Chen Wan glanced at the 20 large trucks nearby and felt a bit numb.
Fortunately, this was the last time, she comforted herself.
To make things easier, Chen Wan put away the light machine gun and the rifle she had just used.
She and Qin Ke each took a handgun and a large machete before stepping out of the vehicle.
In the apocalypse, machetes proved to be surprisingly practical.
They were needed for skinning, cutting mutant beast meat, and were also great for chopping zombies.
Chen Wan thought that next time she came across a store selling knives, she must grab more, as these were consumables.
Last time, they ruined three knives just cutting mutant beef.
Putting her thoughts aside, Chen Wan climbed into the cab of a truck.
Looking inside from the outside, she saw that it was empty.
After all, the trucks were neatly parked in their designated spaces, making it unlikely that their owners were still inside.
In the apocalypse, unless it were the military, people generally wouldn't use trucks to escape due to their large size and the risk of traffic jams.
Chen Wan used the back of her machete to smash the window, reached in to open the truck door, and swept away the glass shards on the seat.
She sat down and started connecting the truck's wires.
Soon, she got the truck started, pressed the accelerator, and drove it toward the pile of small cars, stopping only when the front of the truck made contact with them.
Qin Ke succeeded as well, arriving almost simultaneously with her own truck and positioning it against the cluster of small cars.
The rest of their work proceeded smoothly, and they didn't even need to use their guns.
After forty minutes, Chen Wan and Qin Ke had successfully aligned all twenty large trucks with the small cars. With everything in place, they returned to the RV.
As soon as Chen Wan got into the RV, she gave the system a command: "System, all the materials for the upgrade are ready. Start the upgrade now."
"The system has received the command. After verification, all materials required to upgrade the RV to Level 3 have been prepared: 300 small cars, 20 heavy trucks, and 5,000 Level 1 zombie crystal cores. The upgrade will now commence and will take 15 hours. Please note that the RV cannot be moved during the upgrade; however, all internal functions will remain operational," the system's mechanical voice announced.
"What time is it now?" Chen Wan asked in her mind.
"It's four in the afternoon," the system replied.
"It's four in the afternoon now, which means the upgrade will be completed by 7 a.m. tomorrow," Chen Wan calculated in her mind.
"Yes, host," the system responded, thinking Chen Wan was talking to it.
Chen Wan nodded.
All they had to do now was wait.
The upgrade time would mostly coincide with the night, and since they wouldn't be driving at night anyway, it didn't take much time.
Chen Wan left the front windshield uncovered with steel plates to keep an eye on the surroundings, while other windows were covered, finally allowing her to relax.
Jiang Yanxin looked at Chen Wan and said, "Go get some sleep. You haven't rested all afternoon. I'll keep watch here and call you if anything happens."
Chen Wan nodded.
She hadn't slept all night and had been driving throughout the afternoon, so she was indeed tired and decided to take a nap.
Yang Yang hadn't had a chance to cling to Chen Wan all afternoon, so now she reached out her hands for a hug.
Chen Wan picked up Yang Yang, kissed her cheek, and coaxed, "I'm going to take a nap.
Do you want to sleep with Mammy for a while?" Yang Yang nodded her head and snuggled against Chen Wan."Yes!"
"Alright, let's sleep for a while," Chen Wan smiled and looked at Jiang Yanxin, "I'll take Yang Yang to sleep for a bit."
"I'll keep watch here, don't worry. Qin Ke, you should rest too.
You've been busy throughout the afternoon," Jiang Yanxin urged them to rest more.
"Alright, I'll take a nap too," Qin Ke agreed, feeling a bit sleepy after only a few hours of sleep in the morning.
She grabbed a blanket and went to the bunk bed to sleep.
Jiang Yanxin seemed to recall something and quickly said to Chen Wan, "Take out some beef—not too much. We'll have beef noodles tonight. I'll marinate the meat while you rest."
"Okay, thank you, dear," Chen Wan smiled at Jiang Yanxin.
As she spoke, a piece of beef appeared in the basin next to the cutting board.
Jiang Yanxin raised an eyebrow at Chen Wan, surprised at how obedient she was, calling her dear without being prompted.
Her lips curled slightly as she replied, "It's no trouble. You and Qin Ke have worked hard, too."
Chen Wan's gaze softened as she looked at Jiang Yanxin.
The little one in her arms, hearing Mom and Mammy talking, and hearing Auntie mentioned but not herself, quickly chimed in sweetly, "I'm tired too!"
Chen Wan was amused by Yang Yang, pinching her cheek, "Yes, our Yang Yang worked hard too, eating until her little belly was round at lunch, right?"
Yang Yang didn't quite understand the meaning of "tired," but at her age, she liked to mimic adults.
When Jiang Yanxin mentioned being tired, Yang Yang remembered it and thought Mammy really believed she was tired, not realizing Mammy was teasing her.
She quickly responded, "Yes! Very tired~."
The three adults were all amused by Yang Yang's antics, even Qin Ke, who was already lying down, opened her eyes to look at the little one.
The little one didn't know why the adults were laughing, so she laughed along with them.
"Alright, you all go rest," Jiang Yanxin said, patting Yang Yang's face and urging them to sleep.
Jiang Yanxin sat on the sofa against the bathroom side, facing the front windshield, able to see outside at any time.
Chen Wan carried the little one back to the room and placed her on the bed.
Yang Yang pulled her little pillow and blanket over to Chen Wan's side, lying down obediently and looking at Chen Wan, "I want to sleep next to Mammy."
Chen Wan tucked Yang Yang in, leaned over to kiss her face, and said with a soft laugh, "Alright, we'll sleep next to each other. Whatever my little darling says goes."
Yang Yang was even happier being called a little darling, reaching out with her chubby hands to touch Chen Wan's arm and closing her eyes.
Seeing the little one starting to get sleepy, Chen Wan turned off the bedside lamp and lay down to rest.
Jiang Yanxin, feeling bored outside, alternated between watching "Campus Scum A" and occasionally glancing out the window.
However, nothing unexpected happened, just a few zombies wandering outside from time to time.
Seeing that it was already past five, Jiang Yanxin tightened the beef, rinsed it with cold water, blanched it, and added the remaining seasonings to let it slowly braise.
Once they woke up, they would be able to cook the noodles immediately.
When Chen Wan woke up, it was already 7 PM.
The little one was nestled beside her, awakened by Chen Wan's movements.
Chen Wan turned on the bedside lamp, held Yang Yang in her arms for a bit, and Yang Yang rubbed her eyes with her chubby hands, burying her face into her Mammy's embrace to wake up.
Chen Wan put Yang Yang's shoes on, set her down, and opened the door to let her out.
Yang Yang immediately ran out excitedly, trotting over to Jiang Yanxin and cuddling up to her.
Chen Wan washed her face and came out too, seeing that it was already dark outside.
She lowered the steel plate on the front windshield, sealing the RV tightly, while letting the system monitor the surroundings.
Sitting in Jiang Yanxin's lap, Yang Yang smelled the aroma of beef from the pot and, with her chubby hands, asked Jiang Yanxin sweetly, "Mom, what's in the pot?" Jiang Yanxin chuckled,
"It's beef. How about we cook some noodles with it later?" Yang Yang nodded eagerly, her little tummy already rumbling.
After Chen Wan came out, she took enough noodles for four people and started boiling water to cook them.
Qin Ke also got up, stretching her arms as she walked to the small dining area.
Seeing Qin Ke, Yang Yang reached out her hands to her.
Jiang Yanxin laughed and handed Yang Yang over, "You really know how to spread the love, making sure Mom, Mammy, and Auntie all play with you, right?" Yang Yang nodded confidently, "Yes! Auntie hasn't played with me today."
Qin Ke bounced Yang Yang in her arms, coaxing, "How about I tell you a story later? I haven't really played with you today."
"Okay," Yang Yang nodded vigorously, snuggling up.
Chen Wan's noodles were almost done.
She divided them into four bowls, adding plenty of beef from the pot to each, and finally some braised beef broth.
Worried it might be too salty, she diluted it with noodle water, completing a delicious bowl of beef noodles.
Jiang Yanxin and Qin Ke helped bring the bowls over.
Yang Yang's eyes lit up at her special bowl, her little tummy already hungry.
Jiang Yanxin broke the noodles into smaller pieces for Yang Yang, who started eating happily.
The little one, a true carnivore, devoured a big piece of beef first, wriggling with delight.
Chen Wan teased Yang Yang, "Is it that good? Do you really love meat that much?" Yang Yang nodded vigorously, her voice sweet, "Yes! I love beef the most."
"Little glutton, eat up," Chen Wan said, happy to see Yang Yang enjoying her meal.
Qin Ke thought for a moment and asked, "When are we leaving?"
"Let's go after 7 AM tomorrow. The RV upgrade will be done by then. We'll drive through the city and see if we can reach Pingze City in a day, though without a map, we might take a detour," Chen Wan replied, eager to reach Funan City, as Jiang Yanxin's family was still unaccounted for.
"True, I don't really know my way around Yuezhou City," Qin Ke admitted.
"I'll guide us tomorrow. I've been there once and have a vague memory of the roads," Jiang Yanxin offered, her memory still sharp enough to recall the parking lot location.
"Alright, I'll keep Yang Yang company tomorrow," Qin Ke smiled.
"Okay," Jiang Yanxin nodded.
Yang Yang looked up, her bowl of noodles and beef more than half gone.
Hearing Auntie say she'd play with her tomorrow, she eagerly responded, "Auntie, play with me."
Yang Yang's cheeks were still puffed with food as she spoke, amusing the three adults to no end.