The sound of the explosion filled Xu Tuo with trepidation and fear. Emotionally, he told himself he should go and check on them; they were neighbors, and they should help each other in times of trouble—a close neighbor is better than a distant relative. But rationally, he dared not move an inch. Although his family had three able-bodied adults, they also had two children, and they couldn't afford to gamble.
He wasn't feeling well today and wanted to rest for the day, so he stayed home. Little did he know that a house in the direction of Zhang Feng's house had suddenly collapsed due to an explosion. Fearing that poachers had come, he quickly stuffed his child into a water tank to hide him, and hid in a cupboard, too scared to move, let alone go over to check.
As retail investors know, poachers are like Japanese soldiers invading a village; wherever they go, nothing grows. Their greatest hobby is selling the organs of ordinary people. It is said that organs can be exchanged for a lot of food in the central city. Many people will do anything to survive.
Although the central city always sends out troops to hunt down poachers, once they are caught, they are all brought back, and almost none of them come out alive.
But the apocalypse has arrived, and the order has collapsed so drastically. The chances of survival are limited, so even with strong crackdowns, the number of poachers continues to rise. It's the ordinary people who suffer the most.
Apart from his family, everyone else who remained in this open area had families with members of all ages.
Every day, the able-bodied men in the family would do manual labor in exchange for some hard cornbread and unfiltered dirty water.
The reason they didn't go to the city center but chose this remote, less populated place is simply because they lack the ambition to compete and only want to survive.
After hesitating for a long time, Xu Tuo finally decided to go to the Zhang family to check on them. He might not be able to help with food, but he could lend a hand, help carry them, and tend to their wounds. He hoped that the whole family was alright.
After telling the children in the family to hide it, Xu Tuo stuffed the only dagger in the house into his sleeve and walked out.
To his surprise, three people walked towards him, three young men from the Zhu family, the Peng family, and the Qiao family.
"Where are you going?" Xu Tuo asked, puzzled. Could it be that you're going out to gather food? If you go out now, you won't be able to get back by tonight.
"Didn't you hear that? An explosion," Zhu Xiao said.
"You're all going to the Zhang family?" So their purpose is the same as his. Xu Tuo understood, but he was also a little wary. Were they planning to take advantage of the situation?
Perhaps Xu Tuo's true feelings were written all over his face, so Zhu Xiao saw right through him and laughed in anger, "Do you think I'm as inhuman as a poacher? Do you think it's worth me robbing that bunch of weaklings from the Zhang family?" They were so thin they were skin and bones, you wouldn't even be satisfied with cooking them.
Zhu Xiao brandished the axe in the air a few times, and the ferocity in her eyes made Xu Tuo shrink back. These three families had always stuck together. It was said that they dared to confront poachers directly. Because of their group, they had some confidence on the construction site and earned a good income. Every now and then, they could even get some artificial meat to satisfy their cravings. Therefore, all three families looked stronger than them.
It's impossible not to feel envious, but that's all we can do. Like the Zhang family, they don't have the ability to obtain more.
"Alright, alright, we're all out here trying to make a living. Living together and helping each other is the right thing to do," Peng Shan said, trying to smooth things over. His smiling, baby-faced demeanor was quite deceptive. But only his own people knew that he was a complete liar, and anyone who messed with him would come to a bad end.
Xu Tuo dared not say another word and strode away.
"Congratulations, you scared them away again." Qiao Mi rolled her eyes, looking down on her friend Wan Qian. Every time this kid opens his mouth, someone is sure to be too scared to speak. She doesn't know where he got his so-called "smiling tiger" nickname from before the apocalypse. He clearly doesn't seem like a good person, and you can see right through him.
"Damn, I'm not bad looking either, but Xu Tuo shrinks back like a quail every time he hears me speak. Am I that scary?"
"Yes," the two friends said in unison.
"roll!"
Before turning off the video, Yuan Zhuan casually mentioned that the system could be used as a storage space to store a certain number of items. Zhang Xiaoxiao's excited scream almost pierced Yuan Zhuan's eardrums.
After turning off the video, Zhang Xiaoxiao followed Yuan Zhuan's instructions and demonstrated the tidying-up process several times, which warmed the hearts of the family once again.
The couple even started wiping away tears. "Our Xiaoxiao is just like the lucky one in those novels. Whenever she encounters difficulties, God always comes to her rescue. Waaah... How lucky am I to have given birth to such a lucky child? Waaah..." The parents hugged each other and cried bitterly, and Zhang Xiaoxiao's eyes reddened.
Yes, their family is really lucky.
Next, as long as they find a way to avoid being corrupted by the outside world, they can live well and for a long time.
To maintain appearances, the family still kept some clothes and blankets to carry around. Dirty clothes that had long been thrown away in the corner were found again and put on. They also smeared black ash on their faces, making their features look ashen.
"Let's go to warehouse number 8 and exchange some more talismans with your sister." Now the whole family refers to Yuan Zhuan, whom they have never met, as their sister.
The family had just left and disappeared around the corner when Xu Tuo arrived, and the other three arrived almost immediately.
"Huh, they're gone." The Zhang family were the later residents, so much so that they had come here before to rule out any potential dangers, just to familiarize themselves with the place and make sure there was no harm or threat, so they never came back.
So, it's clear that Zhang's wife is quite tidy and amiable; she's said to have been a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner before the apocalypse. The house is indeed very clean, but isn't it a bit too clean now? And that strong perfume smell...tsk...she even sprays perfume after leaving, I don't know what's wrong with her.
Nothing was left behind – not even clothes or blankets.
"It wasn't poachers." Otherwise, there would definitely be blood here, and it would be a complete mess. Moreover, the house was only blown up today, and the poachers didn't go around searching for other people this afternoon, but left instead, which is not in line with their usual behavior.
Zhu Xiao sniffed, squinted, and walked around the room. "There's the smell of food—pork, beef, and fish. Hmm, there's also the smell of rice and flatbread."
The other three: !!
"Are you crazy?" He's starting to talk nonsense.
Peng Shan turned his head and looked at his friend with an expression that said, "You're dreaming."
Are you so hungry you're going crazy?
"No, no, no!" It really does taste like food.
After the apocalypse, his sense of smell became as sensitive as a dog's. Even if the air was filled with a strong perfume scent, it couldn't mask the truth beneath.
"They found food, and it's very fresh!"
"Really? You're not kidding, are you? Whoosh whoosh whoosh... Achoo..." Peng Shan sneezed violently from the perfume smell, almost rubbing his nose off.
"It's true. Let's go out and look for them, ask what happened. The perfume is still so strong, they can't have gone far." Since they have food, they won't steal it, but they can at least ask where it came from. They're neighbors, they can't just think about their own survival.
This time, it wasn't just the three brothers; Xu Tuo also ran as soon as he stepped out the door, his heart pounding. If the Zhang family, with their strength, could get such a wide variety of food, his family could too.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com