TSIAGBICATMWI Chapter 62

Chapter 62: Preparing to Enter the City

Chapter 62: Preparing to Enter the City

At four or five in the morning, Lin Yi was woken up by Liu Ping. They had arrived here at dusk, but Xu Yuzhe didn’t let them go in directly. Instead, they were told to rest in place and recover their strength.

Aside from the mouthful of porridge in the morning, Lin Yi hadn’t eaten anything all day. Except for Xu Yuzhe, everyone else looked gaunt and malnourished.

This wasn’t resting in place, it was practically starving to death in place!

Xu Yuzhe sat on the hillside, using binoculars to observe the situation in the city while chewing on a packet of dry biscuits.

Seeing this, Lin Yi wanted to ask for some food. He was an ability user, and he could definitely repay him after returning.

He had only half risen when Liu Ping beside him pulled him back down. Liu Ping shook his head at him. “I know what you want to do. Don’t go.”

Lin Yi was somewhat embarrassed, his tone harsh as he said, “I’m not like you guys. If I ask for it, I can definitely pay it back.”

Liu Ping didn’t mind his bad tone or the unfriendly words. He said, “Don’t do things that make yourself look bad and embarrass others. Captain Xu has a good temper and is a good person, but he’s not the type to be overly kind.”

Liu Ping released his hand. “I’m just giving you a friendly reminder.” He had said all he needed to, whether Lin Yi listened was up to him.

Lin Yi saw that even though the others had longing in their eyes, they only glanced at Xu Yuzhe enviously before quickly looking away. It seemed they all knew Xu Yuzhe’s temperament.

Unable to save face, he stood up and walked to an empty patch of grass, wrapped his clothes tightly around himself, and lay down. He had been starving stupid. In the apocalypse, who still cared about things like not eating alone? It was already a blessing to be able to feed yourself.

Perhaps he had become numb from hunger, as his stomach stopped rumbling. He drifted off to sleep, unaware of anything, until Liu Ping woke him up and told him to pack up and get ready to leave.

He had really been starving stupid. How could he have relaxed and fallen asleep in this environment? He wouldn’t even know how he died.

Everyone carried their meager equipment and set off towards the city. At this moment, fear and panic were no longer visible on their faces. Instead, they had a desperate, do-or-die courage.

There was a grain depot in the city that had been discovered by other teams before. It still contained a lot of intact rice and grains. However, their manpower was limited, and they had to avoid the zombies. Many times, they were confronted head-on and had to fight, suffering heavy losses and not being able to transport much food out.

There were too many zombies in the city, so they absolutely couldn’t make a big commotion and alarm them. Without absolute force to suppress them, it was tantamount to actively burying themselves in a sea of corpses.

Therefore, they left the vehicles behind and each carried a handy weapon, traveling light. They needed to conserve their strength to carry the grain. The higher-ups had announced that, except for ability users, everyone else who carried grain out of the depot could keep half, only needing to hand over half.

It wasn’t easy to sneak into a zombie nest, so many people were greedy and took a lot. In the end, when they encountered zombies, they couldn’t run, and they were unwilling to give up the half of the grain they had worked so hard to obtain.

In the end, they lost their lives, and the grain was lost, and their families starved to death.

Liu Ping had seen too many people like this in his previous two outings. He was one of the few who wasn’t greedy, and he was also lucky. Each time, he skillfully carried a bag and left, never taking too much.

Alas! This was when the importance of space ability users was highlighted. If Gu Tangyue was still around, they only needed to risk their lives to escort her in and out once to harvest a large amount of grain.

Lin Yi didn’t understand why they were setting off at this time. It wasn’t even dawn yet. Their mission this time was to go to a grain depot in the city to transport grain. Wouldn’t it be especially inconvenient to carry the grain and use flashlights in the dark?

He questioned Xu Yuzhe. Xu Yuzhe smiled and said to Liu Ping, “Uncle Liu, why don’t you explain it to him?”

“Okay, Captain!”

Liu Ping walked closer to Lin Yi and quietly explained to him, “We previously discovered that zombie activity decreased at night, and their reaction speed was slower compared to the daytime after being alarmed.

Later, Dr. Cheng came to the base to do research. He said that the zombie virus’s activity decreases at low temperatures, so it’s not very active. Therefore, four or five in the morning is generally the time of day with the lowest temperature, which is the best time to set off.”

Although acting wasn’t as convenient, it greatly reduced the probability of alarming the zombie horde.

The distance shortened, and they arrived outside the residential area. As long as they passed through this neighborhood and reached the most prosperous commercial area in front, the grain depot would be there. It should have been that some grain merchant’s new shipment hadn’t had time to sell much of it before encountering the zombie outbreak.

This was why each time they went, they lost so many people. The residential area and the commercial area were collectively known as population gathering places.

Xu Yuzhe looked solemnly at the zombies wandering slowly in the neighborhood. He didn’t know if his senses were playing tricks on him or if it was actually happening.

He felt that many faint energy fluctuations had increased in different parts of the city, looming, seemingly there but not.

Based on previous experience, the only things that could allow him to sense energy fluctuations were the evolved early-stage zombies. But how could so many suddenly appear?

Was it one early-stage zombie running around everywhere, or were the things he sensed each time different zombies?

Logically speaking, this was the time when zombies were least active. Even early-stage zombies wouldn’t move in multiple directions without something attracting them, and even if early-stage zombies had leveled up, they wouldn’t be able to move such a long distance instantaneously.

The energy fluctuations were coming from all directions, so it was impossible for them to move so quickly.

Then, unless there were any accidents, the most likely outcome was—many ordinary zombies had suddenly leveled up into early-stage zombies.

What caused the rapid increase in early-stage zombies? In the past, even in cities with hundreds of thousands of zombies like this, there would only be four or five at most.

This trip wouldn’t be so simple.

“The situation has changed. This time, going in might be fraught with danger. Do you still want to go in together?” After much deliberation, he spoke calmly, so peacefully that people couldn’t feel the slightest hint of the crisis hidden in his words.

Liu Ping firmly said without thinking, “Go!” Which time they came out wasn’t fraught with danger? This was just nonsense. People can’t not eat!

Seeing him so determined, the others, who had been hesitant, also echoed their intention to go.

They had chosen to come out only when they were at their wits’ end. They had no way to retreat.

Lin Yi was still a beginner-level ability user and couldn’t sense anything amiss. He thought this was a routine question that every captain asked to clear their conscience, so he followed suit and said that he also wanted to go in.

Besides, even the ordinary people weren’t afraid, so what was he, an ability user, afraid of? He heard that the crystal cores in early-stage zombies could improve abilities. He had to get two to try this time.

Try it, try it, try it and die!

Xu Yuzhe had said what needed to be said, he had fulfilled his responsibility as captain, and he had taken care of his fellow countrymen’s feelings. How they chose was their business. He wouldn’t say anything more, let alone try to persuade them earnestly.

Just like that, they didn’t even ask what had changed in the situation, and Xu Yuzhe didn’t say much either.

Since they had decided to go in, saying more would only cause unnecessary panic, which would outweigh the gains. Moreover, everything was just speculation, and they would only know the truth once they went in.