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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter Seventy-One: Preparations Before Departure
Although their opinions had been unified, they ultimately could not set off immediately. Times had changed; to embark on a journey, one had to first prepare adequately.
The group discussed and formulated a simple plan. An Zheng and Luci would stay behind in the office to take care of Cao Liang. Wheat wanted to join the others in searching for supplies, but for safety reasons, she was ultimately left behind.
Everyone had clear roles: Jiang He, Song Yao, and Ming Junwei formed one team responsible for maximizing the search for food and water, especially clean water; Chao Yifan, Pan Luo, and Zhuzi made up another team tasked with finding weapons and medicine. Recently, they had relied too heavily on firearms, and after their hasty escape, none of them had any means of self-defense. With ammunition running low, the supplies in their backpacks only fit Zhuzi's gun, rendering the others' firearms nearly useless. Thus, each person needed a cold weapon. Medicine was also a concern; they had struggled to gather supplies during this time, and just when they managed to accumulate some resources, an unexpected event set them back to square one. Although the county hospital and small clinics had been thoroughly searched by Jiang He and the others, there were still some small pharmacies in the county that might have escaped unscathed. An Zheng's advice was straightforward: take whatever they could find aside from health supplements.
Xiaomi and Xiao Wei were responsible for collecting gasoline throughout the city, ideally to trade for a vehicle. After some wear and tear, Golden Cup Bread was on the verge of being scrapped; its brake pads were worn down to nothing. Rather than struggle to repair it, it would be better to get a new car since there were plenty of abandoned vehicles on the streets.
As dawn broke, the three small teams set out one after another, agreeing to regroup at noon. If they encountered a large-scale Zombie attack along the way, they were to fire warning shots immediately.
Jiang He bid farewell to the other two teams and compared their search direction with the city planning map found in the office.
"Where are we going to find water?" Song Yao asked with some frustration. Food was relatively easy to find and transportable, but how would they solve the water issue? They couldn't possibly go back to the Farmhouse near the reservoir again.
"Let's look for a Drinking Water Company; those large barrels of drinking water shouldn't have been taken," Ming Junwei suggested as he led the way, raising his hand to signal for them to stop when a Zombie crossed the street a hundred meters away before indicating that they could continue.
"That sounds good. Once we find a place, we can retreat. When Xiaomi and Xiao Wei get the car ready, we can come back for it," Jiang He said as he paused in front of a Nut Shop. "Shall we check this place?"
"Be careful," Ming Junwei nodded and handed his backpack to Song Yao while he stood guard outside.
The small shop was about thirty square meters in size, featuring a glass counter inside with open shelves displaying various nut products on either side. There were no corpses inside—just a musty smell. The beam of their flashlight illuminated many nuts left behind on the shelves.
"Good stuff," Jiang He exclaimed with delight as he grabbed a handful of walnuts. "These things aren't cheap normally!"
Song Yao smiled slightly as well; although these nuts had been sitting for too long and were somewhat damp, thankfully they hadn't gone moldy—just drying them out would suffice. Nuts were far better than the preservative-laden foods they had been eating before; they provided protein and contained vitamins as well.
The two turned on their flashlights and began inspecting each shelf. In addition to walnuts, there were piles of chestnuts, sunflower seeds, peanuts, and in one corner leaned against the wall was a Woven Bag. Upon opening it up, they found it filled with dried red dates.
Jiang He took a rough estimate of the pile of food, realizing that it wouldn't fit in Ming Junwei's backpack. He decided to return the backpack to Ming Junwei and ran behind the glass counter to grab a handful of plastic bags.
After waiting for a while without seeing the two come out, Ming Junwei couldn't contain his curiosity and walked in. "Did you find anything good?"
"Try this," Jiang He tossed them some walnuts. "Good for the brain."
"Hey, why didn't we think of getting some nuts before?" Ming Junwei wedged a walnut into the gap of the aluminum door and pulled hard, creating a dent in the frame while the walnut remained intact.
"Keep going." Jiang He was getting more familiar with rummaging through supplies. Seeing Ming Junwei struggling with the walnut, he leaned over the counter and tossed him a nutcracker.
Song Yao filled two large bags with chestnuts and peanuts. When he saw Jiang He trying to stuff sunflower seeds into his pockets, he quickly stopped him. "The seeds are all damp."
"It would be a waste to throw them all away. Let's grab some; we can plant sunflowers later." Jiang He stuffed a handful of seeds into his pocket and called for Ming Junwei to help carry a bag of red dates.
Ming Junwei chuckled helplessly. "Even though these have a long shelf life, do we really need to take all of them?"
"Never leave empty-handed, you know!" Jiang He secured the woven bag on his back and didn't forget to boast to Song Yao. "I'll make you red date tea during your period!"
"With that time, you could just get a pack of brown sugar," Ming Junwei thought it was amusing. Still, having something to eat was better than going hungry, so he didn’t stop Jiang He from taking what he could.
Song Yao just smiled, mimicking Jiang He's actions as he strung two plastic bags together and slung them over his shoulder, freeing up his hands.
"Should we check out the mall?" Song Yao suddenly remembered the large supermarket that had been burned down during their last visit.
Jiang He continued walking while shelling peanuts, leaving a trail of shells behind him. "It should be completely burned down by now, right?"
"This place is fine too; it's getting a bit chilly. We need to prepare some clothes." Song Yao pointed across the street at a row of clothing stores. "It's autumn now; it'll be even more troublesome when winter comes."
"You're right. You two go look for clothes; I'll check out that side." Ming Junwei's sharp eyes caught sight of a poster stuck on one side of the intersection, which read in crooked letters: "Happiness Water Station."
Overall, the actions of the Jiang He trio went relatively smoothly. They encountered little conflict with Zombies along the way, and their mission objectives were mostly accomplished. However, the three tasked with searching for weapons and supplies had taken a few wrong turns.
After all, a city planning map is not a detailed map; it cannot clearly mark every nook and cranny.
Zhuzi suggested checking out the County Public Security Bureau's Armory. Even if there were no guns, there might still be some batons available. Pan Luo advocated for going to the market, while the little Girl believed that there would be many Watermelon Knives and Bone Cutters there, sharper and longer than kitchen knives. Chao Yifan also proposed a third option; sometimes Bald Kid resembled Jiang He, often thinking of nonsensical things. After hearing Zhuzi and Pan Luo's suggestions, he did not refute them but instead led the two to another street.
"I saw it when I came back that day," Chao Yifan said mysteriously, winking and boasting, "It's definitely better than your Watermelon Knives and batons!"
Zhuzi and Pan Luo exchanged glances, puzzled about what this Bald Guy was up to.
After sneaking around for a while, Pan Luo was surprised to find that Chao Yifan had actually led them back toward the county hospital.
"How did you know the hospital was here?" Pan Luo asked, slightly astonished since Chao Yifan hadn't come along last time.
"With such a big Red Cross sign, I'm not blind," Chao Yifan replied. His focus was elsewhere as he crossed the road, heading straight for a Cordyceps Shop diagonally across.
"Cordyceps is considered a supplement, right?" Zhuzi asked, furrowing his brow as he turned to the little Girl beside him.
Pan Luo's face lit up with excitement as she praised, "Yi Fan's brain is really sharp! He knows medicine is hard to find, so he came here!" The little Girl eagerly pulled Zhuzi across the street, watching Chao Yifan's back as he entered the shop. "Saffron is also a precious medicinal herb known for promoting blood circulation and relieving pain!"
Upon hearing this, Zhuzi smiled as well. He stopped the somewhat excited Pan Luo and listened intently to their surroundings. "This kid is quite clever; however, we need to move quickly—Zombies are coming from that direction." Zhuzi sensed the potential danger; the Cordyceps Shop was near an intersection where a large advertisement screen hung on a small building across the street. Although the screen no longer displayed rolling ads, it clearly showed...
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