It was indeed Li Xinhu and his group.
Their team looked like they had just finished a fight; they were all covered in dust and dirt, and their clothes were nearly ripped to shreds.
Li Xinhu stood in the middle of the road, waving vigorously at them, signaling for them to stop.
"It's Li Xinhu's group, should we help them?" Xiao Han looked up and asked.
Lu Shiyan was in the back seat with his eyes closed, not saying a word, his head gently tilted, resting on Su Wan's shoulder.
Su Wan's gaze swept over Li Xinhu's team.
She first saw Hong Jie among the crowd, and her brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.
Then, she quickly searched for another small, thin figure in the crowd but couldn't find him.
"Where's A Hao?"
Her heart sank, and a bad premonition arose.
"Stop the car," Su Wan said calmly.
A Mo nodded without a word and pulled the car to a steady stop by the roadside.
As the car window rolled down, a mix of dust and a gentle breeze drifted in.
Li Xinhu ran over in quick strides, his fatigue and dried blood clearly visible on his face.
Only Hong Jie and the tall man followed him; the number of people in his team was clearly much smaller.
"Why are you here?" Xiao Han poked his head out, his gaze sweeping back and forth over the three of them. "Where are the others?"
Li Xinhu's face instantly fell, and a trace of unbearable pain flashed in his eyes: "On our way to the Central Base, we encountered a zombie horde... We... couldn't all make it."
Su Wan couldn't help but ask directly, "Where's A Hao?"
Hong Jie stood behind Li Xinhu, her clothes covered in dark brown bloodstains.
As soon as Su Wan mentioned A Hao, Hong Jie's gaze clearly darted away in panic, and her lips subconsciously pressed together tightly.
Su Wan saw this subtle panic clearly.
"A Hao... I failed to protect him..." Li Xinhu's voice was a little hoarse. He hesitated for a moment before speaking: "Are you also going to the Central Base? Can you... give us a ride?"
No one in the car spoke for a moment.
Su Wan glanced at Lu Shiyan's pale face, then at Li Xinhu's expectant gaze, feeling inexplicably annoyed.
In the past, she might have softened and even spoken up to help.
But now... times had changed.
"No," she refused first.
Li Xinhu was clearly stunned: "Miss Su, I know there was a misunderstanding before, but we're really at our wit's end..."
"Misunderstanding?" Su Wan scoffed, "Li Xinhu, first of all, why should we take you when we're just passing acquaintances? And besides, you're harboring an ungrateful viper by your side. Isn't it enough that she killed A Hao and his wife? Does she want to harm us too?"
Her gaze, like a nail, was fixed on Hong Jie.
Hong Jie suddenly raised her head, her eyes seemingly spitting fire: "Who are you calling a viper? You stinking bitch! What are you? How dare you speak to me like that!"
"Shut up!" Li Xinhu roared, but it was already too late.
Su Wan's expression turned cold, and she pushed open the car door and stepped out.
She slowly walked up to Hong Jie, looking down at her slightly: "It seems you haven't learned any lessons."
Hong Jie was startled by her demeanor and instinctively recoiled half a step, but she still refused to back down: "You... what do you want to do? Don't think you're so great just because you have a broken car and a few broken guns! A Hao is dead! And his wife is dead! What does that have to do with me?! Li Xinhu, open your dog eyes and look! This is the person you're bowing and scraping to, she doesn't even treat us like people!"
"It has nothing to do with you?" Su Wan retorted lightly, a cold curve on her lips, "You really can say that."
Hong Jie stiffened her neck: "In the apocalypse, those with ability live, and those without ability die! You cold-blooded bitch! Aren't you just relying on your face to serve these big bosses in the car? You have a car, guns, and food, so you look down on us who are suffering, right? Li Xinhu, look! This is the person you want to curry favor with!"
Li Xinhu's face had already turned extremely grim.
But before he could speak, Su Wan had already made her move.
She grabbed Hong Jie's hair and pulled it down hard.
Hong Jie shrieked, her whole body forced to bend over.
Su Wan's knee mercilessly struck her stomach.
"Ugh!" Hong Jie groaned in pain, her legs gave out, and she directly knelt on the ground.
"I told you, mind your mouth," Su Wan released her hair, her voice icy cold.
Hong Jie clutched her stomach, her face pale, but she still raised her head unwillingly, glaring fiercely at Su Wan: "You... you dare to hit me? Li Xinhu! Are you just going to watch? Have you forgotten how my man died? You promised to take care of me!"
Li Xinhu stood still, his expression complex. He opened his mouth but couldn't utter a single word.
"Take care of you?" Su Wan scoffed, "Li Xinhu, you're truly blind. She used your guilt to stir up trouble everywhere, causing how many people to die? A Hao is dead, and his wife is dead. Now you only have these two people left in your team, and you still can't see clearly?"
Li Xinhu looked at Hong Jie beside him. His brother, A Qiang, who died to save him, was a hurdle he couldn't overcome in his heart.
This heavy guilt made him almost always grant Hong Jie's requests.
"I..." Just as he was about to speak, Hong Jie suddenly struggled to her feet from the ground, her eyes almost insane.
She quickly pulled a hidden small knife from her boot and thrust it directly at Su Wan!
"Watch out!" Xiao Han yelled from the car.
Su Wan seemed to have eyes in the back of her head; she dodged by simply shifting her body.
At the same time, she grabbed Hong Jie's knife-wielding wrist and twisted it hard!
"Crack!"
A crisp sound of bone breaking, accompanied by Hong Jie's shrill scream.
The small knife clattered to the ground.
Her wrist was twisted at an unnatural angle.
"Do you really think I'm made of mud?" Su Wan flung her hand away, watching coldly as she writhed on the ground in pain. "Li Xinhu, now, do you see clearly? This is the person you've been protecting all along."
Li Xinhu's face was ashen, and the last bit of hesitation in his eyes vanished completely.
He walked up to Hong Jie and looked down at her: "Sister-in-law, I'm sorry... I can't go on like this anymore."
Hong Jie looked up, her eyes full of disbelief: "You... you're going to abandon me? You promised my man!"
"I did promise to take care of you, but not to let you use his name to harm people everywhere."
Li Xinhu's voice was low and deep, yet it carried an undeniable firmness, "A Hao, his wife, and the others in the team... I am responsible for their deaths, but you are not blameless either!"
Hong Jie's face twisted: "You're ungrateful! My man died for you!"
"Precisely because he died for me, I cannot let you continue down the wrong path," Li Xinhu took a deep breath. "From today on, we go our separate ways, each on our own path."
Hong Jie was completely stunned, then burst into a sharp, piercing laugh: "Good! Good! Li Xinhu, you will regret this! All of you, you'll all fucking regret this!"