Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Did that man know Ji'an and Ji Le?

Ji Yanqing looked at the sleeping Ji'an and Ji Le. They didn't seem to know him.

Half an hour later, Xue Gang ordered them to move again.

The sky was gradually brightening. There were less than five hours until the hottest part of the day—ten or eleven in the morning. They had to go further and find a place to set up camp early to avoid the heat.

Thirty minutes wasn't enough for everyone who had been up all night to recover. When they set off again, the group's pace was visibly slower.

They followed the national highway from dawn until nine o'clock, walking from the coolness of dawn to the rising heat.

Four hours later, as Ji Yanqing looked around in the rising heat from the back of the large group, he still saw layer upon layer of continuous mountains.

Was this mountain range so wide?

Ji Yanqing recalled what he had seen before entering the mountains. He vaguely remembered that the mountain range wasn't supposed to be too wide. He tried to think about it, but his mind had already become hazy from the heat.

Just as Ji Yanqing was puzzled, Xue Gang ahead gave the order to find a place nearby to set up camp for a midday rest.

The temperature had reached over fifty degrees. Even if it was slightly cooler in the mountains, the temperature had long surpassed forty degrees. If they continued like this, they would be directly sunbaked to death on the road.

Hearing that they could rest, the exhausted and hungry group finally regained some energy.

They were in the mountains, so it was easy to find a place to set up camp. In less than five minutes, they found a spacious and shady spot in the forest on the left side of the national highway.

The huge tree canopies and trunks, which had grown wildly due to mutation, gave everyone who entered the forest the illusion of stepping into a fairy tale. However, the dark distance constantly reminded everyone that this was a dark fairy tale.

Ji Yanqing had just found a relatively quiet place and was about to put down Ji'an, whom he was holding in his arms, when Ji'an opened his eyes groggily.

"Awake?"

In his sleepy eyes, Ji'an saw Ji Yanqing's face. Recognizing him, his long eyelashes fluttered, and his eyes closed again.

His thin arms wrapped around Ji Yanqing's neck, and he leaned against Ji Yanqing's chest, half-asleep.

Ji Yanqing let him act spoiled in his arms until he woke up completely before putting him down.

After waking up, Ji'an's fair little face was flushed. On the left side of his face, close to Ji Yanqing, there were marks from the clothes pressing against it.

After wiping the corners of his eyes for him, Ji Yanqing turned around and took Ji Le off his back. Ji Le was still asleep.

Opening the backpack to let Ji Le lie on the ground, Ji Yanqing was about to sit down when Ji'an ran to his side and grabbed his hem anxiously.

Ji Yanqing looked over, and the long-haired man from before was staring at Ji'an with a gloomy expression.

After setting up camp, the group was quiet for a moment before becoming lively again. Everyone spontaneously lined up in the forest.

At first, Ji Yanqing didn't understand what they were doing until he saw people from Xue Gang's group start distributing food and water to everyone.

There were soft candies, biscuits, dried fruits, bread, and everything else edible. For water, the people from Xue Gang used two bowls to pour out the water, one person drinking before passing it to the next. The amount of both water and food was not much, and they would even ration more for the elderly or the young.

Especially the water; each person only got two sips.

The entire group was quiet and lifeless.

Ji Yanqing didn't join the line but watched from a distance.

When Xia Shenshu approached him halfway through the distribution, he brought a pile of food, including fruit, canned goods, and bread. The quantity was even more than in the morning, enough for three normal adults.

Xia Shenshu gave Ji Yanqing and the others two portions and kept one for himself.

Many people in the queue or eating their food looked at them. Seeing the pile of food in front of Ji Yanqing, many people's eyes reddened.

Xia Shenshu seemed unaware, tearing open a Sachima and starting to eat.

Seeing that Ji Yanqing wasn't moving, he said with a smile, "It's a waste if you don't eat."

As he spoke, he deliberately looked at the group of people secretly watching them. Meeting those red eyes, he ate even more contentedly.

Those people, seeing this, partly averted their gazes while others gritted their teeth. Everyone was very restrained, but the hatred in the depths of their eyes was terrifying.

Under that atmosphere, Xia Shenshu smiled even more happily.

"Don't cause trouble," Ji Yanqing said as he took the food and distributed it to Ji'an and Ji Le.

Xia Shenshu grinned. "Yes, Team Leader Ji, I'll listen to you."

Ji Yanqing ignored him. Team Leader was fine, what was this "Team Leader Ji"?

After being given bread, Ji'an and Ji Le, who were clearly very hungry, didn't dare to eat because the subtle glances around them made them tremble from the heart.

"Eat," Ji Yanqing said.

Water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it.

No one who had survived until now in the post-apocalyptic world was truly foolish. Xue Gang didn't treat these people as humans. Even without Xia Shenshu fanning the flames, once they seized an opportunity, they would definitely retaliate a thousandfold, ten thousandfold.

In the midst of this, Ji Yanqing sensed a gaze.

He looked over and met a pair of aggrieved, dark eyes when he turned around.

After a slight pause, Ji Yanqing threw two pieces of food over.

When the items landed, the man looked at them and then at Ji Yanqing.

Meeting those dark eyes, Ji Yanqing had a fleeting absurd illusion that the other party was confused for a moment when he saw the food thrown by Ji Yanqing.

"Eatables." Ji Yanqing instinctively explained, then found it amusing after he did so. What kind of otherworldly being hasn't seen food by this age? After doing all that, Ji Yanqing no longer paid any attention to the other party. The reason behind Xue Gang's actions was clear: to curry favor. But what Xue Gang wanted to buy wasn't them, but the guns in their hands. In the apocalypse, having guns equaled absolute power. The number of guns directly determined the status of the Survival Team among other survival teams. Xue Gang had nearly twenty guns, while they, including Xia Shenshu's pistol, had seven in total, almost half of Xue Gang's count. After calculating how much they could consume, Ji Yanqing packed away the rest into his backpack. In the forest, the bald man walked towards him. "How's your rest? Boss wants to have a chat with you," the bald man said with a smile. Ji Yanqing lifted his gaze, and his eyes under the goggles resembled a tranquil summer pond. The bald man's smile faltered slightly, but he still managed to say, "Wu Yao and I just inventoried the contents of our bags with them..." The bald man didn't get to finish his sentence, for Ji Yanqing's eyes were now devoid of warmth. Wu Yao and the bald man's bags contained most of the food, medicine, and bullets they had found in the village before. Ji Yanqing shifted his gaze to Wu Yao, who was part of Xue Gang's team. Wu Yao had been secretly watching him, and when he noticed Ji Yanqing looking at him, he quickly averted his eyes out of guilt. He dared not meet Ji Yanqing's eyes. "It would be more lively if we all talked together..." "I won't go." Ji Yanqing refused. "With so many people watching..." "I won't go." The bald man looked pained. "Why do this to yourself..." Ji Yanqing ignored him. The bald man stood there for a moment, but seeing that Ji Yanqing had made up his mind to ignore him, he eventually left. Ji Yanqing didn't bother to look at Xue Gang's expression. He took a deep breath and looked at Ji'an and Ji Le, who were watching him uneasily, sensing something amiss. He patted their heads. "Sorry." He had hesitated earlier, for following a survival team indeed made survival easier in the apocalypse. But now, he had made up his mind. He didn't want to live by drinking others' blood and eating others' flesh, even though it would be much easier that way. Perhaps the bald man was right; this world was no longer the same as before, and sacrifices had to be made. But who knew if they would be the ones sacrificed next time? Ji Yanqing scanned the crowd and soon spotted Xia Shenshu. Under the tree, Xia Shenshu was looking at him. When he noticed Ji Yanqing's gaze, he smiled like a lunatic. Lan Zi, who was beside Xia Shenshu, was also looking at him. Her face bore a mix of bitterness, unease, and fear, but her eyes were resolute. If Ji Yanqing decided to leave, she would follow him. "Daddy..." Ji Le's cat-like voice sounded. Ji Yanqing looked over. Although Ji'an and Ji Le didn't understand what was happening, they sensed something was wrong. Ji Yanqing hugged the two kids. Hugged, Ji'an and Ji Le hurriedly hugged Ji Yanqing back. They didn't understand, but they liked Ji Yanqing and enjoyed hugging him. "Take another nap," Ji Yanqing said. "It will get hotter later. When you wake up, the weather will be cooler, and we'll continue on our journey." There was only one national highway leading out of the mountains. Once they were out of the mountains, he would tell Xue Gang about his decision. Ji Yanqing lay down, and the two kids lay down beside him. After staying awake for four days straight—watching over the night, dealing with the awakened zombie, and fleeing from Xue Gang's group—he fell asleep in less than two minutes. Hearing Ji Yanqing's long, steady breathing, Ji'an and Ji Le, lying beside him, couldn't fall asleep. They had only taken one nap while being carried by Ji Yanqing, and now they weren't sleepy at all. Ji'an sat up first and looked at Ji Yanqing. Seeing this, Ji Le also got up and sat beside Ji'an. Ji Yanqing was always the most alert member of the group, sleeping the latest and waking up the earliest. Any slight movement would rouse him. This was the first time they had seen him asleep since they had been picked up by him. Sleeping, Ji Yanqing looked different from usual. His brows no longer held the intentionally cold and composed expression, instead taking on a softer appearance. His jawline was graceful, and his delicate features were well-defined. The goggles covered nearly half of his face, obscuring his eyes, but his nose beneath them remained straight and high. His lips were pale, pinkish, and almost translucent like jelly. His dark brown hair, not too deep in color, was fluffy and soft, making his skin appear even fairer and flawless. It also made him seem more transparent and serene. Sleeping, Ji Yanqing had a slightly furrowed brow, appearing peaceful, gentle, clean, yet sad. Ji'an and Ji Le looked at Ji Yanqing earnestly, their small faces full of seriousness. Their hearts felt warm, soft, and full. They wanted to protect Ji Yanqing and would definitely do so, but they didn't know how to express these feelings. Ji'an secretly held onto two of Ji Yanqing's fingers. Normally, Ji Yanqing would have woken up immediately, but this time, he was so exhausted that he slept deeply.

Seeing that Ji Yanqing was still asleep, Ji'an's long and slightly curled eyelashes fluttered as he boldly stole a kiss on Ji Yanqing's cheek. "Dad..."

Ji Le, seeing this, also stole a kiss on Ji Yanqing's cheek.

After the quick peck, he continued to look at Ji Yanqing with a serious expression. He was still young and didn't have much strength, but he would grow up. When he did, he would protect Ji Yanqing and ensure he never felt sad again.

The two little boys kept their faces straight as they watched over Ji Yanqing while he slept.

As they were busy, a man appeared beside them, poking his head around curiously.

Feng Yimo had been there for some time, trying several times to find an opportunity to speak with the two little boys, but their attention was entirely focused on Ji Yanqing.

They called Ji Yanqing 'Dad' and even stole kisses from him.

They were clearly his children.

Ji Le looked over.

It was the strange man who had been staring at them before.

Seeing Ji Le look over, Ji'an, as the older brother, quickly took Ji Le's hand and leaned in to warn him seriously by his ear, "Don't talk to strange people."

Ji Le nodded and hastily averted his gaze.

Being regarded as a strange person, Feng Yimo, who was about to place the two small bread rolls that Ji Yanqing had thrown at him earlier next to Ji'an and Ji Le as bait, froze completely.