With the addition of Beatrice and Gordon, more volunteered to join, but some were still worried and hesitant. After all, no one can truly predict what will happen on the second floor. Everything was unpredictable and the chances of them dying were high. But in the end, there were still people who dared to stand out. In the end, they managed to gather a team of five students, along with Alice leading the team.
"I'm very relieved that I didn't need to forcibly select the remaining members of the operation," Alice said with gratification.
Then, she continued to say to Beatrice and the others, "The remaining food we have in the storage room will only last us for another three days at most. We should leave as soon as possible to avoid unexpected situations. Everyone, get yourself focused and mentally prepare yourselves. Once everyone is ready, we will set off immediately."
"Miss Alice, I'm ready," a student said.
Gordon kept his arms that were thick and muscular, not saying a word. Soon, another student told Alice that they are prepared to set off. After five minutes, everyone was ready. At this time, Beatrice, who had not spoken a word, looked at Alice who was in front of them.
"Miss Alice, we should prepare some tools for self-defense in case the zombies discovered us."
"I agree. We need some weapons. It's too dangerous to go in empty-handed," Gordon nodded.
"I have thought about that too. Of course, I won't let anyone go downstairs empty-handed." Alice responded to Beatrice.
"Whether it is the bags to bring back food or weapons for self-defense, they are both necessary for this operation."
Alice said that to everyone. However, her eyes were mostly fixed on Beatrice and Gordon. Alice had a good impression of Beatrice. She had contributed a lot when the outbreak first happened. She had displayed an amazing fighting ability when the zombies attacked. Alice judged her from her performance, she was even stronger than Alice herself.
Beatrice was able to defend herself from zombies that attacked without breaking a sweat and even helped break through zombies when they were surrounded. She was calm and mature the entire time. This display wasn't usually found among people of her age. No matter what happened, nothing shook Beatrice at all. Someone like her was truly outstanding. It could be said that no students on the third floor could be compared to her. If the third floor was ever attacked by zombies, Beatrice may be the only survivor.
Gordon, who was an arm away from Beatrice, was rumored to have amazing strength in school, and the rumors were true. When the outbreak in the cafeteria happened, Gordon even picked up a zombie with one hand and used the zombie to send the surrounding zombies flying. He was indeed very strong. In addition, his performance in the cafeteria was far better than the other students. He wasn't afraid when she talked about going downstairs, and he was willing to leave the comfort of the third floor to bring back food.
If Alice was completely honest, she didn't have much confidence in this operation either. After all, she would be facing zombies that had no qualms about dying. If one bit her, she would be infected and join their ranks. However, with the addition of Beatrice and Gordon, the success rate of this operation was greatly increased. At least, the chances of surviving and returning were greatly increased.
"Everyone, come here with me," Alice said to Beatrice and the others. She turned around and walked in a certain direction.
She had been on the third floor for a long time, so naturally, Alice and the chefs knew everything about it, including a pile of unused tools. As for the students, they did not know this pile of tools. This was because initially there wasn't any use for it, until now. However, they have to fight for their survival, and it's time to bring the tools out.
Next to the cold storage room was a small storage room. There were brooms, shovels, small knives, rusted kitchen knives, buckets, and a few iron ladles and pots that were used for cooking. These tools were here when someone needed to clean or remove the ice that built up inside the cold storage room.
"Everyone, there are tools that we can use." Alice picked up an iron ladle that was stacked on the wall and said to the five of them.
"However, before we choose the tools we need to divide the task. Of Course, we are not going to fight zombies, our main objective is to obtain food. Safety is our top priority."
"Miss Alice, we'll follow what you decide," one of the students asked.
"We'll just take a big sack. Too many things will affect our movement."
"And the food needs to be taken by strong people, so..."
"I'll take it," Gordon said before Alice finished.
"Okay, Gordon will be in charge of carrying the food," Alice nodded. She had the same intention.
Then, Alice explained the general plan of the operation. She also told them to pick tools that have a longer reach. This would help them keep a safe distance from the zombies while defending themselves. For example, they could tie a knife to a stick to act as a weapon. She also told them to cover their arms with cardboard tape to prevent being bitten by zombies.
After about twenty minutes, they walked out of the storage room. They had already armed themselves with tools they found. While Beatrice only took a knife, her arms were wrapped with a paper shell that was moderately thick and did not hinder her movements. Gordon was tall and strong and he picked an iron stick as a weapon and his arms were wrapped in the same manner as Beatrice's. Alice took a kitchen knife and fixed it to the tip of the wooden handle of a broken mop and her arms were also wrapped with cardboard tape.
The other three students were more cautious than them. They had iron ladles and other weapons in their hands. Their bodies were still tightly wrapped, as well as makeshift armor they stuck onto themselves on their chests and backs.
Wendy, another chef, and Chris came up to them. Alice informed Wendy, Chris, and the rest of what they planned and was about to do. They would use text messages to communicate with each other. When the time comes, Alice would text Chris to get ready. All the messages that would be sent were already being prepared and saved as a draft. All she needed to do at that time was to hit the send button.
With everything ready, Alice and her students started the operation of obtaining more food.