. Tomorrow we might have a tough fight ahead." A cold glint flashed in Bai Wen's eyes.
Early the next morning, when Wang Han and Wang Ya emerged from their rooms full of energy, they were met with the sight of Bai Wen fully armed to the teeth. Their eyes narrowed involuntarily. They had been feeling smug, thinking they had finally regained their strength and spirit, no longer fearing Bai Wen's coercion. Moreover, he had nearly exhausted his ammunition yesterday—that large sniper rifle seemed to have run out of bullets too.
But now, it was clear things weren't that simple at all.
Bai Wen was practically armored from head to toe, with multiple visible magazines strapped to his body, two extra grenades, and enough weapons and equipment to outfit an entire tactical squad.
The father and daughter couldn't help but gulp audibly.
They had clearly overthought things. It seemed today would be another day under his coercion. The pair sighed in unison, their spirits deflating.
Bai Wen smiled faintly. "Now, can you fulfill your promise?"
Wang Han licked his chapped lips and nodded with difficulty.
The trio stepped out of the villa, the father and daughter walking ahead while Bai Wen followed closely behind, watching their every move to see what tricks they might still have up their sleeves.
They were absolutely unwilling to lead Bai Wen to their destination, but his food supplies were indeed running low, and he needed to restock. Besides, Bai Wen had no intention of simply taking the supplies and leaving—he needed a hidden, well-stocked place to settle down.
As for whether to kill Wang Han and Wang Ya, that would depend on their cooperation later.
Thanks to Bai Wen's earlier efforts, the area around the villa had become relatively safe, with very few Zombies left. Even if one or two did appear, Bai Wen didn't need to lift a finger—Wang Han and his daughter took care of them with knives, perhaps just to show off for Bai Wen.
Admittedly, Wang Han's combat skills were impressive. He must have been a soldier or served in a special unit before. Though Wang Ya wasn't bad either, she paled in comparison to her father—likely trained by him since childhood.
Bai Wen grew even more cautious around them.
After walking down the street for a while, a towering circular structure came into view.
"A TV tower?" Bai Wen's eyes gleamed. The tower had long been abandoned, its elevators useless. If the staircases inside were blocked off, leaving only the external ladders, wouldn't the high-end restaurant at the top become an impenetrable safe zone, unreachable by Zombies?
Wang Han suddenly spoke up. "Bai Wen, there's a large horde of Zombies ahead. What should we do?"
Bai Wen pulled out his binoculars and confirmed it—a massive crowd of Zombies had gathered for some reason, completely blocking the street. This path was impassable.
"What do we do? We can't get through here!" Though Wang Han sounded tense, his tone carried a hint of relief. He was still wary of Bai Wen, and rightfully so.
Bai Wen said grimly, "Let's go around."
"Fine." Wang Han and Wang Ya exchanged glances, silently agreeing on one thing—they had to find a way to shake off this guy. Given his ruthlessness, once they reached the safe point, he would undoubtedly claim it for himself. If he was in a good mood, they might survive. If not, he'd probably shoot them dead without hesitation.
But the kid was armed to the teeth with guns, and if things went wrong, they could die even faster!
A sudden idea flashed through Wang Han's mind—it seemed like a solution, but it was far too risky. If things went south, both of them could end up dead right here. Yet, bringing this kid back would be no different from courting death!
Wang Han subtly signaled Wang Ya with his eyes, but she was still clueless, unsure what her father intended to do.
Bai Wen, meanwhile, was mostly focused on the horde of Zombies in the distance, terrified of being spotted. His attention on Wang Han had naturally waned, giving the latter an opening.
Wang Han's eyes darted around, quickly searching for anything they could use. Finally, he spotted a gasoline barrel not far away, and his eyes lit up. He tugged Wang Ya along, moving stealthily forward. When they were just a meter away from the barrel, he suddenly stumbled, lunging forward and knocking the barrel over with a loud clang.
(End of Chapter)