Shen Feng felt his face was losing its composure, so he immediately said, "You all wait here. After I've dealt with these natives, we'll continue on our way!"
With that, Shen Feng charged forward, summoning countless wind blades around his body, ready to slaughter at a mere thought.
However, as soon as Shen Feng charged, the hundreds of people there all knelt down with a whoosh and began to kowtow, muttering something unintelligible. Shen Feng rushed to the front of these people and was immediately at a loss. Why were these people kneeling and kowtowing? Weren't they here for revenge?
"What are you doing? Are you here for revenge or not?" Shen Feng couldn't help but ask.
The natives spoke in their local dialect, which Shen Feng couldn't understand at all.
Fortunately, an old man emerged from the crowd. He was wearing a tattered suit, and when he spoke, he actually spoke English.
"Li Gui, come over and translate. These people aren't here to fight!" Shen Feng turned his head and shouted to Li Gui behind him, simultaneously dissipating the wind blades that had already formed.
Li Gui was also stunned by the scene before him. Weren't the natives always fierce? Weren't they uncivilized and even man-eaters? Now they were all kneeling. Had they gone mad? Their tribesmen had their arms broken, and they were supposed to stand up and fight!
"Mr. Shen, this old man is asking who you are, where you come from, and where you are going," Li Gui began to translate.
Shen Feng was stunned by these three philosophical questions, finding it incredibly strange that such classic questions were coming from the mouths of natives.
"We are esper from China, we come from China, and we are going to China!" Shen Feng replied.
Li Gui quickly translated Shen Feng's meaning into English. Upon hearing this, the old man revealed a look of "as expected."
Then, the old man said, "Your fleet left a month ago. You won't be able to catch the ship at this time. Why don't you stay? I will make you our chief! I will have the most beautiful maiden serve you."
When Li Gui translated the old man's words to Shen Feng, Shen Feng couldn't help but laugh and cry. What kind of offer was this? Inviting him to be the chief of the natives. Let alone chief, he wouldn't even be king!
"That's strange. How would the natives know about the fleet? Li Gui, help me ask him how he knows about the fleet!" Yue Hengyi suddenly felt something was wrong. He didn't even know about China's fleet, so how could these mountain-dwelling natives know?
Li Gui continued to translate.
The old man explained, "In our village, we have a radio, and we can listen to the broadcast every day. However, not many people in the village understand English, and only a few know what's happening outside. Coincidentally, I can speak English."
"Do you have a radio station?" Shen Feng quickly asked. He hadn't expected to find a radio in a primitive tribe, so he wondered if a radio station might also exist.
The old man immediately replied, "No!"
Shen Feng continued to inquire, "Why are all these people kneeling and kowtowing? What do they mean?"
The old man explained, "There's a legend in our tribe that when the world is about to end, many powerful humans will appear in the world. They will have incredible speed and strong bodies. Ten or even a hundred people won't be their match. They are sent by the gods to save the world. These are the legendary heroes. They probably consider you heroes."
Upon hearing this explanation, Shen Feng couldn't help but shake his head and say helplessly, "What kind of myth is this? It's a coincidence that it's right. It is indeed the end of the world now, but we are not legendary heroes, but espers. Take me to your village to have a look. If there's anything we need, we can exchange it for food. I won't be your chief."
The old man immediately agreed and then led the three towards the village. As they walked, the old man introduced himself. His name was Swataniro, and he was the son of the previous chief, which gave him the opportunity to go to school and learn English and some knowledge. After the old chief died, he became the new chief. The tribe was originally very large, living in a valley, with over two thousand people. Among these two thousand people, whatever happened was decided by the chief.
Speaking of this, the old man's face showed a proud expression, as this matter made him very pleased.
Shen Feng and Yue Hengyi were somewhat speechless. It was just a village chief, was there a need to be so smug?
The chief continued, "But later, many people became possessed, biting anyone they saw. We normal people could only hide in the mountains, with no place to grow crops, and could only survive by hunting every day. Later, we learned that these people had become zombies, and the whole world had become like this. Two people in our village were so hungry that they would not have robbed you otherwise."
Hearing this, Shen Feng shrugged helplessly. In China, everyone knew about the zombies on the first day, but in the native tribes, it took a long time to know a little bit about the situation. This was the gap created by information.
When the group arrived at the village, they finally saw real signs of human habitation. There was a small flat area on the mountain, with many round-topped houses built on it. The base was made of adobe bricks, and the top was a pointed roof made of branches, barely enough to live in. Many people were still living in these houses.
The chief's house was the largest, which was in line with his status. Moreover, in his house, there was a diesel generator and two radios. At this time, the radios were still playing, and the news they could receive was basically about the Northern Hemisphere.
"The fleet has already returned. Calculating the time, it should be arriving soon. If we can't send a telegram, we'll have to find our own way back!" Shen Feng believed that the old man was not lying, but the fleet had already left, so it seemed they were safe. They themselves were left behind.
Yue Hengyi shrugged and said, "At worst, we'll find a yacht or a sailboat to go back. We didn't give up on the deserted island, and we survived by picking up trash. Now that we've reached a large island with resources, can we still be stumped?"
Shen Feng thought about it and felt it was true. The current situation was much better than before. Back on the deserted island, there was no water or food, and he had persevered. Now that there was food and they had found people, they certainly wouldn't be stumped.
"Then let's see if there's anything useful in this village. We'll split up and search. If we can't find anything, then we'll leave, don't delay!" Shen Feng quickly instructed.
Yue Hengyi and Li Gui quickly dispersed and began to search the village for any supplies. However, the village had been rebuilt, and they didn't even have enough food, let alone any good items. Yue Hengyi had to give up.
However, Li Gui had sharp eyes. He saw the only horse-drawn cart in the village and quietly said to Shen Feng, "I saw a horse-drawn cart. Why don't we snatch the horse-drawn cart? Then we won't have to carry these heavy things all the way."
There were originally no horses in Australia. Later, Europeans brought horses, and only then did Australia truly possess horses. For the native tribes, horses were too precious, and ordinary people were not qualified to own them.
Shen Feng, however, did not want to rob them directly. The villagers had specially invited them to their home and provided a lot of information. It would be too much to snatch their horses.
"Do you think I'm an Anglo-Saxon? How could I steal other people's property? Tell the chief that I'll buy their horse-drawn cart with a bag of our grain and these gold coins!" Shen Feng said directly, taking out gold buttons from his pocket.
Li Gui could see that Shen Feng was a truly good person. If he had such great power, he would have simply taken whatever he wanted, and there would be no need for such hesitation.
Then, Li Gui conveyed Shen Feng's meaning to the chief. Upon hearing this, the chief immediately shook his head, completely unwilling to agree.
The chief explained, "The horse-drawn cart is our village's most precious property. We often use it when we go out, whether it's to pull gasoline or firewood. Moreover, a bag of grain is too little, and gold has no value in the tribe and cannot be used."
Shen Feng dejectedly put away the gold, surprised that something so precious was of no use in the eyes of the natives. No wonder they were natives; they didn't even care about gold.
Yue Hengyi asked, "Just tell us, how can we buy the horse-drawn cart from you!"
The chief thought for a moment and said, "I heard from the radio that espers are very powerful and can kill many zombies. Please help me kill all the zombies in the village in the river valley, and I will give you the horses. However, the number of zombies is too large, and I don't think you can do it."
It turned out that what the chief wanted was not one or two bags of flour, but everything they had lost. As long as they could reclaim their original village, after two generations of procreation, the village would be prosperous, and he would continue to have the power to control the lives of thousands of people.
Upon learning of this condition, Shen Feng readily agreed and said confidently, "Give me half a day. After half a day, you can wait to take over the village. Tell me the location of the river valley!"
The chief was overjoyed. If they could reclaim their original village, it would be even better. Then he could lead the villagers to cultivate again, and the food problem would be solved. What was a horse-drawn cart compared to that?
So, the chief immediately informed them of the location of the original village, and Shen Feng rushed towards the river valley.
"Brother Feng, do you need my help?" Yue Hengyi asked.
"No need, I can handle it alone! You take care of the horses. We'll rely on the horse-drawn cart for travel these days," Shen Feng replied casually.
When Shen Feng arrived at the location of the river valley, he soon saw the village in the distance. It was all adobe houses, but it was much better than the temporary village on the mountain. Moreover, there was a water source nearby, and in the center of the river valley, there were many fertile fields. No wonder the chief was so eager for the original village. With this village, the native tribe could continue to farm and survive.
Shen Feng deliberately made noise outside the village to attract countless zombies to attack. Shen Feng then seized the opportunity to go on a killing spree, with wind blades condensing in the air and flying out, taking away lives.
Shen Feng spent three hours clearing out all the zombies in the entire village. The air was filled with the smell of blood, yet Shen Feng's body was spotless.
Afterward, when Shen Feng returned to the mountain, the chief still seemed disbelieving, thinking he had been tricked. But when he rushed to the river valley, he was immediately shocked. Zombies lay everywhere on the mountainside and in the fields, their blood flowing everywhere. The village, which had been full of zombies, was now silent.
"How is it? Do you know the power of espers now? Can we have the horse-drawn cart?" Shen Feng asked immediately.
The chief nodded frantically. After witnessing the power of espers with his own eyes, he finally had a clear understanding of espers. They were a particularly powerful group of people, and they must not be provoked, otherwise, their village would be easily slaughtered.
Shen Feng sat on the horse-drawn cart, preparing to leave, while the chief continued to say, "Don't go west. There's a very hateful, very hateful gang there that specializes in capturing people for forced labor. Those who dare to resist are even killed and made into canned goods. Be very careful!"
"Gang? That is, a place with a proper organization? Then we must go!" Shen Feng's spirits immediately lifted upon hearing this. No matter how hateful this gang was, he had to see it for himself. What if he could find a radio station?
Danger always comes with opportunity. No matter how evil the gang might be, such an organized place might have a radio station. They couldn't let go of even the slightest chance.