After about five minutes, all the zombies, even the farthest one in sight, had been completely annihilated by the group of four.
Bai Zemin looked on indifferently as the blood of over two hundred zombies had accumulated to form a large pool of blood. Although his expression was casual, several thoughts flickered in his mind as he looked at his own status window.
The battle had lasted only a few minutes but Bai Zemin had consumed five Stamina points. While it was true that five points were not much compared to his one hundred and eighty total points, the reality was that this small scuffle against the zombies had made Bai Zemin realize even more that even if he was strong he had not reached the point of being able to take on an army of inexhaustible creatures that knew neither the meaning of the word fear nor the meaning of the word pain.
A few hundred zombies was fine, but if there were several thousand of them, then even Bai Zemin himself would have no choice but to retreat before his Stamina was completely consumed, or else he would end up becoming zombie food.
Liang Peng was panting slightly, obviously his Stamina stats were not particularly high and he had probably consumed even more than Bai Zemin, whose body had evolved steadily and more evenly.
Chen He was picking up some arrows while rubbing his fingers softly, seemingly numb. Moreover, his chest was rising and falling smoothly; even if he hadn't had to run all over the place, the optimal concentration he had to exert to shoot three arrows at the same time with total accuracy was not a simple thing and the pressure was immense for him.
As for Shangguan Bing Xue, she was as indifferent as ever and it was simply impossible to know what was going through her mind.
Soon, the group of survivors entered the restaurant and began to inspect what they could and could not take. As they passed by the blood-filled corpses, the smell of iron assaulted their nostrils and many of them had to be supported by others in order to move forward as their legs had softened to the point where they could fall to the ground at any moment.
* * *
"What do we do?" Xu Fen whispered quietly as he looked out the window of the small building.
He Yuhan was silent for more than a minute before finally saying somewhat hesitantly, "I think we should try to contact them..."
"What?! And what if they also end up being just like Qiao Long and abuse of their power?" Xu Fen didn't seem very willing. Although he had previously asked what to do, he actually hoped not to have to leave this place.
Fear and the things he had seen over the past week had turned Xu Fen into a frightened person who would rather starve to death than take the slightest risk.
He Yuhan also hesitated a little when he heard this. However, he shook his head and said resolutely, "No, I don't think they are the same as that bitch surnamed Qiao! The president of the student association Shangguan Bing Xue was with them and she is known for her impartiality. Besides, as a woman, she definitely won't allow such atrocious acts like Qiao Long committed to happen before her."
Xu Fen could not help but nod. He had also recognized Shangguan Bing Xue among the survivors, she was an extremely strong and capable fighter with the ability to create ice at will and control it as if it was something she had been doing all her life.
Considering that Shangguan Bing Xue was known to be extremely righteous in her decisions in the past, Xu Fen believed that she would not turn into a beast with human skin so soon.
"Besides, if we don't go with them, we'll die like starving dogs here... Worse yet, a zombie might appear at night and eat us without us noticing!" He Yuhan shook his head and slowly stood up, fighting the dizziness that struck him as a result of not having eaten anything for three whole days.
Seeing him walk towards the door, Xu Fen gritted his teeth before standing up and following closely behind.
* * *
The group of more than twenty survivors found plenty of food in the restaurant. The only unfortunate thing was that most of the food was not durable as canned food was not particularly popular here.
Even so, over thirty kg of rice, noodles, flour, and other miscellaneous items were found that did not need any particular care except to be kept away from moisture. This type of food could last a long time without too much specific care which was a good thing.
Apart from plain food, they also found white meat and red meat, but because the gymnasium's refrigerator was not particularly large, they could only take a few kilos before they had to leave the rest there since defrosted meat would not last long before going bad anyway.
After filling approximately sixty backpacks with all kinds of food and drink, the group that had found enough food to feed a hundred people for at least another two weeks was about to leave when two people came into view.
"Other survivors?" Chen He was surprised and moved forward. However, before he could go too far, Shangguan Bing Xue stopped him and gestured for him to stay in his place.
She looked at the two people cautiously and asked, "My name is Shangguan Bing Xue, may I know who you are?"
"Sh-Shangguan president... M-My name is He Yuhan, a third year student." He Yuhan could not help but stammer nervously before introducing himself.
However, the other young man did not introduce himself and instead stared dazedly at Shangguan Bing Xue with wide eyes.
What a beautiful woman! Xu Fen had never had the opportunity to see Shangguan Bing Xue up close and this was the first time such an opportunity had come his way. However, when he saw how beautiful she was, he could not help but be stupefied to the point where his brain seemed to have stopped working.
Her cold face was like that of an ice angel and the curves of her body were so lovely that even her dress could not fully cover them. Xu Fen felt all the lack of energy he felt before disappear just by seeing her.
Shangguan Bing Xue couldn't help but furrow her eyebrows slightly and a look of disgust flashed in her eyes. Although she was already used to such looks, such impudence to stare at her undisguisedly was still unbearable.
"Hey, didn't anyone teach you politeness?" a cold voice snapped Xu Fen out of his daze and he was startled when he saw Chen He staring at him with icy coldness.
Bai Zemin secretly raised an eyebrow. To think that this handsome and kind guy was actually capable of speaking in that tone and giving that kind of look... Interesting, he thought.
"I-I'm sorry!" Xu Fen blushed fiercely and quickly apologized before introducing himself.
The atmosphere became extremely awkward after what happened earlier and after the introduction of the two newcomers, everyone fell silent.
"So..." Bai Zemin broke the silence as he looked at the two men around his own age and questioned, "What do you guys want? Join our group?"
He Yuhan's eyes lit up and he nodded hurriedly, "That's right! We would like to join your group! Although we can't fight, doing jobs like carrying food should be easy!"
He Yuhan was a smart guy. Previously he had seen how the survivors worked with the food while the four fighters and three other people did nothing; therefore, he had come to the conclusion that this was a group with certain tactical rules.
"That's good." Bai Zemin nodded with a small smile. "As long as you are not leeches, you guys are welcome."
"Even if they are leeches we can't just let them die casually." Shangguan Bing Xue pointed out.
Bai Zemin looked at her briefly before saying lightly, "Well, you'll have to give them some of your food in that case. Personally, I am not anyone's father here. This group was formed to survive and live better, not to drag burdens."
"Aren't your words a bit rude?" Chen He couldn't help but frown. To him, Shangguan Bing Xue was the most important person in the world, even more than his family. Therefore, he always cared about everything related to her.
"Hehe..." Bai Zemin chuckled before looking at him with a touch of sympathy as he said, "Let me see how far you go with your kind-hearted mentality. When your kindness and hesitation become an obstacle, your life will not be the only thing in danger."
Saying that, Bai Zemin's gaze momentarily paused on the silver-haired woman before turning his attention away from this pair of strange friends.
Shangguan Bing Xue looked at Chen He and then looked at Bai Zemin who looked casual. She sighed in her heart.
While it was true that Bai Zemin's words were not pleasant to listen to and Chen He was helping her, the reality was that in this new world Bai Zemin's words were far more logical. Moreover, while Chen He's personality was almost perfect, this was in the world before the Soul Record came to this planet; in this new era, such a personality would only attract troubles.
It was just that for her it was not simple to abandon people. She was raised in a very powerful government family and Shangguan Bing Xue felt it was her responsibility to protect others when in fact it was not.