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The meeting between the two parties was far from pleasant. Firstly, the purpose of Song Jiu and his companions' visit was not straightforward, and coupled with the previous minor incident, it was no wonder that Cao Zheng looked at them with disdain.
Cao Zheng had no fondness for them, and he expressed it quite directly, unlike Yang Xiaomeng, who found herself caught in the middle, feeling out of place. She wanted to mediate, but unfortunately, Cao Zheng seemed to have a fiery temper and a stubborn streak. Even though he knew they were outmatched at a glance, he was unwilling to play nice.
"Then you all..." Cao Zheng took the lead and headed back to check on the injured. Yang Xiaomeng remained in the cafeteria, staring at the three people across from her, hesitating before asking, "How about we rest for the night first?"
"We'll stay here; can you sleep soundly tonight?" Song Jiu said with an inexplicable smile, ignoring Yang Xiaomeng's troubled expression. He continued, "Take me to see the valuable assets left by your troops."
Yang Xiaomeng furrowed her brows slightly. Despite her reluctance, she had no way to refuse. With a graceful flick of her long hair, she sighed and said, "Follow me."
As they exited the cafeteria, Jin Bo and his group were still resting. Upon hearing that they were going to check on supplies, they all perked up and followed along.
The camp was quite spacious, surrounded by red brick walls enclosing a large area of relatively flat land. Besides two rows of bungalows, there was an open space further in that was pitch black and hard to see into; wild grass grew wildly there, indicating it was an abandoned area.
"What is this place for?" Song Jiu asked curiously, pointing at the empty lot.
"The shooting range," Yang Xiaomeng replied casually. "There are targets for practicing with rifles against the wall over there. We have plenty of blank rounds but no guns."
"You usually just go about your lives without any defense?"
"Defend against what?" Yang Xiaomeng pouted her red lips and muttered, "There aren't even any zombies down here; there's no need to waste effort."
Seeing that he wasn't interested in chatting further, Song Jiu stopped asking questions and followed Yang Xiaomeng past the shooting range until they reached a corner of the wall. From a distance, they could smell an old mechanical oil scent.
"This is it," Yang Xiaomeng said as she glanced back at everyone and reminded them not to smoke. She walked straight over to a pile of metallic scrap reflecting dim light and squatted down to rummage through it. After a moment, she suddenly yanked up a waterproof tarp that had been lying on the ground for some time. The tarp was covered in dust and grass, sending up a cloud of choking dust as it was lifted.
Coughing into her hand to cover her mouth and nose, Yang Xiaomeng took small steps toward the center of the tarp. She crouched down and tapped on the ground, producing a series of metallic clinks in response.
Song Jiu and the others exchanged curious glances before moving closer. They saw that where Yang Xiaomeng was tapping had revealed a section of a cap about the width of a bowl. Between the cap and its threads lay a layer of grimy oil cloth, releasing a strong smell of gasoline that hit them all at once.
"Whew, an oil tank!" Wu Wentao's eyes lit up, and a hint of a smile finally appeared on his previously expressionless face.
"Yes, a small oil tank, it should hold about three to five tons. We haven't used much, and there's still more than half left," Yang Xiaomeng said, not fond of the smell of gasoline. After showing it off, she stepped aside and asked, "Do you need to open it and take a look?"
"No need, let's check it out during the day," Song Jiu replied, licking his lips with a satisfied smile. Even if the tank was only half full, it would be enough for them for quite some time.
"There’s a well in the yard, and food is stored in the cellar. What else is there?" Yang Xiaomeng yawned, her eyes slightly red. After tossing and turning for most of the night, she felt exhausted. She had initially thought about putting on a new face mask she had just bought before bed but decided against it after seeing the situation; she was too lazy to even remove her makeup.
"Let’s not look anymore," Song Jiu said as he put his arm around her shoulders and asked with a smile, "What do we have?"
"Mostly potatoes, some cabbage and radishes. There’s also rice and flour, but not much," Yang Xiaomeng replied awkwardly, pulling her neck in as she tried to shake off Song Jiu's arm.
"What else?"
"That's it. There are many seeds in the warehouse, but I don't know what some of them are. We tried planting them once but couldn't keep them alive," Yang Xiaomeng said with a resigned sigh, crossing her arms and forcing a bitter smile. "There’s no meat; don’t even think about that. We tried going into the mountains for luck and only caught a few rabbits. We haven’t ventured deep into the mountains, so there probably aren’t many wild animals."
"That’s fine; we can talk about this tomorrow. Could you help us tidy up a few rooms? We’ll stay here for the night; is that okay?"
What right do I have to object? Yang Xiaomeng cursed inwardly a thousand times but could only muster an unnatural smile on her face as she teased, "No problem at all; welcome to stay."
There were plenty of empty rooms, each containing four combination bunk beds against the walls. The beds were bare wooden boards, and the bedding had all been taken from one of the storage rooms. When Yang Xiaomeng and the others found this place, the camp was already deserted. At first, they were worried about being chased away for squatting in someone else's territory and watched cautiously for several days. They soon realized that the owners seemed unlikely to return, so they boldly made themselves at home, leaving behind only what they needed while packing everything else into storage.
The bedding was somewhat damp due to the heavy humidity in the bungalow. Yang Xiaomeng and her group had no preservation measures in place; many of the blankets stacked underneath had developed bugs, and even termite nests had formed in the corners of the walls, eroding large holes at their bases. Fortunately, Song Jiu and his team had brought some emergency bedding with them that could be distributed enough to make do. They declined the stiff and damp military green blankets and instead selected some thin throws, shaking off the dust before laying them down on top.
The group split into two rooms; they took apart the bed boards and laid them on the floor to create a comfortable sleeping area. With so many people around, it was nice to have some company as well. Once their sleeping arrangements were settled, Dr. Zhong finished up his work on his end and returned to collapse onto his bed with an exhausted expression. Within minutes, he was snoring loudly.
The others found their own spots to sleep as well. Song Jiu and Jin Bo knocked on the door of the women's room to call out Luci, who was just getting ready to rest.
"How's it going?" Song Jiu lit a cigarette and glanced at the room still glowing with light. "Any discoveries?"
"Not for now," Luci replied, looking equally weary. He forced himself to think and said, "They shouldn't be lying. I can't see any problems. The injuries aren't serious; the knife cut was on the back, and Dr. Zhong stitched him up. They have anti-inflammatory medicine, so he should be fine."
"That's good to hear." Song Jiu nodded as he listened, feeling a bit relieved. "You should go rest. We'll have someone else take over at night. Old Wu is keeping watch next door; just call him if anything comes up."
Luci loosened his belt and shook out his messy long hair. Just as he was about to turn back to his room, he suddenly paused and asked, "What are you two planning to do?"
"Going back. My sister hasn't arrived yet, and I'm worried there might be an issue."
They had left markers along the way, but the path from the barrier to the valley was indeed difficult to navigate. It was uncertain whether they would see the markers in the dead of night. Considering the time, it had been over two hours since they left. If Song Yao was waiting for the graduate student and Yuan An, they should already be on their way. For safety's sake, it would be better to check on them.
"I'll go with you two; it's too dark, and I can help you find your way." After a long night of trouble, Luci almost forgot that four companions were still out on National Highway braving the cold wind.
"No need; we need someone here to hold down the fort," Song Jiu reassured him, glancing at his watch. "We should be back before dawn. I've already briefed Old Wu on the specifics, so don't worry."
"Alright then, stay safe and hurry back." Seeing that Song Jiu had made up his mind, Luci didn't press further and went back to rest after giving a few more reminders.
Jin Bo rubbed his tired eyes and sighed, "Xiao Jiu, do you think I should apologize to that girl?"
"Now?"
"Yeah, come on! I'm not that kind of person! Look at that scrawny guy; it's like I've done something wrong." Jin Bo felt frustrated; he had inadvertently made a blunder and didn't like being labeled as a rogue.
Song Jiu chuckled and patted Swordmaster's shoulder in comfort. "Let's talk about it during the day. Who knows? She might already be in bed right now; if you barge in there, it'll just cause more trouble."
"True enough." Jin Bo agreed wholeheartedly. After all, when Chao Tianwang barged into a widow's home back in the day, it certainly stirred up chaos.
The two of them did not delay any further. After glancing at the flickering candlelight in the window, they quickened their pace toward the Yard Gate, stepping cautiously into the dark hollow overgrown with wild grass.
As Song Jiu had said, how could one sleep soundly with others snoring beside them in the middle of the night? A group of armed individuals, fully equipped and accompanied by their families, was living right next door with an air of aggression. Who could sleep peacefully except for the injured Dai Wei, who had already fallen into a deep slumber due to medication? The other three wore expressions of worry as they sat at the table, guarding the swaying candlestick, their eyes bloodshot yet unwilling to go to bed.
Yang Xiaomeng had explained the situation several times, not omitting any details. Although his companions did not blame him, he knew in his heart that if he hadn't spoken up, they probably wouldn't have attracted such a pack of wolves. However, every situation has two sides. As it stood, these armed thugs did not seem to exhibit any inhuman brutality; aside from the initial incident of harassment, things were relatively manageable. After all, their doctor had not turned a blind eye and had indeed stitched up Dai Wei's wounds with care, prescribing medication based on what was available in the camp.
"Well, it's a blessing in disguise. There's no point in saying anything now; we'll just take it one step at a time," Cao Zheng said, biting down on a cigarette. He frowned and took a few deep puffs, coughing violently afterward.
"Maybe they're just here to redistribute wealth from the rich. If they take away the gasoline and food, it should be fine," Yang Xiaomeng mused. He wasn't sure if this counted as self-comforting. The people had mentioned many unfamiliar terms during their discussions; it sounded like they were hiding from something. Most likely, they were also survivors on the run. In the past, they had encountered some unfriendly characters whose actions were quite clear—they bullied the weak and feared the strong. When outnumbered, they would yield; but Song Jiu and his group clearly held an absolute advantage and did not behave like marauders burning and pillaging through a village. This somewhat reassured Yang Xiaomeng; he figured that once they got what they wanted, they would leave.
The girl named Qianqian remained silent, hugging her knees with her head resting on them, her eyes flickering as she seemed lost in thought. Yang Xiaomeng explained a few things to Jin Bo; it was all just a misunderstanding. Under someone else's roof, one had to lower their head; if one could endure it, then endure it. To put it bluntly, touching one's chest wasn't such a big deal.
"You two should go to sleep; I'll keep watch tonight," Cao Zheng said after a moment of silence with his brows furrowed. Yang Xiaomeng's reasoning made sense, but he still felt something was off—especially that kid with bandages on his hand who kept asking irrelevant questions as if he had ulterior motives.
"Hey," Qianqian suddenly spoke up in confusion after staring blankly for a while. She got up and walked to the window, exclaiming in surprise, "Those two people have gone out."
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