The next day, the sun was still shining brightly. The survivors woke up early as usual, but with nothing to do, they could only sit on the boxes, chatting idly.

Tang Xiaoquan walked to the window by himself. The rising sun was warm and gentle, casting a cozy warmth on his body.

After a night's rest, Tang Xiaoquan's energy and spirit had noticeably improved compared to before. Even his slightly pale face had gained some color due to the establishment of the shelter.

He lazily stretched, then put his hands on the edge of the window. Once his eyes adjusted to the bright outdoor light, he raised his brows to survey the entire factory environment.

The factory area was shaped like a "U" with one large and two small buildings encircling it. The area wasn't large, estimated to be around a thousand square meters, but thanks to its compact layout, it didn't appear crowded from afar.

To the north of the factory was the main building made of sandwich panels. The outer walls of the building, white with a green roof, were kept clean, suggesting the factory paid much attention to hygiene in the past.

On the east and west sides of the main building lay two brick-and-tile bungalows. One seemed to be a kitchen for cooking, and the other was the storage room where the survivors currently stayed.

In the center of the factory, three vehicles were parked side by side. One was the "small cargo" Lin Junfu had previously mentioned, another was a somewhat old Passat, and the last, naturally, was the Buick GL8 the survivors were traveling in.

Through the tightly closed doors and intact body of the GL8, Tang Xiaoquan could confirm that the car hadn't been opened.

The car keys had always been with them, and even when Wei Yang went to fetch the medicine box later, he returned after locking the car door.

This was somewhat unexpected for Tang Xiaoquan. Logically, with resources so scarce in the factory, they should have asked for supplies.

But in reality, since they entered the factory, the other side hadn't brought up such issues at all.

Even with the car parked there, they had no intention of opening it for investigation, which made Tang Xiaoquan suspicious.

But soon he was relieved, recalling a meaningful and profound remark Lin Junfu made before leaving last night.

"But your arrival has, in some way, solved our urgent crisis."

Solved their urgent crisis? What did this mean? What exactly were they trying to express?

Puzzled and unable to figure it out, Tang Xiaoquan decided to let it go.

After all, the other side mentioned they would talk in detail today, so Tang believed all questions would be answered then.

With this in mind, Tang Xiaoquan continued to survey the factory area.

The perimeter of the factory was enclosed by a 2-meter-high brick wall, with patches of green appearing cheerfully in several dirt pits alongside. Upon closer inspection, Tang Xiaoquan saw crops such as peppers, cabbage, and amaranth.

Additionally, he saw a peach tree, but unfortunately, there were only a few scattered large white peaches left on it, as most were likely consumed by the factory's survivors as sustenance.

Life sure is tough! Tang Xiaoquan couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

All along, their group believed their living conditions were exceptionally harsh, but compared to these people living in the factory...

It truly fulfilled the old saying, "better than some, worse than others." At least they had luncheon meat and pickles for each meal, while these "poor souls"...

With a soft sigh, Tang Xiaoquan increasingly felt the pot of watery rice Lin Junfu brought last night was extraordinarily precious.

Two young men were leisurely wandering around the gate, one of whom was Dazhuang, who had had a conflict with them yesterday.

Dazhuang had dark skin, a sturdy build, and his bare upper body appeared quite well-defined under the sun's rays.

The gate was sealed tightly with piles of cardboard boxes. While these things couldn't stop a zombie charge in Tang Xiaoquan's view, visually, they at least provided a sense of security.

Perhaps this was enough for the factory's people, Tang Xiaoquan couldn't help but think.

There weren't many survivors moving around the factory's open space. Occasionally, a few older women came out to do chores like drying clothes or cleaning but quickly returned inside.

He couldn't tell whether they were avoiding the blazing sun or had lost interest in life; in any case, Tang Xiaoquan couldn't read any vitality from their faces.

After asking the time, there were still about three hours until noon. The survivors were so bored they didn't even have the energy to speak.

It's no wonder, with the nearly enclosed space having only one small window for ventilation. With eight people squeezed inside, the accumulating carbon dioxide and gradually heating air made it increasingly unbearable.

In the corner, Wei Yang was still changing Acheng's bandages, the alcohol, and iodine evaporating into the air serving as tools to purify the air.

Clearly, breakfast was not to be had, but the survivors were used to eating sparingly and weren't too concerned by this.

After lazily stretching again, Tang Xiaoquan's right hand, which had been resting on the window sill for too long, felt slightly sore. He instinctively flicked it twice, then sat back down on his box.

From his observations earlier, he now had a mental map of the factory's overall layout.

Overall, the safety here was quite assured, but if there had to be a weak point, it would be the front gate's defense.

After all, zombies couldn't topple the brick walls, but the barricade of iron doors and cardboard boxes was virtually useless and couldn't withstand the brute strength of those creatures.

Therefore, Tang Xiaoquan decided that once they left the quarantine area, he would immediately talk to Lin Junfu.

After all, safety was no small matter, especially in the apocalypse—any oversight could lead to irreversible disasters.

Sitting quietly for a while, Tang Xiaoquan also began to feel bored. He fiddled with the bangs on his forehead, his thoughts drifting aimlessly, until suddenly, a question surfaced in his mind, bringing a few shallow wrinkles to his brow.

Tang Xiaoquan clearly remembered Lin Junfu once saying he was saved by the factory's manager, Mr. Wang. But from yesterday until now, this Manager Wang hadn't appeared, nor did Lin Junfu mention him again.

Could it be that this Manager Wang had died in the tragic events Lin Junfu referred to?

With a slight shift in his gaze, Tang Xiaoquan immediately dismissed his speculation.

In his mind, if Manager Wang had indeed died because of those events, Lin Junfu had no reason not to mention it.

So now it was puzzling; if Manager Wang hadn't met with an accident, why was he continually absent?

Tang Xiaoquan couldn't help but become suspicious...

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