"It's been almost an hour since the sounds outside stopped." Gao Min whispered as her worried eyes occasionally turned in the direction of the front door.
To avoid any trouble, after Bai Zemin and Chen He killed all the zombies on the first three floors, the survivors actively moved wooden shelves along with tables, chairs, and all sorts of things that could serve as an obstacle; blocking the stairs and the back entrance of the building.
This meant that when the group of four returned they would definitely use the front door, so that place became the central focus of everyone in this moment of anxiety and apprehension.
Fan Wu and Li Na bit their lower lip when they heard the worried tone in the voice of the usually optimistic Gao Min. If even she, who had managed to keep her mind clearer than anyone else after going almost a week without eating properly, could not keep calm, how could Fan Wu and Li Na feel calm?
"Don't worry." Wu Yijun's voice attracted the attention of the three friends as well as some closer survivors, "Think carefully. If something bad had happened then those beasts would already be running towards us considering the number of people alive in here, don't you think? Then, since we haven't faced even the slightest of dangers even after so long, it is most likely that Bing Xue and the others have come out victorious!"
Her words contained belief and also great attractive power as they made a lot of sense, causing the eyes of many nearby survivors to shine again.
Her three friends also perked up noticeably and looked at her with a hint of admiration as they thought that the daughter of a high-ranking politician really was different; her talent for controlling the masses with her sweet and tender words was outstanding to say the least.
"But... Then why haven't they come back yet?" A survivor who had been rescued from Qiao Long's tyrannical leadership pointed out in a still unsure voice, "I mean, if everything really went well, then why are the four leaders still missing?"
People began to mutter under their breath when they heard those words. Some of them even felt that they had been abandoned but did not dare to say it out loud as even they themselves did not want to admit or think about such a fearful idea.
After all, it was clear to everyone present that if the people with proper weapons and enough courage to fight left without them, then 90% of those present would easily die and the other 10% would have a small chance of surviving a while longer if luck was on their side.
Immediately everyone looked at Fu Xuefeng and the rest without taking their eyes off them. It was as if they were afraid that the next second the four of them would disappear too and abandon them.
Wu Yijun was smart, so she was already expecting someone to notice that little loophole. However, before she had the need to say anything, the door that was firmly closed creaked softly and opened wide.
Under everyone's surprised eyes, Bai Zemin, Chen He, Shangguan Bing Xue, and Liang Peng walked in one after another. Some of them were carrying weapons that they did not have before, while others seemed to be unchanged at least on the surface.
However, the most important thing was that they all seemed intact and had returned.
"Thank god..."
"They really are back!"
"Wu Yijun was right after all. They won!"
...
Bai Zemin and the others did not know how to react to hearing the excited murmurs of the survivors. Moreover, seeing some of them collapsing on the floor with weak knees and some even shedding tears of joy and relief, the four had no idea what was going on.
Not knowing what was happening and not caring too much about the others, Bai Zemin clapped his hands once and silenced everyone before saying with a stern expression, "Everyone, listen carefully!"
"We have completely annihilated every living creature that is considered an enemy within at least five kilometers with this place as the center. We have also taken care of the forest blocking our path to the exit and the creatures inside it! Now, you guys have to get to work collecting the meat of some mutated beasts and carrying the rest of the useful corpse to the buses!"
The survivors couldn't help but smile delightedly and their eyes shone brightly as they listened to Bai Zemin. However, Chen He's next words encouraged them all even more.
"The sooner you finish, the sooner we can leave the university and start seeking shelter from the government and the army. I hope all those willing to work will give their best effort this time!"
Leave the university and be sheltered by the government and the military! A place with established rules and social order!
Although most of the survivors said nothing, many of them hoped to return to the embrace of the government and be sheltered by the rules of society. After all, no one was really willing to work hard for a small bowl of rice or a piece of bread.
Lilith watched everything from the side and her eyes glittered with a tinge of amusement, "This Lower Existence Chen He, sure is smart to give everyone motivation to work faster."
Bai Zemin secretly sneered and said nothing. Who knows if Chen He was just trying to do what Lilith said or if even he himself still believed that the government and the army were standing firmly against the zombies and the other mutated creatures.
Shangguan Bing Xue looked at her childhood friend out of the corner of her eye and her eyes glittered strangely. No one knew what she was thinking.
...
More than three hundred survivors started working immediately while the other more than a hundred were made up of those who were unwilling to yield to Bai Zemin's regime or who had been injured the day before during the chaos caused by some people when the Platinum Ape appeared.
These injured people had received some auxiliary treatment but without doctors and the necessary equipment only so much could be done. As for Kang Lan's Lesser Healing skill; Bai Zemin was not willing to let her waste the only two daily uses on useless people since in cases of need he would need it.
At this moment, one of the reasons why Bai Zemin wanted to leave the university once and for all was to find firearms and other assets.
What he needed most were people willing to fight! Although workers were certainly necessary since there was no way he could do everything by himself, Bai Zemin lacked courageous people... No, instead of courageous people, he lacked an incentive great enough for that courage to awaken.
But outside this large university campus, there would undoubtedly be many hungry or needy people willing to do anything to get food and safe shelter.
Just like now; the majority of survivors willing to work hard were mainly those girls who were rescued from the female dormitory or those who were saved from the hands of Qiao Long.
As for the initial group of survivors who had not suffered greatly or had not seen the true cruelty with which the strong treated the weak, they were the ones who were still living in a fantasy world.
A fantasy world from which they would soon be forced to wake up by the hard way.