Chapter 194: New Year’s Day
Using others to kill someone—really playing dirty. It was hateful that they had become knives in someone else’s hands. Ning Yuan licked his teeth and felt how hateful these people were.
Ning Yuan looked surprised and asked, “An ambush? An ambush on us? We didn’t encounter anyone ambushing us. Last night everyone was sleeping soundly. Nobody saw anyone.”
“What time? Let me ask,” Ning Yuan said.
“Around twelve o’clock,”
“Twelve o’clock, huh? Let me ask the night watch,” Ning Yuan said as he glanced around, spotting Antonio who was talking with Xi Shi and Xiong Jie about where to place the chicken cage. “Antonio, around midnight last night, did you see anyone come out?”
“Midnight…” Antonio thought for a moment, frowning. “There was some movement. They went that way. They didn’t come closer, so I didn’t call you.” He pointed toward the city area.
Ning Yuan spread his hands. “City? Your team leader wouldn’t have gone looking for supplies, right?”
Ning Yuan scrutinized Fang He, then asked the people helping him move things, “Did you hear the team leader say they were going to attack us?”
The idea of Meng Da’s ambush was originally Fang He’s “temporary suggestion.” Most who knew had been taken away. The team members who came looked at each other and all shook their heads.
“The team leader is…”
“Where were your night watchers last night? Such a large base must have guards, right? What did the guards say? Would they just let people come in the middle of the night without asking why?” Ning Yuan didn’t wait for Fang He to answer and turned to Xu Sen and Su Yan.
“We’ve already asked. The guards said Captain Meng took people to fetch some supplies,” Xu Sen said, looking at Fang He.
This was the excuse Fang He gave Meng Da, worried the guards wouldn’t let them out. Now that it was said out loud, Fang He was about to explain, but Ning Yuan gave him a cold, intimidating stare.
“Your team members and the guards all know your leader went to get supplies, and you come here to frame us? What’s your intention? To stir up conflict between us and your leader so we fight, and you benefit from the chaos?” Ning Yuan’s usual smile was gone, replaced by a serious, intimidating look as he stared at Fang He.
“I’ve been good brothers with Meng Da for many years…”
“Good brothers stab each other in the back too? If your abilities aren’t weak, why didn’t your leader bring you when he went out at night? Were you deliberately staying behind to set this up?” Ning Yuan cut off Fang He before he could explain and looked at the people Fang He brought along.
“You’d better go back and think carefully. For someone to come here so openly with this stunt, your leader must be in trouble. Soon someone will be eyeing his position. No one would believe he has nothing to do with it.”
“And blaming us for it—right at the base gate. If they really attacked us, wouldn’t the night guards at the gate have heard? Open your eyes, don’t believe just anyone or listen to everything,” Ning Yuan kept fanning the flames.
“Kid, if you want to rise, just fuss around your own little patch of land. Coming here to slander us—what? Do we look like easy targets? What kind of thing is this, trying to throw dirt on us? Is dirt that easy to throw?”
After finishing, Ning Yuan used a water ability to drench Fang He completely, then instantly froze him solid. The ice shards formed were sharp and clear, making the people around involuntarily step back.
As for Fang He, he could clearly feel the sharp ice shards cutting his clothes. Though they looked transparent and crystalline, his skin was already sliced in multiple places, bleeding. He didn’t dare move, afraid Ning Yuan would use deadly force if he did.
“All right, all right. It’s the day to set off—let’s keep it peaceful and avoid fights,” Su Yan stepped forward to ease the tension. He then said to the people behind Fang He, “Go quickly and find your leader. Don’t be used by those with bad intentions.”
Over a hundred people glanced at each other, looked again at the ice-covered Fang He, then left together to return to the base.
As for where Meng Da and his group of over a hundred went, no one asked for the truth. After all, when faced with strength, the truth didn’t really matter.
The group exchanged a few more polite words. Xu Sen even took out a well-crafted jade carving as a parting gift. Seeing this, Lu Weiyi couldn’t help but reflect on how much difference there was between those who knew how to treat people and those who didn’t.
Early the next morning, at eight o’clock, the group set off again.
Supplies could be stored in the space, but live chickens couldn’t. After discussion, they decided to build a cage on top of the truck to try to breed more.
“The truck top on Lu Xi’s truck is already pretty high. We can only put it up there. We’ll put two ladders on the side so it’s easy to feed them,” Wu Yue told Zhuang Mingxu the plan. He glanced at the spots marked on paper and asked, “If we head to Shangyang City, will we still go to the base?”
“The base…” Zhuang Mingxu thought about Lu Weiyi’s still unrepaired space. “…If possible, just a few times.”
In unfamiliar places, jade and stones weren’t easy to get. Those wild excuses didn’t hold up. Besides, if they showed off, it might attract covetous eyes. Although they were all strong, Zhuang Mingxu always knew there was always someone stronger.
At that moment…
Zhuang Mingxu picked up the radio and switched to Lu Xi’s channel. “Xiao Xi?”
“Brother Mingxu? What’s up?” Lu Xi’s voice came after a moment.
“Is your ability close to upgrading?”
“Seems like… a bit of a feeling.” The training instructor came to check homework again. Thinking about Gu Qingji, who awakened with him but whose ability was already far beyond, made Lu Xi feel ashamed.
“No worries, I’m just doing some statistics,” Zhuang Mingxu said, pulling out a small notebook from the space. It recorded the team members’ ability levels and upgrade dates.
Now, besides the exceptional A-level Lu Weiyi, there were only four C-level ability users left: Lu Xi, Gu Qingyue, Xiong Jie, and Xu Sa. Lu Xi and Xu Sa had special abilities without matching crystal cores and absorbed energy from other cores, so they upgraded slower. Xu Sa awakened late, so his chance of upgrading was low. But Xiong Jie and Gu Qingyue…
Zhuang Mingxu had just pointed to their names when Wu Yue called out twice from outside. After a moment, the two came in.
“Are you two close to upgrading your abilities?” Zhuang Mingxu asked.
“I feel it’s about time,” Xiong Jie said, sensing his ability.
Gu Qingyue nodded, indicating he was ready to upgrade as well.
“Then next time during the break, you two should upgrade together. We still need to improve our overall ability as soon as possible,” Zhuang Mingxu said, flipping through the marked map.
“Around New Year’s Day,” Wu Yue glanced at the calendar and remarked, “It’s just a few days away. If you two upgrade together then, it’ll also mark the end of these past six months of hard work.”
“Half a year already,” Zhuang Mingxu looked at the calendar, feeling like it had been a blur.
“Yeah, we should celebrate then,” Wu Yue said.
“But we need to find a safe place,” Xiong Jie added.
Outside the truck, zombies roamed wildly and mutated animals were rampant, but inside the truck, all was peaceful.
A few of them were excitedly discussing how to spend the first New Year’s Day after the apocalypse. The truck rolled slowly along as their hopes for the future slowly faded into the distance.
*
On New Year’s Day, they found no bases and had to stop in a town that looked no bigger than a large village.
The town was deserted and empty. After six months, everywhere showed desolation and barrenness. Some courtyards already had wild grass growing, utterly neglected.
“We’ll stay at the town hall for a day and continue the journey tomorrow,” Lu Weiyi calculated mentally. The next city was still at least four or five hours away, and the roads were difficult now. Rather than rush to a county town where they didn’t even know if a base existed, it was better to be cautious and have a relaxed holiday.
Lu Weiyi issued the order.
“Okay,” Antonio, sitting outside the truck, jumped down as soon as it stopped and walked around the town hall, frowning. “There’s not a single zombie inside.”
“That’s great. No killing needed on a big holiday,” Wu Yue jumped over and stood near him.
“Don’t you guys feel that ever since we got near here, we haven’t seen a single zombie?” Li Zhuang scanned the surroundings. There were no living or dead creatures anywhere in sight.
“There haven’t been many zombies along the way either,” Xu Sa said cautiously.
“Go in first, I’ll check around,” Lu Weiyi directed as he drove the truck into the courtyard. He climbed down from the cabin and then onto the truck bed, where Zhuang Ai Yi was carried down by Dean, and Lu Weiyi helped carry Zhuang Mingxu down.
Outside, a few people entered the government hall. Wu Yue and Ning Yuan inspected the multi-story building, carrying down a bundle of seemingly clean blankets. They blocked off the stairwell with a wall, leaving only about forty square meters at the hall entrance.
They dug through kitchenware and quickly set up a temporary kitchen.
“Since it’s New Year’s Day, and dinner’s still four or five hours away, what do you want to eat? I’ll prepare it so we can celebrate properly,” Xi Shi asked while organizing supplies.
“Pickled cabbage and fish!” Dean shouted excitedly. “Every year there’s surplus!”
“Eight-treasure rice pudding,” Liu Rui chimed in rarely joining the fun. “Together, together, reunion, reunion!”
“Braised lion’s head meatballs.”
“Chicken stewed with mushrooms.”
…
Everyone shouted their favorite dishes joyfully, and smiles appeared on their faces.
“These are today’s crystal cores. When you have time, absorb them,” Lu Weiyi said after they finished ordering. He pulled out a pouch of crystal cores and handed it over. “The extra ones will be shared by Qingyue and Brother Xiong. They plan to upgrade in the next few days.”
“Xu Sa, come with me to scout the surroundings,” Lu Weiyi said.
“Ok,” Xu Sa jumped out of the crowd with a smile. Seeing Lu Weiyi’s expression as if he remembered something, his eyes brightened. “Xiao Yi, do we have roast duck? I’ve been craving Beijing roast duck for a long time. Last time I ate it was when you came to check on me and brought some.”
Lu Weiyi nodded. “Probably not very authentic.”
