53: Father Lei is quite sensible!

Bai Jixuan and Bai Zhan naturally had no idea that their sister was plotting such 'for their own good' matters in her heart, even calculating how to 'kidnap' people.

They only felt a chill run through them, always having a premonition of being targeted, yet unable to pinpoint what was happening.

Meanwhile, Bai Wanning was already meticulously planning her upcoming outing; with the entire city in chaos, she might actually pick up some good things.

She also needed to upgrade her system and urgently purchase those safety podss.

But no matter how she scrolled through the material exchange system now, she couldn't find any truly valuable supplies.

Not to mention the bartering level had also increased; if she couldn't find better supplies, she wouldn't even be able to buy the safety podss she had always longed for.

Not finding them was one thing, but missing out would be a colossal loss!

After all, her family couldn't breathe underwater like her!

Once something went wrong, it would truly be a case of the gains not outweighing the losses!

She planned to go out and look for supplies she could exchange! This way, the chances of obtaining safety podss might be greater.

With the entire city now submerged, Bai Wanning felt that no one would have the time to move those unlooted goods.

Therefore, she planned to visit all the antique shops, gold shops, and diamond shops during this trip.

She would buy what she could, and for what she couldn't, she would make a note of it; it would all be hers eventually.

She was pondering which shop to visit first when she suddenly heard the doorbell ring.

Bai Wanning frowned slightly, her gaze falling towards the door, a thought flashing through her mind: Could it be those people from earlier coming to cause trouble again?

However, when she went to the intercom to check, she realized she had overthought it.

After entering the password and opening the door, she saw Lei Yan standing outside, her face showing a hint of panic.

Lei Yan was clearly a little afraid of her.

"Why are you here?" Bai Wanning didn't dwell on Lei Yan's frightened expression; her tone, while not exactly warm, maintained basic politeness.

Lei Yan mustered her courage and made a request: "Miss Bai, are you going out to find supplies? If possible, could you take us with you? Our supplies are enough for now, but we're not sure how long they'll last... We want to go to the mall to look."

She paused, then added earnestly, "In exchange, you can ask for any condition."

At this moment, Lei Yan clearly understood that nothing was more precious than food.

The entire city was enveloped in a dangerous aura; she no longer harbored the illusion of "things returning to normal soon." She preferred to stock up on more resources now to prepare for the days ahead.

Bai Wanning was silent for a few seconds.

She was unwilling to take anyone who might be a burden, but seeing the earnest light in Lei Yan's eyes, like a silent, firm promise of "I won't cause you trouble," Bai Wanning's heart softened in the end.

Lei Yan was, after all, only a fifteen or sixteen-year-old child; facing such a chaotic world alone was truly too much for her.

She pondered for a moment, then told Lei Yan, "If you want to come with me, you can exchange antiques with me. As for how much they're worth and what condition they're in, you decide."

This was also a test she gave Lei Yan.

If she was smart, she would bring something good. After all, in this situation, she would still need her help in the future. If she was muddled, then she could only help her this one time.

Her request was not excessive, as she was risking her life to allow her to accompany her.

Lei Yan bit her lip lightly, nodded in agreement, and then said she needed to go back and discuss it with her parents.

After all, it wasn't her house alone, and she wasn't sure which antique to give Bai Wanning.

If she accidentally took out her brother's beloved collection, Lei Yan feared he would be so angry he'd skin her alive.

Bai Wanning nodded, simply instructing, "We're leaving tonight. If you want to come, be ready before nine o'clock."

"Okay." Lei Yan responded and immediately turned and ran back to her own apartment, worried that if someone broke in, she wouldn't have time to escape.

Back home, Lei Yan relayed Bai Wanning's words to her parents verbatim.

Mother Lei listened, her expression slightly solemn, and hesitantly asked, "This woman... she wouldn't be making up a lie to trick us out of our things, would she?"

But Father Lei was clearly much more rational. He pondered for a moment, then pursed his lips and said, "Go, get that porcelain vase your brother brought back from there."

"Husband!" Mother Lei exclaimed, clearly reluctant to part with the collectible.

"I know what you're thinking, but I'm not doing something foolish." Father Lei raised a hand to stop his wife's questioning, his tone steady and resolute, "First, thanks to Miss Bai, we were able to escape from City Y. If she hadn't told us the weaknesses of those things, we might have died on the way. Sending her an antique now is repaying a favor."

"Secondly, you can also tell that Qianer is interested in her. This woman, Qianer doesn't just like anyone. Sending her something good might make her willing to interact more with our son. We all know Qianer's personality; if he hasn't fallen in love, he would never consider marriage."

"Finally..." Father Lei's tone paused, his eyes deep, "You also saw those monsters. Even after being hit so hard their intestines spilled out, they still limped after us. That kind of thing... if there were more of them, how much longer could we last?"

As he spoke the last part, Father Lei's face also changed.

When he recalled those mutated beasts, the sickeningly cruel images were still as clear as yesterday; that was not a simple natural disaster, that was hell.

A chill ran down Father Lei's spine.

He continued, "And you also saw with your own eyes those monsters escaping from the fence. Clearly, some of those things must have infiltrated our city. Miss Bai taking Yan'er out is a huge risk, and she's right about that. Since that's the case, how can we take her request lightly?"