Chapter 292: Flowers in the Greenhouse

"How familiar are you with this Wang Lane area?" Xie Ning asked, looking at one of the men who was nothing but skin and bones.

All three were gaunt and sallow, their lips dry, cracked, and peeling.

The woman among them, in particular, seemed to be in a very poor mental state.

The man bowed his head obsequiously, saying repeatedly, "Yes, yes. We were born and raised in Wang Lane. We’re very familiar with this area."

"Comrade, please take us with you. You were sent by the base to rescue us, right?"

The skinny man wasn’t wrong.

The base needed people for infrastructure, for daily maintenance—in short, it needed people for everything.

The base’s principle was, of course, to save every single person they could from the zombies.

Zuo Li had scheduled three to ten days for the mission to clear out and rescue people from Zone C, but as far as Xie Ning was concerned, she only needed two.

This had to be done in two days. Xie Ning had always preferred to get things done quickly.

She was no Zuo Li, who had to be meticulous about every single thing!

"Give them some food." With a wave from Xie Ning, Xiao Huang Mao dragged a cardboard box out from under a seat and fished out a few compressed biscuits and two small bottles of water.

When Zuo Li left, she had given her two buses, both partially stocked with relief supplies.

There should be enough rations to sustain a group of people for a few days.

Since Xie Ning had decided to properly complete the mission for points, she naturally wouldn’t shortchange these ordinary survivors on their rations.

Besides, she couldn’t care less about these supplies.

"You can come with us, but you must follow my rules," Xie Ning said, her expression flat. "I only have one requirement: keep your mouths shut. No matter what terrifying things you see, don’t make any noise."

"Thank you, thank you." The skinny man took the water and biscuits from Xiao Huang Mao, thanking him profusely.

With trembling hands, the three of them tore open the packaging. They wolfed down a few mouthfuls, then started chugging water, acting as if they hadn’t eaten or drunk anything for days and nights.

Song Kexin looked at the gaunt woman among them and couldn’t help but sigh. "How long have you been without food?"

The woman clutched the wrapper, her voice catching with a sob. "We ran completely out of food and water the day before yesterday."

"At first, we heard on the radio that the authorities would send people to organize our evacuation to the base."

"So we figured it would take a week at most." The woman struggled to swallow the biscuit crumbs. "But who would’ve thought... we waited and waited for over half a month. Then the radio announced that any capable citizens should try to get to the safe base on their own."

"We used up all our stored food while we waited. With no other choice, we had to start eating dog food."

"Then what about the dog you had before the apocalypse?" Song Kexin’s question finally broke the woman’s composure, and tears she’d been holding back began to fall.

Xie Ning reached out and patted Song Kexin. The latter sighed again before turning and getting back on the vehicle.

"What are your names?"

"I’m Wang Pinglang. This is my younger brother, Wang Pingfeng, and my younger sister, Wang Meijuan."

Xie Ning nodded slightly. She had Ji Taixian get out and wave, then took out the Jinbei minivan.

"Can you drive?"

"I can," Wang Pinglang replied, nodding eagerly.

Xie Ning grunted in acknowledgment, shot a look at Yuan and the others, and led the three Wang siblings directly to the Jinbei minivan.

"You’ve lived here for a long time, so you should know which households are more likely to have survivors."

"You don’t need to worry about the zombies on the road."

"The base is currently providing two meals a day, around ten in the morning and six in the evening. If you understand, start driving."

How could Wang Pinglang possibly object? Surviving long enough to be rescued was a blessing from his ancestors.

Wang Pingfeng, however, couldn’t resist asking, "There’s a Stupid Bird Post Station up ahead. Aren’t we going to search it for things?"

Xie Ning glanced at Wang Pingfeng in the rearview mirror and asked coolly, "In the past month, did you never once think about leaving the house on your own?"

"No, we did think about it!" Wang Pingfeng said, looking defiant. "My neighbors and I even planned to go search the Stupid Bird Post Station across the street."

"But all the family members we sent over got bitten."

"I see." Xie Ning nodded with a look of dawning comprehension, a smile playing on her lips. "You sent people from your grandparents’ generation. With their old bones, isn’t it perfectly normal for them to get bitten?"

She had found it quite strange when she was clearing out the zombies at the Stupid Bird Post Station earlier.

Aside from the slightly younger Third-stage Power-type Zombie, the rest were mostly elderly.

’So those were the ones Wang Pingfeng mentioned—the first suicide squad of elderly folks organized by the neighbors.’

Of course, it was also the only suicide squad they had managed to form since the apocalypse began.

Wang Pingfeng’s face flushed slightly, his voice dropping to a mumble. "They... they’re really strong."

Xie Ning remained silent.

’In the early days of the apocalypse, whenever she saw people who couldn’t grasp the situation, she always felt the urge to say a few words, to give them some pointers.’

But now...

’There was no need for that anymore.’

It had been over a month since the apocalypse started.

’Anyone who was still in a fog and couldn’t grasp the situation was either an idiot or a complete dumbass.’

’How could flowers accustomed to a greenhouse possibly face the apocalyptic tempest?’

’They had no future but to be weeded out.’

The vehicle drove straight along Wang Alley Road. Wang Pingfeng, still not ready to give up, piped up again, "I know that post station is full of supplies."

"It’s the delivery hub for the Wang Lane area and the nearby residential buildings."

"If we could get those supplies, we’d have more security for the future."

"You don’t need to worry about anything else." Xie Ning’s cold voice sounded particularly grating to Wang Pingfeng’s ears.

"Your only responsibility is to guide us and search for other survivors."

The slender woman tugged on her second brother’s arm. Wang Pingfeng’s expression was resentful.

For the next half-day, they continued to circle the Wang Lane area, conducting search and rescue operations and clearing zombie hordes from the roads.

But after half a day, they had little to show for it, having only rescued a young couple who were on the verge of death.

When Wang Zongxuan and Song Shijun carried the young couple out of the small bungalow, their faces were already an ashen gray. They were barely breathing, looking as though they were about to pass away at any moment.

Wang Zongxuan, who had worn a mask to go in and carry them out, couldn’t stop sneezing violently after he emerged from the house.

"The smoke inside is overwhelming. The floor is covered with burnt candles and incense."

"Can they be saved?" Xie Ning asked, glancing expressionlessly at the young couple, whose eyes were tightly shut.

Song Shijun was busy prying the man’s mouth open to pour in a couple of mouthfuls of water.

After about two minutes, the man choked and began to cough, weakly lifting his eyes to look at them.

Yu Tianfeng, who had been squatting nearby to take both their pulses, looked up at Xie Ning. "Their vital signs are very weak. They need a Nutrient Liquid IV immediately. But their bodies are completely depleted. Even if we barely manage to save them, they probably won’t last long in this apocalypse."

Hearing this, Wang Pingfeng became agitated and shouted, "Aren’t you a doctor? How can you just give up on your patients?"