Supplies from the supermarket along with the collected medicines and jewelry were enough to fill the entire truck. With that, Zhou Yi cut off the remaining schedule, and they got ready to return to the shelter the next morning.
When everything was ready, Shen Yuan saw Zhou Yi coming towards him and knew what he wanted. He saved himself from the trouble and went to Bai Feng. "Hey, your car still has a spot?"
"If you don't mind sitting in the back."
"Not a problem as long as that girl is not here."
"She's in another car." Bai Feng glanced at Ming Xia who had changed her clothes to something simpler and easier to move in and looked back at Shen Yuan. "You didn't really try to kill her, did you?"
"I didn't even know her name." Shen Yuan shook his head and leaned closer to whisper, "Between me and you, that girl acted up like that because I refused to take her with me. I didn't want to embarrass her since people like them go to great lengths for their grudges, so I didn't bring it up yesterday."
Bai Feng could see that as a very likely possibility and frowned. They didn't mind helping people out—it was the main reason why they wanted to expand their shelter—but he rather not take care of unruly people.
Shen Yuan pointed at the guy getting plastered by Ming Xia. "You might want to warn your colleague not to indulge her. She's just looking for a thigh to hold onto."
"I will."
"By the way, nobody in this car is allergic to cats, right?"
"As far as I'm aware, none of us is allergic to animals." Bai Feng opened the door and adjusted the seat for Shen Yuan to enter the backseat. "Here you go."
"Thanks."
Shen Yuan let Huo Yan get in first and followed behind him. Bai Feng adjusted the seat back and directed the others to get in their respective cars as well.
Despite the spacious seat, Huo Yan settled himself on Shen Yuan's lap and loafed into a lump of fur. Shen Yuan happily fed him a piece of sausage for his breakfast when he noticed Bai Feng talking with Zhou Yi outside.
Instead of going to his motorbike, Zhou Yi handed Bai Feng the key and walked to the car while Bai Feng went to his motorbike instead.
The people in the car couldn't help but cast a speculative glance at Shen Yuan.
When Zhou Yi opened the door, Shen Yuan dared him to go to the backseat with a silent look. He stopped in his motion for a split moment and settled in the middle seat instead.
With Bai Feng leading the way, they soon set out.
The entire trip was quiet. Only the sound of someone's growling stomach—possibly out of stress more than actual hunger—ensued once and never again.
An hour into the ride, Shen Yuan looked out the window and felt familiar with the road. His fingers stopped their caress on Huo Yan's fur, making him open his eyes and look up at him in askance.
It was when the shelter came into sight did he remembered. It was none other than the school from his first session.
He shifted his eyes to Zhou Yi and met his observing gaze through the rearview mirror. In times like this, avoidance would only make him more suspicious. It was the last thing anyone should do.
Instead, confront it.
"What?" He furrowed his eyebrows. "I've stayed silent until now because I thought it was all in my head, but can you stop staring at people like that? Don't you know how uncomfortable you're making others feel? And I'm not only talking about myself."
Zhou Yi moved his sight to his subordinates and everyone quickly lowered their heads and shifted their eyes away in cold sweats.
They weren't even saying anything! Why did they get dragged into the crossfire!?
"I didn't realize. I'll pay more attention." Zhou Yi dropped his observation and fixed his eyes outside the window instead.
The others exchanged glances with their colleagues, wordlessly sharing their mutual shock. They had never seen their boss so compliant like this.
Just who was this person?
While the truck circled to the back, the front gate opened to welcome their convoy. Zhou Yi stepped out of the car and adjusted the seat to let Shen Yuan and Huo Yan out as well.
The people from their car didn't waste any second to leave them and carry on to their next task, confusing their colleagues who rode the 2 other cars. Only when they saw the 'VIP' passenger who rode with them did they understand and inwardly commended their colleagues' mental fortitude. They were wondering why Bai Feng rode the bike instead of their boss.
Zhou Yi motioned Shen Yuan to follow him and showed him inside. "Do you know this school?"
"You could say I studied here once," Shen Yuan vaguely answered. With how keen Zhou Yi was, it was best to give minimal information rather than outright lying.
"Did you move away?"
"Does it matter?"
Entering the hallway, Zhou Yi stopped and turned to face Shen Yuan. "Did you not want to come with me that badly?"
"Have I not made it clear enough or are you that dull?" Shen Yuan was unamused. "Putting the matter with you aside, I don't like living with a community and having to meet certain expectations."
"Then, don't. I won't force you to do anything."
"And what will your people here think if I do that yet shamelessly receive the same portion of supply as the rest of them? I'm not that thick-faced."
"You can stay with me in my room and have my portion. Active members receive extra supplies."
"No fucking way. This is as far as I'm willing to be associated with you. Your subordinates are already watching me with nosy eyes and I'm not going to make it worse," Shen Yuan flatly refused.
Zhou Yi raised his eyes to his subordinates who walked by the hallway in small steps, trying to eavesdrop as much as possible. They shuffled away in a panic after getting caught, and he let out a small sigh. With no internet and limited entertainment, people got bored too easily.
"I'll join you in your supply missions or whatever. In exchange, I want my own room. A small one is fine. I can't sleep with other people."
"If that's what you want, so be it." Zhou Yi continued his walk and led the way to the stairway. "There are many empty rooms on the fourth floor. You can choose whichever you like."
On their way upstairs, they passed by the residents of each floor. When Zhou Yi passed by them, the floor quieted down and everyone stopped whatever they were doing as if they were on pause.
Shen Yuan almost thought Zhou Yi and the vulture switched places.
The second floor was allocated for young and able-bodied people while the third floor was for children, elderly, and injured people. Those who required intensive treatment were placed in the infirmary though there was currently none. Excluding Zhou Yi and his group, there were 48 people under their care.
Now 49 with 1 cat.
On the other hand, the fourth floor was empty, but living spaces could be seen inside the classrooms. They belonged to the active members who were all currently working outside.
They circled the floor until Shen Yuan picked a small, empty clubroom. The books left behind were all about ghosts, supernatural studies, and questionable history of ancient civilizations. There was also a shelf set aside for stocks of candles, crystals, and unknown trinkets. It wasn't hard to tell what kind of club initially used the room.
"Did you find out about the silver thing from these piles?" He skimmed through the books.
Zhou Yi closed the door behind him. "No, one of the survivors who joined us told us. They had a decorative knife in their house made out of silver and was the only thing that worked against the damned."
"I guess my crowbar is made out of silver, then."
"Silver don't rust."
Shen Yuan took off his backpack and put it and his crowbar on the joint desks before looking back at Zhou Yi. "Don't complicate things, Zhou Yi. Take it as a slip of the tongue and get over it."
"The girl, Ming Xia. She saw how you killed one and told me about it. I managed to have her keep it to herself for now, but not if she doesn't see any kind of action taken. Worst case, she will sell you out to the government at the national shelter."
"And how will she do that? She's not going to leave this safe place just to report something." Shen Yuan sat on the table with an impatient sigh. "Just tell Ming Xia that my crowbar contains silver. She'll believe it."
"Shen Yuan—"
"If you can give me one logical reason or technical use of the information you want from me, then I'll tell you. But if it's for your own curiosity, then you're not any different than your nosy subordinates. Rather, it makes sense how they become like that."
"We can study your special ability. If everyone can kill the damned without silver, there can be an end in sight for this apocalypse."
"You're awfully sounding like the government right now."
"I didn't mean it as any kind of unethical research."
"Enough. I'm tired. I didn't get much sleep last night because of your people walking around. If you're only going to be insistent, you can go convince a brick wall." Shen Yuan waved his hand in exasperation.
"…Alright. Get proper rest. I will tell Ming Xia the crowbar does contain silver, but I hope you'll give it some consideration." Zhou Yi conceded for today. "If you need anything, I sleep in the principal office."
Shen Yuan didn't bother with any response and only motioned toward the door, resulting in another sigh as Zhou Yi left. He lowered his eyes at Huo Yan and caressed his face, receiving a nuzzle in return.
The end had always been in sight.