Qiao Qingqing touched the bracelet and watched Shao Shengan packing his luggage with a relaxed mood. She felt a little happy during this time.
"Oh, it may be difficult to see each other again after this farewell. I wonder which security team everyone will be assigned to next month." Chen Qiang was a little sad. "We are living together for this month, and I am really happy. You get along much better than the roommates I met before. In the last dormitory, there was a person who was very pretentious, but secretly loved to steal things. In the dormitory before that, there was a roommate with a bad temper who would throw things at the slightest noise..."
"We'll have a chance to meet each other in the future. After all, we're all in the base." Another roommate comforted.
"I hope I can still be assigned to the base next month, otherwise I may have to consider resigning." Another roommate who had packed his luggage sat at the head of the bed, swinging his legs. "An old colleague of mine was assigned to the field patrol last month. He said the environment outside is terrible. There are actually quite a few survivors living outside. Those people are different from those in our base. My old colleague said that he almost couldn't hold on for a month. Later, when the time was up, he resigned and said he would never dare to go out to the field again."
Chen Qiangda said, "Why do you want to resign? The treatment here is quite good. Many people who want to come in are not accepted. It must be dangerous outside. But we have such good treatment, so we must obey the arrangements of the superiors. We will go wherever they arrange us to go. Why do you want to resign?"
"You're stupid. Okay, let me make it clear. If you are really assigned to the wild, then be prepared. Why do you think those people outside don't come into the base? It's dangerous in the wild! I heard that some forces outside are still raising living people to eat, cannibalism! Otherwise, why do you think the higher-ups organize teams to go out on patrol? It's to crack down on those groups. If you see them once, you'll be scared. I really don't dare to go. It's so dark now. What if I'm alone in the wild? I don't want to be caught and raised like a sheep."
"…That sounds scary. Let me think about it."
After everyone packed their luggage and collected this month's salary, they went home together.
Chen Qiang's home is also in the new community, which is the Jixiang community about six kilometers away from the Ping'an community. He said that he is only 18 years old this year and is very good at using a crossbow. He said that his family was probably well off before the end of the world. He used to be a fan of doomsday zombies and was very fascinated by crossbows. On weekends, he often went to the crossbow club to play. His family originally had a lot of treasured crossbows, but they couldn't take them all with them when they moved.
"If there are no zombies to kill, killing crows is also pretty good! As long as I shoot arrows, the crows will fall down one after another. The scene is so spectacular. I was a famous figure in our community at that time, and my parents were proud of me!" Chen Qiang kept talking along the way, making the journey less monotonous.
All three bicycles had lights tied to them, and the lights swayed slightly as the tires rolled forward.
Occasionally, lights shine on the roadside, and pedestrians can be seen walking close to the walls of buildings on the roadside. The eternal night has appeared for almost half a year, and everyone is trying to adapt to this new world.
Suddenly, the street lamps lit up one by one, like morning stars lighting up in the darkness, one after another, rising and falling, and the whole world seemed to have given birth to countless little suns in an instant.
"Wow, we are so lucky! The street lights are on! Come on, turn off the lights." Chen Qiang quickly turned off the lights, muttering to save batteries.
"The road ahead will be easier now that the street lights are on, but we still have to stay alert." Shao Shengan looked at Qiao Qingqing, "Are you tired?"
She shook her head: "It's only three kilometers to go, let's keep going."
At the intersection ahead, Chen Qiang said goodbye to them.
"Come to my house some other day!" Chen Qiang waved his hand vigorously.
After parting with Chen Qiang, Qiao Qingqing said to Shao Shengan: "I plan to resign in two months. I am afraid that the big earthquake will come early, so I have to make preparations in advance. You should also talk to Dad."
Shao Shengan understood what his wife meant. She was worried that if the earthquake came early and the family was scattered outside, it might be difficult to reunite. Although even if the family was together, they might be separated when fleeing, but maybe they would not be separated? He also had this expectation in his heart.
"I understand. I'll tell Dad."
“I think it’s going to be a little difficult.”
Shao Shengan smiled bitterly: "I will definitely convince him."
After returning home, the two were warmly welcomed by their families. Every time she went home, Qiao Qingqing felt like a triumphant general. Her mother, mother-in-law and elder brother were so happy and their eyes sparkled when they saw her. This undisguised joy made her heart feel warm.
After a night's rest, Shao Shengan started to kill chickens. The chickens, which were growing well, were fattened up. After being cleaned, they were put into buckets, which were then put into the space by Qiao Qingqing.
Afterwards, Shao Shengan went to the cannery and talked to Shao's father during his lunch break.
Every short vacation makes people feel unsatisfied, as if the vacation is over in the blink of an eye.
In the new month, Qiao Qingqing and Shao Shengan were both assigned to the field patrol team.
"Are you going?" Qiao Qingqing asked him softly.
Shao Shengan nodded: "Go."
He had to see what the outside world was like. They could live in a new community, but they couldn't be ignorant of what the outside world was like.
This was the first time Qiao Qingqing had left the base since she arrived at the base in this life. In her previous life, she relied on her homemade crossbow to go out of the base alone a few times to look for supplies, dig wild plants or find firewood, but later she accidentally strayed into a small gathering place where people ate human flesh, and after feeling the danger of the wild, she never went out alone again.
The base actually has no clear boundaries. Most of the survivors from outside cannot settle in the base and can only find places to live outside. Day after day, the perimeter of the base has been expanding outward. Survivors who do not want to live close to the base will try to stay away from the base, resulting in a wide separation zone between the perimeter of the base and the gathering place of survivors in the wild, about seven or eight kilometers wide.
"Our job is to patrol. Working in the wild is hard. We have to be careful of the rats outside, and also be careful of the survivors outside. Some survivors come out of the base and dig wild vegetables and so on, so they are easier to identify. Some survivors in the wild are not easy to get along with. You'd better not be alone, and you must not communicate with the survivors in the wild alone..."
The experienced captain introduced the new crossbowmen like Qiao Qingqing. He had to say these words every time, but he was tired of saying them. However, no matter how annoying it was, he had to say them. If it weren't for the rotation, no one could do the field work for a long time. After this month, he would have to apply to go to another unit for a month's rest.
"Do you understand?"
"Understood!"
Shao Shengan replied, turning his head and smiling at Qiao Qingqing. Even if field work was difficult, as long as he could work with Qingqing, he was not worried at all, and he wanted to stand with Qingqing.
Qiao Qingqing smiled back at him and tightened the crossbow in her hand.
"Okay, get in the car! Let's go!"
Several main roads had been cleared in the wilderness, and the surface was flat and passable. The team split up, and Qiao Qingqing and Shao Shengan rode on a motorcycle tricycle with three other security team members.
All three security guards were equipped with guns, which were said to have been allocated from Yeshan.
"It's even darker here than in the base." The tricycle was moving slowly, and Shao Shengan spoke softly on the slightly bumpy back of the car.
This is a darkness without vitality and popularity.
"It looks like all the weeds around here have been dug up. If we want to dig weeds, we'll probably have to go farther away." The flashlight in Qiao Qingqing's hand swept across the broken walls. The corners were all bare.
As she was talking, she heard some noise behind her. She became alert and the security team member beside her also said, "Stop."
The driver, who was also a member of the security team, reacted quickly and immediately turned a corner to hide the car. The five of them found a nearby shelter, turned off the lights and observed. Qiao Qingqing and Shao Shengan stood at two different commanding heights, with their crossbows aimed in the direction of the approach.
"I can't find many wild vegetables today. It's almost impossible to find any."
"You have to look inside the old house. Everything you can see outside the house has been dug up."
"I don't dare go into the house. I was bitten by a rat last time and almost had to have my limb amputated. You see, I can barely walk steadily now."
"How about going somewhere farther away? I don't dare. I can't run back if I encounter danger. It's safer here because we may see patrols nearby..."
A group of people were carrying backpacks, walking in groups of thirty or forty people, holding either kitchen knives or sickles in their hands. There were men and women, old and young, and only a few of them were holding torches. Among them was a man riding a bicycle modified with wooden tires. The noise they heard was made by the wooden tires touching the ground.
"They are people from the base. It is common for them to come out in groups to pick wild vegetables." The security team member breathed a sigh of relief. "Come down, we will follow them and start patrolling based on the tracks they follow to pick wild vegetables." This is also a form of protection for them.
"Got it." Qiao Qingqing went downstairs and met Shao Shengan on the second floor.
"Let's go." Shao Shengan took her hand and they went down together.
The team digging wild vegetables talked excitedly with the security team, and said that it was much safer now!
The team restarted, and there were no problems on the first day of field patrol. At about 6pm, Qiao Qingqing and her team returned to the base. Although they were a couple, they were assigned to separate dormitories for men and women. This time, Qiao Qingqing's roommate was not easy to get along with. But she was here to work, not to make friends. If they got along well, they could be close, and if they didn't, they could be polite. This was not a big problem.
At 8:30 in the evening, sirens sounded and another earthquake disaster prevention drill began. In the winter, everyone ran for their lives and sweated in the cold wind.
After the drill, Qiao Qingqing changed her clothes and fell into a deep sleep. At nine o'clock the next morning, they went out on patrol again.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
