Time ticked by, and just when everyone was so tense they could almost hear their own heartbeats, a sudden commotion arose from other shops.
The sound was like a sharp sword piercing the silent night sky, instantly drawing away the zombies that had gathered there. Watching the figures gradually disappear into the distance, the tension in people's hearts finally eased slightly, but they still dared not be careless.
At this moment, only a handful of solitary zombies remained outside the door, wandering aimlessly like lost souls. Seeing this, everyone present breathed a sigh of relief, their faces showing expressions of immense relief.
Just then, a boy suddenly seemed to notice something, his eyes lit up slightly, and he lowered his voice to say to his companion, "Hey! Look, aren't those people from the milk tea shop across the street?" His gaze was fixed on Xu Anran and her friends.
Upon hearing the whisper, Xu Anran looked in the direction of the voice, and after her eyes met those of the boy, she nodded slightly.
Then, she lowered her voice and slowly said, "Let's talk inside. It's too conspicuous here; they'll easily hear us and notice something's wrong." With that, she raised her hand and pointed to a room at the back of the library, gesturing for everyone to go there.
The group understood and sprang into action. They carefully helped up those who had fainted, tiptoed into the room, and gently closed the door behind them.
Once inside, Xu Anran and her team didn't dare to relax for a moment. They quickly and efficiently bound the unconscious people tightly and gagged them with strips of cloth. The main reason for doing this was to prevent them from waking up and shouting uncontrollably, which could cause unnecessary trouble.
After everything was settled, everyone's attention turned to Xu Anran and the others. Facing the many questioning yet expectant gazes, Xu Anran took a deep breath and calmly explained, "When the disaster struck, we happened to be in that milk tea shop. Since it was relatively close, we chose to run here to take refuge."
However, the girl with a ponytail standing to the side didn't seem to understand Xu Anran's actions. She frowned and asked, "But, logically speaking, you could have just hidden in the milk tea shop. Wouldn't that have been safer? Why did you risk coming here?"
Xu Anran frowned slightly and said, "Although it's relatively safer inside the store, it's still a limited space, small in area, and the door doesn't look as sturdy or thick as this one. But most importantly, have you forgotten? There's a convenience store inside this library!"
After Xu Anran's reminder, everyone suddenly realized that there was indeed a convenience store in the library!
In this way, they no longer need to worry about food and drink. Moreover, compared to the cafeteria, this place clearly has many advantages.
First, a smaller number of people means less competition and easier access to sufficient food resources; second, the goods in convenience stores can usually be stored for a long time, which is more than enough for them to distribute and enjoy.
In contrast, the cafeteria, with its large number of people, requires most of its food to be prepared on-site, making it prone to spoilage over time. Considering all these factors, accidentally stumbling into the library instead of the cafeteria seems like a stroke of luck!
A well-mannered-looking boy wearing black-rimmed glasses frowned and asked, "So, how exactly should we allocate this food?"
Upon hearing this, everyone turned their gaze to Xu Anran and the young librarian standing to the side. The librarian was actually just a part-time graduate student, but at this moment, she became the focus of everyone's attention.
He adjusted his glasses and said with a hint of helplessness, "To be honest, I have absolutely no clue about this. The only thing I'm certain of right now is that there should be another employee in the convenience store watching over the shop. As for whether we can continue to buy things..."
Upon hearing the administrator's words, Fan Yunfei, whose face had been tense, suddenly chuckled: "Ha! At this critical moment, with grotesque and ferocious zombies everywhere outside, the world might already be the apocalypse! What use is money now? It's just a pile of waste paper!"
Everyone began to ponder his words—yes, the apocalypse has arrived, and money has long lost its original value. In such an extremely harsh environment, survival is the most crucial and important thing!
Then, someone else worriedly asked, "In that case, would the clerk who stayed in the convenience store be willing to share the supplies with us?"
At this moment, Xu Anran, who had remained calm and composed throughout, spoke up. Her voice was firm and powerful: "Things have come to this point. Whether the other party likes it or not, this matter is no longer up to him alone. Under such difficult and perilous circumstances, we must unite and work together to meet the crisis and challenges before us!"
After saying this, Xu Anran looked around and then selected three strong and healthy boys from the group. She then signaled to Xu Liang to stay behind and take care of the unconscious people, while the rest of the group followed her to the convenience store.
This group of people had no objections to Xu Anran's arrangements and had even begun to silently regard her as their leader.
The group arrived at the convenience store at the very back of the library. A boy was wearing headphones and humming a song softly while deftly organizing the goods.
As they approached, the boy finally noticed them. He slowly straightened up from beside the shelf, took off his headphones, stared at them with a puzzled look, and asked, "What do you want to buy?"
Faced with the boy's question, Xu Anran didn't answer directly. Instead, she explained the current situation to the convenience store clerk in detail. However, at first, the clerk was clearly skeptical and found it hard to believe.
Seeing this, Xu Anran signaled the others to take the shop assistants to the library entrance to check, and repeatedly instructed them not to make any noise.
Not long after, the shop assistant who had gone to check on the situation returned. He looked distraught and confused.
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