Shen Feng tied his sailboat to a coconut tree and, bringing a quilt, entered a nearby empty room. He laid down the wardrobe, covered it with the quilt, and lay down to rest.
"Leaning on the tower to listen to the wind and rain, sleeping soundly indoors. Let's rest for a while," Shen Feng muttered, leaning on the quilt.
When it rained, Shen Feng loved to sleep. Especially hearing the constant sound of rain outside the house, these raindrops were like a lullaby to Shen Feng's ears. He soon fell asleep.
However, while Shen Feng was napping, the sound of cars could be heard from a distance. Shen Feng was woken up by these sounds. He had been hoping to take advantage of this rare opportunity to rest, but now he was woken up by the sound of trucks, and his morning temper immediately flared up.
Soon, more than a dozen cars arrived. Seeing how desolate the village was, they prepared to rest here. Shen Feng walked out and immediately exclaimed, "When people meet, they meet again! We've run into acquaintances here?"
Shen Feng saw a family get out of the leading off-road vehicle. The woman was the one he had seen before with the basket of vegetables. Her son and daughter were still the same as they were back then. More than thirty people got out of these dozen cars, most of them armed, wearing bulletproof vests, and carrying submachine guns.
"Hey, Big Sister, over here!" Shen Feng's morning temper vanished, and he waved to the family in the distance.
Seeing Shen Feng appear here, the family was stunned. They never expected to see the Great Demon King in a strange place.
"What bad luck. We came here to escape, but now we're cornered. What should we do?" The leader was dumbfounded when he saw Shen Feng appear. He had led his family and confidants away from their long-established base precisely to avoid Shen Feng's pursuit, but unexpectedly, they ran headfirst into their enemy.
At that time, with heaven's thunder and earth's fire, the situation was critical. To avoid enemies and hide, they had inadvertently fallen into a desperate situation. They had searched everywhere but found no way out.
Fortunately, the wife was still calm at this moment. She leaned over to her husband and whispered, "It's okay, he probably doesn't recognize us. We'll pretend we don't know anything, and we'll be able to conceal ourselves. If he had recognized me earlier, I would have been killed already."
After hearing his wife's reply, the leader nodded. He could only seek survival in danger. He prayed in his heart that Shen Feng did not know he was the leader of the base, otherwise, he would surely face retaliation when accounts were settled. It was truly unfortunate that a subordinate captain, greedy for merit, wanted to kill Shen Feng, without considering if he could defeat an esper. As a result, he brought danger to the base. Ordinary espers were one thing, but this was a top global esper. Who would dare to underestimate him?
The leader's family arrived at Shen Feng's room, but they were cautious. As soon as they saw Shen Feng, they began to introduce themselves: "My name is Xiao An, this is my wife, Fu Lai Lin. Hello!"
Shen Feng saw the tension in the family's expressions and casually asked, "Do you know me?"
"No."
"Yes."
The couple's answers differed; one said yes, the other said no.
Shen Feng shrugged and said, "Don't be so scared. I just want to ask for some information. I'm not a devil, I don't eat people, and I don't kill people randomly. Don't be nervous!"
Shen Feng guessed that the couple must have seen his bounty poster on the base's wall, so they thought he was a heinous criminal. The most important thing now was to calm their fears.
"Mr. Shen Feng, what do you want to ask?" Xiao An asked cautiously, sweat beading on his forehead.
Shen Feng thought for a moment and asked, "I saw my bounty poster in your base before. I want to know, who issued the bounty? What organization allowed this bounty to exist?"
What Shen Feng cared about most was who was plotting against him, or rather, who his enemy was. It made no sense for someone to buy his head for the price of two esper potions. A person not out of their mind wouldn't make such a decision.
Shen Feng sat on the wardrobe, while Xiao An stood and replied, "I don't know about that. As for the organization that posted the bounty, there are simply too many. Every base can independently issue bounties. Some bounties also come from abroad, and they are all redeemable bounties. There are too many organizations, so it's impossible to investigate which organization issued the bounty for you."
"There must be a place to claim the reward, right? How can you not know which organization issued it?" Shen Feng continued to ask.
Xiao An explained, "It's not like that. Regarding bounties, all bases participate in them, and the issuers are all kept secret. After completing the bounty, you first find a base and present the evidence. Then, the person who issued the bounty can deliver the reward through secret channels. All of this is done secretly."
Hearing this answer, Shen Feng felt a bit helpless. In this case, he couldn't even find out who was plotting against him!
Shen Feng looked at the standing family and quickly said, "Please sit down, make yourselves comfortable. I'm a very easygoing person, I won't hurt you!"
Xiao An quickly led his family to sit down, but they dared not believe Shen Feng's word "easygoing." After all, what kind of easygoing person could kill more than forty people with a wave of his hand?
Shen Feng thought for a moment and asked, "On this island, which base produces the most grain? Who manages it?"
Xiao An quickly replied, "It's on the north shore by the sea. There are many people there. They found a mutated sago palm tree. After planting it, the yield is very large, and the harvest is quick. They can harvest it within half a year. However, I heard that their manager is from China. These people are very powerful, and they even control the power station!"
With this answer, Shen Feng was very satisfied. As long as there was a base that could produce grain in large quantities, it would be enough. With food, they could continue their voyage.
Shen Feng chatted with the family for a while. They then made an excuse about needing to continue their journey and took their leave. Shen Feng shrugged and did not stop them.
Before leaving, Xiao An took out a large basket filled with ginger and gave it to Shen Feng, saying, "This is a small token of my appreciation. Please accept it. Although it's not much, it's what we can offer."
"Heh, you actually know what I'm lacking. That's not easy. Then I'll accept it. I have a piece of gold here, consider it payment for your ginger." Shen Feng didn't want to take advantage of others, so he took out gold from his pocket to trade.
However, Xiao An quickly refused, and with his family and confidant subordinates, they quickly left the village, their retreating backs hurried.
It was not until dusk that Yue Hengyi slowly returned from the northeast, carrying nothing. Upon his return, he began to complain, "A person's reputation precedes them. Brother Feng, you said you wanted to retaliate against that base, but everyone who could run from the base has run. I inquired, and a subordinate captain foolishly tried to assassinate you earlier and was killed by you. After this feud, everyone in the base was afraid of death and ran away. Most of the food was also taken away!"
Yue Hengyi had originally intended to find enough food to continue their voyage, but the base's warehouses were so empty that he couldn't find any food. Robbing the leftovers of others was not the act of a hero. Therefore, Yue Hengyi could only return empty-handed to report.
"You didn't find anything?" Shen Feng continued to ask.
Yue Hengyi nodded and replied earnestly, "That's right, I didn't find anything. I heard that the leader's wife planted two acres of ginger, and she even dug it up and took it away before leaving. This is truly 'three lights': everything gone, everything taken, everything looted."
Shen Feng then looked at the ginger in the basket. Now he finally understood why the family had looked at him so nervously. It turned out they were the leaders of the base. No wonder they were trembling and cautious when they saw him.
"Forget it, forget it. I won't bother this base anymore. Since everyone has run away and there are no supplies, then so be it. For the next two days, we'll go hunting. At least we need to prepare ten days' worth of dried rations, and then head to the north of the island!" Shen Feng decided to let it go. Although he could catch up to the leader's convoy, seeing their fearful expressions, they were likely genuinely misunderstood, so he would let it slide.
When Yue Hengyi heard they were going hunting, he could only shake his head helplessly. It seemed they would be eating grilled meat again during this period, and he was already tired of it. If possible, he still wanted to eat staples.
For the next leg of their journey, Shen Feng and Yue Hengyi hunted for three consecutive days, finally obtaining enough food. To preserve the meat, they had to dry it and make it into jerky, as drying in this weather was impossible – it would attract flies and spoil. With enough prey, they set off again.
This time, Shen Feng led Yue Hengyi around the west coast to the north coast of the old island. If they had taken the east coast, the journey would have been much faster, as there was a protruding landmass on the west coast, and taking the west route would double the travel time. However, the east coast also had its problems, namely, it was unsafe.
On the west side of the island, it was shallow sea, and the waves were not particularly large, nor would giant sea beasts appear here. But on the east side, there was the vast Philippine Trench, where giant sea beasts might be hiding. Encountering an attack there would be fatal. For safety's sake, they headed west.
One day, Shen Feng saw huge wind turbines appearing on the distant mountains and immediately realized that he had found the power station, which meant the base that produced grain had been found!
"Little Yue, tonight, follow me to steal some grain. We probably don't have enough money to buy grain, so we have to resort to this. Be smart, we can't be caught in the act!" Shen Feng pointed to the rows of large windmills.
Regarding the island's electricity source, before the apocalypse, they could only rely on thermal power and wind power. With the arrival of the apocalypse, without coal and natural gas sources, they had no choice but to rely on wind power. However, the power station was occupied by a group of Chinese people, and others could not defeat them, so they could only pretend not to see it.
Wind power generation also had its drawbacks, namely, in extremely cold conditions, the fans could easily freeze, preventing them from generating electricity. However, the Philippines had no such concerns. It was a tropical region, and it never snowed, so the blades would not freeze. Moreover, the monsoon climate was obvious, making wind power generation an excellent choice.
Yue Hengyi heard Shen Feng's explanation and asked, "Stealing from our own people, isn't that inappropriate? The managers are all Chinese, and we are fellow countrymen. Why don't we buy on credit and repay them with grain later?"
"Nonsense! I'm still wanted, so I can't reveal my location casually, lest it cause trouble. Besides, are these people familiar with us? You think they'll let you buy on credit? What if they get angry and start shooting at us while also exposing our whereabouts?" Shen Feng immediately rejected Yue Hengyi's suggestion.
Yue Hengyi thought about it and agreed. It's hard to know a person's heart even if you know their face. Even if they were fellow countrymen, they could still backstab him. He couldn't trust others just because they were fellow countrymen. It was better to steal.
That night, Shen Feng, disguised with a mask and dressed in black, set out with Yue Hengyi, who was similarly attired. They first approached the outskirts of the base. The base was large, surrounded by more than a dozen mountains. The trees on the mountains had been cut down, and a circle of barbed wire was erected for defense. On the mountaintops, there were many watchtowers, and searchlights scanned the mountains at all times.
"These people in the base have good foresight. Although they haven't built walls, they have built the base by utilizing the terrain. All the high ground has been occupied, and the view is unobstructed. It's easy to defend and difficult to attack. Moreover, they have water and food. As long as there are no internal problems, they will not be easily conquered!" Shen Feng looked at the base before him, feeling very surprised. Were there such talented people here?