A Pot of Rice Topping

Zhao Tianlei walked straight over and lifted the lid of the large pot. A fragrant aroma immediately wafted out. Zhao Tianlei immediately picked up a nearby spoon, scooped out a mouthful, and put it in his mouth. After fleeing all morning, Zhao Tianlei was already starving. At this moment, even eating plain rice felt delicious.

After shoveling down several mouthfuls of rice, and accompanying them with the few dishes nearby, Zhao Tianlei finally managed to curb his hunger. If he couldn't fill his stomach, he wouldn't have enough stamina to rush back later.

Considering that this place wasn't safe, and Ye Sitong and Wu Bin were still waiting for him, Zhao Tianlei didn't plan to eat his fill here. He quickly looked around for something to hold the rice, but there were only some plastic bags, which couldn't hold much. Suddenly, Zhao Tianlei noticed a small rice cooker under the cabinets. He quickly took it out and saw it was empty.

Zhao Tianlei quickly took a spoon and began filling the rice cooker, scooping in more than half the pot. Then, disregarding the mix of dishes, he scooped in the prepared beef and potatoes, shredded potatoes with sour and spicy dressing, braised eggplant, and braised fish. Once it was mostly full, Zhao Tianlei added a few spoons and chopsticks. He directly covered it with the lid, found some rope, and tied the lid to the pot securely.

He then picked it up and weighed it, finding it within his carrying capacity. Zhao Tianlei slung the rope over his left hand, resting it on his shoulder. He picked up a cup of soy milk and drank it in one go. Only then, carrying the fire axe, did he head back the way he came.

When Zhao Tianlei quietly emerged from the side door of the cafeteria, there were no zombies around. After all, these zombies weren't interested in human food; their prey was only living humans. To get back to the library from the cafeteria, he still had to cross the sports field. Fortunately, when Zhao Tianlei had come from the sports field earlier, he had already lured away quite a few zombies. After losing Zhao Tianlei as prey, the zombies were once again like a group of mindless idiots, wandering around aimlessly.

Zhao Tianlei walked quickly along the outermost edge of the sports field. Even if one or two zombies spotted him and chased after him, Zhao Tianlei paid them no mind. The zombies' walking speed was no faster than that of elderly people. Even with a backpack and a rice cooker, Zhao Tianlei's pace wasn't affected, and he easily outran the pursuing zombies. As long as Zhao Tianlei proceeded cautiously, avoiding being pounced on by zombies that suddenly appeared nearby or being blocked by zombies ahead, there was no danger.

By the time Zhao Tianlei had completely crossed the sports field, he had once again attracted a large number of zombies. However, these zombies had long been left far behind by Zhao Tianlei. Running all the way, Zhao Tianlei returned to the back door of the library. Seeing only one zombie, Zhao Tianlei didn't hesitate. He went up and directly decapitated it with an axe before approaching the back door and calling softly through the gap, "Wu Bin, Sitong, it's Zhao Tianlei, I'm back, open the door quickly."

"It's Tianlei! He's back!"

As Zhao Tianlei's voice rang out, Ye Sitong's excited voice came from inside the door. The moment the door opened, Zhao Tianlei quickly slipped inside. Before Zhao Tianlei could speak or put down his things, a slender figure lunged into his arms, completely ignoring his dirty clothes, and hugged him tightly, trembling all over.

Without a doubt, Zhao Tianlei knew who had lunged into his arms. It could only be Ye Sitong, never Wu Bin. If Wu Bin had lunged into his arms like this, Zhao Tianlei would have kicked him away long ago. Wu Bin, standing nearby, immediately closed and locked the door after Zhao Tianlei entered. Just as he was about to speak to Zhao Tianlei, he saw their beautiful class monitor leap into Zhao Tianlei's arms. Wu Bin was stunned for a moment, then wisely stood aside and waited.

"Ahem." Although Zhao Tianlei rarely received such treatment, he was indeed tired from running all the way, especially with the heavy backpack and rice cooker pressing down on his shoulders, causing considerable pain. So, Zhao Tianlei had to clear his throat twice, signaling Ye Sitong that she could let go now that she had hugged him enough.

At Zhao Tianlei's signal, Ye Sitong indeed froze and quickly pulled away from his embrace, standing before him with a shy expression. She fidgeted like a little girl who had made a mistake, stammering, "Um, I was just really worried about you. Seeing you not come back for so long, I was terrified. If Wu Bin hadn't stopped me, I was really going to go out and look for you."

Wu Bin chimed in, "That's right, Tianlei, you have no idea. After you left, our beautiful class monitor was extremely worried about you. She was so anxious that she wanted to go find you several times, but I held her back. Her eyes were welling up with tears, I don't know how many, and even I felt bad."

Hearing Wu Bin say this, Ye Sitong's face turned even redder. She pouted shyly and said, "You're annoying."

Zhao Tianlei chuckled, "Haha, I never thought I, Zhao Tianlei, would have a day when our beautiful class monitor would be concerned about me. Even if I were to be bitten to death by zombies right now, I would die satisfied."

Ye Sitong immediately got a little angry, "Don't jinx it, don't say such things."

"Alright, alright, I won't say it. You've both been waiting for so long, you must be hungry. Look what I brought!"

With that, Zhao Tianlei handed the items to Wu Bin, who quickly took them. Only then did they notice that Zhao Tianlei was carrying two things, one of which was a rice cooker.

Wu Bin was immediately surprised, "Tianlei, where did you find a rice cooker? You didn't go through the sports field to the cafeteria, did you? There are so many zombies on the sports field, at least hundreds, it's very dangerous."

Zhao Tianlei replied with a serious expression, "Yes, there are more and more zombies on the sports field. I noticed these zombies are starting to organize themselves involuntarily."

However, Zhao Tianlei then flashed a smile at the two of them. "But I've always preferred plain white rice. In the past, I was reluctant to eat too much. Now that rice is free, I can eat as much as I want, so how could I miss this opportunity? Besides, after today, we probably won't have a chance to eat ready-made meals from the school cafeteria again. When I went to the cafeteria, there was no one inside. This food must have been prepared in advance by those chefs."

"But when the apocalypse broke out, all the chefs ran away. Fortunately, they left us a lot of good food. Although it's not piping hot, at least it's not cold. I was so hungry in the cafeteria just now that I couldn't resist tasting a few bites. Also, I didn't know what you all liked to eat, so I found a rice cooker and put both the rice and dishes in it. Just consider it a rice bowl, and eat it while it's still warm."