You were supposed to hoard supplies, why the heck did you hoard zombies!

Chapter 278 It's Me, Old Liu

"Conditions?"

"Heh, let's hear them."

Upon hearing this, Xu Lin's smile immediately disappeared from his face, and his mind was continually guessing what conditions the other party might propose.

Taking the current situation into account, it's highly likely they want assurance that they'll be let go.

Or perhaps they'll forbid anyone besides myself from going over?

That would make things difficult.

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Just as he was intently listening for what Liu Tao would say next, the latter waved his hand grandly and pointed directly at the empty canned food containers beside them:

"I want that."

"As much as you have."

Everyone was stunned.

You look at me, I look at you, seemingly all wanting to ask if they heard wrong.

Lachang couldn't help but burst into laughter: "What, you planning on taking these cans back to sell as scrap metal? Should have said so earlier, we've got a dozen or so in the truck, all yours!"

Everybody immediately broke out into hearty laughter.

Several team members even bowed their heads in a somewhat ashamed manner.

But who knew, Liu Tao just lifted his eyelids and gave Lachang a glance, before emphatically saying, "Are you an idiot? Even if I wanted to sell them, are scrap-collection stations still open now?"

"I want canned food!"

"The edible kind!"

As he spoke, he cracked a smile again and continued, "Of course, it would be best to get a few dozen packs of instant noodles too."

"No need for water, there's water in the mountains."

"Heh."

Heh, a big-headed ghost you are!

Lachang was immediately ticked off and amused; so instead of treating them like beggars, he came to them begging for food?

Didn't expect this guy with the bushy eyebrows and big eyes.

To have such a thick face.

He glared fiercely at the other party, about to refute and denounce this shameless begging behavior vehemently.

However, after giving him a glance, the other person's gaze returned to Xu Lin.

Liu Tao was very clear about who was in charge here.

He was waiting for Xu Lin's response.

That other person's calm yet somewhat scrutinizing gaze always inexplicably exerted a pressuring sensation, as if those eyes could see through everyone's deepest thoughts.

Xu Lin was momentarily surprised, but he quickly relaxed.

This relaxation instilled in Liu Tao an indescribable sense of humiliation.

As if he had said something disgraceful.

Is asking for supplies that shameful?

It shouldn't be.

Wondering whether he had asked for too much, causing Xu Lin's opinion of him to change, he heard the latter's deep voice:

"Okay."

"What else do you want?"

"Uh..."

Liu Tao was suddenly at a loss for words.

Gazing at Xu Lin's serious eyes, he stuttered for a long time before finally saying, "That's all... nothing else."

Then he immediately thought of something else and quickly added:

"Right!"

"I want the goods on hand!"

"Once you've brought everything over, we'll go back to the outpost together."

Liu Tao had thought that his conditions would at least cause Xu Lin's face to show a hint of difficulty and then use their shared military connection to ask him to lower his conditions.

But Xu Lin merely looked at him and asked again, "Anything else?"

"No... nothing more."

Liu Tao replied with a look of honesty.

He sat there, somewhat tense.

Meanwhile, Xu Lin stood up and called someone over to ask some questions, then looked straight at him and said, "Alright then, let's head to the outpost."

Upon hearing this, Liu Tao became anxious and immediately protested, "That won't do, I'm not going to..."

He was cut off halfway when suddenly the doors of the truck outside swung open with a clattering noise.

Inside were cans and instant noodles, filling the space to the brim.

A few large barrels were also present.

It's probably just clear water.

All five of them immediately stared in shock.

No wonder something felt off on the way here.

With the manpower Xu Lin brought, they hardly needed that many vehicles, yet there were three or four large trucks in the convoy alone.

Now it seemed that these trucks had been full of supplies from the start.

Such an amount of supplies definitely wasn't for the consumption of the operation.

Thinking of this, everyone's heart skipped a beat.

Could it be...

"You've been wondering why we are looking for the military, haven't you?"

"There, that's your answer."

Xu Lin said calmly from the side.

Liu Tao was completely engulfed in shock.

Everything before him seemed to say that he had misjudged others with his own petty suspicions, that the people were genuinely here to bring warmth to the government army.

That was genuine kindness without a trace of ill-intent!

They even thoughtfully provided clear water!

Fearful that they might choke!

A man in his thirties finally couldn't hold it in any longer. His eyes, as wide as an antelope's, quickly reddened, and his voice choked up.

"Xu... Brother Xu, I've wronged you!"

"I'm really no good!"

"What a villain I am!"

The four team members looked at their commander's state and also felt a twinge of sorrow.

This half a year had changed people in the army too much.

Selfishness, indifference, suspicion.

Sometimes they couldn't help but wonder if they still qualified as soldiers defending the citizens of Shen Zhou.

But the reality was, before protecting others, they had to protect themselves.

Survival was the prerequisite for everything.

The military was no different.

It was for this reason that Liu Tao had immediately assumed that Xu Lin and the others surely had ulterior motives when they first met.

Reality was cruel; their status no longer mattered.

Interest was the truth of the current world.

But now it seemed they were wrong.

Hugely wrong.

At night, the roar of a truck suddenly sounded on the concrete road of the countryside.

A flathead heavy truck was driving on the uneven road.

The cab was brightly lit.

Liu Tao sat in the passenger seat, directing the driver, the wariness in his eyes completely gone.

All his suspicions had been pushed out by a full truck of food.

If it wasn't to aid them, Xu Lin and the others had no reason to bring out so much food.

"Keep going along this road."

"There's a fork coming up ahead, turn right, next to a row of crooked-neck trees."

His gaze was fixed on the road ahead, his attention fully focused on how to safely bring this crucial shipment of supplies back to the station; it was a matter of life and death for the station.

The mine was located at the base of the mountain. After following the winding concrete road for over an hour, they finally saw the lights.

Faint and dim, it looked as though the power output from the generator was unstable.

Or perhaps they were running low on fuel.

The truck stopped at the entrance.

In front was a small river more than three meters wide, and the bridge over it had been sealed off with a makeshift barricade. A stern voice shouted from the gatehouse:

"Halt!"

"What's your business!"

It was clear that someone was hiding inside.

Yet they didn't show their face.

But Xu Lin was certain that more than one gun was pointed at him from the darkness.

Just then, Liu Tao immediately pushed open the door, jumped out of the truck, and ran towards the bridge.

"It's me! Old Liu!"