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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter One Hundred and Two: The Night Escape
Cheng Long was not foolish; he understood that Old Timer was genuinely seeking help and believed that Jin Bo's reckless intrusion was not intended to cause trouble. However, he could not simply let them go. After all, Zheng Er was not Cheng Long's friend, and there were no mutual interests between them. They were rivals, enemies.
In today's world dominated by Zombies, although both groups occupied relatively safe places, the larger environment was still ruled by the undead. They were merely food that had not yet been devoured by Zombies. What troubled them even more was that as food themselves, they also needed sustenance to survive.
The local Fish Pond had been abandoned, and Daliugou was unsuitable for planting. The only place with greenhouses was Gaoxian Town. It was easy to imagine that once the supplies from surrounding counties and towns were exhausted, Daliugou and Nantang would have no choice but to raid Gaoxian Town or leave entirely. With productivity completely collapsed, rebuilding the system would not be simple; it wasn't just a matter of organizing a group of people to sow seeds and water them to grow cabbages. There were many issues they needed to resolve.
Now, Cheng Long had learned two things: first, Daliugou had relatively ample supplies; second, Daliugou was in trouble with heavy casualties.
As previously mentioned, dealing with Zheng Er, who was tough as nails, required a different approach. This old man was not to be trifled with; he belonged to the type who would dare to gut himself and splash you with blood. But others might not be so formidable, such as Old Timer or Zheng Qiutong.
Initially, Cheng Long worried that Old Timer's group had backup personnel. However, this concern had dissipated; it seemed that Daliugou had faced serious issues before and had troubled Old Timer so much that he could only venture out alone. Although the situation might have been controlled now, it was certainly a far cry from before. Zheng Er's top warrior Jin Bo had also been captured by him; now Daliugou was merely hiding from a group of terrified farmers.
With this realization, Cheng Long felt much better. Nantang Township currently had a population of one hundred twenty-seven, with children making up a small fraction. Although they couldn't contribute much labor, they wouldn't consume too much food either. The rest of the people each played their roles in stabilizing operations within Nantang. As long as Cheng Long resolved the issue of surviving the winter, life would become significantly easier afterward.
"Gu Yan!" Cheng Long called out as he donned his overcoat and walked to the door. There were no torches lit in the yard; only two rooms faintly glowed with candlelight.
The door of the flat near the main gate opened, and Gu Yan stumbled out with sleepy eyes and an annoyed expression.
"Did you sleep?" Cheng Long chuckled softly as he invited him inside and brewed him a cup of tea.
"What time is it, big brother?" Gu Yan rubbed his eyes groggily and muttered, "Technical personnel need sufficient sleep!"
"Hahaha, sorry for disturbing you," Cheng Long said without any concern as he closed the door and sat across from him. Once Gu Yan seemed more awake, he spoke in a serious tone: "There's an urgent matter; try to suppress your morning grumpiness. Besides, you went to bed at just nine o'clock."
"I don't have a girlfriend; why shouldn't I sleep?" Gu Yan blew on his cup of tea and slurped down half of it before asking, "What's going on?"
"I need you to go to Gaoxian Town right now," Cheng Long said while fiddling with a carbon pen. After thinking for a moment, he added, "Shut down the equipment."
"Huh?" Gu Yan rubbed his eyes again, looking puzzled. "If we shut it down, we won't be able to broadcast anymore."
"Yes, we need to stop. Go quickly and come back; I'll have Zhao Zhou go with you."
"No way, that guy is too dull. I'll go with Dong Dong and Aso," Gu Yan chuckled. "Last time it was just the three of us, and it didn't cause any trouble."
"No, this time is different." Cheng Long said firmly, standing up and calling out twice at the door. Before long, Chen Zhao Zhou appeared in the living room, dressed in military gear.
"Are you ready?"
"Yeah, I brought two people." Chen Zhao Zhou glanced at Gu Yan and nodded as a greeting.
"Good, be careful and hurry back." Cheng Long felt reassured by him. Just before they left, Cheng Long called out to Chen Zhao Zhou, asking, "Is there any movement from Su Lan?"
"Nope, everything's fine. You can stand down; she's okay." Chen Zhao Zhou smiled slightly for once and added, "I don't know whose kid ran over there; she's been playing with the child all day. Recently, she hasn't had any issues—just sunbathing and sleeping."
"That's good to hear. You can go now." Cheng Long sighed in relief and waved him off. Suddenly remembering something, he quickly called out again, "How many cars are you taking?"
"One," Chen Zhao Zhou replied.
"Two, including Old Timer's car," Cheng Long said with a cold smile. "Make sure to do it right; leave Daliugou's car there."
"Got it." Chen Zhao Zhou understood and asked, "Do you have the keys?"
"Nope, you go get them; they should be with him." Cheng Long escorted the two out of the courtyard and watched them disappear into the dimly lit street.
Chen Zhao Zhou moved quickly, walking like a ghost with his arms hanging motionless at his sides while his legs flew swiftly. Gu Yan hurriedly put on his clothes, panting as he chased after him. "Hey, can you slow down a bit?"
"Just wait for me in the car; you don't need to follow," Chen Zhao Zhou said without looking back as he tossed the car keys to him and called out from a distance, "Go find Zhang Qiang and Li Chao; you head out first, and I'll catch up."
Gu Yan caught the keys mid-air, cursing under his breath about being overly dramatic as he turned and sprinted toward their departure point.
By the Fish Pond, near the Rough-Cast House.
Su Lan untied the ropes binding Jiang He and pulled him up, ready to run. Jin Bo, standing nearby, stared wide-eyed. "Hey, hey, hey! What about me?"
"Is he with you?" Su Lan asked.
"Uh, no," Jiang He replied, feeling a bit flustered. Su Lan had only said two things upon entering: "Take me to see An Zheng" and "What about Ming Junwei?" These statements were completely unexpected for Jiang He. He momentarily froze and managed to respond with a "Sure" and an "Okay," after which Su Lan began untying him.
" Jiang He! You ungrateful wretch!" Jin Bo exclaimed, rushing over in a flurry. "Do you have no conscience?"
"I never said I wouldn't take you," Jiang He shot back, rolling his eyes. He turned to Su Lan and added, "But for now, we need to stick together if we want to see Sister An."
"Then hurry up! That one is with us too, right?" Su Lan pointed at the Old Timer lying on the ground.
"Yeah."
"Whose side are you really on?" Jin Bo's gaze toward Jiang He shifted; it seemed this guy wasn't as useless as he initially thought.
"I'm not on anyone's side," Jiang He said cautiously, his heart racing. He wanted to shout out how thrilling this was, but the serious and tense atmosphere from his earlier exchange with Su Lan held him back.
"Looks like I underestimated you before," Jin Bo said as he stretched his limbs, cracking his joints loudly.
Jiang He chuckled awkwardly. "How long have we even known each other?"
" Jiang He," Su Lan called softly.
"Yeah?"
"He’s dead."
“……”
Jin Bo turned Old Timer over and saw a thumb-sized piece of hardened cement embedded in his forehead. The dim light had obscured the details, but now that he was up close, he noticed a considerable amount of blood pooling on the ground.
Old Timer's eyes were still open, his mouth half ajar. His lips had a gash, and several of his front teeth lay scattered nearby. It appeared that his nasal bone was also broken. Blood from his mouth and nose mingled with the streaks on his forehead, and his aged face seemed to retain the shock from the moment he fell.
Jiang He sighed, unsure of what to say. He had no significant grudge against Old Timer; this death felt too suffocating.
Jin Bo closed Old Timer's eyes and tossed the keys from his waist to Jiang He. “Let’s go.”
Su Lan peeked in from the doorway, urging them, “Hurry, someone’s coming!”
The group exchanged glances. Jin Bo set down Old Timer's body and followed the two as they rushed outside.
In the woods across from Fish Pond, a flicker of firelight could be seen swaying in the distance. Su Lan led the two into the trees, where they spotted a figure shoveling dirt to cover a fire pit.
“Dong Dong?” Su Lan called out from afar.
The figure turned and responded, quickly extinguishing the fire before hurrying over.
“What happened to those two?” Jiang He asked, staring at her in surprise while involuntarily glancing at the Miao Knife at her waist.
“I knocked them out. I might have hit them a bit hard; they’re bleeding,” Zeng Yadong said, spreading his palms to show them, worry etched on his face. “I hope I didn’t kill them.”
“How did you do it?” Jin Bo asked suddenly.
“With a brick.”
“……”
"Let's go, where's the child?" Su Lan was too anxious to chat with the others, her face filled with urgency.
"I took them to Iron Wall. Are we driving or running?" Zeng Yadong tied her hair back and sighed, "Susu, I betrayed someone for you, you can't lie to me!"
"Have I ever lied to you?" Su Lan shot her a reproachful glance.
"Well, not really..."
"Then that's good!"
"But you did promise something!"
Jiang He and Jin Bo followed behind the two women, their faces displaying confusion as they listened to the strange conversation.
"Are you two in a relationship?" Jin Bo quickly ran up beside them and asked seriously.
The two nearly stumbled over themselves. Zeng Yadong shot him a fierce glare and retorted, "Then are you two gay?"
"Whoa, whoa, calm down, we're all on the same side here," Jiang He hurriedly intervened, pulling Jin Bo back and scolding him, "I’ll definitely teach you how to talk to people when we get back."
Zeng Yadong was familiar with the area; she stealthily led them through the woods onto a wide path. There were no patrols at this hour; most people were likely in their homes. It was dark all around, but they could faintly see flickering lights from the mayor's residence.
The four crossed the street and slipped through an alley next to a noodle shop. They carefully stepped over rubble for a while until they caught sight of a long Brick Wall ahead. The wall...
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