On the sixth day of the Cataclysm, Hong Tao was awakened by a thunderous explosion. The sky was gloomy, and the rain was not heavy. Hong Tao woke up before half past five, mainly because Chu Qiu, who was beside him, woke up first. She said she was not used to having a man beside her and couldn't sleep all night.

"Today is a good day, everything I wish for will come true. Today is a good day, open the door... and kill zombies..." Hong Tao was quite happy to see the gloomy weather and drizzling rain outside. He hummed a little tune while washing up.

"Boss, is a rainy day considered a good day?" Liu Quanyou and Sun Jianshe didn't have to work the night shift because they had a mission to go on, but they didn't sleep well all night. They both had panda eyes. However, their spirits were still good. They climbed over the wall and came to prepare breakfast as soon as it was past half past five. Seeing Hong Tao so happy, they couldn't help but ask.

"Hehehe, from my observation, zombies prefer to bask in the sun. When it rains, they all hide and don't wander around, which reduces some trouble. But don't just listen to me, my observation time is too short. We still need to slowly explore the characteristics of zombies."

Spitting out the foam from his mouth, Hong Tao talked about seeing zombies basking in the sun. But this was only a one-time phenomenon, and it was still too early to draw conclusions.

"Let's eat, let's eat. Today we fried dough sticks and steamed buns. Take whatever you like to eat. It's just a bit rushed, so I didn't have time to soak soybeans and grind soy milk. We have millet porridge and rice porridge for now!"

While speaking, Zhou Jinlan had already shouted from the kitchen. She was indeed a virtuous helper. She made so many delicious dishes in less than an hour. The fried dough sticks, which were quite troublesome in Hong Tao and Chu Qiu's eyes, were as simple as noodles in her hands.

"Master Hong, do you think we are living too extravagantly? Shouldn't we make a plan and manage our existing resources more systematically?" While eating the warm breakfast, Liu Quanyou had a new idea.

"..." Everyone at the table immediately stopped chewing and stared at Hong Tao.

"No need for that. Our resources are endless, especially non-packaged food, vegetables, and frozen meat. We should eat as much as we can because their shelf life is too short. In the future, we can only eat canned food, instant noodles, and packaged food every day. Oh, by the way, little sister, do you know how to pickle vegetables?"

Hong Tao waved his hand generously. Chu Qiu should know the answer to this question. He had told her before, but the others, including Jiao San, hadn't figured it out yet. Why save anything? Just eat as much as you can.

Especially fresh vegetables, even if they are stored in a cold storage, they will not last more than three months. The problem is that the cold storage requires electricity. So, in other words, it is probably impossible to eat green vegetables for a long time.

But Hong Tao had also experienced a few days of hardship when he was a child. Even without the Cataclysm, fresh vegetables were still in short supply. Especially in winter, besides Chinese cabbage, potatoes, and radishes, there was almost nothing else. What to do? People would make many kinds of pickled vegetables in the summer. The taste was not as good as fresh ones, but it was still a vegetable.

"That's right! Why didn't I think of that... I can not only pickle vegetables, but also make sugar garlic, cured garlic, pickled vegetables, sour cabbage, and pickled vegetables!" When it came to making pickled vegetables, Zhou Jinlan immediately became talkative. She counted a bunch of them on her fingers, and her whole demeanor changed.

"Alright, those who are staying at home today have something to do. Pickle all the vegetables that can be pickled. We have plenty of jars and bottles, and the jars under the wall can be used too. Look for vegetables in the other two courtyards. Some of them should still be good. If it's not enough, we'll go to the small supermarket at Ganshui Bridge tomorrow. There should be more there!"

Hong Tao was pleased to see Zhou Jinlan's transformation. He didn't expect to save another useful person besides Sun Jianshe. Yes, it was a useful person. In the post-apocalyptic world, the definition of talent had completely changed from before.

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Anyone who could benefit everyone was considered talented, even if they were good at pickling vegetables. On the other hand, even if you were a post-doctoral researcher and academician who had designed a space station, if you were lazy and weak, unable to kill zombies or dare not kill people, you would still be useless.

"But... but I don't know how..." As soon as Zhang Tao heard that he had to stay at home to pickle vegetables, he immediately had another question. He had been secretly relieved that he didn't have to go out with Hong Tao and fight zombies.

"Xiao Zhang, you can learn if you don't know. It's different now from before. As long as you have money, you can place an order and someone will deliver hot meals to your door. If you want to have enough to eat, you can only rely on yourself!" Liu Quanyou, who was a young man with no skills but good at eating, and who liked to talk nonsense, was losing patience. He gave the correct answer without hesitation.

"Xiao Zhang, you're still young. Learn more things and endure hardships. When I was young, I suffered a lot as an apprentice under my master. But once I mastered the craft, the second half of my life was much more comfortable. The old folks often say that in a famine, skilled craftsmen won't starve. With a skill, you can find a meal anywhere!"

After Liu Quanyou finished criticizing, Sun Jianshe also wanted to say a few words. He used his own experience to educate the young people not to be too impetuous and to learn as many skills as possible.

"Alright, let's get ready to go. Everyone check your armor and weapons again. I'll go count the tools. We must not forget anything!"Was Liu Quanyou and Sun Jianshe right? Absolutely, their words were as precious as gold and jade. Would Zhang Tao listen? Definitely not. Hong Tao was very certain of this. Children who grew up in the new era like him had basically never suffered. What they considered suffering wasn't really suffering at all.

Persuasion alone was useless. The only thing that might wake them up was a setback, a big one. But even that was only a possibility, not a guarantee. Since that was the case, there was no need to waste words and risk annoying people. There might even be conflicts. In the current environment, setbacks were everywhere, and opportunities were abundant.

At seven-thirty in the morning, an off-road vehicle and a large motorcycle carrying the exploration team left the courtyard. With the hopeful eyes of the old, weak, sick, and disabled behind them, they resolutely drove eastward.

Jiao San, still carrying his breath crossbow, rode the large motorcycle as the vanguard, always a few hundred meters ahead of the off-road vehicle. Sun Jianshe drove the off-road vehicle behind him, maintaining a steady speed.

Why let him drive? It was his strong request. When he found out that the car was manual, he claimed that he was the most skilled at driving manual among them, skilled enough to shift gears just by using the throttle and brake without stepping on the clutch. Hong Tao felt he didn't have this skill, so he simply let him take the wheel.

Liu Quanyou's workplace was not far from the east gate of Ditan, but entering from the east and south would require passing through two residential areas. Hong Tao did not choose these two directions, but let the car circle around to Hepingli Middle Street and planned to enter from the north side. This way, they only needed to pass two 18-story residential buildings, theoretically encountering fewer zombies.

When they arrived at the predetermined location, there were already zombies at the entrance. They originally stood motionless against the wall, as if asleep. But as soon as someone entered their detection range, they immediately reacted and quickly moved towards them.

However, the detection range seemed to be within a hundred meters, much shorter than when he tested it last time. If there were no individual differences, then the rain must have affected their hearing, smell, or some other sense.

"Old Liu, take the spear, we'll clear the way in front. Don't be afraid, just follow my lead. You'll get the hang of it after a few tries." Jiao San's long-range attack power was good, and Sun Jianshe had tried the steel crossbow yesterday and his aim was pretty good. Hong Tao treated them as archers, while he and Liu Quanyou walked in front as shields.

"Yes, yes...huff...I'll try not to hold everyone back..." Liu Quanyou had tried all the methods he could think of to relieve his stress in the car, but none of them worked. He was still trembling and his legs were still weak.

"Don't worry, we won't leave you behind. We're not going to storm a fortress. It's best if we can get in, but if it's impossible, we'll retreat. Safety first. As long as we're alive, there will always be a way."

Looking at Liu Quanyou, who was pale and trembling all over, Hong Tao began to reassure him. Some people were scared simply because they felt too close to death. If they could be given a hint of freedom to advance or retreat, they might feel much better.