Xie Ning froze for a moment, her mind wandering.

’She doesn’t seem used to being cared for like this. Maybe it’s because she’s always seen herself as the one protecting her family?’

Something stirred in Gu Chen’s mind.

Seeing she was somewhat flustered, he quickly said, "Let’s go inside and take a look."

Song You’ai suddenly grumbled, "Looks like I’ll need to wear a hazmat suit or something to kill zombies from now on!"

"Otherwise, with all this disgusting blood and corpse goo spraying everywhere, it’s enough to make me puke up last night’s dinner!"

Gu Chen couldn’t help but chuckle. "Ma’am, may I see the knife you’re holding?"

"Here!" Song You’ai handed over her prized possession without a second thought.

"It’s because you have a good knife." Gu Chen flicked the blade with his finger. It let out a clear, metallic hum as an arc of Gold Element energy invisibly rippled through the air.

’What a fine blade!’ Gu Chen’s eyes lit up.

Captain Gu’s men were a sharp bunch. Without even needing an order, they entered the shop and performed a routine security sweep, deftly eliminating the two or three zombies huddled in a corner.

Only then did they return and nod to their captain.

This shop had a three-bay storefront, making it much larger than the others they had entered.

When the apocalypse began, the staff must have seen some of the customers turning. They had rushed outside and lowered the electric rolling shutter.

As a result, the store hadn’t been looted. Inside, rows of down jackets, duck-down vests, and other goods were still hanging neatly on their racks.

Xie Ning waved at Gu Chen. "Fifty-fifty."

She then turned to Ji Taixian, urging, "Grab some of those autumn-style trousers and jackets over there. Leave the rest for your brother."

The shop was exclusively for men’s clothing. Xie Ning put a hand to her forehead in dismay.

’Men’s clothes it is, then. When the temperature drops, who cares if it’s for men or women? A thick padded coat will keep anyone warm.’

Ji Taixian responded and hurried off to grab the merchandise. His brother, however, was stunned. He followed him with a curious look on his face. "Tai Xian! Hey, Tai Xian, you awakened a Space Ability?"

"Heh, Bro, didn’t you know? I awakened it a while ago! Pretty amazing, right?"

"What are you doing? Why are you taking your pants off just to store something? Have you no shame? Why are you shaking like that?!"

’No wonder the young lady disappeared so quickly earlier. She must have known about this moron Tai Xian’s ridiculous method for storing things...’

Ji Taixian was mortified, especially when he saw his brother’s men gathering around to gawk at him like he was a gorilla at the zoo. That just made it worse.

Xie Ning stepped into the back storeroom. The moment she turned, a Metal Spike pierced the shoulder of a zombie that was lunging at her.

The zombified store clerk was impaled by the Metal Spike and pinned to a wooden crate behind it, thrashing and roaring desperately.

Hearing the noise, Gu Chen rushed over and put a bullet in it. "Are you all right?"

Xie Ning shook her head slightly in the dim yellow light, her gaze landing on the man’s classically perfect face.

’A guy with looks like that must face a lot of danger in his daily life.’

Gu Chen didn’t notice the hint of pity in her gaze.

He glanced around the cramped, narrow storeroom. "It’s all clear. I’ll head out. Take your time."

Xie Ning nodded, making a show of taking the backpack off her shoulders.

Once Gu Chen was gone, she looked over the goods in the small storeroom and moved several boxes of thick down jackets into the living room of her grand villa.

She looked around again and tossed in some of the autumn-style jackets as well.

Unfortunately, the store specialized in menswear...

Xie Ning walked out of the storeroom and shot Song You’ai a meaningful look.

Her mother understood at once. She grabbed hold of Ji Taixian, who was drenched in sweat despite only wearing shorts and a tank top. "Tai Xian, stop bustling about. This should be enough."