Chapter 122

Chapter 122

The Black Wolf raced through several streets, drawing the attention of nearby zombies, which followed in a vast and imposing procession.

Shen Juanjuan had learned to cooperate with Chu Ya, using his mental power to trap the approaching zombies, making it easier for Chu Ya and the Teddy Bear to attack. They sped down the streets, leaving a trail of fallen zombies in their wake. Occasionally, Chu Ya would look up and see doors slightly ajar or figures faintly visible behind iron-barred windows on the sides of buildings—survivors watching them from the shadows.

Like a gust of wind, the Black Wolf arrived at the front of the planting zone after twenty minutes. However, more zombies now trailed behind them, densely packed and stretching as far as the eye could see.

"Silver Wolf, shake them off; don't lead them to the planting zone," Chu Ya commanded.

The Black Wolf suddenly dashed towards an empty building, leaping onto the second-floor corridor and then jumping into a narrow alley. The zombies followed, but the alley was too tight, stretching the horde into a long line. The Black Wolf zigzagged through the alley, while Chu Ya eliminated the leading zombies. The ones at the back soon lost track of their target.

Although they encountered more zombies on the remaining journey, they did not form a large pursuing group. By the time the Black Wolf charged into the planting zone, Chu Ya had killed all of them.

The planting zone of Linya City was vast, with few people around, but Chu Ya knew there were definitely zombies inside. He entered the nearest planting building and circled the ground floor, finding that most of the corn had been picked, with stalks scattered everywhere.

"Let's go upstairs," Chu Ya said.

The Black Wolf carried them further up. On the second and third floors, the fields were planted with unknown crops that had yet to sprout, but the fourth floor was filled with mature corn, each ear plump and full.

"Is this corn?" Shen Juanjuan asked softly.

"Yes."

"I've eaten corn before; it's very, very delicious." Shen Juanjuan swallowed hard, his eyes gleaming with excitement as he looked at Chu Ya, "Can we take some corn?"

"Just wait," Chu Ya replied.

He used his mental power to move through the corn stalks, carefully inspecting everything, then went to check the small house where the manager lived.

Sure enough, there were two zombies in front of the house. Chu Ya killed them, checked the inside of the house, and confirmed that the floor was safe before saying, "Let's go, we're going to pick corn now."

There were carts and burlap bags nearby. Chu Ya took one bag and led Shen Juanjuan into the cornfield, while the Teddy Bear and the Black Wolf guarded the stairs.

Shen Juanjuan couldn't reach the corn even on tiptoe, so he kept jumping to try to pick it, attempting to climb up the corn stalks.

"Ouch." The stalk broke, and he fell into the field.

He quickly rolled over, grabbed a corn ear, and broke it off, sitting on the ground and holding it up to Chu Ya, "Ha ha, look, I got one."

Chu Ya picked him up with one hand, picking the row on the right himself. Shen Juanjuan leaned out from his arms, grabbing a corn ear and pulling hard, breaking it off with a snap.

"Ha! Corn."

"Good job, this one is nice. Come on, put it in the bag."

Chu Ya originally planned to pick only one bag, but then he thought of the orphanage. Although Yun Tuo had told him not to worry, saying the orphanage had plenty of food stored, hadn't he also told Yun Tuo that the Bitao Building had ample food?

Thinking about this, Chu Ya called the Black Wolf and the Teddy Bear to help, and the four of them started picking together. When the bags were full, they tied them up and placed them in the cart, then took another bag and continued.

All four worked hard, and the Teddy Bear even threw its arm, flying out and smashing a row of corn stalks, allowing Shen Juanjuan to bend over and pick the corn.

When the cart was loaded with bulging bags, Chu Ya secured them with ropes and pushed it downstairs, tying the rope to the Black Wolf's back.

"Silver Wolf, good work." Chu Ya mounted the Black Wolf, placing Shen Juanjuan in front of him, while the Teddy Bear leaped onto his back, sitting back-to-back with him.

Shen Juanjuan patted the Black Wolf's neck and bent down to kiss it, "Shen Wangwang, good work."

The Teddy Bear turned its head to watch, then patted the Black Wolf's rear and buried its big head to give a kiss, "Roar."

"Roar!" The Black Wolf was spirited, eager to charge forward immediately.

"Let's go!" Shen Juanjuan waved his hand forward.

"Let's go!" Chu Ya responded.

"Roar!"

The Black Wolf galloped towards the direction of the orphanage, with Shen Juanjuan's mental power entering Chu Ya's mental domain. The Teddy Bear pulled out a spatula from its back, snarling fiercely at the zombies chasing them from behind.

In areas with higher population density, there were fewer survivors. As they approached the west gate of Linya City, especially near the resettlement point, the streets and buildings on both sides were filled with zombies.

Chu Ya's mental power surged like a flood, pushing back the zombies attacking from the sides. He was initially concerned that Shen Juanjuan might find it tiring, but even when he released his mental power to the maximum, Shen Juanjuan managed to organize it efficiently and swiftly, keeping Chu Ya's mental energy consistently full.

The Teddy Bear occasionally leaped into the zombie crowd, flipping and jumping on their heads, swinging its spatula in a dazzling display. It would then catch up with the Black Wolf, and the zombies would fall like cut corn stalks.

Chu Ya had anticipated that many zombies would surround the orphanage, but when the Black Wolf galloped into the open field and saw the dense mass around the church, he was secretly alarmed.

He took out his phone, dialed Yun Tuo, and handed the phone to Shen Juanjuan.

"Hello, hello." Shen Juanjuan shouted as soon as he took the phone.

"Wait until you hear Yun Tuo's voice before speaking," Chu Ya said.

Shen Juanjuan held the phone for a couple of seconds and then called out, "Brother Yun Tuo."

Chu Ya knew the call had connected, so he said, "Tell him I brought a cart of corn."

"Tell him I brought a cart of corn," Shen Juanjuan yelled.

The Black Wolf galloped across the open field, the cart loaded with corn following behind, occasionally bouncing over small mounds, causing the cart to leap into the air with the tightly bound bags.

Chu Ya was somewhat worried that the cart might fall apart, but it remained sturdy, whether in the air or hitting the ground, enduring the jolts without breaking.

"Leave the cart in the open field; we have many sentinels and instructors who will come out to get it!" Shen Juanjuan loudly relayed Yun Tuo's words.

Chu Ya knew the zombies weren't interested in the cart or the corn, so leaving it in the open field was fine. He replied, "Understood."

"Understood," Shen Juanjuan repeated into the phone, then shouted to Chu Ya after a few seconds of silence, "Yun Tuo said you should leave the cart and return, it's too dangerous."

"Alright."

"Alright." Shen Juanjuan continued to relay Yun Tuo's message.

Although leaving the cart in the open field would do, Chu Ya couldn't leave it too far behind. He still charged forward, blasting the zombies that lunged at him along the way.

Suddenly, gunshots rang out from the orphanage, and Chen Hongliang's quantum beasts began to sing loudly. The deafening noise drew the attention of the zombies, who turned and started climbing the walls. More quantum beasts leaped over the wall, diving into the crowd of zombies.

The pressure on Chu Ya was instantly relieved. The Black Wolf sprinted down the path he had cleared, quickly approaching the high walls of the orphanage.

"Chu Baolong, grab a bag of corn," Chu Ya shouted.

The Teddy Bear slashed the rope at the top of the cart, picked up a bag of corn. Chu Ya then cut the rope tethering the Black Wolf to the cart. The cart, now free, gradually slowed down and finally stopped below the wall.

After unloading the cart, the Black Wolf made a sharp turn and ran back, with the quantum beasts following to clear the way for Chu Ya and his group.

The kangaroo punched frequently, sending zombies flying. The BlackandWhite Panther and the fox worked together to pull the zombies away. Other quantum beasts ran around the Black Wolf, continuously killing the zombies that lunged at them...

Chu Baolong, carrying a bag of corn, stood majestically on the Black Wolf's back. Hearing a call beside him, "Roar!"

"Roar!" It immediately responded, lifting its left paw.

The leopard cub leaped high into the air, slapping hands with it mid-air.

Shen Juanjuan sat in front of Chu Ya, constantly turning his head to look back. Knowing that although he didn't say it, he missed his friends, Chu Ya said, "We'll be back in a few days."

"Shen Juanjuan, Shen Juanjuan..." A voice suddenly came from the loudspeaker in the orphanage.

Hearing this voice, Shen Juanjuan's body stiffened with excitement: "It's Lin Duozhi, it's Lin Duozhi!"

"Shen Juanjuan, I'll wait for you, and also for Brother Chu Ya, Shen Wangwang, and Chu Baolong," Lin Duozhi's voice echoed through the loudspeaker.

"Lin Duozhi, I'll wait for you too."

"Shen Juanjuan, it's me, don't let the zombies bite you, be careful," another child's voice came through the loudspeaker.

"Tang Yuanyuan, I'm being very careful."

Though the people in the orphanage couldn't hear Shen Juanjuan, he still shouted back with all his might.

"Shen Juanjuan, hahaha..." The laughter was so loud that the loudspeaker crackled, "My quantum beast is staying here to sing, it misses Chu Baolong and Shen Wangwang."

"Chen Hongliang, I miss you too."

"Roar."

"Growl."

The Teddy Bear and the Black Wolf also responded loudly.

"You, um, come back soon."

"Yu Datou, I will come back!!"

"Sniff... Shen Juanjuan, Brother Chu Ya... sniff."

"Wang Xiaoxi, don't cry, be good."

"Shen Juanjuan, eat more, don't starve yourself."

"Liu Sijin, I, I sent the corn, eat more too..."

The Black Wolf circled the open field, with the quantum beasts charging alongside like guards. Only after Shen Juanjuan finished talking to all his friends did they charge towards Linya City together.

The quantum beasts escorted Chu Ya and his group until they were almost in the city, then stopped, howling and barking in farewell. After the Black Wolf disappeared into the city, they turned and ran back to the orphanage, rushing to the cart and each grabbing a bag of corn to leap over the high wall.

The leopard cub also grabbed a bag of corn, but being small, it could only drag it backward with all four paws. The BlackandWhite Panther quickly threw its own bag over the wall and then jumped out to help.

The Black Wolf raced down the street, and suddenly gunfire erupted from a side alley. Shen Juanjuan turned and saw a middle-aged man running out of the alley, pursued by a group of zombies.

"Look, Shen Miaomiao, look!"

Seeing the man about to be tackled by the zombies, Shen Juanjuan released his mental power, freezing the zombies in place. In that instant, Chu Ya's mental power pierced their skulls.

In sync with Chu Ya's thoughts, the Black Wolf rushed over, grabbed the man's back, and leaped onto the second floor of a nearby building, then climbed up the stairs to the sixth floor.

After Chu Ya killed all the pursuing zombies, the Black Wolf placed the man in the stairwell. The man, pale with fear, leaned against the wall, his legs trembling, still clutching half a soybean cake.

"Th-thank you," his teeth chattered.

Chu Ya frowned, "Didn't you find a place to hide? Why are you still wandering outside?"

"That's right, don't wander around now, the Mutants will bite you to death, they're very fierce," Shen Juanjuan added.

The man caught his breath and explained, "When the zombie wave broke out yesterday, I was on the street and hid in the nearest room. There was nothing in there, so I had to come out to find something to eat, or I'd have no strength left later and wouldn't be able to find food anymore."

Chu Ya said nothing more, walked out of the stairwell, and opened the nearest room. Inside, though empty, it had a faucet and a kitchen.

"Stay here, don't wander around anymore."

"Yes, yes, I won't, I won't."

After the man entered the room, Chu Ya took over the sack from Chu Baolong, opened it, and gave him seven ears of corn.

"This should last you a few days. Those major forces will surely find a way to clear the zombies, just hold on a bit longer."

"Thank you, thank you so much." The man kept thanking him.

Hearing the commotion, doors nearby began to open, and several people cautiously peeked out. Their eyes fixed on the bag of corn next to Chu Ya, unable to look away.

"Little brother, can you sell me two?" an elderly man asked.

"Me too, I haven't eaten since yesterday."

"Little brother, I'll pay extra; there's a sick person at home, give me four."

...

Chu Ya didn't respond but walked over with the sack, passing corn into each room. Shen Juanjuan followed, picking up the corn and handing it through the doors.

"Five? I'm out of money, just two then." A hand inside the door passed out a crumpled bill.

Chu Ya blocked the bill: "No need for money, this corn is a gift."

Shen Juanjuan also replied maturely: "No need for money, these corn are gifts, eat them."

Despite their voices being kept low, as Chu Ya descended the stairs, someone on the fifth floor poked their head out, mimicking the call from above: "Little brother, little brother, can you give me two ears of corn?"

The Black Wolf and Teddy Bear guarded the top and bottom of the stairs, while Chu Ya carried the bag forward to distribute the corn. But they seemed worried the corn would run out or were used to fighting over things, so they crouched and ran over, reaching into the bag first.

"This one is mine, why don't you take it from the bag?"

"You've already taken so much, still grabbing more?"

"Who cares how much I take?"

They stuffed the corn into their own arms, pushing Chu Ya and Shen Juanjuan to the side. Some who couldn't hold any more corn even took off their clothes to carry more, continuing to fight.

"Scram! All of you, scram!" A burly man picked up the corn bag, and when others tried to snatch it, he pulled out a gun and pressed it against someone's head.

"All this corn is mine, anyone who tries to take it will see if your skull is harder than a bullet." The man's face was twisted in a fierce expression.

The corridor fell silent, and those still fighting over the corn stopped. The man held the gun in one hand and took the corn from others' arms, putting it back into his pocket.

Chu Ya remained silent, only holding Shen Juanjuan's hand, but his face had turned cold. Shen Juanjuan tugged at his sleeve, whispering, "What are they doing? Are they robbing the corn?"

"Yes," Chu Ya replied.

"I hate people who steal from others the most." Shen Juanjuan immediately frowned, glaring at them fiercely.

"You can't steal!" Shen Juanjuan knew about the zombies outside, so he didn't shout, but his tone was forceful.

The burly man ignored Shen Juanjuan, putting all the corn from everyone's arms into his pocket before lifting the bag to return to his room.

But as he stepped forward, he found the bag being held back.

He looked down, his eyes landing on the long-fingered hand, then following it up to Chu Ya's face.

"Let go!" he barked.

Chu Ya looked at him calmly: "This is my corn, I don't plan to give it to you anymore."

"I'll let you off because you got the corn, but don't push it." The man raised his gun at Chu Ya, "Now leave."

"What if I don't?" Chu Ya asked.

The man's lips moved, his finger hovered over the trigger but dropped, finally uttering two words: "Get lost."

As soon as the man spoke, his arm went limp, the gun fell to the ground, and he uncontrollably knelt down.

Shen Juanjuan rushed forward, kicking him and growling, "I'll beat you up, how dare you threaten Shen Miaomiao? Do you think I don't know that 'get lost' is a way to be mean?"

The man lay motionless on the ground, and the surrounding people immediately understood he was under the Psychic Bind of a Guide.

The Guides among the Linya City sentinels had joined various factions, but they hadn't expected the young man in front of them to be a Guide. They quickly realized that anyone who could carry a corn bag around in such times couldn't be an ordinary person.

Everyone watched Chu Ya silently, fear in their eyes. The man's Psychic Bind had dissipated, but the Black Wolf had pinned his neck, keeping him on the ground. Chu Ya ignored him, picking up the corn bag again and leading the still muttering Shen Juanjuan toward the stairs.

"You're all bad people for stealing," Shen Juanjuan shook his head, "all of you are terrible."

The Black Wolf released its paw and followed, along with the Teddy Bear. The Teddy Bear saw a fallen ear of corn and quickly picked it up.

Chu Ya stopped at the stairs, opened the bag, and took out six ears of corn, placing them on the floor in a row.

"I originally planned to give each of you six ears of corn, but now I can only give one each." Chu Ya's gaze swept over the crowd, "Don't think that being ruthless and stealing will get you more food; it might make you lose even more."

As Chu Ya led Shen Juanjuan down the stairs, Shen Juanjuan asked curiously, "They stole the corn, should we still give it to them? We're not weaker than them."

Chu Ya continued walking down, speaking softly, "They steal because they're afraid of not finding food later. Although they were despicable earlier, it's not right to let them starve. If they're pushed to the brink, they'll turn to robbing others, making them more terrifying than zombies. Every living person adds strength to our fight against the zombies, giving us more hope."

After finishing his explanation, Chu Ya looked down at the stairs, and Shen Juanjuan opened his mouth, then hugged the Teddy Bear's shoulder, whispering, "What did he say?"

"Awooo," the Teddy Bear shook its head.

Shen Juanjuan looked at Chu Ya again, nodding seriously, "I understand, what you said is good, yes, very good. We steal corn, and we have more hope."

Chu Ya smiled, and Shen Juanjuan added, "But they are human mutants."

Chu Ya understood that Shen Juanjuan stubbornly called zombies human mutants because they looked too much like humans, but if they were mutants, he wouldn't find it so hard to accept.

"Yes, right, human mutants. I gave the corn to those people so we can all fight the human mutants together. We can't defeat ourselves before the human mutants even act."

Shen Juanjuan understood a bit more this time, nodding uncertainly, "We want others to fight the human mutants with us."

"Yes," Chu Ya ruffled his hair, praising him sincerely, "Very smart."

Shen Juanjuan beamed, glancing proudly at the Teddy Bear and Black Wolf. The Teddy Bear hurriedly woofed, and Chu Ya said, "You're smart too." The Black Wolf paused, turning to look at Chu Ya, and he added, "And you, equally smart."

Seeing all three looking smug, Chu Ya smiled, "Let's go, we need to get back and cook."