Chapter Thirty-Six: The Competition
Outside the cave, torrential rain poured down.
As soon as Qiao Xi and Lu Yuyang stepped into the cave, the rain behind them suddenly intensified.
Large raindrops pounded on the ground, splashing up countless droplets. In just a moment, the entire cave entrance was covered by thick water vapor, making it impossible to see the outside world.
“There’s hot spring water in the cave. I’ve heated it up. Go and wash up quickly.” The kind-faced old lady took Josh’s hand. “These days must have been tough. Take a hot bath and get a good night’s sleep.”
The dim light of kerosene lamps illuminated every face in the cave. The initial wariness had long since faded, replaced by gratitude.
An dignified old man stepped forward: "This rain isn't going to stop anytime soon. Wang Yang's wife, please make room for our benefactors."
After saying that, he turned to Josie and said, "It's raining so hard outside, you should rest here tonight."
If it doesn't rain, they can make do with the night by the rocks.
But in this kind of terrible weather, let alone being soaked all night, even just being soaked for half an hour would probably make Granny Chen the first to collapse.
"Then I'll take my leave. Thank you everyone," Josie said with a smile.
Chen Qiurong also pulled a woman of the same age next to her to express her gratitude.
"Don't say it's bothering me," the old man waved his hand, "If it weren't for your help, none of us would be alive."
The women worked quickly and soon cleaned up one of the holes, even changing the bed sheets.
Chen Qiurong held Wang Yang's wife's hand and thanked her repeatedly.
"Mother-in-law, the place is a bit cramped, I'm sorry to trouble you."
"It would be great to have a place to shelter from the wind and rain."
There was only a wooden plank bed and a mat on the floor inside the cave.
In this apocalyptic world, there's no time to worry about the separation of men and women.
After a quick wash, Qiao Xi, Chen Qiurong, and Zhao Wenjing squeezed into the bed, while the two men slept on the floor.
Exhausted, the group quickly drifted off to sleep.
I slept exceptionally soundly that night.
When I woke up the next day, all the fatigue from the past few days was gone.
The torrential rain outside the cave continued to pour.
If the cave hadn't been situated on high ground, it would probably have been flooded long ago.
Even so, the ground at the entrance of the cave had been soaked into a swamp.
"This rain isn't going to stop anytime soon, so please stay here without worry."
Josie had just learned from everyone's conversation that they all came from the same village, and the village chief was leading them here to hide from the zombies.
The old village chief continued, "There is food and spring water here, so we are not afraid of being trapped."
Right there, deep inside the cave, came the sound of a child coughing.
It's quite far away, so it's not very clear.
The old village chief turned around and said, "Several children are sick and coughing. One of them has had a fever for three days. Our people were planning to go down the mountain to find medicine, but given the weather and the situation down the mountain, we can only leave it to fate for those children."
When it comes to medicines, they actually have plenty. They carry plenty of basic medicines like fever reducers, antibiotics, and cough medicines in their bags.
But those things were obtained by Feng Ye killing all the zombies in the hospital.
So she turned her head to look at Feng Ye.
Their eyes met, and Feng Ye understood her meaning: "Do as you please."
Josie was surprised by his generosity, so she leaned closer and whispered, "We're staying for several days... I see they have plenty of vegetables in stock, so we can take some with us to supplement our vitamins when we leave."
"Hmm." Feng Ye didn't hesitate to take a few pills.
Fresh vegetables are a precious commodity for people like them who eat junk food.
They immediately turned around and went into the cave where they were resting, and rummaged through their supplies to find antipyretics and cough medicine.
When she handed over the medicine, several parents took it with trembling hands, their eyes red with tears.
"Thank you, thank you all!"
The man, his face covered in tears, immediately knelt down before them.
Josie quickly stepped aside, "Big brother, get up quickly, we just happen to have some, and you've already taken us in."
The child clutched the pills tightly. It wasn't that they didn't want to risk going down the mountain to find medicine, but in this cannibalistic apocalypse, what would happen to the child if they left and something happened to them?
When danger strikes, children without parents are at the greatest risk, so parents try to delay as long as possible, hoping that their children can recover on their own.
Perhaps because of the series of favors they had received, when the old village chief invited them to eat together at lunchtime, Josie saw four dishes laid out on the table.
Stir-fried eggs with tomatoes, stir-fried eggplant, cucumber soup, and most surprisingly, a plate of stir-fried green peppers with cured pork.
Zhao Wenjing unconsciously swallowed, and the others in the cave were also staring intently at the plate of meat. This cured meat was a delicacy that was reserved for the New Year, and they hadn't tasted meat for several months.
"Come, come, sit down."
The old village chief warmly invited the five of them to sit down, while he and three other elders accompanied them.
Due to limited space, the elderly, women, and children had to share some food with the others and eat it on the side.
As soon as Qiao Xi sat down, Feng Ye and Lu Yuyang quietly took the seats on either side of her.
"Don't be shy, eat it while it's hot." At the old village chief's invitation, everyone picked up their chopsticks.
No one spoke during the meal; everyone was focused on enjoying the rare and delicious food.
Lu Yuyang picked up a piece of cured pork with alternating layers of fat and lean meat and naturally placed it into Qiao Xi's bowl.
“Eat it yourself.” Josie glanced at him sideways.
"Okay, I'll add more," Lu Yuyang replied gently.
Feng Ye took in the whole scene, a cold smile curling at the corner of his lips.
The next second, Josie's left hand, which was hanging by her side, was suddenly grabbed.
She instinctively tried to pull away, but was held firmly.
Josie turned her head and met Feng Ye's deep gaze.
To avoid arousing suspicion from others, she had no choice but to stop struggling and smiled at Lu Yuyang, who was looking at her questioningly: "It's nothing, let's eat."
Just as she was about to lower her head and continue eating, Feng Ye suddenly pried open her fingers and gently ran them across her palm.
Two hard objects were shoved inside.
She looked down curiously and saw two gleaming stones.
That's the crystal core of an evolved zombie.
She looked at him suspiciously and asked him what he meant.
"There are only two left, you can have them both."
The others were eating in silence, unaware of the interaction between the two.
"Why would I give it to you? Keep it for yourself."
"You ate the meat he gave you, so why didn't you accept the crystal core I gave you?"
Can these be the same?
Although meat is precious, everyone eats it.
What exactly is a crystal core?
In the early stages of the apocalypse, it was a rare and priceless treasure.
Only mutants with superpowers can easily obtain it; other superpowered individuals need several people to cooperate to get it.
She had given him those few as a favor, and she felt no guilt about taking them.
But why is he giving himself to someone else?
As she and Feng Ye persisted, she suddenly felt a chill on her neck.
She turned her head and met Lu Yuyang's gaze.
Lu Yuyang initially thought the two were talking quietly, but he saw their hands clasped together.
Those usually gentle eyes now flashed with a sharp, cold light.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
