The blonde guy's resentful gaze sent shivers down my spine.
We didn't speak much on the way back, and neither did Suo Tian.
He gestured for me to talk later, once we were back.
There were very few walkers on the road, and the car moved smoothly.
We quickly returned to Li Jiaqiang's place.
Li Jiaqiang signaled to park the car downstairs and asked for the simple method to start it (since the car didn't have keys).
That old fox! I couldn't help but curse inwardly again—he couldn't resist taking advantage of even the smallest opportunity.
If we had let them know about those two cars at the alley entrance earlier, he'd definitely have shamelessly tried to take them.
Suo Tian generously parked the car in front of their yard and carefully showed him how to start the car.
Afterward, we didn't go back home but directly entered their yard.
We hadn't found any bottled water today, so we needed to discuss the water source situation for the future.
They had a lot of people, and almost the entire fourth floor was occupied.
Looking at the bustling hallway, with occasional light laughter and conversation, a wave of indescribable emotion rose in my heart.
It feels so good to be alive.
How long has it been since I've felt this atmosphere of people coming and going?
A group that takes in so many people can't be all bad.
Without realizing it, my fondness for them had increased significantly.
Li Jianguo is their temporary leader, living on the fourth floor.
The living room was arranged almost exactly like our home.
Sitting on the couch, Li Jianguo called over a few key people from their group.
That older sister from last time was also there.
I remember her surname is Sun.
Sister Sun nodded and smiled at me, and I smiled and nodded back.
"Has there been no drinkable water at the bottled water facility?"
Li Jianguo, having learned the rough situation from Li Jiaqiang, asked with some disappointment.
Suo Tian nodded: "There should have been quite a few people staying there for a while, and they saw the situation inside. None of us can guarantee that the water is still clean."
"This is just uncertain, maybe it's drinkable, who knows, we should have brought some back."
I couldn't help but laugh: "Mr. Li, will you personally drink that water to test if it's clean, or are you planning to find some poor soul to be the test subject?"
Li Jianguo was taken aback and quickly defended himself, "No, I didn't mean that."
"Uncle Li, if we take the risk of drinking that water, we might as well drink tap water; it's just as convenient since it hasn't stopped. It's still a risk either way, and we haven't confirmed whether the tap water would be contaminated. Sister and the others didn't bring back the water because they were making sure everyone's safety was guaranteed."
Yangyang spoke very politely, and naturally gave Li Jianguo an easy way out.
I looked at him with appreciation.
Little brother is great.
Li Jianguo, after all, is in his fifties and knows how to read the room.
After hearing Yangyang's words, he immediately followed along: "Yeah, yeah, you're right. We need to be more careful… I really didn't consider everything thoroughly."
Sister Sun spoke calmly: "Now, we need to think about where we'll get water to drink in the future."
"For now, the bottled water in the scattered small supermarkets and convenience stores in the county should be enough to last us for a while. But..."
I paused and expressed my concern.
"It's obvious that we're not the only survivors. The corpses of those walkers on the road outside prove that. Since they went out to the streets to kill walkers, there must have been a reason. The only thing I can think of is that they're also searching for food. This means that the supplies in the supermarkets in the county are being shared between us and however many other people. Right now, we're just short of water, but soon, food might be in short supply as well."
"But the convenience store we went to this morning... why hasn't it been touched?" Li Jianguo interrupted me.
"Probably because they overlooked it. After all, that store is really small."
Sister Sun thought for a moment: "So, if that's the case, the supplies in the supermarkets won't last us long?"
"Yeah," I nodded.
"Then we should go out and find a supermarket that hasn't been searched yet and bring back everything we can," Li Jianguo suggested with a frown.
Sister Sun shook her head in disagreement: "Old Li, how can we be so selfish and leave others with no way to survive? Besides... even if we bring everything back, how long will it last? Don't forget, we're still short on water."
"Then what do you suggest we do? Should we just wait here to die?"
"Old Li, don't get so worked up. Things aren't that serious. If it comes to it, we can take a risk and go a little further to find supplies. It only takes about two hours to drive to the city and back," Sister Sun said, trying to comfort Li Jianguo.
"You can send a few people tomorrow to search the nearby supermarkets, leave some supplies for others, and bring the rest back. That should last us a while," Suo Tian suggested.
To prevent them from asking us for help again, I quickly added, "Suo Tian is right. The people who went with us today know what to do and how to handle the walkers. You can go out and search on your own anytime."
I emphasized the words "you" and "yourself," hoping that anyone with sense would understand my meaning.
Li Jianguo smiled politely after hearing this: "By the way, we really appreciate all your help today. You helped us with everything and didn't take anything in return. So, when you head back, take two boxes of instant noodles with you. At least you won't have come all this way for nothing."
"Then thank you," I said, smiling and nodding.
He was right; it wasn't a wasted trip.
The drinks we took from the store are also here, so I'd have to remember to take them with us later.
We then briefly discussed the shelter situation that was being broadcasted on TV.
Internally, they were divided—some agreed to take the risk and go there, while others, with families to take care of, were reluctant to risk it and suggested maintaining the current status.
We didn't want to get involved in their arguments, so after saying our goodbyes, we took our things, along with the two boxes of instant noodles Li Jianguo gave us, and headed back home.
The little food I had eaten before leaving in the morning had been mostly vomited out, and when I got home, I collapsed onto the couch, too tired to move.
My stomach churned with a strange mix of hunger and nausea.
I couldn't decide whether I wanted to eat something or go to the bathroom and throw up again.
It hadn't felt that bad when we were at Li Jianguo's place, but now that I was home and had relaxed, the scenes from the water factory kept replaying in my mind.
I probably wouldn't be able to eat any meat for a long time...
Yangyang, being a boy, had better resistance to this kind of thing.
After changing into clean clothes, he acted like nothing had happened and sat with Rongrong, eating cookies.
Mei Jing and Shen Xue, Shen Feng had tidied up the house, and that was my only comfort right now...
Even if it was the apocalypse, we still had to live comfortably!
Yangyang briefly told them what had happened—mainly that we didn't find any water, the walkers outside were fewer, and other survivors were searching for food.
"Does this mean we need to stock up more supplies at home?"
Shen Feng asked me and Suo Tian after hearing this.
"Yes, we need to prepare more food. If Li Jianguo and other survivors clear out the outside, we won't be in too much trouble," Suo Tian replied, leaning against the couch.
"The most serious issue right now is water. Are we really going to risk drinking tap water?" Yangyang turned around and asked.
"Tap water is definitely not drinkable," I looked at him and, by chance, my gaze fell on the two boxes of instant noodles stacked behind him.
A sudden flash of insight hit me!
I immediately thought of something and couldn't help but feel overjoyed.
I quickly said, "The warehouse! We've been overlooking it! The mall has a warehouse, and there must be tons of milk, drinks, and bottled water in there. If we get to it before others, we can haul a lot back, and then we won't need to worry about water anymore."
"Ah! You're right! How come no one thought of that before?"
Shen Feng said, giving me a thumbs-up.
"I've actually been to the warehouse door before. The lock on it is something I couldn't open. Without a key, we can't get in," Suo Tian leaned back against the couch, cutting my excitement short with his blunt words.
"Just find the key, then?" Mei Jing said innocently.
"Where are we going to find it... We don't even know where the key is," I said, feeling a bit deflated.
"I know!" Mei Jing said, and everyone in the room turned to look at her, their eyes wide.
"You know where the key is? Where?" Shen Feng asked.
"Mei Jing, don't joke around, the older guys are talking about serious stuff," Shen Xue tugged at Mei Jing's sleeve, thinking she was just kidding.
Mei Jing looked at Shen Xue with a puzzled expression and said, "I really do know where it is."
"Where?" Suo Tian asked.
"In the manager's office."
"How do you know?"
"I used to work there as a cashier," Mei Jing glanced at me and continued, "Chen Yang, I've checked you out a lot of times, but you didn't recognize me back then, so you didn't notice."
"Are you sure the key is in the manager's office?"
I wasn't thinking about whether Mei Jing had really checked me out before.
"Of course, I'm sure. My friend works in the stockroom, and she gets the key to the warehouse from the manager's office. I've seen it with my own eyes many times. The key is in the left drawer of the office."
After Mei Jing finished speaking, Suo Tian sat up straight from the sofa, smiled at her, and praised, "You've been a huge help."
"Ah... no, no, I didn't do anything..." Mei Jing's face instantly turned pink, and she started stammering.
I froze for a moment…
Seeing Mei Jing suddenly turn shy, I felt a bit of tightness in my chest.
Shaking my head to clear the thoughts that were about to surface, I smiled at Mei Jing and said, "It's not that you haven't done anything. Look at how clean you and Shen Xue have made the house. Plus, you provided such a useful piece of information."
"Auntie, I wiped the table too!" Rongrong poked her head out from Yangyang's arms and showed off to me.
"Good job, little Rongrong~ Auntie will reward you with the orange juice I brought back, okay?"
"Hehehe..." The little one shyly grinned, her small eyes continuously glancing toward the bag where the orange juice was.
Rongrong's cute appearance made everyone in the room laugh.
Shen Xue went over and scooped her out of Yangyang's arms, laughing and scolding, "You little rascal, all you think about is eating! Look at how messy you're calling things—they're clearly siblings, but you call him 'big brother' and she 'auntie'!"
"Haha, she's still small, what does she know?"
I waved my hand at Shen Xue, signaling her to be careful not to hurt Rongrong.
My gaze accidentally landed on Mei Jing, who was sitting quietly, listening to everyone's laughter, but her eyes were on Suo Tian...
Could it be... Mei Jing likes Suo Tian?