Yang Bin and the others left the supermarket shortly after. Before going, he had Chen Hao leave behind a dozen or so Tier-1 Crystals.
The zombies outside were Tier 1 at minimum. Without evolving, even if these women found the courage to fight, they'd just be throwing their lives away.
Since he'd saved them, he might as well give them one more shot at survival.
Whether they could ultimately escape the fate of becoming someone's plaything-that was on them.
On the road back to Jinghe Garden, each of them pushed a shopping cart while hauling a massive mountaineering pack, moving carefully along the route.
Fortunately, they'd cleared this stretch earlier. Zombies were sparse.
In the end, they got all the supplies home safely.
But the carts and oversized packs were impossible to miss. The villa across the street had eyes.
"They actually scored that much?" Brother Kai's gaze locked onto the neighboring villa, eyes bright with interest.
"Haha, Brother Kai, these guys are alright. Our food's almost gone, and here they come delivering supplies right to our doorstep," another man laughed.
"Mm. Once I advance to Tier-4 Evolver, I'll go introduce myself. We're neighbors, after all. Borrowing a few things shouldn't be a problem." Brother Kai smiled.
Inside the villa, the team stared at the food covering the floor, satisfaction finally spreading across their faces.
For just the few of them, this was easily a month's worth.
"We'll use this place as our base for now. Every time we go out to hunt zombies from here on, bring a pack. Try to haul something back every day. That way we won't have to worry about starving anytime soon," Yang Bin said.
"But what if someone shows up while we're gone? The security door's solid, but it won't hold against a high-order Evolver," Zhao Kun said, frowning.
"Little Orange stays home from now on. No need to come out with us."
Little Orange's advantage was speed. One-on-one or against a handful of enemies, it was fine. But against swarms of zombies, that edge didn't count for much. Better to have it guard the house.
"Meow!"
Little Orange called out once-clearly on board with this arrangement.
Orange Cats were lazy by nature. Given the choice between napping at home and brawling with the undead, the decision made itself.
"Haha, works for me. With Little Orange's strength, even a Tier-4 Evolver might not be able to take it," Chen Hao said with a grin.
Little Orange hadn't hit Tier 4 yet, but its speed was something else. The higher the tiers climbed, the more that advantage showed. Most ordinary Tier-4 Evolvers probably couldn't even land a hit.
"Alright, settled. Now hurry up-dig out some of that cured meat. We're eating well tonight." Yang Bin smiled.
"Hell yeah."
During the raid, they'd grabbed plenty of cured meat, dried vegetables, and other long-storage ingredients. No need to choke down plain rice.
The others prepped while Yang Bin took the wok. Before long, dish after dish hit the table, filling the room with the smell of real food.
Everyone grabbed bowls and chopsticks, crowding around the table with genuine happiness on their faces.
In the apocalypse, a scene like this was rare.
"Damn, Brother Bin... your cooking is legit chef-level. This is incredible."
Praise flowed between bites.
"Seriously. Never thought I'd get a meal like this after the world ended."
"Alright, quit kissing my ass. Eat up, get to bed early. We're up tonight to watch the stars."
"Mm."
Everyone nodded. In the end, each of them put away three bowls of rice and cleaned every dish off the table before reluctantly setting down their chopsticks.
"Dishes are on you. I'm going upstairs to sleep."
"Got it-no problem!" They were all eager to volunteer.
Yang Bin headed upstairs. The rest quickly got to work on cleanup.
"Haozi." Zhao Kun's voice was quieter now. "What exactly did Brother Bin go through? His mindset is more mature than any of ours. And he seems to know how to do everything."
He'd led a team before this. Made all the calls himself.
Since joining this group, he felt useless. Couldn't get a word in edgewise. Every problem he anticipated, Yang Bin had already solved.
No matter the situation, Yang Bin made the right call instantly. It gnawed at Zhao Kun. A normal person didn't develop that kind of judgment by their early twenties. Something had shaped him.
Chen Hao glanced toward the stairs, then let out a long breath.
"Brother Bin's childhood was a lot worse than ours."
"When he was eleven, both his parents died in a car accident. He became an orphan overnight. But he did get a decent compensation payout."
"His aunt took guardianship. Promised to raise him. So he moved in with her family."
"Turned out she only wanted the money. He was still a kid-didn't know any better. Handed the whole sum over to her for 'safekeeping.'"
"The moment she had it, the family bought a new house. Their life got better and better. His got worse."
"Every piece of hard labor, every dirty chore in that house fell on him. His uncle beat him whenever the mood struck. His cousin paraded toys in front of him every day-toys bought with his parents' money-and he wasn't allowed to touch a single one."
Chen Hao's eyes were red.
"Fuck!" The reaction was immediate and unanimous. "That family is disgusting. Living off money Brother Bin's parents paid for with their lives, and they treated him like a slave."
Even Hu Wenliang's face was dark. This was the first time he'd heard any of this.
"What happened after that?"
"He left. Never went back."
Chen Hao's voice was flat now.
"After school every day, he'd collect garbage to sell. Slept under bridges at night."
"You can't imagine what that was like. Fighting stray dogs for scraps. Competing with grown homeless men for sleeping spots. Once, he picked up a bottle someone hadn't finished drinking-got beaten half to death for it. No money for a doctor. He just gritted his teeth and rode it out alone."
"It wasn't until middle school-when the school had dorms-that he finally had a bed."
"His enrollment paperwork was all handled by his elementary school homeroom teacher. Brother Bin's grades were outstanding. When the teacher found out about his situation, she took care of everything."
"But he refused any other help from her. Still earned his own way."
"I met him in middle school. We were desk mates. One day I saw him picking through trash outside the school. After that, I started sneaking food from home to share with him."
"Because of that one thing I did-one time I was getting jumped by a bunch of punks outside the school gate, and Brother Bin happened to walk by."
Chen Hao paused.
"That was the first time I ever saw what real violence looked like. One kid, alone, against seven or eight guys our age. He didn't just win. He made them run. That look in his eyes-I've never forgotten it."
"I've been with him ever since. And honestly, it's because of him that a slacker like me even got into a decent university. Made my family proud for once."
"From elementary school through college, Brother Bin carried himself alone. Every step. So tell me-how would any of us compare?"
No one spoke.
The kitchen was quiet except for the sound of running water.
Now they understood. Why Yang Bin's mind worked the way it did. Why nothing seemed to rattle him. Why he could make the hard calls without flinching.
He'd been making them since he was eleven.