"He's faking his death, why wasn't there any movement just now!" Zhou Xiaojun frowned fiercely.
"There's enough food for at least a dozen people, we can give you half." Luo Shu thought for a moment, knowing there were likely many people hiding inside.
If she said too much, the people inside wouldn't believe her.
But if she said too little, it wouldn't be attractive enough for them.
"So much?" A voice from inside sounded a bit surprised.
Immediately, the door opened a crack, an eye peeked out, and the door was quickly shut again.
"Why do these few people act so suspiciously?" Luo Xiaole watched the door open and close, a sense of unease growing in her heart.
...
"Boss, how is it?" The people inside, having heard the commotion, had already gathered at the door.
"There are about ten people, most of them carrying bags, bulging.
We just don't know if the bags are full of food." The leader began to ponder, resting his chin on his hand. "What if it's weapons..."
"Boss, there are zombies everywhere outside. If they had weapons, wouldn't they have used them already?"
"Besides, we scoured the kitchen and found so many cleavers. What are their weapons compared to ours!"
"Let's wait behind the door and control them as soon as they come in!" a subordinate suggested obsequiously.
"That makes sense. They won't be able to cause much trouble. Once they're in, won't all the food be ours?"
The group exchanged knowing glances and chuckled greedily.
...
"Have you decided yet?" After the observation from inside, another minute passed. Zhou Xiaojun couldn't wait any longer and urged them from the outside.
The zombies wouldn't wait!
"Wait, we'll open the door for you." There was finally movement from inside.
The heavy door was slowly pulled open.
The suspense in everyone's hearts finally eased.
They bolted inside.
Finally, before the zombies arrived, everyone had rushed into the gymnasium.
Exhausted, they sprawled on the gymnasium floor, some crouching, some prone, panting heavily.
Suddenly, a pair of sneakers appeared before them.
Luo Xiaole, who had been crouching for a long time, finally felt a bit better and looked up.
A boy with a buzz cut was standing there with his arms crossed, a smile playing on his lips as he stared at them.
Hmm? This expression felt a bit off.
Luo Xiaole felt a pang of suspicion.
However, her alertness didn't trigger, meaning these people posed no threat to them.
She gradually relaxed.
"Yo, you guys have quite a few girls on your team..." the buzz-cut boy said with ill intent. "These little bean sprouts are quite good-looking, just a bit too skinny..."
Luo Xiaole: "???"
When they had rushed in earlier, they had only seen this buzz-cut boy standing at the door.
Now, she noticed about a dozen people standing at the entrance, holding cleavers, and slowly closing in.
Luo Xiaole looked further into the gymnasium and saw other people.
But at this moment, they were all sitting in a circle, looking fearfully at the group at the entrance, not daring to say a word.
It seemed this gymnasium was temporarily under the control of this group.
Luo Xiaole had a rough understanding of the situation.
"Don't be scared, friends. Now that you're inside, we're all friends. We won't do anything to you." The buzz-cut boy's tone held a hint of arrogance.
"It's just that..." The buzz-cut boy narrowed his eyes and pointed at the people sitting around. "As you can see, I have quite a few people here. You'll probably have to contribute more of your food."
"Well, so that's what you were waiting for us for," Zhou Xiaojun scoffed.
"That's not fair," Luo Shu chimed in. "You agreed to split the food with us. What's with this insatiable appetite now?"
"Hahaha, did we ever agree to your terms? Did I say only half?" The buzz-cut boy's eyes gleamed.
"But..." he paused deliberately.
"We won't make things difficult for you. You can hand over all your food, and then stay with us, become one of us. Isn't that a win-win situation?
Just that your daily food will have to be distributed by us for now," he said, then greedily glanced at Luo Xiaole. "We won't treat you badly."
The group exchanged glances. Now they understood that these people wanted to confiscate all their supplies.
From food to weapons.
They spoke nicely, saying they would distribute it, but in reality, each person would probably only receive a meager portion, barely enough to fill their stomachs.
Then they would likely be sent out to find more supplies for them.
What a shrewd buzz-cut boy, trying to get all the benefits.
Luo Xiaole silently grumbled in her heart.
Strangely, after the buzz-cut boy said this, none of Luo Xiaole's group paid him any mind.
Only Li Wen from the small shop said, "I think this is a good idea. Sticking together would be safer."
"See, here's someone who understands!" The buzz-cut boy actually applauded.
"Why go to such lengths? We can only give half our food and will leave in a few days," Luo Shu said, her playful tone gone. "Consider it a toll for passage. We've already been generous."
Luo Xiaole nodded in agreement.
The buzz-cut boy immediately got angry, his demeanor changing instantly. "Hey! How can you be so ungrateful!"
"Keeping you here and giving you food is already doing you a favor."
"Since you don't accept our 'kindness,' don't blame us for being impolite. Come and take it yourselves!"
With a gesture, he sprang forward, leading the people behind him to surround them.
His face contorted with ferocity. He pulled out a sharpened cleaver from his back and sneered at Mo Shen, who had been silent all this time.
He swung the cleaver down at Mo Shen's head.
He wanted to play with the little beauty later and couldn't touch her yet.
But this pale, refined young man who looked even more handsome than him, what was that about!
He was an eyesore.
He looked like he had no combat power, so he decided to attack him!
Unexpectedly, Mo Shen didn't even raise his head, nor did he move his long saber.
In an instant, he pulled out a reinforced small knife he had bought from Luo Xiaole.
He extended his hand, and the tip of the knife precisely deflected the cleaver upwards!
With immense pressure, the small knife instantly split the cleaver in half from the middle!
With a "clink," the cleaver snapped, breaking into two halves and falling to the ground.
"How... How is that possible!" The buzz-cut boy's eyes were filled with disbelief.
This was the sharpest cleaver in the entire kitchen! He had carefully selected it as his primary weapon!
How could it be broken in half by this unremarkable little knife with just a slight deflection?
Was it the knife that was so powerful, or did this pale, refined young man actually have some skill?
The surrounding people were also stunned, unable to believe what they were seeing.
"Wow... so cool!" A small group of girls sitting around whispered amongst themselves.
From the moment Mo Shen entered, their eyes had never left him.
And now, facing the ferocious Li Xiaotian, he could still handle it with such ease!
He was devastatingly handsome...
Their hearts pounded like little deer.
Luo Xiaole sat by, watching the show with amusement.
After all, she had known from the beginning that this group posed no significant threat to them.
"You..." The buzz-cut boy, Li Xiaotian, realized something was wrong and began to panic.
"Fine, half it is!" Although he was deeply resentful, he felt that this group, from the little bean sprout who didn't seem to fear them at all, to this strangely skilled pale young man,
everyone gave him an unsettling feeling.
"Pfft..." Zhou Xiaojun let out a snicker.
It seemed this person's backbone wasn't that strong.
However, they weren't people who liked to take advantage. They could find more supplies if half were lost.
If they had promised to give, but truly gave nothing, these people might stir up trouble at night.
Creating potential dangers was unnecessary.
So, Zhou Xiaojun and Luo Shu checked everyone's backpacks, cleared out about half of the supplies, and piled them next to the other group.
Signaling them that the transaction was complete and they should stop bothering them.
They needed to continue their journey once the zombies outside dispersed.
Carrying too much would also slow them down.
"Bang!" The zombies outside mercilessly crashed against the door.
The unique shuffling sound of zombies from outside began to grow denser.