Originally, even those like Wang Jun who supported going to the shelter like her were now hanging their heads in silence.
"But even so, we can't just wait to die here," Yin Shangtang spoke up.
"The journey to the shelter is dangerous, but once we get there, we'll be safe."
"Yes, Chen Yang, Suo Tian, I agree with this view. Although the road may be dangerous, if we're cautious, we can still avoid most of the danger. After all, there are military forces guarding the shelter, which is much better than us trying to tough it out with just a few knives," Shen Feng said.
"Avoid?" Suo Tian glanced at the crowd, finally locking eyes with Shen Feng.
"How do you propose to avoid it?"
Shen Feng paused for a moment, then looked at the others who were still with their heads lowered.
He sighed, waved his hand at us, and said, "Forget it. Pretend I didn't say anything."
"Alright, let's not argue about this for now. Later, we'll go to the next floor and discuss solutions with them," I stood up and said.
At times like this, even though I didn't like Li Jianguo and his group, it was still better to unite, as our enemy was the same, and our goal of surviving to this point was also the same.
Due to the strong disagreement, Suo Tian, Shen Feng, and I went separately to discuss with them.
Even after we came to a conclusion, it wasn't certain that the others would agree, so we had no choice but to have Shen Feng notify Li Jianguo and the others to come over for a meeting.
Their group, compared to ours, was more "centralized" in their leadership.
I had observed that, except for the people who had left before, the rest still showed a fair amount of respect toward Li Jianguo.
Before they arrived, to avoid them discovering the food, I closed the kitchen door and the bedroom door.
As I closed the doors, I found it quite ironic.
In order to survive, I hoped we could unite with them, but when it came to material matters, I selfishly didn't want to share even a little bit with them.
Some of humanity's worst traits, whether it's the apocalypse or not, are impossible to change.
Greed and desire, selfishness and absurdity—deeply buried within the core of the human soul.
These traits are easily triggered, but eliminating them is harder than reaching the sky.
After Li Jianguo arrived, he symbolically checked on Rongrong.
The fake, kind expression on his face revealed a hint of something unusual when he heard Rongrong call out, "Hello, Uncle Li."
He must have had children before, right? But where are his children now?
I turned my head to look out the window, sighed, and then turned around to walk back to the living room.
Perhaps due to differing views, this time Shen Xue didn't sit with Mei Jing.
Instead, she sat far away in the corner with Yangyang on the mat, keeping her head down and not saying a word.
This time, Li Jianguo came with Sister Sun.
Along with them were Li Jiaqiang and the blondie.
The blondie's real name is Luo Anda, and the "Liangliang" that Sister Sun called last time was his nickname.
I served them tea as they sat on the sofa.
Sister Sun furrowed her brows and spoke first: "Miss Chen, given the situation, let's not beat around the bush. I'll just say it directly. I'm sure everyone has seen today's news, or else you wouldn't have called us here, right?"
I nodded, signaling her to continue.
Sister Sun glanced at Li Jianguo before continuing, "What we don't understand right now is the scale of the horde mentioned in the news."
"If we knew that, it would be much easier. We could directly decide how to respond based on their numbers," Shen Feng said.
"Yes, that's what we think too, but the news only used the term 'irresistible,'" Li Jiaqiang said.
"We don't need to pay too much attention to the concept given by the news. Using such a term may mean the number of walkers is too large, or it could be a pessimistic conclusion based on the current chaotic situation," Yangyang suddenly spoke up, summarizing with a confident tone.
Sister Sun looked at him appreciatively and nodded, saying, "This kid has a point."
Li Jianguo also glanced at Yangyang before turning to Suo Tian and saying, "Either way, the numbers are definitely not something we can deal with or resist on our own. What we need to focus on now is how to hide more safely."
"That's exactly the focus of today's discussion. Brother Li, what are your thoughts?"
I responded to him on behalf of Suo Tian.
It was clear that ever since Suo Tian had grabbed his throat last time, Li Jianguo had naturally come to regard Suo Tian as the leader of our group.
"We just wanted to come and see what you all plan to do, Miss Chen. Sigh... this situation is tough, isn't it? If we leave, the road's not safe; if we stay, it might not be safe here either."
Li Jianguo rubbed his hands together, his tone helpless with a wry smile.
"Right, our thoughts are similar to Brother Li's. We're torn between leaving or staying. But after thinking about it, maybe we can still find a temporary hiding place within the county, a place that's relatively sturdy and safe."
Sister Sun nodded. "Yes, that's also a good idea."
"But where exactly can we say is safe?" Li Jiaqiang asked the same question he had asked earlier, just like Mei Jing did.
The room fell silent again.
The two groups were once again stuck on the same problem.
After a long pause, the blondie, who had been silent up until now, suddenly spoke up.
"Maybe we can hide in the school. The county's experimental middle school, it's surrounded by buildings, with a sky bridge connecting the buildings. The main gate has an automatic rolling steel gate, so it should be considered safe."
"Well, if that's the case, we could also hide in the new inpatient department of the county hospital. It's the tallest building in the county, more than ten stories," Yangyang said.
"That's not good," the blondie shook his head.
"There are too many entrances and exits at the hospital. Although the building is tall and not easy to be spotted, you never know which entrance might have a single walker hiding. If it's night, we'd all be done for."
"Wait, wait," Mei Jing suddenly asked from the side.
"So, what you're saying is, both sides should hide together?"
"I think, whether we leave or stay, we need to stick together. That's the wisest choice right now," Li Jiaqiang said, his tone much softer as he looked at Mei Jing.
"Hiding together is definitely the way to go. Are we really going to separate, after all we've been through, when facing something like this?" Sister Sun smiled gently, sweeping her gaze over us.
"How about this? According to the news, although the walkers are getting closer, they aren't likely to swarm us in large numbers just yet. We can take advantage of tomorrow to go out and find a place to hide," I suggested.
"That sounds good," Li Jianguo nodded.
"Then, let's meet tomorrow morning at 8 AM, and everyone from both sides will gather at your place. Make sure to bring a couple of quick movers with you."
"Mm, the school that Liangliang suggested could be checked out as well. If it's really like that, we can reinforce it a bit, and it could be a good spot," Sister Sun said.
....
After confirming the plans for the next day, Li Jianguo and the others left.
Once they were gone, we had a brief meeting again.
We confirmed the people who would go out the next day.
Initially, the plan was for me, Shen Feng, and Suo Tian to go out.
But Suo Tian insisted that, since it was still relatively safe, we should take Yangyang and Mei Jing with us.
As for Shen Xue, I figured she couldn't handle it, so she was directly excluded.
Yangyang and Mei Jing had already been out before, so they were somewhat familiar with the situation.
Although I was still uneasy, I didn't voice any objections.
However, that night, I pulled Yangyang aside and repeatedly emphasized to him what to do in case of an emergency.
As a result, I stayed at home.
After all, there were still Lili, who was pregnant, and Rongrong, the child, who needed someone to look after them.
As for Jun Di and Yin Shangtang, we decided to train them first.
Lili was pregnant, and Wang Jun was her emotional support, so we couldn't let him take any risks.
Shu Guang was a doctor.
Unless absolutely necessary, I preferred him to stay in a relatively safe environment.
After all, in the future, we would need him more than ever.
After dinner, Shen Feng, Yangyang, and the others returned to their rooms early to rest and prepare for the next day's actions.
Before dinner, the news aired a brief video about the walkers horde, predicting that it would reach our city within a week.
The number of walkers wasn't as large as expected, and they were relatively scattered, but the group was enormous.
I speculated that these hordes must have passed through many cities to form such a massive group.
The next day, there was no need to go out, so I sat back on the balcony.
Winter had already arrived, and it got dark early.
It was a bit cold outside, and even though I was wearing a cotton jacket, the cold wind still relentlessly seeped into my clothes.
It had rained earlier, and the sky was still overcast, with thick clouds covering everything and no moonlight.
The pitch-black sky, when stared at for too long, gave a sense of overwhelming vastness.
It also made me feel a strong sense of confusion and fear about the future.
Over these past few months, I thought I had become strong and well adapted to this chaotic world.
But now it seems that I haven't really shaken off my fear.
There was a faint sound of footsteps coming from the living room.
I didn't turn to look.
"Chen Yang, still not asleep?" It was Mei Jing's voice.
"Yeah... can't sleep." I stood up and turned to look at her.
"What's up? Something on your mind?"
"Oh, nothing. I just couldn't sleep, so I came out for a walk."
"Today... don't mind what Suo Tian said. He has a way of speaking that's too harsh." I patted her on the shoulder.
Mei Jing paused for a moment, looked at me for a couple of seconds, then said with a slightly odd expression, "It's fine, what's there to mind? It was my fault for not thinking things through. I was just focused on leaving here for safety, not considering the dangers on the road. Suo Tian was right."
"Yeah." I nodded and smiled.
"I'm glad you can think that way. We're all a family now, and I'm really afraid of any conflicts arising between us."