Zhao Tianlei walked straight over and lifted the lid of the large pot. A mouthwatering aroma immediately wafted out. He picked up the spoon beside it, scooped up a mouthful, and stuffed it into his mouth. After fleeing all morning, Zhao Tianlei was already starving. At that moment, even plain rice tasted delicious to him.
After wolfing down several mouthfuls of rice along with some of the dishes nearby, Zhao Tianlei finally managed to stave off his hunger. If he could not fill his stomach, he probably would not have enough strength to rush back later.
Considering that this place was not safe, and that Ye Sitong and Wu Bin were still waiting for him, Zhao Tianlei had no intention of eating his fill here. He hurriedly looked around for something to hold the food, but there were only a few plastic bags, which could not contain much. Suddenly, Zhao Tianlei noticed a small rice cooker beneath one of the cabinets. He quickly took it out and checked inside, only to find it completely empty.
Zhao Tianlei hurriedly used the spoon to fill the rice cooker with rice, filling more than half of it in one go. Then, without worrying about mixing the dishes together, he scooped the prepared beef brisket with potatoes, hot-and-sour shredded potatoes, braised eggplant, and braised fish chunks into the cooker as well. Once it was nearly full, Zhao Tianlei added several spoons and pairs of chopsticks, covered it with the lid, found some rope, and tied the lid and cooker together tightly.
He weighed it in his hand and found that it was still within the weight he could bear. Zhao Tianlei then looped the rope over his left hand and slung it over his shoulder. After picking up a cup of soy milk and drinking it in one go, he took his fire axe and returned along the route he had come.
After Zhao Tianlei quietly slipped out through the cafeteria's side door, he found no zombies nearby. After all, these zombies had no interest in human food. Their food was living, breathing humans. To get from the cafeteria back to the library, he still had to cross the athletic field. Fortunately, when Zhao Tianlei had crossed it earlier, he had lured away many of the zombies there. After losing Zhao Tianlei as their prey, those zombies once again became a group of brainless idiots, wandering aimlessly in all directions.
Zhao Tianlei walked quickly along the outermost edge of the athletic field. Even when one or two zombies spotted him and chased after him, he ignored them. The zombies moved as slowly as elderly men and women. Even with a backpack and a rice cooker on his back, Zhao Tianlei's pace was not affected, and he quickly left the pursuing zombies far behind. As long as he moved carefully and avoided being pounced on by a zombie that suddenly appeared nearby or being blocked by zombies ahead, there was no real danger.
By the time Zhao Tianlei had crossed the athletic field, he had attracted many more zombies, but he had already left them far behind. He jogged back to the library's rear entrance. When he saw that there was only one zombie there, he did not hesitate. He rushed up and split its head open with one swing of his axe before approaching the rear door and calling softly through the crack, "Wu Bin, Sitong, it's me, Zhao Tianlei. I'm back. Open the door!"
"It's Tianlei!"
The moment Zhao Tianlei's voice rang out, Ye Sitong's excited voice came from inside. The door opened immediately, and Zhao Tianlei hurriedly slipped in. Before he could speak or put down the things he was carrying, a delicate figure threw herself straight into his arms. Completely disregarding the stains on him, she wrapped her arms around him and began trembling all over.
There was no need to guess. Zhao Tianlei knew who had rushed into his arms. Other than Ye Sitong, it definitely could not be Wu Bin. If Wu Bin had thrown himself into Zhao Tianlei's arms like this, Zhao Tianlei would have kicked him away. Meanwhile, as soon as Zhao Tianlei entered, Wu Bin closed and locked the door. He had just been about to speak to Zhao Tianlei when he saw his beautiful class monitor fling herself into Zhao Tianlei's arms. Wu Bin froze, then tactfully stood to the side and waited.
"Ahem." Zhao Tianlei rarely enjoyed this kind of treatment, but after running all the way back, he was indeed rather tired. The large backpack and rice cooker weighing down his back had been especially painful on his shoulders. Thus, he had no choice but to cough twice, hinting that Ye Sitong had hugged him enough and could let go now.
After receiving Zhao Tianlei's hint, Ye Sitong indeed froze. She hurriedly withdrew from his arms and stood bashfully in front of him. Fidgeting like a young girl who had done something wrong, she stammered, "I was just really worried about you. You hadn't come back for so long, and I was scared out of my mind. If Wu Bin hadn't kept stopping me, I really would have gone out to look for you."
Wu Bin quickly chimed in from the side, "Exactly. Tianlei, you have no idea. After you left, our beautiful class monitor was terribly worried about you. She wanted to go out and find you several times, but I stopped her. Her tears were practically sparkling as they fell—I don't even know how many she shed. Even I couldn't bear to watch."
Who would have thought that after Wu Bin said this, Ye Sitong's face would turn even redder? Pouting bashfully, she said, "You're so annoying."
Zhao Tianlei laughed when he heard this. "Hahaha, I never thought that I, Zhao Tianlei, would have a time when our beautiful class monitor worried about me. Even if those zombies bit me to death right now, I'd die satisfied."
Ye Sitong immediately became a little angry. "Don't say things like that. Don't tempt fate."
"All right, all right, I won't say it. You've both been waiting for me so long that you must be starving. Hurry and see what delicious food I brought back."
With that, Zhao Tianlei handed the things to Wu Bin, who hurriedly took them. Only then did the two of them notice that Zhao Tianlei was carrying two things on his back, one of which was actually a rice cooker.
Wu Bin exclaimed in surprise, "Tianlei, where did you find this rice cooker? Don't tell me you crossed the athletic field and went to the cafeteria. There are tons of zombies on the field—at least several hundred. That was dangerous!"
Zhao Tianlei spoke with a solemn expression as well. "That's right. There are more and more zombies gathering on the athletic field. I discovered that these zombies can actually organize themselves into groups without realizing it."
But then Zhao Tianlei smiled at the two of them. "Still, I've always liked eating plain white rice. In the past, I couldn't bear to eat it every day. Now that food is free and we can eat as much as we want, how could I pass up such a great opportunity? Besides, after today, we probably won't have another chance to eat ready-made food from the school cafeteria. When I went there, there wasn't a single person inside. I imagine the cooks had prepared all this food in advance."
"But when the apocalypse broke out, all the cooks ran away. Luckily, they left us plenty of delicious food. It wasn't piping hot, but at least it hadn't gone cold. I was so hungry in the cafeteria that I couldn't resist trying a few bites. I also didn't know what either of you liked to eat, so I found a rice cooker and put the rice and dishes inside. Just treat it as rice topped with dishes. It's still somewhat warm, so hurry up and eat."
Before you continue