“It’s alright, Brother. Look at me, I’m perfectly fine, aren’t I?”
Lin Muxue chimed in,
“Exactly, Wen-ge! As the saying goes, ‘A great disaster survived brings blessings later.’ Look at us—we’ve got plenty of food and drinks while everyone else is starving in the apocalypse. Today is a reunion day! I never even dared dream that we’d meet again. We should be happy!”
They had only returned to try their luck, and unexpectedly, their family was really alive. It was the best outcome they could have hoped for.
After Lu Minfeng loaded the last body into the hovercar, he smiled and said,
“I’ll make something for everyone to eat. You all talk for now.”
He headed to the kitchen. Sang Jingwen hurriedly pulled Sang Chu aside, wanting to ask what was going on.
But Sang Chu asked first,
“Brother, you said Yi-ge went to Zhao Feng’s base looking for us and even gave supplies for us. What was that about?”
Lin Muxue’s face darkened instantly.
“Yes! That damned Zhao Feng never mentioned anything about it!”
Sang Jingwen sighed,
“Ah Yi is the second-in-command of our base and is responsible for material exchanges with other bases. I told him that you and Muxue were in the capital. Coincidentally, he needed to go there to trade for food since there’s nothing left to eat in this area.
“When he came back, he said he learned that you were in Zhao Feng’s base, but Zhao Feng refused to release you. Even when Ah Yi offered him supplies, he wouldn’t agree, and he wouldn’t let Ah Yi enter the base. Ah Yi couldn’t stay too long, so he had to return.”
“That damned Zhao Feng!” Lin Muxue cursed viciously.
Sang Chu asked, “What happened after that?”
“In the capital region, most of the ability users are wood-type, so Ah Yi was there to trade with them. But Zhao Feng claimed his base didn’t lack supplies. No one knows how many ability users he has—imagine, he never even exchanged goods with other bases.
“So Ah Yi couldn’t do anything. His base is fortified like an iron wall. If it weren’t for some people who came out to clear zombies mentioning that you two were still there, Ah Yi wouldn’t have been certain.”
They also learned that Sang Chu had been sent out to clear zombies, so Ah Yi waited outside for days, hoping to find her. But he never saw her, and he eventually had to return.
Lin Muxue suddenly remembered a period when their names were missing from the zombie-clearing duty roster. It must have been then.
Sang Chu clenched her teeth.
“To think it was like this… Zhao Feng is absolutely revolting.”
“Exactly! Wen-ge, that Yi-ge even provided resources meant for us, but we never saw any of it!” Lin Muxue said angrily.
Sang Jingwen sighed,
“Ah Yi is a level-three ability user, but Zhao Feng is also level three—and I heard he’s dual-ability. He has many level-two subordinates. Ah Yi didn’t have enough manpower to force a rescue. He had no choice but to return. If you were closer, maybe we could’ve tried something, but it was too far—well beyond our reach. So we were still trying to figure out a way to bring you two back.”
Hearing this, Sang Chu suddenly remembered what Sun Hou had said earlier.
“Brother, could it be that because you and Yi-ge planned to leave the base to find us, your base’s leader took action against you? If you and Grandma Lin were gone, Yi-ge might not choose to leave the base alone.”
Sang Jingwen suddenly burst out laughing.
“Then he completely miscalculated. If it weren’t for Grandma Lin and me, Ah Yi would’ve left long ago. His parents are in Xin City. Our plan was to gather enough supplies, then go find you and Muxue, and later head to Xin City to find his parents.”
Without resources, travel was impossible—especially while bringing along two ordinary people.
Lin Muxue muttered,
“But the base leader doesn’t know that. Yi-ge is a level-three ability user. There’s no way your leader would willingly let him go. So he must have wanted to keep him trapped! That must be it!”
Sang Chu nodded.
“Very likely. Brother, do you know Yi-ge’s travel route? How long until he returns?”
Sang Jingwen shook his head.
“Travel routes are confidential. The round trip takes about three months. They only left recently.”
Suddenly, a delicious aroma drifted from the kitchen. Sang Jingwen’s and Grandma Lin’s stomachs growled loudly.
Lin Muxue laughed.
“Let’s eat first. We can talk while eating!”
“Mm. Brother, Grandma, let’s go.”
Lu Minfeng had prepared a chicken, a few fish, stir-fried vegetables, and rice. The table was filled with steaming dishes, making Sang Jingwen swallow instinctively.
Lu Minfeng smiled,
“Wen-ge, Grandma, please eat. I’ve already deboned the fish—no bones at all.”
Mutated fish tasted better than normal fish and had almost no bones.
Sang Jingwen hadn’t seen such food in a long time.
“Then… I won’t hold back!”
Sang Chu smiled.
“Brother, eat!”
“Yes, eat! Grandma, you too!”
“Oh, I will, I will. Everyone, eat!”
After eating and drinking to their fill, Sang Jingwen slumped back in his chair, rubbing his full stomach, his eyes still staring longingly at the fruit on the table.
He complained weakly,
“Muxue… you’re torturing me. I can see it, but I can’t fit any more.”
Lin Muxue burst out laughing.
“Who told you to have such a tiny stomach? Look at me!”
She grabbed a watermelon and devoured it noisily.
“So sweet! So juicy! Amazing!”
Sang Jingwen gave her an aggrieved look. Grandma Lin chuckled and tapped Lin Muxue’s hand.
“You child…”
When she finally finished, Lin Muxue wiped her mouth and snuggled into Grandma Lin’s arms, smiling with contentment.
“It’s so nice. Our family is together again.”
Sang Jingwen and Sang Chu had lost their parents when they were very young and lived with their grandfather in this small town. Grandma Lin lived next door and often helped care for them. Muxue and Sang Chu were the same age, so they grew up playing together.
After their grandfather died, Sang Jingwen and Sang Chu survived by working odd jobs. Thankfully, it was a small town, so child labor restrictions were lax—otherwise, they might not have been able to attend school at all.
Once everyone had calmed down, Lu Minfeng spoke,
“Wen-ge, we came here for two things: to find our family and because Ah Chu wants to build a base of our own. Since you know this area well, can you explain how many factions exist in Haishi?”
Sang Jingwen instantly became serious.
“Haishi has five major factions. Qingshan Town, where we are, counts as one. The leader is Quan Jian, his second-in-command is Yi-ge, Xiao Yifei. They are both level-three ability users. There are around ten or so level-two users, and roughly thirty level-one users. The number of ordinary people is impossible to track—people starve to death every day or are killed by zombies. Our camp ranks in the middle-lower range among the five major factions.”
(End of Chapter)