Those with abilities continued killing zombies to train their powers—fireballs, electric shocks, metal blades, vines—every kind of attack was thrown at the zombies.
Killing a hundred zombies was quick. Their abilities hadn’t even been fully depleted before they had wiped them all out.
Wang Che sensed that there were still a few scattered zombies inside, but he didn’t bother with them and instead walked around to inspect the area.
The canning factory was divided into two workshops. One specialized in producing meat cans—luncheon meat, braised pork, beef, and so on.
The other produced fruit cans—mandarin oranges, peaches, lychees.
The zombies working overtime had been rushing orders, so quite a lot of freshly produced canned goods were piled up. The military and Chu Xiuyuan’s team loaded them first. Fortunately, there were many flatbed carts in the factory, making it easier to transport the goods for loading; otherwise, they wouldn’t have finished even by nightfall.
Wang Che had no intention of doing manual labor. While the military and Chu Xiuyuan’s group were busy moving goods, he wandered off to other parts of the factory, casually taking care of the remaining scattered zombies.
Deeper inside, there were sounds coming from two employee dormitories. Lu Ning listened and confirmed there were people inside—but the sounds made her blush.
Chen Chuan noticed something was off. “What’s wrong? Why is your face so red?”
Lu Ning shook her head. “There are people inside, but…”
The others quickly guessed what was happening. They didn’t knock, intending to leave it to the military to handle.
But unfortunately, they ran into the overly eager Chu Xiuyuan’s group, who were especially keen to prove themselves. Whether zombies or survivors, they wanted to take charge.
Seeing Wang Che’s group hesitating at the door, Chu Xiuyuan asked, “What’s going on?”
Fu Zhe saw a perfect opportunity to pass the responsibility. “There are some survivors inside. We’re a bit socially anxious—why don’t you handle it?”
Chu Xiuyuan looked at them suspiciously, not responding immediately, sensing there might be a trap.
Jiang Li, however, didn’t think that much. Upon hearing there were survivors and not disgusting zombies, she eagerly knocked on the door. “Can the people inside hear us? We’re the official military rescue team. Please open the door.”
Inside, the people had been engaged in unspeakable acts. The sudden knocking and loud voice startled them—everything was ruined…
Furious, a man yanked the door open without even putting on clothes. “Who the hell interrupted my good time!”
No one had expected such arrogance. Jiang Li froze at the doorway, stunned. After several seconds, she hurriedly turned her face away, blushing deeply.
The moment the door opened, the three girls on Gu Cheng’s side had their eyes covered and were pulled away.
Zhou Tong, however, didn’t care at all. “Put on your clothes and follow the military to a safe place.”
Unexpectedly, the factory still had backup electricity running, enough to last until now. As the door opened, warm air from the heating system flowed out.
Feeling the cold, the man retreated to put on clothes. When he came back out, he was fully dressed and spoke again. “We’re doing just fine here—food, drinks, heating, and women. Why would we go with you?”
From inside the room came intermittent sobbing from women and the harsh scolding of men. The air was thick and foul.
Zhou Tong spoke like an emotionless machine. “You’re coming with us. You have no choice. We’ll be taking all the food here.”
Hearing that their food would be taken, the man exploded. “On what grounds are you taking our food? Just because you’re the military, you can do whatever you want?”
As he spoke, he released a fireball, but Zhou Tong dodged swiftly and punched him in the face. “On what grounds? On this.”
He followed up with two more punches. After the third, the man collapsed like a dead dog, spitting out a mouthful of blood along with a tooth. His nose was crooked, his face covered in blood.
Zhou Tong was a strength-type mutant. He had already held back—otherwise, the man would have been dead.
The people inside had heard the commotion. When they came out and saw their leader lying on the ground barely alive, they instantly fell silent, standing stiffly by the door like punished schoolchildren.
Chu Xiuyuan saw that the lesson had been delivered. “How many people inside?”
One of the weaker men at the door answered, “Six men and four women.”
Chu Xiuyuan glanced at Zhou Tong, who understood and spoke, “You have five minutes to pack your things and come with us. No objections.”
The group visibly trembled. Their only ability user had been beaten into the ground—they didn’t dare resist. They went inside to pack. There wasn’t much to take; each carried a small bundle. Soon, five of them stood in a line at the door, with one still lying on the ground.
But none of the women came out.
Chu Xiuyuan told Jiang Li to go inside and check. The four women were barely clothed, their faces pale and gaunt, their bodies filthy. The room smelled awful.
Jiang Li took one look and quickly retreated. “The four women inside don’t have clothes… and they’re covered in… filth. It’s disgusting. They can’t come out—they’ll freeze to death.”
Chu Xiuyuan had no solution. He didn’t have spare clothes either. Looking at the men, they were already wearing layers upon layers—everything they could put on—tattered and dirty.
“Go find Gu Cheng and ask if Wang Che’s storage space has clothes.”
Hearing Wang Che’s name made Jiang Li’s heart flutter. “I’ll go right away.”
Their conversation had already been overheard by Lu Ning and relayed to the others.
When Jiang Li approached, none of them wanted to pay her any attention. Not a single friendly expression was given.
Jiang Li walked up to Wang Che with a deliberately pitiful expression. “Brother Che, we found ten survivors. But four girls don’t have clothes, and they’ve been abused. They’re so pitiful. Could you help them—give them warm clothes and save them?”
Wang Che looked at her sorrowful expression—but not a single tear fell. He only felt it was fake. “Let’s go together.”
As he spoke, he quickly pulled the unwilling Gu Cheng in front of him, using her as a shield to prevent Jiang Li from getting close again.
Jiang Li had wanted to seize the chance to act kind and collapse into Wang Che’s arms while crying, but now she had no opportunity.
When they reached the dormitory, they saw Xue Chao waiting at the door. Chu Xiuyuan had already explained the situation to him.
Xue Chao said to Wang Che, “We’ll send people later to dismantle the backup generator. Our vehicles are already full of canned goods, so we’ll need you to store the generator.”
Wang Che replied bluntly, “Do you take me for a laborer? My storage space is limited at this early stage. I saw a truck outside the factory earlier—find someone to drive it back yourselves. You can load more that way.
Use your brains more instead of always bothering others. And rescuing survivors is your responsibility. Now you want me to provide clothes too? I’m not interested in charity.”
Seeing Xue Chao grow more and more embarrassed, Gu Cheng discreetly tugged at Wang Che’s finger, not wanting him to offend the military—fewer enemies meant more options.
Seeing him stop speaking, Gu Cheng went inside to check on the women. The sight after entering made her heart ache.
The four girls were covered in bruises, with not a single patch of uninjured skin. Two of them even had bite marks on their chests, bleeding. They huddled together on a filthy, messy bed. Their bodies were covered in grime. Perhaps to save water, their hair had been shaved off—but crudely, leaving uneven patches.
The doors and windows were tightly shut, trapping the stench inside. Gu Cheng felt nauseated but forced herself to endure it, controlling her expression before stepping back out.
The four girls, having seen Jiang Li leave in disgust earlier and hearing her harsh words, now watched Gu Cheng come in and leave. Their expressions were sorrowful and numb. They didn’t know what to do—outside were man-eating zombies, and survival seemed impossible.
After coming out, Gu Cheng asked Wang Che for two basins of hot water, four clean towels, four sets of warm clothing, as well as iodine solution and hats.
She then called Wang Xin and Lu Ning to go inside with her and help.