Chapter 39

Chapter 39

001.

"Ji Yanqing?"

Ji Yanqing only had time to hear a call before his consciousness fell into chaos. He hadn't lost consciousness; on the contrary, he was very awake. However, he fell into an illusion.

It was before the virus outbreak.

In the big city, skyscrapers stood tall, and people and cars flowed continuously. The streets were filled with various promotional activities, and everything was full of vitality and bustle.

In the quiet villa area isolated from that hustle and bustle, in the vast, empty living room filled with blood and glass shards, over ten people were gathered in twos and threes, whispering or looking at him with worried faces.

They lined up to talk to him, to make him understand, to make him empathize, to make him not tell anyone. After all, it was he who caused his mother's death. No one wanted this to happen.

He listened numbly. He had heard these words since he was a child and knew them by heart.

Blood trickled down his forehead, into his eyes, blurring his vision.

Ji Yanqing watched this scene quietly, vaguely sensing that someone had picked him up.

That person's arms were extremely strong, and their chest was solid and broad, giving him an inexplicable sense of comfort, making the illusion seem even more fake.

When Feng Yimo caught Ji Yanqing and looked around, he found himself alone, everyone else having fallen to the ground.

Feng Yimo frowned lightly as he bent down to carry Ji Yanqing and ran. He ran for a long distance until he could no longer see the flower field, then he found a place to stop.

He placed Ji Yanqing, whom he was carrying, at the foot of a shrub, letting him sit leaning against it. Feng Yimo looked at Ji Yanqing. "Ji Yanqing?"

Ji Yanqing's two eyes were open, staring blankly ahead. He didn't move at all, like a soulless doll left to be manipulated.

His face was naturally delicate and beautiful, and now, with those soulless, deep black eyes resembling a doll's, he appeared even more exquisite, beautiful, and eerily strange.

Feng Yimo did not like Ji Yanqing like this.

"Ji Yanqing?" Feng Yimo slapped Ji Yanqing's cheeks, trying to wake him up.

Ji Yanqing remained motionless.

Feng Yimo furrowed his brows. He checked Ji Yanqing's breath and found that he was still breathing, albeit very weakly. He leaned down to listen to Ji Yanqing's heartbeat, which was also very faint.

Despite its weakness, Ji Yanqing was indeed still alive.

Feng Yimo let out a slight sigh of relief. Only then did he remember that Ji'an and Ji Le were still at the original location.

Feng Yimo looked back and saw the sprawl of bodies from afar. Everyone was lying motionless in the positions they had fallen in, their eyes still open. Many of their faces still held expressions of panic from when they had collapsed.

After another glance at Ji Yanqing, Feng Yimo quickly ran back, finding Ji'an and Ji Le among the crowd and taking them away.

Back beside Ji Yanqing, Feng Yimo placed Ji'an and Ji Le on either side of him.

Ji Yanqing remained motionless, as if without a soul.

Feng Yimo examined Ji Yanqing's body again, confirming that he was still alive. Then, he checked on Ji'an and Ji Le.

Ji'an and Ji Le were also fine.

After doing this, Feng Yimo seemed to recall the pile of people still lying where they had fallen, and he looked off into the distance.

He hesitated for a moment but returned to drag everyone back. Those people were ones that Ji Yanqing had gone through great lengths to find. If they died like this, Ji Yanqing would have to start over.

Feng Yimo usually had little patience for anyone other than Ji Yanqing.

The first few times, he dragged one person back with each hand, but after the third trip, his patience wore thin. Not wanting to make twenty trips back and forth, he started dragging four or five people at once.

Xia Shenshu, dragged back on the sixth trip, stared blankly at the fiery sky above while trying to clear his mind and ignore the constant bumps to the back of his head.

After bumping into something again, Xia Shenshu's expressionless face twitched slightly at the corner of his mouth. It was just that he couldn't win; if he could, he would have already beaten Feng Yimo to the ground!

Clearly, he wasn't the only one with such thoughts. When Xia Shenshu was dragged back in front of Ji Yanqing and saw the heap of people thrown together haphazardly, he immediately understood.

After Feng Yimo threw him into the pile, Xia Shenshu joined the group harboring resentment.

After two more trips, Feng Yimo returned and casually tossed the people he was carrying aside before sitting in front of Ji Yanqing.

He checked on Ji Yanqing again, relieved to find him unharmed.

Behind him, the others, piled up like a small mountain, stared straight at his back. If looks could kill, they would have already torn him apart.

Unfortunately, looks couldn't kill.

When they fell, the sun had already set, leaving a blood-red sky filled with fiery clouds.

As Feng Yimo dragged them away from the flower field towards the shrubbery, the sky gradually darkened.

Within half an hour of being thrown to the ground, the wilderness became pitch black.

At eight o'clock, heavy snow began to fall, large flakes swirling in the cold wind, causing their already-numb limbs to start feeling pain.

The only consolation was that Feng Yimo had left them near a cluster of shrubs. The shrubs were taller than a person and grew densely together, effectively shielding them from some of the wind and snow.

At half past eight, Ji Yanqing, sitting separately with Ji'an and Ji Le, began to blink, albeit very slowly. This was a signal, a sign that they could gradually regain control of their bodies.

The group of people next to Xia Shenshu noticed this and their eyes, which had been sinking into despair, regained a glimmer of hope.

The happiest person was Feng Yimo. As if remembering something, he took out a sunshade cloth from his backpack and carefully wrapped the immobile Ji Yanqing in it, protecting him from the wind and snow.

Witnessing this, the others, whose eyes were gradually able to move, glared at Feng Yimo with increasingly fierce looks, like hungry wolves driven mad by starvation.

Around nine o'clock, Ji Yanqing, who had been taken away first, began to slowly regain mobility, albeit sluggishly.

Once he could lift his hand slowly, Ji Yanqing's first action was to clumsily drag his backpack in front of the wind like a stiff doll, shielding Ji'an and Ji Le, whose faces had turned ashen from the cold.

Feng Yimo noticed and adjusted the position of the backpack, seemingly remembering the presence of Ji'an and Ji Le.

"I..." Xia Shenshu tried to say something, but his tongue was thick.

Feng Yimo looked over.

"Offend..."

Feng Yimo couldn't hear clearly and simply ignored him.

Xia Shenshu managed a smile with his barely moving lips, feeling that while self-awareness was important in life, so was venting one's anger.

After this, he would definitely find an opportunity to ambush Feng Yimo and give him a sound beating!

By ten o'clock, when heavy snow blanketed the world in white, the group finally managed to move, crawling together like demons emerging from hell. They moved in strange postures, crawling away from the crowd into the bushes nearby.

They clumsily and silently pulled out sun protection cloths from their backpacks and shivered as they wrapped themselves in them with odd movements.

The wind was too strong, and the sun protection cloths immediately flew into the air.

Everyone on the ground was startled and quickly reached out to catch them. If the cloths blew away, they would have to endure the snowstorm.

Everyone stretched their hands as far as they could, while the cloths flapped loudly in the wind. The scene was bizarre.

"Help..." Even Ji Yanqing, who had already been covered with a windproof cloth, blushed slightly.

Feng Yimo looked over.

"...Bang bang..."

"Help..." It took considerable effort for Ji Yanqing to finally utter two correct syllables.

Hearing this, Feng Yimo turned to look at the group awkwardly trying to cover themselves with the cloth. They were already having trouble controlling their limbs, and the intense cold made their movements even more grotesque than zombies'.

Feng Yimo hesitated for a moment before stepping forward to help spread the cloth and cover everyone.

To prevent the cloth from being blown away, Feng Yimo thoughtfully picked up one of the people crawling on the snowy ground and placed them on top of it.

The person who had been lifted up and had just managed to get halfway under the cloth looked at Feng Yimo with murderous intent.

After enduring another two hours in the snow, the group finally managed to get up from the ground. They quickly piled their backpacks around them to shield themselves from the snowstorm.

Huddled in the circle of backpacks and under the sun protection cloths, the group gritted their teeth and endured.

When the heavy snow stopped around three in the morning, the group emerged as if they had escaped the gates of hell, and everyone let out a sigh of relief.

After exhaling, everyone turned their gazes toward Feng Yimo.

"First... walk..." Xia Shenshu spoke with a thick tongue.

They were still not far from the flower field and had returned to the territory of the awakened zombie.

Upon hearing this, everyone, their faces frozen and covered in snow, got up from the ground and put their backpacks back on.

They hadn't fully recovered yet, and sometimes they would suddenly fall after taking a few steps. This forced them to support each other, which slowed their progress considerably.

They walked along the left side for over an hour before finally leaving the wasteland and flower field behind and entering a wild forest.

The forest wasn't large, consisting of only a couple hundred trees. After mutating, each tree had grown massive, with dense canopies that effectively blocked the wind and snow.

Ji Yanqing led the group into the forest quickly.

Finding a relatively flat spot inside, the group didn't exchange any words. They simply threw down their backpacks and lay down to sleep.

The intense cold and exhaustion left everyone's minds blank. They no longer had the energy to worry about whether there were zombies nearby or if the awakened zombie would pursue them.

This was true for Ji Yanqing as well.

He pulled Ji'an and Ji Le close to him, closed his eyes, and fell asleep.

The images he had seen in his hallucination kept flashing before his eyes, coupled with the surrounding cold, making his sleep restless.

Despite this, Ji Yanqing slept for quite some time. When he woke up again, it was nearly four o'clock in the afternoon.

The same was true for the others.

Half an hour after Ji Yanqing woke up, the others started to stir and wake up one by one.

Seeing that most people were awake, Ji Yanqing instructed everyone to take out food and water to share.

After a morning of hardship, everyone was thirsty and hungry. They moved quickly, and within minutes, except for the two who were still holding onto their guns, everyone else had food and water in their hands.

The forest was silent, and for a moment, the only sounds were of eating.

After distributing the portions of food and water meant for Ji'an and Ji Le, Ji Yanqing instinctively turned to look at Feng Yimo.

However, he didn't see anyone nearby.

Ji Yanqing looked around, trying to spot Feng Yimo in the crowd, but he couldn't find him.

After a moment of confusion, Ji Yanqing suddenly realized—where was Feng Yimo?

"Feng Yimo?" Ji Yanqing quickly rose to his feet.

At the sound of his voice, everyone else who had been eating turned to look at him.

Ji Yanqing's gaze swept quickly over the group, and when he confirmed that Feng Yimo wasn't among them, his brows furrowed.

He remembered that Feng Yimo had followed him into this forest, and he had seen him earlier.

In the crowd, Lan Zi pointed behind Ji Yanqing.

Ji Yanqing immediately looked behind him, toward the tree. When he saw the familiar figure, his heart, which had been hanging high with worry, instantly relaxed.

Feng Yimo was sitting quietly on the other side of the tree behind him, cradling his long blade in his arms. The food that had been given to him lay beside his hand, but he showed no inclination to eat it.

At the sound of voices, Feng Yimo glanced at him with a distant look before closing his eyes.

Ji Yanqing was taken aback for a moment. There was something odd about Feng Yimo, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was.

Feng Yimo had always been like this—aloof and uncommunicative.

Satisfied that Feng Yimo hadn't wandered off, Ji Yanqing sat back down to continue eating.

002.

After they finished eating and rested for ten minutes, the group finally began to come alive again.

When they met each other's eyes, their faces were filled with bitterness and despair, knowing they had once again narrowly escaped disaster.

No one spoke in the forest; only silence remained.

After leaving the previous town, they had thought they were headed for a better future. However, they had barely left the town when they encountered an awakened zombie. They had just managed to escape its range when they fell victim to another trap.

Over time, there were moments when they felt that death might be preferable to continuing to live like this.

Seeing the dejected expressions on everyone's faces, Ji Yanqing said nothing. He silently picked up his axe and stood up.

"Ji Yanqing?" Lan Zi asked, puzzled.

"I'm going to check if there are any zombies nearby," Ji Yanqing explained. They had strayed far from their planned route, and even he didn't know where they were now.

"...What's the point? What difference does it make if there are or aren't any?" sneered the man who had been kicked by Xia Shenshu earlier.

He had been unwilling to part with his gun, so he hadn't received any food or water. This made him appear particularly hostile.

Ji Yanqing looked at him.

His eyes, no longer obscured by goggles, were clear and distinct, devoid of anger or despair. They were as pure and clear as the sky after rain.

Those eyes were infuriating.

"Am I wrong?" the man was incensed, "It's hot during the day and cold at night. We never have enough food or water, and we're always sleep-deprived. What's the point of living like this? We survive today, but what about tomorrow, the day after?"

Hearing these words, which seemed more like a rant than a genuine complaint, the others in the clearing frowned. Many of them opened their mouths as if to say something, but this wasn't Ji Yanqing's fault.

However, when it came down to it, none of them could find the words to speak.

The man was detestable, but what he said wasn't entirely wrong.

The group, already in low spirits, gave bitter smiles. Most of them were tired of this unbearable life, but they continued to live simply because they lacked the courage to die.

If zombies were to sneak up and bite them all, it might not be such a bad thing.

Ji Yanqing's eyes showed no trace of anger, remaining clear and calm as he surveyed the faces around him.

Xia Shenshu and Lan Zi both instinctively averted their gazes when they met his eyes.

They were the ones who should stand up for Ji Yanqing, but after the events of the previous night, they were truly exhausted.

Exhausted from the heart.

Ji Yanqing didn't blame anyone. He knew that everyone was struggling, just as he was.

Taking a deep breath, Ji Yanching spoke in a voice that was not loud, but everyone could hear: "If we don't have enough food or water, we'll go find some. If we can't get enough sleep, we'll create a place where we can sleep safely. If it's hot during the day and cold at night, we'll find a way to mitigate that. If we can't do it today, we'll try tomorrow and the day after. Eventually, we will succeed."

Everyone in the forest was taken aback by Ji Yanqing's resolute words.

In the next moment, they couldn't help but give bitter smiles again.

They had repeated these words countless times to themselves, almost wearing out their tongues. It was indeed one of the reasons they had survived until now, but they were tired of hearing them.

Ji Yanqing, the only one still standing, looked at the bitter smiles on everyone's faces. His heart sank, knowing that most of them had experienced what he had. He wasn't oblivious or foolish.

Taking a deep breath, he didn't allow himself to be pulled down by the abyss of despair that seemed to lurk beneath their feet.

He spoke again, his tone unhurried. He spoke to everyone, but also to himself: "Once our Survival Team reaches a hundred members, we'll find ways to connect with other teams. During this process, we'll try to strengthen our own team. Once we have enough people and weapons, we'll establish our own home, our own paradise."

At the word "paradise," everyone who had been smiling bitterly paused.

They had been prepared to continue their bitter smiles, thinking that Ji Yanqing was speaking nonsense.

But when they looked at him, they saw that his expression wasn't overly serious, nor was he joking. For a moment, no one could bring themselves to laugh.

Ji Yanqing spoke as if he was discussing the weather.

Ji Yanqing spoke as if he was genuinely planning to carry out this absurd plan.

Ji Yanqing spoke as if he truly believed he could make it happen.

Everyone looked around at each other, hoping to see amusement on the faces of those around them. They wanted to laugh at Ji Yanqing's absurdity, at his daydreaming.

Yet when they looked, they saw no smiles.

Everyone around them wore the same look of shock as they did.

"I'll go on patrol." Ji Yanqing didn't use lengthy words to convince the group to believe him. He simply gripped his axe and walked towards the edge of the woods.

The group, who were facing each other in bewilderment, all turned to look at him, their gazes following his back until he was out of sight.

With Ji Yanqing's departure, the group found it even harder to smile.

"…You guys aren't actually going to take this seriously, are you?" The man who had been kicked by Xia Shenshu spoke with a sarcastic tone, yet there was no trace of a smile on his face.

No one paid him any attention, and the woods fell into a deathly silence.

Ji Yanqing didn't care about what the others behind him thought or how they perceived him. He focused solely on patrolling.

Life in the apocalypse was always like this: an endless journey, an endless danger, and an endless suffering.

Unless they could establish a new order and build a castle that could keep the dangers at bay.

But how easy was that?

Ordinary zombies might not move randomly but could still be attracted by light and sound. Awakened zombies, however, were uncontrollable entities that could move at any time, and the same went for zombie kings.

Even if they built a paradise and a castle, if they lacked sufficient force to resist awakened zombies and zombie kings, their efforts would merely serve as a feast for these creatures.

To possess the power to contend with awakened zombies and zombie kings, their Survival Team needed to have at least five hundred members, with at least two or three hundred capable of wielding firearms.

The team behind him numbered less than fifty in total, with fewer than ten guns among them.

The more he calculated, the more he realized how difficult this was. Ji Yanqing sighed silently.

He hadn't planned to reveal all this, knowing that it sounded absurd.

Despite understanding this, Ji Yanqing's steps didn't falter.

The woods weren't large, and circling it didn't take much time. After confirming that there were no zombies or signs of human habitation nearby, Ji Yanqing returned to the woods.

When he came back, everyone sitting or lying on the ground immediately looked at him.

Ji Yanqing didn't bring up the previous topic. "It's safe nearby. We'll set up camp here tonight."

They had woken up around three or four in the afternoon, and another half hour had already passed. They couldn't continue moving today.

Upon hearing this, the group exchanged glances before starting to act.

Some went to find suitable spots nearby, while others took out sunshades and ropes from their backpacks, preparing to set up a snow shelter in advance.

The sunshade was very thin and barely provided warmth, but having a place to shelter from the wind and snow was better than nothing.

This wasn't the first time they had done this. Despite their distracted minds, they quickly erected a makeshift snow shelter between two large trees.

Ji Yanqing put down his axe and checked it over, only leaving after ensuring there were no issues.

Almost everyone watched him as he did this.

Ignoring the various probing and complex gazes, Ji Yanqing took out the map from his backpack while it was still light.

He laid the map on the ground and began studying where they were now based on the previous mountain range.

Initially, they had headed to the right of the county town. Later, after encountering Xue Gang and running further into the mountains on the right, they had traveled a considerable distance along the mountain range until they reached the flower field.

After encountering the flower field, they moved to the left, covering a significant distance. They might have even crossed the railway tracks and reached the area to the left of them.

To the left of the railway tracks lay the direction of the large city in front of the county town. They had chosen to go to the right to avoid it. If they veered back now, they might encounter the Survival Team that had been ahead of them previously.

There might even be a zombie king in the city.

After roughly marking their route and the location of the flower field on the map, Ji Yanqing quickly made a decision. Tomorrow, they would try to bypass the village with the flower field and find a way back to the railway tracks.

"Ji Yanqing." Lan Zi approached.

Ji Yanqing looked at her.

Lan Zi's lips moved; she had intended to ask if Ji Yanqing was serious, but she changed her question at the last moment. "How far off course are we?"

"Not much," Ji Yanqing gestured on the map. "Overall, we're still moving forward. If everything goes well, we should reach the next village by tomorrow night."

Lan Zi let out a sigh of relief and looked at the map.

"Are all the villages nearby filled with flowers?" Seeing the improved atmosphere, Xia Shenshu also joined them.

"…It's possible." Ji Yanqing had forgotten about this possibility earlier.

A bitter smile appeared on Lan Zi's face. "If that's the case, we're in trouble."

Ji Yanqing scanned the map again. "If the next village is also filled with flowers, we'll head to the large city on the left."

Their food and water supplies were running low.

When they left the county town, they had nearly seven days' worth of food. But with the addition of over ten people to their group and the delay of two days on the road, they now had enough food to last at most four days. Within those four days, they needed to replenish their food and water supplies.

"How about we head straight to the large city? At most, we won't venture too deep," seeing the improved atmosphere, Li Pingsen and his group also joined the conversation.

"No, we prioritize the right," Ji Yanqing rejected. "We must first find ways to strengthen our group. Only when our group is large enough can we make contact with other Survival Teams and find ways to obtain weapons."

Hearing Ji Yanqing's words, the smiles on the faces of Li Pingsen and his group, who had just approached due to the easing atmosphere, froze.

Everyone turned to look at Ji Yanqing.

"…Are you serious?" Li Pingsen couldn't help but ask.

Xia Chen, who was beside him, quickly elbowed him.

Ji Yanqing looked over and said, "Serious."

Xia Chen hadn't expected Ji Yanqing to answer; his mouth, which had been about to say something to ease the tension, froze in place.

Li Pingsen was also at a loss for words.

003.

In the woods, the atmosphere fell silent once again.

"Hah…" Xia Shenshu broke the silence. He was crouched on the ground looking at the map, laughing like a madman.

"What are you laughing about?" Li Pingsen asked.

"It's going to end up the same way, so isn't it nice to find something to do? Who knows, we might succeed," Xia Shenshu said.

Li Pingsen was momentarily taken aback. Xia Shenshu made it sound easy, but if this were to actually work, that would be strange.

"Isn't that unrealistic?" Xia Chen couldn't help but say.

Xia Shenshu looked over. "What's unrealistic about it? A year ago, could you have imagined the world turning out like this?"

"That's not what I meant. What I mean is, to establish a paradise, we must have the power to contend with the zombie king. I'm saying that it's unrealistic just relying on us," Xia Chen explained.

"Yeah, even if we had more people, do you think we could defeat the zombie king?" someone nearby chimed in.

"Well, it's not necessarily impossible. If we really can establish a paradise, we can make other weapons. There's no rule saying we have to use guns."

"What other weapons?"

"Like a rocket launcher?"

"Can you make one of those?"

"If I can't, someone else can. We could also use electric guns. Electricity should be easy, right? Generators are everywhere; we could just take a couple back."

"The question is whether that thing would be effective against the zombie king. That's the zombie king we're talking about!"

"Zombie kings aren't invincible."

"Yeah, zombie kings aren't invulnerable. And we don't necessarily have to fight them; they might not even come to our place."

"What if they do?"

...

Ji Yanqing, who was squeezed in the middle listening to everyone argue, was at a loss for words. He had wanted to say that it was something that would happen much later, but he swallowed his words as they reached his lips.

Although the group argued verbally, as they spoke, they began describing the paradise they hoped for. Although they all knew it was almost impossible, they were now genuinely arguing over it.

Ji Yanqing folded up the map and put it back in his backpack.

As he did so, he noticed two pairs of eyes. Xia Shenshu and Lan Zi weren't arguing with the others; they both looked at him with complicated expressions.

Lan Zi didn't have a smile on his face, nor did Xia Shenshu.

Ji Yanqing met their gazes and slightly curled the corners of his mouth. Before he could smile, his pant legs were grabbed from either side.

Ji Yanqing looked down and saw Ji'an and Ji Le.

The two little ones were saying something, but the people around them were arguing loudly, making it hard for him to hear.

Ji Yanqing squatted down.

"When that time comes, can I still live with you?" Ji Le wasn't concerned about whether zombies would come or how to defeat them. His greatest concern was always whether he could stay close to Ji Yanqing.

Ji Yanqing's expression softened. "Of course."

"In the same room?"

"Mm."

"Sleeping together?"

"Mm."

"Eating together too?"

"Mm."

Having received satisfactory answers, Ji Le's small face instantly lit up with a smile. He was content; he only needed to be able to stay with Ji Yanqing.

Beside him, Ji'an watched Ji Le's radiant smile, but his nose turned sour. Ji Le didn't know anything yet. When that time came, he and Ji Le would definitely have become zombies.

Ji'an grabbed Ji Yanqing's clothes. His milky voice was tinged with tears but also filled with seriousness. "Dad, I'll protect you."

When that time truly arrived, he would bring Ji Le to live outside the paradise. He would drive away all the zombies that came to their paradise, not allowing them to enter.

It wouldn't matter if he couldn't see Ji Yanqing anymore. It wouldn't matter if he couldn't live in the same house as Ji Yanqing, sleep with him, or eat with him. Even if Ji Yanqing hated him after finding out he had become a zombie, it wouldn't matter. All that mattered was knowing that Ji Yanqing was still in the paradise.

He would protect Ji Yanqing well.

Ji Yanqing patted Ji'an's head. "Okay."

Ji Yanqing pulled the two little ones into his embrace, feeling their presence. As his heart softened, he met a pair of distant dark eyes from afar.

Ji Yanqing looked over, and Feng Yimo immediately averted his gaze from behind the tree.

Feng Yimo remained seated in his previous spot, closing his eyes once more to rest.

Ji Yanqing was at a loss, unsure of what had come over Feng Yimo.

The group had argued for a while, with no clear winner, but by the end of their "argument," everyone's mood had improved.

Though the despair and anguish in their hearts hadn't vanished completely, the release of their heavy and negative emotions brought a glimmer of light back into everyone's eyes.

Before nightfall, Ji Yanqing had everyone share their food early. After dinner, they would sleep and set out again the next day.

With the pent-up emotions released, the group relished their dinner with great gusto. Even as they prepared for bed, smiles still clung to their faces.

After eating, Ji Yanqing was about to take Ji'an and Ji Le back to the tent when Xia Shenshu approached him from the darkness.

As he drew closer, Xia Shenshu tossed two guns to Ji Yanqing.

Ji Yanqing caught the heavy guns and, without Xia Shenshu needing to say anything, immediately understood the situation.

He glanced over at the two people isolated from their group, who, having gone without food and water for a long time, were reaching their limits.

The man who had been kicked by Xia Shenshu earlier wore an expression of resentment and gloom. Despite his attempts to hide it, he wasn't very good at concealing his feelings.

His companion, on the other hand, looked uneasy, dreading the anger that awaited him—the same anger he had once unleashed on others without restraint.

"Give them some food," said Ji Yanqing.

Though he was unwilling to accept these two, he needed those guns. Otherwise, he would have driven them away long ago.

Their group now numbered nearly fifty, and including the ones given by Mo Xian, they only had six guns in total—far too few.

With such limited firepower, if they encountered another group, not even a large Survival Team, but even a smaller one with just dozens of members, they might not be taken seriously.

With these two additional guns, their group would have eight guns. Though still pitifully low, considering their group size of fifty, it meant one in six people would have a gun, which was somewhat acceptable.

Xia Shenshu nodded and took some food over to the two men.

Without their guns, they wouldn't dare enter the tents.

As Ji Yanqing watched Xia Shenshu go over, he entered the tent with the two guns.

Previously, Ji Yanqing had given Mo Xian's gun to Lan Zi. Inside the tent, Ji Yanqing asked Lan Zi to bring him the gun.

Those in the tent who had been preparing to sleep noticed this scene and saw the gun in Ji Yanqing's hands. Many stood up from the ground.

Most of those who stood up were people who had been with Ji Yanqing before and had witnessed his distribution of guns.

At that time, Ji Yanqing had said there would be more guns and opportunities ahead.

Seeing the excitement and the silence that fell over the entire tent, the dozen or so newcomers also quieted down, all turning their attention to Ji Yanqing.

"Raise your hand if you have experience firing a gun," said Ji Yanqing.

One person from the newcomers raised their hand. Ji Yanqing looked over—it was Mo Xian.

Apart from Mo Xian, everyone else remained silent. Those from Xue Gang's team would never let them touch a gun.

Understanding the situation, Ji Yanqing nodded and began searching the crowd for suitable candidates beyond Mo Xian.

A gun weighed at least several dozen pounds. Just holding it felt heavy, so carrying it over long distances wouldn't be easy. Without sufficient physical fitness, someone could potentially be dragged down by the gun in critical moments. Therefore, the first criterion for Ji Yanqing's selection was excellent physical condition.

As Ji Yanqing started selecting people, those who had been with him before and the dozen newcomers who vaguely understood what he was doing held their breath.

The first person Ji Yanqing chose was a man to his left.

In his forties, the man wasn't as strong as others, but Ji Yanqing had noticed him several times during this period—he ran quite fast and was always at the front during escapes.

Handing over the gun, the man trembled with excitement upon receiving it, his mouth stretched wide in a grin.

After him, Ji Yanqing had only two guns left, making the waiting group even more tense. Many clenched their fists tightly, their nails digging into their palms.

The second person Ji Yanqing selected was one of the thirteen newcomers, also a man. He appeared to have done manual labor in the past, with powerful legs.

Never expecting to actually receive a gun, the man was stunned as he hugged it to his chest, feeling the envious gazes of those around him.

Ji Yanqing didn't wait for him to express his thoughts. After giving him the gun, he directly handed the last gun to a woman at the back of the group.

Around twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, she had a short, neat haircut. Her physical endurance might be inferior to most men in the group, but her explosive power was impressive. Ji Yanqing had seen her at the front during their escape in the mountains.

Like the man before her, the woman was stunned upon receiving the gun.

No women in Xue Gang's team carried guns.

They had always assumed that Lan Zi had a gun because of his close relationship with Ji Yanqing; he had been one of the first to follow Ji Yanqing.

"The guns will continue to come," Ji Yanqing repeated to the room filled with surprised and disappointed faces.

He added, "In my team, it's only about capability."

None of the survivors had made it this far purely by luck. He didn't believe women were any less capable than men. Lan Zi's shooting accuracy, for example, surpassed his own or Xia Shenshu's.

He had given only one gun to a woman among his many guns simply because there weren't many women in their group. Out of nearly fifty people, including Lan Zi, there were only six women in total.

Surviving in this harsh environment was already difficult enough. Many people like Xue Gang vented their insecurity and anger on weaker children or women, or even treated them as supplies. This led to significantly fewer surviving women compared to men.

With that, Ji Yanqing left the tent and went outside.

He wanted to check on Xia Shenshu and give everyone else time to process the events.

Sure enough, the moment he left the tent, an intense discussion erupted inside.

It was already unbelievable that they could get their hands on guns, let alone the fact that these three guns came from Xue Gang's team.

Outside the tent, Xia Shenshu gave something to the two men and exchanged a few words with them before heading back, only to hear the heated discussion inside the tent.

He looked up and saw Ji Yanqing at the entrance of the tent, almost immediately understanding what had just happened.

Xia Shenshu greeted him and entered the tent.

Ji Yanqing didn't go in right away. He looked towards the two men devouring their food in the distance; they were so engrossed in eating and drinking that they didn't notice him.

After standing outside for a while longer, he was about to return to the tent to sleep when he sensed someone watching him.

He immediately looked in the direction of the gaze, and the person who peeked at him from behind a tree quickly averted their eyes.

Ji Yanqing was taken aback, for the one spying on him was Feng Yimo.

Ji Yanqing was perplexed and hesitated for a moment before walking towards the tree. Feng Yimo had been sitting there since afternoon without moving.

As he approached, Ji Yanqing looked at the man behind the tree, his eyes closed as if in deep repose. "Time to sleep."

Feng Yimo remained still.

Ji Yanqing raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you tired?"

Feng Yimo finally moved, as if waking up, slowly opening his eyes.

His dark eyes were still cold, but there was no trace of the usual aloofness in their depths. He was pretending to be cold.

Realizing this, Ji Yanqing became even more confused. What was wrong with Feng Yimo?

"I'm leaving," Ji Yanqing feigned turning around.

Sure enough, the moment he turned, Feng Yimo immediately looked at him, his black eyes showing less of their usual coldness and more unease.

Without his icy demeanor, he resembled a well-behaved, silent large dog.

When he noticed that Ji Yanqing hadn't left and was still looking at him, Feng Yimo quickly resumed his cold appearance.

Ji Yanqing took everything in, his heart growing increasingly bewildered, but he vaguely felt like he understood what Feng Yimo wanted.

"It's getting dark... time to sleep?" Ji Yanqing tentatively extended his hand.

Sure enough, the moment he reached out, another hand landed in his palm. Feng Yimo placed his hand in Ji Yanqing's.

Before Ji Yanqing could think about it, Feng Yimo obediently got up from the ground, ready for Ji Yanqing to lead him to bed.

He had waited for a long time. Ji Yanqing talked to Ji'an, talked to Ji Le, talked to everyone else, but never spoke to him.

Ji Yanqing's mind went blank as his body instinctively stepped forward.

At the same time, Feng Yimo, with his dark, moist eyes, followed. The moment he took a step forward, he stumbled to the ground.

Ji Yanqing was startled and quickly reached out to catch him. "What's wrong with you..."

Before Ji Yanqing could finish his question, he sensed something. The Feng Yimo he caught tried several times to stand up but couldn't maintain his balance, swaying as if drunk.

Feng Yimo's body temperature was usually lower than normal, but now it was unusually high. Through just two layers of clothing, the firm contours of his body were clearly outlined in Ji Yanqing's palm.

Ji Yanqing suddenly recalled the flower field.

Ever since they left the flower field, something had been off about Feng Yimo.

Was Feng Yimo...drunk?