Apocalyptic Disaster: Stockpile Supplies for Free and Make a Comeback

Chapter 107 People who fled
Several companions thought it made sense.

"Okay, it's not far anyway, we can go take a look and catch up quickly."

After passing the fork in the road, the three vehicles headed towards the shelter marked on the stone tablet. Dust billowed up from the cracked, scorching ground as the rear of the vehicles gradually disappeared from sight.

Song Jinhe lowered the sunshade. The car's air conditioning couldn't be turned up too high; even sitting in direct sunlight in the evening, it still felt hot.

Splitting the teams into two groups was actually the right choice; with ample supplies, no one wanted to take any risks.

The team set up camp two kilometers away from the stone tablet.

The sky, once vibrant, turned dark. Survivors, waiting for their families or companions to go to the shelter for water, sat together, looking anxiously at the empty road, hoping only that their loved ones would return with water soon.

Without water to cook, everyone could only eat the pancakes prepared a couple of days earlier. They didn't dare to eat too much, as the food was dried out during cooking to preserve it for a long time. Eating too much would consume even more water.

From night until dawn.

Around four o'clock, the pitch-black sky gradually lightened.

Song Jinhe was asleep and scooted to the side. Suddenly, she heard a noise outside, opened her eyes, put on her not-so-clean clothes, and went out with Jiang Shi'an.

Zhuang Ting held down the hands of a young boy, whose dark face was filled with terror. There was also a woman who had fallen on the ground.

"No, please don't kill us," he said, bursting into tears. "I just want some water and food."

In this desolate place, two people suddenly appeared. They looked pitiful, and even more suspicious.

"Please, let him go. You can do anything to me." The woman said, putting her hands on her clothes and taking off her clothes in front of Zhuang Ting as if it were a conditioned reflex.

Qi Sixing, who had just heard this, was startled and quickly turned his head. "What's going on? Brother Zhuang, when did you become like this! Have some decency!"

"I f***ing, I didn't do anything!" Zhuang Ting hurriedly explained, glancing at Zhang Yi as he did so.

"Put your clothes on, or I'll kill him right now." Hearing Song Jinhe's words, the woman finally reacted and put on her clothes.

Song Jinhe glanced at their condition.

They were probably siblings, both quite young, and very dirty; their faces were a mixture of cracked skin and grime.

The shoes didn't fit properly, were tattered, and had bloodstains.

"I'll ask you a few questions. Answer honestly, and I'll give you water and food. How about that?" Song Jinhe looked at the boy who seemed to be in better spirits.

"Okay, okay." The boy nodded quickly.

The commotion naturally alerted the night watchmen of Su Lan's team, and Tan Jiu and Yi Feng came over.

Song Jinhe: "Where are you from?"

The closest place that might have living people was the shelter marked on the stone tablet, she had already guessed, but she still asked as per procedure.

"An ancient village not far from here"

At this point, the boy's body trembled involuntarily.

Zhuang Ting released his hand, revealing horrific injuries on his body: electric shocks, burns, and beatings; the wounds were festering.

Everyone at the scene was stunned.

What happened to your injuries?

“Before the apocalypse, my family was on a group tour.” Tears streamed down the boy’s face as he spoke. Seeing that his voice was hoarse and he was having trouble speaking, Song Jinhe gestured for Zhang Yi to get him a bottle of water. As soon as he saw the water, the boy excitedly unscrewed the cap, carefully making sure not a single drop spilled. He gave the water to the woman first, and then drank the remaining half bottle.

The sweet, clean water soothed his parched throat. The boy glanced at them gratefully and continued,

"Later, the apocalypse came. There were storms and zombies outside. In order to get food and shelter, we handed over all the cash and valuables we had."

"At first, everyone was waiting for rescue, but we waited and waited, and there was no rescue. The broadcasts stopped, and everyone was saying it was the end of the world. It was getting more and more chaotic. My parents died trying to protect us."
Later, a group of refugees arrived. They had guns and knives, and they killed people. They were devils; they controlled all the resources and people in the village. My sister did this so that I could survive.

How did you two escape?

Given their condition, they're quite lucky to have made it this far on foot.

"Jinhe, why does that backpack he's carrying look a little familiar?" Zhang Yi whispered.

Song Jinhe nodded, "It does look familiar. We got the same one in the mall before, and it even had a white string tied to it."

Her gaze fell on the blackened, filthy line on the strap.

In the past, when they packed their things, they would make these subtle marks on their bags so that if they got separated, they could find each other by following the slightest clues.

Without saying a word, Qi Sixing took the dirty bag from the boy, opened it, and found gauze and anti-inflammatory medicine inside.

The boy watched them nervously, afraid they would steal his things.

"Where did these come from? You shouldn't have the ability to steal these things, right?" Song Jinhe said calmly.

Medical supplies are key controlled resources in any organization, especially anti-inflammatory drugs, which are extremely precious.

The boy hesitated for two seconds, "It was given to me by the doctor who was arrested a few days ago. He was also the one who told us when we would have a chance to escape."

Song Jinhe's expression changed. "What's his name?"

"I don't know, I just heard that his surname was Chen, and that he injured his leg when he got there."

"Is it Cheng Yan?" Zhang Yi asked anxiously.

"It's not 100% certain yet," Song Jinhe said, lowering her eyes.

"Why are you coming this way?" Jiang Shi'an continued to ask.

"Last night, several people were arrested, and their cars were confiscated. When I went to deliver food, I heard them interrogating them."
Someone said there was another convoy ahead heading to Los Angeles, so we thought we'd use this information to get you to take us with you and leave for Los Angeles as soon as possible.

"Trust me, hurry up and leave! They'll definitely come." The boy's expression was a mixture of excitement and terror.

"There are many of them. Men there will be beaten, imprisoned in water dungeons, and even sacrificed to zombies. Women and good-looking men will suffer a fate worse than death. Children and younger men might be..."

"It'll be too late if you don't leave!"

"Pass the word, prepare to depart," Su Lan said. "You can stay with the group."

If he were to directly confront this group, he would lose team members, which is not what he wants to see.

One night is enough time for them to interrogate the suspects separately and extract all the information they need from the situation.

Those who leave their children at the camp might be able to hold out, but not the others.

Even if we were to fight, we would go to a terrain where they could prepare in advance.

If the boy hadn't told the truth, there wouldn't have been any problem with him going to Luozhou with his group. If he hadn't told the truth, he certainly wouldn't have let the two of them go on their own.