Lucas didn't finish his cigarette when three motorcycles stopped outside the iron gate.
In the light emitted by the motorcycle headlights, Lucas vaguely saw five people at the entrance.
Four of them immediately started climbing over the iron gate, while the remaining person occasionally fired a shot in the direction of the road.
When the person shooting also started climbing over the iron gate, Lucas heard the strange sound again from the infected dog.
Among the people who had entered the yard, one of them continued to shoot at the infected dog, preventing it from attacking.
The whole process took less than five minutes, and several people entered the yard.
Lucas could see clearly that after the five people entered, the infected dog outside the iron gate suddenly quieted down and disappeared.
"This dog is extraordinary. We fired dozens of shots and couldn't hit it."
"You guys don't catch your breath. Go and find the person in this yard quickly. The bus is still here, so he must still be in the yard."
Lucas's attention was drawn to the voices, especially the man who was speaking at the moment.
There was no light in the yard, so Lucas could only see a blurry tall figure.
Judging by the man's voice, he was probably over 1.9 meters tall and looked sturdy, but Lucas couldn't tell what he did for a living.
At this point, Lucas naturally wouldn't act rashly.
He glanced at the time.
There were about two hours left until the purification mushrooms lost their effect.
Lucas knew that as long as he stayed on the bus for those two hours, it would be difficult for the vicinity of the yard to remain quiet when the time was up.
There were five people in the yard, and based on their figures, one of them should be a woman.
"Thomas, do you think today is the end of the world? I've only seen those zombies in movies. I never thought they would actually appear."
"And those beetles, they're like aliens, so terrifying to look at."
The woman spoke, sounding young, probably in her twenties.
"Stop talking and go find that person first, then we can talk."
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"Daisy, you keep an eye on the gate. The three of us will search the house. I'll go check the bus."
Lucas saw the burly man called Thomas finish speaking and walk towards the bus.
"Is there anyone on the bus?"
"If there's anyone, come out so you don't get accidentally injured later."
Thomas walked and shouted towards the bus.
Lucas stood silently by the window, not saying a word. He wasn't particularly interested in these people and had no intention of revealing himself.
As Thomas approached the bus, he saw that the bus was stuck in the middle of the yard wall, and a part of the wall had collapsed.
Naturally, he also saw the giant mushroom outside the wall.
And they were wearing medical masks!
At this point, Lucas also realized why these people hadn't been infected, so there was no need for him to show himself.
Lucas had originally planned to wait until the purification mushrooms lost their effect, letting the insect zombies and everything else drive these people away.
Now it seemed unnecessary. It wouldn't be long before they turned into zombies.
In the apocalypse, Lucas naturally didn't have much sympathy.
Survival or death, it was all a matter of fate.
Even at this moment, Lucas wanted to see the effect of the purification mushrooms on the zombies.
When Thomas, the man, saw the giant mushroom, he gave up the idea of checking the collapsed wall and started trying to pry open the bus door.
Unfortunately, no matter how hard he tried or kicked, he couldn't create a gap.
The upgraded bus couldn't be seen from the outside.
Even though he suspected that there might be someone on the bus, he could only feel helpless.
After trying for a while with no results, Thomas even fired a few shots at the bus.
Apart from the sound of metal colliding, the bus didn't even dent.
At this moment, someone called out to him, saying they found an underground warehouse.
Thomas had no choice but to give up on the bus and run towards the underground warehouse.
In just over a minute, Lucas faintly heard laughter coming from the underground warehouse.
Lucas felt calm at this moment.
When those five people entered the yard, he knew they would eventually discover what was in the underground warehouse.
Lucas wasn't worried about how much they could take away. He had no reason to argue with a few potential zombies.
In less than ten minutes, several people came out of the underground warehouse.
"Daisy, there's a lot of food and supplies down there."
"Thomas said we should temporarily stay here. Those things will be enough for us for half a year without any problems."
"The food is well-stocked, and there are even cooking utensils. That person who drove the bus must have been bringing these things."
"Hehe, we lucked out. He's really a good person, hahaha!"
"Well, I wonder if we can find some medical masks here."
The men were very happy, speaking loudly. Lucas could hear them clearly, but he remained unaffected.
"Medical masks are useless..."
"Now let's eat. It's our last meal. Consider it my treat."
Watching their figures, Lucas muttered to himself. He grabbed a box of instant noodles and opened it, along with a bottle of cola.
He unscrewed the cap, took a few sips, burped, and continued listening to the conversation in the yard, while also contemplating the infected dog.
"Brother on the bus, thank you for the food."
"Don't worry, we're not bad people. With us here, we'll naturally protect you."
"We understand that you don't want to come out because you see how many of us there are."
"It's alright, we won't force you. If you need food, just say it inside, and I'll leave it at the doorstep without getting close to you."
Thomas's voice came through, expressing his goodwill.
"Okay."
Lucas nodded silently, replying in a low voice.
Of course, the people in the yard wouldn't be able to hear him.
The people who survived in the early days of the apocalypse had no idea how terrifying the true end of the world could be. They hadn't experienced the bottomless despair, so it wasn't surprising that they still retained their humanity.
Perhaps in just a few days, the surviving people might fight to the death over a pack of instant noodles or a piece of biscuit.
Lucas had a deep understanding of the apocalypse, but at this moment, he didn't know what to say.
Regardless of whether Thomas's words were well-intentioned or insincere, Lucas found them somewhat comforting.
It had been a long time since he had heard words like that...
"After you turn into zombies, I'll give you a good fight."
Lucas looked at the emergency lights illuminating the yard, at those figures, and expressed his goodwill.
"I wonder if these people would still be able to eat if they knew they could turn into zombies at any moment."
Lucas sighed inwardly and opened the lid of the instant noodles.
The aroma instantly filled the cabin.
After the bus was repaired, thanks to the appearance of the purification mushrooms, the spores within its range could purify the air, so there was no need to worry about being infected by spores from other mushrooms.
Lucas had already taken off his oxygen mask.
However, the few people outside in the yard didn't have that fate. They were probably already fully infected before coming to the yard.
Just as Lucas had thought, after taking a bite of the instant noodles, the woman in the yard suddenly screamed.