Apocalypse: I'm the Landlady of the Refuge

Ji Wanwan looked down at the little girl being led by the man, her expression cold as she counter-asked, "Wang Youde, how did you come to be here?"

Wang Youde was intimidated by Ji Wanwan’s demeanor, and his smiling mouth silently resumed its usual look.

He glanced at the little girl and awkwardly began, "I saw this little girl enter the alley and felt something was off. Fearing she might be in danger, I followed her."

Ji Wanwan, however, shook her head, "No, I’m asking why you are in Zone H."

The area of Central Square is Zone A, the manor’s zone is Zone B, and the area designated to Wang Youde is Zone G. All three zones have resource acquisition and office points and are quite far from Zone H. No matter how one looks at it, Wang Youde has no reason to be in Zone H.

The man’s face showed a bit of unnaturalness, "That, I..."

His unnaturalness in Ji Wanwan’s eyes inevitably became a sign of guilt.

Ji Wanwan’s gaze darkened as she took two steps forward, pressing, "What ’that’?"

Wang Youde hadn’t expected Ji Wanwan to look at him with such eyes, and he was taken aback and panicked, instinctively retreating two steps.

"Clatter..."

With his movement, a small cloth bag fell from Wang Youde’s waist.

Ji Wanwan looked down and her fingertips trembled slightly as she picked up the small bag.

Upon opening it, she found it was full of seeds.

Wang Youde looked tense as he watched the bag, his face showing a mix of grievance and anxiety, "This morning, Zhu Linlin asked me to bring a packet of seeds to this side’s farm for her dad after I finished my tasks. Everyone was at the main square earlier, and I thought I’d deliver it to her dad on the way, but suddenly there was a mix-up, and her dad ran off so fast he disappeared, so I just followed him all the way here."

Ji Wanwan: "..."

She looked at Wang Youde, half believing and half doubting his words.

She tossed the seeds back to Wang Youde’s hands, "Then let me ask you, if it was just a favor, why did you hem and haw and not speak up when I asked you earlier?"

Wang Youde’s face instantly grew hot, and he dared not meet Ji Wanwan’s eyes.

His reasons were somewhat embarrassing to voice, but fearing Ji Wanwan’s misunderstanding, he gathered his courage to murmur, "Zhu Linlin is an unmarried young lady; as an unmarried young man helping her, though it’s not a big deal, speaking it outright, I feared it might lead to misunderstandings... "

The alley was surrounded by undeveloped buildings and naturally had little foot traffic; now it was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop. Assuming Ji Wanwan wasn’t deaf, she would have undoubtedly heard everything Wang Youde said.

An eerie silence fell, and the little girl Wang Youde was leading suddenly spoke up, "Ah! I get it! Brother, you were afraid this lady would misunderstand you, so you didn’t dare say!"

Ji Wanwan: "..."

She couldn’t help but laugh.

She looked at the little girl and smiled sweetly, "Thank you, young lady. Otherwise, I’d still be in the dark!"

The little girl failed to detect the sarcasm in Ji Wanwan’s tone, but Wang Youde did, and his face turned as red as a monkey’s butt, "Please, my lady, stop teasing me."

Ji Wanwan’s lips curved in a smile that wasn’t quite a smile, tightened her grip on the small cloth bag, and then threw it back into Wang Youde’s arms.

Contrary to the stern demeanor she had towards Wang Youde, Ji Wanwan turned to look at the little girl, her voice sweetened, "Sweetheart, how did you run all the way from Zone A to here in Zone H?"

The little girl, full of innocence, replied, "Just now at the big square in Zone A, I got separated from my mom, and in desperation, I lost my way, running all the way here."

Ji Wanwan’s mouth corners twitched slightly as she nodded lightly, "I see."

Her tone remained gentle, but her eyes cooled somewhat.

Since the appearance of the body, only about fifteen minutes had passed.

Area A was tens of kilometers away from District H, and tracking her journey via Instant Teleportation had taken some time.

If Wang Youde was a superpower awakener and could run fast due to his superior physical fitness, it might be somewhat plausible for him to reach District H in just over ten minutes.

But what about this little girl?

Ji Wanwan couldn’t sense any energy emanating from her at least.

How could an ordinary person arrive here so quickly?

Ji Wanwan twiddled her fingertips, "Sweetie, what’s your name?"

The little girl answered meticulously, "My name is Li Zihan!"

Ji Wanwan continued to inquire, "Zihan, where’s your mom? What’s her name? Do you have any other family members?"

The little girl thought seriously for a moment, "My mom’s name is Gao Fei, and I also have a dad, a grandpa, a sister, and a brother at home!"

Ji Wanwan squatted down and smiled kindly, "Do you still remember the names of your family members?"

The little girl nodded, "I remember! My dad’s name is..."

After the little girl finished speaking, Ji Wanwan finally stood up and reached out to pat the girl’s head, "That’s wonderful! You remembered them all!"

Ji Wanwan stealthily took out a teddy bear from her ring, "This is your reward! Go on, take it!"

When the little girl saw the teddy bear, her eyes lit up, and she jumped up excitedly, shyly hugging the teddy bear, "Thank you, Lady Lord! Lady Lord, you are a really good person!"

Ji Wanwan’s eyes curved with her smile, "Alright, you’ve been separated from your mom for so long, she must be terribly worried. Let Brother Youde take you back."

With those words, Wang Youde took Li Zihan’s hand and prepared to leave.

Seeing that Ji Wanwan hadn’t moved, he hesitated in his steps and couldn’t help but ask, "Aren’t you coming, Lady Lord?"

Ji Wanwan shook her head, "I have some things to take care of first. You guys go ahead, I’ll follow soon."

Wang Youde nodded awkwardly, "Oh, alright then, Lady Lord, just call if you need me!"

Once Wang Youde and the child had walked away, Ji Wanwan then pulled out a walkie-talkie, "Brother Kai, help me check on these people..."

Thinking about Wang Youde’s unusually charming peach blossom eyes, Ji Wanwan’s heart suddenly skipped a beat.

She uneasily touched her chest, feeling a wave of discomfort spreading through her limbs.

Wang Youde...

Are you really called Wang Youde?

Walking into the alley and seeing Wang Youde, her first reaction was unexpectedly—

Baize, it really is you!

Because of those beautiful peach blossom eyes, she prejudged that something was wrong with Wang Youde, and without even thinking about it, she subconsciously felt that he was linked to the recent disappearances.

Yet on closer reflection, there were so many differences between Wang Youde and Baize. During this period, the man could be described as having given his best effort to the base, showing utmost diligence in investigating the missing persons; her suspicions simply didn’t hold up.

Ji Wanwan rubbed her temples and exhaled deeply.

Perhaps, she needed to step out of the shadows brought by Baize and objectively examine the reasons for Wang Youde unexpectedly showing up here.

At least, she couldn’t judge a person’s character based solely on a pair of familiar eyes...