Chapter 38: Chapter 38: Useful People Live Longer Chapter 38: Chapter 38: Useful People Live Longer Today had been a fruitful day. On their way back, Gu Pan sat behind Lu Ruisheng and hugged his waist, humming a tune without restraint.
Lu Ruisheng was also in a great mood, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly under his scarf. Even in the apocalypse, having his wife by his side was happiness.
When they returned to the outskirts of their community, Lu Ruisheng looked at their findings at the entrance while Gu Pan directly rode the motorcycle to a deserted area, stored it in the “Space,” and then went upstairs to call for help with moving the things.
Everyone was waiting at ho for their return, so they were all dressed and ready, and soon everyone ca downstairs together.
Seeing the items at the entrance excited everyone. Although heavy, the thought of those weapons and equipnt made lifting them seem less strenuous.
When they went upstairs, although many eyes were watching them through the peephole in the corridor, no one dared to co out and ask what they had brought back.
The items were moved up to the seventh floor. Gu Pan and Lu Ruisheng handed the explosive materials to Chen Shaonan’s family and kept the guns for themselves. As for helts, riot shields, and bulletproof vests, they distributed them to everyone according to the number of heads.
Once everything was distributed, everyone felt relieved and went back ho.
Those upstairs and downstairs heard what they had distributed and knew what was in their boxes. Though frightened, they felt secure knowing that with these people around, their building was safer than most. As long as they didn’t starve or freeze to death, they could survive.
After Gu Pan and Lu Ruisheng returned ho and looked at the two boxes of guns and weapons, they knew that although they were models, after modifications, they wouldn’t be much different from real ones. Even if there were differences, having ard equipnt made their team distinct from ordinary people.
Of course, the couple had to maintain absolute control and leadership, no matter who they allied with—they were always the leaders.
Gu Pan’s experiences from her past life made her wary of anyone other than Lu Ruisheng, as human nature could change with the environnt. This was also a survival experience gained over several years of the apocalypse.
Lu Ruisheng felt the sa. He knew that as long as he trusted his wife, he couldn’t go wrong.
The next day, they all got up at dawn, studying weapons and practicing their skills. Nobody was idle, for they had experienced robberies and seen people barely surviving such attacks, making them acutely aware of the cruelty of the apocalypse.
In the past two days, the resources outside had been mostly depleted. Those with foresight had started hoarding supplies from the first day of the lost order. The shortsighted still thought that providence would not let them starve and hoped against hope for soone to rescue them.
Thus, now so had hoarded a lot of resources, while others were out of food and even lacked firewood for warmth. Occasionally, news of soone freezing or starving to death would spread, intensifying the general panic. Now, those who went out for food always carried knives and were wary of everyone they saw.
After practicing together today, Gu Pan and her group went out again. Although there were few resources left outside, there was still a chance to find sothing overlooked. If several years of apocalypse didn’t end them, then anything could be a treasure.
As they left, upon reaching the fourth floor, they overheard the old lady in apartnt 501 pleading with apartnt 401’s building manager.
Her voice was no longer as loud and forceful as before; it trembled as she begged, “Building manager, I know you have the kindest heart. Could you give us so more food? My grandson really can’t hold on—he’s been on water for a whole day, and the child really can’t bear it.”
Building Manager of 401: “I’m really powerless. It’s too difficult to find supplies now. We only have enough for a couple of days ourselves; I’m not sure what we’ll do afterward. You should ask soone else.”
But the old lady from 501 didn’t budge, “I know, I know your family is struggling too. Just one bite, just give the child one bite. You know I’m old, and I really can’t compete with the younger ones. My son isn’t here, and I, an old lady, have to manage with a child on my own. I really can’t do it.”
The manager of the 401-unit heard this and didn’t want to hear anymore, “You think at this ti, soone could support you all your life? It’s better to go out and find sothing to eat than to go from house to house begging.”
The old lady from 501 said, “Aren’t my legs bad? If I were young, I would have already gone out.”
The manager of the 401-unit sighed, “I really can’t help you.” After saying that, he closed the door.
The old lady from 501 kept knocking, but the manager from 401 didn’t open the door.
Gu Pan also felt helpless after listening to this. So people will always expect others to pity them, always feeling as an elder, others should help her. Not just during the apocalypse, Gu Pan wouldn’t have bothered with such individuals even before.
Their group didn’t stay long and went straight downstairs. There was no point wasting ti on those who didn’t strive but only wanted to take advantage.
The old lady from 501 heard them leaving and looked over. Seeing it was Gu Pan and the others, she did not dare to stop them because Gu Pan would brandish a knife. Thus, she hid by the wall, watching them leave, before she went to other hos to beg.
These days, the old lady from 501 had lost a lot of weight, and her hair had turned white. Begging had beco increasingly difficult; she hadn’t received anything for two days. With no food or firewood left at ho, she was truly desperate, but she didn’t know where to find food or dare to venture out.
Today, Gu Pan and his group were lucky. They found a party school dorm that was usually overlooked because people considered it just a school, unaware of the dorms.
Since Lu Xuerong had studied here before, she was familiar with the place. She had casually ntioned the dorms and, to her surprise, they actually found them.
Three days before the storm, all the residents had hurried back ho. As the students were locals, possibly from nearby counties, they usually stayed in the dorms to save on commuting costs, but it was easy to go ho when needed.
Today, they scavenged quite a lot of food and supplies. They packed everything, transported half back to the morgue for storage, and took the other half ho.
Scavenging was getting tougher, so they didn’t spend too much ti on it. They went out for half a day, then returned ho; Chen Shaonan and Duan Shui worked on explosives and generators.
Gu Pan and Lu Ruisheng studied weaponry.
Cheng Yang and Chen Lang helped the younger people intensively improve their Combat Power.
Feng Zhekai’s grandfather was a practitioner of traditional Chinese dicine, and his other grandfather was a practitioner of Western dicine. Thus, having grown up imrsed in that environnt, he had a good understanding of traditional Chinese thods. Now, he pulled out all the traditional dicine books from ho to study acupuncture, a life-saving technique when surgery and dications were unavailable.
His wife, Lu Xuerong, also joined him in learning dical skills. Everyone understood, that no matter the tis, those who are useful can survive longer, particularly those with life-saving skills.
In the evening, Chen Shaonan fixed the generator. They set it up in the hallway and connected it to power the sixth floor as well.
Diesel was limited, so they decided to run it only for two hours each evening. This was enough to warm up the household electric heaters and electric blankets, settling all electrical needs during this period and then turning it off to save fuel.
Gu Pan’s household had a generator, so they scheduled their ti wisely, preserving their own resources as well. Despite an ample reserve, it was still crucial to save as much as possible since resources were no longer renewable in the apocalypse.
These days, they had visited garages and car dealerships to gather gasoline, and during trips to factories, they also searched for diesel. The amount they had collected recently could keep the generator running for a month or so, and they would continue to look for more later.
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