Stock Up For Natural Disasters And Cubs Survive – CH88

Chapter 88

Wei Cheng’s plan to take Guanguan to the church was not announced across the farm.

Only Yi Qi and Shen Zheng quietly saw the brothers off through the side gate, along with Little Apricot and Gray Cub.

It was late autumn now. Fallen leaves carpeted the mountain valley. The beam of a flashlight cut through the dense forest, and from time to time, dark shadows leaped away in the undergrowth.

“Uncle Yi, Uncle Shen, this is far enough. From Mist Mountain to Heping Church, we can stay on the mountain trails the whole way. You don’t need to worry,” Wei Cheng said as he summoned the little black tank-like car. The moment the door opened, the black dog jumped into the back seat with fluffy Gray Cub dangling from its mouth.

When Yi Qi first heard about this, he was dead set against it. Those foreigners wanted children for sacrifice. Sending these two kids there was practically delivering them straight into the wolf’s mouth. But after hearing it was a system mission, no matter how angry he was, he had to swallow it.

After all, the whole family, young and old, relied on Guanguan’s “magic pocket” to survive.

Chengcheng had said that if they saved up this money, they could upgrade the weapons stockpile and help Guanguan’s twisty car level up faster. If another catastrophic natural disaster or an overwhelming zombie horde like the one at the start of the apocalypse ever came again, then the other people on the farm might also have a chance to live.

The twisty car could only carry four people in an escape, but the farm now had sixteen.

Only by upgrading it first to ten seats could they keep moving toward the next level.

“Chengcheng, protect Guanguan well.” Shen Zheng tugged Yi Qi back a little and made room for them. “No matter what happens, stay hidden. If anything comes up, come back and we’ll discuss it together.”

“Okay.” Wei Cheng lifted Guanguan into the passenger seat, then went around to the other side and got in.

Guanguan wore a knitted little cap that made his head look round and sweet, like a tiny melon.

The child was wearing a bit too much. He huffed and puffed as he pulled down his hoodie zipper and scratched at his chest, then stretched both hands out the window. “Uncles, baby’s heart is with you, so you can put your own hearts down now.”

Shen Zheng and Yi Qi were both so charmed their hearts quivered, and that only made them more worried.

Shen Zheng lowered his head and kissed the child’s chubby cheek. “Good boy, stay close to your brother.”

As they watched the dark little car shoot off like a black shadow, the two of them turned and trudged back toward the farm, one step deep, one step shallow.

“How is Brother Sun doing?”

Yi Qi’s tone was heavy. “Still running a fever. If it doesn’t break, he probably won’t make it.”

Shen Zheng’s eyes turned wet. “Just a few days ago, we were all living such warm, peaceful lives. How did everything fall apart overnight?”

“This is what the apocalypse is like—unpredictable. Nobody should fantasize about eternal peace. Nobody knows whether they’ll wake up to a fellow human’s gun or a zombie’s claws the next morning.” Yi Qi spoke quietly. “In the end, it’s all up to heaven.”

Just as Chengcheng had said, even if the twisty car upgraded again to ten seats, their farm had sixteen people. If a devastating disaster struck in the meantime, six people would still have to stay behind…

Maybe that was why Chengcheng kept risking himself to “make money.”

As adults, they still couldn’t change that. They still had to let two children risk themselves for a sliver of hope.

Shen Zheng’s eyes were wet as he wrapped an arm around Yi Qi’s shoulders. “To hell with heaven. I just want everyone on the farm to live.”

—

This was the first time Gray Cub, now eight months old, had ever ridden in the twisty car.

The little merle Border Collie had naturally small bones. Even though it ate and drank exactly the same as the large black wolf dog—and often ate even more—it still looked like a medium-small dog. But it was not light. Its long gray fur had grown softer and fluffier, and its plump white paws looked exactly like the big snowballs Guanguan kept in the freezer.

The two dogs chased and nipped at each other in the back seat.

Guanguan covered his cheeks with both hands. “Brother.”

Wei Cheng was checking the route. “What is it?”

“Uncle Shen kissed baby’s cheek!” Guanguan’s eyes sparkled, and both cheeks were pink like peaches. “What are we going to do?”

Wei Cheng laughed. “What do you mean, what are we going to do? Uncle Shen treats you like his son. It’s fine if he kisses you. Aunt Sumin kisses your cheeks sometimes too, doesn’t she?”

Guanguan slapped both little thighs. “Okay, okay, then when baby is five, I’ll marry Aunt Sumin, and when I’m six, I’ll marry Uncle Shen!”

Wei Cheng stared at the plump little boy in amazement. “Who taught you that?”

Guanguan tilted his head and thought for a moment. “Brother Zhao Bin and Brother Xiao Li were talking, and Guanguan and Xiao Tiao heard it!”

Wei Cheng smiled helplessly. “Aunt Sumin is already married to Uncle Dali. She can’t marry you. Uncle Shen likes someone else, so he can’t marry you either. Those two elders adore you like their own child. They’re your family, and family can’t marry family.”

Guanguan understood and pointed at the two dogs in the back, who were busy biting each other’s mouths in play. “Can baby marry Gray Cub?”

Wei Cheng nearly laughed. “No. How can a person marry a dog?”

“Then can baby marry Brother?”

“Even more impossible. We’re brothers,” Wei Cheng replied without thinking.

Guanguan kicked his legs. He rubbed his cheeks and frowned in distress. “Then nobody will marry Guanguan! Does that mean Guanguan has to marry grass?”

Wei Cheng shook his head and smiled. “When you grow into a big corn stalk, someone will come marry you.”

That immediately cheered Guanguan up. He started swaying in his seat, chanting, “Corn Guanguan! Corn Guanguan! Grow into a big corn Guanguan!”

Even riding the twisty car, it still took four hours to get from Mist Mountain to Heping Church. During that time, Guanguan climbed into the back seat to roll around and snuggle with the two dogs, while Wei Cheng studied a pistol suitable for Guanguan.

He had originally planned to teach Guanguan to use a gun as soon as they returned from Shiguang Amusement Park, but one wave of trouble had followed another.

In the end, he thought it over and took out a silver little handgun Guanguan often played with. He called out, “Guanguan, come here.”

A dog-fur-covered Guanguan squeezed back over. “Coming!”

Wei Cheng patted his curly little head smooth and smiled. “Let’s put some children’s stickers on your little gun, okay?”

Guanguan brought over his little yellow duck backpack. “Can I put baby Ultraman on it?”

“You can,” Wei Cheng said. The gaudier the better. Ideally, everyone would think it was just a child’s toy gun.

Even though Guanguan’s little bun-like hands were white and plump, he was actually a child with a real knack for handiwork.

From a thick stack of stickers, he picked his favorite pink baby Ultraman and carefully pasted it piece by piece all over the gun body and grip, not leaving a single strip of silver visible.

When he finished, he looked like he’d just completed some huge mission. He wiped sweat that didn’t exist from his forehead and puffed, “Baby’s exhausted! Does Guanguan’s look pretty?”

“It looks great.” Wei Cheng smiled. “So do you still remember how to use a gun?”

Guanguan put his hands on his hips, looking very pleased with himself. “Your Guanguan is not a dumb child!”

Wei Cheng raised a brow. “All right then. Why don’t you teach Brother?”

At 9:00 p.m., Heping Church.

The church sat on the outskirts of Linshui City, sprawling and broad-backed against Mount Linshui. Its tall iron gates were locked shut. Since it had been built in the late 1980s, it was old enough that, under the blanket of night, it looked less like a church and more like a sinister old castle.

Right in front was an overpass, and beneath it a drafty, open bridge tunnel.

Wei Cheng had brought Guanguan into hiding there.

He slowly lowered the night-vision binoculars, deep in thought.

The church was pitch-black. No patrols. Not a trace of life.

But those six boys had said there were three hundred Apostles of God inside, and nearly a hundred devoted followers under their spell.

So why was it this quiet?

Guanguan curled up between Gray Cub and Little Apricot, gripping his little gun with eager anticipation. He didn’t seem cold in the slightest.

At that moment, the steady black wolf suddenly stood up and pricked its ears.

Wei Cheng’s heart stirred. He quickly swung Guanguan onto his back and followed behind the black dog.

After walking nearly ten minutes deeper into the dark bridge tunnel, the stench grew stronger and stronger. Beneath it, they could faintly hear dripping water.

And within the dripping… there was a faint hissing, scraping sound.

Wei Cheng took two steps back, switched on his flashlight, and blanched.

More than a dozen horrifying zombie heads writhed in the sludge. Their mouths gaped open, their noses and jaws caked in mud.

Fighting back the stench, Wei Cheng studied the heads closely.

Men and women alike. Their ages ranged from forty to fifty.

Fresh. Recently dead. Their facial features were still clear.

Then he looked at the cuts at the necks. The severed edges were clean, with no sign of struggle.

“Brother, yuck, Brother…” Even through his mask, Guanguan was almost sick from the smell.

Wei Cheng retreated a little and quickly took Guanguan away from the spot.

Gray Cub, still a fearless puppy, didn’t mind the smell at all. Its icy blue eyes shone with interest, and it clearly wanted to challenge the zombie heads. Before it could get close, though, the black wolf bit down on the fur at its neck.

Feeling Gray Cub wriggle, the black wolf gave a low, commanding growl.

Gray Cub tucked its tail and behaved.

Just then, a flashlight beam suddenly swept over them.

“Who’s there?”

Judging by the footsteps, there were two grown men.

Wei Cheng stepped quickly behind a stone pillar with Guanguan on his back. The moss underfoot was slick, but there was no better place to hide. The two dogs darted neatly into the grass.

“It’s probably just wild dogs,” one man said.

The two men threw something else down by the river.

“Tomorrow we too will receive salvation.” The other man’s voice carried a kind of feverish sincerity. “The betrayers will fall into hell. The mud will wash clean the filth of sinners. The Lord will lead us into heaven and rebirth…”

“Brother Ma, I heard the priest is looking for the last Son of God. Has he found him yet?”

“No. But it doesn’t matter. Tonight the priest will send people again to bring back our Son of God.”

The farm was in danger.

At that moment, the ground slipped under Wei Cheng’s foot, and a clod of mud rolled down toward the riverbank.

“What was that?”

The middle-aged man’s voice came closer. “I saw it! Who’s there?”

Wei Cheng’s expression didn’t change. With one hand holding Guanguan, the small crossbow in his sleeve slid into his palm.

He was just about to move when a gunshot rang out, making both him and Guanguan’s scalps go numb.

“Come out,” the man said. “If I’m not mistaken, are you from the farm? Brother Yi? Brother Shen?”

Wei Cheng stayed silent in the dark.

The man continued, “Did six boys come to the farm? I’m the one who sent them there. If you still trust me, don’t go head-on against the End Saints right now. With just the few of you, you are no match for them. I can take you to a new force.”

“They’re a group of very formidable women. Their children were stolen by the End Saints too, to be used as Sons of God for sacrifice… and my own son is in there as well. I’m their inside man. That is, if you’re willing to trust me one more time.”

Wei Cheng thought for a moment, then stepped out with Guanguan on his back.

In the darkness, through his night-vision goggles, he could see the man’s expression and features clearly.

The moment the man spoke his first sentence, Wei Cheng had already recognized him. It was Chen Fangshun, who had tangled with the farm more than once.

“Uncle Chen.”

Chen Fangshun raised the flashlight and nearly jumped. “Wei Cheng? Guanguan? Just you two kids? Did something happen to Brother Yi and Brother Shen…?”

Wei Cheng ignored the question and walked closer. “Tell me about those women.”

Click here to download the full novel (PDF & EPUB)