Chen Yu cautiously approached the light source alone and discovered that the light was coming from a small crack in the cave, while the sound was coming from outside the crack.
Chen Yu cautiously focused his eyes on the crack and peered out.
On the other side of the gap, there seemed to be an open space with some simple decorations, and the flickering light of fire could be seen.
Several middle-aged men sat around a campfire, chatting animatedly with relaxed smiles on their faces.
A large pot sat on the fire, simmering with food that emitted an enticing aroma.
First, we can rule out the possibility that these people are not part of the search and rescue team.
That confirms that they are other survivors.
It's astonishing that such a living area could be established in a cave hundreds of meters below, and judging from the aroma emanating from their pots, their supplies were quite abundant.
This piqued Chen Yu's curiosity: just who were these people?
"Haha~ Brothers, come on, let's have a drink!" A man raised his glass and laughed heartily.
Other middle-aged men responded in kind, raising their glasses to clink together, creating a crisp sound. Accompanied by laughter, the entire space was filled with a rare joy and harmony.
Hearing this, Chen Yu wanted to immediately join this warm gathering and feel that long-lost human touch.
But reason told him that now was not the time. After all, it was the apocalypse, and the person was doing well in the underground shelter. If he suddenly ran over, even the best-tempered person would not easily accept a stranger.
That could potentially lead to a tragedy.
Just then, Chen Yu felt a warm breath on his left cheek; Yang Yue had also come closer.
Chen Yu didn't say anything about this, but simply signaled to her not to act rashly and to follow his instructions.
"Old Zhao, let's not just eat ourselves. Take these two big ribs to your nephew and sister-in-law, don't let them go hungry," a bespectacled man said to a fat man.
As he spoke, he picked out two carefully selected large pork ribs and placed them on a plate.
"Haha~! Old Wang, don't worry about it. All our wives and kids are in the living room. They've cooked a pot too, so they won't go hungry," another person laughed.
"Oh, hehe, really? Then I was overthinking it." Old Wang chuckled sheepishly.
"Hey~ I'm telling you, Lao Wang, this isn't right. You don't care about your own wife and kids, but you're concerned about..."
"Stop, Lao Hu, it's fine for us brothers to joke around, but we need to be mindful of our limits!" Lao Zhao said in a deep voice. "Lao Wang and I have been friends for so many years. Back in the village, we were inseparable. Later, we both moved to town and even worked in the same building. Our houses were even across from each other. Now, in this apocalyptic world, we rely on each other even more. He cares about my family as if they were his own. That's the bond between us brothers, understand?"
Old Zhao's words made the atmosphere momentarily tense, but it was immediately broken by Old Hu's hearty laughter: "Haha, Old Zhao is right, it was me, Old Hu, who had a loose tongue. Come on, let's keep drinking, we won't leave until we're drunk!"
Everyone chimed in, and the atmosphere became lively again.
Chen Yu and Yang Yue were on the other side of the crack. Seeing this scene, Yang Yue felt both warm and gratified.
These survivors, though living in a post-apocalyptic world, have forged an even stronger bond with one another, which is truly remarkable.
However, Chen Yu didn't think so; he felt that something was off.
Was Old Wang, who lived next door to Old Zhao, really just acting out of concern for his friend?
You can understand it if you just care about your friends. After all, some people have a strong sense of brotherhood and loyalty, and they often say things like "Brothers are like limbs, women are like clothes" in order to show that they are loyal and value relationships.
But it's a bit unusual that you don't care about your own clothes, but are so concerned about your "brother's" clothes.
However, Chen Yu didn't dwell on the matter too much, since whatever the truth was, it was just their private matter.
With that in mind, Chen Yu turned his attention back to the people in the stone house.
"Sigh~" Just then, one of the burly men let out a heavy sigh.
"Old Yan, what's wrong? Something on your mind?" Old Hu asked with concern, his wine glass pausing slightly, his eyes showing concern for his companion.
The others also looked at the burly man, Lao Yan, with puzzled expressions.
“I’m wondering if what we did was right. The villagers entrusted us with their grain out of trust, but we…” Old Yan’s voice lowered as he spoke, a hint of struggle and guilt flashing in his eyes. “Without grain, the villagers probably won’t last much longer in this extreme cold. The outside world has probably become a living hell.”
"Old Yan, that's not very meaningful!" Old Wang said in a deep voice. "You were the one who suggested this in the first place. What? Now that it's all happening, you're saying you regret it? Have you suddenly had a change of heart?"
"Old Yan, Chief Yan, you're not trying to tell us that you still have that sense of justice in your heart, are you?"
“Let me tell you, we don’t know when this endless natural disaster will end. If they don’t die, then when we run out of ammunition and food, all of us, including our wives and children, will be buried with those lowly bastards! You were the one who told me that back then, so think about it carefully!”
Old Wang said coldly.
"Yes, yes, we've come this far, there's no point in saying anything more, it would only spoil the fun," Old Zhao chimed in.
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