Seeing this, Tang Lu hurried over to help her up.
However, Yun Xiaoxiao stood up by herself first.
"I'm fine," she said, trying to maintain her composure.
Tang Lu smiled, "You're very brave."
Yun Xiaoxiao coughed lightly, feeling a bit embarrassed.
This was the first ti anyone had praised her like this.
Tang Lu didn't ask Yun Xiaoxiao why she was at the dock below the mountain, nor did she ask about her family.
For soone so young to survive, she must have had so exceptional qualities.
She also didn't want to probe into the child's wounds.
Moreover, she noticed that this child's eyes were different from other children's.
More composed, sowhat... unsuitable for her age.
Perhaps this was why she managed to survive alone in this apocalyptic world.
"This clothing is quite new, put it on. The weather's getting cold quickly these days, don't catch a cold," Tang Lu brought out a jacket from the house.
It was bright with red and green colors.
Yun Xiaoxiao's face showed clear rejection, "Actually, I'm not that cold."
Since the heavy rain, each day had been colder than the last.
The temperature was dropping particularly fast.
It was beginning to feel like early winter.
Earlier at the dock, she had been killing zombies and searching through containers, so she had taken off her outer layer for easier movent.
She hadn't thought about putting it back on afterward.
Tang Lu probably saw how thinly she was dressed and worried she might be cold, which was why she offered her the jacket.
However...
The floral pattern really wasn't to her taste.
Seeing Yun Xiaoxiao's expression, Tang Lu understood what was going on.
As an orphanage teacher, although she hadn't been there long, she had studied psychology in college and could read people's micro-expressions to know what they were thinking.
She smiled reassuringly, "The color might not be pretty, but it's very warm. Other children wear them too, don't worry, no one will laugh at you."
Yun Xiaoxiao: ...It wasn't about being laughed at, she simply didn't like it.
In the end, she reluctantly put on the floral-patterned padded jacket.
She had no choice. While she could face bad people with a cold expression, even kill them without blinking, she couldn't coldly reject people who were kind to her.
After all, it was just wearing clothes, not a big deal.
After spending so ti with everyone, Yun Xiaoxiao learned from their conversations that the orphanage had gone through major upheaval after the apocalypse.
Originally, there had been over a hundred orphans in the institution.
But due to the zombie virus outbreak, many orphans were infected.
So volunteers and teachers hadn't been spared either.
Fortunately, Director Mom had made decisive actions at the ti, which allowed twenty-one orphans, three teachers, and two volunteers to survive.
However, they couldn't bring themselves to kill their once lovely children and forr colleagues and friends.
So they dug a large pit not far from the orphanage and lured them all into it.
Hearing this, Yun Xiaoxiao frowned.
Keeping zombies nearby?
That was extrely dangerous behavior!
Those zombies weren't few in number, and if any of them mutated and devoured the others, gaining trendous power, they could potentially climb out of the pit.
When that happened, the unprepared people in the orphanage would face disaster!
Just as she was about to bring this up, a car horn suddenly sounded at the entrance.
"It's them!"
"They're back!"
"What should we do, Teacher Tang?"
Hearing the sounds from outside, everyone stood up straight and looked toward the entrance.
Their expressions all beca serious without exception, showing both anger and fear.
Director Mom also ca out of the building.
She was in her fifties, and while ti had left its marks on her face, it hadn't taken away her inherent grace.
Her kind face showed great dignity.
At this mont, her brows were tightly knitted as she strode toward the entrance.
Tang Lu and others followed.
The orphanage children huddled together, their eyes filled with fear.
"What's happening?" Yun Xiaoxiao asked curiously, seeing everyone's defensive posture.
The little girl called Tian Tian whispered, "The bad guys are here."
"Bad guys?" Yun Xiaoxiao frowned.
"Yes, they're really awful. Last ti they ca, they took lots of our vegetables and even took away the chickens and ducks we were raising," Tian Tian said.
After she finished, Huanhuan added, "And they said they'd co back after a while, telling Director Mom to prepare what they wanted. If we can't hand over the goods, they'll catch us and cook us into soup."
As Huanhuan spoke, her whole body trembled.
Not just her, but all the other children were shaking as well.
"So you just submit to them?" Yun Xiaoxiao raised an eyebrow, watching several people carrying out two large baskets of goods.
It was obvious they were preparing to hand everything over.
A middle-aged woman nearby sighed.
"What choice do we have if we don't submit?
Those people are ruthless and have weapons.
We're just won, children, and the elderly. Growing vegetables and raising animals is one thing, but if we tried to fight them, we'd probably be knocked down before we could even make a move.
Even if we wanted to escape, where could such a large group go?
The outside world is full of flesh-eating monsters. We might get torn apart by those creatures as soon as we leave this mountain."
Yun Xiaoxiao knew she was speaking the truth.
The orphanage was mostly filled with children and won, and though it was hard to admit, they were indeed a vulnerable group in this post-apocalyptic world.
Although there were so n here, they were clearly honest, simple folks who wouldn't stand a chance fighting against street thugs.
However...
"If you don't resist, you'll have to hand over the fruits of your hard work, and over ti, their demands might grow bigger. What will you do then?"
"Ah, in these tis, who can predict the future? We can only take it one step at a ti. At least everyone's still alive this way."
Yun Xiaoxiao narrowed her eyes.
She knew it wasn't reasonable to impose her own views on others.
This was their chosen way of life.
Aliali: 67562b75bd5e46c308c1292a
While she didn't agree with it, she couldn't say much more.
anwhile, Director Mom and the others had opened the main gate.
A pickup truck and an SUV were parked outside.
A group of n stood by the vehicles.
They all looked like troublemakers.
One was picking his teeth, another was smoking.
Perhaps due to the scarcity of cigarettes, three n were sharing a single cigarette, passing it between them.
"Did you prepare what we asked for?" asked their leader gruffly, a man wearing a leather jacket with a gold tooth.
Director Mom pointed at the two large baskets that had been brought out.
She seed unwilling to say a single extra word.
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