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After lunch, the noisy cafeteria returned to calm. Song Jiu and A Hai, wearing aprons, were busy cleaning up while Chef Jia sat in the kitchen supervising, creating a peaceful atmosphere both inside and outside.
"Finish up and take a break," Chef Jia said, somewhat satisfied with their performance. Seeing that they had nearly completed the cleaning, he waved his hand to grant the three servers some time off. "You can wander outside, but don't go near the wall checkpoint. If you have any issues, come find me."
"Where should I look for you?" Song Jiu asked, raising his head.
"Come here during the day, but don’t bother me at night."
"Can I go look for my buddies?"
"You can, but I advise against it." Chef Jia lifted the curtain and thought for a moment before adding, "Take care of yourself while you're here."
Song Jiu pondered the meaning of those words, sensing that Chef Jia seemed to be hinting at something. Before he could ask further, Chef Jia had already slipped back into the kitchen.
The cafeteria didn’t require lights during the day; with the doors and windows closed, it was dim inside. They weren’t allowed into the kitchen, so Song Jiu didn’t press further. He sat on a stool for a while, contemplating before deciding to venture out and explore. Everything here was different from what he had imagined; on the surface, there seemed to be no rules or boundaries, but in reality, the three of them had already fallen into an inexplicable predicament.
Compared to last night, the square was much quieter during the day. Only a few children were playing around, and occasionally young couples rested in the shade, resembling a residential community in a city. The appearance of three unfamiliar young men in the square didn’t attract anyone's attention. The "locals" barely glanced at Song Jiu and his companions. The private homes on either side of the wall were mostly open; at one yard gate, several women sat together chatting while holding large cross-stitch projects, occasionally bursting into cheerful laughter. Song Jiu felt as if they were invisible, standing in the center of the square looking around but receiving no response.
"Strange," Song Jiu said as he fiddled with the stainless steel spoon tucked in his sleeve. He turned to A Hai and said, "You two head back first; I’ll go take a look myself."
"Is that okay?" A Hai was uncertain as well. Usually, either Jiao Ziqian or Luo Yu led them; they didn’t have to think much. Now that Brother Jiu was going solo, if anything went wrong while they stayed behind, what would they do?
"I'm not doing anything dangerous," Song Jiu chuckled lightly and advised them, "Just stay put and don’t cause any trouble."
Song Jiu sat down on a row of bus seats at the edge of the square, gazing at the Brick Wall across from him that separated two areas, his brow furrowing once again. From the current situation, it seemed they had not deviated from their planned course; Dream Fan had been taken away, and where she had gone was still unknown. However, it was clear that there would be a designated place for holding "spoils." Dream Fan had average combat abilities but was clever enough, so Song Jiu wasn't too worried about her. As for the three of them, they were managing just fine. Chef Jia's temperament was certainly peculiar, but it did not currently affect their plans. The cafeteria saw a large number of people daily, and the three of them were not restricted in their freedom, which was a positive aspect.
The only thing that concerned Song Jiu was Jiao Ziqian.
The environment here was vastly different from the outside world; it felt strange to find a retirement community-like place deep in Old Lin's mountains. According to the Railway Guerrillas, this should be a stronghold similar to an Armed Fortress, yet so far, he had not seen any significant armed presence. Last night, when he helped Xiao Zhu out, the group he encountered was all armed with guns, but those were mostly homemade shotguns that did not match the Railway Guerrillas' descriptions. With such outdated weapons, they wouldn't be able to deter other Survivors, let alone handle Zombies.
That said, the Logging Area outside the wild forest and the defensive structures, houses, and supplies here clearly required a lot of manpower and firepower to maintain; otherwise, it wouldn't make sense.
"Where could they be hiding?" Song Jiu furrowed his brow as he stared at a lookout post on one side of the wooden wall. Feeling somewhat lost in thought, he decided to go find Xiao Zhu first.
Chef Jia hadn't lied to him; he could indeed move around freely outside. Initially worried about being barred from entering beyond the walls, he found that no one paid him any mind at all. Taking a deep breath, Song Jiu chuckled self-deprecatingly and steeled himself as he retraced his steps from yesterday, finally spotting several armed groups along the way.
"Excuse me, where can I find Captain Xiao Zhu?" Song Jiu asked a seemingly friendly man, his voice filled with sincerity. "I need to see him urgently."
"Head over to the tower; he's out leading a team," the kind-looking man replied, pointing towards the tower by the main gate and offering Song Jiu a warm smile.
Thanking him, Song Jiu hurried towards the tower with many questions on his mind. It was much like last night; at the entrance stood Baldy, who had searched them for weapons before. As Baldy noticed him approaching from afar, he stubbed out his cigarette and stood up with an unfriendly expression.
"Who told you to wander around near the lookout? Do you even know?" Baldy scolded.
"I really need to see Captain Xiao Zhu," Song Jiu replied earnestly.
Baldy smirked and said, "You think I can just let you through? You might want to consider making yourself useful."
Scarface Bald winked and threw out an enticing proposition: "Just one jug will do."
"Where am I supposed to get that?" Song Jiu asked in surprise. "Is there even any alcohol here?"
"Of course," Scarface Bald waved dismissively and snapped back angrily. "Aren't you working in the cafeteria? Jia Jia has plenty stashed away; figure it out yourself."
“Let me make this clear: getting caught is your own problem, and it has nothing to do with us. Do you understand?” Scarface Bald swung a stick and then pulled out a Carrot. “If you can make it, I’ll let the boss know tomorrow and get you into our team.”
“Who’s the boss? I haven’t met him yet,” Song Jiu quickly chimed in.
“You think you can just meet the boss whenever you want? He’s busy every day; otherwise, where do you think your food and drinks come from?”
“Alright, that’s enough. You, go get some liquor. Hurry up,” Stubborn Man interrupted with a cough, shooing Song Jiu away while giving Scarface Bald a glare. The latter looked a bit awkward and laughed it off.
Song Jiu noticed their little exchange but pretended not to care, silently taking note of what they said. Just as he was about to leave, a guard from the tower shouted, followed by the familiar sound of the door mechanism clanking. The heavy wooden doors slowly opened, revealing Captain Xiao Zhu standing outside.
“Why are you here so early?” Scarface Bald nudged Song Jiu, winking at him to hurry up with his task while shifting his attention back to Xiao Zhu.
However, unlike usual, Xiao Zhu didn’t stride over to give him a high-five; he stood at the door as if he hadn’t heard Scarface Bald.
“What’s going on?” Stubborn Man hopped down from the wooden railing and jogged over. Before he could get close, he saw Xiao Zhu sway slightly before collapsing to the ground, revealing a glinting steel bar protruding from his back.
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