Captain Lü led everyone to start checking every corner of the house, every room had to be checked, including subtle spots like behind doors.
Caution was paramount; in this apocalypse, the first priority when staying in an unfamiliar place was to conduct a thorough check and resolve all potential hidden dangers.
A thud echoed, drawing everyone's attention.
Captain Lü frowned, instructing his team to form a perimeter and move towards the source of the sound.
He gripped his short blade tightly, focusing his gaze in that direction.
Under the flashlight's beam, the room ahead was illuminated, and a team member was about to step inside.
Captain Lü quickly interjected, "Wait!"
The team member quickly took a step back, looking at Captain Lü with some confusion, unsure what the problem was.
"Hold on, the sound just now came from inside the room. Whether it's a person or a zombie, we need to be careful!" Captain Lü, seeing his teammates' confusion, patiently explained.
No sooner had he spoken than the room's door creaked open halfway, then fell silent again.
Captain Lü looked around, picking up a small iron can from a nearby table. This can used to hold tea leaves, but now it was empty.
Captain Lü held the iron can, weighing it in his hand, then suddenly tossed it into the room.
Clang!
The iron can hit the ground with a grating sound, exceptionally loud in the silent house.
Immediately following, several roars were heard, moving towards the direction of the iron can.
Through the flashlight's beam, they clearly saw four or five zombies hidden behind the door. Zombies had no intelligence; it was merely a coincidence, perhaps that side of the door didn't receive sunlight during the day.
The team member who almost entered earlier felt a sense of relief. Fortunately, the Captain had warned him not to rush in, otherwise with these few zombies at such close range, it would have been easy to be overwhelmed and bitten.
Captain Lü and his teammates exchanged glances. With a shared understanding, they retreated a few steps and waited at the doorway.
The zombies moved towards where the iron can had made a sound, but found nothing. Then they spotted Captain Lü and his team, instantly surging out of the doorway in a frenzy.
Due to the limited size of the doorway, the zombies couldn't rush out all at once.
A zombie resembling a skeleton charged out first. The hot weather of these days, combined with the passage of time, had caused these zombies to gradually lose their human characteristics; their flesh had rotted away, and their clothes were progressively tattered and decayed, with scattered fabric scraps hanging on their bodies.
Captain Lü charged forward, his sharp short blade nearing the zombie's head, a thrust!
Then he pulled it out; there was no gushing blood, only some black, putrid liquid flowing out, emitting a foul odor.
The next few zombies that followed closely were also dealt with one by one by the surrounding teammates.
Those who had survived until now, the people around Captain Lü, had mostly killed zombies, and not just one. They were accustomed to killing zombies.
From initially believing it was a disease and zombies were still humans, thus hesitating to deliver fatal blows.
To later being forced to deliver fatal blows, feeling guilt, and then finally rising up in resistance.
After killing a large number of zombies in subsequent zombie waves, their hearts had become numb.
Killing a few zombies easily left them emotionally unaffected.
Seeing the fallen zombies, Captain Lü then said, "Lao Xie, Lao Li, let's go inside and take a look. Don't go straight in, first scan from the doorway, and only enter if there are no zombies."
According to normal logic, there should be no zombies inside the house.
Lao Xie and Lao Li leaned against the doorframe, one on each side, illuminating the interior with their flashlights. After a careful check, they said, "It should be fine. Let's go in and take a look."
The two went inside, and after another thorough inspection, they said, "This room is safe."
"Alright, let's move together, don't separate. Check the next room," Captain Lü said.
"Okay."
"Alright, Captain."
And so, Captain Lü led several team members, checking every room.
Two other rooms also had zombies, but with the previous experience, their cautious actions ensured they remained unharmed.
In a small room at the very end of the second floor, they found some disposable toothbrushes and daily necessities, which they collected. Later, in another room, specifically one of the rooms where zombies were found, they discovered half a bag of Wuchang rice, though it was covered in rice weevils.
Yet, this made them happy for a long time. What were rice weevils? They could still be eaten. As long as it hadn't completely molded, it could still be consumed after cooking.
They sequentially gathered the supplies in this house, finding the following items:
26 towels, all unopened.
34 disposable toothbrushes, with accompanying small packets of toothpaste.
3 large bottles of shampoo, though all had been used.
Also, 4 barrels of 20-liter water, all sealed, but due to the long time, there were some sediments inside. However, it was still drinkable. Water, as long as it's sealed, can be stored for half a year to a year and still be drinkable.
Two gas canisters, but both were half-used.
Half a 100-jin bag of Wuchang rice, still with rice weevils.
A complete set of kitchen equipment, but some knives were missing, possibly taken by someone.
There were also some scattered, less useful but better-than-nothing items, which they collected one by one.
Finding these truly made them happy for a long time.
The house showed signs of having been searched, but it must have been done in a great hurry, perhaps due to the presence of zombies, so the previous searchers didn't look carefully, which ended up benefiting them.
The discovery of these supplies ignited hope for survival in everyone. Although these few things weren't much, in this desperate situation, they gave them the courage to keep going.
By the time they had thoroughly checked the rooms, nearly an hour had passed.
The others weren't idle either; they tidied up the checked rooms on the second floor one by one, and finally started cooking in the second-floor kitchen, using the bag of rice they had just found.
After the meal was cooked, everyone gathered in the second-floor hall.
All windows on the first floor were closed.
Being on the second floor was also a comprehensive consideration. At this stage, they were unsure whether to station themselves in this building, because being near the National Highway, this was not a place for a long stay.
Everyone drank the rice porridge. Due to the excessive number of rice weevils in the rice, they simply didn't bother to remove them. Besides, rice weevils were high in protein and edible.
Drinking the black and white rice porridge, steaming and swirling, although there weren't many of them, at this moment, their hearts were at peace.
In the original unsealed city, although there were many people, their hearts were diverse, forming small groups based on families.
At this moment, the 32 people here formed a small group based on Captain Lü and bound by the team members. This group was small in number but exceptionally familiar and united.
