#73 - Chapter 73 This Side, That Side

Evening.

Inside the Green Source Base.

In the conference room of the office building.

The seats here had been arranged in advance, and several large pots were set up in the room!

Various vegetables, food, and meats were placed on plates, filling the tables!

At this moment, each large pot was steaming, with boiling red oil and soup swirling.

The aroma of the dissolved hot pot base filled the entire venue.

After returning to the base, the combat team members, having completed their mission, went back to their small homes to wash up and rest, and had now changed into the casual clothes they usually wore at the base.

They had all arrived at the office building conference room where meetings were usually held.

In the main seat, Qin Jin had also arrived.

After completing the handover of affairs, he returned to his home, took off his slightly smelly clothes that he hadn't washed for several days, and had a good wash.

Emerging, he felt refreshed, and then came to the place where everyone had agreed to eat hot pot.

"Come on! I'd like to propose a toast to everyone! Thank you all very much for accompanying me on this mission. We've been eating in the wind and sleeping in the open for a few days, and it hasn't been easy for anyone. It's all in this wine!"

Qin Jin raised the glass in his right hand, which had already been filled, and drank it all in one gulp after speaking.

"Not at all! Everyone goes out for the sake of the base, it's what we should do! President Qin is willing to risk going out with us, we should be toasting President Qin! Everyone agrees, right!"

Zhong Yu and several other captains didn't dare to take the credit, and quickly led everyone to echo the boss's toast.

For a time, the sound of toasting rose and fell in the venue.

"Everyone eat and drink well tonight! Although it's the end of the world now, we still have some food, and we can still splurge occasionally. Today is a happy day, everyone must enjoy themselves!"

Qin Jin said to everyone with a smile.

He was very satisfied that the completion of the helicopter search had greatly increased the base's strength.

So it was only right to take out some food to reward everyone.

Everyone happily echoed and spoke, thanking the boss, the base, the captain, and themselves for being able to shine in this big family.

For a time.

The atmosphere in the conference room was warm, with clinking glasses and flickering lights.

Everyone let loose.

They ate the vegetables and meat that they hadn't eaten for a long time with open stomachs, enjoying the joy of chatting with their companions who had recently gone through life and death together.

Many seasonal vegetables had long been planted in the base's greenhouses.

Radishes, potatoes, Chinese cabbage, choy sum, and cilantro are common vegetables in the South, which were planted before the apocalypse, but began to be supplied in limited quantities after the apocalypse.

Many were harvested and stored after reaching the harvest period, and then cooked in the canteen as needed.

As for meat, there was only refrigerated meat for the time being, and a lot had been prepared before.

Recently, the canteen didn't consume much, but the combat team brought back more undamaged meat and put it in the ice storage.

It was unknown how many frozen food warehouses and store refrigerators they had emptied.

There was pork, beef, and mutton, and there was no shortage of dipping sauces necessary for hot pot.

Everyone seemed to forget that this was the end of the world, and instead it was just an ordinary gathering between colleagues.

Laughter and joy filled the venue.

Even Qin Jin joined in, enjoying the feeling of absolute relaxation.

Although the base's canteen didn't have hot pot, the boss was in a good mood and added an extra meat dish tonight, making everyone feel good and feeling that life had a promising future.

The entire Green Source Base was filled with the aroma of food.

It was as if the end of the world had nothing to do with this place.

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Compared to the laughter of Green Source Base.

Fenghe County.

The residential area where Brother Chen used to live.

Although the doors and windows of one of the houses were tightly closed, some light faintly shone through the gaps in the curtains.

This was the home of a family of three.

They were lucky enough to have survived to this day after the night of mutation.

Previously, many people like Brother Chen chose to go out to find shelters, and this family was one of those who chose not to go.

Later, they had been cowering in their own home, relying on the food they had at home before, and they had managed to support themselves.

Until recently, when other survivors had scavenged all the easily scavenged supplies outside, the man in this family finally plucked up the courage to go out.

Obviously, there was no harvest.

The wife complained that the man didn't have enough courage, and the man could only remain silent.

There were too many survivors like this in the entire world at this time, and not all of those who chose to go out could return safely, and many had already been buried in the mouths of corpses.

This night.

This family of three relied on candles found from nowhere, and with the faint light, sat quietly at the only dining table in the house to eat.

"Mom, I'm so hungry, I can't eat enough with only half a bowl of porridge."

The little boy protested again with hunger.

"Xiao Yong, be good, Dad will find a lot of food in a few days! Just hang in there a little longer."

The hostess comforted her son, touched his head, and winked at the man next to her.

"Xiao Yong, hang in there a little longer. Don't run around too much normally, lie down quietly, and you won't be hungry. Dad will find something delicious for you as soon as possible."

The man, who had been silent before, said unwillingly at his wife's suggestion.

Several days had passed since the last time he went out to find food. During this period, the man went out once again, but returned empty-handed, only finding some candles, lighters, damaged mobile phones and other items.

He couldn't find any food at all. He didn't know how the other survivors did it, but they were able to do it so cleanly.

It rained today, and the zombies outside seemed to be more active than usual, so he didn't dare to go out even more.

In the evening, they ate thin porridge with a little salt.

Half a bowl for each person.

It couldn't be called full, it could only be called deceiving the protesting stomach.

With the faint light of the candle, the three people quickly finished their respective thin porridge, and the bowls were licked clean, so there was no need to wash them.

There was no water to wash them anyway. The drinking water had been almost exhausted recently. Fortunately, it rained today, and the adults in the family used some methods to collect a lot of rainwater, so they had this meal of porridge.

Otherwise, they wouldn't know how to cook the last of the rice.

The only remaining food for their family was a small bag of rice, less than two pounds.

According to the current consumption rate, it was unknown how many days it could last.

The hostess had already planned to continue reducing her and her husband's food intake tomorrow, only guaranteeing the child's.

The two of them could still hold on. The child had lost a lot of weight recently, and the hostess felt distressed.

After dinner.

Several people curled up on a large bed, covered with quilts and huddled together for warmth.

The cold weather made them, who had lived in Guangyuan City for many years, extremely unaccustomed.

In the past, when it was cold, they could turn on the air conditioner's heating mode, but now they couldn't even think about it.

Curled up together, only occasionally Xiao Yong asked curiously:

"Dad, Mom, how long will we have to live like this? Will I still have a chance to see my grandparents and my old friends?"

The couple were silent, and they couldn't answer.

Perhaps in order not to disappoint the child, the hostess spoke first:

"Soon, when some official rescue teams outside eliminate the zombies, they will come here and rescue us."

"But Mom, you said soon last time, and it's been a long time since then. How long will it take?"

"Mom doesn't know, anyway, it's soon, just wait."

Xiao Yong disappointedly shrank back into the quilt.

Mom had said this answer several times, but he had never waited for it.

He felt so bored these days, he couldn't go out to play, the electricity at home was gone, let alone having enough to eat, he felt so wronged.

"Xiao Yong, don't move around, save your strength, go to bed early, and you won't be hungry when you fall asleep."

Feeling the child's movement on the bed, the man in the family couldn't help but speak.

"When the rain stops, Dad will go out and find you something delicious, be good."

Xiao Yong did not answer.

In his young mind, his parents had been labeled as big liars.

So hungry.

I really want to eat meat, I really want to eat vegetables, I really want to eat hot pot.

With longing for food, he finally fell asleep.