Chapter 92 The Residential Area Under the Eye of Peace (Part 2)

"There are so many people..."

Deng Yuxin whispered; in all those missions, they hadn't encountered many people in total.

As soon as they got out of the car, they were met with nothing but young faces.

It felt like they were back on a university campus, with everyone taking a stroll.

There was only one main road ahead, leading deep into the Residential Zone.

Along the way, many people from other teams cast glances their way—some simply sizing them up, some scrutinizing their strength, and some lingering on the beauty of the girls.

It wasn't just because of the girls' outstanding figures and looks, but also their condition... Yes, the other students who had just arrived at the Residential Zone, regardless of which of the three schools they were from, looked quite haggard and were exhausted to death.

In other words, the others looked sickly and had chapped lips.

How come this group of girls... had rosy complexions, were positive and sunny, and even full of positive energy???

"What the heck, is this a convoy of so many beautiful girls..."

"Look at the one in the middle with the long legs; she walks like she's filming a commercial!"

"How come the women in his team look like they haven't suffered from the cold at all?"

"Probably have good Talents, or maybe their missions were easy. Their luck is damn good!"

Several teams by the roadside began discussing amongst themselves as they watched Chen Yu and the others, who stood out like cranes among chickens.

"What are you looking at!"

Wang Mengmeng felt a bit uncomfortable being stared at. She puffed out her chest but moved half a step closer to Chen Yu's side!

"Alright, Mengmeng. Let them look, just don't cause trouble for now."

Yang Kexin, on the other hand, adapted quite well. She strode calmly with her long legs and even met the gazes of a few boys staring at her until they sheepishly looked away.

Zhang Wanyue nodded. "Looking at them, they arrived around the same time as us. They were probably still freezing half an hour ago, which is why they're in such bad shape..."

"So miserable."

Li Mengyao sighed with emotion.

With such a comparison, the girls felt even more that following Chen Yu was the most correct choice.

Otherwise, it was hard to imagine if they would be any better off than these people.

Until they followed the flow of people to a crossroads and saw a... giant metal sign standing in the middle of the road.

Almost everyone coming from this road spontaneously gathered there.

"Brother Chen Yu!!!"

Wang Mengmeng exclaimed, pointing above her head. "Look! There's text!"

Her sudden outburst startled the surrounding teams, who quickly moved two steps away.

Chen Yu: "..."

"I'm not blind."

After saying that, everyone looked at the information on the sign together:

[Binhai City Residential Zone · Basic Rules and Area Diagram]

[Left column: Text Rules]

1. Minimum stay: 15 days | Maximum stay: 30 days

2. Core Prohibition: The Eye of Peace hangs high; any form of combat or looting is strictly forbidden. Violators will receive a warning, serious offenders will be expelled, and killers will be obliterated by the Eye of Peace.

3. Material Acquisition Principle: Free exploration, at your own risk.

[Right column: Diagram]

Note: The center point is the current crossroads.

1. Road No. 1 (Straight ahead): An arrow points to a square icon labeled [Central Plaza], followed by yellow beach and ocean markers.

2. Road No. 2 (Left turn): The arrow passes through a dense grid of icons labeled [Residential Area: A-G, 7 districts in total], then the road extends to the [Independent Villa Area].

3. Road No. 3 (Right turn): The arrow points to a relatively sparse block labeled [Unplanned Zone of the Residential Zone], with a small note saying "Explore with caution."

(It's okay if you don't understand; here is a rough chibi-style map:)

Binhai City Residential Zone Diagram

The area in front of the sign was crowded with people looking up.

A cacophony of discussions buzzed, mostly about the rules of the Residential Zone.

"30 days? Holy cow, we can stay for that long! That's awesome!"

"Keep dreaming, bro. You have to leave after 15 days; if you fall behind, you'll freeze to death!"

"That's true, but these 15 days will be absolutely safe!"

"It's only safety between people. Exploring Road No. 3 still depends on your own abilities, doesn't it?"

"And the Villa Area—one, two, three, four... there are only ten in total. There must be good stuff there."

Wang Mengmeng stood on her tiptoes, her eyes shining. "Holy crap, there's a seaside! Can we really see the ocean?"

Zhang Wanyue also looked closely at the diagram. "There's a beach, a Villa Area, and a plaza. This really has turned into a resort area. I just don't know if this city actually exists..."

Chen Yu said coldly and heartlessly, "Instead of thinking about a vacation, you should consider where we can scavenge for supplies."

Wang Mengmeng's excitement was interrupted, and she pouted. "Fine, let's find supplies first..."

Her muttering wasn't loud, but combined with her aggrieved expression, it was noticed by a nearby team of boys who had just finished reading the rules and were resting.

One of them, a dark-skinned boy with a buzz cut, stepped closer. "Hey, little miss, the seaside must be fun. He's not taking you there to see it? Why don't you come with us?"

His eyes scanned her up and down.

He was clearly eyeing Wang Mengmeng's figure; her butt was nearly bursting out of her tight shorts.

The boy beside him echoed, "We're just about to head to the seaside. How about we take you along?"

"Go with you? Who do you think you are?"

Wang Mengmeng snorted coldly, her hands on her hips.

╭(￣ヘ￣)╮

"Your face is tanned like a black coal ball, and you're trying to hit on people? Our car owner is doing serious business, scavenging for supplies, got it? Can't I go to the seaside myself? Do I need you to take me?"

The boys were stunned; they hadn't expected this girl to be so fierce.

Feeling rebuffed, they were about to leave.

"And another thing,"

Wang Mengmeng tilted her chin up. "Keep your eyes clean! If you keep ogling, believe it or not, I'll have Brother Chen Yu gouge your eyes out. I'm talking to you, black coal ball!"

The boys were left speechless by her verbal onslaught.

"Damn, it was just a joke, beautiful!"

The "black coal ball" sheepishly rubbed his nose and quickly signaled his buddies to beat it.

Having driven them off, Wang Mengmeng's expression changed instantly. She whirled around and sidled up to Chen Yu, looking up with sparkling eyes and a "praise me" expression.

"Let's go. We'll check out the plaza first."

Chen Yu gave the order directly and started walking toward Road No. 1.

Wang Mengmeng was stunned. Seeing Chen Yu turn and leave, she quickly jogged to catch up.

She persistently looked up to claim credit. "Brother Chen Yu! I chased those flies away! They even tried to sow discord! My stance was firm, right?"

Without looking back, Chen Yu just waved his hand casually in front. "That's what you should have done."

"..."

The girls' lips twitched, nearly breaking into smiles, but they forced themselves to hold it in to save Wang Mengmeng's dignity.

But just as they started walking, a male voice reached their ears.

"Class Monitor!"

"Senior Sister!"

"Wang Mengmeng!"

Chen Yu's group stopped and turned to look.

They saw a thin boy with fairly handsome features.

He was pushing through the crowd, waving his hand vigorously toward them.

His face was filled with uncontrollable excitement.

"Liu Ming?!"

Deng Yuxin was the first to recognize him. She covered her mouth. "We've run into a classmate!"

At her shout, the others immediately saw him too.

"It really is Liu Ming!"

"And Sun Hui! Zhang Yufeng! Liu Xiaoqian!"

Wang Mengmeng blinked, her body subconsciously leaning a bit closer to Chen Yu's side.

"You're all okay? That's wonderful!"

"Yeah, seeing familiar faces in the apocalypse makes me feel so much more at ease!"

"Hey, your team looks like it's in great shape!"

Several classmates gathered around, their faces beaming with joy as they all spoke at once.

Chen Yu watched them quietly.

Three men, three women.

They were:

Liu Ming, Sun Hui, and Zhang Yufeng.

Liu Xiaoqian, Zuo Shi, and Miao Yin.

But their appearance was in stark contrast to Chen Yu's squad.

Although they had changed into summer clothes, most were battle-worn versions. Fortunately, their spirit was good.

They seemed to be doing okay.

But immediately afterward, they explained why they were in decent shape.

"We arrived two days ago,"

Liu Ming was very happy. "We come near this crossroads every day to look around, hoping to run into acquaintances from our school. I didn't expect to meet you guys today!"

"Yeah, yeah!"

Liu Xiaoqian was a girl with a soft voice. "Class Monitor, Senior Sister Shen, and Mengmeng, Mengyao, Yuxin—it's so good that you could all get together!"

Among the three girls, the most beautiful one was likely Zuo Shi.

She had a somewhat aggressive villainess face.

But she was quite gentle: "By the way, we went to the beach yesterday. Although we didn't find many supplies, it was so beautiful there—it didn't feel like the apocalypse at all! Do you want to go take a look together?"

As she extended the invitation, the others chimed in as well:

"Yeah! Let's go together! The sea breeze is cool!"

"It's rare to find a place like this; it would be a pity not to see it!"

Zhang Wanyue didn't answer immediately; instead, she tilted her head slightly and looked at Chen Yu.

Shen Qingci did the same.

This unified direction left Liu Ming, Liu Xiaoqian, and the others stunned.

They had barely noticed Chen Yu until now.

After all, back at school, he was socially invisible... Sun Hui pushed up his broken glasses. "Chen Yu? Long time no see. We're classmates; who knows, we might even be assigned to the same vehicle in the future. Why don't we go to the beach and chat?"

"Yeah."

Zuo Shi, wearing a long denim skirt, gave a slight smile. "We arrived two days early, so we can exchange some information. There's a lot to learn about this Binhai City Residential Zone!"

Chen Yu looked at her and remained silent for two seconds.

"Sure."

"Let's go see the beach."

The groups merged into a larger team and headed toward the end of Road No. 1.

Liu Ming, Sun Hui, and a few others crowded around Zhang Wanyue and Shen Qingci, enthusiastically sharing what they had seen and heard over the past two days.

Zuo Shi and Miao Yin started chatting with Deng Yuxin and Li Mengyao.

Alarm bells immediately went off in Wang Mengmeng's head.

She quickly tugged at Li Mengyao's sleeve. "Mengyao! Mengyao! Look! Brother Chen Yu! The way he's looking at that Zuo Shi! Did you see it?"

Li Mengyao was startled by the tugging and followed her gaze, but she only saw Chen Yu and Zuo Shi walking side by side with almost no interaction.

"What look?"

"Oh! It's that... that 'staring' feeling!"

Wang Mengmeng was getting anxious. "This Zuo Shi, acting all pure in that ragged skirt! Look at her face, it's thin as a blade—she doesn't have an auspicious look at all!"

Li Mengyao: "..."

The team passed through the edge of the Central Plaza.

It was equally lively here, with many crude stalls set up and crowds bustling about.

Anyway, with the Eye of Peace active, it was very safe, and there was no need to fear robbery.

"Medical gauze, iodine, small amount of antibiotics! Only trading for high-energy food!"

"Handmade fishing nets! Durable vine weaving! Essentials for exploring the beach!"

"Repair expert here, offering simple tool repairs for free, just give me something to eat!"

"Take a look, come and see! The last of the compressed biscuits!"

Everyone finally dared to bring out the precious supplies they held in their hands.

The Central Plaza could be considered a holy land for offline stalls.

Until... the fishy smell of the sea in the air grew stronger and stronger.

When the azure sea appeared before their eyes, "Wow—!"

All the girls beside Chen Yu let out a collective exclamation!

(⊙o⊙) Wow!

"Is it really the ocean!"

"It's not The Truman Show, is it?"

"There are even waves; it doesn't look fake. Could Binhai City really be a real city?"

Everyone couldn't help but jog a few steps, stepping onto the soft sand. Their eyes sparkled as they watched the waves crashing in, all feeling that it was quite surreal.

It clearly wasn't the first time Liu Ming and his group had been here.

Knowing the way well, they led everyone to a shady spot near some reefs.

The group dispersed, some sitting and some standing.

"Splash, splash, splash~"

They enjoyed the sea view, which could be called a luxury in this apocalypse.

"Actually, we've discussed it,"

Liu Ming shook his head, looking somewhat helpless. "We plan to stay here for the full thirty days, stockpile more things, and get our bodies in better shape. It's better than rushing to the next unknown station."

He paused and looked at Chen Yu, his tone becoming more serious. "Chen Yu, you guys just arrived. Have you decided on a place to stay? The seven districts in this residential zone, A through G, are quite different."

Chen Yu shifted his gaze. "How so?"

Sun Hui took over the conversation, pushing up his broken glasses. "Districts A and B are closest to the square and Road No. 3, making it most convenient to search for supplies. They've basically been occupied by the large groups that arrived first."

"Even if you squeeze in, you won't get a good spot, and it's easy to attract unwanted attention..."

"Districts C and D are a middle ground,"

Liu Ming added. "There are many people, but it's a mix of small groups living together. We're there. There are occasional frictions, but no one dares to use lethal force; they only dare to spit at each other."

Liu Xiaoqian whispered a complaint, "The others aren't worth mentioning. They're too far from Road No. 3 and aren't fully occupied."

Zhang Wanyue keenly noticed that everyone seemed to place great importance on Road No. 3.

"So, Road No. 3 is the place to search for supplies?"

"Yes."

Liu Ming nodded, looking a bit apprehensive. "Road No. 3 is very complex. The Eye of Peace doesn't cover it, and it's said there are many troublesome monsters inside..."

"Whoosh, whoosh!"

The sea breeze blew past, bringing a chill.

Zhang Yufeng suddenly added, "Actually, it's not just Road No. 3 where you can find supplies. You can also search within the districts. As long as you know how to pick locks, anything is possible..."

"Besides that, the tides wash up all sorts of supplies, not just seafood!"

"Oh right, I heard there's a well in the Villa Area where you can fish up good things, but those are just rumors. We haven't been to the Villa Area ourselves."

Lockpicking... Zhang Wanyue instinctively looked at Chen Yu.

She hadn't expected the Lockpicking ability to be so important here.

She really needed to find an opportunity to have him train her a bit.

Deng Yuxin murmured, "Supplies from the waves is one thing, but a well in the Villa Area? What kind of combination is that..."

Li Mengyao also shook her head. "Fishing up good things instead of water from a well—that's too abstract!"

Zhang Yufeng shrugged. "Just rumors..."

Liu Xiaoqian suddenly asked, "By the way, we haven't asked about your Talents yet. How is everyone's strength?"

Liu Ming chimed in, "If you're strong, maybe you can squeeze into District D with us. We can look out for each other..."

As the Assistant Instructor, Shen Qingci spoke up slowly, "Our strength is pretty good. Chen Yu and I both have a certain amount of combat power, roughly... roughly S-rank."

Chen Yu also nodded. "Yeah, about that."

"Huh?"

Liu Xiaoqian cried out in surprise, "That's amazing! Doesn't that mean you could go to District A!"

Zuo Shi shook her head. "District A has too many people. It's all large groups with buses, double-deckers, school buses, and shuttle coaches, often with dozens of people..."

"Even if you two have S-rank combat power, you probably won't be able to contend with so many people. They'd easily throw you out of District A..."

Liu Ming said somewhat helplessly, "Yeah, the difference in luck is really huge. Those with many people in their vehicles are having a great time in the residential zone, unlike us with only six or seven!"

"Hey, Chen Yu, Senior Sister, what do you think? Will you join us?"

Following Liu Ming's question, everyone's eyes shifted to Chen Yu.

Chen Yu pointed toward the Villa Area in the distance, separated from the coast.

"Let's go there. I want to check out that well."

"?"

There was a moment of silence.

The smile on Liu Ming's face froze for a second, as if he hadn't heard correctly. "Go where?"

Zhang Wanyue repeated, "Chen Yu said he wants to see what the well in the Villa Area is really like."

Sun Hui couldn't help but interject, "Um... maybe not the Villa Area..."

Liu Xiaoqian was also a bit dazed. "That place... how should I put it? Three schools each took three slots, and Polytechnic took an extra one. All ten villas are completely occupied..."

Zuo Shi added softly, "Over there, you'll be watched just for getting close. It's very strict."

"Chen Yu,"

Liu Ming warned in a low voice, "I know you guys are pretty strong, but the Villa Area isn't something we can think about right now. Scavenging what's left in the districts is already good enough."

They all spoke at once, their tones sincere.

Everyone felt that Chen Yu's idea was too impractical.

In their minds, Chen Yu was still that quiet, ordinary classmate from their class.

Being able to bring several girls here alive and doing reasonably well was already a stroke of luck... as for snatching food from the mouths of those in the Villa Area? How could that be possible!

Only the people in Chen Yu's own team remained silent from beginning to end.

It was as if whatever Chen Yu decided was exactly what would happen... and then.

Liu Ming, Sun Hui, and the others completely lost their composure. "Are you guys for real?"