Mo Shuwan glanced at Wen Zuo, her eyes catching sight of a tree nearby, and didn't continue the conversation with Wen Zuo. "We don't need to go."

As Mo Shuwan turned to walk back, Wen Zuo breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly followed, carrying the bucket. Together with Mo Shuwan, they picked a long branch, cut it down, put the iron bucket on it, and lowered it into the pool. They thought this wouldn't attract the attention of the zombie fish, but to their surprise, as soon as the bucket and branch entered the pool, dozens of zombie fish jumped out of the water. In less than half a second, these zombie fish dragged the bucket off the branch and into the water, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

A series of crunching sounds, like chewing, came from the water. A moment later, a piece of broken sheet metal floated to the surface, but it was quickly swallowed by the zombie fish that leaped out of the water.

"..."

"Hehehe, let's think of another way..."

Wen Zuo nodded with a heavy expression.

From what just happened, it's clear that the zombie fish in this pool are very agile. The iron bucket had barely touched the water when it was dragged down by a group of zombie fish and eaten... No one expected that the zombie fish could eat the iron bucket, so now who goes to fetch water is no longer the primary issue. Instead, how to fetch water is what Mo Shuwan and Wen Zuo are worried about.

After discussing several methods, the two decided to weave some ropes from dry grass and then use these ropes to tie thicker branches into the shape of a cage. Although it was unlikely to stop the zombie fish in the pool that would even eat iron buckets, it could at least buy them some time. Even if it was only a few seconds, it would be enough for them to reach the water and evacuate.

After spending half an hour preparing the tools for fetching water, Mo Shuwan put the iron bucket next to her into the cage. "Let's go."

He knocked away Wen Zuo's hand that was trying to take the bucket, saying, "I'll take it. You're in charge of keeping the cage steady."

The cage was made very large; it could easily fit two iron buckets inside. To keep the zombie fish at bay for a longer period, many branches were added to the cage, three layers deep on the left, three layers deep on the right, and three layers deep. This should be enough to stop the zombie fish for a while.

Mo Shuwan's attitude was firm, so Wen Zuo had no choice but to listen to her. He held a heavy cage in one hand and a watermelon knife in the other, watching the pool warily. The two slowly approached, and when they were only one step away from the pool, they quickly put the cage and bucket into the pool.

Mo Shuwan's heart was pounding, and her hands gripping the iron bucket were even trembling. She watched helplessly as the water filled the entire bucket. She immediately used all her strength and gritted her teeth to lift the bucket full of water. At the same time, a zombie fish broke through the tree branch defense and jumped into the air, attempting to attack Mo Shuwan, who was still bent over.

'plop'

Wen Zuo protected Mo Shuwan and quickly retreated. A group of zombie fish could not attack them, so they had to resort to dragging the cage that had been holding them for more than half an hour into the water. Soon, only some debris remained on the surface of the water.

Mo Shuwan's face turned a little pale. "These zombie fish... they really can eat a lot."

Wen Zuo had no interest in paying attention to the zombie fish. He picked up the iron bucket full of water and looked at Mo Shuwan's arm with concern. Finally, he couldn't help but reach out and grab one of Mo Shuwan's arms to examine it carefully.

Sensing Wen Zuo's intentions, Mo Shuwan tried to pull her hand away, but couldn't. She could only say, "I'm not hurt."

But Wen Zuo still checked Mo Shuwan's other hand as well.

The two quickly carried the water back to the safe zone. One bucket of water was not enough for bathing and washing their hair, so they poured the water into a large red plastic basin in the bathroom, picked up the only remaining iron bucket, and ran to find Luo Jingdong.

Upon learning that the two men had come to borrow buckets, Luo Jingdong said, "...Wait here."

Five minutes later, Luo Jingdong arrived carrying four buckets, with Xiangzi following behind him, who was also carrying two buckets.

Mo Shuwan was slightly taken aback. "Two buckets are enough. We can't carry any more."

"We'll borrow these two from you. Come on, we'll go with you." He paused, then added awkwardly, "It's been over a month since it last rained..."

The implication was that they hadn't showered for over a month...

The four left the safe zone and jogged to the pool. Xiangzi and Luo Jingdong had been here before and knew the situation in the pool well. They stood still and didn't dare to get close. Their purpose in coming here was indeed to fetch water, but they also wanted to know how Mo Shuwan and Wen Zuo fetched water.

Mo Shuwan and Wen Zuo skillfully cut down many more tree branches, used the nearby weeds that were almost as tall as a person to make ropes, tied the branches together, and made a cage shape. The whole process took less than fifteen minutes.

When Mo Shuwan and Wen Zuo went to fetch water, Xiangzi and Luo Jingdong, who were standing far away, immediately tensed up and nervously watched the water.

Half a minute later...

"This...that's it?"

"otherwise?"

"It's that simple?" Xiangzi looked incredulous.

"Um."

Each cage can only be used once. Although we just filled two buckets of water, we are still one bucket short. More than an hour has passed since we filled the first bucket. If we don't hurry, it will get dark soon.

While Mo Shuwan and Wen Zuo were busy again, Xiangzi and Luo Jingdong also recovered from their shock and sighed as they looked at Mo Shuwan and Wen Zuo.

After calming down, it's not that we couldn't think of a solution, but for so many years, the people in the safe zone haven't even had enough to eat, and they can only wait for rain to come and get drinking water, so they don't dare to care about cleanliness at all.

Moreover, ever since they learned that there were zombie fish in the water and that the water was undrinkable, these rivers and pools have become dangerous places, and people in the safe zone avoid setting foot in them if possible.

Most importantly... they lacked the courage. Before this, no one had been able to overcome their fear and approach the pool like Mo Shuwan and Wen Zuo.

No one wants to put themselves in danger just to stay clean.

Luo Jingdong and Xiangzi stared at the busy Mo Shuwan and Wen Zuo with complicated expressions, and finally silently went to break off tree branches around them to imitate their actions.

As darkness fell, Mo Shuwan and Wen Zuo finished making the last cage. Their movements as they fetched water were already very practiced; the entire process took less than half a minute. Watching the branches gradually being devoured by the zombie fish, Wen Zuo carried the water while Mo Shuwan held the watermelon knife, and they turned to return to the safe zone.

Luo Jingdong, still busy, looked up at the two of them and uttered two words with some difficulty: "Thank you."

Neither Mo Shuwan nor Wen Zuo responded. Ever since they learned that people in this safe zone were eating each other, a chill had been lingering in their hearts.

When the two hurriedly carried water back to the safe zone, it was already completely dark. To prevent being found by wandering zombies, the safe zone usually doesn't light fires.

Everyone had to move forward in the dark.