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墨書 Inktalez
Few among the crowd had any experience at sea, and even someone like Jin Bo, who had drifted on the ocean for years, was still quite clueless about the various aspects of sailing. When he first set out from Land, he relied on the help of Shaoshan's soldiers. Kayak required only strength; once they paddled out of the harbor, they encountered New Pu Yang, a massive cruise ship with a complete operational team, so there was no need for them to worry. Later, when they were rescued by a small boat, it was also driven by Wang Zhongyu's men, allowing Jin Bo to continue being his carefree self.
Jin Bo had once been interested in learning to drive a boat, especially since he needed to make a living at sea and often contemplated returning to Land. However, due to practical issues, he eventually had to abandon that thought. The small boat they had was merely for emergencies; by the time they headed for the deserted island, it was already in tatters. More importantly, resources on the island were scarce, making it difficult to even secure basic sustenance, let alone fuel. The story of Jinbo Island's pioneering efforts could wait; for now, the focus of their expedition rested squarely on Cao Zheng and Dai Wei. Since they expressed their excitement about being fully prepared, no one else raised any objections.
Cao Zheng's initial excitement was somewhat dampened, but upon reflection, he understood that Song Jiu and his group had little experience with boats and lacked knowledge about the differences between various types of vessels. While the distinction between a dinghy and a warship was clear, they saw no difference between a yacht and a Catamaran.
Cao Zheng chuckled lightly and tossed the hinge back into the trunk. He explained simply, "This thing is big; one boat can accommodate all of us without needing to find another vessel. Plus, this boat has a two-stroke gasoline engine. We still have plenty of gasoline reserves; there are several barrels of oil in the Cargo Hold that Old Dai checked and found unopened—usable."
At this point, the dazed expressions on Song Jiu and his companions finally faded away, replaced by the long-awaited joy that Cao Zheng had hoped for.
Initially, Song Jiu hadn't dared to consider a large-capacity vessel due to limited fuel reserves and because in coastal cities like theirs, escaping by sea was too convenient—there was no reason for locals to abandon their boats. The Assault Boat they used to cross into the sea had been found at Trade Port; it was highly maneuverable but could carry only a few people. Moreover, with its motor damaged, they had to rely on manual paddling—a time-consuming and labor-intensive task. When Cao Zheng and Dai Wei proposed changing their route, Song Jiu's biggest concern was finding a suitable boat for their escape.
Wu Wentao also raised doubts about this; he had been to Bohai Bay and seen massive Engineering Ships stranded in port. While there were many large vessels available, they lacked the capability to operate them. Their team did not have enough personnel to form an engine crew, let alone deal with the fuel issues associated with heavy ships. The types of vessels they could manage with their current manpower and resources were limited; after three years of disaster recovery, boats had become strategic assets that were likely long gone. Were they really expected to build bamboo rafts themselves?
Cao Zheng and Dai Wei appeared confident as they made solemn promises that as long as they preserved enough usable fuel, securing a boat would be no problem—there was no need for everyone else to worry. Given the circumstances at that moment allowed little room for overthinking, Song Jiu decided to trust their judgment and treat it as a gamble.
As it turned out, they had made the right bet.
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's set off!" Song Jiu exclaimed excitedly. Recently things had been going smoothly for him; as departure approached, anxiety about unforeseen changes weighed heavily on everyone's hearts. If conditions allowed it, Song Jiu intended to leave this land of suffering without any delays.
Dai Wei scratched his head with a wry smile and said regretfully, "We still need some preparations before we can go."
Song Jiu's fervor immediately dampened as he asked in confusion, "What else do we need?"
"Crane equipment, the yacht is in the cargo hold, and it needs to be transferred to the Water Surface," Cao Zheng said, counting on his fingers. After a moment of thought, he added, "We also need to find some emergency facilities; lifeboats and swimming rings are essential. Those should be easy to find."
Wu Wentao looked around and called out to the other lively people to get in the vehicle, interrupting the two's discussion. "Let's find a place to settle down first; standing on the main road is too conspicuous. By the way, have you spotted any traces of Zombies?"
"Yes, but not many," Dai Wei replied, pulling out a newly found city tourist map from his pocket. He drew several circles near the port area with a pen. "For some reason, it seems like the Zombies in the city are concentrated here. We haven't gone into the port area; there should be quite a few over there. This is one of our problems—if we can't access the shipping port, we need to find another way to get into the water."
Wu Wentao nodded, satisfied with their intelligence work. It made sense; as professional expedition leaders, they had to do more thorough groundwork than Song Jiu and his crew, ensuring that nothing was overlooked and providing great convenience for the larger group's actions.
With information exchanged, each team returned to their vehicles. Under Cao Zheng's lead, they drove toward their temporary resting place. There was no need to ask; they must have scouted their route on the way back.
Song Jiu took over driving while Luo Yu settled into the back seat for a nap. Yang Xiaomeng was still fiddling with her outfit.
"Before we set sail, let's get some bikinis and throw a beach party," Yang Xiaomeng suggested cheerfully, pulling a CD from the sun visor as if ready to dance along with the music.
"Do as you like, just don't delay our schedule," Song Jiu replied. He didn't mind Yang Xiaomeng's seemingly pointless antics as long as they didn't affect their overall mission. Finding some fun under certain conditions could add color to their monotonous journey—something Dream Fan loved to do. Gradually, Song Jiu found himself accepting this notion.
Luo Yu, resting in the back seat, smiled at her words and suddenly recalled a few days ago when they had taken Riverside Fortress; Dream Fan had worn a bikini in the vehicle without noticing Luo Yu's slightly awkward expression.
"Talking nonsense," Luo Yu chuckled and subtly shifted the topic. "Can I go with them? What kind of wedding dress do we need?"
"You all decide; make it grander. That guy gets his beauty back; let's add some flowers on top for him."
Twenty minutes later, the convoy arrived at their temporary resting place—a ship parts factory.
Cao Zheng originally chose a small shipyard, where the roads were relatively wide and close to the water. The shipyard had a civil waterway leading to the sea, but its geographical location was quite remote. The team still needed to gather various supplies in the city, making back-and-forth trips inconvenient. Therefore, they decided to move to a factory closer to the city center.
The parts factory was not large; its main entrance consisted of two shops that directly sold finished parts and handled packaging and transportation. The back of the factory did not engage in production; it mainly focused on collecting and recycling damaged items. There were not many large machines as one might imagine. Aside from the piled-up components in the yard, it resembled a seafood barbecue stall seen along the way.
The two stores were severely damaged, with shattered doors and windows, and the interior was a complete mess. Old bloodstains were visible everywhere, and decaying corpses almost blended into the overgrown grass. Everyone had long since grown accustomed to such scenes. Vehicles entered the courtyard in an orderly fashion, and they quickly cleared out a resting area. After a long journey, the team could finally take a break.
Wu Wentao meticulously arranged sentries and led a few people to seal off the small door leading from the store to the backyard. They locked the iron gate in the backyard to prevent any potential dangers. Chef Jia and Pockmarked Girl diligently moved cooking pots and rations from the vehicles. The young men gathered hay and stones, skillfully building a stove and helping the chef start a fire, sitting around waiting for their meal. By the standards of a fleeing team, Song Jiu's group had relatively good living conditions; they rarely had to endure sleeping outdoors, their food supplies were sufficient to fill their stomachs, and they had both a chef and a doctor traveling with them, so they seldom worried about daily necessities.
Those who cooked did their jobs while those on guard stood watch. The rest gathered together, waiting for their respective tasks to be assigned. Over these days, the team had developed a tacit understanding; everyone had their own place within the group, eliminating the previous situation of merely waiting around idly.
Cao Zheng and Fang Fei studied the Sea Chart nearby. Jin Bo and others had landed from Zhoushan earlier but were now unexpectedly changing routes. The land was manageable, but there were not many reference points on the sea surface. Cao Zheng's group had experience at sea; however, in past activities, there had been dedicated personnel responsible for route planning. They usually focused more on matters during transit. Now that they were personally handling things, they were fully alert to avoid any mistakes. Fang Fei's Sea Chart was very accurate; compared to the travel Sea Chart obtained from the tourism bureau, there was hardly any discrepancy. Based on their current location, if nothing unexpected occurred along the way, they could reach Jin Bo's island within two days at most.
"Wow! How long did it take you all to row from the island to land?" Cao Zheng exclaimed quietly. Although there were many small islands in that area of Zhoushan, Jin Bo's base was quite far away. The travel Sea Chart didn't even mark Jin Bo's island; how did those people manage to swim ashore?
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