"I want to go out and check it out, see if I can find out any information." After lunch, Yun's father left this message.

"No, you can't go out. Don't you know how old you are?" The mother stood up and objected. Although she also wanted to know about her relatives, she was unwilling to let her husband take such a risk.

"Dad, let me go. I'm physically strong, and it'll be safer for me to go." Si Cheng also wanted to go out and find out.

"No one is allowed to go. If everyone insists on going, then I will go," said Mother Yun, sounding a bit unreasonable.

“Now is the time for us to unite as one. If no one goes, it’s not a good idea for everyone to stay here,” Mr. Yun advised his wife. “It’s fine for us to stay here, but the young people need to go out and explore. Junjun and Lele will also have to face society in the future.”

"I'm just worried."

“Mom, I’ll be careful. Besides, if I go, I can integrate into the village faster and better. I’m always so busy before, and I haven’t even gotten to know everyone in the village yet. This trip might be an opportunity for me.” Si Cheng’s words convinced Yun’s father.

Yunqi sat silently to the side. She knew that the first group of people to go out and explore were in great danger, but she couldn't stop them. If everyone didn't stick together at this time, they wouldn't last long in the apocalypse.

"Then you must be careful and don't rush to be the first to do anything," Yunqi said anxiously from the side.

Watching the young couple decide on the travelers so quickly, Yun's parents could only sigh softly, "This damned natural disaster."

After finishing his meal, Si Cheng went to the village office to register at the temporary checkpoint.

In the afternoon, the whole family drove their pickup truck, which was still in good working order, to the foot of the mountain. They put the two children in the back seat and added some toys for them to play with.

Several people carried the load back and forth, making several trips back, and then went to the mountainside to haul soil until the truck ran out of fuel, leaving those who wanted to borrow the truck with no way to do so.

But there were still a few cars in the village, and someone came up with a brilliant idea: to drain the fuel from the cars and put it in the pickup truck. And so, the pickup truck stubbornly continued to be used as a cargo bed.

Although Yunqi also had gasoline on hand, she didn't step forward to be the main supplier at this time. She simply delivered some gasoline to a few close relatives and friends, so that they could save some effort.

Before setting off, Si Cheng negotiated with the village and, since he had provided the prefabricated houses, he moved one of them to his house. Seeing this, others followed suit. Since there weren't enough prefabricated houses, neighboring families shared one.

After two days of preparation, everyone had prepared a week's worth of rations and found any weapons they could find.

"No matter how far you go this time, try your best to return on the fourth day," the second grandfather emphasized again before they set off.

Ten people went out this time, led by village chief Yun Mingwu. The other nine people were Sun Zhixin, Si Cheng, Houzi, Da Xiong, Yun Xun, Zhao Dongwei, Yun Yang, Yun Xiang, and Lü Yunfeng.

In addition to ten days' worth of rations, the group also carried ropes, machetes, sticks, and other items.

When everyone arrived at the village entrance, they watched as the group slowly explored outwards along the lake until they could no longer see them, at which point they slowly turned back.

Although they were worried about the group's departure, life had to go on. Because a large amount of wood was needed to burn limestone, they gradually explored the surrounding mountains and forests. They only picked up dead branches or dead trees on the ground, and if the trees could be saved, they straightened and reinforced them.

The Yun family didn't stop working just because Sicheng wasn't home. Yun's mother continued to take care of the baby, Yunqi went to collect tree branches, and Yun's father was in charge of burning limestone, then breaking it into powder for later use. This organized arrangement ensured that all the lime powder needed for building the house was prepared before Sicheng returned.

Meanwhile, Si Cheng and his group encountered a major problem. Just as they rounded the large lake at the village entrance, a long, deep crater appeared in the middle of the road that originally connected to the county town. The crater was about two meters wide.

"How do we get across? Maybe we should turn back." Looking at the deep pit in front of him, Sun Zhixin was having second thoughts.

The village chief glanced at him but didn't respond.

"Let's build a bridge ourselves; we'll have to get across eventually anyway," Si Cheng suggested, recalling how in the past, when they encountered such deep pits, there was only one way: to build a bridge.

“Okay, let’s hurry up and try to build it well, we’ll definitely need it later.” Village Chief Yun Mingwu immediately made the decision.

The mountain village has no shortage of timber. A group of people went up the mountain and found several pine logs, each three or four meters long. They used axes and kitchen knives to trim and smooth the logs.

They then wove the vines together densely, and a small bridge, one meter wide, was completed. Not confident in the sturdiness of the vines, they tied them together several times with rope.

"But how do we carry it across? It seems a bit heavy." After Lü Yunfeng's reminder, everyone realized that they were only responsible for repairing the bridge, but how to build it?

"Wait a moment, when I set up the bridge and lower it down, you guys help me hold it up from the side," Si Cheng said at this moment.

"Are you sure you can do it?" the monkey asked, somewhat doubtfully.

"No man is incapable. How will you know if you don't try?"

"Tch, don't come back to slap yourself later, thinking it's just a stick." Sun Zhixin said sarcastically from the side.

Before he could finish speaking, Si Cheng stood up the bundled wooden bridge.

"Move aside, get to the side, don't block the way." Seeing that he was still standing there dumbfounded, Big Bear grabbed him and pulled him over.

As Si Cheng slowly moved the wooden bridge, the others followed quietly, unconsciously lowering their breathing.

"Right here," the village chief directed from the front.

"Two people from each side. One to hold my hands above, and the other to hold the bottom. I'm going to start lowering it." After saying that, he slowly tilted the wooden bridge towards the other side.

The two-meter-wide pit and the four-meter-long wooden bridge were more than enough to build the bridge.

Looking at the wooden bridge in front of them, no one dared to be the first to step onto it.

“Acheng, you hold this end of the bridge for me, I’ll go first,” the village chief said, stepping forward first.

"Don't worry, it should be safe for now. If there's another landslide, crouch down and hold onto the wooden bridge. I'll help you pull it across," Si Cheng reassured him.

"You might as well not say anything, because I'm also feeling a bit weak." The village chief swallowed hard, feeling his palms starting to sweat.

"How about I go first?" Yun Xun stepped forward and said.