The eighteen-person dormitories had public kitchens. Once the ingredients were brought back, they could be cooked directly, although there were currently no seasonings.
Even so, the survivors were still very happy and crowded forward, using face recognition to make their purchases.
The two sacks of vegetables were quickly sold out. Those who did not manage to buy any were naturally full of regret. This was the first batch of vegetables produced by the shelter’s farm, and it held special meaning for them.
That day, more than half of the eighteen-person dormitories were filled with the fragrant aroma of vegetables.
This left many survivors feeling dazed. Were they really in the apocalypse? Was this all just a dream?
Meanwhile, on the other side, Xiao Qing and Xiao Yun’s group were enduring hunger.
They had been trapped in this school for nearly a week. All the food they had brought with them had been completely consumed. Inside the school, there was a massive Level 5 mutated tiger, as well as a mutated giant python tightly coiled around the main gate, leaving them with no way to escape.
After mutating, both of these animals were no longer as they once were. They had become extraordinarily large, and the mutated python’s fangs carried deadly venom, fatal upon contact.
At this moment, there were already several corpses of their companions outside.
They had arrived here a few days ago, originally having heard that the school laboratory might have cultivated soil suitable for planting crops. However, after arriving, they discovered that everything in the laboratory had already been looted. When they were preparing to leave, they found that the outside had already been occupied by the two enormous mutated beasts.
One guarded the front, the other the back, blocking both main gates. They had already lost several core members, and now some were injured, their combat strength greatly reduced.
What they did not know was that in the shelter they had originally stayed in, the Administrator was currently speaking with an unfamiliar, mysterious man.
“I’ve already lured them all over. That should be enough, right? Where’s the food and water you promised?” the Administrator said anxiously.
The man let out a light laugh, as if mocking human nature, yet also completely certain of the situation, as though he had known the other party would act this way. He then tossed down a sack in a casual, almost charitable manner.
The Administrator greedily pounced forward to pick up the sack. Upon seeing the murky water inside and the hard, seemingly inedible food, a smile appeared on his face.
“Alright, this transaction is over. I hope next time, you can still satisfy me,” the man said. He then put on a mask and hat and left the shelter.
Neither of them noticed that a figure outside the door had overheard everything.
Lu Xu suppressed the anger in his heart and quietly returned to the house where he was staying.
As the sun rose and set, the day quickly passed. The next day, Xiao Qing woke up in hunger and noticed that her younger sister Xiao Yun’s consciousness had become somewhat blurred, which made her anxious.
Xiao Yun had previously been bitten by a venomous insect. Xiao Qing had half dragged and half carried her into this room. Coupled with days without food or water, her condition had grown increasingly weak.
It was at this moment that Lu Xu appeared. His body was covered in dried blood, and he was holding a bag in his hand.
“I finally found you,” Lu Xu panted heavily, looking extremely exhausted. “There’s food and water in here. Eat something first, then leave. The school outside is already filled with zombies.”
“Zombies?!” The survivors’ voices were filled with terror. The two massive mutated beasts were already more than they could handle, so how had so many zombies appeared overnight?
Lu Xu told them about the Administrator’s deal. “There was no such soil here at all. He tricked you. The Administrator exchanged you for food and water. When we went to confront him, a fight broke out. He even drew zombies over, trying to get rid of us. We turned the situation around and let the zombies enter the shelter, and they bit the Administrator and his lackeys to death.”
Lu Xu described it lightly, but everyone could still sense the danger behind it. The dried blood on his body made that clear.
“Now we have nowhere to go. Everyone is waiting outside. Let’s head out together first and see if we can find a new shelter.”
Lu Xu still had many doubts in his heart, such as the whistle in the Administrator’s hand. Once blown, zombies would appear. It must have been given to him by that mysterious man.
Everyone was furious. Because of the Administrator’s selfish desires, they had been left starving here. If not for Lu Xu, they might have become food for the zombies today. Good thing he died. Even if he had not, they would have killed him themselves.
They quickly ate the food to replenish their strength, supported the injured, and prepared to leave.
Before leaving, they glanced outside. Sure enough, below the teaching building, every open space was densely packed with zombies, forming a vast, dark mass.
From somewhere, screams had already begun to echo.
The survivors’ hearts trembled, but they could not afford to worry about others. Supporting the injured, they left this place together.
Behind this building, there was a wall that, once climbed over, led outside the school. Naturally, they could not take the stairways again.
At this moment, the sounds of zombie growls had already echoed through the stairwell. The group quickened their pace.
“We’ll go down from this window. I’ve tied a rope. There are people outside to receive you. Climb down along the rope. Don’t hesitate, move as quickly as possible,” Lu Xu said.
The survivors climbed out one by one. Even the injured endured the pain and made their way out through the window.
Xiao Qing tied Xiao Yun to her back. The combined weight of the two caused the rope to sag lower, bringing them dangerously close to the zombies below. Xiao Qing could even smell the rotting stench from the zombies. In the end, they managed to climb across without incident.
After leaving the school, they could still smell the pungent stench of the zombies, along with their growls.
Outside, a group of survivors from the shelter were waiting. Several of them were gripping the rope tightly together, forming a lifeline for those escaping.
Xiao Qing and the others were filled with gratitude.
After getting away, the survivors’ legs gave out and they collapsed onto the ground. Some had red-rimmed eyes. Everyone’s faces were filled with the joy of surviving a disaster.
There were not only their group inside the school. If everyone had been lured here, then what was the purpose?
Looking at it this way, it felt more like they were being used as “feed” for the zombies. This thought made Xiao Qing uneasy. That could not be right, could it? How could anyone raise zombies? It sounded completely absurd.
“Alright, let’s go. There are too many of us, we might attract other things,” Lu Xu called out. The survivors did not dare linger. No matter how exhausted they were, they hurried to get up and leave.
On the rooftop of the teaching building, a man dressed in black and a man dressed in red stood together, watching the “grand scene” below. They did not seem surprised at all, and faint smiles rested on their lips.
At that moment, a pink-haired woman walked over. “Looks like a few little mice got away.”
“Forget it, let them go. The remaining people are enough to eat,” the man in black said indifferently. When he spoke of human lives, it was as casual as talking about the weather.
“Our zombie army is getting bigger and bigger. Let them eat more, it would be best if they devoured all these humans,” the man in red laughed wildly, madness undisguised in his eyes.
“Stop smiling like a lunatic. Don’t forget our plan. Take it slow,” the pink-haired woman said, crossing her arms, her expression calm.
The three of them said nothing more. Only the bone-chilling sounds of chewing and screams echoed across the playground.
Xiao Qing, Lu Xu, and the others had already traveled some distance.
“What about the others? Did everyone from our shelter escape?” a survivor asked worriedly, after all, their family and friends were still inside.
“Some people left earlier. Otherwise, having too many people would make us too obvious. But don’t worry, they all went in this direction. We’ll meet up with them soon. Right now, the most important thing is to find a place to stay and get everyone settled,” Lu Xu explained.
After walking a while, they saw a survivor from their shelter heading toward them.
Upon spotting them, he hurried over. “We finally found you. We’ve found a shelter!”
“You found one already? Are there still spaces? Can it accommodate this many people?” the survivors asked anxiously.
“Yes, and it’s a newly built shelter. There aren’t many people there yet. I haven’t gone in myself, you’ll see when you get there.”
Hearing this, the survivors’ curiosity was piqued, and their pace unconsciously quickened.
Inside the Sunrise Shelter, Jiang Qing and Jiang Hong were counting people in the courtyard while explaining the various rules of the shelter.
The survivors looked around the courtyard, still feeling somewhat uneasy. The exterior looked quite good, but they did not know what the interior was like. However, the most important thing right now was to find a place to settle down.
At this moment, Tang Ye happened to come out of the shelter, holding farming tools in her hands. She was preparing to plant all the newly unlocked land with vegetables, and for this, she had also purchased other vegetable seeds.
Tomato seeds cost one hundred and fifty energy points per bag, pumpkin seeds one hundred, while wheat and rice both cost two hundred per bag.
After exchanging for rice, Tang Ye realized that rice required different soil conditions compared to other crops. The original land would need to be converted into paddy fields.
She naturally knew nothing about this, but with the all-purpose System, it was not a problem.
Moreover, on the next page of the seed interface, there were also machines such as hullers, and for wheat, there were mills and similar equipment.
There were many things that needed to be exchanged. Tang Ye mentally organized them one by one. As soon as she stepped out, she saw a large group of survivors gathered in the open space of the shelter.
“Administrator, you came at the right time. These are all new survivors who arrived today. They’re planning to settle in our shelter. You can record their information first, and after that, I’ll take them to their rooms,” Jiang Qing said upon seeing Tang Ye.
“We still have companions who haven’t arrived yet. Can we wait for them and register together?” one survivor asked.
“It’s fine, we’ll register you first. When they arrive, we’ll register them as well. There are still so many people here, it will take quite a while if everyone waits together,” Jiang Hong reassured them.