Stock Up For Natural Disasters And Cubs Survive – CH50

Chapter 50

The fifth day of searching for a new base.

On a clear afternoon, the ambulance left the highway and drove into a stretch of yellowing grassland.

The extreme weather brought by the blizzard was gradually fading, and Yu City’s temperature was rising again.

Not far away was a thawing stone-lined river. Shen Zheng had taken Guanguan and Little Apricot over there to run around and play.

Meanwhile, Wei Cheng and Yi Qi were setting up a barbecue grill, preparing for a long-overdue barbecue.

The outdoor standing grill was easy to assemble. Working together, the two of them quickly got it set up, then added a suitable amount of fruitwood charcoal to the tray below.

Wei Cheng disappeared for a while, and when he came back, he had two plastic bags hooked over his arm and was carrying two large insulated boxes and one small one. “Are these skewers enough?”

Yi Qi was using iron tongs to adjust the charcoal. He turned his head for a quick look and let out a low whistle. “Enough! More than enough!”

“They’re all marinated already, so we can just grill them. The sauces are inside the box.”

Wei Cheng placed the small insulated box on the table. “Guanguan can’t eat chili, so this meat has to be grilled separately for him.”

Yi Qi noticed that the pointed ends of those skewers had already been ground smooth. He smiled and said, “You really are careful with Guanguan.”

“It’s nothing much.”

Wei Cheng crouched down and set up the long table they had already taken out, then arranged cut fruit boxes and some pretty little cakes on top. Then he thought of something. “Do you drink beer?”

Yi Qi was clearly tempted, but still hesitated. “Maybe not. What if something urgent happens…”

“You’ve been driving for days straight. Have a little and relax. Uncle Shen and I are here, so you don’t need to worry.”

Wei Cheng said, “Besides, this place is far from both the city and the countryside. It’s deserted, and there aren’t any supplies worth fighting over. Survivors and hunters won’t show up here.”

After a moment’s thought, Yi Qi said, “Then I’ll just have a tiny bit.” Then he quickly asked, “What kind of beer does Dora-A-Guanguan have in his pocket?”

Wei Cheng laughed. “Everything. You just tell me whether you want expensive or cheap.”

Yi Qi started laying skewers onto the grill and smiled. “Of course I want the expensive kind.”

Wei Cheng said, “Then I’ll bring out a few bottles later and let you choose.”

The charcoal was burning strong, and the rich aroma unique to barbecue drifted out into the air.

No one even needed to call them. Before long, a series of da-da-da footsteps came from nearby.

Solid, steady footsteps that somehow felt very reassuring.

“Brother!”

A chubby little baby flung himself onto Brother’s back, his warm soft little hands covering Brother’s eyes. “Guess who Guanguan is!”

Wei Cheng held back a laugh. “It should be Little Apricot.”

“Nope, guess again!”

Wei Cheng reached up and felt the child’s coat. Seeing it wasn’t wet, he relaxed. “Then who could it be? Could it be a little rabbit that popped out from somewhere?”

“Wrong again!”

The glutinous rice dumpling in a fluffy white sweater bounced in front of him, shaking his head and laughing. “Guanguan! It’s Guanguan!”

Wei Cheng put on a look of surprise. “So it’s actually Guanguan!”

“Guanguan’s nose is even sharper than a dog’s.” Shen Zheng came over carrying the puppy.

“He said he smelled meat. Little Apricot and I hadn’t even reacted yet before he was already rushing back to camp.”

Now that everyone was back, Yi Qi quickly plated the skewers, glistening with sizzling red oil. “Come on, come on, eat while it’s hot.”

Then he handed a little iron plate to Guanguan, whose eyes were practically glued to the grilled chili peppers, and said mysteriously, “Here, this one’s yours. It’s got special magic barbecue seasoning on it. Once Guanguan eats it, he’ll be even stronger than Ultraman!”

Guanguan carefully held the little iron plate. “Really? If you lie to a child, your nose will grow long!”

Yi Qi instinctively touched his nose, then answered with great conviction, “I’m not lying to children. Guanguan is already stronger than Ultraman!”

He went on, “Baby Ultraman can fight little monsters, and Baby Guanguan can also box zombies, but Guanguan is pure original skin, so Guanguan wins one round! Baby Ultraman is an adorable little meatball, but Guanguan is also a chubby little baby, and Guanguan can dance to The Most Dazzling Ethnic Style, so Guanguan wins another round! Guanguan has two wins, Baby Ultraman has zero, so Guanguan has three wins total, and from now on he’ll just keep on winning!”

“Guanguan is that amazing?” Guanguan lifted his little plump face and fully accepted Uncle Yi’s flattery. Completely satisfied, he floated away with his honey-scented skewers.

Shen Zheng shook his head, laughing. “You really know how to coax a child.”

The grill was one-point-two meters long and could cook quite a lot of skewers at once. On the table, there were also garlic-flavored crayfish, spicy crayfish, lemon-marinated seafood, some sweet-and-spicy duck snacks, and assorted platters of cooked food. It was more than enough to keep them eating for a while.

Little Apricot’s dog bowl was also filled to the brim with fresh meat.

Since Shen Zheng didn’t drink alcohol, he just had orange juice with the two children.

Holding his cup in both hands, Guanguan chirped, “Cheers!”

Wei Cheng and the others all clinked cups with him. “Cheers!”

Fragrant! It smelled incredible!

Why had they never noticed before that lamb skewers could be this juicy and tender, or that beef skewers could be this crisp on the outside and tender on the inside?

Guanguan could already skillfully eat skewers sideways. But because he was eating the way Brother had taught him, every time he took a bite he first had to pat his forehead or cheek with his little hand, then take a huge bite and stuff all the fragrant meat pieces into his mouth.

Shen Zheng and Yi Qi, who had no idea why he was doing it, laughed so hard their stomachs hurt.

With a ring of sauce around his mouth, Guanguan stared blankly at the two uncles laughing without pause.

“They’re jealous because you eat so deliciously.” Wei Cheng, unusually relaxed, leaned back in his chair and gently wiped the corner of the child’s mouth with a napkin.

The moment he heard that, Guanguan generously offered his baby skewers to the two uncles. “Sharing with you!”

The two uncles played along and each took a bite of the skewer, ending up with sweet honey sauce all over their mouths. “Thank you, Guanguan!”

Tilting his head back, Guanguan smiled, making the two lumps of meat on his cheeks jiggle. “You’re welcome!”

Not far away stood an inflatable tent that could sleep four people. Everything inside it was fully prepared. Beside it was the ambulance that currently served as their transport. A little farther away, the grill was roasting oysters, scallops, vegetables, and foil-wrapped trays.

And under the perfect afternoon sunlight, the four people and one dog sat together, eating barbecue and all sorts of good food, drinking beer and juice, listening to Yi Qi tell funny stories from the pet hospital. It was so relaxed.

At that moment, it felt as though everyone had forgotten the apocalypse and forgotten death.

That night, they chose to camp overnight on the open grassland.

After playing wildly all day and finding the tent wonderfully novel, Guanguan was already fast asleep on the inflatable mattress before seven o’clock, hugging his little pig plush.

Even as the child fought sleep, he still rubbed his cheek against Brother’s hand and murmured, “Brother, can sleeping Guanguan stay here? Don’t carry him into the little home?”

“Mm.” There was a fireplace in the tent, plus a kerosene alpaca stove, so there was no fear of getting cold.

The temperature rose quickly, and before long the child’s cheeks turned rosy in sleep.

Wei Cheng tucked the blanket more securely around him, then scooped up the little black dog, who was busily gnawing on Guanguan’s shoe, and whispered, “If you chew it up, be careful—tomorrow he might ignore you again.”

Little Apricot let out a small whine and raised its two chubby black paws together in a begging gesture, as if pleading with Brother not to tattletale.

“You little bad dog.” Laughing, Wei Cheng hugged the puppy and walked over toward the others, who were speaking more quietly nearby.

“Uncle Yi, once we find a base and settle down, help Little Apricot get some vaccines.”

Yi Qi lowered the map in his hands, surprised. “There are dog vaccines too?”

“Yes,” said Wei Cheng.

Yi Qi shook his head and smiled. “That’s really incredible.”

“I think I remember the Yunshan Ranch you mentioned.” Shen Zheng pointed at the map of Yu City spread out on the table. “Is it in Yunshan, in Wuqing City, Yu City?”

“That’s the place.” Wei Cheng said, “Before the apocalypse, Yu City had a moderate permanent population but very high economic output. It was a wealthy city. That’s also why survivors from Huan City and nearby cities fled toward Yu City. Right now, besides Watcher Community, Highland Shelter, and the Thirteenth Joint Cannery, this city is filled with smaller groups that aren’t powerful enough to dominate, but are still vicious.”

“Schools, hospitals, major amusement parks, malls, prisons—places like that are either occupied by them or overrun with zombies. This ranch backs up against Yunshan Mountain, and there are no villages or city buildings around it. That means there’s no resource conflict there. And what we currently lack least is supplies. Most importantly, it’s far from the three strongest bases.”

In his previous life, while on a mission in Wuqing City, Wei Cheng had been attacked by a squad that went mad. He drove to escape them, but halfway there his car suddenly broke down. After fleeing alone through the forest for a long time, he accidentally wandered into the small ranch beneath Yunshan Mountain.

There were not many zombies there, and most of them were already severely decayed. He hadn’t used his last three bullets, instead taking them out easily with just a knife.

At the time, he had only rested one night in a wooden cabin before leaving again.

Too much time had passed, so he had not remembered the place at first. But after considering the current state of all the possible locations, he had still decided to bring Guanguan to Yunshan Ranch.

Now that Shen Zheng and Yi Qi, two adult men, had joined them, the work of fortifying the ranch should go quite smoothly.

Wei Cheng recalled, “The ranch covers around fifty mu. It was probably a private little ranch before. Once we get there, we can observe the situation first. If it still has an owner, then we’ll have to find another place.”

“This sounds terrible to say, but I hope it doesn’t.” Shen Zheng sighed. “Guanguan is too young. It’s not right for him to keep following us around like this every day.”

“If there really is an owner, then maybe we…” Yi Qi lowered his voice. The meaning was obvious.

“No.”

Wei Cheng’s expression turned serious. “Guanguan is very smart and extremely good at imitation. Don’t let him start thinking that his brother and uncles are also the sort of evil people who will do anything to get what they want. If we kill the original owner and seize the place, how would that make us any different from Zhang Ming and Ma Nuannuan?”

The two uncles lowered their eyes.

Putting the map away, Wei Cheng said apologetically, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought up things that hurt you. But I hope you understand—I want Guanguan to grow up healthy under our influence. He can be neither kind nor merciful if necessary, but he absolutely cannot treat murdering innocents as something normal.”

Yi Qi gave a bitter smile. “You’re right.”

Wei Cheng said, “Get some rest. Tomorrow morning, we leave for Yunshan Ranch.”

The first rays of morning sun shone onto the ambulance’s windows—bright, full of hope.

The four of them continued westward.

Thawing lakes and rivers, desolate rice fields, tree shadows, and slowly moving rotten zombies on the road all rolled away behind them.

The sunlight gradually dimmed, red clouds settled along the horizon, and the sun went down.

Suddenly the vehicle turned off the endless open road and onto a rough, bumpy mountain path. About thirty minutes later, there was forest in front of them and a sea of wild grass behind them.

Wei Cheng stored the ambulance in the safehouse’s warehouse area, and the whole group approached the dense forest with flashlights in hand.

It was as if darkness fell in an instant. The deep, mournful “hoo-hoo” calls of an owl echoed through the woods.

“We stop here.”

Wei Cheng felt this spot was hidden enough, so right there in front of Shen Zheng and Yi Qi, he summoned the most important escape tool they had.

A matte black, low-slung little car shaped like a tank slid smoothly into existence in front of them.

Shen Zheng and Yi Qi’s eyes went wide at the exact same time, and they both blurted out the same startled sound.

Wearing his little helmet, Guanguan planted his hands on his hips proudly. “Uncles, that’s not grass—it’s Guanguan’s Twisty Car!”

Then he clasped his hands behind his back and circled the little car as he introduced it. “Its name is Little Cloud. Look! Doesn’t it look like a cloud and also like white sheep milk pudding?”

Shen Zheng’s eyes were shining. “It does!”

Guanguan continued, “Little Cloud is a boy too, just like Guanguan, Little Apricot, and Brother.”

“This is way too amazing,” Yi Qi muttered for the hundred-and-eighth time.

“Little Cloud? That’s such a cute name.”

Unable to resist, Shen Zheng reached out and touched it experimentally. The surface felt cool, the texture unbelievably good—even better than the luxury cars he used to drive for Qiao Dasheng.

Wei Cheng opened the car door and put Guanguan inside first. “Get in. We’ll take the little car for the rest of the way.”

Yi Qi and Shen Zheng had both thought it would feel cramped once they got in, because they were tall and had long legs. But once seated, the seats seemed to adjust automatically. Their legs fit normally, and leaning back against the seat felt inexplicably comfortable.

Wei Cheng tapped the central screen and set the navigation.

Destination — Yunshan Ranch

Distance: 53 km

Current population: ? (Function not yet unlocked)

Zombie count: ? (Function not yet unlocked)

Danger level: Relatively low

After seeing so many Extreme High S+ ratings, seeing a “Relatively low” danger level almost felt lucky.

Wei Cheng said, “There are zombies at the ranch. The number is manageable. We can handle them.”

The news made both Yi Qi and Shen Zheng excited.

If there were zombies inside the ranch, then there was a good chance it had no owner.

“We’ll stop near the ranch first. We won’t act tonight. We can make do sleeping in the car for one night.”

Wei Cheng quickly started the car and said, “The car’s immunity to high heat, extreme cold, and toxic gas lasts twenty hours. If we sleep in the car tonight, at the very least we won’t freeze to death. Once the sun comes up tomorrow, we’ll enter the ranch, kill the zombies, and claim our base!”

Guanguan clapped so hard he almost knocked his helmet crooked. Lifting his rosy little chubby face, he answered with perfect seriousness, “Roger that, Commander Brother!”

Shen Zheng and Yi Qi, who had both been quite serious just a moment ago, burst out laughing because of Guanguan. “Roger that, Commander Xiao Wei!”

Wei Cheng smiled helplessly and said, “Guanguan, share your snacks with the two uncles.”

Guanguan pulled out his bulging little yellow duck backpack from the safehouse. “Okay!”

The little car sped through the pitch-black, bumpy forest as if it were driving on level ground, moving like a black swallow with wings.

In less than half an hour, they reached the mountain above Yunshan Ranch.

Through the night-vision goggles, Wei Cheng and Yi Qi could clearly see dozens of zombies wandering the empty hillside pasture.

And those were only the ones out in the open. Who knew what might be inside the scattered wooden cabins or the grass sheds farther away?

Yi Qi sighed dreamily, “It’d be so nice if there were little sheep and little cows. Then we could plant crops, let the cows plow the fields, and raise sheep for meat in winter. We wouldn’t have to just sit here consuming supplies.”

Wei Cheng knew Yi Qi was worried they would eventually eat Guanguan’s safehouse empty.

“We’ll still have missions, and we’ll still keep earning. The system won’t let us stay quietly at the ranch for a lifetime.”

He lowered the night-vision goggles and pulled his down jacket tighter. The night air was still very cold.

Yi Qi asked, “Why not? Doesn’t the system care a lot about Guanguan?”

“It cares more about helping Guanguan grow into someone who, even if left completely alone, still has the courage and cleverness to face the apocalypse.”

Wei Cheng’s voice held a faint bitterness. “After all, even the brother who loves him most might still lose him.”

Wei Cheng sent Guanguan into the cozy home to sleep, while he stayed in the Twisty Car with the two uncles.

Shen Zheng and Yi Qi had wanted to urge Chengcheng to go back into the safehouse too, but they realized they still did not fully know how to operate Little Cloud.

So for tonight, they would just make do like this. Tomorrow, they would have a base of their own.

—

Day broke.

All four of them wore helmets and protective clothing.

The three older ones had guns slung over their shoulders and small crossbows in hand, while Baby Guanguan was only here to participate. He had a toy water gun hanging at his side.

There were no outsiders here. If danger came, Guanguan would immediately disappear into the safehouse.

“The wooden fence around the ranch hasn’t been damaged. On the pasture ahead there’s one RV and four small cars. That means the survivors inside turned into zombies themselves.”

Wei Cheng analyzed in a low voice. “We’ll dismantle one section of the fence and go in.”

“Got it!”

Yi Qi and Shen Zheng moved quickly. In only a few motions, they had removed enough wooden planks for an adult to pass through.

All four of them gripped their weapons and carefully moved into the pasture.

Several bolts flew out, and a few swaying zombies went limp and collapsed soundlessly.

Yi Qi and Shen Zheng had probably both been military enthusiasts before. They handled guns and crossbows with decent familiarity, though their accuracy was lower.

Watching the zombies collapse, Guanguan was no longer scared at all. He even secretly squirted one zombie’s face twice with his little water gun.

“Wait. Check the RV.”

Yi Qi and Shen Zheng worked together perfectly—one opened the door while the other fired, dropping a floral-dress zombie that came pouncing out.

Yi Qi looked inside and laughed. “There’s a lot of good stuff in there!”

Meanwhile, Wei Cheng led Guanguan to check the other cars for zombies.

“Brother, look!”

Just then, a whole group of staggering zombies came out of the nearest large wooden cabin.

There had to be forty or fifty of them.

All of them were wearing summer clothes, which meant they had died here during the summer.

“Uncle Yi, Uncle Shen, be careful!”

Having gone hungry all winter, the zombies moved fast, snarling as they rushed toward the scent of fresh flesh.

“Guanguan, into the safehouse!”

Guanguan did not hesitate for even a moment. “Okay!”

The instant Guanguan disappeared, Wei Cheng dropped the crossbow, grabbed the long gun from his shoulder, and began firing without restraint.

Once again, the three of them formed a triangle, each trusting the others with their back.

The sharp smell of gunpowder filled the air as the zombies fell one after another like dominoes.

Before long, all forty-plus zombies had been killed.

The three of them did not dare relax. Weapons raised, they continued checking the largest cabin first.

“Clear. Move!”

There were about ten wooden cabins of various sizes. Some had no zombies inside. Some had survivors who had hanged themselves and then turned into zombies. Most were long-dormant zombies that had been awakened by the sudden commotion and lunged out—only to be shot through the forehead the instant they did.

The fifty-mu pasture was shaped like a seven. The lower part held the cabins, while the upper part stretched up the grassy slope and contained two large sheds.

Before they even got close to the sheds, the smell was bad enough to make them nauseous.

Fighting back dry heaves, Yi Qi muttered, “I thought there might at least be little sheep or little cows!”

But when they got closer, sure enough, all around were rotted-to-the-bone skeletons of cattle and sheep.

The zombies had killed and eaten them all.

Covering his nose, Shen Zheng said, “Tell Guanguan I don’t feel like eating meat anytime soon.”

Wei Cheng was less affected and smiled. “Are you sure? We’ve just gotten our own new base.”

The two men immediately came back to themselves.

That was right. For something this huge, how could they not celebrate with meat?

Wei Cheng knew that Guanguan, hiding in the safehouse, was definitely glued to the window watching them eagerly.

He knocked on the invisible glass and smiled. “Guanguan, give our new base a name!”

Author’s Note:
Guanguan: [bursting into laughter] Baby is the best at naming things!

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