Chapter 8: Sun Zhe's Background

  "Like this," Wei Quan said wearily, sitting down in his chair. "Everyone go to the bathroom and wash up properly, then we'll have dinner."

  "Is it right to let them eat and drink for free? Shouldn't we just charge them normally?" A young security guard next to Wei Quan suddenly said, Wei Quan glared at him fiercely, "Are you in charge of collecting money? If you can't collect it, are you going to stop them from eating?"

  The little security guard shut his mouth, this silly boy hadn't realized the severity of the situation yet.

  Wei Quan had just warned the survivors in the mall to follow the rules, and then treated them with free hospitality, a management style of big stick plus carrot, which was not something that the simple-minded little security guard could understand.

  At this time, the cooked seafood meat slices and fruits placed in various restaurants will spoil after a day or two even if no one eats them. Who is saving money? Who is showing sympathy? If welfare is not distributed now, when should it be?

  Moreover, in a chaotic world, if he doesn't seize the opportunity to establish his prestige, Wei Quan's identity as the head of security will easily be forgotten by these emotionally unstable people. By that time, when they want to eat something, will it still be up to him to arrange?

  "Hey boss, which restaurant should we go to first?" Another young security guard interrupted the awkward atmosphere.

  Wei Quan glared at him, "I just said it earlier, which family's food is not easy to keep and eat, in order to avoid waste!"

  "Is the Hao Ke Lai restaurant open?" The small security guard looked at it with full of hope, the steak from Hao Ke Lai was indeed very good, apparently this little security guard had been craving for their delicious food for a long time.

  "Other people's beef is frozen in the fridge, do you need to help consume it? Get out! First finish Baifu's sushi, those raw fish slices and roe can't be kept overnight, they'll go bad tomorrow." Wei Quan was very familiar with these restaurants.

  The little security guard suddenly looked disappointed, "I really can't get used to that stuff, it's all raw, how fragrant is a hot and juicy steak..."

  Luo Xiaonian chuckled on the side, "Hey, buddy, I'll give you a thumbs up. On a cold winter day like this, it's still more comfortable to eat hot food. Director, eating raw fish slices and cold rice is not good for your health. What if you get sick? If you ask me, considering our health, the nineteen of us in the entire shopping mall should have hot meals for dinner."

  "After watching those bloody scenes today, I really can't eat anything raw anymore......" Liu Jinchun also expressed his protest.

  "Besides, kids can't eat sushi anyway. You won't let them have hot food at such a young age?" I glanced at Wu Qiong, who looked grateful to me.

  Others also expressed that their stomachs felt empty and cold, and they didn't want to eat cold food.

  Wei Quan hesitated for a moment, couldn't persuade everyone, and agreed. However, he disagreed to go eat steak, instead suggesting we go to Chun Xia Qiu Dong for hot pot buffet. He said those lamb slices and small seafood on the table would spoil if not eaten quickly, whereas the steaks in the fridge can be kept for a long time. For our sake of survival in the mall, he hoped we could understand his decision.

  As long as it's hot and edible, I don't care what it is.

  Huan Huan can eat some cooked shrimp and noodles, there are also some small desserts at the buffet that kids can eat.

  It's funny to think about, how many times we spent money to eat sashimi and cold rice, but when it's free, they complain about this and that, saying it's too cold and not good for the stomach. But in reality, hot pot restaurants are always more popular than sushi restaurants, especially among northerners who love eating steaming hot pot during winter.

  Everyone came to the Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter on the fourth floor, each found a table, just sat down and thought there was no waiter, so from finding pots to serving soup, everything was done by themselves.

  "Eating hot pot without drinking beer is not okay!" Luo Xiaonian grabbed two bottles of "Brave the World" and returned to her seat, "Sister, one bottle is enough for you?"

  "You think I'm a drunkard? You should drink less too!" I filled the cup in front of me to the brim, and the foam of the beer overflowed. I quickly picked up the cup and took a sip, refreshing!

  The mutton slices dispersed as soon as they were cooked. Luo Xiaonian was dissatisfied and picked up a chopstick, saying "Fake mutton! Hmph!"

  I took another sip of beer, "As long as there's food to eat, it doesn't matter if it's fake lamb or duck meat, as long as I can fill my stomach and have energy, Luo Xiaonian, you should exercise more, killing zombies is no joke."

  Luo Xiaonian has already heard me talk about my brave actions of killing zombies with men when going downstairs, and she is both admiring and nauseous. But I have made up my mind to train this lazy girl, because I am clear that in such a world, I can no longer protect her.

  Lu Xiaonian completely obeyed, she was a sensible person, minor matters were let go, major matters were never messed up, unless forced to the limit, she could be lazy to death, but at this point, even if I didn't say anything, she had her own calculations.

  "Sister, after we eat our fill, come with me to the first floor to pick out a pair of running shoes. I need to change out of these small leather boots," Luo Xiaonian said. "I've thought it through, and I'm going to start by running. The most important thing for escaping is to run fast. If you can't outrun the zombies, you're dead for sure."

  "Go! I need to correct you, running from zombies doesn't necessarily mean you'll die, you can fight back and kill them! So, in addition to running, you also need to practice using a knife to stab their brains, whether it's through the eye socket or under the chin, or from behind the ear, whatever you like, as long as you get the knife into their brain, and deep." I casually picked up some beef bone marrow and suddenly felt a wave of nausea on this topic.

  Luo Xiaonian sighed, "I'm really grateful to Dad for letting us help him clean up the fish he caught in the past. If I had never touched blood or killed a living thing before, it would be so hard to get over this psychological hurdle."

  Although we made some small money by starting a company and living a comfortable life, my sister and I are not spoiled girls. From primary school, we took on the household chores of cleaning live fish. Our father would come back exhausted from fishing and didn't want to move, while our mother was too afraid to touch the live fish. As for us, our playful nature outweighed our consideration for our father's feelings. A large bowl of live fish in front of us was just a toy, and after playing with it, we would clean it up completely - scaling, gutting, removing the innards... Our technique was extremely skilled, and as for the fish blood and guts on our hands, that wasn't even worth mentioning.

  "Right, let's just think of zombies as humanoid big fish. Their brains are the gills that need to be dug out. Hold their hair or the top of their head with your left hand and use your right hand to stab a knife into the softest part of their skull. Same principle: if they're tall, stab under the chin; if they're short, stab through the eye socket. Don't still be measuring and hesitating in front of them, or it'll be too late."

  "Cough, Luo family sisters, can we not discuss zombies for now and just eat? I'm trying to suppress my disgust with beer." Sun Zhe said helplessly from the side table.

  Marina then glared at her husband with a reproachful look, and gently said to us, "Don't listen to him, it's right to study survival skills in a timely manner. It's just like discussing work methods during meals, there's nothing disgusting or not disgusting about it. If I were to say, you two girls can adapt better than this old man, he still needs more training!"

  Marina hadn't said anything, but as soon as she opened her mouth, her words were like a gentle spring breeze. Sun Zhe looked at his wife and wanted to explain, but after thinking for a moment, he just smiled and took Marina's cup to refill it with juice.

  "Ma Jie, you two have such a great relationship!" I said from the bottom of my heart. "Even if it's the end of the world now, you're still the happiest."

  Marina smiled and said, "I'm just an ordinary housewife. It's rare for Sun Zhe to not look down on me. With a husband like him, what more could I ask for? As long as I follow him, I won't be afraid."

  "What does Brother Sun do? He seems to be very capable and able." I asked casually, but not just out of curiosity.

  "He's just a small section chief in a state-owned unit, and his superiors often assign him many miscellaneous tasks. If he doesn't do one thing well, it's all trouble, and he's really tired from working."

  Sun Zhe just returned to the table, smiling and saying, "Not tired, not tired, serving the people!"

  He handed the juice to Malina, sat down again and added a sentence to us, "What tiring work gets used to, really sisters, so it's said that doomsday is not scary either, as long as you want to live on, even the worst environment will get used to!"

  Marina added, "Then let's not hear about zombies being disgusting again, first get used to this habit."

  Sun Zheha burst out laughing, "Still, my family's leader is formidable, circling around and waiting for me here. It's my lack of ability and slow adaptation. Sisters, go ahead and talk! Let me get used to it."

  Luo Xiaonian and I both laughed, "I'm full! Want to go downstairs to change into a pair of slippers, you guys eat first."

  Others were still eating in twos and threes, Wei Quan heard that we two were going to get shoes, and hurriedly shouted, "Xiao Wang, accompany them, and take care of the bill."

  Xiao Wang was very diligent and immediately put down his chopsticks, picked up his notebook, and closely followed us. I said apologetically, "Why don't we wait for you a bit longer? Haven't you eaten enough yet?"

  "Alright, alright, let's go, both of you Luo sisters. With me escorting you, it'll save the two beauties from being scared on the way down." Little Wang is still young and quite amusing.

  There aren't many shoe stores in Kaidi Square, Hotwind, Jumbougg, Aumu, Vans... most of them are warm winter shoes. Luo Xiaonian picked up a pair of brown sheepskin boots with laces at the Aumu store on the second floor and felt warm and comfortable after putting them on.

  "Didn't you just say you wanted to change into running shoes? These woolen shoes are not suitable for running." I looked at Luo Xiaonian's feet in confusion, and indeed the shoes were soft and warm.

  Lu Xiaonian walked back and forth in the small store, while Xiao Wang stood by like a gold-medal waiter, asking with concern, "Sister Luo, how does it feel to wear? Is the size suitable? Are you sure you want this pair?"

  "Okay okay, help me pack it up... uh no, help me remember."

  "What if we need to go out and move around? Can't we spend our whole lives in this mall? It's icy and snowy outside, how can we not wear the warmest shoes?! Sister, I suggest you get a pair too, even if you don't wear them at home, your single leather boots won't be able to withstand Bin City's winter." Luo Xiaonian handed over a pair of snow boots decorated with straps, which was really my style.