What Should Life Be Like?

William's daily ration method ensured that everyone except himself and a few others would go hungry. The day of reckoning might be delayed, but it couldn't be avoided. His goal was to lead everyone out of here alive.

"You're doing pretty well!" Olivia Turner suddenly spoke, praising Clark.

"Ding! The system detects that the first beauty has increased favorability towards the host. Special rewards will be granted. Reward one: Body strengthening, effective immunity to physical damage such as hammering and heavy blows, and a certain level of resistance to damage from sharp weapons. Reward two: Facial appearance restored to 60%. Please choose one, Host," the system's voice unexpectedly sounded again.

Two rewards to choose from? Can I choose both?

Clark pondered, but the system didn't respond, indicating that selecting both wasn't an option.

"I'll go for body strengthening!" Clark made his choice. He had already transformed from the initial zombie appearance, and people around him had accepted his current look. Restoring his appearance wasn't significant. Besides, after dealing with William and Robert just now, he wanted to enhance his physical abilities for extra insurance.

"Ding, reward method: Further enhance body strengthening."

Clark had also figured out some patterns. Only when the system recognized a beautiful woman's increased favorability or intimate actions towards him could he receive rewards. The system didn't care about other women, whether they liked or disliked him.

Everyone received a sufficient supply of food and fresh water.

Every person devoured the food as if they had been hungry for a long time. Even though it wasn't a feast, their faces radiated satisfaction not felt for a while.

"Thank you." The woman who had quietly spoken with Clark earlier came over, expressing gratitude to Clark and Olivia Turner, who were taking care of Emma Kensington.

Behind her was a little girl with two braided pigtails, around four or five years old.

The girl's clothes were somewhat worn, but her face was clean. Her pair of pitch-black eyes stared at Olivia Turner, seemingly lost in thought.

"Young lady, what's your name?" Olivia Turner took out a piece of the distributed biscuit and handed it to the little girl.

The girl hesitated at first, not daring to reach out, but unable to resist the biscuit's aroma. After receiving permission from her mother, she timidly approached, took the biscuit, and started eating.

"Thank you, big sister!"

"Call her aunt!" the woman scolded gently.

"Just call her a pretty big sister!" The little girl smiled, looking a bit rebellious.

"What's your name?" Olivia Turner smiled and seemed quite happy.

"I'm Yaya."

After finishing the biscuit, Yaya hid behind her mother again, her face showing a trace of wariness.

Even this little child, who should be carefree at her age, seemed much more composed due to the numerous killings and bloodshed she had witnessed on the journey here.

"She's shy; don't be offended," the woman apologized.

"No problem!" Olivia Turner smiled. She naturally wouldn't blame the little girl.

The garage started buzzing with the sounds of casual conversation, breaking the previous dead silence.

"This is how life should be," Clark said somewhat lazily. At this moment, he leaned back in a chair, closing his eyes, seemingly enjoying himself.

"What should life be like?" someone asked.

"Just like this, easygoing. Eat when you should, drink when you should. If there's no food, find a way to work. When you work, you gain. Days get dark, but they will also brighten. People are the same. Whether satisfied or dissatisfied, life must go on. If you feel uncomfortable, dare to say, 'I'm not happy!'" Clark casually remarked.

The people around fell into silence. Perhaps, these individuals had already forgotten what kind of life Clark was talking about.

"You're so naive!" The person who had asked the question earlier expressed disdain.

Clark then opened his eyes slightly and looked around. Surprisingly, the one speaking was Emma Kensington, who had been staring at the ceiling in thought. It was unclear what she was thinking.

"It seems your injuries aren't that serious!" Clark joked.

"Don't talk nonsense!" Olivia Turner reminded, "If she puts her injuries on you, you might be in agony!"

Clark laughed. He hadn't felt pain before, but he wouldn't boast about it now.

So, was regaining consciousness a good thing or a bad thing?

"Those still alive here have experienced too much pain. I can see it in their expressions. I've seen too much," Emma Kensington seemed to be reminiscing, speaking to herself. "Helplessly watching loved ones and friends disappear before my eyes, eaten by zombies, or starving to death, having accidents. The familiar world changes every day, becoming unrecognizable. This experience is something no one wants. Perhaps, there's not much difference between here and hell."

"Too bad about James!" Olivia Turner's voice was choked up, as if she hadn't come to terms with it.

"He was a union soldier. From the moment he became a soldier, he was prepared to die for his comrades and humanity. Death is not terrifying for a soldier," Emma Kensington said softly.

At this moment, the surroundings fell silent, so quiet that a dropped needle could be heard.

"We live to save this world!" Emma Kensington declared firmly, as if that was her entire belief.

Silence, a strange silence.

Could this world still be saved?

Perhaps at this moment, everyone was pondering this question.

Clark didn't fully understand this world yet, but this wasn't the world he wanted.

"What about those two zombies? What happened?" After a moment of silence, Clark asked.

As a union captain, Emma Kensington should have been stronger than James. How did she end up captured by two zombies and used as bait to lure other soldiers into a trap?

Emma Kensington remained silent, seemingly lost in thought. Either she was contemplating something or she couldn't disclose the situation to Clark.

Seeing her hesitation, Olivia Turner felt the atmosphere turn awkward and got up to play with the girl with braided pigtails.

"I can only tell you that this city is very dangerous. The people still alive here must leave quickly," Emma Kensington spoke in a hushed voice. If you didn't listen carefully, it was hard to make out what she was saying.

"You actually believe me?" Clark didn't doubt Emma Kensington's words because whether she said something or nothing, it made no difference to him. But from what she said, Clark sensed a sense of urgency.

It seemed that something significant was about to happen.

Over the next few days, the three continued to rest here. Being on the outskirts of the city, there were surprisingly few zombies nearby. Occasionally, stray zombies were repelled by John using simple Molotov cocktails, and if lucky, they could even kill one or two zombies.

Emma Kensington's body was also rapidly recovering, and she could slowly walk around.

One evening, as everyone thought it would be another calm night, John rushed over anxiously, telling Clark, "Something's wrong outside!"