End of the World

On the way back, there were four more people in the car. As previously estimated, they were two couples. They were lucky enough to have both escaped the first wave of mutations.

The man and woman who spoke first were named Qiao Xinghua and Meng Zihan, and they were a couple. The other two were Li Xun and Lu Qiqi, and they were all friends. As for the two gangsters who held them hostage, they were beaten up by Qiao Xinghua and Li Xun, then knocked unconscious and thrown on the road to fend for themselves.

Wu Bin told Dafeng not to mention what happened today to He Yuxin when he returned home.

"Brother Bin, is it safe there?" Qiao Xinghua asked. He saw that Dafeng was led by Wu Bin, so those who joined later learned to call him Brother Bin, since Dafeng called him that too.

Wu Bin was quite helpless. He was not used to everyone calling him that, as it made him sound like a gangster. "Don't worry, there won't be too many zombies. There's another person at home who will surely welcome you to join us!" After Wu Bin finished speaking, he glanced through the rearview mirror at the two girls who were talking in a low voice.

A pickup truck loaded with vegetables returned to the factory. He Yuxin heard the sound of the car and opened the gate to let the car into the factory.

"You're back!" He Yuxin came up to say hello.

"Hello!" Qiao Xinghua got out of the car and greeted He Yuxin politely.

"Huh?" He Yuxin then realized that there were a few more faces on the bus. The two girls got off the bus and looked at He Yuxin in surprise. Then, as if they had a tacit understanding, they went over to her, held her hands and started chatting. Girls of the same age always have endless topics to talk about.

Qiao Xinghua and Li Xun looked at each other and felt relieved. Seeing that there was a girl here and her mental state was very good, they knew that Wu Bin and Dafeng were not bad people.

"Her name is He Yuxin. She was the only girl before. But now she's fine. We don't have to worry about her being lonely anymore." Wu Bin stepped forward and said.

"I believe Xiaohan and Qiqi will become good friends with her." Qiao Xinghua said as he looked at the three girls who were chatting happily together.

Wu Bin and Li Xun nodded, agreeing with what Qiao Xinghua said. Wu Bin said hello to Dafeng, then turned to Qiao Xinghua and Li Xun and said, "So please help us move the cabbages off the car!"

Both of them smiled. It wasn't that hard at all. The four of them quickly took down all the vegetables from the back of the pickup truck and prepared to clean up.

When He Yuxin saw Wu Bin and others unloading the cabbages, she went forward to help without even chatting. Meng Zihan and Lu Qiqi followed to lend a hand.

"Brother Bin, we can't finish all the cabbages. Should we pickle the rest?" He Yuxin saw that there were so many cabbages that several people could not finish them in several days.

"That's what I planned, but the problem is that I don't quite know how to make pickled vegetables!" Wu Bin scratched his head. His family made it when he was a child, but it was so long ago that he almost forgot about it.

"Just leave it to me!" He Yuxin said confidently.

"Can you pickle vegetables?" Wu Bin expressed his doubt, and the others also stared at He Yuxin.

"Yes, as long as there is enough salt, can Brother Bin help me find a few containers that can hold the cabbages?" He Yuxin had studied recipes before and knew the method of pickling pickles very well.

"Look at what you said. We are all family, why be polite!" Then Wu Bin led Dafeng and others to find containers for the vegetables. Ceramic jars are usually best for pickling pickles, but it would be good to find a sealed container now.

Several men searched the entire factory before they found a few containers that were basically suitable for making jars, including a large clay jar, but the jar was a bit too big and was not an ideal pickle jar.

"Isn't this jar a bit big?" Qiao Xinghua said. He didn't know how to pickle vegetables but he had never seen anyone use this thing to pickle vegetables.

"It is a bit big!" Wu Bin admitted that this kind of clay jar was used to store water in the past.

"Hey! Brothers, stop talking and put in some effort!" said Dafeng and Li Xun, who were carrying a clay jar in front.

"This tank is too big!" Meng Zihan said as he looked at the water tank carried by Wu Bin and others.

"It doesn't matter, we can just make kimchi instead, but it will consume a lot of salt!" He Yuxin said when she saw the water tank. She had no choice now.

"What should we do next?" Wu Bin asked when he saw He Yuxin and the others clean the cabbage.

"The weather is so nice, let's sunbathe for a day tomorrow!" He Yuxin said, looking up at the setting sun.

After hanging the cabbages to dry, Wu Bin thought that he might have to go back to the greenhouse to pick more tomorrow, as the big water tank could hold more!

The dinner was quite sumptuous, mainly to welcome Qiao Xinghua and his companions. At the table, everyone drank water instead of wine and chatted freely about their past interesting experiences, which increased their understanding of each other.

……

"Brother Bin, what are we doing getting up so early?" Dafeng yawned in the passenger seat and was pulled out of bed by Wu Bin as soon as the day broke.

Qiao Xinghua and Li Xun in the back seat of the pickup truck were in a similar state to Dafeng, looking listless.

"Comrades, your current condition is very dangerous. We are outside!" Wu Bin reminded them when he saw that the three men were in poor spirits.

"Don't be afraid! I have Brother Bin to protect me!" Dafeng made a joke, but still cheered up.

"Let's go back to where we were yesterday and bring back another truckload of vegetables!" Wu Bin and the other three were almost refreshed, so they stated the purpose of this trip.

"More? Is that too much?" Dafeng thought of the cabbages scattered on the ground.

"With your appetite, do you think that's a lot?" Wu Bin said. Dafeng ate five cabbages by himself last night!

"Hehe! It's because He Yuxin's cooking skills are just so good!" Dafeng smiled awkwardly. Last night's dishes were not enough, but he had to trouble He Yuxin to cook them again.

Qiao Xinghua and Li Xun smiled at the back, and they couldn't help themselves when they thought of Dafeng's eating habits.

"Stop talking nonsense. Be careful when you get over there. Yesterday's gunshots might attract zombies." Wu Bin warned.

Before the pickup truck approached the greenhouse, it encountered several scattered zombies. There was no doubt that they must have been attracted by yesterday's gunshots and came here from somewhere.

Wu Bin stopped far away and said to the three people, "How about we practice first?"

"Let's not do it. It's too dangerous!" Although Dafeng is tall, he is still scared when he sees zombies, let alone Qiao Xinghua and Li Xun.

"Okay, there may be zombies over there in the greenhouse, so stop running away!" Wu Bin said. He had killed zombies when he met He Yuxin, so he was not too afraid of zombies.

A few zombies spotted the pickup truck and were about to surround it, so Wu Bin rammed into it directly, tumbling one of them under the car. The others were knocked down, but none of them were fatally injured. They quickly got up. The pickup truck sprayed a few zombies in the face with exhaust fumes and drove away.

Several discordant figures appeared near the greenhouse. One of them was wearing familiar clothes. It was Ma Zi who was killed by Wu Bin. There were obvious signs of being bitten on Ma Zi's body. His brain was not damaged at that time, but now he has become a zombie wandering around the greenhouse.

"There are five zombies in total. Qiao Xinghua and Li Xun, is it a problem for you to take one each?" Wu Bin asked the two when he saw several figures not far apart.

"No problem!" The two said together. Today was their first time fighting zombies. They were a little nervous, but they were full of fighting spirit when they thought of their girlfriends. They still had to rely on themselves to protect them. Today was just the beginning.

"Then let's go two against three?" Dafeng was a little lacking in confidence. Two against three was a bit risky.

"You are good at math, so we are not without a chance!" Wu Bin said. These zombies are not gathered together, so as long as they move fast enough and use bows and crossbows, they may not be unable to defeat us.

Dafeng was speechless. What did it mean that one was only good at math?

Wu Bin raised the crossbow and aimed at the zombies. Dafeng's eyes lit up. Yes, there is a crossbow!

Qiao Xinghua and Li Xun were in front, holding iron spears. They had to kill the two zombies first. Wu Bin and Dafeng were responsible for providing cover to prevent any accidents.

The zombies discovered the four people and rushed over with their fangs and claws bared. They ignored the weapons in the hands of the four people and only focused on preying instinctively.

"Prepare!"

Qiao Xinghua and Li Xun clenched their spears tightly. The time had come to test them. Fortunately, they had teammates to cover them and were not fighting alone.

Three zombies rushed forward first. Wu Bin raised his crossbow and aimed at the head of one of the zombies. Dafeng grabbed a piece of iron pipe and pushed up if Wu Bin missed.

With a "swoosh", a crossbow arrow flew out and accurately hit the zombie's left forehead, piercing directly through the forehead. The zombie suffered a fatal attack and fell to the ground.

The fall of one of the three zombies rushing over relieved the psychological pressure on Qiao Xinghua and Li Xun. They still had confidence in a one-on-one fight, not to mention that they had Wu Bin and Dafeng to provide cover for them.

After shooting down a zombie, Wu Bin put down his crossbow. There was no time left to reload the crossbow, so he picked up the steel spear and prepared to fight.

As the zombies approached, Qiao Xinghua and Li Xun endured the stench from the zombies and stabbed the zombies' heads with their iron spears.

"Swish!" Qiao Xinghua's iron spear accurately pierced the zombie's eye socket, and red, black and yellow things came out from the back of the head, and the zombie died instantly.

Li Xun was not so accurate. The iron spear passed through the zombie's forehead, leaving a big gash on its head. The hairy skull could be vaguely seen, but it did not cause fatal damage. At the moment when Li Xun's spear deflected, Dafeng acted in time and swung the water pipe at the zombie's face.

A crisp sound of bone cracking was heard, and the zombie was knocked two meters away, motionless. Dafeng killed it in a violent way.

"Dead just like that?" Dafeng, the person involved, was a little confused. It was the first time he realized that this zombie was so weak.

"Brother Bin, give me another chance!" Wu Bin wanted to move forward, but Li Xun, who was standing beside him, looked at the other two zombies not far away and said with gritted teeth.

Wu Bin nodded and said, "Okay, be careful this time, I'll cover you!"

Li Xun failed once, he would never allow it to happen again. Now that he has teammates with him, he can fail. If he fails alone, it would mean death.

With the first experience, Li Xun became more calm. In his eyes, the zombies seemed to slow down a bit. At some point, the iron spear flew out with the breath of death and pierced accurately into the zombie's right eye socket.

Dafeng was more direct. He knocked the zombies far away in the same way as before and smashed their heads.