85: Doesn't Chapter 85 mean we're still in danger?

Xu Wanning took out paper and a pen from behind her. "Is there anyone here who wants to take on a mission? The missions are very simple. Currently, there is only the work of clearing out zombies, or for Ability Users who want to work in the Central District—raise your hand to register."

Everyone looked at each other. Finally, a girl wearing a pink jacket stepped out. "I am a Water-Type Ability User. Can I work in the Central District?"

"Of course." Xu Wanning clicked her pen. "The Central District provides dormitories. Are you by yourself, or do you have family? Is your family staying here, or are they leaving with you?"

The girl looked behind her. "I—I'm taking my family with me. My dad and my mom. My name is Zhao Qian."

Xu Wanning wrote down her name. "Go back and pack your things. We will be leaving before six o'clock this afternoon. Bring your family and come with us; we won't wait if you're late."

"Okay." Zhao Qian turned around and followed her parents back to pack their things.

With her setting the example, several more Ability Users came over to register, including one with Healing Ability. All of them chose to take their families with them.

After the scene that just happened, they knew exactly what kind of people lived around them. If they left their families here, they might get pestered later on. They weren't going to be suckers who worked alone just to support a whole group of people.

Those ordinary survivors without Supernatural ability silently began to cry. They didn't have any Ability Users, and they weren't in good health. How could they kill zombies? How could they possibly obtain supplies on their own?

Seeing that no one else was coming over, Xu Wanning closed her notebook. "The authorities have provided you with a month's worth of supplies. Before next month begins, perhaps The Apocalypse will be over. Stay at home and rest assured; don't waste the supplies. Before next month starts, the authorities will definitely provide a plan."

What she had said earlier about the authorities not caring was intentional. How could the authorities not care about the common people? Most people were ordinary, and there were only a few Ability Users.

Having known about The Apocalypse in advance, the country had stockpiled a large amount of supplies, so supporting ordinary people wasn't difficult. Plus, with Water Ability and Wood Ability Users able to supply water, vegetables, and fruit, they certainly wouldn't let everyone starve.

It was just that, for the time being, there weren't that many Water Ability and Wood Ability Users heading to the Central District. Only after they came out to promote the missions and people found out about them would they go.

Once there were enough people at the resource center, supplying all the common people with resources wouldn't be difficult.

The Apocalypse in this lifetime was definitely different from the previous one; it wouldn't last very long.

As for natural disasters, they were still far off, so there was no need to worry about them for now.

"Okay, we believe you." The middle-aged man stood up and was the first to leave, and the others left one after another.

The man in the jacket was still clutching his finger, his face deathly pale and devoid of any color.

Xu Wanning glanced at him. "Go find the Healing Ability user from earlier and let him treat you. Remember not to pick fights in the future, and don't let others use you as a pawn."

The man in the jacket was helped up by his family and left.

Xu Wanning said goodbye to her dad and hurried to meet up with her teammates who were clearing out the zombies.

They had previously counted the number of zombies in every household in every building. For those who hadn't reported a number, it was assumed that either no one was inside or everyone had turned into zombies, so they had to go check as well.

This was faster than checking house by house, but to prevent situations where there were zombies in a home that hadn't been reported, Jiang Heng's role became apparent; his mental-type ability could directly scan the area.

Jiang Heng's brothers, Cheng Xu and Pang Lei, also lived in this residential complex. They had both been rescued and were currently following the squad to carry out missions.

It didn't take long for Xu Wanning to find them. She and Grandpa Zhou each led a team to clear the buildings one by one.

Compared to her previous life, this kind of cleanup was simply too easy.

In her previous life, the roads, the residential complex, and the stairwells were full of zombies. Now, the zombies were basically all locked inside the rooms, so they could just be killed one by one, with almost no danger.

They kept clearing until twelve o'clock at noon before gathering at an empty, relatively clean house to eat lunch.

Jiang Heng plopped down next to Xu Wanning. "Sister Ning, you wouldn't believe it. Just in this one building alone, there were three households with zombies that weren't reported. They claimed that they were just sick and would get better sooner or later."

Xu Wanning picked up a piece of broccoli with her chopsticks. "The Apocalypse has just begun, and they haven't come to terms with it yet. After all, it's their own family; they can't accept for a moment that their family members have just died like that."

"That's true. If my parents turned into zombies, I might not be able to bring myself to do it either," Cheng Xu said, shoveling a mouthful of rice. "Sister Ning, you said there would be another Acid Rain later, and that people would mutate then. Doesn't that mean we are still in danger?"

Xu Wanning nodded. "That's right. When the second Acid Rain falls, more people will mutate into zombies. In the end, I don't know how many people will be left; I only know that Ability Users are immune."

Pang Lei reached out. "Sister Ning, I remember you mentioned before that it's possible to awaken a Supernatural ability if you're bitten or injured by a zombie. What if I let a zombie scratch me on purpose..."

Jiang Heng slapped him, cutting off the rest of his words. "Nonsense! What if you just turn into a zombie immediately? Live well for now, exercise, and you'll definitely be able to survive the next Acid Rain."

Pang Lei chuckled foolishly. "That's true, huh."

When he said that earlier, a few others had been tempted, but now they had dismissed the idea.

Being bitten by a zombie passively versus being bitten by a zombie actively—the latter was obviously too stupid.

After finishing their meal, they only rested for half an hour before continuing to clear out the zombies.

The entire residential complex had a total of 8,000 households. They kept clearing until five-thirty in the afternoon, having cleared a total of 9,832 zombies and obtained 9,800 crystal nucleus. A few zombies had just mutated and hadn't had time to form a crystal nucleus.

After going to the guard station to have Qiao Quan stamp their records, the group headed back.

A total of 17 Ability Users chose to leave with them, bringing their families along. There were also 321 ordinary people who chose to form a squad, but they didn't leave with them; instead, they chose to stay behind and go to the Mission Hall to take on missions the next morning.

They basically all had cars, so they drove directly behind the minibus as the group returned to the base.

Xu Wanning drove the off-road vehicle, with Jiang Heng, Lu Zhiyu, Wen Shuyang, Grandpa Zhou, Zhou Ke, and Xu Jingan in the car, while the rest of the people sat in the minibus.

The road back was very empty; it felt so good to be outside without zombies.

As the off-road vehicle turned the last corner, the searchlight above the gate of the Central District swept over. The bright beam of light flashed across the windshield, making Xu Wanning squint her eyes.

The personnel on duty at the gate recognized her car and waved to let them through. Two people worked together to push open the iron gate, which made a heavy metallic grinding sound.

She parked the car in a parking space on the side of the perimeter wall, turned off the engine, and pulled out the key.

The moment she pushed open the car door, the night air rushed in, carrying the scent of food from the base cafeteria. Compared to the smell of charred corpses they had been smelling earlier, it was unimaginably fragrant.

Zhou Ke took a deep sniff. "It smells so good! Did the cafeteria hire a five-star chef? How about we go to the cafeteria to eat tonight?"

Xu Wanning stretched her stiff neck and rubbed her spine. "Sure, let's go try it."

Just as Xu Wanning put the car away into her space, a short honk came from the direction of the gate.