"ah!"

Before dawn the next day, a scream roused the sleeping survivors.

Xu Lin and Li Jingjing saw that it was almost time, so they got up to prepare breakfast. The firewood they had collected last night was enough for breakfast this morning, so Zhou Pin and the other two didn't leave.

Minister Sun, always eager for gossip, went out for a stroll, Zhou Pin and Sun Wei inspected the car, and Grandma Wu fed Xiao Youyou milk powder in the car. The group worked efficiently and methodically.

I made vegetable dumplings and porridge for breakfast. Minister Sun returned just as they were coming out of the pot and immediately shared the latest information with them.

"Yesterday, the girl couldn't accept the fact that her child was gone. She went crazy and bit off the finger of the man who had tied her up. The man chopped up the woman's child. The woman grabbed the knife and killed the man. Now the woman is being controlled by the man's accomplices," Minister Sun said succinctly.

"They didn't kill the woman?" Li Jingjing asked, puzzled.

“The man is already dead, killing the woman won’t help. She’ll still be useful. Besides, with the man gone, his accomplices can divide up his supplies,” Xu Lin explained.

Everyone finished their breakfast in silence and then began their day's activities.

Xu Lin had kept watch the night before, so Zhou Pin drove during the day. The convoy stopped just two hours after they left.

"What's wrong?" Xu Lin woke up the moment the car stopped.

"We've joined up with the pathfinders," Zhou Pin said.

"So fast?"

"Uncle Sun has already gone ahead to find out what's going on. What are you laughing at?" Sun Wei asked Xu Lin when she suddenly laughed.

"It's nothing, I just thought of Uncle Sun, who is a bit like Zheng Ming... I wonder how they are now."

Zhou Pin didn't answer. He didn't know how to answer. In the apocalypse, every extra day you live is a bonus. The two of them had cheat codes that allowed them to get to where they are now step by step, while Zheng Ming and the others had nothing.

Sometimes Zhou Pin thinks that if he hadn't met Xu Lin, he might have turned to the dark side long ago and used every means to survive. So when he met those survivors who "robbed the rich to help the poor" in order to survive, he didn't stand on the moral high ground to condemn them, because he would have made the same choice if he were in their shoes.

The silence between the two was broken by Uncle Sun, who had returned with the information.

"We are about to face enormous challenges." Minister Sun's words were accompanied by a cloud of white mist.

"There's a canyon ahead, but the roads are all blocked. We need to clear the way as we go. And everyone has to take turns working, except for Xiaoyouyou. All six of us have to take turns."

Zhou Pin said that the place they are in now is estimated to be 1,000 meters above sea level. Although it is called a canyon, the altitude is actually quite high, but the mountains on both sides are even higher.

Most people live on the plains year-round, and they get a bit breathless at this altitude. They don't have enough to eat and they still have to work, so many people are unhappy.

"We'll lead the way, and those walking behind us won't have to do anything; they can just pick up the pieces..."

"We'll do it, but we'll set up a checkpoint here, and people passing through can collect supplies as tolls. We can't work for free..."

"How about we rest here for a bit and wait for the others to come so we can repair the road together? That way we won't have to work one day and rest the next, everyone can get a good rest, and the efficiency will be higher."

Upon hearing about the base's plans, everyone began to complain or offer opinions. Xu Lin thought the young man behind her made a lot of sense, but she felt it was useless; the base leadership had to make the decision.

Ultimately, everyone was forced to work one day and rest the next, because there were no specialized tools for road construction and the workload was enormous, so everyone worked while waiting for the foot soldiers to arrive.