"You want that kind of gentle treatment too?" Hearing Jorah's "accusatory" tone, Elara turned her head and gave him an extremely "kind" smile. In a polite voice, she said, "It's not impossible. I remember there are still a few dresses in the trunk that Seraph and I haven't worn..."
Though she didn't finish her sentence, the meaning was crystal clear.
Jorah's hackles rose instantly, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. He pointed at Elara, sputtering with indignation, "You... how could you do this to me! I... I'm your landlord, for crying out loud! I'm the one who rented you your house!" He tried to use his pitiful "landlord" status to reclaim a shred of dignity.
"Ohh~" Elara deliberately drew out the sound, retorting in a light, teasing tone, "Then we should really thank our dear landlord, shouldn't we? If you hadn't so 'generously' rented the house to me, where would I have gotten the opportunity to go into that 'cocoon' in the jewelry store and rescue you?"
"You!" Jorah was rendered speechless by Elara's comeback, his face flushing red, but he couldn't find a single reason to refute it.
Zephyr, who was driving, seemed to hear the commotion in the back and glanced over via the rearview mirror.
However, before he could even say anything, Jorah, as if predicting his "bias," preemptively looked at him with an extremely wronged expression and accused, "You, you're going to take her side again, aren't you?"
Seeing Jorah's on-the-verge-of-tears, 'I've-been-wronged-by-the-world' expression, even a perennial iceberg like Zephyr was at a loss for words. His silver eyes stared impassively at Jorah for a second, and then, silently, without a word, he turned his gaze back to the road and continued to drive with focus.
"Pfft—" Seraph couldn't help but let out a smug laugh at this scene, mercilessly puncturing Zephyr's pathetic "disguise." "See? He just can't be bothered with you."
"Hmph!" Jorah, seeing this, knew he couldn't win against this "gang." He could only turn away in a huff, pick up one of the roasted wild rabbits from their previous campfire, viciously tear off a leg, and start gnawing on it as if to vent his frustration, mumbling indistinctly, "Can't win against you people..."
"Alright, alright, I'll stop teasing you," Elara said, seeing that Jorah was genuinely starting to sulk. She sat down next to him, patted his shoulder, and said in a tone tinged with sincerity, "Seriously, though, Jorah is our great hero. If you think about it, these last few critical events were all successfully resolved because of you. Whether it was that terrifying mother tree, or... me, ahem, I mean, your ability is really important."
Hearing Elara's heartfelt "praise," Jorah's expression finally improved. His bruised little heart received some comfort. However, still not entirely appeased, he gently kicked Zephyr's shin, who was sitting opposite him, and huffed, "Did you hear that? See how well Elara speaks."
Zephyr didn't even lift an eyelid, completely ignoring his provocation.
And Cassian, who had been quietly observing this "farce" from the side, finally couldn't help but let out a low chuckle. In a teasing tone, he said softly:
"That's not necessarily true. You have to consider what the relationship between you two is now."
Cassian smiled as he glanced at Zephyr. Zephyr still didn't look up.
"I agree with Elara," Cassian said, nodding without hesitation almost the instant Elara finished speaking. "It never hurts to be prepared and think ahead."
"But," Seraph raised a very practical point, "the question is, where do we go to find these… third-party camps or trading markets you're talking about? A-City is huge, and we're not familiar with it. We can't just wander around like headless chickens, can we?"
"The western suburbs," Elara answered quickly, as if she had already thought it through. She subconsciously rubbed the back of her left hand with her right, a small, unconscious gesture she made when she was thinking or nervous.
Her mind was rapidly recalling certain memory fragments from her past life.
"I used to… uh, when I was still a master's student, I went on a business trip to the western suburbs once for a project with my advisor. I remember, there was an abandoned prison there," she said, trying to make her tone sound as natural as possible. "The walls there are high, and its location is relatively remote, easy to defend and hard to attack. If it were me, and I wanted to establish a survivor camp, that would be a good choice."
She knew this lie was rather crude and far-fetched. Why would a bioengineering graduate student go on a business trip to an abandoned prison? It sounded highly suspicious.
But for now, this was the only half-true, half-false excuse she could use to explain the source of her information. She could only pray inwardly that Seraph and the others wouldn't probe too deeply into the details.
After she finished speaking, a brief silence fell over the vehicle. Elara could feel several probing gazes fall upon her.
Just as she was starting to feel a little guilty, Cassian's gentle voice broke the silence again.
"Since we have a clear target, there's no harm in checking it out," he said, not questioning the source of her intel, but simply choosing to trust and support her. "Even if there's no survivor camp there, scouting the terrain won't be a loss for us."
Cassian glanced at her, his eyes seeming to hold a hint of "I've got your back," and Elara's heart quietly relaxed.
It was strange. Although Elara now vaguely suspected that this Cassian was very likely the same powerful water-and-lightning dual-ability user who had "coincidentally" saved her a few times in her past life, she always felt there was an inexplicable, huge disconnect between their personalities and styles.
The clues were too chaotic right now, and she couldn't make sense of it all. Moreover, from the way Cassian was acting now, it seemed… he himself wasn't quite aware of the possible connection between him and his past-life "him."
Elara shook her head, temporarily pushing these distant and complex matters from her mind.
Focus on the present, she thought.
Having decided on a new temporary destination, the vehicles slowly pulled over and stopped. Cassian and Elara got out and briefly explained the decision and their reasoning to the others in the convoy.
Since the apocalypse began, everyone had been living on edge, either fighting or fleeing, their nerves constantly stretched taut.
Now, upon learning of an opportunity to go to a relatively safe "market" formed by survivors, to "stroll around," trade supplies, and gather information, not only did no one object, but they all showed great interest and approval.
After all, interacting with people and re-experiencing something akin to a "normal society" was also very helpful in alleviating the immense psychological pressure brought on by the apocalypse.
Thus, after a brief rest, the convoy started up again, changed direction, and headed towards the abandoned prison in the western suburbs, the one from Elara's memory.