An Unexpected Guest

Ning Ting had been listening to their conversation all along, his expression turning strange. "There are even more zombies in the city center. To be able to open a black market there, the power behind this organization is unimaginable."

When they entered Yi City, they had to choose the route with the fewest zombies, and even then, it was extremely difficult.

The city center was bound to be even more terrifying. Danger was only one part; the background and power of the black market were what truly gave one food for thought.

Jiang Chu only knew a little; it probably had countless ties to Qin Yan.

She changed the subject: "Let's solve the immediate problem first. There are too many zombies outside; those two cars downstairs will probably have to be abandoned. Let's discuss how we can get back to the garage from here later. We won't drive the RV and the heavy truck anymore; we'll choose two other vehicles."

Dusk had just fallen, and the sky was gloomy. The second floor of this laundromat had glass windows. She pulled a corner of the curtain aside and stood by the window, looking down. The street was packed with zombies, with almost no empty space. The zombies passing by the street immediately bared their teeth and crawled over upon hearing their movements.

Jiang Chu dealt with them using ice spikes, showed the team the situation outside, and then pulled the curtain closed again.

Once everyone agreed, no other sounds were heard.

Nighttime in Yi City would be even more dangerous. The number of night watchmen had to be increased from two to four. Among them, two would watch from 11 PM to 3 AM, and the other two would watch from 3 AM to 7 AM.

It was still decided by drawing lots. Jiang Chu and Gao Qingyang drew the first shift, while Lu Jiaze and Chen Qingqing drew the second shift.

The instant noodles were cooked, and after the team ate their fill, it was still quite early.

Jiang Chu told Chen Qingqing and Shen Yinqiu to rest in the room, then tossed out a pair of binoculars.

"The night watch must observe the surroundings. Every two hours, check if there's any movement from Honghai, and also keep an eye on the direction of the garage."

To avoid alerting the enemy, they didn't even turn on their flashlights. The nine of them could only rely on the dim light from Jiang Chu's phone to see the way.

Downstairs and inside the washing machines on both sides, some clothes were left. Downstairs, two or three long-sleeved shirts were hanging, which could be used as temporary bedding. In this situation, they couldn't be too picky.

It was still early; the phone showed 7:30 PM.

The screen suddenly flashed a low battery warning, with only ten percent left.

Currently, other than lighting, the phone had no other use.

She turned on the ultra-power-saving mode.

Jiang Chu actually had a power bank, but she couldn't use it right now.

Gao Qingyang found a few sets of clothes to use as bedding. Seeing everyone looking at him, he scratched his head sheepishly and explained, "There are still three and a half hours before the watch shift. I'll sleep for two hours first. Big Hu, keep watch for me. Just wake me up at 9:30."

Seeing that Jiang Chu didn't object, once Zhang Hu agreed, he lay down to sleep.

Driving all the way into Yi City had consumed a lot of physical strength. Jiang Chu also intended to rest for a bit. She went into the lounge and closed the door.

This bed was large enough for two people and had a sheet and a thin blanket. Jiang Chu didn't stand on ceremony; she laid her head down and fell asleep.

"I'll leave the phone with you guys. Wake me up in three hours."

"Alright," Shen Yinqiu replied.

Jiang Chu slept soundly until Shen Yinqiu shook her awake three hours later.

The phone showed 10:30 PM.

Chen Qingqing was sleeping on the other side. Jiang Chu quietly stood up, pushed the door open, and went out for the watch.

Gao Qingyang had also woken up, blinking his bleary eyes and yawning.

"Captain, you're awake too. If you guys are tired, go to sleep. Tomorrow morning, relieve Chen Qingqing."

Ning Ting and Zhang Hu weren't on watch but were still awake, waiting for them to wake up before going to rest.

Seeing Jiang Chu come out, the other team members lay down on the floor one after another to rest.

Jiang Chu pulled the curtain open a crack, feeling a bit regretful that this row of shops had no suitable vantage point for observation.

When she entered at dusk, she had checked the roof. The roof was pitched, making it impossible to stand or lie flat. She could only use this method to quietly observe Honghai without being too conspicuous; otherwise, they risked being discovered.

For a medium-sized base to form such a scale in the apocalypse, at least its security and defense work had to be well done.

Tonight, there were quite a few more people on the walls of Honghai, patrolling in lines.

She quietly moved to the back to observe. The direction of the garage was still swarming with zombies; at least no living humans were in sight.

Gao Qingyang also struggled to get up and observed alongside her.

At 2:30 AM, while Jiang Chu was sitting by the glass window, she suddenly saw two vehicles speeding toward Honghai.

The vehicles rushed in from another direction, not passing through their street, but Jiang Chu still saw that their destination was Honghai. There was no lack of experts in those two vehicles, and even the drivers were by no means simple. They flew like the wind, making sharp turns and crushing zombie bodies to advance, leaving the horde far behind, occasionally firing a couple of shots.

They actually managed to enter Honghai directly.

And the guards of Honghai jumped down from the wall to inspect them.

Jiang Chu narrowed her eyes and said in a low voice, "Get the map!"

Gao Qingyang also held the binoculars and saw the scene. He hurriedly pulled the map out of Ning Ting's backpack.

"Could it be that the Honghai people at the pharmaceutical factory didn't all die?" Gao Qingyang couldn't think of anything else.

Jiang Chu immediately dismissed this idea, comparing the map with the actual direction, and then looked toward Honghai. Those people waited at the gate for about ten minutes before being let inside.

Among them, one person acting as an escort along the way was an ability user.

Jiang Chu slowly sighed and said, "They aren't Honghai people; they are from the Heihu Base. When we left, we ran into Heihu. Because another force flew a helicopter to the pharmaceutical factory, we didn't fight. Those Heihu people probably survived, rested for a few days, and then came to Honghai to report. They likely want to enlist Honghai's help to deal with us, since I killed so many of their people."

Gao Qingyang was speechless. "But didn't they also slaughter each other?"

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend," Jiang Chu explained patiently. "The leader of Honghai wants to kill Lu Jiaze, and the Heihu Base also wants to kill Lu Jiaze and me to avenge their dead. Because of this, the Heihu people will choose to cooperate with Honghai. They are both bases, so reaching a temporary peace agreement is nothing unusual."

Gao Qingyang now understood the stakes. "So aren't we going to be hunted by two bases now?"

Jiang Chu didn't hear any fear in his voice; on the contrary, he sounded a bit excited. She then heard Gao Qingyang say, "How interesting. I, Gao Qingyang, actually have a day where I'm hunted by two bases. What do we do now? Wipe them all out in one fell swoop?"

Jiang Chu was too lazy to correct him. The ones they were hunting were Lu Jiaze and her.

But so what? No matter how hard they tried, they wouldn't amount to anything.

She looked through the binoculars and saw that the Honghai Base had returned to normal.

Jiang Chu smiled faintly. "Kill as many as they send. But we must be the proactive side. The plan needs to be carried out ahead of schedule."