After a flurry of activity, the hot pot was finally served.
Even before eating, just the spicy aroma made everyone swallow a mouthful of saliva.
In the real world, Wang Bin would have hot pot almost every few days, but today, having it again felt incredibly comforting.
"Let's eat!"
At Wang Bin's command, everyone picked up their chopsticks and started grabbing food from the pot. The crispy lettuce, crunchy potatoes, melt-in-your-mouth tofu, and various tender meats had everyone exclaiming in delight.
Some might say they were heartless, having just lost so many people, how could they eat? And what about the fresh meat, how could they stomach it?
But as always, Wang Bin wasn't a saint, nor a true soldier, and he had done what he could.
Moreover, in the apocalypse, many people didn't know if they would have a next meal or if they would die the next day. Eating hot pot in a house was a luxury; if given the chance, they'd gladly eat it even among zombie corpses. Having food was hard enough, let alone being picky, which was only possible in modern society.
Wang Bin did this entirely to boost everyone's morale, to fill them with hope for the future, so they could better face tomorrow.
As usual, Wang Bin and the others had a bit of beer, but not much, just one bottle each. Any more would be unwise, as it was the apocalypse, and they didn't know how many zombies were nearby. If everyone got drunk, who would fend off the zombies?
That night, Li Chengping took the night watch. Since Wang Bin's arrival, he seemed to have become everyone's dedicated caretaker, mainly responsible for night watch and looking after the women and children.
Everyone was mentally exhausted and truly tired, so they fell asleep as soon as they returned to their rooms.
The night passed without much disturbance, and everyone slept until the next morning, at which point Li Chengping went back to his room to catch up on sleep.
Wang Bin took a pair of binoculars to the balcony, constantly observing the city. It was quiet, but he saw figures in some buildings. Seeing this, he knew Commander Li and the others must have taken shelter inside.
Knowing Commander Li and the others were temporarily safe, Wang Bin felt relieved. Did he care about their safety? Yes, he was very concerned, but often individual power is insignificant, and not everything can be achieved just because you want to.
He then used the binoculars to survey the village surroundings. There were zombies around, not many, just a few hundred. Having experienced many large-scale battles, they no longer saw this number of zombies as a threat.
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After understanding the surroundings, Wang Bin went down from the balcony.
"Wang Bin, where are you going?" Officer Miao asked quickly when she saw Wang Bin heading down with a wooden rifle.
"I'm going to practice shooting. You all rest for a while!" Wang Bin smiled lightly and walked down, moving the furniture blocking the door and stepping outside.
With Wang Bin's words, everyone realized they hadn't practiced their martial arts today and quickly began practicing Tai Chi. Officer Miao and Guan Xiaoyue, a bit worried about Wang Bin, both took rifles and went up to the balcony, ready to provide support if Wang Bin was in danger.
After two days of extensive practice, Wang Bin's shooting skills had become increasingly proficient. A simple shot accurately hit a zombie's head, and with a shake of the gun, the zombie's head exploded.
The zombies were much faster than before, but Wang Bin was even faster. His strength and endurance had also improved, so zombies couldn't get close before having their heads pierced and falling to the ground.
Half an hour later, Wang Bin had cleared the surrounding zombies. Seeing him easily handle the zombies, Guan Xiaoyue and Officer Miao both breathed a sigh of relief, then smiled and went down from the balcony.
Wang Bin continued practicing Tai Chi, Diamond Palm, and Crossing the River on a Reed lightness skill for a while before heading to the third floor. When he arrived, everyone was practicing Tai Chi.
Watching everyone's practice, Wang Bin noticed significant improvement compared to before, perhaps because they were forced to.
For survival, people's learning attitude was much more diligent than before the apocalypse, and progress was inevitable.
Wang Bin didn't idle either, occasionally helping correct some of their movements.
At noon, Li Chengping woke up. The first thing he did was light a cigarette, then watched Bao and Little Nan clowning around with a smile. Sometimes Li Xiaolu would join in their antics, and laughter would occasionally erupt in the room.
The cheerful atmosphere inside contrasted sharply with the desolation and zombies outside. Everyone cherished their current life and was grateful to Wang Bin.
Without Wang Bin, they might still be struggling in their original city, or perhaps they'd have been killed by zombies or other survivors.
After lunch, everyone gathered in the living room to discuss their next steps.
"When we left, I learned from Commander Li that he had informed the Fuzhou military headquarters of their evacuation. I wonder if Fuzhou will send reinforcements?"
"We're thousands of miles from the Fuzhou base; they can't reach us quickly even if they want to help!"
"Yes, let's stay here for a few days. The city is full of zombies, and we can't join Commander Li and the others. Even if we drive a tank in, it won't help much, and with so many zombies in the city, getting out would be even harder!"
"We have no other choice!"
After the discussion, everyone went about their own tasks.
Wang Bin wanted to hunt zombies, but having already cleared the nearby ones, he had no choice but to return to the balcony and continue practicing his martial arts.
Time passed unknowingly, and that night it was time for Wang Bin to return to the real world.
Wang Bin left the tank to Li Dazhu. With a tank, they had a chance to escape if zombies attacked. He also left them plenty of food, water, and grenades.
When the time came, Wang Bin returned to the real world.
Upon returning, he found many missed calls and messages, with Xiao Kai now among them.
Wang Bin called them back one by one. You Hongfei had been busy with renovations, Li Xingping had already brought in three master craftsmen and settled them, and Xiao Kai had installed surveillance cameras and barbed wire on the walls, and had moved to live at the workshop.
Seeing everything proceeding orderly, Wang Bin was pleased. He didn't want to do anything now, just lie on his big bed at home and rest for a night.
He went to the bathroom, filled the bathtub with hot water, and soaked comfortably for half an hour.
He grabbed a can of beer from the fridge, went to the living room, turned on the TV, and watched with interest.
He realized that since returning from the apocalypse, he particularly enjoyed watching comedies and films starring young actors. It wasn't that their acting was great—quite the opposite, it was terrible—but their poor performances made him laugh heartily.
Having been stifled in the apocalypse for so long, he needed to relax in the real world, and this was his way of unwinding.
He intended to watch for a bit before going to bed, but ended up falling asleep while watching.
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