Despite Grandpa Zhong's repeated refusals, Lu Manman persisted, saying, "Please take me out. I promise I will listen to you and follow you closely. I promise not to cause you any trouble and to protect myself. Please take me out."

Seeing Lu Manman shaking his arm, Zhong Lizhong remained unmoved. Worried that she would continue to pester him, he made an excuse and quickly ran away.

"I remembered that Chen Hua had something to discuss with me, so I'll be going now."

The road ahead is long: ...

The way he was running didn't look like an old man at all. Lu Manman withdrew her gaze and slumped helplessly on the bed. "This life is so boring, stifling, and I feel guilty."

"Oh dear! How did I lose my memory?"

Thinking about their lives, Lu Manman sat up and tapped her head with her fist again, but her mind was still blank.

Am I destined to live like this forever? Absolutely not!

Looking outside, it was getting dark; someone should be coming to deliver water around this time.

Fearing that the lights in the dark would attract the attention of the Zerg and mutated beasts, everyone developed the habit of going to sleep when it got dark.

Soon a knock came at the door, and Lu Manman quickly opened it.

Gu Lin always looked at Lu Manman with loving eyes. This time, he brought over a large bucket of water as usual. Although it was very murky, it was not poisonous and was drinkable.

After setting it aside, they handed over a bottle of nutritional supplements, saying, "Try this; it's freshly made."

Lu Manman looked at the nutrient solution with mixed feelings. Just as she was about to refuse, she noticed what appeared to be bloodstains on his wrist.

She pulled his arm over and gently but quickly rolled up his sleeve, revealing his arm wrapped in bandages.

Looking at the bloodstains, Lu Manman cried out in alarm, "Grandpa Gu, you're injured!"

Under the brainwashing of her grandfathers, Lu Manman always believed that the outside world was dangerous, but for them, who were experienced in countless battles, it wasn't at all. They could easily bring back what they wanted. But now...

Gu Lin was a little annoyed that Lu Manman had such good eyesight. He withdrew his hand helplessly, smiled and comforted her, "It's nothing, just a minor injury. It will heal soon."

Lu Manman couldn't hold back any longer. "Grandpa Gu, I want to go out with you. I can't keep hiding here and enjoying your care without feeling guilty. I can take care of myself, and I can even take care of you. I'm younger than you, and I can't rely on you forever."

Gu Lin was stunned. They knew this all too well. They were getting old and would leave one day. What would happen to their children who had no survival skills then?

They were just too worried about their hard-won child getting hurt. This child was like a gift of hope from heaven, giving them something to strive for again after they had become numb.

Looking at Lu Manman's stubborn eyes, perhaps they shouldn't disregard the child's feelings and force him to stay here. Gu Lin sighed deeply, "Fine, fine, I'll come find you tomorrow and take you out."

Lu Manman smiled, a bright and cheerful smile. "Okay, it's a deal."

Then, looking at Gu Lin's arm with concern, she asked, "Grandpa Gu, does your hand still hurt? How did you hurt it...?"

"It's a mutated beast..."

Taking this opportunity, Gu Lin told Lu Manman about the dangers outside: the insectoid race, poisonous plants, ferocious mutated beasts, and even poisonous gas that could make you dizzy if you inhaled too much.

Lu Manman listened attentively, afraid that she might hold them back because she didn't understand things well enough.

The next day, as promised, Gu Lin hadn't even knocked on the door when Lu Manman, who had heard the noise inside, came out and said confidently, "I'm ready, let's go!"

Gu Lin shook his head helplessly. This child seemed to have really been cooped up for too long.

Lu Manman is currently staying in the center of the safe zone. If you keep walking south, you will reach the exit of the safe zone. Along the way, Gu Lin kept telling Lu Manman about the precautions.

When Lu Manman arrived at the emergency exit, she found that everyone was already waiting there. They were all fully armed and greeted her warmly when they saw her.

Lu Manman asked in confusion, "Why are you all here? Didn't you say it's unsafe with so many people?"

Gu Lin: "They won't all go together; they'll still go in groups of four."

“Yes!” Chen Hua took over and explained, “The four of you go, and we’ll stay here and be on high alert. If anything happens, we’ll rush out to rescue you. Of course, hopefully that won’t happen.”

This is the result of their discussion yesterday. They hope that Lu Manman's first trip out to find supplies will be safe and without any mishaps.

Knowing that everyone was worried about her, Lu Manman gave them a big smile: "Don't worry, we'll be fine. Wait for me, I'll bring back some good stuff."

After saying goodbye to everyone, Lu Manman set off with her four grandfathers.

The so-called safe zone is an area enclosed by barbed wire. The barbed wire is electrified and can block most mutated beasts. A ring of trees called insect-repelling trees is planted around the inner perimeter of the barbed wire.

Their ancestors discovered it by chance. The insectoids disliked this tree and would deliberately avoid it, so they named it the Insect-Repelling Tree and carefully tended to it.

Thanks to these trees, the safe zone is indeed safe.

Lu Manman followed Gu Lin and the others carefully opened the barbed wire fence and went through it.

The smell outside was quite unpleasant, and Lu Manman couldn't help but want to pick up her gas mask, but seeing that they didn't move, she gave up.

Not long after we walked, we came to piles of garbage. These garbage mountains had a long history and would be considered antiques by today's standards.

Although the place had been thoroughly searched, Gu Lin and his companions did not intend to go far because they had a long way to go.

Gu Lin made a move, and everyone spontaneously began searching for useful things on the garbage mountain.

After learning the meaning of the gesture through 'pre-job training', Lu Manman followed suit, put down his bag, and began searching through the garbage mountain.

To avoid unnecessary trouble, people generally don't talk outside the safe zone.

Their main goal today is to search for edible plants and, incidentally, collect some useful items.

Wearing special gloves, everyone began scavenging through the garbage mountain. Most of the garbage here consisted of discarded machinery, especially robot and mecha fragments, followed by energy stones.

Lu Manman was full of curiosity about everything, and would pick things up from time to time to examine them closely.

Despite her curiosity, Lu Manman diligently searched for her target.

Because she wasn't very good at distinguishing them, Lu Manman stuffed all the ones that looked pleasing into her backpack, planning to ask the grandfathers when she reached the safe zone and could speak.

The others, while searching for their belongings, were also keeping an eye on Lu Manman, noticing that her backpack was already bulging.

Gu Lin patted each of them, indicating that they could go back.

"Are they going back already?" Lu Manman looked at their flat backpacks, somewhat puzzled. They hadn't been out for long, and it seemed they hadn't found anything.

After a moment's thought, Lu Manman understood somewhat, sighed helplessly, and obediently followed them back to the safe zone.