After gliding for nearly an hour, An Nuan signaled a right turn.
Everyone tilted their bodies, reduced speed, lowered their centers of gravity, and followed An Nuan as she turned right into an old residential compound.
The compound's terrain was lower than the surroundings, and the snow had already reached two and a half stories high.
The buildings here were leaning precariously, and occasional sparse sounds could be heard.
"Look over there!"
A zombie was trapped beneath a tilted building. It saw An Nuan and her group and began to flail its claws and roar.
An Nuan stepped forward and ended it with a single slash. Disappointed to find no crystal, she sighed slightly.
"It should be around here, but I don't know the exact location."
"What can we do then? Searching building by building isn't realistic!"
Hai Changfeng recognized the area. It used to be a wholesale market for hardware, with many winding alleys and countless shortcuts. Pickpockets used to frequent the place.
This was initially a "cheng zhong cun" (urban village), which later developed into a thriving commercial area and thus wasn't demolished.
The quality of the buildings was questionable; they could collapse at any moment.
An Nuan only remembered it was somewhere nearby, but she didn't know which specific building.
"Then this is the only way."
She took a deep breath and shouted loudly.
"Chen Wenjing!"
Silence…
An Nuan's voice echoed for a while, but no one responded.
Luoluo felt uneasy.
"Could she already be dead?"
"Impossible, she must be alive. Chen Wenjing, I'm here to get you out! If you can hear me, please respond!"
Still no reply.
An Nuan glided a few steps closer. At a corner, she suddenly noticed movement beneath the snow.
Creatures capable of moving under several meters of snow were either zombies or mutated beings.
However, except for a very few species, most creatures' mobility was reduced in the snow.
This was a perfect opportunity for Luoluo and Chang Kai to practice their combat skills.
An Nuan, along with Hai Changfeng, jumped onto a leaning building, leaving the ground to the other two and the two cats.
As expected, several zombies seized the opportunity to climb up.
However, the snow was too deep, and there were no footholds, so they made clumsy, futile attempts.
Luoluo pierced their heads with vines, one after another, and unearthed two crystals. She happily showed them off to An Nuan.
"Nuan Zong, is this combat training? It feels more like whack-a-mole."
"Getting used to gore and fighting monsters is also part of training."
"You're right. I'll find a few to play whack-a-mole with later."
Hai Changfeng shivered from the cold.
His ability was only awakened and hadn't reached the first tier yet. His senses and physique were not as strong as the other three.
Hai Changfeng popped a small piece of chocolate into his mouth.
Suddenly, a voice came from above.
"Little brother, here, I'm here!"
Hai Changfeng looked up and saw a delicate young girl about two meters above him, pouting her lips at him.
"Little brother, you have food, right? I saw you have chocolate, can you share some with me?"
Hai Changfeng smiled.
"Sure."
"Little brother, you're the best! Can you throw it up to me then?"
"No problem, but you'll have to give me something in return first."
"What?"
The girl paused for a moment.
She seemed surprised that Hai Changfeng wanted to barter.
She shrugged her shoulders, "Little brother, I'm too hungry and weak, I didn't hear what you said."
"I said, give me something in exchange! My chocolate isn't free!"
"But… but I don't have anything else. How about you come to my place, and I'll give myself to you, is that okay?"
An Nuan looked up at her and couldn't help but snort.
In sub-zero temperatures of minus thirty degrees Celsius, she had opened her window and exposed her collarbone. How resistant to the cold was she?
However, the two rounded protrusions on her chest were likely more resistant to the cold than her collarbone.
But how long could they last in this weather was uncertain.
An Nuan had seen many such women.
In the apocalypse, the most worthless things were beautiful adornments.
Women who were attractive but lacked ability could only survive by attaching themselves to the strong. Whether they attached themselves to men or women, their outcomes were not good.
Yet, these types of people seemed to awaken later on.
They became the "pillow talk" of others, and many of them became high-ranking officials in organizations, causing trouble.
Women with the disposition of Daji were formidable figures in any era.
Unfortunately, An Nuan didn't like them.
Hai Changfeng was not a fool either.
The tornado had tilted the house to a 75° angle, yet she still had the time to put on a "plain water" pure and seductive makeup. She was truly idle!
This young girl clearly had a lot of schemes.
Hai Changfeng shook his head, "I don't eat people, why would I want you! Besides, you're just average-looking. I already have two stunning beauties by my side, so you wouldn't be of use to me."
"Sis, you should go inside and stay warm, be careful not to freeze your 'Tuan Tuan' to death!"
"You!"
The girl grabbed the desk lamp beside her and threw it down.
An Nuan reflexively slapped it back, almost hitting the girl.
The girl immediately began to cry pitifully.
"How can you treat me like this? We're both women, don't you understand how difficult it is for me right now? Why can't you help? Do you want to stand by and watch me die?"
"Am I your father or mother, or your lover? Do I have an obligation to save you?"
An Nuan turned and walked away. The girl let out a heart-wrenching roar, and a clump of snow fell from the roof, hitting her directly on the head.
Hai Changfeng glanced back. He saw the girl's hand dangling by the window frame, and a cleaver slipped from her grasp.
If he had succumbed to temptation and gone up just now, he would have been attacked.
This girl had managed to survive alone in the house for so long, likely by using this method.
He snorted, "Scheming bitch!"
"Stop babbling and keep looking for her."
"You're looking for Xiao Jing, right? I know where she is, but you'll have to exchange it for food."
About ten meters away, diagonally opposite on the fourth floor, a man peeked out one eye.
The window was sealed with thick cloth to block the wind.
For his own safety, he only exposed one eye.
An Nuan: "How can I trust what you say?"
"You're so powerful. If I lie to you, just kill me. Why would I lie to you?"
He had seen how efficiently Luoluo killed zombies and knew they were not ordinary people.
He didn't want to end up like the girl in the opposite building, dying without even knowing why.
An Nuan felt he was a sensible person and agreed.
With a flick of her wrist, she tossed a bag of items up.
The man instantly emerged from inside and caught the items with both hands.
Behind him, a child shouted, "Dad, be careful!"
"Shush! Don't come out. Have you forgotten what I told you? You need to protect yourself!"
The man quickly took the food inside.
An Nuan gave them a bottle of water, two packs of compressed biscuits, a pack of self-heating pot, and two chocolates.
In the current environment, these supplies were extremely precious.
However, in An Nuan's eyes, no matter how precious, they were not as important as Chen Wenjing's whereabouts.
"Chen Wenjing, alas, she's had a terrible time!"