Edge of the Apocalypse
Chapter 36 - 34: Do We Really Have to Be Like This?

Chapter 36: Chapter 34: Do We Really Have to Be Like This?

Liangzi sprinted, his two big, hairy legs moving at top speed.

In broad daylight, he ran from the property management office to the entrance of Building 1.

Yu Dong, who was cleaning the first floor, heard the noise and thought a zombie was charging. He immediately grabbed his spear.

"Brother Dong, it’s me, Liangzi!"

"Hm? What are you doing here at this hour?"

Yu Dong found it a little strange that Liangzi had abandoned his two teammates in broad daylight to come find him.

Liangzi glanced back. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, he lowered his voice and said,

"I told those two I was coming to ask you for some food... We’ve already eaten everything we had."

Yu Dong nodded. That made sense.

After all, it was now the 12th day of the apocalypse.

How much food could a property management office possibly have?

The last time he had given the trio some food, it was only enough for one day.

Yu Dong still had plenty of food.

But he had actually discussed whether to share it with the trio with Zhou and Liu Ye’ye over the past two days.

Their conclusion was that they couldn’t just support these three for nothing.

Seeing Liangzi come to ask for food, Liu Ye’ye and Zhou both looked at Yu Dong.

Zhou immediately shook his head.

In his philosophy, forged over years of experience, a refusal should be swift and decisive. Even if it created an awkward moment, it was better than having people leech off you later.

Liu Ye’ye was hesitant. She was afraid of what would happen if the three of them really starved to death.

She couldn’t bring herself to be so ruthless. After all, they were living people with whom they had no quarrel. If possible, she hoped everyone could survive.

Liangzi saw their momentary silence and seemed to guess what they were thinking.

"It’s fine, Brother Dong! Just give me a little to take back and show them. I mainly came here for something else..."

"Oh? Go on."

Liangzi leaned close to the door and said in a low voice, "Brother Dong, I’ve figured it out... There’s no future with those two out there. We’re always going from feast to famine, not really getting anything done. I’m planning to sneak over myself tonight after they fall asleep. I want to join your team."

’Liangzi is planning to abandon those two?!’

’Was my analysis yesterday wrong?’

’Hasn’t Liangzi formed a clique with those two?’

’Should I just accept him?’

In that instant, many thoughts raced through Yu Dong’s mind, shattering his previous line of thinking.

Liu Ye’ye and Zhou were also shocked. Liu Ye’ye was already calculating how long their food would last after adding a 1.8-meter-tall P.E. student to the team.

Zhou continued to shake his head at Yu Dong. He felt they could do without Liangzi; he was still leaning toward the conservative side.

After all, he didn’t know Liangzi. He just felt that with Liangzi’s physique, even Yu Dong might not be able to control him. It wasn’t very safe.

Yu Dong hesitated for a moment but ultimately decided to stick to what they had discussed yesterday.

"Liangzi, I’m afraid we can’t let you into Building 1 just yet... Because our team needs to observe the three of you for a period of time. If you’re a good fit, we can let you in one by one."

"Not us, it’s me, Brother Dong! I’m coming by myself!"

Liang Mian thought Yu Dong hadn’t heard him clearly and repeated himself.

"I know, Liangzi, but we’re a team, and we have to follow our voting rules... However, as a friend, I can offer you some help."

"What vote? Aren’t you the boss? Shouldn’t your word be final?"

"If you or your two friends want to get food, you can do some work for us. Move these corpses onto the lawn, and I can give you some rice, beans, and pickled vegetables."

These basic food items were what they had the most of. Compared to pre-packaged food, Yu Dong would rather they eat this.

Besides, he believed the three of them would definitely prefer a hot meal.

This was a gesture of goodwill he was proactively extending to their team of three.

If they could help him, he would also add points to their evaluation.

In the end, Yu Dong wasn’t the kind of person who could just let people die. If their principles aligned, he was willing to help everyone survive together.

Liangzi was silent for a while... Finally, he looked at Yu Dong with a complicated expression and asked,

"Brother Dong, does it really have to be like this between us?"

"Liangzi, consider my proposal. I promise, this is only temporary."

After hearing this, Liangzi’s face darkened. He turned and left without another word.

Yu Dong sighed.

"Zhou, I think we’ve offended Liangzi."

"It’s better than having a falling out later. This is all food we worked our asses off to get. If they want a share... they have to show some good faith. If they’re not even willing to take on this little bit of responsibility, that tells you everything you need to know about what kind of people they are."

"Zhou, you’ve grown up... You know how to analyze things now. I’m so proud."

"Huh? Me???"

Zhou Jian Country was speechless.

But Yu Dong really did think so. The sanitation issue was critical right now. Yu Dong suspected that Liu Ye’ye’s illness was very likely caused by the unsanitary conditions below Building 1.

Shen Xinyi had said this type of acute pneumonia was usually caused by a bacterial infection.

Yu Dong speculated that the source of the infection was most likely the rotting, stinking zombies below.

Yu Dong didn’t want to be suddenly taken down by something invisible, so the sanitation problem had to be solved as soon as possible.

’Liangzi, I hope you understand... If you’re really thinking about the team, then the team won’t let you down.’

After they finished cleaning, Liu Ye’ye took Yu Dong and Zhou to the rooftop.

"Senior, Brother Zhou, let me teach you how to use the drone. That way, if I... if I get sick again, you can use it yourselves. It’s really simple!"

"Okay, Zhou and I definitely need to learn."

It was better to master this skill sooner rather than later.

But Zhou waved his hand. "Dongzi, you learn first. I’ve got something to do. I’ll get to it when I’m done."

With that, he went downstairs to tinker with his own project.

"Senior, what’s Zhou been tinkering with these past few days? Why does he keep going to the fifth floor...?"

"He’s doing what he does best."

A smile played on Yu Dong’s lips.

An afternoon passed. Yu Dong had drained all three of the drone’s spare batteries, but there was still no sign of Liangzi or his two companions.

...

「Day 13 of the apocalypse.」

Liu Ye’ye had recovered about seventy to eighty percent. She still had a slight cough and felt a bit weak, but she had no problem with daily activities.

Early in the morning, after using the drone to deliver a meal to Shen Xinyi, she also sent her a message.

"We’re going to come get you!"

Shen Xinyi jumped for joy and blew a kiss to the three of them from afar.

Zhou coughed, Liu Ye’ye giggled, and Yu Dong stuffed the last bite of his flatbread into his mouth.

"Plan A, let’s get to work!"

Yu Dong had two plans, and he was prepared to try both.

Taking out a steel slingshot, Yu Dong loaded a steel ball and aimed at the main door of Building 3...

CLANG!

The steel ball hit the iron door, making a crisp metallic sound.

The sound carried into the stairwell.

A moment later, a zombie came running out of the stairwell!

Then it raged impotently in the open space around it.

"It’s out!"

Yu Dong pulled the slingshot taut again, fired another steel ball, and it landed on the stone bricks in front of the zombie.

CRACK!

The sound of the impact attracted the zombie, which continued to run toward it.

Yu Dong kept shooting, luring the zombie all the way to the entrance of Building 1... where the zombie spotted Zhou hiding inside.

ROAR!!!

It charged straight at Zhou.

It was met by Zhou’s spear.

SQUELCH!

Fluids splattered everywhere.

Yu Dong continued to shoot at the door of Building 3 like this, using the sound to lure out all the zombies in the stairwell.

This work continued for a whole day.

Until the sound of the steel balls could no longer draw any more zombies out.

’At this rate, the zombies in the Building 3 stairwell should be pretty much cleared out. I’ll verify again tomorrow...’

If he verified it this way for three days and no more zombies came out, Yu Dong believed that the conditions would be right for Shen Xinyi to come out.

He couldn’t guarantee it would be 100% safe, but he would have created the best possible window of opportunity for her to escape.

Tonight, Shen Xinyi slept soundly.

Because today, there were no zombies running around in the stairwell.

She couldn’t wait to get to Building 1.