Chapter 75

Under the collective gaze of the group, Xu Tingfeng slowly looked at Chen Fa and said, “Good eye.”

Chen Fa didn’t comment; she wasn’t interested in such remarks that seemed meaningless. She simply continued, “Do you agree? If you do, let’s make the exchange.”

The answer was, of course, yes. After all, there were still several vehicles in their warehouse, many of which had been driven out during their evacuation from Pincheng Town. Among them were other off-road vehicles, though none of them were as well-equipped as the one Chen Fa had her eye on.

Moreover, at this point, a bus was far more practical for their large group than an off-road vehicle, as the space inside the off-road vehicle was even less than that of a minivan. As for fuel, they hadn’t carried much with them when they went out, but they still had some reserves, and they could take the remaining fuel from the bus.

As for the repairs and reinforcements, this was a factory, so they had tools, steel materials, and spare parts available. The process would just require some time and manpower, but it wasn’t difficult.

Looking at it this way, it seemed like they were getting the better deal in this exchange.

However, for the three of them, a fully reinforced and modified off-road vehicle was more useful, so in the end, it was a win-win transaction.

Xu Tingfeng thought for a moment and nodded.

On the other hand, when Xu Jiechu heard that his own vehicle was going to be exchanged, his face immediately soured, and he was clearly reluctant. But he had no say in the matter, and protesting was useless. Chen Fa didn’t even spare him a glance.

The vehicle exchange agreement was settled, and Xu Tingfeng continued with the material plan. The main route and several backup routes were planned by Lu Zheng, and based on the supplies they had brought back from Lucheng, they set a tentative departure date.

Given the unknown road conditions from the Salt Lake to Youcheng, and the constantly changing situation, even though they had predicted that supplies could be obtained in southern Youcheng when they had internet access, no one could guess how things would unfold from there.

Thus, they couldn’t wait until their supplies were nearly exhausted before heading out. They needed to leave earlier, so the departure was set for a week later.

After Lu Zheng finished explaining, Xu Tingfeng proposed another survival plan.

This plan stemmed from something Chen Yuezhen had said earlier: It was raining every day, and the Salt Lake might turn back into a freshwater lake.

While it seemed safe here for now, it wasn’t a place to stay for long. The terrain dictated that the Tianyan Salt Lake Scenic Area was in a basin surrounded by mountains. According to the topographic map they found in the factory office, the Salt Lake originally covered only half of its current size.

This meant that since the rainy weather began, the water level of the Salt Lake had been rising. Additionally, due to the terrain, the lake’s surface area was also expanding.

The container houses that were once farther from the lake now seemed much closer to the water. They suspected that if they stayed here much longer, the lake would soon flood over the container houses where they were living.

As the saying goes, “prepare for the worst.” They couldn’t wait for the floodwaters to arrive before making a plan to relocate.

They couldn’t stay here for long, so they needed to find a new place to live.

Thus, this trip to Youcheng was also to check for suitable places to settle along the way. The two plans weren’t mutually exclusive and could be carried out simultaneously. As for Shu Fu and the other two, they didn’t necessarily have to follow the action plan, but if they joined, it would certainly be better.

“Okay, you can reinforce the vehicle as soon as possible. We’ll leave together in seven days,” Chen Fa nodded. They had also exchanged a lot of food and water, so they would be fine here for a week. She then listed a few requirements for the off-road vehicle’s reinforcement.

When Xu Jiechu saw that Shu Fu hadn’t said anything while sitting quietly beside them, he deliberately tried to stir things up, “Huh, why does she make all the decisions? Doesn’t she ask for your opinion?”

Shu Fu gave him a glance and lazily responded, “Her opinion is my opinion.”

Chen Fa shot a glance at Xu Jiechu and said to Xu Tingfeng, “Take care of your people. Make sure there are no issues with reinforcing the vehicle. Once it’s done, come find me to exchange the keys.”

The meeting ended, and everyone dispersed to get busy.

Shu Fu turned to find Lu Zheng, hoping to chat a bit more, but clearly, aside from the extra memory that shouldn’t exist in this world, he didn’t have more information to give her.

As for that memory, it was fragmented and incomplete for him now, like a few flashes of scenes in his mind. Instead of memories, they seemed more like images from a dream.

“Sorry, did I disturb you? I don’t know what happened… How did I mix up dreams and reality…” Lu Zheng’s expression was much clearer today, no longer plagued by the fractured confusion from yesterday. Clearly, after a night’s rest, some of his confused memories had become coherent.

For Shu Fu, it felt like a small wound on him, one that had healed overnight. If there were no outside intervention, it would soon fade away.

The question now was whether she should intervene, and if so, how?

Not far away, Lu Ce was still holding the tabby cat, pacing back and forth, clearly wanting to talk to her.

Shu Fu remembered that long ago, when she was still in Lou Yuncheng, Lu Ce had privately told her that he had a secret related to Lanlan that even his older brother didn’t know. She raised her hand, signaling for him to come over.

Lu Ce, usually quick-tempered, was hesitating now, taking two steps and then three, moving slowly and reluctantly.

Shu Fu glanced at Lu Zheng, wondering if, after all this time, Lu Zheng still didn’t know the secret that Lu Ce had mentioned.

She thought for a moment before telling Lu Zheng that she needed to talk to Lu Ce alone. Lu Zheng, who was usually easygoing, didn’t ask any questions and simply nodded, walking off to the other side of the warehouse where they were reinforcing the vehicles.

“Is there something you need from me?” Shu Fu approached Lu Ce, noticing the tabby cat hiding inside his coat. It had grown quite a bit since before, but still seemed to focus intently on her. Every time she appeared, those blue eyes followed her.

“Mm.”

“Is it about that thing you mentioned when I was still in Lou Yuncheng?”

Lu Ce’s expression was conflicted. Back then, he had intended to hurry her to Pincheng, which was why he said it. In his eyes, the secret about Lanlan was so shocking that he hadn’t even dared to tell his older brother. He liked Shu Fu, but she was an adult, and now that the words were on the tip of his tongue, he didn’t know whether he should say them or not…

Shu Fu waited patiently, but before Lu Ce could speak, something happened on the other side of the warehouse.

**

The thin, long-faced man collapsed while a few people were preparing to reinforce the off-road vehicle, as per Chen Fa’s instructions.

Though the man was timid and emotionally unstable, he was skilled in vehicle modifications, and familiar with everything related to cars. So, even with both legs bitten and limping, he stayed behind to provide advice to those working on the vehicle.

He was sitting aside due to his limited mobility, when suddenly, without warning, he collapsed, falling face-first. His head hit the ground, causing a wound, and when they flipped him over, blood was all over his face.

Several people were startled and tried to wake him, but no matter how much they called out, he didn’t respond.

Shu Fu walked over, observing as they tried to clean his wounds and stop the bleeding while attempting to revive him. It was then that someone noticed his temperature and said that he was burning up, like he had a fever.

Hearing the words “fever,” Shu Fu’s heart sank.

The thin, long-faced man had been feverish for two days. He had woken up a few times, but each time he was coughing violently, tears and mucus flowing, looking like he had a severe cold. He was alone, without family or friends, so Big Guy and the others were taking care of him. They had given him fever-reducing and cold medicine, but it wasn’t working well.

The fever would occasionally drop slightly but would rise again after a few hours, tormenting him severely.

All the symptoms matched, and Chen Fa and Chen Yuezhen suggested to Shu Fu that the man had probably caught that strange disease, but they still didn’t know what was causing it.

“Could it be from the bites?” Chen Fa speculated and then answered her own question, “But I was bitten too, and Xu Tingfeng was bitten as well. His wound was even more severe, yet he’s fine now.”

As she spoke, she raised her hand to check her own wound, which had healed completely, leaving only a scar from the healing process.

“Yes, you and Xu Jiechu were also stung by the female fish’s tail, but neither of you is affected,” Shu Fu nodded. If the strange fish was truly the cause of this disease, then why was the thin, long-faced man the only one who got sick?

“There must be another reason,” Chen Yuezhen said, standing in front of the container house. The door was slightly ajar, and she was peering through the gap, looking at the group of container houses in the rain. “If he didn’t get sick from the strange fish bites, it means he was already ill before that day, but the symptoms hadn’t shown. This means he probably caught the disease in Lucheng, or it could have been here.”

Here?

The Salt Lake Scenic Area?

Soon, the other townspeople learned about the thin, long-faced man’s illness. At first, everyone was quite concerned. After all, he was part of the team that went out to gather supplies. Though he was thin and not as strong as Braid and Big Guy, finding people who were capable and willing to work among the remaining group wasn’t easy.

The container houses, though simple, were a safer haven compared to the outside. With water and electricity, many people had gotten used to staying there and didn’t want to leave.

At first, people showed concern for the sick man, and some townspeople brought food to visit him in his container house. They were puzzled as to why, despite taking medicine, he wasn’t getting better.

But as his condition didn’t improve, and since Big Guy and the others mentioned that medicine supplies were limited and they feared the illness could spread, other people stopped visiting.

During this time, after speaking with Lu Zheng, Xu Tingfeng found Chen Fa alone and asked a few questions. He left with a very serious expression.

On the evening of the fifth day, someone went to visit the sick man alone.

It was a young girl from the town, named Xiao Yi. Xiao Yi came from a single-parent family, and her father had died in a mudslide during the evacuation, along with their vehicle.

At the time, Xiao Yi had jumped out of the vehicle, but she nearly fell off the cliff as well. In a critical moment, others rushed to save her, and it was Xu Tingfeng who grabbed her hand and pulled her up. But her father and all their belongings, including the car, were lost. The thin, long-faced man had liked her for some time and had taken care of her since then, providing her with food and clothes.

The thin man, though not handsome and lacking a proper job even before the chaos, had once pursued Xiao Yi a few times, but she had politely declined. Now, he repeatedly ventured out, and each time he returned, he would bring her extra supplies she needed.

Although Xiao Yi appreciated his kindness, she still didn’t have feelings for him. She liked men like Xu Tingfeng, who was steady and calm, and he also had a good-looking face.

Later on, somehow, the thin man found out that Xiao Yi liked Xu Tingfeng. By then, in the thin man’s mind, he had already considered Xiao Yi as his girlfriend. He didn’t dare to ask her directly, but he went to confront Xu Tingfeng, which led to a conflict between them.

Xu Tingfeng, focused solely on how to keep everyone alive, had never paid attention to romantic matters and certainly didn’t go to clarify things with Xiao Yi. He simply distanced himself from her, and when Xiao Yi noticed his coldness and figured out the reason, she realized that in Xu Tingfeng’s eyes, she had become a fickle woman.

From that point on, Xiao Yi began to keep her distance from the thin man and no longer accepted the extra things he brought her. She took only the regular supplies like everyone else. So, after the thin man was injured and returned, she hadn’t visited him, but when she heard he had been running a fever for several days and hadn’t recovered, she thought for a while and decided to cook some rice porridge and go visit him.

In addition, she planned to return the key that he had secretly given her in the supplies.

Back then, the thin man had tried to be romantic, writing a note and wrapping it around the key. The note’s message was essentially, “My home is your home,” suggesting that if she ever needed anything while he was gone, she could simply go to his house and take it.

Xiao Yi hadn’t used the key before, and only recently discovered it. She hadn’t planned to use it, but now she wanted to return it to him.

When she arrived at his house, the door was locked, but she didn’t think much of it and used the key to open it.

However, soon after entering, she was so frightened that she ran out without even putting on her raincoat. She screamed in panic as she ran through the entire group of container houses back to her own.

Her screams attracted the attention of others. Some people rushed out to stop her, asking what had happened.

Xiao Yi’s face was pale, and she stammered, saying that the thin man seemed to have turned into a zombie, and it was terrifying…

A zombie!?

For most of the town’s middle-aged and young people, the word “zombie” was not unfamiliar. It had been used in countless movies and TV shows, so they all knew what it meant and why it might appear.

In the past, people might have dismissed it, but now, with the continuous natural and man-made disasters, and reports from the team that went out saying that the strange fish in Lucheng had started attacking people by jumping ashore, the appearance of zombies no longer seemed that impossible.

If it really was a zombie, things could get serious. The infection could spread rapidly, and in one night, the entire Salt Lake Scenic Area could be wiped out. They had to check the situation.

So, when Xu Tingfeng and the others received the news, the townspeople had already mobilized and surrounded the container house where the thin man lived.

The mayor, along with a young man carrying a stick, went inside to assess the situation. The thin man, lying in bed, didn’t respond when they called out to him. As he turned his head, they saw his bloodshot, terrifying eyes. His gaze was unfocused, and he seemed completely dazed, as if he couldn’t recognize anyone.

As he shook his head, the thin blanket that had been covering him slipped down, revealing large patches of skin on his chin, neck, and chest.

On what should have been normal human skin, there were grayish spots, looking like dried scabs, each one very small, densely stacked, resembling gray scales. The sight was so unpleasant it caused physical discomfort…

The mayor and the young man scrambled to escape, and the young man, reacting quickly, slammed the door shut behind them, shouting for someone to block the door.

The others outside were startled. “Did he really turn into a zombie?”

The young man, who had seen his share of zombie films, nodded eagerly, “He’s probably in the process of turning. Once the transformation is complete, he’ll start attacking people! Lock the door first, then we’ll figure out what to do!”

“Who dares to deal with him?” At that moment, Xu Tingfeng appeared. They had been in the warehouse modifying vehicles, and besides the off-road vehicle, they also had to repair the bus windows and reinforce it, as there were only a few days left until the planned departure. Everyone had gone to help, and when Big Guy left, he had locked the door. They hadn’t expected an incident.