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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 129: Old Shepherd
That night, everyone slept relatively soundly.
In the first half of the night, some people were preoccupied with their thoughts, unable to fall asleep while listening to the crackling of dry branches in the fire; in the latter half, snoring filled the air, and both adults and children were deep in slumber. By dawn, they were awakened by the damp chill of the morning mist. The fire had long since gone out, and Song Yao sat at the lookout, hugging her legs, having taken the last watch.
Wheat was dressed lightly and caught a bit of a chill during the night. The ground was damp, and signs of a cold were starting to show. Fortunately, there was a doctor among them. After taking a few pills and bundling up in extra layers, by noon, Wheat had already sweated several times. Although feeling somewhat uncomfortable from the sweat, her runny nose had stopped, and her head no longer felt dizzy.
The journey was long. Jin Bo and Cao Liang took on the role of guides, occasionally checking their direction and determining their location; Ming Junwei and Chao Yifan were responsible for the safety of the group as they moved through this desolate wilderness. Despite the emptiness surrounding them, there was an undeniable sense of unease; Xiaomi and Xiao Wei would occasionally wander into the woods, hoping to catch a wild rabbit if luck was on their side.
Two hours ago, their leisurely trek through the mountains came to an end. Instead of finding the highway they expected, they found themselves stepping into the vast expanse of the Loess Plateau.
Jin Bo and Cao Liang were baffled. They had clearly been heading toward G65 Highway; how had they ended up in a desert? Over the years, Shanbei had seen its fair share of wealthy tycoons; how could there still be undeveloped areas like this Loess Plateau?
This couldn’t entirely be blamed on the two guides who were new to this area; after all, they weren’t locals and didn’t have much knowledge about Shanbei.
According to Ming Junwei, while Shanbei has many places rich in crude oil and coal mines, it is still primarily a poor mountainous region. The number of economically developed counties is limited. People are often misled by news stories about wealthy tycoons spending lavishly, easily mistaking this vast Loess Plateau for a land overflowing with oil and coal mines—thinking that one could simply bring a bucket to scoop up money. It was similar to Shanxi a few years back; everyone knew there were many coal bosses there, but how many could you actually meet on the streets?
Ming Junwei had never been to Shanbei; his understanding was superficial at best—general knowledge without much detail. Jin Bo may have had a roguish charm about him as a wanderer but was also rather inexperienced when it came to specifics. The two exchanged information back and forth but sadly realized they couldn’t even determine where they currently were. The only thing they could confirm was that they would definitely not see the large waist drum on top of the mountain that Jin Bo mentioned.
Regardless of their situation, they couldn’t afford to stop moving. The group quickly consumed some dried bread and jerky to replenish their energy lost over the past two days before shouldering their packs once more and setting off across the barren Loess slopes toward their agreed-upon direction, hoping to find a village or road along the way.
An hour later, after crossing a gully, they finally spotted a boundary marker standing amidst an earthen embankment that had weathered time; it was half-buried in loess and uncertain if it still held any significance. The red-painted letters were faded but vaguely revealed "Heavenly Gift Bay" written by hand above some partially visible numbers below. Unfortunately, several members took out knives and began digging at the site to uncover what lay beneath the sand. After some effort, they revealed that it was a monument erected by xxx Town Government in the 1970s with no other useful information present.
The only thing worth celebrating was the discovery of the words "Heavenly Gift Bay" on the map. For this rather pleasant-sounding place name, everyone only knew that it was a location where the Chairman had once fought; as for its exact whereabouts, they were completely in the dark. However, knowing the place was better than nothing.
The further they ventured in, the softer the Loess beneath their feet became. The Loess floated above the ground, carried into the air by strong winds. The group dared not speak, as opening their mouths would mean swallowing dust; they could only march on in silence for a long while until the sun was high in the sky, scorching them like drowned rats. They trudged across the sparsely vegetated Loess Plateau, finding it increasingly difficult under the October sun, which was harsher than they had anticipated. Coupled with the loose soil, each step grew more exhausting, and their supplies of water and food dwindled rapidly.
Ming Junwei, along with Jin Bo and Cao Liang, headed towards a tall earthen slope to the east, where they could see a patch of vegetation that differed in color from the Loess. After estimating that they had been walking for quite some time, they figured they must be nearing a village named Heavenly Gift. They quickened their pace under the blazing sun.
During their trek, Cao Liang remarked, "This Loess Plateau is just like this; what are we going to do about the Gobi Desert?"
"They're not much different. Let's get out of this wasteland first," Ming Junwei paused to catch his breath and pointed at the endless barren mountains in the distance. "This place has never been suitable for agricultural production. Although there's no threat from Zombies here, basic living conditions are hardly guaranteed. Otherwise, we could find a Cave Dwelling or something to settle down in; that wouldn't be too bad."
"Let's keep moving forward. There are plenty of villages in Shanbei. I've heard there are many reservoirs on the Loess Plateau; if we can find one, I think we won't need to go to that base," Jin Bo said, his knife always at hand. He hadn't seen any Zombies these past few days, and his treasured blade felt parched enough to serve as a walking stick instead; its jujube wood sheath was covered in dust.
"Let's go check it out first," Ming Junwei sighed inwardly, thinking how easy it sounded. First of all, An Zheng's situation was uncertain; that female doctor had pinned all her hopes on the Launch Base, which seemed more credible to her given the mysterious information.
The three stopped talking for a moment, passing around half a bottle of water to moisten their lips before continuing their climb up the slope while gasping for air.
Jin Bo glanced back and saw that those left behind were still visible; several dark spots stood out clearly against the sun-baked slope.
"Don't worry; this should be safe. If Zombies can come out here—"
Ming Junwei's muttering abruptly ceased as a ragged figure staggered up from a rooftop no more than ten meters away from them... The reason he didn't call it a Zombie was that behind this person came a group of fluffy white creatures bouncing along...
"Sheep???"
“Zombie??”
Jin Bo and Cao Liang had different focuses, but combining their exclamations revealed the reason for the three of them being dumbfounded.
“Junwei, you just said... what if there’s a Zombie here?” Cao Liang grinned and pulled the two back a few steps. The Rooftop Flock surged down, ignoring the three on the slope, bleating as they ran down the dirt incline.
“I, I, I…” Ming Junwei stammered for a while without making any sense. He quickly dodged a goat charging at him, and seeing the Zombie from Rooftop staggering down, he raised his gun to shoot.
At that moment, a loud voice rang out from behind the Rooftop.
“Hey hi~~ Ge Liang Liang Guang Guang let you pass~~ Three times in one night, you can’t get enough~~ The river water in the east of the village flows with a splash~~ Sister, I’m so happy I shout for my mother~~”
“The water of the Yellow River flows away and can’t return~~ How many times have I cried until I almost lost my breath~~ The wild geese fly south, autumn sounds are mournful~~ The responsibility fields are barren while you’ve become rich in your own land~~”
“White and plump thighs, water glistening…”
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