binnovel Chapter 206 Stop 2
Chapter 206 Stop 2
The distance between Yiwu City and Nanchang City is over 460 kilometers. Normally, it would take five or six hours by car, and even faster by high-speed rail, just over an hour. However, in this post-apocalyptic world, the roads are extremely congested, and Li Chenglong and his group have to be wary of hordes of zombies, so their vehicles move very slowly, and in some places they have to walk. On the first day, they only traveled a total of 270 kilometers.
They camped on a small hill that night, and the conditions were much harsher than the previous night. However, all of them were battle-hardened warriors, so they didn't find it too difficult. Li Chenglong and a few others gathered some firewood and lit a campfire. He then took out some fresh meat from the exotic beasts, skewered it, and began to roast it.
Wu Ruilan rubbed her shoulders: "We've been traveling all afternoon. Although our level is already quite high, we're still quite tired. Captain Li, when will the barbecue be ready? I'm starving." Li Chenglong didn't want to barbecue at first, fearing that the aroma would attract zombies or alien beasts. However, after checking carefully, he found that there were no high-level alien beasts, so he started barbecuing the meat with peace of mind.
Li Chenglong carefully grilled the large meat skewers: "Haste makes waste. This skewer weighs at least a pound, and it'll take at least an hour to fully cook. If you're hungry, eat some of this first." He then tossed over seven or eight Flame Fruits. Since Dawn City reached its highest level last time, Li Chenglong had exchanged for over a dozen Flame Trees. Combined with the ones from Yunlan's spiritual energy space, he now had thirty Flame Trees, which could ripen over ten thousand Flame Fruits every two months.
Wu Ruilan quickly took the fruit, and Wang Shuang said with some surprise, "Flame Fruit, this is a good thing. Not only does it taste good, but it can also restore a lot of energy." Wu Ruilan distributed one Flame Fruit to each person before casually washing it with water and eating it herself. After she finished one in a few bites, she felt that the fatigue in her whole body had been greatly reduced, and the muscles that were a little sore were no longer painful.
Xu Qingming smiled and said, "Brother Li, I told you last time I wanted to buy a batch of Flame Fruits, but I haven't heard from you since." Li Chenglong smiled and replied, "They weren't ripe yet, and with the continuous battles afterward, I didn't have time. I still have three boxes of Flame Fruits here, with three hundred of them. We'll hand them over to you when we pass by the Flying Cloud Base on our way back." Xu Qingming immediately said, "Alright, it's a deal. We just recently got a new batch of rich iron ore; we can trade."
Lu Mingyuan then said, "Captain Li, when we go back, I wonder if we can buy some Flame Fruit? It will be very useful for our future battles." Li Chenglong nodded, "Sure, sure, we'll arrange it for you when we get back to Dawn City."
The group chatted casually, summarizing the day's new intelligence. Just then, Li Chenglong, Lu Mingyuan, and Ye Kai finally finished grilling the meat. Ye Kai distributed the skewers: "One skewer each. We've already seasoned it; please help yourselves." While Ye Kai was distributing the meat, Li Chenglong took out a lunchbox filled with high-grade Dawn Rice from his psionic space and distributed it to everyone.
Wang Ruyan took out her military water bottle, drank some water, and said casually, "If only we weren't in the apocalypse, we could all be eating barbecue and chatting together, how pleasant that would be." Li Chenglong took out the wine brewed from Flame Fruit and poured a small cup for everyone: "Everyone, have a cup. This wine is brewed from Flame Fruit, and it's several times more potent than the fruit itself."
Ye Kai took the drink and downed it in one gulp: "That's refreshing! This is the kind of wine that tastes better." During their conversations over the past two days, Li Chenglong learned that Lu Mingyuan and Wang Ruyan were actually soldiers, while the others joined after the apocalypse. Lu Zhenhua was a middle school geography teacher, Ye Kai and Ye Xuan were construction workers, and on Li Chenglong's side, he was the only veteran; Xu Qingming was a wealthy young master, Wu Ruilan was a clothing store owner, and Wang Shuang was a housewife.
Due to limited space, after dinner, everyone only did a quick wash before settling into their tents. This time, someone needed to keep watch. After discussion, Li Chenglong and Lu Mingyuan decided to divide the six men into two groups, each group responsible for three hours, until around 6 a.m. Li Chenglong and Xu Qingming would take the first shift, Lu Mingyuan and Lu Zhenhua the second, and the Ye brothers, Ye Kai and Ye Xuan, the last.
On the morning of July 5th, their third day in the Southeast Military Region, the survey team assembled early and set off for their second destination. Because they were unfamiliar with the area, all intelligence came from Ye Kai's Central Military Region and Qingshui Base. Therefore, they made frequent stops along the way, meticulously recording any new information for later processing.
According to Li Chenglong's plan, today's journey of less than 200 kilometers, with over 100 kilometers advanced in the morning, and after a midday rest to get through the hottest part of the day, should ideally reach the outskirts of Nanchang City in the afternoon, giving them a full day to explore tomorrow. On the way, Wang Ruyan expressed her concerns: "Captain Li, in Yiwu City, so close to the Qingshui base, the enemy has built a fortress and has two level 10 zombies stationed there. If the situation in Nanchang City worsens, should we continue south as planned, or what?"
As Li Chenglong drove, he said, "This is indeed a problem. Let's discuss it thoroughly tonight before making a decision. However, my point is that if the situation we encounter in Nanchang City becomes even more serious, then we should retreat. General Chen Guoqiang gave me the highest authority and clearly told me that if any special circumstances arise, we can evacuate as soon as possible. After all, we are an investigation team, not a suicide squad, much less a death squad. Moreover, everyone has worked hard to reach their current level, and we absolutely cannot waste our lives at this time." Xu Qingming, Wu Ruilan, and Wang Shuang expressed their strong agreement.
Their journey today was relatively smooth, except for a brief encounter with a group of zombies in the afternoon. Li Chenglong led his team to quickly eliminate the zombies and then swiftly left the area. At 7 PM, after a long day's trek, the group finally arrived at the outskirts of Nanchang City. For safety reasons, Li Chenglong decided to find a place to rest for the night and continue their exploration the next day.
Li Chenglong and his team gathered to discuss the questions raised by Wang Ruyan. Lu Mingyuan, Xu Qingming, and Ye Kai all shared their insights. Finally, after a vote, the team unanimously decided that if the exploration in Nanchang City did not go smoothly, or if the situation was more serious than in Yiwu City, they would return first, report the intelligence to their superiors, and let them make a decision.
Li Chenglong had a vague sense of unease, because while he was packing his things, he had done a rough scan of the core area of Nanchang City. Although he couldn't see clearly due to the distance, the sheer size of the energy was undeniable. Moreover, besides the core area, several groups of zombie cavalry were moving around the surrounding area, appearing to be very organized.