"Hello, my surname is Lin, double wood Lin, Lin Junfu. You can call me Old Lin. May I know how to address you, brother?" The pace of his speech was light and slow, showing that Old Lin was not new to handling such situations.

"Ghost Face" glanced at Old Lin and then honestly said, "Zhao... Zhao... Huilong."

As expected, "Ghost Face" still spoke with an uneven breath, but compared to his earlier "dead" appearance, he was obviously much better now.

Seeing that "Ghost Face" was still in relatively good spirits, Old Lin felt a bit more at ease.

"Hehe~" with a friendly smile, Old Lin murmured "Ghost Face's" name to himself twice, and then shifted the topic, "Brother Zhao, these days... I suppose haven't been too easy for you."

Even though he knew that bringing up such a topic at this juncture might be a bit inappropriate, the situation forced Lin Junfu to be ruthlessly direct this time.

Sure enough, upon hearing Old Lin's question, "Ghost Face's" face, which had just regained a bit of color, darkened once again.

"Sigh~" a long sigh, exceptionally flat, but anyone who has experienced the hardships of the apocalypse could understand, this sigh meant so much.

In response, Old Lin nodded understandingly. He could imagine Zhao Huilong's life being comparable to Purgatory. To say nothing of anything else, just being confined in a dark little room for nearly two months alone was enough isolation and helplessness to drive any normal person insane.

By rights, at this point, Old Lin should have stopped the conversation.

But as Tang Xiaoquan had mentioned earlier, they urgently needed Zhao Huilong to provide constructive opinions, especially regarding the door lock.

So...

Organizing his words, Lin Junfu spoke as calmly as possible, "Well, Brother Zhao, if it's convenient, could you tell us more about your experience?"

After saying this, Old Lin wisely stopped speaking because he knew very well how painful it was to recall the past in the apocalypse, especially for "unfortunate souls" pulled back from the brink of death like Zhao Huilong.

He knew he needed to give the latter some time to slowly sort through his emotions.

As Old Lin anticipated, Zhao Huilong did not respond for a long time. His eyes were fixed on the ground, as if his soul had been taken away by something.

While he remained silent, the other survivors also kept their silence, making the not-too-large room feel a bit eerie.

The flames in the fire basin continued to burn passionately, and the continuously rising firelight twisted and distorted the shadows of everyone, making them appear like souls leaving their bodies from a distance.

After about five more minutes, Zhao Huilong, who had been still like a statue, finally broke the stalemate. His previously lost-looking eyes gradually shifted away from the intense glow of the fire.

He looked up to meet Lin Junfu's slightly expectant gaze, and the corners of his cracked lips opened slightly, then...

"I..." As Zhao Huilong spoke the first syllable, the emotions of the survivors were stirred, and they all listened attentively, waiting for the story that was about to unfold.

"I didn't read much, usually did odd jobs. On the day the chaos broke out, I was putting up ads on the street as usual, and then I was caught by those city management officers."

At this point, no one else noticed, but Tang Xiaoquan blurted out in surprise, "You, you're the one putting up those small ads?"

Hearing this, everyone turned their gaze, and Lin Junfu immediately realized something, with wrinkles on his forehead involuntarily furrowing.

But how could Zhao Huilong understand the thoughts of Tang Lin and the others? Immersed in his memories, he was a bit puzzled by this abrupt interruption. He just assumed the opposition was "disgusted" by the profession of "putting up ads," and nonchalantly explained, "Yes, I put up small ads. I know it's not a good job and pollutes the city environment. But I didn't have a choice; I needed to make a living."

Listening to Zhao Huilong's explanation, Tang Xiaoquan felt a bit embarrassed. After all, his reaction was not due to any resentment towards the other's background. So he chuckled awkwardly and changed the topic, "No worries, I didn't mean it that way. Anyway, Brother Long, please continue."

Zhao Huilong, not understanding the situation, glanced at Tang Xiaoquan twice, then sighed and returned to his story, "After being caught, they wanted to fine me, said it was 500. But don't laugh at me, putting up these small ads, I could only make 40 a morning. With that kind of fine, I'd essentially be working for free for a week. So, of course, I was unwilling."

"With the stalemate, the city management officers took me to their office, said they were going to handle it seriously. I was very scared at that time, but I really didn't have any money in my pocket, so I just kept waiting."

"After about three hours, something went wrong. The guard watching over me kept coughing, and his complexion was quite bad. At that time, I was a bit pleased to see him suffer, but I didn't expect..."

The subsequent story unfolded just as everyone expected. The mutation erupted, and the living, unprepared, became the best carriers for the virus to spread.

During his escape, Zhao Huilong accidentally stumbled into the innermost "storage room" on the second floor. Thanks to the sturdy iron door of the storage room, he was exceptionally fortunate to survive the initial catastrophe.

Regarding the subsequent days, Zhao Huilong also attempted to go out. However, upon seeing the "monsters" outside the tightly guarded door that no longer resembled humans, he wisely retreated, firmly closing the door, and began a long, nearly hellish wait.

"I survived on the fruits, vegetables, and some skewers and such that the city management officers had confiscated and stored in the storage room until now. When I heard the commotion outside today, I initially thought it was a hallucination, but..."

Seeing Zhao Huilong's suddenly increased breath, Lin Junfu understood it was due to the excitement of being "rescued," and immediately patted his shoulder, "You've really had a hard time, but it's all over now..."

At this point, Lin Junfu originally intended to further inquire about the city management car keys, but after a second thought, he gave up.

After all, considering the young man's identity and his experience as currently described, asking was pointless.

With that in mind, Lin Junfu ultimately decided not to pressure Zhao Huilong, "Alright, Brother Zhao, take a good rest tonight. If there's anything, we'll talk about it tomorrow."

As everyone stepped out of the room, Tang Xiaoquan wore a serious expression. Originally, he had hoped to get some useful clues from Zhao Huilong, but now it seemed completely hopeless.

Just as he was feeling dejected and worried about the future of the team, Archeng, who was responsible for taking care of Hu Xiaodong, suddenly ran out of the room, visibly anxious...

PS, thanks to the reader diguoxingren for yesterday's reward

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