Chapter 34: Highway Ambush

Chapter 34: Highway Ambush

They had a successful day and were both feeling satisfied as they headed back home with Comet in tow.

Zhou Yun was surprised that Guan Yuanfeng wasn’t taking the original route back. "Taking the federal highway?"

Guan Yuanfeng nodded. "Yes, it should have fewer zombies, and we'll get back faster." He had joined the army at eighteen and left his hometown, a small city where he had lived for nearly two decades. Now, the city was overrun by zombies, with no survivors left.

Zhou Yun agreed and added, "We should refuel too. We used up a lot of gas today."

Guan Yuanfeng drove the car into the gas station. Surprisingly, there were no zombies around. Zhou Yun was about to get out to refuel but Guan Yuanfeng pressed his hand. "No need. You and Comet stay in the car. I'll handle it."

He grabbed his knife and got out.

Zhou Yun climbed over from the passenger seat to the driver’s seat and placed his dao within easy reach.

Guan Yuanfeng knew this was a precaution, allowing Zhou Yun to control the car immediately if something happened. He admired Zhou Yun’s alertness; it was rare for ordinary civilians who had lived in peaceful times to have such awareness.

While it was indeed safer for the driver to stay in the car, Guan Yuanfeng would never let Zhou Yun take risks alone.

Zhou Yun lowered his window to keep an eye on Guan Yuanfeng’s back while he deftly grabbed the fuel nozzle and began refueling the car.

However, at that moment, the sound of a baby crying echoed from the gas station’s convenience store.

Guan Yuanfeng and Zhou Yun exchanged glances, both their expressions changing.

The free-range chickens on the car’s roof were still clucking, but the baby's cries were loud and clear.

Guan Yuanfeng put the fuel nozzle back and approached Zhou Yun with a commanding tone. "Lock all the doors and windows."

Zhou Yun grabbed his wrist, speaking in a low voice. "Something's off. You shouldn’t go. The gas station is highly flammable, and your lightning abilities and Comet’s psychic powers are too dangerous here."

Guan Yuanfeng clasped his wrist and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "Lock the doors, stay with Comet. Don’t worry—I have more than just lightning abilities."

Zhou Yun felt a little more at ease when he saw a small whirlwind rise silently from beside the fuel pump and drift towards the store. He had been too tense; Guan Yuanfeng, having led a special operations team, would surely notice any anomalies.

He straightened Guan Yuanfeng’s collar, and Guan Yuanfeng, somewhat surprised, turned his head. Seeing Zhou Yun holding a small plant seed, he thought it had been picked up from the forest earlier and didn’t think much of it. He smiled at Zhou Yun. "Don’t worry, just close the window."

Zhou Yun nodded, locked the doors, and rolled up the windows.

Guan Yuanfeng grabbed his knife, a cold glint flashing in his eyes, and headed towards the convenience store.

He didn’t notice that as the window closed, a white, fluffy dandelion seed drifted out from the car, floating gently in the air like fine feathers.

The shelves in the convenience store were empty, but the baby's cries continued unabated, emanating from a small audio device.

Three men were watching from the window. A younger man with curly hair looked somewhat panicked. "Only one got out, and the other is still in the car with a dog. What should we do?"

Another shorter man also seemed nervous. "This one’s tall and muscular, and he’s holding a knife. He doesn’t look easy to mess with."

The taller, muscular man in the middle with a buzz cut sneered. "In this apocalypse, you're all dreaming if you think you can survive like this. You're afraid of zombies, and now humans too? A knife? So what? We’ve got guns!"

"When I distract that guy, Lao Liu, you go and hijack the car. It's a good one! And that big bag of chickens could feed us for a month! We can even use them as an entry fee for the city! There must be plenty of other good stuff in the car too!"

The shorter man said, "What if they have psychics with them?"

The buzz-cut man spat. "Where are all these psychics coming from? Even if they are psychics, they’re treated like kings in the bases now, or they form teams to hunt zombies for crystal cores. Why would anyone come all the way out here just to scavenge for food? Besides, we have guns. Psychics fear guns! Unless they have healing psychics with them, but those are like treasured assets in the bases. Do you think they’d be available for small fry like us out here?"

The tall, muscular man with a crew cut shook the submachine gun in his hand, a ruthless glint flashing in his eyes. "Same as the last job, kill them as soon as they come in, then go out and shoot the tires, take out the other one."

A sudden gust of wind swept through the room, carrying some tiny fluff and dust by the window. The man with the crew cut instinctively waved his hand to clear the dust, but his eyes became increasingly itchy, even a little painful. He couldn't help rubbing his eyes, tears welling up unbidden.

In that moment, the three men blinked in surprise. The tall man who had been cautiously walking outside had somehow stormed through the door, moving as swiftly and decisively as a predator striking. He swung his blade down with lightning speed.

The skinny man who was attacked was caught off guard and hastily raised his gun to counter, but the battle knife had already descended like lightning, striking the flat of the blade against the wrist of the hand holding the gun.

With a scream, the gun clattered to the ground and was immediately kicked away by Guan Yuanfeng. The gun flew through the air, hit the wall with a dull thud, and landed heavily.

The yellow-haired man stood stunned, a dagger in his hand, at a loss. The other man's sharp, eagle-like gaze bore down on him like a ghost, closing in swiftly and fiercely.

It was as if a fierce beast had pounced. Overwhelmed by the terrifying pressure, he couldn't move. His soft stomach was brutally hit by the other man's knee, causing excruciating pain in his internal organs. A metallic taste rose in his throat, and he collapsed to the ground, clutching his stomach.

The man in the back, his vision blurred and his eyes in pain, picked up a machine gun, but was suddenly engulfed by a gust of wind. "Crackle!"

Electricity surged through him, his eyes rolled back, and before he could even scream, the machine gun fell from his hand and was snatched by Guan Yuanfeng. With a strike from the gun's butt, the man collapsed, convulsing on the ground, losing control of his bladder and bowels, and passed out.

All of this happened in the blink of an eye. It was only then that the skinny man, clutching his oddly bent wrist, realized what had happened and screamed in fear, "My hand!"

The entire fight was as swift and violent as a sudden storm.

Inside the car, Zhou Yun opened his eyes, a slight smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

He had underestimated Guan Yuanfeng.

It turned out that with all his limbs intact, he was this formidable.

The astonishing agility in battle, the clean and decisive moves, cold-blooded yet filled with a beauty of strength.

No one who witnessed such a fight could fail to admire this man.

He grabbed the water bottle from the console, used his psychic ability to chill the water, and drank it all in one gulp before grabbing his blade and opening the car door to step out. Comet pawed at the door, anxious not to be left behind. Zhou Yun opened the door, and Comet quickly darted out, circling around Zhou Yun's feet.

Zhou Yun led Comet to the front of the store, where he saw Guan Yuanfeng holding a submachine gun, interrogating someone. "Where did you get the gun?"

One of the three men, a skinny individual with one hand cuffed to the shelf at a strange angle—likely fractured—stood wincing. His other hand was tied to one of his feet. The youngest, the yellow-haired kid, was also tied to the shelf, his eyes bloodshot. The crew-cut man was still unconscious on the ground, his hands bound behind his back.

The three men's feet were tied together in a chain, none of them able to escape alone.

A black whirlwind swirled around them, crackling with faint lightning.

As Comet ran in, Guan Yuanfeng relaxed when he saw Zhou Yun approaching. "Did you wait long? I'll ask a few questions, and then we'll leave."

Zhou Yun nodded and looked at the men.

The yellow-haired kid, with tears streaming down his face, said, "The boss exchanged crystals for it."

Guan Yuanfeng asked, "Where was the exchange?"

The yellow-haired kid replied, "At the Beiming Base."

Guan Yuanfeng frowned and exchanged a glance with Zhou Yun.

The clearly nervous yellow-haired kid stammered, and with the skinny man's supplementary information, they managed to piece it together.

The three of them had met in prison, and when the apocalypse hit, the prison quickly descended into chaos.

Some psychics in the prison awakened metal and earth abilities, destroying the prison's iron doors and walls, seizing the guns, and escaping to Beiming City. They had originally planned to flee the country, but found that zombies were everywhere.

They ended up following a former prison mate, a leader they called "Brother Jiao," who possessed fire psychic abilities. Brother Jiao had many smuggled guns and was quite powerful in Beiming, where he established a gang called the "Four Seas Gang."

The Four Seas Gang had a strong following. You could exchange crystals for guns. They traded a hundred crystals for this submachine gun, fifty for a pistol, and one crystal for each bullet.

They had to pay monthly dues to the gang, either in supplies or crystals.

The skinny man with a fractured hand bone begged, "We didn't have a choice. We had to pay the gang dues, and there's an entry fee just to get into Beiming Base. We're just ordinary people, and zombies aren't so easy to kill. We were forced into this."

He looked at Zhou Yun and Guan Yuanfeng, both of whom were spotless, their clothes barely wrinkled, skin fair, and complexions rosy. It was clear they were living very well. He regretted their decision, realizing that in this apocalyptic world, most people who lived this well were psychics. They had picked a fight with the wrong people.

Zhou Yun suddenly asked, "Is the Beiming Base under the control of your Four Seas Gang?"

The skinny man shook his head. "No, the Beiming Base is managed by the head of the Gong family. He has many psychics under him, all loyal."

Zhou Yun asked, "Is the Four Seas Gang the most powerful gang?"

The skinny man shook his head again. "Not really. The Conch Gang, Baisha Gang, and Laojie Gang all have psychics as leaders and recruit followers, but they all pay taxes to the Gong family."

Guan Yuanfeng frowned and asked, "What about the army? The police?"

The skinny man looked stunned. "Ah?"

Guan Yuanfeng frowned even more.

The punk explained, "There used to be, but they either died or fled. The important figures reportedly fled to the Central Base, and some even escaped to Mars. I know someone who was an auxiliary police officer. He said the main forces withdrew to the provincial capital in a chaotic exodus. Waves of zombies hit, and they lost contact, scattering. Now, only scattered survivors remain, with no one to manage them."

"Now, the base maintains a security team armed with guns and weapons, led by psychics, but they only take orders from the base commander."

The implication was that outside the base, they were on their own.

The skinny man added, "Those with psychic abilities are treated as honored guests by the base, provided with food and shelter. If the two of you go now, the Gong family will treat you as esteemed guests, supplying crystals every month."

Zhou Yun and Guan Yuanfeng exchanged a glance. The punk pleaded, "We had no choice. There's no food. My parents died long ago, and I have no education. Now, with zombies everywhere, there's no work, no way to survive. We were desperate and made a terrible mistake. Please, have mercy on us."

"Out there, if we don't rob others, they'll rob us. It's all about survival."

Zhou Yun asked, "Where's your car?"

The skinny man and the punk turned pale.

Zhou Yun said, "Since you set up an ambush here, you probably come often. Beiming is close to Danlin City but still a hundred kilometers away. You must have a car and bullets." The car was likely loaded with supplies they had stolen.

Guan Yuanfeng frowned, and the black whirlwind immediately closed in on them, with small lightning flashes crackling in the wind.

Terror gripped them. "We'll talk! Just don't zap us!"

The skinny man stammered, "This place is far and secluded. We couldn't get a good spot, so we came here for opportunities. We've only been here two days... Behind the gas station, in the parking lot, the red and white RV is ours."

The punk added, "The car keys are in my pocket."

Guan Yuanfeng used his knife to cut open his pocket, and the car keys indeed fell out.

Zhou Yun nodded, pocketed the keys, and strode out confidently. Guan Yuanfeng gave Comet a reassuring pat on the head. "Stay close."

Comet immediately followed Zhou Yun, who chuckled, "You've been treating me like I'm made of glass."

Guan Yuanfeng said solemnly, "You don't know how evil these people are. They are habitual criminals who kill and rob. At this point, there's no law that can punish them; they've already lost all sense of morality."

After finishing, he rushed a few steps ahead of Zhou Yun.

"They had parked the RV in a concealed spot at the back of the gas station's parking lot. There weren't many good spots left, but you could still find it if you looked around."

Guan Yuanfeng held his gun and checked around the RV to ensure there was no danger before opening the door and inspecting it himself.

Zhou Yun looked at the vehicle and praised, "This RV is high-end."

Guan Yuanfeng came out, "Most likely stolen. A bag of guns, bullets, some weapons, and supplies. The most valuable thing is this." He held up a bag; inside the transparent plastic bag were crystals, big and small, totaling about a hundred.

Another transparent bag contained fewer crystals, but they were red, green, blue, and various other colors, clearly of much higher quality.

Guan Yuanfeng said, "Probably looted. Despite their pitiful words, they've likely robbed quite a lot."

Zhou Yun laughed, "It's just dog eat dog out here."

He also got on the RV and saw the supplies inside—medicine, weapons, water, food, and crystals, all neatly arranged. There was also a large bag of gold bars and jewelry, and two boxes of gas cans in the rear trunk. What caught the eye was a somewhat crumpled printed book.

The cover read "Zombie Hunting Techniques," with bold red letters stating, "5 crystals per book, piracy will be prosecuted."

Guan Yuanfeng looked at it, "This could be useful. We can ask about it when we get back."

Zhou Yun was also curious. He had only passed by Beiming City once in his previous life and had heard that Beiming City was chaotic yet orderly, breeding many high-level psychics while also being a place of mutual slaughter, where resources were abundant and the strong were kings.

Now it seemed that at the beginning of the apocalypse, Beiming City was already controlled by the head of the Gong family.

He saw Comet sniffing around a black garbage bag and asked in surprise, "Comet, what did you find?"

Comet barked, wagging his tail as if he had found something interesting.

Zhou Yun was about to open the plastic bag, but Guan Yuanfeng suddenly reached out and grabbed his arm, "Let me."

Seeing Guan Yuanfeng's serious expression, Zhou Yun stepped back. Guan Yuanfeng used his knife to open the garbage bag and saw a stainless steel basin with half a basin of seawater and a giant clam inside, the smell of the sea strong.

Guan Yuanfeng was startled, and Zhou Yun, looking down, said with joy, "It should be a mutated clam. I wonder where they got this."

Guan Yuanfeng said, "We can ask about it when we get back." He examined the clam closely, "If it's a sea clam and it's mutated, the crystal should be water-based, right?"

Zhou Yun nodded, "Most likely." His eyes filled with joy. Judging by its size, the crystal could be a real gem—just what they needed for a crucial moment of advancement.

After closing the RV door, they returned to the gas station's convenience store. The skinny monkey said, "A light-based healing psychic from the City Lord's mansion issued a bounty, saying that various mutated animals were needed. If any animal is bigger or fiercer than usual, it might be mutated. There's a reward for delivering them, dead or alive. On our way, we passed by a pearl farm, and the workers said they had never seen such a large pearl oyster. We thought we might get a big reward, so we... bought it."

Guan Yuanfeng and Zhou Yun exchanged glances and continued to ask, "Did they say what specific uses these have?"

The skinny monkey said, "I heard it's beneficial for psychics, but I'm not sure about the details."

Zhou Yun asked, "So, psychics there seem to have high status?"

The skinny monkey said, "Yes, they are provided with free food and housing in the base, and they receive a monthly supply of crystals. They can keep the crystals they earn themselves. They only need to complete three mandatory missions for the base each month. If they're working on advancing their abilities, they can delay their missions until after the advancement."

"Why don't the two of you come to our Beiming Base? We're offering high salaries, houses, cars, crystals, and women who are eager to serve psychics. They all want to have babies with psychics!"

The yellow-haired guy added smartly, "Even female psychics are looking for partners! There's a rumor that if two psychics get together, their children might be born with psychic abilities. Female psychics are very popular in Beiming City right now, but they haven't chosen anyone yet. With your looks, you'd definitely stand out to them."

Guan Yuanfeng raised an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed.

Zhou Yun: "..."

At that moment, the burly man with a flat top woke up slowly and, glaring at Guan Yuanfeng, said, "Although you are psychics, our Four Seas Gang stands united. While we are inferior in skill, we will hand over our goods. However, if you dare to harm our lives, the psychics of the Four Seas Gang will hunt you down to the ends of the earth!" He must have picked up some old-fashioned, dramatic gang speak somewhere, but with his incontinence stench and unconvincing demeanor, he lacked any real intimidation.

Guan Yuanfeng remained expressionless and ignored him completely. Instead, he looked at the sky and said to Zhou Yun, "Since we have the RV, why don’t you head back to the nursery and load up the seedlings you liked? It’ll save you a trip tomorrow."

Zhou Yun gave him a long look and smiled. "Sure."

Guan Yuanfeng reminded him, "Take Comet with you."

Zhou Yun nodded and called Comet over. He took the keys, drove the RV to the nursery, and loaded the medicinal seedlings, rare plants, and some fruit-bearing and flowering plants, which were needed for the mutant bees. He also grabbed fertilizers, organic manure, and even small equipment like a paper shredder, lawn mower, insect attractor, and breeding cages. After loading everything, he drove back to the gas station’s store.

Guan Yuanfeng was waiting by the SUV. When he saw Zhou Yun return, he gestured for him to get out, "I’ll drive the RV. You follow me in the SUV. It’s safer that way." He didn’t mention what he had done with the three thugs.

Zhou Yun nodded, swapped vehicles with Guan Yuanfeng, and Guan Yuanfeng briefly explained some special function buttons before leaving Comet with Zhou Yun and getting into the RV. He refueled, started the engine, and signaled for Zhou Yun to lead the way.

Zhou Yun drove the SUV ahead and glanced in the rearview mirror. Seeing Guan Yuanfeng in the RV following at a safe distance, he felt a strong sense of security.

He didn’t ask how Guan Yuanfeng had dealt with the thugs, knowing that they were dangerous criminals who had committed countless crimes and would likely harm more people if left alive.

Even though the apocalypse had toughened him, Zhou Yun still appreciated the thoughtful way Guan Yuanfeng had handled things.

This pleasant feeling lasted until they returned to the neighborhood.

As he unloaded the RV in the villa’s courtyard, Zhou Yun still had a smile on his face. Guan Yuanfeng, seeing this, found it amusing. "What are you thinking about?" They had indeed returned with a full load, but Zhou Yun seemed happy about something else.

"I was just wondering," Zhou Yun said, "should we steam that huge clam, or stew it with chicken? Maybe braise it? If we steam the whole thing, we’d need a massive pot, and it would require a ton of garlic."

Guan Yuanfeng: "..."

Zhou Yun turned to him, his eyes full of amusement. "How about we steam one-third with garlic and vermicelli, stir-fry another third with chives and chilies, and make the last third into a chicken soup with tofu?"