The three of them resumed their journey.
Wei Dalei thought about how he had been timid at first, constantly worried that he didn't appear brave enough in front of Zhao Xiaoyan. To salvage his image, he kept making bold promises, saying that the next time he encountered a cockroach, he would definitely go and smash it to death.
In reality, with Wei Dalei's current strength and the enormous wolf-tooth club specially made for him by Chen Mu, he could indeed crush a cockroach if it stood still.
However, the problem was that cockroaches, like Xiaoqiang, were agile-type heroes and excelled in speed. They weren't that easy to kill.
But for Chen Mu, having gone through such an experience, he believed that he would handle the same situation better the next time.
Chen Mu never thought of himself as particularly smart. He had two major advantages in life: his perseverance, which surpassed others, and his strong learning and adaptability.
In the following journey, the three of them mostly stuck to the flatbed cart. Even Wei Dalei, who was constantly bragging, knew that the plastic material was their biggest reliance at the moment.
"Boss, when did you become so powerful?"
"What do you mean?"
"Just now, that move was simply awesome."
"Yeah, I thought of it a couple of days ago. I've been practicing it for a long time. Otherwise, do you think I would have come here to throw my life away?" Chen Mu walked on the left side of the flatbed cart, gently stroking the plastic block with his right hand.
The speed of his power growth was unbelievable, even to himself. If he counted on his fingers, it hadn't been a week yet, and at this rate, after a few years, he might actually be able to control a whole teaching building, just like he originally imagined.
Chen Mu didn't know if there was a limit to his abilities, but before reaching that limit, he was giving it his all to grow stronger.
That move just now, the "Golden Bell Shield," was something he had deliberately practiced for moments like this. Otherwise, if he had to improvise, he might not have had such speed.
"I feel like I've improved a lot recently. I'm not bragging, but just with that cockroach earlier, as long as I could really hammer it, I guarantee it would be dead beyond death." Wei Dalei started inflating himself again.
"How many chopsticks can you lift now?" Chen Mu asked.
"I can definitely lift seven or eight chopsticks."
"When you can lift a bottle of water, we'll go tackle a big project."
"Alright." Wei Dalei agreed readily, without even asking what the project was about.
Chen Mu was about to say something when.
Zhao Xiaoyan sniffed and suddenly pointed to the distance, exclaiming, "Look over there, there are vegetables."
The two followed her finger and saw at the end of the aisle in the distance, on the floor in a corner, a newspaper was spread out with a pile of colorful fruits and vegetables on it.
"Normally, vegetables shouldn't be placed here," Chen Mu said, a bit puzzled.
"Do you want to go take a look?"
"Yeah, if there's anything suitable, we can take some back. Even if they won't last long, at least it'll be a change of taste for everyone."
They were walking along a main passage, so they could see quite clearly, but the distance was still quite far.
Their original purpose of coming here was for flour and salt. While vegetables were good, the downside was that they couldn't be preserved for a long time, so in the long run, they didn't hold much significance.
But after eating rice cakes for so many days, having a bite of vegetable leaf to eat would be a happy thing no matter what.
For this reason, Chen Mu felt the risk was worth taking; they had come all the way here anyway.
However, after walking halfway, Chen Mu became increasingly uneasy.
Finally, when they stood in front of the pile of vegetables and saw the situation clearly.
Chen Mu frowned and said in a low voice, "Let's go back."
But before Wei Dalei and Zhao Xiaoyan could react...
From behind the pile of vegetables, more than a dozen figures suddenly appeared.
Among these people were men and women, all holding various weapons of different lengths, with sharp eyes, charging towards them.
Chen Mu pulled the two back a few steps, pressed against the wall.
Fortunately, these people didn't immediately make a move. They just surrounded the three in a semicircle formation.
"Who are you?"
A tall and burly guy took two steps forward, holding a wooden stick that looked like a spear, and interrogated the three of them.
Chen Mu quickly scanned the group and noticed that they were all wearing the same school uniform, but it wasn't from Zixi High School.
"They're from Yi Middle School," Zhao Xiaoyan whispered.
Yi First Middle School was a prestigious high school that rivaled Zixi High School. Both schools vied for the top position in the city, but their historical records were comparable.
Chen Mu knew why these people were in their school.
The day the apocalypse struck happened to be the annual exchange and study day between the two schools.
The exchange activities were held on the lawn of the playground.
However, only the first and second-year students were required to participate in these activities, and participation for the third-year students was voluntary. After all, with the college entrance exam approaching, having time for a break was already a luxury.
Because Class 4 of the third year was on the first floor and not far from the playground, many people took advantage of the break to join in on the excitement, resulting in only 11 students remaining after the apocalypse began.
It was evident that the people from Yi Middle School were students who had come for the exchange activity that day.
And the fact that they could make their way from the playground all the way to the cafeteria meant that they weren't easy to mess with.
At this moment, Chen Mu remained calm and said calmly, "This is our school's cafeteria. You outsiders seem to be overstepping your boundaries."
"From Zixi? Not wearing the school uniform, third-year students?" the leader on the other side asked aggressively.
"Yes," Chen Mu nodded and then asked, "What are you doing here?"
"None of your business!"
Clearly, these people had gone through something traumatic and were a bit on edge.
"Why the attitude? Weren't you the ones who started asking questions first?" Wei Dalei had been quiet all this time, leaving these matters to Chen Mu out of habit. But hearing that, he obviously became displeased.
When had Wei Dalei ever been at a disadvantage in a face-to-face confrontation? He raised his wolf-tooth club a few times, making his threat clear.
Chen Mu didn't want to provoke them, considering that the other party clearly outnumbered them, and he wasn't sure if any of them had special abilities.
However, in this situation, showing weakness was out of the question.
The reason the other party hadn't attacked immediately was obviously because they were deterred by Wei Dalei's wolf-tooth club.
As the situation almost escalated into a confrontation, Chen Mu intervened at the right moment and said, "Let's talk calmly. There's no need for this. Anyone who has survived till today isn't an easy opponent. We're just here for food, not to attack anyone."
The person on the other side instantly softened his stance a bit but still insisted, "We found these things; they have nothing to do with you."
Chen Mu furrowed his brows and said, "With such a large pile, it's enough for hundreds of people to eat. Can you carry it all?"
"That's none of your business."
The person became more spirited as he looked at the flatbed cart for quite some time, seemingly considering whether or not to keep this means of transportation.
Clearly, having a vehicle like this at this time would be of great help in transporting supplies.