"Here, drink some water while I talk. We are just strangers who happened to meet, and we don't owe each other anything. Everything is voluntary. The situation outside is worse than here, with monsters everywhere. If they bite someone, that person will turn into a monster as well. A few of us have formed a small group, and I am temporarily leading it. The treatment is decent, with hot meals, clean water, and television. But it's not for free. Everyone has to work, and the main task is to kill monsters. We work together and it's easy. If you want to join, you must follow my orders and immediately take off your clothes so I can check if you have any wounds. Don't misunderstand, I'm not trying to take advantage. It's for everyone's safety. We don't know if there is an incubation period for this disease or how long it is. The only thing we know is that we can't let the monsters draw blood. If you don't agree, it's fine. I will leave the bottled water and chocolate here, and we can consider ourselves acquaintances. If there's a chance in the future, we can still meet."

Although the other person had already come down, Hong Tao could tell that she was only about 1.65 meters tall and thin, with no combat power. However, Hong Tao remained vigilant, holding his shield in front of him and gripping the ice axe in his hand.

"...What about the government and the military? Are they just abandoning us?" After drinking most of the water in one gulp and swallowing two pieces of chocolate, the woman's condition improved slightly, and at least she could speak more coherently.

"Um... I think it's not that they don't want to help us, but they have also turned into monsters. And it's not just in the capital city, it's probably the same situation nationwide and worldwide." This was a question that every survivor would ask, but unfortunately, Hong Tao couldn't give them a satisfactory answer. He had to rub salt on their wounds.

"...Can you turn around first?" As expected, as soon as the woman heard this answer, she immediately slumped in her chair, staring at the ground in a daze for a long time before speaking.

"Huh?" Hong Tao didn't react at first.

"Oh, forget it, just do as you like..." Seeing Hong Tao's questioning expression, the woman seemed to understand something and smiled self-deprecatingly. She began unbuttoning her clothes.

"You can leave your underwear on. Please turn around slowly... Alright, welcome to join. My name is Hong Tao, Hong from 'Hongshui' and Tao from 'Botao.' The man outside is called Sun Jianshe... Maybe you should wash your face first?"

Her figure was average, mainly on the thin side, but it was clear that she had a young body. Unfortunately, her face was covered in oil, dirt, and dust. Apart from her two eyes and white teeth, nothing could be seen.

"Can you turn around now?" The working class was more straightforward. The woman was only wearing her underwear, and she found a towel from the wardrobe. Using the bottled water in Hong Tao's hand, she wiped her face. She was about to take out some clothes from the wardrobe to change into when she remembered that there was a big man standing next to her.

"We'll be waiting at the ticket gate... Don't take too long, and you don't need to bring anything. We have everything we need there..." Hong Tao felt a little embarrassed. It was meaningful to ask this question now that he had seen so much. But since she brought it up, he shouldn't be in the way.

Li Xiang, a young female worker who graduated from a technical school two years ago and was assigned to the subway electromechanical section. She didn't want to reveal her age, and Hong Tao didn't bother to ask. She was in her twenties. In terms of appearance, she was a pretty girl. One would never think that she was specifically responsible for maintaining various machinery and equipment. This job was not easy for men.

"I know that door, but we don't have the key to it, and the equipment inside is not under our maintenance!" As soon as Li Xiang heard that Hong Tao and Sun Jianshe were going to find a maintenance door in the track, she immediately gave an answer and pointed out the difficulty.

"This is the key..." Hong Tao took off the electric drill from his waist and shook it.

Search tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w for the original.

"Harmonic resonance, special alloy drill bit!" Normally, when Hong Tao showed off his electric drill and tools to Chu Qiu and her sister, they didn't react at all. But this time was different. Li Xiang immediately reached out and took the electric drill, not only recognizing the brand but also the drill bit.

"You're amazing, girl. Do you like tools?" Hong Tao was quite surprised. It couldn't be said that women didn't like mechanical products and tools, but there were very few who did. Unless they worked in a factory and occasionally encountered a few, they rarely saw them in their daily lives.

"Well... I have a set of domestically made tools that work fine. Should I go back and get them?" Li Xiang nodded vigorously.

"No need, I have a lot of tools at home, all good brands. You can have them all!" Finally, he met someone who shared his interest, and Hong Tao was very happy. Although Sun Jianshe had been dealing with machinery for a lifetime, he only treated it as work. He neither liked nor disliked it, and he had no interest in playing with tools in his spare time.

"Big brother, what kind of work do you do?" Sure enough, as soon as they started talking about tools, Li Xiang immediately changed her address to big brother, which brought them closer.

"As for me... I'm just an amateur enthusiast. I don't really know how to do anything. I just like to buy a bunch of tools to show off." Hong Tao thought hard, but he really couldn't come up with anything impressive. He could only continue to be an amateur enthusiast.

"Let me give it a try!" With a guide, the three of them quickly found the door. It was indeed well hidden, with no signs except for the handle. If you didn't look carefully, you wouldn't find it. Li Xiang had been holding onto Hong Tao's electric drill and still wanted to have a go.

"Here, don't be polite. I have spare drill bits in my pocket!" Hong Tao was even more generous. He waved his hand and gave away the electric drill, and he didn't plan to take it back. It was good to have someone help, and tools should be provided naturally.Two people went out, and three came back. Liu Quanyou was truly impressed by Hong Tao's efficiency. Including the five of them and Yang Ping and Yang Ling, eight people had been saved. What a great virtue!

"So, this door leads to a civil air defense project. Are you planning to use this place as a base?"

Ever since she saw Yang Ping and Yang Ling, Li Xiang's already minimal vigilance had disappeared. Hearing Hong Tao and Liu Quanyou whispering about future arrangements for accommodation, defense channels, and modifications to the subway station, she immediately understood their intentions.

"Yes, what do you think? But I need to correct your thinking. It's not us, it's we. As a member of the group, you have the responsibility and obligation to voice your opinions."

Should Li Xiang be involved? Hong Tao felt that there was no choice but to include her. She had seen everything there was to see, there were no secrets left. Might as well be generous.

"There's a 30-kilowatt diesel generator in the station, a Cummins. The brand is average, but the performance is decent!" Hong Tao's generosity was immediately rewarded. Li Xiang seemed quite satisfied with the place and immediately began planning its development.

"A diesel generator... Doesn't that make a lot of noise?" Hong Tao stroked his chin. He had only dealt with small power home generators before. He wasn't very familiar with high-power generators, especially diesel ones. Once started, it would probably keep everyone in the circular project awake.

"We don't need to move it in. I can modify the wiring and connect it to the wiring here. When I came in, I saw that there was a line here that also leads to the driving tunnel. It's easy to modify!"

Li Xiang had already considered the problem of noise and provided a corresponding solution. In this respect, she was not only more capable than Yang Ping and Yang Ling, but her thinking was also more in line with Hong Tao's, considering all aspects of the problem. Especially in her field of expertise, she could come up with a complete plan, including details.

"Alright, from now on you're the head of our electromechanical team... But for now, you only have me as a soldier, and I might not always be at your beck and call."

The leader must keep up with the enthusiasm of the masses and not hold them back. But the leader can't really rush up and do everything himself. So what to do? You can't let the masses lose heart, you have to give them hope for advancement, the simplest way is promotion.

Never underestimate this. Even being a team leader can make people feel special. Having power in your hands is a feeling that, apart from Liu Quanyou, probably no one here truly understands.

But Hong Tao understood. He had had power and lost it. Whether he liked it or not, he had to admit that power was more intoxicating, more addictive, and harder to let go of than anything else in the world.

"Alright... Is this the tool of the electromechanical team? Then I'll take it!" Li Xiang was very happy. It didn't matter if she didn't have soldiers, as long as she had tools.

"If you can kill it, I have woodworking machinery, welding machines, small drilling machines, angle grinders, impact drills, electric picks, a full set of taps, a full set of German tools at home, all yours!"

Hong Tao raised his expectations for this female mechanic a few notches. She looked weaker than Yang Ping and Yang Ling, but her wrist was very steady when she was using the electric drill to unlock the door. She didn't seem shocked or panicked when she heard that most of the city's population had turned into monsters. Would she dare to kill zombies?