The Chef Rules the Last Days
Chapter 295 - 293: Considering Relocation

Chapter 295: Chapter 293: Considering Relocation

Although he still wore a gentle smile at the corner of his mouth, it was somehow chilling to the bone.

After coming out, he first glanced at Zhao Changsheng, then warmly said to Lu Chen, "I’ve succeeded in my promotion."

Lu Chen, "Congratulations."

Li Qian lowered his head, opened his palm, and the increasingly pure Spiritual Threads twined around his fingertips. The vast network in his mind unfolded, "The zombies in the living area have started to move."

"This matches what Guo Hua said," Su Mo glanced at Guo Hua, who was sitting not far from them with his hat off, seemingly in deep thought.

"Yes, and the swarms of rats underground," he tapped his toes on the ground.

Zhao Changsheng asked in confusion, "Weren’t you unable to detect this before?"

"Level 4, I can now overcome this barrier," Li Qian said with a slight smile. The invisible Spiritual Threads had already followed their master’s will and embedded themselves into the walls, exploring the unknown.

"They should’ve adequately blocked the gym’s sewers by now," Su Mo began to doubt at this moment. If they made one careless mistake and didn’t block it properly, the students on the first floor might be wiped out.

"There’s no sign of infiltration for now; it should hold up until we leave," Li Qian said.

During the conversation, Ding Yan came upstairs from the lower floors, accompanied by two female teachers and He Fei, talking as they walked.

He Fei, whose complexion was already poor due to his injury, looked even more sullen at this time.

And the four were all heading in the direction of Lu Chen and his group.

Seeing them approach, the group ceased their conversation.

"Li Qian, you’ve been promoted!" When Ding Yan reached Li Qian, he seemed quite excited, grabbing his hand and showering him with a flurry of praise and pleasantries.

Li Qian subtly withdrew his hand and patted Ding Yan on the shoulder instead, "Is there something you need?"

"Well, we wanted to discuss with you all about this rat plague and the zombie horde," Ding Yan rubbed his hands together, appearing somewhat embarrassed.

Li Qian looked toward Lu Chen for his opinion.

The man agreed.

But this time, they took everyone into the office.

The man named Guo Hua also actively followed them in.

The office seemed a bit crowded with so many people entering all at once. Su Mo gave up her stool to Jiang Yulian, who was holding a child, and stood behind Lu Chen herself.

She glanced unintentionally at Guo Hua sitting in the chair, noticing that after he placed his rifle beside the chair, his gaze wandered everywhere, as if searching for something. However, when his eyes met Su Mo’s, he quickly retracted them.

Ding Yan took the initiative to make hot water for everyone, then pulled the two teachers to sit down and handed the floor over to He Fei.

He Fei cleared his throat, folded his arms, and said solemnly, "Here’s the thing, I wanted to ask everyone if there is any intention of migrating together because..."

"Migrate? We certainly won’t—" Zhao Changsheng was about to voice her objection when she was stopped by Li Qian, who said softly, "Let him finish."

Su Mo also sent her a look.

Zhao Changsheng closed her mouth but disdainfully pushed the hand on her mouth away and wiped it off.

Li Qian’s expression remained unchanged, but the soft touch in his hand did indeed stir something within him; his hand slowly closed, resting by his side.

He Fei picked up his cup and took a sip, then continued, "It’s like this: we plan to move to the Refining Factory. Teacher Ding was a professor in this field. We took him there as soon as we found it. The operation of the oil pumps and the keys are all in Teacher Ding’s hands,

we can use the factory as a temporary base. It has an electric grid and sufficient living facilities. However, because of the distance, it will take two hours to get there. We have a lot of students, and it may not be possible to find enough operational vehicles, so walking might be necessary."

So the keys were on him. A flash of regret passed through Guo Hua’s eyes.

Li Qian caught it squarely.

"You want us to act as bodyguards?" Lu Chen asked bluntly.

He Fei waved his hands in denial but then nodded, "I know that you plan to leave later, but please believe me, you can take away as much oil from the Refining Factory as your ’Space’ can hold."

Su Mo felt that this condition was particularly tempting.

Lu Chen’s ’Space’ was not small at all.

"Why don’t you seek refuge in the epidemic prevention zone at the border of G City?" Guo Hua asked as if it was a casual question, but it was enough to make He Fei’s face darken.

He looked up, his gaze wary, "You know about the epidemic prevention zone at the border?"

Guo Hua was unfazed by his stare and placed his hat on his knee, "I’ve met their people at the border before. They very friendly told me they have a radio, endless food and water, and inexhaustible bullets."

He Fei asked, "You’ve been there?"

Guo Hua shook his head, "Living in a group always involves all kinds of scheming and intrigue, which I dislike. I didn’t agree to go, but isn’t it a good option for you?"

Suddenly, He Fei sneered, anger still lingering in his tone, "Epidemic prevention zone? I’ve seen with my own eyes how a dozen of them took turns assaulting a woman who had fled outside, a mother with her child! What kind of epidemic prevention zone are they! If I hadn’t been alone, I would have definitely saved her!"

Guo Hua wore an incredulous expression, then quickly lowered his head to apologize, "Sorry, I was not aware of these things."

Li Qian kept his eyes on both men during their conversation, his gaze resting on Guo Hua with a somewhat profound meaning.

Those flickering eyes—was he intentionally bringing up the epidemic prevention zone?

Li Qian held his paper cup, lost in thought for a while, then spoke in a gentle voice, "Did the people from there come looking for you to join?"

He Fei turned to look at him, his face growing dark as he nodded, "Exactly, not long after I witnessed that incident, they entered our territory to collect supplies and negotiate cooperation with us."

"Cooperation?"

"We hold the keys to the doors and machinery of the Refining Factory, and they offer us safety and food in exchange for fuel," He Fei said, growing more agitated. He stood up abruptly, spitting out his words with righteous indignation, "But after what they did, how can I trust they won’t harm our companions?"

Su Mo more or less understood; a dozen men assaulting one woman was indeed quite excessive and would either kill or cripple her.

"What if the woman consented?" Guo Hua suddenly said, "Why not consider the possibility that the woman volunteered herself to protect her child and ensure shelter for both of them?"

"That sounds as if you were at the scene yourself," Zhao Changsheng remarked with crossed legs, speaking towards him.

As she spoke, all eyes in the office turned to Guo Hua.

He was indeed at the scene, and among those dozen people was himself—so Guo Hua thought, but without changing his expression, he said, "I am simply stating my point of view objectively."

"Alright, let’s not quarrel," Ding Yan timely intervened, standing up and taking a small teapot from the office desk to refill everyone’s water, "Our only goal is to discuss the relocation to the Refining Factory; let’s leave the border for now."