Rotting Land: Survive

Chapter 991: Chapter 976

An uneventful night passed, and the next morning, the survivors uncharacteristically did not wake up early as they usually did. Their all-night revelry kept them up until the early hours, and they gradually fell asleep.

Xu Renjie did not sleep in, but the aftereffects of his hangover were quite evident on him.

Not just him, Old Lin also had a parched throat and felt weak all over. All the pain from the drinking competition yesterday seemed to be gone.

You reap what you sow — this saying fits drinking perfectly.

People always like to "punish" themselves with stimulating activities.

Demmi and Derek were perhaps not yet accustomed to life in their new headquarters, or maybe they were too thrilled to have found a safe haven. In any case, last night they were undoubtedly the two least "settled" sleepers in the group.

The whole night, they held each other tightly, not speaking, just snuggling and feeling each other’s warmth.

Is all this real? This was the question Derek kept asking himself in his heart last night.

He felt everything before him was too illusory, as if he would lose it all with a blink of an eye.

No wonder the young man felt so uncertain, considering the past half-year’s experience, oppressed by "Japan," living on the edge of life and death every day. He never had a night of sound sleep, nor a day of a full meal.

But now? In his arms lay the woman he loved; around him were trustworthy partners; his stomach was filled with a tasty, sumptuous meal;

Derek no longer needed to climb walls early in the morning to gather supplies; no longer needed to worry for Demmi’s safety; no longer needed to endure the humiliation from those "Japanese" animals.

Of course, the most important thing was, Derek felt a sense of belonging for the first time. Because of the people outside, he knew when anything happened in the future, he wouldn’t have to handle it alone — he could finally shed the heavy burden he’d carried on his shoulders for over half a year. He could finally begin living the life of a normal young man.

Although these seem trivial, they were things that Derek yearned for but could not attain over the past half-year.

"Derrick, do you think they will accept us?" Demmi’s concerns differed from Derek’s, as she thought more about their future life.

After all, she’d been holed up in the school without going out for quite a while, whereas Derek at least ventured into the wasteland outside. So compared to Demmi, he understood the outside world a bit more.

Moreover, both Derek and Demmi were newcomers to the team, so Demmi’s concerns were quite reasonable.

In the past, Derek wouldn’t have dared to promise Demmi anything.

But with this team before him, especially after the life-and-death escape yesterday, Derek confidently stroked Demmi’s dark hair and replied, "Don’t worry, this team is reliable. You saw how they risked their lives against hundreds of zombies to rescue trapped members — with such camaraderie, I believe they won’t be the kind of group that excludes others. Of course, we can’t stay here for free. We have to show our value and contribute our efforts."

Having grown up abroad, Derek was more experienced than his peers.

Although he held the team in high regard, he knew the principle of more work, more gain; less work, less gain.

To earn respect from others, the first thing a person must have is something worthy of respect.

After hearing Derek’s words, Demmi nodded and then slipped out from Derek’s embrace, intending to get out of bed.

Seeing this, Derek gently wrapped his arms around Demmi’s waist and asked, somewhat perplexed, "Where are you going?"

Demmi turned her pretty face and flashed a sly smile, "Hehe, where else can I go? Didn’t you just say we need to show our value? So, at this hour... of course, it’s to get up and see what we can help with."

At a loss for words, Derek didn’t expect Demmi to say something like that. He wore a mournful expression and reluctantly loosened his right hand from her waist.

Given the circumstances, he felt too embarrassed to express his desire for some tenderness.

Seeing Derek’s expressive face, Demmi understood exactly what he was thinking.

After some consideration, she then softened again, leaning close to Derek’s ear to whisper softly, "I’ll give you 15 minutes. We must get up in 15 minutes."

"Understood, my queen! Mission guaranteed to be accomplished in 15 minutes."

"Ah! What are you doing, hehe, slow down, slow down, look at you being all eager..."

"My queen, can’t help it, just 15 minutes, you know my force, and now the military situation is urgent, every second counts!"

...

Wei Yang poured warm water for both Old Lin and Old Xu. Shortly after, Old Zhao came out from the room.

Upon seeing this, Lin and Xu almost spoke simultaneously, "How is it, Old Zhao, how’s Lina doing?"

Old Zhao smiled, looking much more spirited than in the previous days, and the paleness in his cheeks finally showed some redness: "Not bad, thanks to Little Wei. If it weren’t for her hanging the IV for Nana and making medicine last night, Little Nana wouldn’t have recovered so quickly."

"Oh, Uncle Zhao, look at you, always saying such detached things. After all you’ve done for me, taking care of Nana is only right."

"That’s right, Old Zhao, since Little Nana is back, she’s one of the family. No need for extra words among family. Mutual support and care is fundamental. This is the basic rule of our team, no need for me to repeat it to you as an old comrade, right?" said Old Lin, tapping the table with a finger, pretending to be a leader, making Old Zhao shake his head with amusement.

"Haha, alright, alright, let me say something. Yesterday’s operation was generally successful. We’ve saved the people now, and I wonder if we should hurry to discuss the next plan."

Without long-term concern, there will be immediate worry, especially in a crisis-ridden apocalypse where no one knows what might happen the next second.

So for Old Xu, who came from a military background, being prepared for unforeseen circumstances was one of his principles.

Despite the current celebration and harmonious atmosphere in the village, who could guarantee that a disaster wouldn’t strike the next second?

Lin Junfu and Zhao Yunhai had also climbed from piles of corpses and naturally understood what Old Xu was worried about.

Without any hesitation, they both nodded in agreement: "I agree."

"Alright, then I’ll gather the brothers for a meeting, and we’ll try to finalize the plan by this morning."

With these words, Old Xu got up to leave.

Seeing this, Old Zhao hurriedly called out to stop him, "Hey, Old Xu, wait a minute. There’s no need to rush discussing the matter. You see, everyone was busy all night last night, and almost all must be sleeping now. Even if we wake them up now, they’ll be foggy-headed, tired, and the discussion wouldn’t be meaningful, right? I think we better discuss at lunchtime."

Considering Old Zhao’s concerns, Xu Renjie finally nodded in agreement: "Alright then, we’ll discuss at noon."

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