"You're not really planning to hoard all the food and starve them out, are you?" Tang Weiwei stared at Yang Bin, eyes wide.
"Heh. I wouldn't stoop that low. But these people are too comfortable. They need a wake-up call."
"What do you mean?"
"We can't stay in the cafeteria forever. We have to get out."
"But there are thousands of zombies outside. There's no way we break through on our own. We need everyone moving together."
"Except they know there's still food in here. As long as they're not completely out of supplies, these people will never fight for their lives."
"But you know as well as I do-zombies get stronger every day. Wait three more days, and the ones outside might all be Tier-2. Then getting out won't just be hard. It'll be impossible."
"I understand." Tang Weiwei nodded.
"But even if we all rush out together right now, the losses will be massive, won't they?"
"At least half will die. And if these people freeze up and won't fight, total wipeout is on the table." Yang Bin sighed.
Two days ago, it would've been different. Most of the zombies had still been ordinary ones. But now, nearly all of them were Tier-1. He had zero confidence in these civilians.
Still, he had no choice but to bring everyone along. Over a thousand people-if each one killed just one zombie, that was over a thousand dead. If his group had to handle that number alone, they'd be grinding until doomsday.
And even if these people didn't dare kill zombies, just drawing aggro for a few seconds would help. It would take enormous pressure off his team.
Tang Weiwei fell silent. Half dead. The weight of that number pressed down on her.
But she knew Yang Bin was right. Every day they waited, the odds of escape shrank. At the end of that road, everyone died.
After a long pause, she gritted her teeth. "Tell me. What do we do?"
"You've got the numbers. Send your people into the kitchen. Cook all the rice today-every last grain. Cut off their excuse to wait. At the same time, let them eat their fill so they've got the energy to fight."
"Okay."
"But killing zombies requires weapons. Where do we get weapons for this many people?"
"The cafeteria tables. The legs are all iron. Finish eating, rip them off. Done."
"Uh... right. That works."
"You know, you're kind of slow. Maybe you should get together with our Liangzi. Otherwise I'm worried you won't last in this apocalypse." Yang Bin sighed.
"I'm slow!?" Tang Weiwei jabbed a finger at herself, eyes wide.
She'd always been the brain of her team. Nearly every decision had come from her, and that was the only reason they'd survived this long.
Now someone was calling her dumb. How was she supposed to accept that?
But she couldn't deny it-this man in front of her did seem a step ahead of her. She couldn't even find the words to argue back.
Beside Tang Weiwei, the handsome man's eyes sharpened. He stared warily between Chen Hao and Hu Wenliang.
He didn't know which one was "Liangzi," but it had to be one of them.
He figured it out fast. After Yang Bin's words, the skinny one actually blushed.
"Blushing? Seriously?" the man thought, jaw tight. "The woman I have my eye on-you think she'd end up with you?"
Tang Weiwei forced her anger down and bit out: "My business doesn't need your input. Even without a man, I can survive this apocalypse just fine."
"Don't be so absolute. Our Liangzi's got real skills. You might need his help someday." Yang Bin grinned.
"If he's really that capable, we'll see."
Tang Weiwei turned and left with her people.
"Bin Ge, what was that? You're just randomly playing matchmaker now?" Hu Wenliang said, caught between laughing and groaning.
"Just answer me. Are you interested in her or not?"
"I mean... sure. But you can't just do it like that. Isn't this going to backfire?"
"You don't get it," Chen Hao cut in. "If Bin Ge hadn't said anything, she wouldn't even know you exist. At least now she looked at you once."
"I'd rather she hadn't." Hu Wenliang smiled bitterly.
"Liangzi. I just thought of a way for you to win her over," Yang Bin said suddenly.
"What way?" Chen Hao asked eagerly before Hu Wenliang could even open his mouth.
"I go beat her half to death. Then Liangzi swoops in and heals her. Gratitude turns to love. She pledges herself to him." Yang Bin delivered this with a straight face.
"......"
"What kind of plan is that? You might as well just have Liangzi drag her off by force."
"Force won't work. Liangzi might not be able to take her. That woman's strong as hell."
"......"
"Alright, enough. Both of you, stop with the terrible ideas." Hu Wenliang shook his head. "It's the apocalypse. Focus on staying alive first. Quit talking nonsense."
"Fine, fine. But Liangzi, I'm telling you-that pretty boy next to her? He's got his eye on her too. He's right there beside her every day. You've got zero advantage." Chen Hao said.
"Then I've got zero advantage. It's just the first time we've met. It's not like I'm head over heels the way you are with Liu Shiya."
"......"
"Why the hell are you dragging me into this again?"
"It came up. Anyway, drop it. I get what Bin Ge's thinking-you want me to pursue her so she joins our group. Gives us a strong teammate. But you can't force something like that. It'll happen if it happens."
"Sure. Up to you."
Yang Bin shrugged and let the topic die. He activated True Vision Eye and swept his gaze across the thousand-plus people in the cafeteria.
A long while later, he pulled back and shook his head.
Over a thousand people. Not a single ability user among them. Was the probability really that low?
All three of them in the dorm had awakened abilities. He'd assumed the odds couldn't be that bad.
Now he realized they'd just been lucky. Or more accurately, they should thank Chen Hao.
That one phone call had created three ability users.
Without it, they'd have been asleep when everything started. Maybe they'd have turned in their sleep.
And even if they hadn't turned, Liu Bo probably would've gotten to them.
Thinking about it, Yang Bin suddenly felt a flicker of gratitude toward Liu Shiya. Nice job cheating on him. Really did them a favor.
Some time later, Tang Weiwei and her people emerged from the back carrying several massive buckets of rice-and one huge tray of... potatoes.
The smell of cooked rice hit the cafeteria. Every pair of eyes locked onto Tang Weiwei's group.
"Everyone hungry? Today, eat as much as you want!" Tang Weiwei called out.
"Really!?"
"Thank god!"
People trembled where they stood. After days of rationing and hunger, a full meal.
Grateful eyes followed Tang Weiwei's every move. None of them knew this might be their last meal.
But even if they had known, they'd still eat.
Because this was their only chance.