Chapter 29: Leaving Overnight

“Dean, I’m so hungry!”

Zheng Le’s voice came out a bit weak, his tender tone making people’s hearts ache a little.

Dean Zhou had been woken up by the children’s noise. She sat up from the leaves and checked the battery level on her phone in her pocket. It was close to midnight. She quickly tried to comfort Zheng Le. “The Dean will go get food for you soon. You guys sleep a bit more. When you wake up, there will be food.” She tried to dial a hotline in the province to get some information, but unfortunately, the lines were all dead.

The children in the Orphanage were quite well-behaved. Zheng Le said “Mm,” and obediently lay back down.

But a little while later, Zheng Le spoke softly again. “Dean, I’m still so hungry, I can’t sleep.” His stomach made a gurgling sound, which could be heard clearly in the quiet night. It wasn’t just Zheng Le; the other children were gradually waking up too, all looking at the Dean with pitiful eyes.

Dean Zhou had never felt so power less before. The hungry look in the children’s eyes pierced her heart.

But it was already late at night, and under these circumstances, where could they find food?

An Xiaowei was also woken up by the noise. She sat up, feeling as if her bones had scattered. Sleeping in the wild, even with leaves under them, was useless and still very uncomfortable. Seeing the children making noise, An Xiaowei also sighed slightly. She was also stunned when she realized Zhou Liming was not there. “Could that bastard have run away on his own first?”

“Don’t be afraid, everyone. Your Brother Liming has already gone to find food. He will be back very soon.” An Xiaowei helped Dean Zhou comfort the more than ten children. They could only use Zhou Liming as an excuse now. Who would blame him for disappearing in the middle of the night? Only in this way could they stabilize the children’s current emotions.

In fact, it wasn’t just An Xiaowei’s side; many families had to comfort their children. Hunger had become the knot in everyone’s heart.

But the children’s innocence made it impossible for them to distinguish the current situation. No matter how much Dean Zhou and An Xiaowei comforted them, it was of no avail.

“What are you little guys arguing about!”

Zhou Liming’s voice sounded at the right time. He carried a snake-skin bag and walked up to Dean Zhou and the others. He showed an apologetic smile and said, “Dean, I was afraid you would wake up hungry, so I went to look. I really did find some food.” He put down the snake-skin bag and quickly untied the two bags tied together. After separating the woven bags, he handed the bag containing various foods to Dean Zhou.

Hearing that there was food, the children cheered.

An Xiaowei immediately made a “shh” gesture and said, “Be quiet. Don’t disturb others’ rest, do you understand, children?”

Dean Zhou glanced at An Xiaowei but didn’t say anything. After opening the bag, she took out the cans and dry bread one by one and distributed them to the children. Given the current situation, it was indeed necessary not to be conspicuous. Hungry people were capable of anything. For the sake of the children, being a bit hypocritical was fine, wasn’t it? Besides, this food was obtained through Zhou Liming’s unique efforts.

At a time like this, finding food was difficult, which was obvious without thinking.

With food in hand, the children immediately quieted down and began to wolf down their meals. After distribution was finished, An Xiaowei handed a piece of bread to Zhou Liming and said, “Here!”

Zhou Liming shook his head slightly and said, “I’ve already eaten. You guys eat.”

Dean Zhou’s tense heart relaxed. Seeing that Zhou Liming wouldn’t eat, she said with some affection, “Eat something. Don’t starve.” Hearing Dean Zhou say this, An Xiaowei pushed the bread forward again. Zhou Liming could only take it, tore open the packaging, and began to eat slowly.

“These things…” Dean Zhou hesitated for a moment, but finally couldn’t help asking.

Zhou Liming understood the Dean well too. He said seriously, “Dean, your earnest teachings are still ringing in my ears. Liming dares not forget them at any time. These things have a very legitimate source. Dean, you should know what kind of person I am.”

Dean Zhou smiled and felt a sigh of relief in her heart. She nodded and said with a smile, “I’ve watched you grow up since you were little, of course I understand you best.”

The food brought back by Zhou Liming was quite substantial. There were sixteen people, including the children, but it wouldn’t be consumed quickly. The children had small appetites; eating two pieces of bread and one can of meat, plus some water, was enough to make them full. An Xiaowei, being a girl, didn’t eat much, and the Dean was old, so she didn’t eat much either.

Realizing the importance of food, An Xiaowei had already tied up the snake-skin bag. She also slyly looked around to confirm that no one had noticed their movements.

After finishing eating, Zhou Liming said to the Dean somewhat seriously, “Dean, we’d better leave immediately. This place is too close to City Zhe B and is not a safe place.” When he returned, he had seen a large number of Fierce Beasts gathering outside the city walls. Although their levels were the lowest, this still reflected a problem: the city inside had already been occupied by higher-level Fierce Beasts.

After all, Fierce Beasts were creatures with a complete consciousness chain and a sense of territory.

Because of this, as higher-level Fierce Beasts continued to land on land, the lower-level Fierce Beasts could only keep pushing forward, looking for their own territory. In this way, the steps of the Fierce Beasts would definitely not stop now. They would constantly expand, and expand again, until there was enough space to accommodate them.

Hemudu Town was too close to City Zhe B. Taking the lowest-level Multi-legged Insect Beasts as an example, they only needed one or two hours to reach here.

Hearing Zhou Liming’s words, Dean Zhou hesitated and said, “But it’s the middle of the night now. Where should we go? There are nearly a million people here. It should be safe, right?”

“Safe?” Zhou Liming gave a bitter smile. Ordinary people in front of Fierce Beasts, a large number meant more food, which would only attract more Fierce Beasts here. The level of danger was unknown, let alone talking about safety. However, he couldn’t say that he had just returned from City Zhe B. Zhou Liming could only speak patiently, “Dean, it’s better for us to be vigilant. The highway outside leads directly to Yuyao City. We must at least reach Yuyao City to get more information before making further judgments.”

An Xiaowei didn’t want to stay here either. She always felt a sense of crisis.

Seeing Zhou Liming’s firm tone, Dean Zhou finally nodded. As Zhou Liming said, this place was too close to City Zhe B. As long as there was potential danger, they needed to be careful. The lives of more than ten children were all in her hands.

Looking around at the people sleeping, Zhou Liming wanted to do something, but he finally found himself powerless in this matter. The result of doing a good deed might be to cause chaos here, and no one could leave. Besides, perhaps the army would arrive here tomorrow, and then would they be safe?

Organizing the children, they quietly left under An Xiaowei’s leadership.

Although many people noticed Zhou Liming and the others leaving, they didn’t pay much attention. After all, it wasn’t uncommon for people to decide to leave in the middle of the night.