The Crowd 012

"Give them some food, don't let them starve to death on the road," Fang Zhiyi said.

Chen Rui was a bit surprised. He had originally thought Fang Zhiyi was an extremely cold-blooded leader. He pursed his lips. "But, if we do that, we might not have enough to eat ourselves..."

He knew very well that this was not the time to pity others. They had to protect themselves first. He, Chen Rui, was just an ordinary person.

"If it's not enough, we'll figure something out. I won't let you go hungry," Fang Zhiyi said. "Don't misunderstand, I'm no saint. It's just... I want to save as many people as possible."

Zhao Hu suddenly had a flash of inspiration. His rubber raft had been ruined back at the mountain villa long ago. Hearing Fang Zhiyi's words, he opened his bag and took out some biscuits. Although they were almost completely crumbled, who could care about such things under these circumstances?

"If you eat our food, you have to work hard for us, understand?"

Zhao Hu's words made Chen Rui freeze for a moment, but Fang Zhiyi laughed. "Who says this kid is stupid? He's actually quite clever sometimes."

By the time they were halfway there, Fang Zhiyi's team had expanded once again from a dozen people to over a hundred. There were men, women, the elderly, and children. Without exception, they all looked at Fang Zhiyi with eager, pleading eyes.

Fang Zhiyi shook his head. He wasn't a god; this was really going to be a bit difficult to handle.

Little Hei saw him staring and could not help but feel a chill down its spine. "What? I'm not edible."

Chen Rui and the others had no objections to their leader changing direction. However, some people could no longer walk. With a wave of his hand, Fang Zhiyi ordered his subordinates to take out all their medicine and food to distribute. Chen Rui frowned deeply.

"If this continues, how many days can we last?"

Fang Zhiyi did not answer him, merely gazing at the distant sky.

Chen Rui knew he could not persuade Fang Zhiyi, so he could only follow his instructions. A few girls distributed the medicine and food to the survivors, and many people expressed their gratitude.

After filling their stomachs, the massive group fell into silence. Someone began to sob softly again.

"If you're full, we set off." Fang Zhiyi's words carried not a trace of emotion.

The people looked up at him one after another. They knew this young man was the leader. Some hesitated, some kept their heads down in silence, and only a few slowly stood up.

"I won't force you to move forward with me, but there is only hope if we keep walking," Fang Zhiyi said. After speaking, he gave Chen Rui and the others a look, slung a bag over his shoulder, and continued walking forward.

Some did not move, but the majority of the people, after a brief moment of inner struggle, followed the group.

Stopping and starting along the way, the supplies they had brought out from Building Seventeen had long been exhausted. Zhao Hu gave his only remaining food to his girlfriend, his face full of worry.

"Boss, we aren't going to starve to death, are we?"

"No," Fang Zhiyi answered with absolute certainty.

Zhao Hu shut his mouth.

It wasn't until a field of ruins appeared before their eyes that everyone's pupils dilated. A fallen signboard on the ground clearly read that this was a food factory!

Zhao Hu was the first to rush into the ruins. A moment later, he held something high in his hand and shouted excitedly, "There is! There's food! Food!"

More people swarmed forward and began rummaging through the rubble.

"This is the only place left," Little Hei slowly landed on Fang Zhiyi's shoulder.

"At least you're somewhat useful," Fang Zhiyi chuckled.

"I don't understand, why do you care about them?" Little Hei asked.

Fang Zhiyi glanced at it. "Didn't I say it already? As an ordinary person with no system, no spatial dimension, and no time to prepare before the apocalypse, am I supposed to face this end of the world entirely on my own?"

"You hardly count as an ordinary person..." Little Hei muttered.

A few people jogged over and stuffed the snacks they had gathered into Fang Zhiyi's hands. "Boss, you are truly amazing. I thought we were going to starve to death!"

"Hurry up and eat something. You haven't had a single bite since yesterday," Chen Rui said. He observed carefully; even when hungry, Fang Zhiyi never asked them for anything.

Fang Zhiyi reached out and took what he handed over. It was a small cake sealed in a packaging bag. It was quite a miracle that it hadn't leaked even after enduring floods and earthquakes.

"Are we really going to take these people with us?" Chen Rui asked.

Fang Zhiyi nodded.

"Why are we heading north?" Chen Rui continued to ask.

Fang Zhiyi glanced at him and suddenly smiled. "Spit it out."

Chen Rui stared intently into Fang Zhiyi's eyes. "I want to know, how did you know? If you say that you found supplies earlier through observation, I'd believe it, because I saw the map you drew. If you say the later plague was a guess, I'd believe that too. But the earthquake..."

Fang Zhiyi swept his gaze over the few people gathered around him; they were all the ones who had come out of Building Seventeen with him.

"You really want to know?"

Chen Rui suddenly felt a bit panicked. "You don't have to say it if you don't want to."

"I can tell fortunes."

"..." Chen Rui rolled his eyes. Li Duo slapped him. "Why are you so curious?"

Zhao Hu said in a muffled voice, "Maybe the boss just has good luck. You guys don't know, but I heard my grandma say that before a disaster hits, animals and livestock can sense it earlier than humans..."

Fang Zhiyi looked at him. Zhao Hu didn't notice anything amiss at all until his girlfriend also slapped him.

"Are you calling me an animal?" Fang Zhiyi asked.

Zhao Hu was confused. "Where did I... Oh... Damn!" He covered his mouth.

"Setting everything else aside, we won't get far carrying so many people," Chen Rui looked at the survivors who were still rummaging for food.

"Without them, we'll get even less far," Fang Zhiyi also looked over.

In his eyes, a father had found a flattened bag of bread and was happily sharing it with his wife and child behind him.

He suddenly remembered something and looked down at the packaging bag in his hand. "Humans are really amazing sometimes."

"How so?"

"It hasn't even expired yet," Fang Zhiyi pointed at the expiration date on the packaging bag.

To fight for survival resources, humans began to slaughter one another, and the true apocalypse drew its curtains open.

"Stop! Hand over the stuff!" A woman holding a bundle of cloth was startled by the sudden violent shout.

She looked around in a panic. Several tall men poked their heads out from the ruins; some held hammers in their hands, while others carried homemade spiked clubs.

"Oh, it's a woman! Brothers!" The lead man revealed a mouthful of yellow teeth.

"Hehe, waiting here really pays off."

"What are you holding! Give it here!" A man standing close by snatched the cloth from the woman's hands. Judging by the woman's posture, it was a baby.

"The meat of a child... Huh?" Another man standing next to him greedily craned his neck, but the scene before his eyes left him somewhat stunned.