Chapter 1084 - 172: Troublesome Blizzard (12)

Chapter 1084: Chapter 172: Troublesome Blizzard (12)

No idea how long they had walked. As the sky gradually darkened, even Hua Biao slowed his pace with exhaustion.

Stopping and starting, there was undoubtedly no more possibility of continuing at this time.

Firstly, both Hua Biao and Tang Xiaoquan were utterly spent.

Secondly, the weather dictated that it was time to set up camp.

"Quan! Over there, let’s stop here for today and spend the night there."

At this moment, Tang Xiaoquan’s brain was almost at a standstill, and he had basically lost his ability to think. Upon hearing Hua Biao’s words, he merely nodded numbly.

Hua Biao turned and walked a few steps, seeing that Tang Xiaoquan hadn’t followed but continued straight ahead. He realized the young man hadn’t even heard him speak.

He turned back a couple of steps, patted the young man’s shoulder with effort, and then shouted loudly twice: "Hey! We’re camping over there, follow me! Got it?"

Still nodding, Hua Biao wasn’t sure if Tang Xiaoquan truly understood his meaning. He simply grabbed the latter’s arm and helped him to walk toward the selected flat ground.

After they arrived, Hua Biao let go of Tang Xiaoquan and began poking the ground with a long stick.

He was checking for any anomalies under the snow to prevent any lurking zombies from launching a surprise attack.

After the inspection, Hua Biao opened his backpack and pulled out a portable multifunctional folding entrenching tool, then started digging out the snow in front.

The clearing work took quite an effort, and Hua Biao’s efficiency noticeably decreased due to severe energy depletion.

At this moment, Tang Xiaoquan’s mental state was of no use. Without options, Hua Biao had to struggle on and push through to complete the rest of the setup.

"Phew~" Hua Biao exhaled heavily, relieved after finishing the tent.

Pulling open the curtain, Hua Biao pointed inside, signaling Tang Xiaoquan to enter.

What’s it like to be dog-tired? Tang Xiaoquan truly understood it.

After the apocalypse, it wasn’t his first time encountering exhaustion, but none had compared to the current one.

Upon hitting the ground, the hours-long bittersweet fatigue immediately flooded him like a rampant beast.

Hua Biao also felt bad, but accustomed to challenging his limits, his endurance was clearly much stronger than Tang Xiaoquan’s.

Thus, the task of boiling water and cooking inevitably fell on him.

Opening the specially prepared canned beef, Hua Biao poured it into a pot, then opened three packets of aged pickle noodles, mixed them simply, and covered the pot.

No saving; considering resource issues at this time is absolutely foolish.

It’s essential to know that stuff in the pack can’t be hauled around, so Hua Biao wasn’t skimping on dinner at all.

After preparing the instant noodles, he immediately took out two packets of compressed biscuits, opened them, and tossed them to Tang Xiaoquan: "Eat it!"

"No! No! Huazi, I’m not hungry right now!" Tang Xiaoquan wasn’t claiming not to be hungry; he was starving.

Without more words, Hua Biao ignored Tang Xiaoquan’s excuses, directly threw the biscuits onto him, and solemnly said, "Eat! Without strength, how will you manage? We still need to take turns for guard duty tonight! Can you handle it?"

Blunt as ever, with words spoken this plainly, Tang Xiaoquan didn’t dare to make any more excuses.

He could only pick up the biscuits on his chest and start eating one bite at a time.

About a third of the way through, the camping pot started bubbling with a little steam.

Hua Biao quickly lifted the lid, and instantly a fragrant aroma wafted out.

Instinctively swallowing his saliva, Tang Xiaoquan, who hadn’t felt particularly hungry, found his stomach contracting upon smelling the pervasive aroma of instant noodles.

"Hmm, not bad!" Hua Biao took a ladle and stirred the noodles in the pot; the golden noodles mixed with beef made a beautiful scene.

Dividing the noodles into two bowls, Hua Biao handed one to Tang Xiaoquan. ℯℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

This time, without Hua Biao’s instruction, Tang Xiaoquan picked up his chopsticks and started eating immediately.

Delicious! Tang Xiaoquan felt he’d never eaten such a savory meal in his life.

Even though it was just a bowl of ordinary noodles, the icy environment combined with the apocalyptic atmosphere made it feel like a grand feast in his heart.

After finishing the noodles, Tang Xiaoquan filled another bowl with hot soup.

After feasting, he laid down satisfied and sideways.

"Xiaotang, I’ll sleep for a while first, call me in 2 hours. Remember to clear the snow off the tent every half hour to prevent the weight from crushing it, okay?"

Unceremoniously, Hua Biao directly assigned tasks to Tang Xiaoquan.

From a logical standpoint, Hua Biao’s actions were somewhat unsatisfactory.

After all, Tang Xiaoquan’s state was evident, and besides, Hua Biao was in better condition than him.

Reasonably, Hua Biao should stand guard while allowing Tang Xiaoquan to rest first.

Yet, is Hua Biao the type to take advantage and avoid effort? The answer is obviously no.

Hua Biao asked Tang Xiaoquan to stand guard first for his own reasoning.

Firstly, although Tang Xiaoquan was tired now, having just eaten and warmed up, his energy had recovered somewhat. As time passes, his state will degrade further.

Hence, this phase is his best time for guard duty.

Secondly, Hua Biao, experienced in outdoor survival, deeply understands the difficulty of keeping watch on a snowy night. Resting now is for better handling of the guard duty at night.

Lastly, he requested Tang Xiaoquan wake him in 2 hours, which means he’s sacrificing 2 hours of early rest for Tang Xiaoquan to gain the remaining sleep time.

Comparatively, it’s clear who has the greater burden.

Tang Xiaoquan didn’t know Hua Biao’s intentions, nor did he need to, as he never thought about or cared to argue...

Moreover, he volunteered to come along, so being called to guard and work by Hua Biao was completely understandable.

"Alright! I understand, Huazi! Take your rest, I’ll handle the tent clearing."

"Good! That’s settled!" Hua Biao nodded and dove into his sleeping bag, burying his head to sleep.

Like Old Xu, Hua Biao also fell asleep immediately, the soft snores starting just seconds after he lay down.

Watching the snoring Hua Biao, Tang Xiaoquan admired him from the heart, clueless how he managed to sleep soundly in such cold conditions.

At least for Tang Xiaoquan, despite his exhaustion and fatigue, he couldn’t just lie down to sleep.

A half-hour passed quickly, and Tang Xiaoquan acted extremely gently to avoid disturbing Hua Biao’s sleep.

But no matter how gentle his movements, he couldn’t prevent the noise from the snow-clearing process.

Fortunately, Hua Biao fell asleep quickly, so when Tang Xiaoquan finished, he drifted off again.

In this way, time drifted along with the snowflakes.

The 2-hour mark arrived in a flash, and Tang Xiaoquan, pretending not to notice, refrained from waking Hua Biao.

Firstly, Hua Biao slept too soundly; secondly, Hua Biao exerted a considerable effort throughout the day.

It’s no joke, carrying a supply pack, a tent pack, plus the extra mental exhaustion of cautious pathfinding, Tang Xiaoquan didn’t feel right waking him up.