She turned her attention to the final warehouse and staff cafeteria.
On one side was a large iron gate.
The iron gate was closed.
On the other side was a roller shutter door, which was also pulled down.
Most notably, the large glass windows beside them appeared to be completely blocked by stacked tables and chairs.
Yun Xiaoxiao raised her eyes and walked in that direction.
Xie Youcai also noticed something unusual by the glass windows, his eyes suddenly brightening.
Yun Xiaoxiao's earlier questions had helped clear his mind somewhat.
The number of zombies didn't match up with the total number of employees at the mining site.
This meant that the remaining thirty-plus people might still be alive!
He hadn't seen the bodies of his wife and son earlier.
Could they still be alive?!
While Xie Youcai was filled with hope, Yun Xiaoxiao walked toward the staff cafeteria first.
She tapped the roller shutter door with her small hand.
The door immediately rattled in response.
However, after waiting a while, there was no response from inside.
"You try," Yun Xiaoxiao said to Xie Youcai.
Xie Youcai nodded solemnly. He took a deep breath and called out, "Is anyone in there? I'm Xie Youcai. If you're inside, please open the door. All the zombies outside have been cleared out. It's safe now."
About a minute after he finished speaking, the roller shutter door began to rise from the ground.
"Mom, it really is Dad!" exclaimed a young man in his twenties, looking back excitedly.
Then, a woman in her fifties emerged.
She looked haggard, her hair disheveled, and her face streaked with tears.
"Why did you take so long to come back? Did you know what happened at the mine? So many people turned into monsters that bite people, wuu wuu wuu..."
The woman's voice trailed off into sobs, unable to continue speaking.
It seemed she needed to release all the fear and distress that had been bottled up inside her.
"I know, I know."
Xie Youcai didn't mind her disheveled state at all and quickly embraced her, gently patting her back.
His eyes were also filled with tears.
While this family was reuniting, Yun Xiaoxiao surveyed the others.
There were both men and women, about thirty-two people in total.
And surprisingly, there was a large hole in the center of the room!
The right side of the room was also piled high with dirt!
"Guangyuan, what is this..."
Xie Youcai had also noticed the situation inside and looked questioningly at his son, Xie Guangyuan.
Xie Guangyuan was twenty-six years old, tall and sturdy, with slightly dark skin.
He glanced at the hole before slowly explaining.
It turned out that when the zombie virus broke out at the mining site, everyone was caught off guard. In the chaos, he had led his mother and some workers to hide in this cafeteria.
Later, screams could be heard everywhere outside, which made them even more afraid to open the door.
They had initially planned to escape through the windows or back door.
But zombies surrounded the building.
They had attempted to escape twice, both ending in failure.
Because whenever they moved, they would inevitably make some noise.
The zombies would come at the sound.
They had lost five companions in these attempts.
Afterward, they abandoned the idea of escaping above ground.
Fortunately, this was a cafeteria with plenty of rice, noodles, flour, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and other food.
The water came from an underground well they had dug.
So they wouldn't die from hunger or thirst for the time being.
Therefore, he began leading people to dig a tunnel.
They planned to dig a safe passage to the outside.
However, the heavy rains a few days ago had rendered all their previous efforts useless.
The tunnel began flooding heavily, with water reaching waist level.
It was impossible for anyone to stay inside.
So these past few days, they had been using basins and bowls to scoop out water, hoping to clear it quickly so they could continue their work.
After hearing Xie Guangyuan's story, Xie Youcai approached Yun Xiaoxiao.
"Base Leader, I have a request, if I may."
His expression was troubled, as if he found it difficult to speak.
Actually, even without him saying it, Yun Xiaoxiao knew what he was thinking.
However, she still waited for him to say it himself.
It wasn't to make things difficult for him, but because some things, if obtained too easily, wouldn't be cherished.
This wasn't directed at Xie Youcai, but at the thirty-plus people behind him.
She could help them, but she needed their absolute loyalty.
"Go ahead," Yun Xiaoxiao responded calmly, maintaining her composure.
"Well, would it be possible for you to help bring them all back to Yun City Base?"
Xie Youcai's deferential attitude confused Xie Guangyuan and the others.
They couldn't understand why he was being so polite to a five or six-year-old girl.
And what was this Yun City Base?
Noticing the others' expressions, Yun Xiaoxiao remained unfazed.
Instead, she looked at Xie Youcai and smiled, "Don't you want to stay here?"
Xie Youcai hurriedly shook his head.
"No, no, no, I've already made up my mind to follow you, so of course I won't stay here."
His recent experiences had made him clearly realize that to survive well in this apocalyptic world, one must join a reliable base.
And besides Yun City Base, he couldn't think of any other options.
Yun Xiaoxiao pursed her lips and cast a cool glance at Xie Guangyuan and the others.
"But... what use are they to me?"
In other words, why should I support them?
Xie Youcai quickly responded, "You can have all the coal mines in this mining area.
There are still some unmined areas in the tunnels, and we can stay to continue mining them. Everything we mine will be yours.
As long as you're willing to take them in."
He looked at the group and continued, "Besides, they're all skilled miners.
Some can handle various machine installations and debugging, some can handle machine maintenance, some can handle safety inspections in the mine shafts, and some have fifteen to twenty years of mining experience.
With them, we can mine coal from anywhere."
Xie Youcai guaranteed earnestly.
"What about you all?" Yun Xiaoxiao didn't respond directly but looked at the remaining thirty-plus people.
Afraid that someone might speak thoughtlessly and offend Yun Xiaoxiao, Xie Youcai quickly turned around as soon as she finished speaking.
He told them about how zombies were everywhere outside now, how humans had almost no way to survive.
He also told them about his miserable experience at Rongsheng Base.
Then he told them about how he became normal again after reaching Yun City Base, how he returned to a normal life, and all the good things about Yun City Base.
"Dad, don't worry, even if you hadn't told us all this, we would definitely go with you," Xie Guangyuan said with determination in his eyes.
"Not to mention anything else, just the fact that they killed all the zombies outside is already an enormous favor to us."
Their food supplies were running low, and they weren't sure if they could hold out until the tunnel was completely dug through.
The arrival of Yun Xiaoxiao and her group had solved their urgent crisis.
"Yeah, Brother Xie, if Yun City Base is so good, we couldn't ask for anything better than to go there."
"Yes, exactly."
