Chapter 42

Chapter 42

001.

"The Reaper isn't in the north at the moment," Li Pingsen said.

Everyone turned to look at him.

"Haven't you encountered him before?" Li Pingsen looked at Ji Yanqing, Xia Shenshu, and Lan Zi.

Reminded by this, the three of them snapped out of their surprise. Indeed, they had just passed by the Reaper not long ago.

"You met him?" The young man's eyes flashed with instant surprise and ecstasy, as if he had seen a toy he liked very much.

When Ji Yanqing looked over, the young man was already back to his gentle and scholarly demeanor.

"Sort of. We heard about it too," Ji Yanqing said. They had learned this information from Zhang Guxian, who was no longer around, so there was no way for them to verify it.

"I think it's true," Lan Zi said. "Didn't that Beast Corpse King fight him?"

"But after that, he disappeared. He couldn't have lost, could he? I mean, he's supposed to be the strongest Corpse King now, right?" Xia Shenshu said.

"It's true we didn't see his corpse," Lan Zi said.

Xia Shenshu fell silent.

"This is the first time I've heard this," the young man mused.

Everyone in the room fell into deep thought.

They knew too little about the zombies. It was a world they could no longer explore. They could only deduce bits and pieces from various clues.

Even these small details made their hearts tremble with fear.

Feng Yimo also fell silent. Even if the Reaper was powerful, he would still win.

"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. You must be tired. I'll have Xiao Kang show you to your rest," the young man broke the silence.

As he spoke, the girl in her white tracksuit who had just retreated to the side came forward. She waved at everyone. "This way."

Ji Yanqing glanced at the others who had unknowingly finished their water. Instead of leaving immediately, he looked at the young man. "Ji Yanqing."

The man was taken aback for a moment before smiling. "Lu Qing."

Ji Yanqing nodded and followed Xiao Kang.

Seeing this, the rest of the team put down their cups and followed Ji Yanqing.

Exiting through the back door of the church, they were immediately hit by a blizzard and the biting cold, forcing them back to reality from their state of shock.

The snow on the ground had accumulated to a certain thickness, sinking underfoot.

"This way." Xiao Kang, leading the way, seemed to be accustomed to this and was unaffected.

Ji Yanqing led the way towards her.

Xiao Kang took them out through the back door on the right rear of the church. After turning two corners in the alley, she soon stopped in front of an iron door at the corner.

The door was marked with the words "Staff Only" in black ink.

Xiao Kang took out a key from her pocket, inserted it into the lock with some difficulty, turned the doorknob, and opened the door.

The wind was strong, and as soon as the door opened, it was blown to the side with a sharp creaking sound. However, the sound was quickly swallowed up by the howling winds near the riverside town.

Xiao Kang led the way inside.

Ji Yanqing looked back at the empty street, making sure no zombies had been attracted, before leading Ji'an and Ji Le inside.

Inside was a passage about three to four meters long. At the end of the passage was an open space.

At the far end of the open space was a glass door, covered with advertisements about deposit interest rates. Outside the glass door was a reinforced iron gate and a roller shutter.

Passing through the passage, Ji Yanqing saw the bank's service counter on the left.

This was a bank.

"Here, take this." Xiao Kang handed the key she was holding to Ji Yanqing. "Keep it yourselves."

Ji Yanqing took the key.

"The door can be locked from the inside. Apart from the windows in the rest area at the back, there's no other way in or out, so don't worry. This place is safe. Get a good night's sleep, and we can talk more tomorrow." Xiao Kang headed towards the door.

Just before reaching the door, she paused. "Oh, there are blankets in the rest area at the back. Feel free to take them."

With that, she left without further ado, braving the wind and snow.

The group did not close the door immediately. Instead, they waited until they saw her return to the church before closing the door.

"I'll check it out." Xia Shenshu exchanged a glance with Li Pingsen and began patrolling the building with him, gun in hand.

The bank was large, likely a branch.

The public seats welded to the ground were still there, as were the ATMs on the right. There was another passage to the left of the service counter, leading to the VIP room, rest area, and the area behind the counter.

There wasn't much to see in the main hall, so Xia Shenshu took Li Pingsen to the passage leading to the rest area.

Xia Shenshu returned shortly, nodding.

Seeing Xia Shenshu nod, the group dispersed, putting down their backpacks and preparing to rest.

Meanwhile, voices of discussion echoed inside the room.

"How about we head straight to the north? It's safer there than here, and we're already this close, it's just a matter of crossing a bridge." Xia Chen suggested.

Many in the group shared his thoughts, nodding in agreement.

Lan Zi looked around, "If what Lu Qing said is true, many people have already gone north. With so many people, even if there aren't any zombie kings or awakened zombies in the city, supplies would definitely be scarce."

"Then we won't enter the city, we'll just follow the canal. The water in the canal can be treated for drinking, which means we won't have to search for water later on," Xia Chen said enthusiastically.

Lan Zi smiled bitterly, "Others have thought of that too."

Xia Chen was speechless. He was still reluctant but couldn't think of anything to counter Lan Zi's point.

If he could think of it, others certainly could as well.

They were already struggling to find supplies, countless people had starved to death on the journey. If there were too many people and not enough supplies, it would undoubtedly turn into another hellish scene.

After all, when people are starving, they are capable of anything.

Ji Yanqing didn't join their discussion. After setting down Ji'an and Ji Le along with his backpack, he circled around the room and also checked out the staff rest area and VIP room at the back.

The rooms were filled with daily necessities like bedding, buckets, clothes, and socks. Especially the bedding, there were nearly forty to fifty sets, almost filling up two rooms.

Everything looked relatively clean.

"Quite a few people must have stayed here before," Xia Shenshu remarked to Ji Yanqing.

Ji Yanqing agreed.

It was clear that the bedding and buckets weren't brought by one group; rather, they were likely accumulated over time by different groups staying here, gradually building up to the current amount.

As Ji Yanqing circled the room, he didn't see any bloodstains or similar signs, which only added to his confusion. He wondered what exactly Lu Qing and his group were trying to achieve?

Why would they accept them without reason, offer them water, and tell them about the situation in the north? Could it be that Lu Qing and his group were genuinely good people?

"Let's get some sleep," Ji Yanqing said to the others.

It was almost nine o'clock at night, and usually, they would have been asleep by now.

Both Ji'an and Ji Le were already sleepy, yawning frequently, their eyes heavy with fatigue.

"Do we need to arrange someone to keep watch?" Lan Zi asked.

"I'll do it," Ji Yanqing replied.

Lan Zi didn't say anything, simply nodding.

The others exchanged glances before entering the inner room to fetch bedding and lay it out.

There was plenty of bedding, enough for each person to have their own set. The hall was spacious, and after everyone found a place to lie down, there was still ample space left.

Ji Yanqing took some bedding and wrapped Ji Le and Ji An in it, tucking them in to sleep. Then, he circled the room once more.

The door through which they entered could be locked from the inside, ensuring safety.

The rest area and VIP room, where the bedding was stored, had two windows, but the doors between those rooms and the hall could also be locked. If anything tried to break in, they would surely notice.

When Ji Yanqing returned to the hall, many were already drifting off to sleep.

The prolonged period of fleeing had endowed everyone with a peculiar ability: the ability to fall asleep instantly.

During dangerous times, they might only manage to sleep for one or two hours a day, sometimes not even ten minutes combined over two or three days. Over time, everyone had developed the habit.

Ji Yanqing returned to Ji'an and Ji Le's side, sitting against the wall in the darkness.

The two children were already asleep, lying face-to-face, their cheeks peeking out from under the blankets, their faces rosy and lips pink, their small noses adding to their adorable appearance.

Feng Yimo sat nearby in a corner, holding his knife, seemingly asleep.

Ji Yanqing adjusted the blankets for Ji'an and Ji Le, then closed his eyes to rest.

The town was near the river, and the wind was strong at night, especially with the continuous snowfall. The howling wind easily drowned out the sounds of breathing within the room.

Around two o'clock in the morning, the wind grew even stronger, whistling like a beast's roar.

Having waited for hours without any unusual occurrences, Ji Yanqing got up around two-thirty in the morning and crossed the living room, heading towards the staff rest area.

He closed the door and opened the window, jumping out onto the snow-covered ground below.

The alleyway was behind the bank, with entrances leading to other buildings' back doors on both sides. After looking around, Ji Yanqing chose a nearby stairwell with an open door and headed upstairs.

There were no zombies in the building, and the rooms with open doors had already been thoroughly searched. From the entrance, the halls were filled with clothes and miscellaneous items.

The building had seven floors, with the top floor locked from the inside.

Using his axe, Ji Yanqing pried open the door and stepped out into the howling wind and snow, tightening his coat around him.

The wind on the rooftop was incredibly strong. As soon as he stepped out, he felt as though he might be blown away. The snowflakes stung his face and body like tiny stones thrown by someone.

Ji Yanqing walked through the thick snow toward the railing, standing high up to survey the entire town and look into the distance.

The town was large, definitely bigger than the county they had previously visited, and its size was due to the dock and the bridge.

The bridge was located downstream on the left side of the town, with a wide surface covered in abandoned vehicles. Due to the heavy snow, Ji Yanqing couldn't clearly see the situation on the other side of the bridge, only making out dark land in the distance.

The dock was situated upstream on the right side of the town, with related industries occupying a third of the town. Viewed from above, it was quite impressive.

The town had two main streets, one large and one small. The smaller street was in the old part of town near the downstream area, likely the main street in the past.

The larger streets and buildings, as well as the various storefront signs, all looked new. They were newly planned after the smaller streets aged, and had likely been in use for no more than ten years.

The new street was located between the wharf and the bridge, presumably to facilitate the transportation of goods to and from the wharf, as well as drivers and tourists crossing the bridge.

The town was developing rapidly. Most of the old city was still made up of single-story or two-story houses, while the new district already had high-rise buildings of about ten stories. Various large brand stores and malls had also moved in.

Given such rapid development and its status as a transportation hub, one would expect the town to be bustling with people. However, there were very few zombies in the town.

There were far fewer zombies here than in the previous county town, perhaps only a third of that number.

If this had been before, upon discovering such a situation in the town, they would have assumed that there must be awakened zombies or zombie kings present. Yet, reality showed that Lu Qing and his twenty companions lived safely in the town.

Ji Yanqing, his face numb from the cold, exhaled a long breath. The air didn't even have time to fog up before it was dispersed by the icy wind.

This city was strange in many ways: Lu Qing and his group were strange, the zombies were strange, and across the river lay the territory of the Grim Reaper. All these factors combined to give him an unsettling feeling.

Ji Yanqing turned around, preparing to head back.

As he turned, he came face-to-face with a tall, slender figure.

Ji Yanqing jumped in surprise, instinctively raising his axe. His gaze met a pair of deep black eyes, and his heart, which had been hanging high, settled back into his chest.

Feng Yimo had somehow followed him upstairs, wearing only a shirt and a windbreaker. The wind was blowing his coat and long hair in the night, creating an illusion that he might fly away at any moment.

"Why did you follow me?" Ji Yanqing asked, still shaken. Feng Yimo had come without making a sound.

Feng Yimo didn't answer; he simply glanced at the long bridge through the snowstorm.

"Why did you follow me?" Ji Yanqing stepped closer and raised his voice, as the wind was too strong.

Feng Yimo turned to look at him.

In that instant their gazes met, Ji Yanqing understood that Feng Yimo hadn't answered earlier not because the snowstorm was too loud, but simply because he hadn't wanted to respond.

Ji Yanqing sighed. Feng Yimo's personality made him difficult to get along with.

"Let's go back," said Ji Yanqing, leading the way towards the stairs.

The wind and snow blew past the entrance, creating a buzzing sound that filled the stairwell, making it seem like the entrance to hell in the darkness.

The darkness of the stairwell was uncomfortable, but stepping inside to escape the wind and snow gave Ji Yanqing a sense of relief.

At least it was warm inside.

When Ji Yanqing reached the corner downstairs and looked back, Feng Yimo had already entered the building.

Satisfied that Feng Yimo wouldn't get lost, Ji Yanqing quickly headed downstairs.

"You went upstairs." A cold, clear voice echoed in the darkness.

Ji Yanqing paused for a moment, then realized that Feng Yimo was answering his earlier question.

Ji Yanqing looked back. In the darkness, Feng Yimo was looking at him, his dark eyes deep and serene.

Perhaps it was due to the warmth returning to his limbs after entering the stairwell, but Ji Yanqing suddenly felt a warmth throughout his body.

In the darkness, Ji Le secretly lifted the blanket on his side, letting the cold air rush in and cool his back. This brought him a sigh of relief.

Feeling refreshed, Ji Le looked around dazedly. Not seeing Ji Yanqing nearby, he looked anxiously at Ji'an, who was sleeping in front of him.

"Brother..." Ji Le grabbed Ji'an's hand, hidden under the blanket, and placed it on his forehead. He felt so hot, as if he were on fire.

When Ji Yanqing came downstairs, it was nearly three o'clock. He entered quietly, and as soon as he entered the hall, he noticed that Ji Le had kicked off the blanket covering him.

Ji Yanqing approached and touched Ji Le's exposed back, confirming that he was still warm. He let out a sigh of relief and pulled the blanket back over Ji Le.

This was the first time since picking up Ji'an and Ji Le that he had seen Ji Le kick off his blanket.

By four o'clock, the sky was just beginning to brighten, and the people in the hall started waking up one by one. They were used to getting up early, even when they knew they were temporarily safe.

Around five o'clock, when the snowstorm stopped, there was movement at the church.

Around six o'clock, as the weather began to warm up, Xiao Kang emerged from behind the church and headed toward them.

"Are you all awake?" Xiao Kang stood at the door and knocked on the wide open iron gate. "We boiled some water. Would you like some?"

Hearing that there was water to drink, everyone in the room perked up.

Soon, the group crossed the alley and entered the church through the back door.

The front door of the church was closed, and the windows were reinforced with wooden boards and couldn't be opened, making the interior dim during the day.

At one of the long tables in the hall, Lu Qing and his group were sitting and eating.

Seeing Ji Yanqing and his group enter, Lu Qing and the others looked over.

The air in the hall was filled with the aroma of food.

Everyone looked towards the long table where Lu Qing and his group were eating something resembling vegetable porridge.

There wasn't much rice in the porridge; instead, there were more chunks of a green vegetable similar to lettuce. There were specks of oil floating in the porridge, making Li Pingsen and his group, who hadn't had a proper meal in over half a year, swallow hard at the enticing smell.

"Would you like to try some?" Lu Qing extended a generous invitation.

Li Pingsen and his group couldn't help but swallow again.

"No, thank you," Ji Yanqing declined.

Lu Qing wasn't surprised. He smiled and pointed to a pot emitting steam and a large red bucket full of cold water. "The water in this bucket has been purified, and there is still some hot water in the pot that you can drink. We need gasoline to generate electricity, so we usually don't use electricity except for purifying water."

Ji Yanqing nodded and expressed his thanks.

Ji Yanqing didn't touch the boiling water but instead had Li Pingsen and the others take their own pots to fetch water from the large red bucket. They lit a fire in front of the bonfire to cook their own food.

They had been short on water throughout their journey, so they never ate the flour and rice they found. Now that they had water, they could finally have a decent meal.

Everyone was excited about eating. The forty to fifty people were all eager to help out.

In less than twenty minutes, the scent of noodles filled the air.

They only had noodles without oil, so the cooked noodles were in clear broth. But this did not affect their appetite. After dividing the noodles, everyone sat down eagerly with their bowls, slurping away before the water cooled.

There wasn't much food. Even though they were temporarily safe, it didn't mean they could indulge recklessly.

After quickly finishing the water and noodles in his bowl, Ji Yanqing turned around to watch Ji'an and Ji Le eat everything in their bowls.

After eating the noodles, Ji Yanqing touched Ji'an's forehead, which was still burning hot.

Their medicine had already run out.

"Are you uncomfortable?" Ji Yanqing asked.

Ji'an shook his head and hastily swallowed the noodles before moving his bowl away.

Beside him, Ji Le frowned at the noodles in his bowl. There were still many left.

"What's wrong?" Ji Yanqing looked over.

Ji Le pouted unhappily as he stared at the noodles in his bowl. Although the noodles smelled delicious, he didn't want to eat them at all. He even felt nauseous.

"Eat quickly," Ji Yanqing urged softly.

Ji Le looked at Ji Yanqing and, knowing how precious food was, started gulping down the noodles. He wanted to be a good boy.

Ji Yanqing had already gone through great trouble to find food; he couldn't let it go to waste.

After dinner, everyone in the room sighed in relief when Lu Qing spoke up, "Do you want someone to show you around town?"

Ji Yanqing looked over.

"There isn't much left in town, so there's nothing to see. However, we can take you to the river. Although the water is polluted and cannot be drunk directly, it's fine for washing your face and hands," Lu Qing said.

Upon hearing that they could wash up, Li Pingsen and the group's eyes lit up.

They had been in extreme cold and heat, so the oils and sweat on their bodies usually evaporated before they could stick to their skin. They didn't smell bad, but it was still uncomfortable after a long time.

"Thank you," Ji Yanqing said.

He had planned to explore the town today and intended to keep it a secret from Lu Qing. To his surprise, Lu Qing offered to take them around.

Lu Qing was becoming more and more mysterious to him.

"Then let's go!" Xiao Kang took her gun and waved at everyone, leading them out the back door.

It was already past seven o'clock after they finished eating, and the temperature had risen to over thirty degrees Celsius. Snow was visibly melting on the roads, revealing the dark brown ground in many places.

Xiao Kang was very lively and talkative. She led the group skillfully through the alleys, avoiding zombies while chattering nonstop.

Li Pingsen and the others occasionally responded, but the forty or so people in their group hadn't spoken as much as she did alone during their journey.

Fortunately, the church wasn't far from the river, and it only took five to six minutes to get there.

The town was built along the river. A flood embankment was constructed upstream for the dock, while downstream was a pebble beach and forest.

The forest, closer to the town, served as a flood barrier. Beyond the forest lay the pebble beach, and in front of the six-meter-wide pebble beach flowed the canal.

A dirt path had been cleared through the forest where visibility was obscured, indicating that Lu Qing and the others often fetched water from here.

As they entered the pebble beach, everyone eagerly looked towards the gently flowing canal ahead.

The canal was wide, and from their perspective, they could only vaguely see the opposite bank and buildings. The water was also very clear, allowing them to see the riverbed ten meters away.

"The river flows down from a high plateau upstream. The water quality should be fine there, but it's snowing every day now, so the water has been polluted and cannot be drunk directly. It needs to be purified first," Xiao Kang said.

Walking by the river and feeling the cool breeze, everyone's expressions softened.

Everyone's gaze was fixed on the river, and although they weren't thirsty, they still had an urge to jump in.

"Do you want to go down and wash up?" Xiao Kang asked.

She had received the Survival Team before and knew their thoughts well.

Li Pingsen and the others looked at Ji Yanqing.

Ji Yanqing surveyed the area, ensuring there were no zombies nearby, then nodded.

With permission granted, Li Pingsen and the others immediately started taking off their clothes, unable to contain their excitement.

Halfway through undressing, they remembered there were women in the group and froze, unsure what to do with their half-undressed state.

"We'll go upstream," Xiao Kang pointed upstream for Lan Zi and the others.

Once Lan Zi and the others left, apart from a few who stayed behind to watch the guns, Li Pingsen and the forty or so people eagerly jumped into the water. Laughter and joy filled the shore.

Ji Yanqing didn't join them. He glanced upstream, making sure Lan Zi and the others hadn't completely left the group's sight. Then, he looked at Xia Shenshu, who was already soaking in the water. "I'm going to explore nearby."

Xia Shenshu's gaze swept over Ji'an and Ji Le, who were eager to join but hesitant. Without waiting for Ji Yanqing to say anything, he splashed water at Ji'an and Ji Le.

"Ah!"

"Dad!"

The two little ones had never seen anything like this before. Startled by being doused with water, they turned and ran toward Ji Yanqing for protection with a series of thuds.

Their two small faces flushed red, their eyes misting over. They were excited and running as fast as they could.

However, before they could get far, Xia Shenshu caught them.

Xia Shenshu lifted them into the water.

"Dad..."

The two little ones floated in the water excitedly while looking at Ji Yanqing anxiously and helplessly.

In their limited memories, no one had ever taught them how to swim. They rarely had the chance to go into the water, and the feeling of not being able to touch the ground after standing in it frightened them.

They tried to grab onto Ji Yanqing, but he took a step back and stood far away.

"Trying to run again?" Xia Shenshu brought the two little ones back.

Ji Yanqing watched for a moment, then glanced over at Lan Zi's side. After confirming that Lan Zi was holding Xiao Kang back, he turned and left for the town.

Their location was close to the bridge downstream from the town. After Ji Yanqing left the riverside, he headed straight for that bridge.

Before Ji Yanqing could run far, a tail appeared behind him.

When Ji Yanqing looked back, sure enough, Feng Yimo followed up.

"Why are you following me?" Ji Yanqing asked. Feng Yimo was becoming more and more like a tail.

"Danger."

"I'll pay attention to safety."

Feng Yimo had no intention of going back at all.

Ji Yanqing was both amused and exasperated, so he could only take Feng Yimo along.

About ten minutes later, Ji Yanqing arrived at the bridge downstream.

Ji Yanqing did not approach directly but observed from afar.

There were indeed signs of people passing by after the virus outbreak on the bridge.

There were quite a few zombies at the entrance to the bridge. Those zombies seemed to have been alerted by someone who had previously attempted to cross the bridge and then ran over from nearby buildings.

There weren't many zombies in the middle distance of the bridge, and the situation near the other side of the bridge was unknown.

Feng Yimo stood behind Ji Yanqing and looked out at the distant bridge.

It wasn't clear if it was Feng Yimo's imagination, but he felt that this bridge seemed a bit familiar, but he couldn't recall where he had seen it for the time being.

Ji Yanqing didn't stay long at the bridge. After grabbing Feng Yimo, who was heading in the opposite direction, he quickly entered the city.

He chose a relatively tall building nearby and quickly entered it. He hadn't reached the top floor when he heard voices in the hallway. This building had been chosen as a lookout point, and there would be someone keeping watch here every day.

Ji Yanqing listened in the stairwell for a while. After not hearing any useful information, he quickly went downstairs and headed toward the church.

During the day, Lu Qing and the others wouldn't just stay in the church. When Ji Yanqing returned, there were only one or two older people playing chess in the church, and everyone else was nowhere to be seen.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Ji Yanqing inspected all the buildings near the church.

Lu Qing and the others' reserves were much richer than Ji Yanqing had anticipated. They even had their own dedicated armory and supply warehouse.

Lu Qing and the others had done a good job of hiding things. From the outside, they were just two rooms with unopenable doors, but Ji Yanqing still easily found traces.

He did not enter but checked through windows or door cracks.

There were still about a dozen guns in the armory, and there should still be plenty of bullets, and there might even be some other equipment.

The storage warehouse was also not small, and the situation inside was unknown, but there should be a lot of things.

Such reserves were enough for a hundred-person Big Survival Team to use.

After checking the two rooms and confirming that there were no other used rooms around, Ji Yanqing hesitated slightly before taking Feng Yimo and heading toward the dock.

There was a distance between the church and the dock. Because he wasn't familiar with the situation in the city, Ji Yanqing took a detour to avoid zombies. Ten minutes later, he saw the dock with many cargo ships and large iron cargo containers parked from a distance.

Ji Yanqing had never seen such a large dock in his previous living environment, which made him look a few more times.

As his gaze fell, he saw a lush green field near the town side of the dock.

It was a small but well-tended field. The field was built on the foundation of a house that had been demolished but not yet rebuilt, and it was planted with many plants. There was even a person watering the plants.

The person watering the plants was Lu Qing.

Ji Yanqing hesitated for a moment before approaching.

Getting closer, Ji Yanqing saw what was in the field clearly. It was mutated cabbages as tall as a person. They had seen them outside the county seat before.

Lu Qing carried a bucket and bent over, watering those cabbages. He had already watered more than half of them, leaving less than half remaining.

When they were only a hundred meters away from the field, Ji Yanqing deliberately increased his pace.

Hearing the sound, Lu Qing seemed startled and hurriedly turned around.

Seeing that the visitors were Ji Yanqing and Feng Yimo and not zombies, he sighed in relief. A surprised yet elegant smile appeared on his face. "Why are you here?"

Ji Yanqing stopped in front of the cabbage field.

The cabbages looked even stranger up close. They no longer resembled what they should have been. Now, they had thick roots and large green leaves.

If the leaves hadn't resembled those of the past and if they weren't growing in farmland, Ji Yanqing might not have recognized them at all.

"These vegetables are edible," Lu Qing said with a smile when he noticed Ji Yanqing examining the cabbages.

Ji Yanqing looked over. Was the vegetable in their porridge this morning these cabbages?

Were Lu Qing and his team eating mutated plants?

Realizing this, an odd discomfort arose within Ji Yanqing.

After the virus outbreak, plants mutated rapidly. At first, many of them had considered eating them, but after witnessing their power, everyone avoided these mutated plants like the plague.

"Rest assured, this is edible..." As Lu Qing continued to water the cabbages while bending down, he added, "It actually tastes pretty good. It has less of the bitterness from before and more of a refreshing sweetness. It's also very juicy, almost like a fruit."

Lu Qing smiled at Ji Yanqing.

There was no smile on Ji Yanqing's face.

Lu Qing shook his head and continued slowly, "So far, there haven't been any side effects."

"How do you know?" Ji Yanqing finally spoke.

Some things wouldn't immediately cause problems, but by the time they did, it would be too late—like the bald man's eyes.

A hint of helplessness appeared in Lu Qing's eyes. "Not everyone treats others as human beings. Otherwise, how do you think those large teams with hundreds of people manage to sustain themselves?"

Although Ji Yanqing had already guessed something when he saw Lu Qing tending to the farmland, his heart still sank upon hearing Lu Qing's words.

There were thousands of edible crops, and now that almost all of them had mutated, how many people would need to die before they could determine which ones were safe to eat?

In that moment, Ji Yanqing even envisioned countless plants growing out of people's bodies, nourished by living flesh and blood.

Many things wouldn't show signs of being problematic until it was too late. Many of those forced to experiment probably suffered mental breakdowns before the issues with what they ate manifested.

After watering the last cabbage, Lu Qing straightened up and turned to look at Ji Yanqing.

Seeing Ji Yanqing's furrowed brows, he chuckled. "Do you know how much information like this can fetch from other survival teams?"

Without waiting for Ji Yanqing's response, Lu Qing continued, "It can get us fifty guns, over two hundred bullets, a truckload of food, or even two hundred people."

Ji Yanqing remained silent.

In Lu Qing's terms, people were the cheapest commodity.

Lu Qing seemed to understand what Ji Yanqing was thinking, finding him interesting. "You're different from the leaders of other survival teams."

Ji Yanqing neither confirmed nor denied it.

Lu Qing looked at Feng Yimo behind Ji Yanqing. Feng Yimo's expression was indifferent, as if the lives of others meant nothing to him.

There were many who didn't care about the lives of others, but Feng Yimo's indifference was different from theirs—it was even colder.

Lu Qing put away the water bucket and walked towards a luxuriously decorated freight company, placing the bucket behind the door.

The entire city was dead, and all buildings were available for their use.

"Let's go back. It's getting hot," Lu Qing said, leading the way back.

Ji Yanqing glanced back at the towering cargo boxes that obscured most of the sky. He deliberately slowed down, leading Feng Yimo to follow Lu Qing from a distance.

Looking at Lu Qing's back from behind, Ji Yanqing found him increasingly enigmatic.

Before entering the city, he had planned to retaliate if Lu Qing and his team had ill intentions, taking their guns naturally. But after entering the city, Lu Qing not only offered them water but also provided information and even told him that the cabbages were edible and had no side effects.

In Lu Qing's own words, the information about the cabbages was worth a lot of supplies. Why would Lu Qing offer such valuable information freely?

Was he certain they couldn't leave the city?

Or did he genuinely not care?

Lu Qing always appeared gentle and easy-going. Ji Yanqing had never sensed any killing intent from him, not even for a moment.

"What do you think?" Ji Yanqing asked the person beside him.

His gaze met Feng Yimo's dark eyes, and he immediately realized he had asked the wrong person.

Feng Yimo seemed detached from the world, never concerned with such matters.

Hearing this, Feng Yimo turned to look at him.

Ji Yanqing's face reflected in Feng Yimo's dark eyes, and Feng Yimo cared only about him.

Becoming aware of his sudden thoughts, Ji Yanqing's heart skipped a beat before quickly returning to calm. He was overthinking.

Feng Yimo was too different from ordinary people, so one couldn't guess or understand him using conventional thinking.

The dock wasn't far from the church, and since Lu Qing knew the safe route, the three of them returned to the church in less than eight minutes.

As they turned the corner, they saw the members of Lu Qing's team near the back door of the church running toward them.

"You went to the dock again?" The person in front ran up to Lu Qing and stopped. Upon seeing Ji Yanqing and Feng Yimo emerge from around the corner, he paused before continuing, "A new survival team arrived outside the city."

Surprise flickered in Ji Yanqing's eyes.

Lu Qing was surprised. "What a coincidence? We've never had two survival teams arrive here at the same time."

"There are quite a few, probably around one hundred fifty to one hundred sixty people. They look pretty ragged, as if they were chased here by something." the person said.

"What should we do? Should we let them in now?" asked another person nearby.

Lu Qing turned to look at Ji Yanqing and said, "Please have your people assemble first."

Ji Yanqing immediately understood what Lu Qing meant.

They were all part of the Survival Team, humans struggling to survive in this post-apocalyptic world. However, when they met, they wouldn't embrace each other like old friends. Instead, there would inevitably be suspicion and caution between them, and it could even lead to outright conflict.

Ji Yanqing led Feng Yimo quickly toward the river.

As they passed through the town, Ji Yanqing hadn't even entered the forest when he saw Xia Shenshu running out of the woods with a child in his arms from a distance.

The child in his arms was motionless, and he looked anxious. There were also several other anxious people around him.

Ji Yanqing sped up and headed over. "Xia Shenshu?"

Upon getting closer, Ji Yanqing immediately recognized the child in Xia Shenshu's arms as Ji Le.

Ji Le, who had taken off his large coat and was wearing loose-fitting clothes, had his eyes tightly shut and his little face flushed red. He was completely still.

"Ji Le?" Ji Yanqing quickly took the drenched Ji Le from Xia Shenshu's arms.

Was Ji Le drowning?

"It's not drowning. I was being very careful. I was teaching him how to swim, and he was having fun when he suddenly said he felt hot and then fainted," Xia Shenshu hurriedly explained.

Everyone could see how concerned Ji Yanqing was about Ji An and Ji Le. It was rare for Ji Yanqing to ask him to help take care of them. How could he possibly be so careless as to let the two kids drown?

"Heat?" Ji Yanqing breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing that it wasn't drowning, but his brows furrowed deeper. If it wasn't drowning, what happened to Ji Le?

"Could it be a cold?"

"Even if it was a cold, it wouldn't cause him to suddenly run a fever and then pass out."

"Could it be food poisoning?"

"We've all been eating the same things."

In the chaotic discussion, Ji Yanqing tried to recall similar symptoms from his limited knowledge of childhood illnesses, but he didn't have any relevant memories.

Before the virus outbreak, he hardly had any opportunities to interact with children of Ji An and Ji Le's age.

"Daddy..." Ji An, frightened and pale, grabbed onto Ji Yanqing's pant leg. He was on the verge of tears. What happened to Ji Le?

"It's okay, don't worry." Ji Yanqing held Ji Le in his arms while comforting Ji An, but his heart grew increasingly uneasy after feeling the heat emanating from Ji Le's body.

In just a moment, the skin where Ji Le touched him had become scorching hot.

There was no doctor in their team, and they had no medicine left...

Ji Yanqing suddenly remembered the other Survival Team entering the city.

Ji Yanqing quickly informed Xia Shenshu and the others about this, telling them to pack up and go back. Then, he ran ahead of everyone else with Ji Le in his arms.

Arriving back near the church, Ji Yanqing didn't rush to Lu Qing and the others with Ji Le in his arms. Instead, he placed Ji Le inside the bank.

Once Ji Le, who was soaked through, was placed on the ground away from Ji Yanqing's embrace, he instinctively curled up into a tiny ball. Without the oversized coat, he looked small enough to fit in the palm of a hand, like a sickly kitten on its last breath.

Ji Yanqing took off his wet clothes and put an adult-sized T-shirt on him. The ill-fitting clothes made him appear even more slender.

Perhaps sensing his presence, Ji Le, who was burning up and disoriented, moved closer to him, wanting to be next to him.

"Daddy..."

Ji Le fell into darkness, his body burning hot. His consciousness blurred as he seemed to see Xue Gang once again.

That day had been unbearably hot. The heat was so intense that his throat hurt. He wanted water; he hadn't had a drink in a long time.

He secretly looked around. Everyone ignored his existence, and no one was willing to give him water.

"What are you looking at..." Xue Gang's voice suddenly sounded.

It took him a moment to realize that Xue Gang was sitting not far from him on a wooden board.

Xue Gang was fierce; he knew that well.

He didn't dare to look anymore and hurriedly lowered his head.

After some thought, he got up from the ground and tried to move further away.

When he got up, his ankle twisted, and the soles of his feet ached terribly. He had secretly examined them before and found them covered in red blisters, some of which had broken open.

He was in pain, but no one cared.

He steadied himself and was just about to walk further along the wall when something flew toward him.

"Clang!" The object struck his forehead and bounced off the wall, eventually rolling to the ground.

The pain caused his entire body to shudder, and he was about to cry out, but he swallowed the sound back down.

He knew that Xue Gang didn't like it when children cried. If he cried, Xue Gang would hit him even harder.

He looked at Xue Gang uneasily. Something hot and red flowed from his forehead into his eyes, blurring his vision.

Just as he was about to reach up and wipe it away, a dark figure approached him. Seeing the looming silhouette, he instinctively stepped back, but his back hit the wall.

A powerful force kicked him in the stomach, causing intense pain that left his mind blank. Before he could recover from the shock, even more brutal kicks and blows rained down on him.

"Bad luck."

"Boss, the city has already been searched. Maybe we should..."

"Who's in charge here, you or me?"

"You are."

"Everyone, find him. What's the point of keeping you around if you can't handle this? Damn it..."

...

The curses and pain returned. He tried to make himself as small as possible, but it was futile; the pain spread throughout his body.

He tried to cry for help, tears streaming as he looked at those around him, only to have them all avoid his gaze.

"Mmm..."

"Who told you to cry?"

He was kicked away, something piercing through his body. His limbs twitched instinctively, and Xue Gang seemed taken aback.

He couldn't recall what happened after that, only the excruciating pain from behind, as if tearing him apart. He remembered being afraid.

He was thrown to the ground, not losing consciousness immediately. Terrified, he watched people pass by without any concern for his pain or fear.

His body grew cold, and he was utterly terrified.

He vaguely remembered someone giving him water, after which the pain in his wounds subsided.

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself carefully placed inside a backpack.

Seeing the hand reaching towards him, he shut his eyes out of fear, but no pain came.

"Dad..."

Ji Yanqing, who had just finished changing Ji'an's clothes and was about to head to the church, noticed Ji'an's helpless grasping while unconscious. He quickly extended his hand for Ji'an to hold, "Don't be afraid."

Ji Yanqing gently patted Ji Le on the back.

Holding onto Ji Yanqing's fingers and sensing his presence beside him, Ji Le's damp eyelashes fluttered lightly. He sniffled, holding back his tears.

His expression gradually softened.