Apocalyptic Disaster: Stockpile Supplies for Free and Make a Comeback

Chapter 64 Acid Rain
"There's no fresh food left, but you can make do with what you have. It's your fault for being late."

“Even if I hadn’t been late, you would still have given me this.” Gu Huai tried to take a bite, almost biting his teeth off. “Sister-in-law really prepared a hearty dish.”

"I've already taken a bite of this, can't you even say anything to my sister-in-law?"

"It's not what you think," Jiang Shi'an said, only this one sentence.

Gu Huai found out, and he didn't deny it, which meant it hadn't happened yet.

-

On the sixth day, the sun came out, though for less than two hours.

The sun went out in the time it took Song Jinhe to go out to fetch water.

To prevent the well water from being contaminated, a water pipe was installed during construction, and the well opening was sealed with a cover.

Just as I put down the water, someone knocked on the door, saying that someone had come from outside and Uncle Li couldn't make the decision alone.

Song Jinhe led Zhang Yi to the door and saw two men, two women, and a car outside.

Everyone looked very uneasy, their clothes were dirty, and their eyes looked at them pleadingly.

"We're not hurt, please. It'll get dark soon and we'll have nowhere to hide. We won't survive. Even if it's just for one night, we have food and we won't cause you any trouble."

“They’re all from Wucheng. They came here after seeing the road sign,” Li Ren said.

"It's you!" one of the girls exclaimed excitedly as she looked at Song Jinhe. "I'm Qiu Ling!"

"You two know each other?" Li Ren asked Song Jinhe.

Song Jinhe: "We've met before."

In this world, being kind can easily lead to one's own demise, but the arrival of these people is not just a matter of whether or not to be kind.

They saw the defensive line set up at the gate of the villa area and knew that there were survivors there.

They couldn't even bring themselves to kill someone outright.

Song Jinhe had discussed this issue with the people in the villa area before. They hadn't expanded their manpower, and the staff was getting smaller and smaller, so they eventually couldn't hold onto the place.

Expanding manpower involves taking risks.

Qiu Ling was a good person before, but people can change because of their experiences.

The people in the villa area were divided in their opinions. Song Jinhe herself had received help from Cheng Yan and Zhang Yi in the past, so she was not in a good position to make a decision in this situation. She simply let Uncle Li and the others decide.

"How about this, let them stay in the property management center for now, and make them leave immediately if anything unusual is found."

This proposal was approved by the majority of people.

Uncle Li originally wanted Zhao Yanzhou and another trusted young man to take turns guarding the place, but Song Jinhe volunteered to participate, along with Zhuang Ting.

Now the people in the villa area are more at ease. They can all survive outside, so guarding a few ordinary people is definitely not a problem.

"What should we do if these people get their hands on the villa area?" Zhuang Ting asked Song Jinhe privately.

“Didn’t you also make a decision?” Song Jinhe lowered her eyes and said slowly, “Of course, it’s to let them go first, and then kill them.”

Many people in the villa area can't bear to witness murder in person, so to avoid unnecessary trouble, it's best to do it outside if the situation really comes to that.

The property management center was right next to the main gate, and the four people who were guarding the area didn't show any objection.

When Song Jinhe was on duty at night, someone would prepare a meal and a late-night snack and bring it over.

Today's dish is simple hand-pulled noodles with a little pickled mustard greens. I've tried my best to make the broth flavorful with the seasonings.

The four people inside the room couldn't help but swallow hard when they smelled the aroma.

"It smells so good! I never thought we could have hot food here," Ren Ying said enviously.

“I wish these things were ours,” the man with the sunken cheeks said. “What nonsense are you talking about? We’re already grateful that they’re taking us in. How can you say that?” Qiu Ling raised her voice.

"Don't you know them?" Ren Ying turned to Qiu Ling. "Do you want to continue wandering outside? We couldn't even find food at the wholesale market in the city!"

Qiu Ling certainly wanted to stay, but it wasn't up to her to decide. She had deliberately raised her voice so that people outside could hear her.

“You know that girl. She clearly has influence here. Didn’t you notice?” Kang Feng said anxiously. “Why don’t you go talk to her? We can help them find supplies. We certainly won’t just eat and drink for free.”

“Knowing her doesn’t mean we have a relationship.” Qiu Ling took a deep breath. “Let’s stay here for now and see what they say. If it doesn’t work out, we can walk further and find an empty self-built house.”

Making a scene will only make it harder for them to stay.

The next day, when Zhuang Ting, who was supposed to take over the shift, arrived, Song Jinhe took the binoculars and went back to sleep until noon.

Today is the seventh day, and Jiang Shi'an still hasn't returned.

"Was the person who came yesterday Qiu Ling?" Cheng Yan asked, somewhat surprised.

"Hmm." Song Jinhe's expression remained unchanged. "The group hasn't decided yet whether or not to keep them."

While developing a workforce of young and middle-aged laborers is certainly more useful, it is more reassuring to have people with families to support.

Cheng Yan agreed, "It's better to be careful."

And so another day passed.

Some of the supplies from the last batch were still uncooked. Song Jinhe was sitting by the fire, feeling frustrated, and accidentally threw in too much firewood, almost burning the bamboo rice to charcoal. Fortunately, she managed to salvage the situation in time.

"What's wrong?" Zhang Yi sat down next to him. "Is it because..."

Before she could finish the next word, Song Jinhe denied it, "No."

Zhang Yi smiled. "Aren't you worried?"

"Do you think he needs me to worry about him?" Song Jinhe said this as if she were talking to Zhang Yi, but also as if she were talking to herself.

Another shower is about to start, Song Jinhe glanced at the sky.

It was only evening when a low, hoarse bell suddenly rang outside. Song Jinhe jumped up, quickly tidied up the fire, and took out her walkie-talkie.

This bell sound is used to alert everyone when an accident occurs, by the person on duty coming in.

"Something's happened! This rain is strange, it's acid rain. Zhao Yanzhou and the others just came back from chopping firewood and said they saw a horde of corpses less than a kilometer away. Just like before, they came from the city. I wonder if they'll come here."

Hearing the voice coming from the walkie-talkie, Song Jinhe first opened an umbrella and went outside to test it out.

The concentration wasn't high enough to be fatal; the umbrella wasn't even damaged.

The main problem is that they had just completed their basic defenses, and many of the joints used wire and nails. This rain will definitely affect the strength of the defenses.

After Song Jinhe and Zhang Yi were bundled up tightly, they took their umbrellas and drove off.

A deafening clap of thunder was accompanied by lightning, and the entire villa area seemed to shake.

Through the binoculars, you can see a group of zombies heading towards the fork in the road ahead; they won't enter the villa area unless they turn the corner.

"What's the deal with acid rain?" she asked over the walkie-talkie.

"The person who got wet said they didn't feel anything at first, but then felt a stinging sensation on their skin. The situation wasn't very serious."

Qi Sixing looked at the guy with a bald patch on his head with sympathy. He had run inside to ring the bell without even taking an umbrella in order to notify everyone in time, and that's how he ended up going bald.

"They didn't go towards the villa area."

Song Jinhe saw that the main group didn't turn, but as soon as she finished speaking, several rebellious zombie leaders insisted on leaving the group and going their own way.

The current scenario depicts natural disasters that are not particularly severe in all regions. The environment will gradually deteriorate, and so will the natural disasters themselves. The mutated creatures have only just appeared and are still developing.
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(End of this chapter)