"Brother Wang, you're finally here!"

Guan Xiaoyue saw Wang Bin coming out of the room and ran up to him, hugging him tightly.

After spending so much time together, she had come to see Wang Bin as the closest person to her in this world.

Officer Miao saw Wang Bin appear, her eyes glistening with tears. Watching Guan Xiaoyue throw herself into Wang Bin's arms, she felt a pang of envy and quickly turned around to discreetly wipe her eyes.

"Wang Bin, you must be tired. Let me get you some water!"

"Thank you!"

Li Chengping smiled and poured a glass of water for Wang Bin. Wang Bin accepted it without hesitation, took a sip, and then began to unpack the backpack slung over his shoulder.

"Uncle Li, I bought you a pack of cigarettes. See if they suit your taste?" Wang Bin first took out a pack of Da Zhong Jiu cigarettes and a lighter from his backpack and handed them over.

"Ah! Cigarettes? Thank you, thank you!" Li Chengping's eyes lit up when he heard it was cigarettes. He quickly took them and caressed them like a treasure.

Cigarettes were a luxury in the apocalypse, only obtainable at gathering points for a high price, which most people couldn't afford. He hadn't expected Wang Bin to get him a pack.

He estimated that this pack of cigarettes could be traded for several months' worth of food.

Next, Wang Bin took out various fruits from his backpack and handed them to Bao and Little Nan, who were already drooling.

"Thank you, Uncle Wang!"

The children happily accepted the fruits, thanked him, and started eating.

Then Wang Bin distributed some to Guan Xiaoyue and Officer Miao. Everyone held a piece of fruit, feeling delighted.

In the wild, you could find fruit, but they were usually picked before they ripened. Finding such large and sweet fruit was very difficult.

"Uncle Li, go ahead and smoke. I'll bring more when you finish!" Wang Bin laughed, seeing Li Chengping staring at the cigarettes, reluctant to smoke them.

He only carried one pack in his backpack due to limited space, but he had a few more in his system space.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

"Thank you, thank you!" Li Chengping nodded excitedly, carefully opened a pack, took out a cigarette, and sniffed it like an addict.

After a while, he lit the cigarette with trembling hands.

Li Chengping took a deep drag, reluctant to exhale, and eventually coughed, finally releasing the smoke.

"Uncle Li, take it slow!"

"Ah, it's so satisfying. It's been so long since I felt this good!" Li Chengping's eyes were filled with tears, whether from emotion or the smoke.

"Uncle Li, I want to smoke too!" Bao, seeing this, got interested and approached Li Chengping for a cigarette.

"No, you're too young. Smoking will affect your growth!"

"But we're not that young. I killed five zombies yesterday!"

"Yeah, and I killed three!"

"No way, you can smoke when you become real men!" Li Chengping laughed, patting Bao and Little Nan on the head.

"Alright!" The two, hearing this, dejectedly went back to eating their fruit.

Seeing the two kids a bit down, Wang Bin clapped his hands and smiled, "Do you want to have hot pot?"

"Hot pot!"

Hearing "hot pot," everyone perked up, their mouths watering uncontrollably.

"Wang Bin, did you say hot pot?"

"Yes, I brought hot pot ingredients and lots of fresh vegetables this time!"

With that, Wang Bin took out the hot pot base and fresh vegetables he had prepared. Everyone's eyes widened at the sight of fresh vegetables, not remembering the last time they had any.

At Wang Bin's call, someone went to the kitchen to bring a pot and lots of firewood.

"Use less oil, save some!" Seeing Wang Bin pour a lot of oil into the pot, everyone felt a pang of heartache.

"No worries!" Wang Bin smiled nonchalantly and poured a bit more before stopping.

Bao and Little Nan were in charge of lighting the fire, and soon the oil in the pot was boiling.

Seeing the right moment, Wang Bin added the hot pot base, using a whole big packet, which made everyone feel it was too extravagant, urging him to save some.

"So fragrant!"

The aroma of the hot pot base soon filled the air, drawing admiration from everyone.

Once the base was ready, Wang Bin added clean water, and soon the pot was full.

Wang Bin put in prepared spinach, potatoes, and fresh beef and lamb, filling the pot to the brim.

Everyone's eyes were glued to the food in the pot, and Bao and Little Nan were drooling uncontrollably.

Finally, the hot pot was ready, and Wang Bin quickly invited everyone to eat.

"Aren't we being too extravagant?" Officer Miao couldn't help but sigh.

"It's not extravagant. I'll bring more next time! By the way, what's hot pot without some drinks?"

With that, Wang Bin took out a few bottles of beer, while Bao and Little Nan had soft drinks.

"Cheers!" Once everyone had their drinks, Wang Bin raised his beer.

"Cheers!"

Everyone excitedly clinked their glasses together.

Officer Miao picked up a piece of spinach, and as soon as she tasted it, tears welled up in her eyes.

Since the apocalypse began, she hadn't had hot pot. Eating it now brought back memories of having hot pot with her parents.

The others were no better, tears streaming down their faces.

"What's wrong, is it too spicy? I'll use less seasoning next time!" Wang Bin thought the tears were from the spiciness.

"Yes, it's a bit spicy!" They nodded to cover their embarrassment, agreeing it was a bit spicy.

"Then let's add some water!"

"No, no, it's just right!"

"???"

Everyone enjoyed the meal, and by the end, there wasn't a scrap left in the pot. They even saved the broth for reheating the next day.

Wang Bin was speechless but said nothing, knowing that people used to the apocalypse lived this way.

Unlike him, they couldn't return to the real world and buy whatever they wanted.

"By the way, did anything happen while I was away?"

"Nothing much in the city!"

"Recently, we've seen many people leaving the city to find gathering points!"

"Which direction did they go?"

"All directions!"

"Ah!"

"Since communication broke down, we don't know the exact location of the gathering points, so everyone is searching blindly!"

"I see!"

"Brother Wang, you must know where the gathering points are, right?"

"I'm not too sure either. We'll set out tomorrow and head in one direction. We'll find a gathering point eventually!"

"Okay!"

Everyone wondered how Wang Bin could get so much food but not know the location of the gathering points. But seeing he didn't want to say more, they didn't press him.

Wang Bin had given them so much, enough to earn their trust. They believed he had his reasons for not telling them.

That night, everyone slept soundly, especially Bao, who dreamed and kept muttering about how delicious the food was.