binnovel Chapter 123 Chinese Federation
Chapter 123 Chinese Federation
After leaving the hotel run by the Huaxing base, Wang Shuang took over driving this time. Li Chenglong glanced at the map; the northernmost point of the Chinese Federation's sphere of influence was still about 200 kilometers away. As she drove, Wang Shuang said, "Currently, the Chinese Federation has two prefecture-level cities in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces: Xuzhou in the north and Suqian in the south. They're also gradually recovering two more prefecture-level cities in the east. Further south of Jiangsu and Zhejiang are Nanzhe Province, Fujian Province, and Guangxi Province."
Li Chenglong, sitting in the back seat, said, "This is our first time in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces since the apocalypse. We're not familiar with them, and we don't know the road conditions or the zombie situation, so we have to be careful along the way." The vehicle was moving slowly, covering only about 30km per hour. Li Chenglong diligently recorded everything he encountered along the way, so that he would have firsthand information should any military action be launched against the area in the future. The three of them traveled at a leisurely pace, finally arriving at the territory under the control of the Chinese Federation at 6 PM.
As they traveled along a national highway, they saw a large sign on their right that read: "Federation of China, 5 kilometers away." After passing the sign, the road conditions improved significantly, and the congestion caused by abandoned vehicles and garbage disappeared. Li Chenglong gave the final instruction: "Proceed as you see fit." After traveling another 5 kilometers, they saw a checkpoint and some newly built, makeshift structures. When they were about 50 meters from the checkpoint, several fully armed men signaled for Li Chenglong and his group to stop. After three men got out of the car, five men pointed guns at them, while the others began a thorough search of the vehicle. A minute later, the two men returned and reported: "Captain, there's nothing in the car."
The leading man nodded, and then one of the men beside him quietly told him, "These three are just ordinary people, there's no danger." The leading man arrogantly asked, "Who are you, and what are you doing here?" Jiang Hui and Li Chenglong exchanged a glance, then immediately stepped forward with a forced smile and said, "We're from the next city. We heard there's a powerful base here, so we came to seek refuge. This man is my cousin, Li Long, and the woman next to him is my cousin, Li Shuang. My name is Li Hui." The leading man carefully examined the three of them, then gestured, and immediately two men came over to search them. Wang Shuang, seeing that men were going to search her, immediately hid to the side. Jiang Hui took out a small bag of white crystals: "Brother, it's not good for men to search girls. This is just a small token of my appreciation, please share it with us." The leading man weighed it in his hand, estimating there were over a hundred white crystals, and immediately smiled and said, "Alright then, you can go in now. Behave yourselves and don't cause any trouble."
Jiang Hui immediately nodded and bowed, "Yes, yes, we certainly wouldn't. We're all law-abiding citizens." Two men then opened the roadblock and let them in. However, before they had gone 500 meters, they were stopped again. This time, they weren't searched; they were simply made to get out of the car and led to a relatively clean house. Inside, there was a row of tables with various items on them. As soon as they entered, a man in his forties said, "You're going to join our Chinese Federation, right? First, do you have any crystals?"
Li Chenglong asked, "What if we have crystals, and what if we don't?" The man pointed to the items on the table and said, "This is a Chinese Federation resident card, worth 20 white crystals. There's also an entry fee of 50 white crystals, and a sponsorship fee of one red crystal or 80 white crystals..." The man went on and on, and Li Chenglong finally became a little impatient: "Just tell me how many crystals each person wants in total." Hearing Li Chenglong's straightforwardness, the man was even happier: "Okay, I like this kind of straightforwardness. Five red crystals or 450 white crystals each." Jiang Hui looked at Li Chenglong with a questioning gaze, and Li Chenglong nodded slightly. Then Jiang Hui took out a bag and handed it to the man: "Brother, this is 1500 white crystals. The rest can be used by the brothers to have some snacks."
The man took the small bag, emptied it, counted the contents casually, and said happily, "Very good, you can enter the city now." He then handed them three Chinese Federation resident cards, each containing basic information about one of them and bearing a simple stamp. As he left, Li Chenglong turned back and asked, "May I ask, sir, what happens to those who can't pay the crystal stones?" The man replied nonchalantly, "If they don't pay the crystal stones, young and strong men will be recruited into construction teams or help deliver supplies to the army. Some exceptionally fit men can also be recruited into the army. Young women will be gathered and sent to the city; you probably know what they'll be used for. Children and the elderly, those who just freeload, are all expelled." Li Chenglong nodded, "I understand, thank you." Before leaving, Li Chenglong also spent a crimson crystal stone to buy a simplified map of the Chinese Federation.
Li Chenglong opened the map in the passenger seat. The map was very basic, marking only some major roads, the two main cities of the Chinese Federation, and some nearby towns. Military facilities were completely absent. Wang Shuang leaned forward in the back seat, looking at the map in Li Chenglong's hand. She then asked, "Captain Li, should we go straight to their first main city, or somewhere else?" Li Chenglong shook his head. "Not yet. I see a village about 2km to our right on the map. It's not very big, and it's getting late. We can stay there tonight and gather some information."
Jiang Hui glanced at the map to confirm the direction and slowly drove towards it. It was already past seven in the evening when they entered the village, and the sky was gradually darkening. Looking at the desolate village, Jiang Hui said, "Captain Li, it seems like there's hardly anyone here." Li Chenglong had already gotten out of the car: "Whether there's anyone or not, we'll only know for sure with our own eyes." He had already used his True Dragon Eye to detect that while the village did indeed have few people, it wasn't as desolate as it appeared.
Li Chenglong arrived at the gate of a small courtyard and knocked. At first, no one answered. He knocked again, and a boy of about fifteen or sixteen years old came out from the north room, asking warily, "Who is it? If it's an official, then you wouldn't need to come, sir. We've already run out of things." Li Chenglong said gently, "We're not officials. It's just that it's getting late, and we don't have time to reach the main city, so we were wondering if we could rest at your house for a while. We'll pay you something." A moment later, the dilapidated wooden door slowly opened, and a head peeked out. The boy carefully examined Li Chenglong before letting them in. As for their car, Li Chenglong had already put it into his storage space.