The survivors looked at each other and began murmuring among themselves after hearing Jin Xuyan's words. After a moment, one of them asked, "Comrade, can you tell us where this base is?"
Instead of answering, Jin Xuyan looked at Zhang Yuan and said, "Old Zhang, take a few members and escort these people back."
The moment he heard that, a thought flashed in Zhang Yuan's mind. He looked at his captain and asked, "Captain, are you planning to help Xun Che?"
The two had fought together through countless battles, and their tacit understanding was deep. Just one glance from Jin Xuyan was enough for Zhang Yuan to understand what he intended.
Since his captain had decided, he would support him. He nodded and said, "I will bring Shen Jinzhe, Xiao Qi, Chen Qianfeng, and Li Sikai with me."
Jin Xuyan nodded and said, "After you send the survivors back to the base, return as soon as possible. We will wait here."
"Understood."
After their brief discussion, Zhang Yuan turned to the survivors and said, "We will take you to the base. Everyone, follow me."
Then he walked to his team and said, "Jinzhe, Xiao Qi, Qianfeng, Sikai—you are with me."
Since there were quite a lot of survivors, they told them to find usable cars or buses. As not all had fuel, they siphoned gas from abandoned vehicles to fill the tanks.
Before leaving, Xiao Qi handed out food and water to the survivors and said, "When you reach the base, work hard, and you won't have to worry about going hungry."
"Thank you, Comrade," the survivors said gratefully.
Waving a hand, Xiao Qi replied, "If you want to thank someone, thank my captain. Without his orders, we wouldn't be helping you."
The survivors looked out the window and saw the young man smiling at a girl while they chatted. Witnessing how powerful the couple was, those who had previously harbored ulterior motives now quietly gave up their delusions.
After they left, Jin Xuyan looked at Boss Lin and asked, "Why didn't you and your team go with them?"
Boss Lin let out an embarrassed chuckle as he walked over. When he was a few steps away, he said, "Comrade, we came to look for supplies. We didn't want to go back empty-handed."
After pausing for a moment, he added, "If possible, can we join your team? We promise not to compete for the supplies your team finds. We will find our own. Just let us follow you."
Raising an eyebrow, Jin Xuyan said, "So what you are saying is—you want to reap the benefits while my team does all the work?"
The moment he said this, Boss Lin quickly waved his hand and explained, "Comrade, you have misunderstood us. My team and I never intended to take advantage of yours."
"Oh? Then what exactly do you want by following my team?" Jin Xuyan asked.
Scratching his head, Boss Lin replied, "Well, after we left the husbandries, we picked up several children and women along the way, and we almost used up all our supplies.
"If we can't follow your team, then… Could you sell us some of the supplies you find later? We have crystal cores, and we are willing to pay."
Hearing this, Jin Xuyan looked at Jiao Lizhi and asked, "Ah Zhi, what do you think?"
Jiao Lizhi glanced at her former captain and said, "If they want to follow us, then let them. With them around, we can relax a little."
Nodding, Jin Xuyan turned back to Boss Lin and said, "Since my girlfriend said so, you and your team can follow us. You can take the supplies you find, but we want all the seeds."
Boss Lin and his members were delighted by this. They quickly nodded and said, "No problem at all!"
Right now, their priority was food and water. As for the seeds, they had no land to grow anything, so they were useless to them. It was better to trade them for something they needed.
After resting for a while, Jin Xuyan's team headed toward the east area.
As she walked past Boss Lin and his team, Jiao Lizhi handed each of them a bottle of water and a pack of compressed biscuits from her backpack. "Eat something to regain your energy," she said.
Then she quickened her steps to catch up with her boyfriend. Without the survivors screaming or shouting, the zombies were more scattered, making it easier to clear them out.
In less than half an hour, they had already eliminated all the zombies with their airguns and began checking the stores.
Seeing Boss Lin's team still standing there unmoving, Jin Xuyan said, "Go check the stores and take what you need. The rest will go to my team."
"Comrade, how much can we take?" Boss Lin asked.
"Take as much as you can," Jin Xuyan replied casually.
The moment Boss Lin and his team heard this, their eyes lit up, and their impression of the Phantom team improved greatly.
They had thought the team was a cold-blooded and profit-driven team, but unexpectedly, they turned out to be strong, generous, and kind.
Unaware they had just received the 'good person' card from Boss Lin and his team members, Xiao Qi and Jiao Lizhi were busy collecting everything in the market.
It took five hours to clear all the zombies in the area and gather supplies. When they returned to the south entrance, Boss Lin asked, "Comrade, are you heading back to the base now?"
Jiao Lizhi shook her head and replied, "We won't go back for now. We still want to visit the commercial district."
Boss Lin looked disappointed but said, "Then we won't bother you any longer. My team will head to the base your boyfriend mentioned. If fate allows, we will meet again."
Jiao Lizhi nodded and replied with a smile, "Captain Lin, have a safe journey."
When Boss Lin heard her calling him Captain, he was stunned for a moment before he replied with a chuckle, "Thank you."