Jack stood in the gas station and turned around just in time to see Bai Ru standing on the car roof firing a gun. He and Boss Hu had been fiddling around inside for a while, each carrying two full barrels of diesel to the car. After they secured the barrels on the roof, Jack jumped out of the car and said to Bai Ru, who was about to get in, "Hehe, your shooting skills are not bad! Just based on how you shot earlier, if you went to act in a movie, you'd probably charm a lot of people!"
"Do you think I should become an actor?" Bai Ru was taken aback for a moment, then tilted her head and looked at Jack with great interest, her expression appearing quite playful.
"Well, it's a pity you're not an actor with that look of yours, haha~ But even if you want to be one now, it's too late!" Jack chuckled and turned to enter the driver's seat.
"Hey! Lin, you really don't know who Bai Ru is, do you?" Just as Jack started the car, Thomas Hong came over, affectionately draping his arm over Jack's shoulder and asking in a close manner.
"Bai Ru?" Jack turned around and saw the girls behind him covering their mouths and giggling. He scratched his head in confusion and asked, "Who is she? A celebrity?"
"Even you think it's a pity she's not an actress, and you still don't know what she does?" Thomas Hong rolled his eyes at him and teased.
"She can't really be a star, can she?" Jack was genuinely surprised.
At that moment, A Xue also walked over with a smile and said to Jack, "Lin, you really don't know? We all thought you knew her. Although Sister Bai Ru is using her real name now, not the stage name she used when filming, you should recognize her with that Thomas face of hers. Think about it, who are the big stars with the surname Bai in our mainland?"
"Stars with the surname Bai?" Jack frowned in distress and foolishly said, "Bai Ling?"
"Oh my gosh! What are you talking about?" Thomas Hong looked at Jack as if he had seen an alien, his expression one of disbelief. "No wonder you didn't react when you saw her yesterday; I thought you were just pretending. Don't you usually watch movies?"
"I really don't watch much; it's probably been six or seven years since I last saw one!" Jack smiled a bit awkwardly.
"Bai Ru's stage name is Bai Ru Yu. She starred in that blockbuster 'South Africa Spy Shadow,' which was the most popular movie before the virus outbreak! Does that ring a bell?" Thomas Hong pointed at Bai Ru with a deadpan expression.
"Oh! I know that movie; it was released in North America too. The poster features her holding a GLOCK19, and I even remarked that her gun-holding posture was quite standard! But after such a long time, how could I possibly remember?" Jack shrugged helplessly, but he seriously sized up Bai Ru.
"Oh my, Lin Ye, I'm really starting to believe what A Xue said about you being a gentleman. While others look at the beautiful women on the poster, you're looking at the gun! Do you find guns more attractive than women? I really don't know what to say to you!" Thomas Hong sighed dramatically, shaking his head in disbelief.
"Hehe, I noticed the person before the gun!" Jack looked at Bai Ru and asked with a smile, "You didn't practice your gun skills while filming, did you?"
"Hmm!" Bai Ru nodded, a hint of shyness in her voice as she said, "I've starred in several films of this type, so I've had quite a bit of exposure to firearms. For the film 'South African Spy,' the crew even specially hired a military instructor to train me for half a month. I really went through a lot during that time!"
"It seems I should try to find that film to watch if possible. But now, ladies, we need to set off! Everyone, buckle up!" Jack shifted into gear, pressed the accelerator, and the car started moving again.
...
The car slowly drove along the country road. Logically, there should be fewer vehicles on rural roads compared to the national and provincial highways, but even so, Jack and the others couldn't speed up at all. Cars blocking the road, broken power poles, and collapsed bridges all hindered their progress. Sometimes they even encountered small groups of corpses, and the car had to find ways to navigate around them. They bumped along until they reached Marcus, and Jack looked at the odometer, realizing they had only covered a pitiful fifty kilometers. However, there was some good news: a girl in the car recognized a building by the roadside and told Jack that they should reach the Yangtze River in just over a hundred kilometers. Once they crossed the river, they would arrive in Jiangcheng, a bustling metropolis with a history of over a thousand years!
"Thomas Hong, how much food did you collect on the first floor this morning?" Jack slowly pulled the car up in front of a small shop by the roadside without turning off the engine and turned to ask the drowsy Thomas Hong in the back.
"Not much! Aside from some essential supplies, several sisters' backpacks are practically empty. Even if we ration our food, it's going to be tough to last four days with just over ten of us!" Thomas Hong gently shook his head, frowning as he said, "Moreover, we haven't had fresh vegetables in a long time; we've been relying on some vitamin pills we gathered, and everyone's health is really suffering!"
"Hmm!" Jack nodded, considering for a moment before saying, "Although it's six o'clock now, it won't be dark for another three hours. Thomas Hong, take them to a more open area behind here to have a look. The weather is quite dry now, and while the chances of finding vegetables are slim, there are definitely some resilient wild greens around. Try to gather a bit!"
"Okay!" Thomas Hong nodded and called the girls in the car to get ready to get out.
"Boss Hu, you and Cao Mei are responsible for their safety. If anything goes wrong, call me immediately with this!" Jack said, pulling out a black military walkie-talkie from his backpack. After adjusting the frequency, he handed it to Boss Hu and then looked at him seriously, saying, "I don't want to see that kind of behavior from you again this morning. If it happens again, I won't be polite!"
Listening to Jack's warning words full of meaning, Boss Hu awkwardly nodded and said with some embarrassment, "I was scared silly by that monster, I guarantee there won't be a next time!"
"You don't need to guarantee anything to me. I just hope you always remember one thing: in front of you are a group of unarmed women, and as a man, they are worth your protection!" Jack looked directly into Boss Hu's eyes, and only when Boss Hu nodded with shame did he take out another walkie-talkie and hang it on himself. Then he said to Bai Ru, "Bai Ru, come with me to search for food in the house. Mikael, don't slack off; keep your eyes and ears sharp!"
"Don't worry, my great master, the beauties have already promised to take turns giving me massages tonight. For my massage, I will make sure they don't lose a single hair!" Mikael lewdly raised his eyebrows at Jack, speaking with conviction, but Jack, who knew him well, understood that this guy was definitely not interested in the massage; he was just looking for an opportunity to take advantage of the women.
Jack opened the door and jumped out of the car, looking somewhat frustrated at the still blazing sun as if it were noon. He put on a pair of black sunglasses, surveyed this small place that could hardly be called a small town, and slowly walked towards the tightly closed convenience store. Peering through the sparse gap in the door, he turned on his flashlight and shone it inside, then without looking back at Bai Ru behind him, he said, "There's a living corpse inside; you'd better stay back, I'm going to kick the door down!"
"Leave that living corpse to me!" Bai Ru suddenly said very seriously from behind Jack.
"What? Not scared anymore?" Jack turned his head in surprise and asked curiously.
"I know my performance this morning was really poor. If I had just gone in with a knife, nothing would have happened!" Bai Ru slung the shotgun over her back again, pulled out a short-handled axe hanging at her waist, and looked at Jack, saying, "So I want to try again; I, Bai Ru, really don't want to just eat dry rice!"
Jack didn't say anything but nodded, slightly shifting to give some space. He kicked the wooden door hard, and the door, almost as fragile as paper, fell down with a crash. However, a tall male living corpse appeared inside. He was stunned for several seconds by the strong sunlight, but when he saw the two living people outside, he immediately roared and charged out. His initial target was Jack, but after Jack quickly stepped back a few paces, Bai Ru, gathering her courage, charged forward. The living corpse then roared and lunged at Bai Ru.
"Hey..."
Bai Ru seemed to be trying to boost her own morale; she raised the axe and shouted. This time, she no longer hesitated. The sharp short-handled axe struck directly at the living corpse's head, which was almost a head taller than her. With a "thud," it sounded like chopping a ripe watermelon. The living corpse's head was easily cleaved in half by Bai Ru. Although the axe got stuck in the corpse's head, the brain had already been destroyed, and it was clear that it could not survive. It just maintained its forward posture, rolled its eyes back, and fell straight at Bai Ru's feet as she hurriedly jumped aside.
"Not bad this time, quick with the axe and dodged beautifully!" Jack praised, giving a thumbs up and looking at Bai Ru. "Killing a living corpse isn't as scary as you might think!"
"Hmm!" Bai Ru nodded happily, gently patting her heart that was almost jumping out of her chest. She took a few steps forward, mimicking Jack's stance from the morning, and stepped on the head of the zombie with her brown hiking shoes. She forced herself to endure the nauseating sight and pulled out the axe that was stuck in the zombie's skull, bending down to wipe it on the zombie's black coat.