binnovel Chapter 79 Old Town
Chapter 79 Old Town
The group didn't travel very fast, as it was almost noon and the weather was extremely hot, making the horses move slowly. Li Chenglong chatted with Old Man Jin along the way, learning that Old Man Jin's real name was Jin Hai, and he was fifty-seven years old. He had originally been the Jin family's steward, but the family patriarch, Jin Zhan'ao, recognizing his hard work and merits, and not wanting him to have to serve the young people at his age, arranged for him to live a peaceful retirement. Recently, Jin Zhan'ao suddenly fell seriously ill and passed away a few days later. Jin Hai became suspicious and investigated privately, discovering that Jin Zhan'ao's adjutant, Wu Xiaoyi, was likely responsible for his death. He secretly sneaked into the Jin residence and rescued the two imprisoned sisters, but was discovered by Wu Xiaoyi, leading to the events that followed.
Because communication was difficult on horseback, Li Chenglong didn't ask what he wanted to know. Han Xiaoling said from behind, "Brother, I'm thirsty, I want some water." Li Chenglong thought about it and realized it made sense; they had been there for several hours, and the climate was quite hot, so they lost moisture quickly. He had originally intended to hide his storage ring, but considering the identities of the two girls, he made a decision. Li Chenglong took out a bottle of water from his storage ring and handed it to Han Xiaoling, then gave one to everyone else. Jin Hai and the Jin Linfei sisters were speechless at this astonishing scene. Jin Hai stroked his beard, seemingly considering something. Li Chenglong said, "Please finish your water, and don't throw away any unfinished water. Wasting water is not allowed." Zhao Rui finished his water in one gulp, but didn't throw away the bottle. He crumpled it up and put it in his pocket, because throwing the bottle away might leave clues for others.
Except for Zhao Liying and Han Xiaoling, Li Chenglong and his group wore motorcycle helmets the whole time because the sun was quite strong. Jin Hai and his two companions hadn't seen what the others really looked like until they took off their helmets to drink water. Jin Hai immediately sensed their unusual appearance. Not only were the two beautiful women, one tall and one short, but even the three men had smooth, fair skin, looking nothing like they'd survived years in the apocalypse. Keep in mind, the zombie crisis had been raging for three years; unless they were from newly established noble families, almost everyone had some skin problems from malnutrition or sun exposure while working outdoors. Jin Linfei looked at Zhao Liying ahead and said with some surprise, "Sister, you're so beautiful!" Zhao Liying smiled, then wrapped her face mask back up and said, "You're pretty too."
Jin Hai pointed to a cluster of ruins in the distance and said, "That's the old city. It's still a while, let's hurry." The group spurred their horses and, after an hour's journey, finally arrived at the old city. Zhao Rui looked at the ruins and said, "Huh? This is all ruins. Are people still living here?" Jin Hai laughed, "Actually, the outside is just a disguise. We need to go to the city center. There are houses there rebuilt by a group of General Jin's former generals. We'll go there." Then, the group mounted their horses again and, led by Jin Hai, slowly made their way towards the city center.
After walking for another twenty minutes or so, a group of people suddenly appeared, all pointing guns at them. Zhao Rui was about to retaliate, but Li Chenglong stopped him with a gesture. Jin Hai removed his mask: "It's me. I've rescued Commander Jin's daughter." The leader, seeing it was Jin Hai, immediately rushed over with a smile: "It's you, sir! Miss has been rescued too? That's wonderful!" Jin Hai nodded and dismounted: "We were being chased by Wu Laogou's men, but thanks to these men, I was able to bring Miss here." Hearing this, the man quickly bowed to Li Chenglong and the others in gratitude: "Thank you so much for saving our lives. We were a bit abrupt earlier. Please come in." Li Chenglong also took off his helmet and said with a smile: "It's what you should do. Always be vigilant to avoid making mistakes." After saying that, they walked together into the city.
The leading man and Jin Hai chatted together the whole way, glancing at Li Chenglong from time to time with expressions of surprise. Wang Bing leaned closer to Li Chenglong and said, "Captain Li, are they plotting to harm us?" Li Chenglong shook his head: "No, and even if they did, you, a level five ability user, could easily defeat them all."
As they gradually entered the city center, the ruins and broken walls disappeared, and the area slowly began to resemble habitable land, with the buildings becoming noticeably more developed the further in they went. Upon entering the residential area, people along the way cheered upon seeing Jin Hai and the two young ladies. Li Chenglong secretly began to admire Jin Zhan'ao; he hadn't expected him to have such influence even after death, suggesting he possessed a unique charisma. The leading man led the group to a five-story building. The building had clearly been renovated, with repairs visible everywhere, but the interior was relatively clean.
As soon as they entered, Jin Hai pulled the leading man to Li Chenglong's side: "This is Wang Hai, the leader of our old city. This is Li Chenglong, a wanderer." Wang Hai grasped Li Chenglong's hand: "Thank you again for your help. You haven't eaten yet, have you? I'll have someone serve you food in a bit." Li Chenglong smiled and said, "You don't need to bother. Uncle Jin and the two young ladies are tired. Please give them some food and a place to rest." Jin Hai said, "Then let's eat together. But because we've been blocked and attacked by Wu Laogou, the food is very simple. Please don't mind." Li Chenglong quickly said, "In this apocalyptic world, who hasn't suffered? And the fact that you're still willing to offer this hard-won food is already very kind of you."
After saying this, Wang Hai instructed his men to prepare the meal. Jin Linfei and Jin Mengfei then followed a woman, presumably to arrange a place for them to rest. Wang Hai approached with a kettle of hot water, saying, "It's so hot, come and have some water." He poured a glass of water for each of them as he spoke. Li Chenglong took a sip of water: "Gentlemen, we've been living in this basement since the very beginning of the zombie outbreak. So, although we've been living in this apocalypse for two or three years, we know nothing about the outside world. We'd appreciate it if you could tell us something about what's happening outside." Wang Hai was a little surprised: "Huh? You've lived here for so long? How have you gotten your food and water?" Li Chenglong pointed to the other four people: "This slightly short and chubby one is Zhao Rui. He's a post-apocalyptic survival fanatic. He bought a lot of canned food and post-apocalyptic rations and even dug a large basement in his yard. This tall and thin one is Wang Bing; he was a college student before the apocalypse. This lady is Zhao Liying, and this young woman is my sister, Han Xiaoling." Zhao Rui: "Huh? I'm a post-apocalyptic survival fanatic? Oh, yes, I am."
Jin Hai and Wang Hai were clearly a little skeptical of Li Chenglong's words, but they didn't say anything more. Jin Hai said, "Let's talk about it while we eat later, because this zombie thing can't be explained in just a few words." Li Chenglong readily agreed.