The place Ada was going wasn't far; it was on the same street. They didn't walk long before they arrived at a two-bedroom, one-living-room rental apartment.
Just as in the original plot, she had arrived in Raccoon City much earlier. Shen Ye even saw her change of clothes on the balcony.
"Would you like to sit down? Or perhaps I could give you a tour?" Seeing Shen Ye curiously surveying the room, Ada politely extended an invitation.
"No, thank you, just looking around," Shen Ye waved his hand to decline, then watched as Ada dragged a large box out from under the bed in the bedroom.
Shen Ye leaned closer and saw that the box contained a small backpack and a fanny pack, along with a good amount of weapons, ammunition, and communication equipment, including a small radio.
If it had been anyone else, they would have surely shown surprise, or even asked questions, but Shen Ye didn't, which wasted the lie Ada had spent some time fabricating.
After putting on both the backpack and the fanny pack, Ada tossed Shen Ye a small walkie-talkie with an earpiece attached.
"Channel one," Ada pointed to the walkie-talkie.
Shen Ye nodded, adjusted the communication channel, and then turned it on to test it, finding that both the transmitting and receiving functions were normal.
His professional demeanor greatly pleased Ada, and her evaluation of him increased.
"He's definitely not just a grunt who's only received military training; he should be a professional soldier, or at least he used to be," Ada thought to herself.
Tactical skills can be mastered and habitualized through daily training, but certain details require a wealth of experience to manifest.
Evidently, Shen Ye was such a person.
Of course, if it had been Shen Ye from two months ago when he first arrived, he certainly wouldn't have been so meticulous, but after the Mansion Incident, he spent a lot of time on rehabilitative training. Although he couldn't compare to his past self, he wasn't far off.
After putting away the communicator, Shen Ye saw Ada tidying up, so he turned on the radio in the room and leaned against the wall to listen, but the radio was still repeatedly broadcasting the mayor's speech from a few days ago. He impatiently turned off the radio and silently watched Ada.
After spending more than ten minutes tidying everything up, Ada saw Shen Ye staring at her blankly. She thought for a moment and asked, "Are you sure you don't want something to drink? Although there's no coffee, I can boil some hot water. I know you guys have that habit."
Shen Ye shook his head.
So Ada didn't insist and turned to leave the room.
...
On the street, the two walked towards the Raccoon City Police Station.
Shen Ye had originally planned to get a car, but their luck was really bad. They searched for more than a dozen cars in a row, and not a single one was usable.
Although they finally found a classic American pickup truck that was still operational in front of a store, they gave up after driving a short distance due to traffic jams.
There was no other way; they could only choose to continue on foot.
Although Raccoon City was a small city with a population of only over a hundred thousand, its area was not small. Coupled with occasional harassment from zombies and other infected, their walking speed was very slow.
They walked until noon, only covering a little less than half of the urban area, not even reaching the edge of the uptown district.
Shen Ye had good reason to suspect that they wouldn't reach the Raccoon City Police Station before dark.
"Do we still need to keep walking?" Ada asked Shen Ye inside a small, ordinary accessories shop.
Glancing at the gloomy sky outside, Shen Ye sighed, "It's going to rain. Let's rest for a while, eat something, and replenish our energy."
Ada nodded; Shen Ye's answer was within her expectations. She also didn't want to rush through the rain.
Besides her clothes getting wet, which would make her very uncomfortable, getting wet in the rain would also lead to body heat loss and accelerate physical exhaustion, among other negative effects.
Taking some food out of her bag, Ada tossed Shen Ye a can of beef.
Shen Ye glanced at it, then tossed it back, saying, "Something fresh."
Ada held up a bag of Italian pasta in her hand and asked in confusion, "Then eat this?"
Shen Ye nodded. He had been eating canned food every day for the past few days and was already tired of it; he just wanted a change of taste.
"I thought you men preferred meat," Ada shook her head in incomprehension, tossing the bagged Italian pasta over.
Shen Ye opened the bag and looked at it; it didn't look very appetizing, but after tasting a bite, he felt it was alright and said contentedly, "If you continuously eat beef cans and bread for more than ten days, you'll definitely be just like me."
"Then why don't you process it or buy some vegetables and cook it yourself?" Ada was a bit puzzled, "I remember men from Z Country all know how to cook."
"That's a stereotype," Shen Ye said discontentedly, though he indeed could cook.
Ada suddenly laughed, "A fragile excuse. You're probably too lazy to cook; that's a common problem for single men."
Hearing this, Shen Ye's movements stiffened for a moment, but he quickly recovered, then began to eat heartily, no longer speaking.
Seeing him like this, a trace of a smile flashed in Ada's eyes, and she also quietly ate her canned food, though her eating was very refined, unlike Shen Ye, who swallowed the pasta in the bag in a few bites.
After finishing his portion of food, Shen Ye felt a bit regretful. Although he didn't think his previous performance had left a good impression on Ada, it would definitely make Ada think he had never eaten good food now.
Of course, a more important point was that the amount of pasta was really a bit small, and he wasn't full.
"Want some more?" Ada held up her half-eaten can.
"Uh... no need." Although this was a benefit, Shen Ye felt too embarrassed to accept.
However, Ada still handed him the remaining canned food.
"Don't be polite... I'm already full," she said.
Since Ada said so, Shen Ye didn't feel it right to refuse anymore. He took the can and began to eat, muttering indistinctly, "My place actually has a lot of food, but to carry more weapons, I didn't take any. Raccoon City has stores everywhere, so there's no need to worry about food."
This wasn't to cover up; it was indeed true. He just hadn't expected it to suddenly rain, leaving him no time to get food.
So, after listening, Ada showed an understanding expression. She had seen Shen Ye's gun bag, which was full of an astonishing amount of weapons and ammunition.
After finishing that half can of food, Shen Ye finally felt full. After letting out a satisfied breath, with Ada's permission, he lit a cigarette and watched the rain outside while smoking.
The rain was heavier now, and it looked like it would last for at least several more hours.
He was a bit worried about Jill's side.
Although he knew Jill was unlikely to be in trouble, thinking of the Wolf Pack Squad he encountered that morning, he lost his confidence.
"The plot is getting more and more chaotic now. Even the Wolf Team from the side story has appeared. Does that mean the new and old plots will happen simultaneously?" Shen Ye couldn't help but wonder.
He looked up at Ada; the woman was closing her eyes, taking a short nap. Seemingly sensing Shen Ye's gaze, she opened her eyes, looked at Shen Ye, and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing!" Shen Ye shook his head, "You continue to rest!"