By the campfire, the aroma of canned beef filled the air, and everyone looked enviously at the two guys sitting by the fire, openly displaying their affection and tempting fate. Then they turned to look around themselves.
In this day and age, although there were women in the base, not everyone could afford to keep one. Even if you had a woman or a wife, there was a chance that you’d be stuck somewhere during an outing, unable to return, only to find out that your partner had run off with someone else when you finally got back.
Men abandoned their wives for prettier women, and people chose their partners based on their preferences. This kind of thing happened every day in the base. So, most who are single would rather spend the money, food, and resources they earned through hard work on a woman they could find in the slums for a night, satisfying their physical needs.
There, you could find all kinds of women to choose from, as well as good-looking men. The difference was that women hung red clothes on their windows, while men hung yellow ones.
But even so, it wasn’t the same as having a partner who could be with you long-term, someone you could rely on and depend on each other. This kind of emotional comfort couldn’t be bought with money.
Seeing this pair now opened a whole new world for everyone!
You could fight side by side, and understand each other, and besides your comrades who fought with you every day, who else could there be? So, young… no, the men! Choose your partners among your buddies! This was such a perfect choice for both combat and mental health in today’s situation!
Unfortunately, most people looked at each other for a few seconds and turned their heads away, their faces turning green. Although we could tolerate being with a man, at least they had to be somewhat presentable, right? Look at that couple, the shorter one looked elegant and gentle, and the taller one looked handsome and rugged. Now, look at the people around them… they couldn’t even bear to look at themselves.
The only one who received a lot of attention was the teenager who hung his wristwatch around his neck. Although he didn’t look as good as Xu Song, he was at least good-looking and still had the youth’s freshness.
It seemed that he felt the unfriendly gazes around him, and the teenager raised one hand. It instantly transformed into a huge stone-like palm, full of killing intent, and he looked around fiercely.
His teammate sitting next to him sighed and said softly, “Don’t look, that kid already has a girlfriend, and she’s pregnant.”
Even a kid like him had a woman and a child? How could these middle-aged guys handle it?
After another snowy night, the convoy set off again toward their destination, a textile factory that was only one or two hours’ drive from their current location, a place they aimed to secure for the base.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Early the next morning, as the convoy set off again, they encountered the biggest mutant force in the city – a horde of rats.
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“Lord… this road is even more challenging than 99 multiplied by 81,” Xu Song said, resting his head on Yue Zheng’s shoulder. At this point, he had no qualms about being comfortable. He’d just take comfort however he wanted, especially since it was so cold. If lying down wouldn’t make him freeze, he’d happily lay down on Yue Zheng’s lap to rest and recover his strength.
Yue Zheng patted him on the shoulder and said, “Next time we have a mission like this, bring Abu with us.”
A few ability users and soldiers nearby glanced at each other. Abu? Who’s that? Another freak?
After witnessing the incredible combat abilities of these two, they had become numb to it in just a day, and now they didn’t even see them as human beings anymore.
So, they were quite interested in this new name that had popped up.
Unfortunately, their interest didn’t guarantee that someone would explain it to them. Xu Song closed his eyes and dozed off for a moment. Yue Zheng wrapped both of them in his coat to keep them warm.
The tired group of people, as they neared the textile factory and heard that it was already in sight around noon, couldn’t help but tear up – they had finally arrived!
The factory was right in front of them, and the convoy, which had regained its strength in the morning, decided to send a small group of special forces and ability users to scout and assess the situation inside the factory.
As the specially recruited muscle for this mission, the ability users naturally had to go.
They prepared their clothing and checked their weapons before getting ready to move towards the factory.
The ability users, who were considered to be influential figures in the base, looked somewhat disheveled now. After a series of battles from yesterday to today, even Xu Song, who was like long-range artillery, had some wear and tear on his clothes. Not to mention the others. Many of the close-combat ability users had their down jackets and military coats with sleeves missing or holes in them, looking rather shabby.
But at least they were better off than the soldiers. Due to the cactus attack yesterday, two soldiers were injured and sent back to the base because they couldn’t avoid the attack in time. There was no telling whether they could be saved.
Not to mention the large battle with the rats this morning, which resulted in the loss of seven or eight people.
“The assault team is ready, prepare to depart.”
“Assault team, be cautious and depart.”
The team moved forward carefully, with Xu Song not far behind Yue Zheng. They were accustomed to working together, with one launching sneak attacks in the front and the other providing long-range support… oh, no, it should be providing fiery support.
The leader of the special forces arrived at the factory gate first and opened the door…
To everyone’s surprise, there were indeed things inside the factory, but they weren’t mutants. Most of them were zombies.
The workers’ dormitory near the factory, just a five-minute walk away, had become the gathering place for survivors in the immediate aftermath of the apocalypse. However, they had no idea that the dead could come back to life, an impossible event in the real world. So, on that night, the zombies left in the workers’ dormitory, smelling the scent of human flesh, infiltrated the factory.
Fresh blood splattered on the floor and walls, and after months of settling, it had turned black.
Yue Zheng frowned as he smelled the unknown odor.
Xu Song gestured in a certain direction, indicating that there was something there. Yue Zheng listened carefully and confirmed that he couldn’t hear any heartbeat, breathing sounds, or animal activity. That meant there were likely zombies hidden in that area.
They kicked over a box blocking their path, sliced off an arm swinging towards them, and then retreated. Xu Song’s fireball quickly reached the area, and the zombie, shrouded in black mist, screamed before being incinerated into ashes.
One had to commend Xu Song’s upgraded abilities. When burning these zombies now, the speed of burning away the black mist was much faster than before. It was so fast that others couldn’t even see it clearly, and the black mist disappeared in an instant, leaving no trace, not even ashes.
“It seems like the factory has been completely occupied by zombies. Everyone, be careful,” the temporary team leader of the special forces warned the others. Originally, they wanted Yue Zheng to lead the team, but he preferred to stay in the background, and he also respected the authority of the organizer of this mission, so he willingly took a back seat.
The group proceeded cautiously, clearing one room at a time. With Xu Song’s assistance, along with Yue Zheng and another auditory ability user who could hear the movements of the zombies in advance, the mission was relatively easier to accomplish.
Of course, the premise was that there had to be a mutant fire ability user like Xu Song present. Without someone like him, who was a true bane of the zombies, the second-level fire ability of Fan Wenbiao wouldn’t have been so effective. Most of the zombies he burned could still struggle for a while, and occasionally, some that were clearly mutating would burst into flames and charge toward the crowd.
The battle lasted for about two hours. When the group arrived at a warehouse, they opened the door, and what they saw inside made even the battle-hardened individuals turn pale: human bones were scattered everywhere.
It seemed that this warehouse had served as a temporary shelter for survivors, but when night fell, this relatively well-sealed space had turned into a terrifying and despairing tomb.
None of the people who had gathered here had survived. They had been trapped and devoured by the zombies, becoming their meal, with no chance of escape.
Exhaling a sluggish breath, the team leader, with a grim expression, had his team inspect the warehouse and then spoke into the walkie-talkie, “The clearing mission is complete. You can begin collecting supplies.”
The subsequent trucks followed the route cleared by the advance team and slowly made their way toward the southwest of the old B city.
The factory’s equipment, supplies, inventory, and raw materials were all the objectives of this mission.
Inside the factory, the troops collected the scattered bones and piled them up in one place. They were then burned to ashes in an open area outside the factory and buried on-site. Thick, dark gray smoke billowed for over an hour before finally dissipating completely.
Yue Zheng and Xu Song sat under the eaves of a nearby building, not far from the factory. They had more work ahead, as they needed to maintain security in this area until all the transport vehicles had left before they could rejoin the team back at the B City base.
“I wonder how Mom and the kids are doing,” Xu Song said, resting his head on Yue Zheng’s shoulder as he watched the teams coming and going at the factory gate.
They were responsible for the security in this direction, while other directions were also guarded by ability users. However, these two were considered quite eccentric, and there was no need to involve others in their partnership, as it might actually affect efficiency.
Thanks for the update 🤣❤️🤣❤️🌳