Chapter 860: Yingshan Survivors

East Three Provinces War Zone, Yingshan Safe Zone.

Lying on the truck roof, several Awakened Ones in labor-protection gear glanced absentmindedly around the convoy.

At the front of the truck, in an area surrounded by makeshift iron sheets, an old-model machine gun that looked like it had been dug up from a museum was mounted.

Ammunition was precious; the Awakened One tasked with guarding the machine gun repeatedly wiped the white broadsword in his hand.

This was his only equipment.

"Guh--"

Their stomachs growled; the few on watch duty yawned out of boredom, but the hunger in their bellies constantly made them glance at the several bags of rice stored inside the truck.

So hungry..

Pots, pans, bowls, utensils—anything usable was loaded onto the truck, making its interior look like a garbage dump.

The journey went smoothly; the zombies along the way had long been swept away by the passing convoys, and even large dangerous zombie hordes were diverted elsewhere by specialists.

When people had nothing to do, the tantalizing hunger felt like a poisonous snake twisting in their stomachs, sometimes knotting up and making their eyes glaze over.

In the apocalypse, even Awakened Ones often went from hungry to full in alternating meals.

"The food we managed to scavenge this time is too little... I don't even know how much will be left after deducting the portion exchanged for gasoline."

"If this continues, our gathering place will probably fall apart.."

The somewhat older Awakened One with a rag-like cloth around his neck gave a bitter laugh and looked at his companion.

The gathering place he referred to was just a few tin-roofed shacks built relying on the Yingshan Safe Zone.

The East Three War Zone had too many survivors; even after wave after wave died off in the apocalypse, over 400 million people remained.

With only two safe zones in the entire territory, supply was scarce compared to demand, and everyone wanted to flee to a safe zone for refuge.

Competition was fierce; entering a safe zone required paying a large amount of supplies, or having sufficient strength.

Awakened Ones as weak as them could only gather a few ordinary people, set up a camp near the safe zone, and eke out a living.

"What can we do?"

"The nearby grain and oil stations, supermarkets—everything's been picked clean, damn it! Even the rats have starved to death!"

"I looked at that clean grain barrel, and it's as if Old Wang had licked it clean!"

"Getting three bags of rice would already be not bad!"

He glanced at the rice bag with a torn corner, faintly moldy and spoiled, and the Awakened One wearing earphones cursed quietly.

More than half a year into the apocalypse, resources like gasoline, food, and water had long been seized clean by the major factions.

People were like locusts passing through, greedily carting away anything they could see.

Aside from perhaps some supplies left in the city center, elsewhere, even spotting a mere rat counted as an extra meal.

Strength was king; the strong ate well and lived like local emperors.

The weak couldn't fill their stomachs; even if they wanted to sell themselves, they had to be good-looking.

If they weren't still considered Awakened Ones, despite their low rank, they would have starved to the point of licking people's shoes for food.

As they spoke, they exchanged a glance, and in each other's eyes they saw deep helplessness.

After the apocalypse, the only things worth talking about were three.

Getting food, making food, thinking about food.

The urgency of food was deeply etched into everyone's bones.

I heard that some places had already begun to suffer famine; people dared not go into the city to scavenge for supplies, and some had even resorted to cannibalism.

Of course, it was only hearsay; instinctively, they didn't really want to think about it.

"Alright, say less."

Standing at the front of the truck, the middle-aged man who had finished polishing his long blade gave a dissatisfied glare at the crowd complaining nonstop:

"We still have some strength, and a bit of hope."

"What about those ordinary people who rely on us—what are we supposed to do with them?"

"At least we can occasionally complete a mission and kill a zombie. Those ordinary people's teams, if they run into a few more zombies, don't even know how they'd die!"

"Just having some porridge to drink would be fine!"

His expression stern, the few who had been scolded didn't talk back.

The speaking middle-aged man was the second-strongest in their team, his level reaching the peak of First Level.

Placed in the gathering place, he counted as a capable hand.

If it weren't for the overly harsh conditions to join the safe zone, and the too-high cost of bringing family along, the knife-wielding middle-aged man might have managed to sneak in.

"Squeak-squeak"

The makeshift stairs squeaked.

In the silence, only a few sounds of twisting steel pipes could be heard coming from the truck's coupling.

A girl who looked not very old, her face smudged black, carefully carried a bowl of rice porridge up.

"Brother Liang, Brother Wang, Brother Zhao.."

"The food's ready.."

Speaking softly, the girl held the large bowl, doing her best to keep her balance as she walked toward the few people on the truck roof.

The earphone-wearing guy sitting at the back froze at the sight, then hurriedly lunged forward to catch it, afraid the porridge would spill.

Several people instinctively inhaled the aroma of the porridge, and upon seeing a layer of vegetable leaves floating on top, their eyes lit up suddenly.

"Aunt Huang's cooking is really great! She even added wild vegetables to enhance the flavor!"

Undeterred by the scalding porridge, they gathered around and took a slurp, instantly breaking into satisfied smiles.

Although before the apocalypse this bowl of porridge was hardly different from pig slop, now it counts as a rare delicacy.

Sitting cross-legged on the truck roof, the girl swallowed her saliva dryly as she watched the few people wolf down their food, her face full of longing.

She was also extremely hungry...

Her hands, resting on her cheeks, were scalded bright red, covered in chaps, and even the joints were somewhat swollen, yet this didn't cause her the slightest discomfort.

In this cruel world, the pampered and spoiled have long since died out.

The cold wind blew, and the convoy drove steadily.

The girl wore a military-green great coat, her oily, disheveled long hair casually coiled into a ball on her head.

Her dirty face revealed an unhealthy flush.

A pair of jet-black, bright eyes added the sole splash of color to this appearance.

Looking at her features, she's not bad-looking; if the oil on her face were washed off, she'd be quite pure and lovely.

Only, her brow always seemed to bear a faint worry.

It took only a few seconds; after the middle-aged man tipped his head back and gulped down the last of the gruel, he passed the bowl forward.

The youth wearing headphones eagerly took the bowl, regretfully glancing at the bottom, which was even cleaner than the knife.

Damn it, can't you leave some?!

Awakened Ones get three servings of gruel per person per day, ordinary people get one—this is the convoy's rule.

He sighed, the headphone-wearing youth passed the bowl to the girl, and then they chatted on and off.

Just then, in the midst of chatting, they suddenly brought up the girl.

Ah..

What a pity.

I heard she was a top student before the Apocalypse, from a very wealthy family! A miss of riches! She could play piano and dance—she could do anything!

Watching the girl's silhouette as she climbed down from the vehicle's roof, the youth with a rag around his neck sighed:

"If Huang Xia were a bit better-looking, maybe someone in the Safe Zone would take a liking to her."

Her sister didn't even die of a fever.

Frankly, it's ridiculous—just a single dose of medicine before the Apocalypse, and yet after the Apocalypse someone could actually be burned to death!

The atmosphere, a sigh.

Oh, come on..

The middle-aged man holding an iron hammer gave him an annoyed look and let out a cold snort:

Being noticed by a big shot in the Safe Zone? Why don't you ask the little lady for a favor and become an Awakened One or something?

They were already pitiful—after the Apocalypse, their parents left no bones, and even their only sister died.

Do you still want her to die now?

He opened his mouth, the ragged youth glared back at him, displeased:

How am I cursing her?!

Speak the truth! How many girls in the gathering place are begging those big shots to notice them!? They'd fight tooth and nail for a chance and still not get it! Who the hell doesn't want to get into the Safe Zone!?