Chapter 180: Official News

The couple put their heads together.

Long Cong'an whispered mysteriously, ""Let me tell you, Boss Gu is in love!""

Li Shihan's eyes widened. ""What?""

Now that was some big news.

She covered her mouth. ""The iron tree has finally blossomed?!""

Long Cong'an said, ""Remember how I told you before, Boss Gu has been carrying around that old, beat-up shotgun like it’s some kind of treasure?""

He paused, then lowered his voice, ""Now I suspect that gun was a gift from a woman!""

Li Shihan nodded. That theory did make sense.

Long Cong'an told her what had happened today, then added, ""I've worked for Boss Gu for years, and I've never seen him so out of sorts—he ran out in his pajamas! When he came back, he started taking his anger out on that gun.""

Li Shihan laughed. ""He’s definitely got a girl he likes.""

He was acting just like a man caught up in the highs and lows of love!

Long Cong'an nodded in agreement. ""But I think it’s just one-sided.""

Li Shihan was shocked. ""What? How is that possible?""

Gu Zhiyu was practically the perfect man—countless women threw themselves at him. How could someone like him not get the girl?

Long Cong'an scooted closer to his wife, gossiping, ""That woman can’t get over her ex, so she turned Boss Gu down!""

Li Shihan pulled out a bag of sunflower seeds, cracking them as she asked, ""Who’s this ex? Must be something special.""

Long Cong'an shook his head. ""No idea. All I know is Boss Gu was furious. I bet he’s eaten up with jealousy.""

Li Shihan pressed on, curious. ""So who is this woman?""

Long Cong'an shook his head again. ""Don’t know. I’ve been by his side all this time and never noticed anything...""

""Wait!"" Long Cong'an suddenly had a flash of insight and shot to his feet. ""I know who it is!""

Earlier, he’d just mentioned, ""A lot of people have died in the city from the plague,"" and Boss Gu had rushed out right away. That meant the woman must live in Linbei City.

And Boss Gu only started carrying that shotgun after coming back from the Mountain Base.

—Boss Gu went to the Mountain Base with Miss An Nan.

Long Cong'an recalled the time they went to Kangwang Community to pick up luggage.

Boss Gu kept hurrying him along, then said there was no rush, then told him to stop the car and pick up Miss An Nan on the way home...

Long Cong'an’s face lit up with excitement. I’ve figured it out!

Li Shihan urged, ""Come on, tell me! Who is it?""

Long Cong'an turned to her. ""Miss An Nan!""

""An Nan?""

""The one I told you about, the woman who saved my life!""

Li Shihan suddenly understood. ""The warrior who killed several boatloads of people all by herself?""

She nodded. ""No wonder she could turn Boss Gu down...""

""Exactly!"" Long Cong'an was a little excited. ""Turns out it’s my savior.""

He’d been worried his boss and his savior would end up enemies, and he’d be stuck in the middle. Now, it looked like they might become family.

Wait...

Long Cong'an frowned. ""So that means my savior can’t forget her ex, and that’s why she turned Boss Gu down?""

Li Shihan grabbed another handful of sunflower seeds. ""This gossip is wild! Tell me more, I love this stuff.""

Meanwhile, An Nan only brooded for a single afternoon before returning to her normal routine.

Every day, she kept up with disinfection, did physical training with the three kids, watched movies, and snacked—life was good.

A few more days passed, and the death toll from the plague in Linbei City kept rising.

At long last, the silent authorities released an official statement.

Ever since the apocalypse began, many people had been keeping their radios on, hoping to catch any useful news as soon as possible.

So, the moment the official announcement was made, many people heard it—including An Nan.

The first piece of news: construction of the official survival base had begun, but due to the epidemic, work would be delayed. Citizens were asked to be patient.

The second: experts had found that Banlangen (Isatis root) was highly effective against this ""influenza.""

As soon as the news broke, Banlangen instantly became the hottest commodity around.

This was exactly the news An Nan had been waiting for.

She could finally start selling the medicinal herbs she’d been stockpiling.

With official endorsement, no one could doubt her.

But she had no intention of braving the heat to sell them on the street herself. She planned to sell directly to the herbal wholesalers.

That night, as darkness fell, An Nan put on her temperature-regulating suit and mask, and left the house.

Without the windows blocking the sound, the coughing outside was even more obvious.

Everywhere, there were endless coughs and cries.

""Old man, wake up!""

""Heavens, open your eyes! Cough, cough, is there really no way out for us? Cough, cough, cough.""

An Nan ignored it all, striding purposefully out of the neighborhood.

Just then, two people supporting each other staggered in from outside the gates.

Seeing someone ahead, they rushed over.

""Cough, cough, please, kind person, help us! We don’t have a drop of water left at home!""

""Please, cough, cough, please give us a bottle of water, we’re so thirsty!""

An Nan saw the two figures coughing and spitting as they lunged at her, and immediately slipped into her spatial dimension.

The next instant, she reappeared fifty meters away, outside the neighborhood gates.

A few more quick teleports, and she was several hundred meters away.

The two people stared in shock as the figure ahead vanished into thin air.

""Just now... cough, cough, where did that person go?""

""Gone! Just disappeared!""

""It was so dark, I couldn’t even see their face, cough, and then they just vanished...""

""Did we see a ghost?""

""Are we dying? Are we hallucinating?""

The two hugged each other and sobbed.

Suddenly, one of them pointed at the ground. ""Cough, what’s that?""

The other crouched down and picked it up. ""Looks like a plant root.""

""Wait! I’ve seen this online before—I think it’s... Banlangen!""

""Cough, cough, Banlangen? Really?""

""Let’s try it. We’ve eaten plenty of tree roots before. This one isn’t even dried, there’s still moisture in it.""

They split it and started gnawing away.

Thinking of the figure who’d just vanished, they didn’t feel afraid anymore.

""That wasn’t a ghost—it was a god!""

Meanwhile, An Nan, having easily slipped away, found a deserted spot, pulled out her Knight XV, and got in.

She drove straight to the south side of the city.

After more than half an hour, she arrived at her destination.

It was an abandoned commercial street, and the most conspicuous spot was occupied by a gray van.

A loudspeaker hung from the rearview mirror, playing a recording on loop:

""Banlangen! Miracle cure Banlangen! Trade 20 jin of grain for 1 liang!""

A crowd had already gathered, all scrambling to buy medicine.

Two burly men stood by the van. One of them shouted,

""Line up! If you don’t line up, you don’t get any!"""