Chapter 11 – New Survivors

At this time, in Hope Village.

The sky was gradually darkening, and the teams that had gone out to gather and hunt today were returning one by one, their faces beaming with joy. Seeing the light emanating from the territory in the distance, they couldn’t help but smile slightly.

This place, though simple, had unknowingly become their “home,” giving them a new sense of belonging.

“You’re back! How was the harvest?” Feng Lezhi, a guard team member stationed at the gate, asked the returning teams with a cheerful smile.

“Today’s harvest was decent, we got quite a lot of things,” replied Zhong Yongnian, the team leader, with a smile, though he didn’t go into specifics.

Feng Lezhi had no intention of prying into personal matters and continued, “Congratulations then! But most importantly, you all returned safely!”

“Yes! Safety is the most important thing! But it’s also thanks to the territory. The weapons sold by the territory have quite high damage values, making them very convenient for us to use,” Zhong Yongnian said, his expression clearly showing satisfaction with the territory.

“Things will get better and better,” Feng Lezhi said firmly.

As guards of the territory, they could only patrol around the territory and its surroundings. He and Quan Ziqiang had taken a simple walk around the area earlier and found nothing—the surroundings had been cleared out by people, showing that everyone was working hard to build their new “home.”

“Yes, though it’s difficult outside, having a safe harbor gives people the courage to face challenges. What’s most frightening is having no hope at all,” Zhong Yongnian sighed.

The two chatted for a few more sentences, exchanged smiles, and then led the team into the territory.

As soon as they entered, some of their family members came forward to greet them with light, quick steps.

As more and more people returned to the territory, the entire place suddenly became lively.

Fires had been lit in advance, and everyone gathered around them to cook food. The aroma of various dishes spread throughout the territory.

Sometimes cooking wasn’t just about filling their stomachs—it was more about creating a sense of ritual.

Like now, many people gathered together to chat and pass the time.

“This chicken soup smells so rich! Who got chicken meat?”

“Lucky today, encountered a magic chicken and got 3 portions of chicken meat. That magic chicken was really hard to fight—two or three times bigger than pre-apocalypse chickens, pecks hurt badly, high damage, and it could fly too! Anyway, this chicken meat is really precious.”

“Chicken meat! I suddenly really want fried chicken!”

“Me too!”

“It’s only the second day of the apocalypse game, but I feel like it’s been ages.”

“Who doesn’t want fried chicken? But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We just ended our primitive lifestyle and want to make a triple jump—oil, starch, where would we find those?”

“Never mind oil and starch, let’s solve the seasoning problem first! Like salt! At least give us some flavor!”

“Yesterday when you were hungry, you said having anything to eat would be good enough.”

“Haha! Different periods have different pursuits!”

“True, we need to have some aspirations, otherwise how can we get through the days? So are you selling those other two portions of chicken meat?”

“Yes! What do you have that you can trade with me?”

“While there are many people here now, we can all trade with each other. Whatever we really can’t use, we can sell to the territory.”

“…”

As they talked, everyone began trading with each other.

Zhou Bai and her mother Ding Qiurou were also in the crowd. Originally just observing while waiting for Zhou Zhengping to return, but watching and watching, Ding Qiurou couldn’t help but join in.

“You actually have fruit, what do you want to trade for?”

“Mushrooms for rice, yes yes, I’ll trade.”

“Wild vegetables, I want them!”

“…”

For a while, Ding Qiurou’s voice kept ringing out.

Zhou Bai watched and couldn’t help but smile.

Rare things were precious. Killing magic beasts dropped various meats, so everyone wasn’t lacking meat. Instead, wild vegetables, mushrooms, and wild fruits commanded higher prices. But compared to the materials dropped by killing magic beasts, this slightly higher price was negligible. That’s why they were relatively rare in the territory, no wonder her mother was acting so undignified.

But it was only the second day. Zhou Bai had reason to believe that as more and more people came to the territory and it became stronger, the variety of materials in the territory would become increasingly abundant.

“Someone’s coming back!” At the gate, Feng Lezhi saw figures moving in the distance near the territory and immediately called out, alerting those in the territory who were waiting for family members.

Zhou Bai’s attention was immediately drawn over. She glanced at the lord map and felt confident.

“It should be my dad and the others,” she said, quickly rushing to the territory’s main gate.

Hearing this, Ding Qiurou stopped trading and followed closely behind Zhou Bai, along with others whose family members hadn’t returned yet.

Before long, they heard Zhou Bai’s shout.

“Everyone come help! There are wounded!”

People nearby heard this and quickly came over to help.

Were the guard team members injured? The guard team had good weapons and equipment, higher levels than most people, and large numbers. If they were injured, did it mean more powerful magic beasts had appeared outside?

Many people’s thoughts wandered, with a hint of panic in their hearts.

When they got closer, they discovered that it wasn’t just the guard team returning—there were actually dozens of survivors of all ages.

This group of survivors looked much more miserable than they had before. Almost all of them were injured, some wounds still bleeding, the simple bandages made of animal hide soaked through with blood. Their faces were pale, clearly having encountered a major disaster.

Many people sighed deeply in their hearts, then actively spoke up.

“Come into the territory first!”

“We just cooked some things, you can eat something first.”

“Is anyone here a doctor? Or has anyone learned first aid? Please help with bandaging later!”

“…”

The group had been traveling, worried and afraid, physically and mentally exhausted.

Seeing the territory, they were all very happy, thinking they could finally rest properly.

But encountering such a heartwarming scene at the territory’s entrance, their hearts that had been pretending to be strong suddenly broke down. Their eyes instantly reddened, their voices became choked with emotion: “Thank you, thank you…”

Then everyone helped each other, bringing them into the territory.

When entering the territory, faced with the territory’s inquiry, everyone unhesitatingly paid to become residents.

Zhou Bai estimated the crowd and put many steamed buns on sale in the restaurant, while also constructing many new residential buildings.

The newcomers looked at the suddenly appearing buildings and couldn’t help but take a few more glances.

“Those should be new residential buildings that the territory detected new residents and built accordingly. You can purchase residential buildings for 6 gold coins each, or rent them for 100 copper coins per day. Living in houses gives a stronger sense of security and you won’t be disturbed.”

“The territory also has a Lord’s Mansion, restaurant, blacksmith shop, and tailor shop. You need to go to the Lord’s Mansion to get identity tokens before officially becoming Hope Village residents. Then you can shop at the stores with your ID. The restaurant serves food, though currently only steamed buns. The blacksmith shop sells weapons, the tailor shop sells clothes. Though it’s simpler than before the apocalypse, it’s much better than the wilderness. As more people come, it should be able to upgrade… Sorry, I’m talking too much. You should eat something first, you can learn about the territory properly later.”

“…”

The newcomers were then settled by the previous residents around the fires.

Someone went to buy steamed buns and distributed them one by one.

Eating steamed buns, drinking the prepared soup, and feeling the warmth from the fires, the new survivors all had a feeling of being in another world.

But… it was really wonderful!