Shen Feng searched the base thoroughly but couldn't find any pharmacies. He did find a few shops selling food. Using a gold button, Shen Feng purchased eighty catties of flour. He couldn't help but curse the profiteers. This was gold, yet it only bought him eighty catties of flour. Such a small amount of flour felt like a huge loss.
Shen Feng guessed that the reason he was ripped off was likely due to his inability to communicate properly, leading them to believe he was an outsider.
Clutching the flour under his arm and covering it with his raincoat, Shen Feng left the food store. As he wandered around the base, he suddenly noticed many notices on the walls. Many of them were bounty posters. Some offered rewards for capturing mutated beasts, while others were for going out to sea to fish. Completing any of these bounties would yield a considerable commission.
As he walked, Shen Feng saw his own photograph displayed on the wall. He couldn't help but step closer to examine it. He discovered that someone was offering a bounty for his head, and this bounty had been posted for some time.
"What the heck? Who did I offend? Someone is offering a bounty for my life. I don't think I've made any enemies!" Shen Feng thought to himself.
To avoid being recognized, Shen Feng pulled down the hood of his raincoat. This way, unless someone came up close to look, they wouldn't be able to see his face clearly.
However, at that very moment, Shen Feng felt killing intent, and it was coming from all directions. He quickly looked around and realized he was surrounded by a group of people armed with guns. There were over forty of them, all with unfriendly expressions.
"Fire!" the man in the lead shouted. The more than forty people immediately opened fire.
Shen Feng didn't dare to underestimate their attack. He quickly used the "Wind King's Barrier," creating a shield around himself that blocked all the bullets, thus saving his life. After securing his safety, he summoned hundreds of wind blades and sent them flying in all directions. Instantly, the group that had opened fire was riddled with invisible wind blades.
In just one exchange, all the attackers were down. Shen Feng continued to observe his surroundings but found no one else on the street.
"Could they have deliberately lured me here?" Shen Feng frowned, thinking.
Just then, a group of people rushed out from a distance. The leader blew a whistle, and an ear-piercing whistle sounded. Following this, the distant city walls also reacted. Soldiers began to gather and charge towards the area where the combat had occurred, their eyes filled with fanaticism.
"The martial world is full of dangers, retreat if you can't fight! Bye-bye!" Shen Feng didn't want to continue the entanglement and immediately used "As Wind Follows" to quickly leave the street. By the time the soldiers surrounded the area, Shen Feng had already traveled a considerable distance, disappearing into a corner of the base in a flash.
"Chase them, chase them! This bounty is worth two ability potions. If we catch him, we can claim the reward. We absolutely cannot let him escape!" the soldiers shouted loudly, but Shen Feng couldn't understand what they were saying as it wasn't in Chinese.
Shen Feng was very confused. He had never been to Southeast Asia before, so he shouldn't have made any enemies here. Yet, he was now being targeted with a bounty. What was going on? This matter seemed to be shrouded in conspiracy.
"Forget it, I'll go back first. Once Xiao Yue recovers, I'll get revenge! I want to see who is offering a bounty for my life!" Shen Feng didn't want to linger and used "As Wind Follows" to prepare to leave.
However, as Shen Feng approached the city walls, he suddenly noticed that there were also farmlands within the base, and ginger was being planted in the fields.
"What a stroke of luck! With ginger, I can drive out the cold!" Surveillance cameras were clearly monitoring the farmland, indicating that someone was guarding against the theft of ginger. Ginger was considered a special commodity. It could be used as a seasoning for its flavor, and it was good for removing fishy odors. More importantly, ginger could also be used as medicine in critical moments!
Although Shen Feng hadn't studied traditional Chinese medicine, he had heard of it. He knew about some famous Chinese medicinal ingredients, such as hawthorn and ginger, which could be used as both food and medicine. Ginger was particularly famous for its ability to dispel cold. In terms of health preservation, there was also the saying, "Eat radishes in winter and ginger in summer." In the summer, excessive rainfall could easily lead to wind-cold, so it was advisable to eat warming foods.
"Snap," Shen Feng casually broke a nearby surveillance camera and began to dig for ginger. After digging out five or six pieces of ginger, a group of people rushed over from a distance. Without a word, they opened fire on Shen Feng.
"Bang," a gunshot rang out. The bullet stopped twenty centimeters behind Shen Feng. Shen Feng didn't engage with the group but instead gathered his flour and ginger and quickly left the area.
"I'll let you be arrogant for a couple of days. In a few days, I'll show you what's what and let you know why the flowers are so red!" Shen Feng muttered to himself.
The outer wall of the base was over three meters high. It couldn't be called a city wall, only a perimeter wall, barely enough to deter zombies. If they encountered large mutated beasts, such a wall would be completely useless.
Shen Feng leaped over the perimeter wall. Many soldiers on the wall hadn't reacted yet. By the time they did, Shen Feng had already slipped away.
Shen Feng was also very puzzled as to why he was being targeted with a bounty. He hadn't offended any important figures and had never been to Southeast Asia before, so he couldn't have made enemies with these people. The fact that he was now being hunted with a bounty hinted at a strange conspiracy. Furthermore, Shen Feng couldn't understand why, if he was being targeted, Yue Hengyi, who was with him, wasn't. They were both ability users who were stranded, so why the differential treatment?
Shen Feng returned to the boat with his mind full of questions. Yue Hengyi was still running a high fever. Shen Feng could only make ginger soup. He broke off two pieces of the excavated ginger, estimating their weight at sixty grams. He flattened them and threw them into a pot, added water, and simmered them for half an hour. The half-pot of water was reduced to one bowl. He brought it to Yue Hengyi's mouth while it was still warm.
"Xiao Yue, don't sleep. Drink your medicine. What do you want to eat for lunch? I'll try my best to satisfy you!" Shen Feng said, supporting Yue Hengyi.
After waking up, Yue Hengyi looked at Shen Feng and said weakly, "For lunch, I want something light, like tomato and egg noodle soup."
Yue Hengyi opened his mouth and drank the ginger soup. The ginger soup had a spicy aroma as it entered his mouth. Yue Hengyi was already feeling hot all over, and drinking it made him feel even more uncomfortable. However, once the ginger soup reached his abdomen, Yue Hengyi immediately felt a surge of warmth in his stomach, which began to circulate through his limbs, quickly warming his entire body. Sweat began to seep through his skin.
"I'm so hot, I don't need the blanket!" Yue Hengyi reached out to throw off the blanket.
Shen Feng quickly stopped him, "Don't be silly, you need to sweat right now. Just keep the blanket on and go back to sleep. I'll figure out how to make you noodles."
Yue Hengyi lay back down and continued to sleep.
Shen Feng thought about it. He only had flour with him. Noodles were manageable. Although he couldn't make pulled noodles, he could cut them. However, he couldn't find any tomatoes or eggs. It seemed he would have to go to the northern base to look again.
Shen Feng immediately set off for the base that had placed a bounty on him. The entire base was now on high alert. Perhaps because of the previous combat, where Shen Feng had killed forty soldiers in one go, the base was heavily guarded.
Shen Feng used "As Wind Follows" to cross the perimeter wall and enter the base. There were ability users on the wall, and upon seeing a dark figure enter the base, they immediately grabbed their walkie-talkies to report the situation.
The base wasn't particularly large, accommodating just over ten thousand people. In China, this would be the size of a small town. However, in the post-apocalyptic era, the population was scarce, and only one in ten people survived. By comparison, this base was considered medium-sized.
In the most luxurious villa within the base, a man was instructing his family, "You all need to leave quickly! Leave this place! These fools below have provoked a demon king. It's one thing to post a bounty, but these soldiers actually took it seriously, thinking they could kill someone and claim the reward. How foolish! Now the demon king is back. If he catches you, you will all die!"
The man was the leader of this base. He couldn't leave himself, but to ensure his family's safety, he had to let them take their money and flee to a safe place. If nothing happened in the end, they could return. But if they truly angered the demon king, the entire base could be wiped out.
"My dear, aren't you the leader of this base? What kind of demon king could harm us?" the man's wife asked, confused.
The man couldn't help but reprimand her, "What do you know as a woman? This is an ability user! And one of the top ability users in the world! I only have four or five hundred soldiers here, which is not enough. Unless I have tens of thousands of troops, there's no hope of survival!"
Upon hearing her husband's description, the wife immediately panicked. She quickly gathered her children to pack their belongings, taking clothes and food. Additionally, they packed silver and gold. Gold and silver were the universally accepted currencies now. As long as they had gold and silver in hand, they wouldn't worry about lacking supplies.
After packing, the family immediately left. To avoid attracting attention, they specifically used the back door.
The leader sat in his three-hundred-square-meter luxurious villa and murmured, "Come at me, whether it's to kill or to torture!"
Shen Feng walked on the street but couldn't see any vegetable shops. It made sense. In this era, most people couldn't even afford vegetables for themselves, let alone open shops to sell them. Even if there were small vendors, it was raining, so they wouldn't be out setting up stalls.
To avoid being recognized, Shen Feng covered his face. There were very few people on the street, all afraid of getting caught in conflicts and being killed.
At that moment, people were walking towards him on the street ahead. These three people were hurrying. It was a modestly dressed mother with her two children. The mother was dragging a heavy suitcase, while the children beside her were carrying baskets and backpacks, appearing to be an ordinary family.
Shen Feng walked up and stopped the three people, pointing to the vegetable basket in the child's hand and asked, "How much for your vegetables?"
The mother heard Shen Feng's words and was stunned. The person speaking was speaking Chinese. Although there were many Chinese people here, generally no one spoke Chinese unless they were outsiders!
Shen Feng patted his head, forgetting that people here generally didn't speak Chinese. He then took out a gold button from his pocket and handed it to the mother. He also casually took the vegetable basket from the child's hand. The child was unhappy and wanted to rush forward to fight, but was held back tightly by his mother.
Shen Feng looked at the tomatoes and green vegetables in the basket and felt happy. This was truly a case of finding something without looking. He had been searching for a long time without success, and now someone had brought it to him. For one gold button, he bought a basket of vegetables. It seemed like a huge loss, but it was the best possible outcome.
At that moment, the mother spoke, asking, "Do you need anything else?"
Shen Feng was surprised. The woman was speaking Chinese. It turned out she could understand him.
Shen Feng continued, "Do you have any eggs?"
"We left in a hurry and didn't bring any eggs. But if you turn left twice down this street, there's a chicken farm," the woman said, mustering her courage.
"Okay, thank you. I'll come back here in a few days. If you're still here, I'll thank you," Shen Feng said with a smile, heading towards the chicken farm with the vegetable basket.
After Shen Feng left, the woman quickly said to her two children, "Quick, let's go home! Let's go home!"
"But didn't we just come from home?" the daughter asked her mother, confused.
"Listen to me, we're going home to get your father and run!" the woman said resolutely.