Arc 1: Mira in a Doomsday World [9]

The warehouse was only a few blocks away from the mall. In less than five minutes, the team all got off from their respective vehicles. Xu walked forward, holding Mira's hand.

The main gate was already open, but there was still a thick metal gate inside that led to the actual storage area. There were light dents on the gate, hinting at their group's previous efforts in opening it using force.

Xu knocked on the closed gate, "As planned, let's first find a way to open the gate. Bombing would be the last resort. We can't afford to attract too many zombies nearby."

Under the leadership of Xu, the members scattered to find some clues on how to open the thick metal door.

This door had an ID system that had to be powered by electricity to work. Although there was no ready-made power generator nearby, Wei Lin had a portable space, making her confident in being able to make some contributions. It was still possible to generate electricity by using their existing cars as generators. The only remaining problem was finding an ID that would grant them entrance access.

However, just as she was about to call the surrounding people and tell them her ideas, a loud rumble caught everyone's attention.

The metal gate that was previously closed tightly was opening little by little. The metal made a crackling noise as it inched upwards.

Everybody walked towards the entrance with a surprised expression.

"How did it open?" It was Jia who asked.

Xu moved aside to let the people see Mira, who was squatting on the ground with an innocent look. Xu gestured to Mira with a helpless smile, "She just pressed a button and the door suddenly opened."

"Button?" Jia raised her brows in surprise, "What button?"

Mira blinked and pointed to the small area near the door, "That button. It was being covered by a metal piece before, so it blended with the entire wall. I only noticed it when I squatted down to rest my legs. I removed the metal cover and saw that there was a button, so I just pushed it."

Lies. She just used her soul power to probe around, but of course, Mira wouldn't say that.

"It might be the hidden emergency button that opens the gate manually, just in case the identification scanning doesn't work. Wow, you really are lucky," Jin commented in amazement.

Others also didn't hesitate to express their appreciation for Mira.

Mira only smiled shyly, "I'm glad I could help..."

Xu was also surprised by how Mira was able to open the warehouse's gate in such a short time. Seeing Mira being praised by everyone, for some reason, he couldn't help but feel proud.

He smiled softly and extended his hands to help Mira up.

"Okay, this time, we have to thank Mira for making things easier. Let's go and check what's inside. Jake, you go and guard the entrance with Jin."

As they entered the large dark room, Sakura couldn't help but frown and mutter, "Even if she wasn't here, we can still open the door."

Her mumbling didn't go unnoticed by Xu. His footsteps paused, and he turned around, his gaze directly locking onto Sakura's figure.

"Even if you don't like Mira, you can't deny her contributions to the group. Don't let me hear such things next time."

Sakura's face heated up in embarrassment. This time, nobody sided with her.

Even Wei Lin, although upset that her limelight has been robbed by Mira, felt that Sakura's comment was simply stupid.

While also confident that without Mira, they would still be able to open the gate, Wei Lin knew fairly well that it would take them a long time to do so. Generating power was still easy, but they weren't even sure whether they could find an ID that would be accepted by the sensor.

Likewise, everyone else was aware that if not for Mira, just opening the gate might take them hours. During these hours, there's a high chance that they could attract several zombies around the area, or worse, be ambushed by high-level zombies again.

Previously, many of them were injured in this very area, just because it took them a long time to figure out the warehouse's mechanism.

Although their energies have recovered, it was always better to be on the safe side.

Sakura wanted to retort, but Alex pulled her back and prevented her from speaking.

"Sorry, Captain. Sakura didn't mean it."

Xu glanced at him lightly, "It's not you who should be apologizing, and it's not me who you should be apologizing to."

Alex pursed his lips and gave Sakura a persuasive glance.

Sakura felt extremely reluctant, however, she also knew that if she were to continue finding faults with Mira, their Captain might really get mad.

She could only apologize unwillingly, "I'm sorry..."

"It's okay, I accept your apology," Mira responded lightheartedly, erasing the previous tension, but this only made Sakura feel even more humiliated.

The group warily entered the warehouse. Although it was bright outside, the warehouse was too big, and the outer entrance was not large nor close enough for any sunlight to enter the inner room. Most of them were able to vaguely see the outlines of their surroundings due to their enhanced senses, but the team still had to use flashlights to illuminate the room.

Xu held Mira's hand tightly, keeping alert for any possible attacks.

"Don't be nervous," a soft whisper brushed against his ear, making him almost jump in surprise.

Mira giggled lightly and continued to whisper, "I already checked, there are no zombies around."

Xu slightly relaxed after hearing Mira's reassurance. Even if Mira's personality was a bit unpredictable, he already subconsciously trusted Mira's strength.

But even so, Mira's close proximity still made his muscles taut. There was little light inside, and the team kept a certain distance from each other, but Mira was extremely close to Xu, to the point where her scent seemed to surround him completely. It gave Xu the illusion that it was only him and Mira amidst this darkness.

In Xu's ears, his own rapid breathing and fast-paced heartbeat sounded incredibly vivid.

Thud-thud. Thud-thud. Thud-thud.

He looked down at his and Mira's entwined hands, suddenly feeling a bit of sweetness.

Mira also felt Xu's change of mood, but she only raised her brows and continued to walk forward. Unknowingly, they had strayed far from the others. Mira pulled Xu towards a row of tall shelves, stopped, and pointed the flashlight she was holding at the plastic packages.

"These are the seeds you're looking for."

Xu walked forward and picked up a bag of the said seeds. Mira helped him see better using the flashlight in her hand.

Seeing that there wasn't any damage, Xu sighed in relief.

He raised his head, planning to call the others, but didn't expect Mira to cover his mouth before he even managed to get a word out. He looked at Mira in confusion.

"Hubby, I found it for you~ How are you going to thank me?" Mira asked coquettishly.

Xu's face warmed up. Mira removed her hands from his mouth, circling her arms around his neck instead.

"I—" Xu stammered, "I... don't know..."

Mira smiled, "Okay then... I'll decide for you," she hummed happily, "How about... a kiss?"

"Wh-what?" Xu's eyes widened.

"Just a kiss on the mouth. Haven't you kissed anyone before?"

Xu turned his head. His voice lowered down to a whisper as he admitted, "I really haven't..."

'Have you?'—he wanted to ask. However, he quickly realized that with Mira's confidence and her obviously experienced demeanor, how could she have not even kissed someone before? This thought inexplicably made his mood turn sour.

"Oh? Really?" Mira blinked and feigned surprise, then took a step back, "Don't worry, I was just kidding. I won't force you."

Xu's hand suddenly felt empty, and his chest tightened uncontrollably.

"You go call the others to take away these seeds."

In front of him, Mira was picking up a few seed packages from the shelf, humming casually, as if her previous actions were not at all a big deal.

Xu suddenly felt aggrieved. Mira could easily render him powerless and unmoving or turn him into an unrecognizable stuttering mess, but whatever the situation was, she would always look so unaffected. It gave him the illusion that to her, he didn't matter at all.

Xu clenched his fists. He felt angry, but powerless at the same time. He couldn't help but start to question himself. Was it just because he was unwilling to be treated so casually by Mira that he felt this way, or was it because he had feelings for her?

The pain in his heart gave him the answer.

'Remember, you're dispensable to me...' Xu suddenly remembered her previous words.

He smiled bitterly. That's right, for Mira, he was just a dispensable existence.

°°°

It took a while for the group to pick out the most necessary items and load them onto their vehicles. The remaining ones were of course taken by Wei Lin and stored in her own portable space, but because the team brought five vans and an entire truck, only a third of these items remained. Nonetheless, it was still quite a lot.

The goods in Wei Lin's space will not be handed out to the base. They were already considered the private stock of Xu's group, once again emphasizing Wei Lin's importance to the team.

After this harvest, the group decided to set off while it was still early. There were too many zombies in the city. Even if they managed to stay safe for the past few days, it was still possible for stronger zombies to enter the area, after all, they already killed the three level 5 zombies that once occupied the city. Much like humans, zombies have etched hierarchy into their bones. Each fallen city would have a so-called 'zombie lord', and high-level zombies would fight to be this lord. It was only a matter of time before another bunch of high-level zombies occupy this city.

Ling Yu and Tang Kun sprayed a mysterious liquid formula over the vehicles.

Mira, who watched this alongside Xu, tilted her head to ask, "What are they spraying?"

"It's an agent that covers humans' presence from zombies," Xu explained, "Actually, its formula is mainly derived from zombies themselves. It covers up our tracks by disguising us as 'one of them'."

Mira's mouth formed a small 'o', "So that's why there weren't many zombies around the mall..."

Xu hummed in agreement.

"But since you have this thing, how come you still got caught in a fight in this warehouse?" Mira asked, puzzled.

Xu pursed his lips, "This only works for zombies with certain strengths. For level 5 zombies, it's completely ineffective."

Mira frowned. In this world, it seemed that zombies had much more advantages compared to humans. While humans have stagnated at the level of strength that they suddenly obtained, zombies were constantly improving at a rapid pace. If this goes on, sooner or later, humans will be completely crushed.

However, this had nothing to do with Mira. As long as she doesn't get affected by these matters, she will not interfere.

"Captain," Jake walked towards Xu with a worried expression, "The mountain road that we were supposed to pass through... it's part of a mountain village's territory. They usually ask for toll fees before letting people pass."

Xu frowned, "How much?"

"They don't require food... They want gold and jewelry," Jake glanced at Mira and hesitated, "...and... they also want women."

Xu's expression turned frosty upon hearing this. His grip on Mira's hand tightened.

"Where did you get this news from?"

Jake pursed his lips, "We passed through that area to get to the capital before. Our group didn't have any women, and they outnumbered us. They didn't lack any guns and weapons either, so we couldn't just confront them. In the end, we managed to negotiate with them and had to pay thrice the amount they initially asked for."

Xu's brows furrowed, "If that's the case, let's take another route."

"But... the only other options are either through the main road or through a detour towards E City. It's too risky. There was previously a zombie tide headed towards B City, which is very close to E City, and the main road is being guarded by high-level zombies. If it was before, we could still consider this option, but now..." Jake's voice lowered, "Jin was severely injured. He told everybody to hide it from you, but he currently isn't in the state to fight."

"What? How bad is his injury?" Xu asked worriedly.

Jake shook his head, "His left shoulder was pierced by a large metal pole. It's still healing, so he can only hold lighter objects with his left arm," Jake paused, "Also, Lian Hui suffered from internal injuries. Jia already performed a simple surgery on him, but he still needs to recuperate well. The others are fine, although, with our team's current state, if we encounter another group of level 5 zombies, we probably won't be able to survive."

"So, you think that sacrificing our female members would be a better choice?" Xu pressed his lips together, obviously disapproving.

"That's not what I meant," Jake sighed, "I told you this so that we could brainstorm and find a solution. Even if we pass through that mountain road, we don't necessarily have to give them what they want. As long as we have enough gold and jewelry, they might let us pass. Of course, we also have to hide our female members."

Xu shook his head, "If things are as you say, they would definitely inspect us carefully. We can't pass through that road."

"Then..."

"Gather everyone. Let's hold a quick meeting before we leave."

×××

Xu: Master, have you ever kissed anyone?

Mira: Why do you ask?

Xu: Just curious...

Mira: (  ˘ ³˘)  ~~ There, I just kissed someone~

Xu: ⸝⸝𖦹‎ࡇ𖦹‎‎⸝⸝