The whole nation is trying to survive on the cable car; I'm choosing one of three options at ea

Once the deal was struck, the two ended their conversation.

After turning off private chat, Su Mu continued browsing the channels.

Time passed slowly, and he and Lin Yuwei had barely spoken since reading the diary.

One leaned against the wall, feigning sleep, while the other sat on a stool watching the TV. Each occupied a corner of the house, and neither broke the silence.

The messages in the channel were scrolling by very quickly.

Most people chose to land today, some in groups, some solo, some heading to towns, and some in the wilderness. While the death toll is still rising, it has slowed considerably.

Through the chat in the channel, he noticed two particularly outstanding teams.

One team was led by Zhou Zhenguo. They had the largest number of members and, through teamwork and discipline, they steadily advanced on the outskirts of the town. Although their monster-killing efficiency was not high, their casualties were minimal.

The other is a five-person team of gifted individuals.

Everyone in the group possesses combat-related talents... some have fireballs, some have wind blades, some have strength enhancements, and their teamwork is excellent, allowing them to independently handle two to three zombies. Someone boasted about their achievements in the chat, drawing a wave of envy.

Besides these, there were also some scattered groups, whose situation Su Mu could only judge from the snippets of conversation in the public chat.

He glanced at the breakdown progress bar.

[Time remaining to complete decomposition: 1 hour 12 minutes]

There's still a little over an hour left.

I've been busy all day, barely stopping since morning. The bread I ate this morning has long since digested, and my stomach is starting to rumble.

Su Mu touched his backpack and pulled out the self-heating hot pot.

The red packaging box has the words "Spicy Tender Beef" printed on it, and the cartoon cow is giving a thumbs up.

He hesitated for a moment.

If we eat back in the cable car, the small space will be filled with the smell of hot pot, and it won't dissipate for days. Besides, who knows what we'll encounter tonight? What if a monster attacks? Fighting while smelling hot pot is just ridiculous.

It's better to eat it now.

Su Mu tore open the packaging, put the heating pack inside, added water, and closed the lid.

laugh......

Steam billows out of the vents, carrying a rich, spicy aroma.

Beside her, Lin Yuwei's nose twitched.

She opened her eyes and saw the self-heating hot pot that was smoking in front of Su Mu. Her eyes widened instantly.

"Where...where did you get this?"

Su Mu didn't even look up: "It was from a treasure chest."

Lin Yuwei stared at the hot pot box, her lips moving slightly.

But she didn't speak; she simply turned her face to the other side and closed her eyes again.

The aroma was simply too overpowering. Spicy, savory, and with the distinctive oily scent of beef, it seeped into your nostrils layer by layer. In a world where only bread and biscuits exist, this smell was practically a test of one's willpower.

Su Mu opened the lid and picked up a slice of beef with a fork.

Tender.

hot.

Cool.

He exhaled a breath of hot air and picked up another piece of wide rice noodles.

Lin Yuwei's eyelashes trembled.

Su Mu ate another slice of lotus root, the crunching sound particularly clear in the quiet house.

Lin Yuwei swallowed hard.

Su Mu finally looked up at her.

The woman remained leaning against the wall, her eyes closed, but her ears were already red. Her lips were pressed tightly together, and her chin was slightly tense, as if she were struggling with something.

Su Mu thought for a moment and said, "Want to come and eat something?"

Lin Yuwei didn't move.

"Fine, don't eat then." Su Mu lowered his head and continued eating.

There was a few seconds of silence.

"I only ate because I came to help you," Lin Yuwei's voice drifted over from the side, her tone serious. "This meal should be on you."

Su Mu's lips twitched.

He couldn't possibly finish such a big bowl.

"Okay, it's on me. Come on over."

Lin Yuwei then stood up and pulled up a stool to sit down. Her movements were natural, and her expression was calm, but her eyes, fixed on the hot pot, betrayed her true thoughts.

Su Mu handed her the fork.

Lin Yuwei took it, picked up a piece of beef, and put it in her mouth.

Then her expression instantly became rich... first satisfaction, then enjoyment, then quickly subdued, returning to her calm and composed demeanor.

"It's alright," she said.

Su Mu didn't expose her.

The two of them ate, taking turns eating. A self-heating hot pot box didn't have much food to begin with, so sharing it would make it faster. But perhaps because she hadn't had hot food in a long time, Lin Yuwei ate with extra care, chewing each bite for a long time.

Halfway through the meal, she suddenly asked, "You're such a good shot, what did you do before?"

Su Mu thought for a moment.

He was just an ordinary office worker before, and his only special skill was probably reading more novels than others. But he couldn't exactly say, "I've read a lot of novels," could he?

"A programmer," he said casually. "I did some military training in the army during college."

It's not exactly a lie. University military training was indeed conducted in a military camp, although we didn't learn anything except standing at attention and marching.

Lin Yuwei glanced at him, her gaze sweeping over his head.

"With that amount of hair... you don't look like a programmer."

Su Mu: "............"

He said irritably, "And you? What do you do?"

"Accountant," Lin Yuwei said.

Su Mu was taken aback for a moment, then blurted out, "No wonder."

"No wonder what?"

Su Mu smiled and said, "No wonder you're so good at business."

But what I was really thinking was... No wonder he's such a shrewd businessman.

Lin Yuwei rolled her eyes at him and didn't reply.

The two remained silent for a while.

"I don't actually do all accounting," Lin Yuwei suddenly said. "I'm a supervisor in the company, but what exactly I do... you wouldn't understand even if I told you."

Su Mu did not ask any further questions.

"And you?" Lin Yuwei countered, "What kind of work do programmers do?"

"Writing bugs," Su Mu said.

Lin Yuwei rolled her eyes at him again.

"Fine, if you don't want to talk about it, then don't." She lowered her head and picked up a piece of luncheon meat. "Anyway, I don't want to know."

Su Mu smiled and casually asked, "Did you get to the position of manager because of your family?"

As soon as he said it, he felt that the question was somewhat presumptuous.

Lin Yuwei paused for a moment, and the luncheon meat she was holding fell back into the box.

"There aren't many people around," she said calmly. "I've been alone since I was little."

Su Mu remained silent for a moment.

"Same," he said.

Lin Yuwei looked up at him, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes, but she quickly looked away and continued eating.

"So how did you manage on your own before?" she asked, her tone much more casual.

"Going to work, coming home, reading novels," Su Mu said. "I occasionally go out for a walk on weekends."

"It's pretty boring."

"Um."

"Me too," Lin Yuwei said. "Work, get off work, work overtime. Weekends are spent sleeping at home."

The two exchanged a glance, both seeing a tacit understanding of shared misfortune in each other's eyes.

After finishing a hot pot meal, the two could not be considered friends, but at least their relationship was no longer that of a "shady businessman" and a "sucker".

Su Mu glanced at the time.

[Time remaining to complete decomposition: 18 minutes]

almost.

He opened the map and glanced at the location of the retreat point.

The two closest evacuation points are one on the east side of the amusement park and the other on the north side of the town. The amusement park was recently bombed, and we don't know the situation, so we definitely can't go there. The one on the north side is relatively safe, but it's a 30-minute walk away.

"Shall we retreat together in a bit?" Su Mu asked.

Lin Yuwei was about to answer...

boom!!!

A deafening roar, as if the heavens and earth were about to collapse, came from afar.