Food Crisis.
Hearing this, Lu Li hesitated slightly. After a brief moment of hesitation, he still asked, "Does Sister Jun really just not care?"
Fatty Lei shook his head and sighed, "Sister Jun is an official officer, and many things are out of her control. Besides, she still holds onto hope for the Federation. Most importantly, Sister Jun, as our leader, cannot extinguish everyone's hope with her own hands."
"Understood." Lu Li's heart sank as he instantly understood the crux of the matter.
Jun Shutong was indeed unsuited to tell everyone this cruel news. After all, humans driven to madness were the most terrifying, and people who had lost hope were capable of anything.
The two hastily finished breakfast, and Fatty Lei took him to collect a set of simple toiletries.
After collecting the toiletries, the two walked straight toward the temporary meeting room.
Call it a meeting room, but it was actually just a slightly modified toy store.
They were not the first to arrive; seven or eight solemn-faced young people were already seated inside.
As people arrived one after another, Lu Li, under Fatty Lei's guidance, familiarized himself with everyone.
Counting him, there were fourteen able-bodied adults in the camp. Seeing that everyone had arrived, Jun Shutong started today's meeting.
Jun Shutong said with utmost seriousness, "Today is the fourth day since the monsters descended, and there is still no news from the Federation Government. Now we must consider fighting a protracted battle."
Jun Shutong paused here, and seeing that the crowd did not have much of a reaction, she continued:
"I hope the able-bodied members of the camp can take the initiative to look for food. We don't know how much longer the water in the water tower will last, but we must stockpile more drinking water."
"Therefore, I've decided that starting today, the three daily meals in the camp will be reduced to two, drinking water will be distributed in limited amounts, and tap water can no longer be used indiscriminately."
Hearing this, the people in the room began to whisper among themselves.
A wave of frustration instantly welled up in Lu Li's heart. He had just collected his toiletries and hadn't even unwrapped the packaging, yet Jun Shutong was cutting off the tap water directly.
A middle-aged man raised his hand and asked, "Team Leader Jun, do the supplies we collect all have to be handed over to the camp?"
Jun Shutong nodded and explained, "Handing over thirty percent is enough. After all, going out to collect food is dangerous, and handing everything over wouldn't be fair to you."
The people in the room breathed a sigh of relief. If they really had to hand everything over, they would only be able to find ways to slack off and slack around.
"Then I have no objections." The middle-aged man sat down after speaking.
A youth with dyed yellow hair stood up and asked, "Do we only need to hand over food? What if I find some gold jewelry or similar things?"
Jun Shutong glanced at the yellow-haired youth, frowning inwardly. Expressionless, she said, "No. The food handed over is mainly to provide for the elderly and children who cannot go out to search."
"Then I have no objections either." After saying that, the yellow-haired youth also sat back down.
Lu Li watched this scene thoughtfully.
Just then, Jun Shutong suddenly said, "It's best to search for supplies in groups of two. Lu Li, you'll be in a group with me later."
Lu Li, who had been suddenly called out, froze for a second. He hadn't expected Jun Shutong to take the initiative to ask him to team up, but this was a good thing after all.
After all, Jun Shutong had a gun in her hand and had received professional training. Teaming up with someone like this was beneficial; at least he wouldn't need to worry about peers harboring malicious intent.
Fatty Lei looked at Lu Li with puppy-dog eyes, full of envy. He also wanted to team up with Jun Shutong, but unfortunately, she didn't think much of him.
"Everyone, safety first when searching for supplies. Never lose your life over a little food." Jun Shutong solemnly reminded the group. The able-bodied people in the camp were already relatively few, and she was genuinely worried that someone would do something foolish and lose their life outside.
If possible, she actually hoped everyone would honestly stay in the camp and wait for rescue from the Federation Government.
The problem, however, was that the Federation Government had been out of contact for four days, and deep down, she actually no longer held much hope for the Federation Government.
The meeting ended, and Lu Li followed Jun Shutong downstairs.
"Let me tell you in advance, our operation this time has a destination, and there might be a certain amount of danger."
Jun Shutong's words made Lu Li pause.
"What do you mean? You're telling me you only called me because you knew teaming up with you was dangerous?"
Slightly annoyed, Lu Li was just about to retort when Jun Shutong said, "If there really is danger, I'll go first. You just need to be responsible for covering me then."
Hearing this, the trace of annoyance in Lu Li's heart dissipated quite a bit. At least this woman willingly took on the most dangerous chore.
"Yeah." Lu Li nodded and said, "It's better if we discuss things in advance."
Seeing that there was no displeasure on Lu Li's face, Jun Shutong felt quite gratified inside.
The reason she was willing to cooperate with Lu Li was, firstly, because this kid had just graduated from college, had a pure temperament, and didn't have that many crooked thoughts; secondly, she saw that his movements were fairly agile, so at least if he really ran into danger, he wouldn't hold her back.
Jun Shutong explained, "I plan to go to the second floor. That floor is mainly cosmetic and health supplement stores. Cosmetics might be useless, but health supplements will still come in handy. Some malnourished children in the camp might need these things."
"However, the second floor is relatively close to the basement supermarket, where monsters are very likely to be entrenched, so we must be careful when we move."
Hearing this, Lu Li's mind became active as well.
Skincare products might be usable for Feebas, and even health supplements could be tried on Feebas. After all, a Pokémon's vitality was extraordinarily tenacious.
There was completely no need to worry about overnutrition or excessive intake of health supplements.
"Then I have no problem," Lu Li said.
The two quickly arrived at the second floor. The closer they got to the basement, the tighter their nerves became and the more cautious their actions grew.
Neither of them had any mind for idle chatter at the moment. Jun Shutong held her pistol to lead the way, while Lu Li vigilantly watched the surrounding environment and the dangers that might appear from all directions.
Jun Shutong gently pushed open the door to the emergency stairwell, using her flashlight to cautiously probe ahead.
Confirming that the surroundings were safe, Jun Shutong lowered her voice and instructed, "Safe. We'll search carefully, store by store."
"Yeah." Lu Li nodded.
Jun Shutong glanced at the names of those shops and, discovering that they were all beauty stores, she wore a depressed expression: "This is the cosmetics area. It looks like we'll have to take an even bigger risk."
"Are you sure everyone in the mall ran up to the sixth floor? It doesn't look as chaotic here as I imagined." Lu Li furrowed his brow, asking with a tone full of doubt.
Jun Shutong explained with a resolute tone, "When encountering danger, people's instinctive reaction is definitely to run outside; how could they drill upward? Furthermore, this is the second floor. Running toward the first floor is even safer."
Lu Li heaved a sigh of relief, saying with a face full of fortune, "Now that's really good news! It's not chaotic here, which means those monsters haven't broken in yet."