18: The feeling of ‘family’

The pace of the five people was noticeably faster than Xu Jingzhe's, but they all silently slowed down, afraid that Xu Jingzhe couldn't keep up.

Wang Ning pulled out a cigar, his eyes, wreathed in smoke, watched the slow yet steady Xu Jingzhe, as if he saw himself when he first arrived in the Pollution Zone.

He had been in the Pollution Zone for twenty-five years, with fifteen circles, which meant his strength was that of a Contaminator for fifteen years.

Twenty-five years! A full twenty-five years.

When he woke from a dream, he would always miss his family in the Seed Zone.

Are Mom and Dad still well? That Little Girl who used to cry and follow him around all day, she must be married by now, right? He must be an uncle by now, right?

On the way, they encountered many Contaminators, and even a Contaminant.

They all looked at each other from a distance, with vigilance in their expressions, not disturbing each other.

Around nine in the evening, the six people arrived at the abandoned unfinished building.

Xu Jingzhe looked at the thirteenth floor, scratched his head, afraid he couldn't go up.

"Third Sister..." He hesitated, wanting to speak but holding back.

Cold Qing understood immediately; this boy wanted to ask for help but was too embarrassed. She put her arm around Xu Jingzhe's neck, gave a 'smooch', leaving a lip print on Xu Jingzhe's face, and laughed, "Can't you go up? Do you want to ask Third Sister for help?"

Xu Jingzhe wiped the saliva from his face and said, "Yes, there's a backpack on the thirteenth floor. And... a large sniper rifle. Please, Third Sister, bring them down."

"You little rascal, you have a good eye for people. You know your little Third Sister is good at scaling walls," Wang Ning teased.

Cold Qing 'hmphed' and became even more charming. She tied her wavy hair into a ponytail, extended her slender hands, and fine, flesh-colored barbs grew on her palms.

She went to the bottom of the building, leaped up, and her hands firmly stuck to the wall, like Spider-Man.

With a few leaps, she disappeared.

In less than two minutes, she came down with a large sniper rifle and bullets in one hand, and a backpack in the other.

"Here, for you," Cold Qing handed them over.

Xu Jingzhe thanked her repeatedly and took the backpack. To his surprise, the backpack was a bit heavy.

He didn't open it in front of them but turned and went into the first floor to change clothes.

When the backpack was opened, Xu Jingzhe's eyes were a little moist.

Besides a change of clothes and a mask, the rest were all acorns, filling more than half of the backpack.

He changed his clothes, adjusted his emotions, and put on his mask.

When he came out, Bo Qing was fiddling with the large sniper rifle. He had loved machinery since he was a child, and after coming to the Pollution Zone, his physical potential was activated, and he became a top sniper without a teacher. As long as the scope was high enough, no matter how far away, he could headshot even fast-movingWhite Walkers with one shot.

"Heh heh... You little rascal, where did you get this large sniper rifle from the High Molecular Compound Zone? It must have cost a lot of pollution core to get it."

Bo Qing caressed the large sniper rifle, unable to put it down.

Then he thought of his own damaged one; it was like night and day.

"It's from a... friend. But if Fourth Brother likes it, I'll give it to Fourth Brother. Please, Fourth Brother, take good care of it."

Xu Jingzhe knew that this large sniper rifle was specially left by Zhang Manyue. Otherwise, Cold Qing would have only found a backpack when she went up.

"Really? You little rascal, do you know the value of weapons from the High Molecular Compound Zone in the Pollution Zone?" Bo Qing asked, blinking.

"Its value can only be fully realized when Fourth Brother uses it," Xu Jingzhe said. It wasn't that he didn't want to use it; he couldn't even carry it now. What if someone else took it if he left it here?

Bo Qing felt a bit embarrassed. A new member had joined, and they hadn't prepared a gift yet.

As a result, they were receiving a gift from their sixth younger brother first; it didn't seem right.

"Alright, Sixth Brother is already a Dark Night Hunter, so just take it," Wang Ning said.

"Exactly! You're taking advantage and still acting coy. If I liked it, I'd even sleep with Sixth Brother, giggle giggle..."

Bo Qing glared and said, "How do you know Sixth Brother likes women? What if he likes men?"

"Alright, stop bickering. Everyone, take a rest."

"Fifth Sister, you're on watch tonight," Wang Ning said.

The twin-tailed Little Loli nodded, casually found a stone to sit on, rested her chin in her hands, and looked at the bright moon in the sky.

Soon, Xu Jingzhe fell into a dream.

In the early hours of the morning, the Little Loli, who was in a daze, suddenly got up and looked towards an abandoned unfinished building.

It seemed as if a pair of eyes were watching them from there.

The feeling of being watched disappeared, and only then did the Little Loli lower her guard and sit back down to stare blankly.

The next morning, when Xu Jingzhe woke up, there were several spiders the size of washbasins roasting by the campfire.

These spiders were similar to king crabs; they had little meat in their bodies but a lot in their legs.

Cold Qing handed over a spider leg and said, "Try it, Boss is a good cook."

"Thank you, Third Sister, but I don't eat it."

Xu Jingzhe took acorns from his backpack and cracked them one by one with a stone.

"What's so good about acorns? They have no nutrition. We do physical work; we can't do without protein." Cold Qing broke open a spider leg, took out the tender white meat inside, and offered it to Xu Jingzhe's mouth.

Xu Jingzhe felt a warmth in his heart. Was this the feeling of friends and 'family'?

It felt so good.

"Third Sister, right now I can only eat acorns." Xu Jingzhe gave Cold Qing a look.

Cold Qing returned a look that said, 'I understand,' put the peeled spider leg meat into her mouth, and her red lips moved slightly. With a 'gulp,' she swallowed it.

System: "Ding, eat more acorns. The journey to Musileke City is fraught with danger. If you kick the bucket, you won't have anything to eat."

"Can't you say something nice?" Xu Jingzhe said helplessly, "If I kick the bucket, you'll kick the bucket too."

System: "Ding, that's why I'm telling you to eat more."

After breakfast, they continued on their way.

This abandoned unfinished building was not very far from Musileke City, so the group was not in a great hurry.

Along the way, Xu Jingzhe continuously handed acorns to Cold Qing.

Cold Qing squeezed, and the hard shell cracked open. One person cracked the shell, the other ate, and Xu Jingzhe smiled inwardly.

"Boss, a group of zombies is following us," Bo Qing, who was carrying the large sniper rifle, said. His eyes gleamed with an unusual light; he really wanted to test the power of the large sniper rifle, even if using it on zombies was overkill.

"Don't worry about them, they're probably all heading to Musileke City. It's not bad to have them as cannon fodder; they can waste a lot of the enemy's bullets and energy."

The closer they got to Musileke City, the more 'people' they encountered.

Zombies,White Walkers, seemingly normal humans, those with tails, those with white bone wings on their backs, those with large heads, etc.—all kinds of appearances.

They were wary of each other, and restrained each other.

From a distance, Xu Jingzhe could already see the faint outline of Musileke City. In the sky, many drones were patrolling, making buzzing sounds. There were gun barrels under their fuselages, ready to fire a burst of bullets at any moment.

About seven or eight miles from Musileke City, Wang Ning stopped and found a slope. He looked into the distance.

"The experiment shouldn't have started yet. Let's assign everyone's tasks for this trip."

"There are many people this time, and even Contaminants. Keep your wits about you!"