binnovel Chapter 83 Jinlan City
Chapter 83 Jinlan City
At 4:50 the next morning, Li Chenglong had already gotten up and washed. He first knocked on the door to wake Zhao Rui and the others, telling them to quickly finish washing and assemble. Actually, Zhao Rui and Han Xiaoling weren't involved in the infiltration mission and could have rested more, but Li Chenglong decided to bring them along to ensure the interception of the grain convoy would proceed faster and more smoothly. Since there was still some time before assembly, Li Chenglong took out some food and water for them to eat a little, and also had Zhao Rui deliver some to Wang Hai and the others on the mission. Last night, Li Chenglong had taken out over a thousand catties of various common vegetables grown in the natural area of his storage space and given them to Wang Hai. Because the time flow in the natural area was three times faster than outside, and with the nourishment of spiritual energy, they grew very quickly, producing several thousand catties per month.
With his advancement to level 6, his storage space, encompassing both the natural and industrial zones, now spans the size of four football fields. The natural zone alone is the size of two football fields, making it perfectly suitable for growing various items. However, Yunlan's storage space is currently only the size of two football fields, lacking a distinction between natural and non-natural zones; it's solely for storing items. Li Chenglong had previously studied this carefully. Before the ring, when he only had the dragon-shaped ring pattern, the movement of resources in and out of the storage space was slow, and his control over it was weak. He had even broken items in the past. Now, with the ring, the speed and control have improved significantly. Moreover, Alice had stated that once the ring is bound, unless the user dies, no one can use the ring to access the storage space. In other words, the storage space isn't inside the ring; the ring is merely a medium for accessing it.
The group sat together, chatting and laughing as they ate. Li Chenglong looked at the four of them, feeling a mix of emotions. They were all from different places. Zhao Liying was someone he had rescued from a hotel; Wang Bing was someone he had met in Xipo Village; Zhao Rui was someone he had encountered before, first at the grain depot, and then again at Lei Bao's place; and Han Xiaoling was someone he had rescued from thugs. Later, Han Xiaoling had expressed a desire to change her name to Li Xiaoling, but Li Chenglong refused, wanting her to keep the name her parents had given her forever. After quickly finishing their meal, Li Chenglong took out five spirit-energy persimmons from his storage space.
Zhao Rui looked at the large, bright red psionic persimmons with great excitement: "Captain Li, are the psionic persimmons ripe?" Li Chenglong nodded: "Yes, they ripen about once a month or so now. They ripened yesterday, and I picked them all and put them in the warehouse. That way, no matter how long they're stored, they'll stay as fresh as if they were just picked. I counted, and there are 120 ripe ones this time." Han Xiaoling exclaimed: "So many? I remember the first time there were only about 30." Li Chenglong nodded, then bought them one for each person, and took one for himself to eat. Luckily, those with superpowers or awakened individuals have large appetites, otherwise they really wouldn't have been able to eat such large psionic persimmons.
Han Xiaoling took a bite and said happily, "Brother, I feel like these persimmons taste even better than last time." Li Chenglong said confidently, "As my level increases, the level of my storage space also improves. The concentration of spiritual energy in the natural area is noticeably higher now, so I feel that more and more spiritual energy persimmons will form in the future, and the taste will get better and better." Wang Bing said regretfully, "It's a pity that we can only eat a maximum of five persimmons, otherwise it won't be effective." Zhao Liying was eating spiritual energy persimmons for the first time, and she was a little reluctant to eat them, savoring them slowly. Li Chenglong said with a smile, "Eat quickly. To ensure the smooth progress of this mission, I will let you all eat up to the limit these few days." Zhao Rui ate the remaining persimmons in one bite: "Long live the boss!"
At 5:10, Li Chenglong and Wang Hai met up with the others. Without much discussion, they mounted their horses and, led by Wang Hai, headed towards the designated location. At 5:45, they arrived at a point 300 meters from their destination. At Li Chenglong's suggestion, they decided to proceed on foot. Horses were difficult to hide and easily spotted, and injuring them in battle would be a greater loss than gain. Li Chenglong reached the roadside and surveyed the terrain. It was flat, making it difficult to conceal anyone; thankfully, it wasn't too bright yet. A minute later, to the astonishment of Wang Hai and the others, Zhao Rui, now a giant over three meters tall, moved a huge rock onto the road, then moved another, completely blocking the road.
Li Chenglong and Wang Hai hid behind the rocks, waiting to capture them swiftly upon their arrival. At six in the morning, Wu Xiaoyi's grain transport team prepared to arrive. Accustomed to their arrogant behavior and with no one daring to block their path, they didn't stop to guard the road when they discovered the boulder blocking their way. Instead, they drove brazenly to within ten meters of the boulder before stopping.
As soon as the car stopped, three men got out of the jeep in front. One of them, a man of medium build with one eye, seemed to be their leader. He cursed as he walked, "Where the hell did these stones come from? Get some men to move them, or we'll be late, and Commander Wu will probably punish us." At the one-eyed man's command, more than twenty well-equipped soldiers got out of the escort convoy and prepared to move the stones in front of them.
Seeing the opportunity, Li Chenglong shouted, "Attack!" He, Zhao Rui, and Wang Bing immediately charged forward, using only half their strength to save time. The one-eyed man and his companions were startled by Li Chenglong's shout and were about to investigate when a dark figure knocked them to the ground. He felt his blood surge and almost vomited blood. However, the men next to him weren't so lucky; they were instantly killed by Zhao Rui and Wang Bing. The other soldiers tried to draw their guns, but Li Chenglong swiftly disarmed them one by one, even kicking them as a reward.
The battle lasted only thirty seconds—no, it shouldn't be called a battle, it was a massacre. The twenty-odd guards of the grain transport team were already under control, with some corpses scattered nearby. Zhao Rui and Wang Bing walked over and said, "Captain Li, as you ordered, we've taken down half of them." Li Chenglong nodded, looking at the one-eyed man before him: "Are you their commander?" The one-eyed man was already terrified, and after a few seconds stammered, "Yes, yes, sir, what are your orders?" Wang Hai coldly said, "We want to enter the city, understand?" The one-eyed man was startled: "Enter the city? This…" Li Chenglong's face turned cold, and with a flick of his finger, a ball of light flew directly towards a corpse on the ground, exploding instantly, blasting the corpse to smithereens. The one-eyed man and the remaining twenty-odd men were all horrified; some even wet themselves in fear.
Li Chenglong then said, "We want to enter the city. Is there any difficulty in getting in?" One-Eye immediately replied, "No, no." Li Chenglong smiled slightly, "You'd better not try anything funny. You saw it just now. If you dare to make any moves, you'll be the next one to be wiped out." One-Eye quickly said, "Don't worry, sir, I certainly wouldn't dare." For safety's sake, Wang Hai replaced a quarter of the grain transport escort team with his own men. Then, Li Chenglong, Zhao Liying, Wang Bing, and One-Eye got into the first jeep, while Wang Hai sat in the second escort vehicle.
After a half-hour drive, the vehicle finally arrived at the outer city of Jinlan City. Though called the outer city, it actually had no walls whatsoever. Li Chenglong was somewhat puzzled: "Isn't this supposed to be the outer city of Jinlan City? Why is there hardly any fortification, let alone walls?" One-Eyed immediately replied, "My lord, you are unaware that the outer city is too large, divided into an inner and outer city. Only the inner and outer cities have walls, and half of the civilians live there. This area is basically a buffer zone against the zombie army. However, many civilians still live a difficult life here."
The convoy arrived at the city entrance, where they were immediately stopped for inspection. The one-eyed man smiled obsequiously at the leader, saying, "This is Commander Wu's grain transport wagon, so there's no need to check it, right?" The leader replied arrogantly, "Hmph, you think you can just say no inspection? Commander Jin said there's been some recent rebellion, and all passing people and vehicles must be strictly checked. Don't think I don't know what you do all day; you just take bribes from the commoners and bring them into Jinlan City, don't you?" The one-eyed man said respectfully, "No, it's late today, so please don't check it. This is a little trinket I received a few days ago; please accept it, sir." As he spoke, the one-eyed man secretly took a gold watch from his pocket and slipped it into the leader's hand. The leader weighed the watch in his hand and immediately smiled, "Alright, you can go now. Brothers, let them through."
At the leader's command, the road fence slowly opened. The one-eyed man cursed under his breath and started the vehicle again. Wang Bing, sitting in the passenger seat, was puzzled: "Aren't you transporting grain for Wu Xiaoyi? Why are you afraid of these watchdogs?" The one-eyed man sighed: "Sir, you don't know this, but while we say we're transporting grain for Wu Xiaoyi, we're not actually government troops. We're more like a mercenary organization. Wu Xiaoyi hires us to transport grain for him, and we get a small amount as payment each time. But if we can't deliver the grain on time, we face severe punishment." Wang Bing continued, "This time you transported a whole truckload of grain, I think at least ten tons. Why didn't you take the opportunity to run away with the grain?" The one-eyed man shook his head: "No, many of our parents, wives, and children are under Wu Xiaoyi's surveillance. If we escape, they'll all die."
Zhao Liying asked another question: "What did that person mean when he said you took bribes to bring people into Jinlan City?" One-Eyed glanced at the beautiful woman in the rearview mirror, then immediately looked away: "It's for a living, to earn some extra money. Although Jinlan City is currently under Wu Xiaoyi's leadership and the exploitation of civilians is particularly severe, it's still a relatively safe place. So some people try to sneak into the grain transport teams to get in. Of course, bringing them into the city isn't without risk; if we're discovered, we'll be severely punished. That's why we always take a bribe from them."
As the group talked, they arrived at the outer city walls. This time, the guards at the city gate didn't check them; they just glanced at them and let them in. After walking a few hundred meters inside, Li Chenglong told them to stop the car, and then he and Wang Hai left the grain transport convoy. Before leaving, Li Chenglong filled the back seat of the one-eyed man with compressed biscuits, canned goods, ham, and other items made in Dawn City. "We're leaving. Whether you report what happened to us or not is up to you," Li Chenglong said before leaving. Looking at the large amount of food in the back seat, and recalling the battle just now, the one-eyed man secretly resolved to make sure his men strictly forbade any leaks of what happened that morning.