Chapter 94: Chapter 93, Military Truck_i
The incessant sounds of thunderous roars and bites echoed as the Skeleton Dogs and the Mutated Dogs tumbled into a brawl.
The ferocious Mutated Dog, thrashed and bitten, shed large chunks of rotting flesh, with foul blood splattering everywhere.
Escape was impossible, its flesh and blood shared amongst several bony figures.
The passenger lounge.
A few survivors once again began to eye the drifting ghosts with caution, “Don’t you dare come any closer, or don’t blame us for getting hostile.”
Xiao Xiao floated a bit closer and retorted, “Hey, I just saved you guys!”
“Are you human or ghost?”
“Erm…hard to say, but you guys are safe now. Just wait for my uncles to come up.” Seeing that they weren’t too fond of him, Xiao Xiao didn’t feel like chatting anymore, and after leaving a statement, he flew out.
He floated over to where the Skeleton Dogs were fighting, cheering them on mid-air.
Li Yahong slowly climbed up the stairs and arrived.
She paused at the entrance and asked, “Were you the ones calling for help over the radio?”
With the arrival of a living person, a sense of relief swept across the survivors’ faces.
“Are you part of the rescue team?”
“We are not the rescue team.” Li Yahong evaluated their condition, they seemed to be without any serious injuries, and said, “the zombies outside have been cleared out, you don’t need to worry anymore.”
“Thank you for saving us.” said the man leading the group.
Li Yahong waved her hand dismissively and continued, “I won’t beat around the bush, now I give you two choices. One, come with me, but everything you do will be under my command, whether you are rich brats, flight attendants or stewards, you must change if you want to survive in this new world.”
There was no response from the survivors.
Li Yahong went on to state the second choice, “The second is not to follow us. The zombies outside have been cleaned up. You can continue to shelter here or go somewhere else, but whether you can survive in the future depends on yourselves, and we will not come to save you a second time.”
This was the decision she arrived at in consultation with Wu Heng.
It was different from the rescue of Wang Ke from the hospital.
Wang Ke was weak and thin and had been the only one left. To leave her there was to leave her to die.
But there were five people here, forming a small group.
Having a larger team could actually be more troublesome.
The choice was ultimately up to them.
If they were willing to come, she could accommodate them, they could use the additional manpower.
If they were unwilling, she would not force them, whether they could survive or not was now up to them.
“Could we discuss it?” asked the man.
Li Yahong nodded, “Sure, but make it quick, we don’t have much time.”
The five gathered together, whispering among themselves while occasionally glancing at Li Yahong not far from them.
From their complexion alone, one could infer their state of life.
The five of them were emaciated, not just from hunger, but also from the constant worry and heightened tension during this period.
Yet Li Yahong at the doorway was much healthier even though she was dressed like a laborer and wearing protective gloves, she clearly wasn’t starved.
At least it was proof that she had enough to eat.
They discussed briefly.
The young man in the lead finally stood up and asked, “Could we ask, what will we need to do?”
Leaning against the door frame, Li Yahong said: “Carrying things, cutting, welding, and other physical labor, none of it is particularly difficult, just a bit strenuous.”
“What about females?” a female crew member asked from behind.
“If you have any special skills, you can mention them. If not, you will also have to do the work. Even I work every day.” Li Yahong continued.
The survivors were somewhat baffled.
Welding, cutting? Who were they going to be working for?
Or was it that they had a permanent refuge they were constructing on a large scale?
“Would it be safe to go with you?”
“It should be safer than you all being alone.” Li Yahong responded.
The five survivors looked at each other, “Then we will go with you, we are willing to follow your command.”
If they were indeed building some kind of refuge, it would be good for them.
At least they’d be safe and could have a good night’s sleep.
If it went on like this, they feared they might all go mad.
Li Yahong nodded, “Alright, follow me down, remember to remain calm no matter what you see.”
“Okay!”
Downstairs.
Wu Heng was strolling around on the first floor.
He collected well-preserved snacks and instant noodles from the station store into his Space Ring.
Since it was an old station, there was only one sort of newsstand-like shop, so the choice was limited. He picked through the items and left the rest behind.
On the side, the Skeleton Dogs dragged down two bodies of the Mutated Dogs from upstairs.
Dull red blood stains were left behind along the way.
Wu Heng released the “Bone Manipulation Skill.”
The two Skeleton Dogs got up, wagged their tail bones, and ran to one side.
They joined the rest of the Skeleton Dogs and started milling in a circle.
Wu Heng took his short spear and rummaged briefly through the shattered flesh, extracting two Corpse Cores.
He bagged them in a plastic bag and stored them in his space.
The Space Ring, with its mere 3 cubic meter capacity, actually couldn’t hold much.
“We’re back!” Li Yahong shouted from a distance.
Wu Heng looked over and saw a few survivors following behind her, two men and three women, all relatively young.
“Send them over.” Wu Heng directed the Big Head Skeleton.
Whoosh-!
The skeleton opened a path, and Li Yahong led several people in.
As they passed through the group of skeletons, everyone’s legs were trembling, their eyes displaying utter disbelief.
“Did you explain everything to them?”
“I did. They’re willing to follow us. Everyone’s struggled a lot just to survive, so we can help each other on the way,” Li Yahong replied.
Wu Heng didn’t say much. As long as nothing unpredictable happened after taking them in, it was all right.
“Alright, let’s go back!”
The skeletal squad left the hall.
Outside were even more skeletons, standing so densely it was as if they filled the entire open space.
The survivors began to tremble even more severely.
Where on earth did all these bones come from, and how could they even act like living beings?
Some were beginning to regret their decision. Knowing it would be like this, they wouldn’t have chosen to follow them. This group of skeletons didn’t seem like a place where humans could live, no matter how they looked at it.
The team set off to return.
The skeleton armies were vast and imposing.
As they walked, Wu Heng said, “After returning, let’s mainly prepare for the trade. Figure out where we can get some trucks or vans and consider the travel routes in advance.”
“Yes. Regarding the vehicles, I remember there were usually a few trucks parked near the dam. We could check there when the time comes,” Li Yahong replied.
Trading with the prison wasn’t just about transporting food.
They also needed to bring some skeleton soldiers.
So they needed a few trucks.
“Alright, if that doesn’t work out, we’ll just find some smaller vans.”
The five survivors following closely behind also heard their conversation.
The braver young man among the survivors stepped forward and asked, “Excuse me, do you need trucks for transportation?”
Wu Heng nodded, “Yes, do you have any suggestions?”
The man continued, “There’s a vehicle parking lot opposite the station. I saw an army truck being driven in there a few days ago. It’s brand new, with green canvas at the back. It should still be there.”
“Opposite the station?”
“Yes, just right opposite. All kinds of special vehicles were parked there for transfer,” the man said.
“How many trucks?”
”1 only saw three, I’m not sure about the exact number.”
Wu Heng didn’t know much about vehicles. Though he had a driver’s license, he had never owned a car before.
But at least he knew that army vehicles would usually be of good quality.
And three was indeed enough.
“Halt,” Wu Heng ordered directly, and the entire skeleton army came to a stop.
The whole street suddenly became silent.
“Let’s go, lead us there.”
“Okay! We’ll need to go back a bit.”
The army turned around, and the rear became the front as they marched back.
The place mentioned by the man was deeper in.
It was a large courtyard with high walls, and ‘Special Vehicle Transfer Center’ was written on the entrance.
The gate was an electric retractable door and was fully open.
There were no zombies in the yard. One could see six vehicles parked inside, including three army trucks, one passenger bus, and two forklifts.
After confirming there were no zombies, the team walked straight in.
After a brief check, Li Yahong said, “There’s gas, but no keys.”
Wu Heng took a look around.
He commanded directly, “Search the building, see if we can find the keys.”
These sorts of things were usually kept in a fixed place, ready to be taken when needed.
Wu Heng had a bronze key, which was useful for opening doors, but he had never tried it on a vehicle. And he didn’t plan on using it in front of others. There was a three-story building in the yard.
Though not tall, it had many offices and rooms inside.
Wu Heng, Li Yahong, and several skeletons went into the building.
The newly joined survivors, along with more skeletons, were left outside.
Wu Heng said directly, “Everyone, spread out and search.”
“I’ll go to the second floor,” Li Yahong volunteered.
“Wait, Jianyi and Jian’er, you two go with her.”
Li Yahong nodded and led Jianyi and Jian’er to the second floor.
Xiao Xiao also raised his small hand, “Then I’ll go to the third floor.”
“Good, our Xiao Xiao knows how to take initiative,” Wu Heng complimented.
Xiao Xiao, elated, disappeared by penetrating through the roof.
As Wu Heng was searching through each office.
After searching through about half the rooms.
“Ah~!”
A startled cry suddenly came from the second floor.
It was Li Yahong’s voice.
Wu Heng’s brow furrowed, and he looked in the direction of the second floor.
“Let’s go, upstairs..”