Qin Shilei and the others had no choice but to emerge from behind the large trees.
Seeing three women and a weak man emerge, the tense atmosphere among the crowd eased slightly.
Ma Yulian, a middle-aged woman at the center of the crowd, glanced over and said indifferently, "Another group of unlucky souls driven in by the giant birds, I presume."
An old man with white hair beside her said with dissatisfaction, "Vice-director Ma, why mock them? Weren't we also chased here by that giant bird and had no choice but to flee into this place?"
Qin Shilei ignored the sharp-tongued Ma Yulian and looked up at the leading officer. "Officer, have you encountered a man about 1.9 meters tall and a woman who uses a compound bow?"
The officer, Luo Hongyi, shook his head. "I haven't encountered such a pair."
He paused before asking, "Are you from the east? How are things over there?"
Qin Shilei stepped forward to answer, "We did indeed come from Xinluo City in the east. About a kilometer from here is a road, and that roc has been circling in that vicinity."
Through their conversation, Qin Shilei learned that the group had fled into this forest three days prior to escape the roc's predation.
Along with them were over a hundred other civilians.
This forest was not large, spanning less than ten kilometers in circumference.
To the south of the forest was a rapid river, to the north was the area they entered from, a patch of low hills. To the west lay a small basin, beyond which were continuous mountain peaks.
The roc, along with three young rocs, had been circling the skies above this forest.
As soon as anyone attempted to flee the forest, they would dive down to hunt and kill.
"It seems they are teaching the younger giant birds to hunt," Professor Yu, the white-haired old man, speculated.
"If that foolish soldier hadn't fired a cannon at the giant bird, perhaps they would have flown away after catching a few people."
Ma Yulian complained, "Now, they're fixated here all day long, trapping us in this godforsaken place for three whole days."
The soldiers around them turned their heads and glared angrily upon hearing Ma Yulian's accusatory words.
"What are you glaring at? Did I say something wrong?" Ma Yulian did not seem to think she had said anything amiss.
Luo Hongyi glanced at Ma Yulian and said coldly, "If it weren't for Little Zhao staying behind to distract the giant birds, we might all be dead by now."
Ma Yulian, still unconvinced, mumbled in a low voice, "In any case, we shouldn't have angered that giant bird."
"Shut up!" Professor Yu glared at Ma Yulian and ordered.
Ma Yulian looked at Professor Yu, opened her mouth, but ultimately did not dare to say anything more.
Seeing that they had stopped, Qin Shilei said, "Captain Luo, we still need to find our companions, so we'll take our leave now."
Luo Hongyi thought for a moment and said, "We are all stranded here. If you find a way to leave, please inform us."
Qin Shilei nodded and turned to continue heading west.
Just then, a surprised voice came from the right. "Xiaoli, you're here! Come quickly and look at Zhang Qiang."
Xie Haimei, carrying the unconscious Zhang Qiang on her back, pushed through the grass and hurried over.
Zhang Xiaoli quickly went to greet them and began treating Zhang Qiang.
After a while, Zhang Qiang slowly woke up.
Qin Shilei saw how weak Zhang Qiang was and decided to rest here for half a day.
Not long after, Luo Hongyi and his group, who had left, circled back.
They saw Qin Shilei and his companions eating canned meat.
Immediately, countless sounds of swallowing could be heard.
Ma Yulian stared intently at the canned meat in Qin Shilei's hand. "Commander Luo, go and trade some food with them."
"Trade with what?" Luo Hongyi frowned.
"You must have some good things in your rings. Is it that difficult to take out something and trade it for food?" Ma Yulian said with displeasure.
Luo Hongyi shook his head, indicating he had nothing to trade for the cans.
The crystal cores had been used by the soldiers, and their firearms and ammunition had been depleted along the way.
"Commander Luo, we are the future of humanity. Eating only half a military biscuit per meal will lead to malnutrition sooner or later. Then, who will save humanity?"
Ma Yulian thought of the half-biscuit she had gnawed on that morning, and looking at the canned meat in Qin Shilei's hand, she felt even more resentful.
A soldier nearby said indignantly, "At least you can still eat half a biscuit. We have to share half a biscuit between two people."
"I don't care about that. If we really become malnourished and forget the crucial formulas, then we won't be able to produce the zombie serum, and that would be a loss for all of humanity."
Ma Yulian said righteously.
Luo Hongyi looked at the unreasonable Ma Yulian and suddenly regretted protecting her too well during their escape.
To think that after such a long time in the apocalypse, she still maintained such an arrogant demeanor.
With this thought, Luo Hongyi's face turned stern. "We have nothing to trade. If you want to trade, you can do it yourself."
"You..."
Ma Yulian stomped her foot and snorted, "I will eat meat today no matter what."
With that, she walked up to Qin Shilei and held out a bottle of blue liquid. "I'll trade this bottle of zombie serum for ten cans of meat."
Qin Shilei glanced at her and replied indifferently, "No trade."
"Look carefully," Ma Yulian said with an expression that implied he was ignorant. "This is zombie serum. If injected within ten minutes of a zombie bite, it can prevent turning into a zombie."
"Huh!"
Qin Shilei looked at the blue vial in her hand with some surprise.
These zombies were a product of Blue Star's gamification. Now, an antidote had already been developed?
"Ma-Yu-Lian!" Professor Yu, his hair bristling with anger, rushed over and reached out to snatch the medicine from Ma Yulian.
"Old Yu, this is the medicine I'm trading for canned meat. You won't take it from me." Ma Yulian quickly put the vial into her ring and then looked at Professor Yu with a guarded expression.
"Where did you get the medicine? Hand it over quickly!" Professor Yu reached out to grab her ring.
"That's none of your business. You still have two doses. Why must you snatch mine?" Ma Yulian fiercely protected her ring.
Qin Shilei observed their expressions and became more interested in the medicine.
Although they had been careful not to be bitten by zombies, who could guarantee they wouldn't be bitten in the future?
If such an antidote truly existed, it would provide an extra layer of security.
"One can of meat." Qin Shilei offered a price of one can, unsure if she was lying.
"No trade. This is the research result of our institute, the raw material for future research, the hope of humanity."
Old Yu stepped in front of Ma Yulian and shouted.
"Don't you still have two doses there? It won't matter if mine is missing."
Ma Yulian leaned over and said to Qin Shilei, "Nine cans of meat. This is something that can save your life."
Seeing that he couldn't snatch the ring by himself, Professor Yu turned to the left and shouted, "Commander Luo, take her medicine. This is a sample for future research on zombie serum."
Responding to Old Yu's call, Luo Hongyi flashed to Ma Yulian's side, quickly subdued her, and took the ring.
Could that really be an antidote?
"Ten cans of meat." Qin Shilei quoted an exorbitant price.
"No trade," Professor Yu refused without hesitation.
Qin Shilei suddenly felt an impulse to snatch it away.