The following days saw Shen Feng preparing for the departure. The necessary supplies included firearms, ammunition, rations, and medicine. These items were not easily acquired, so Jiang Yang was working diligently to prepare them, which naturally required some time.
During this period, Shen Feng and Chang Jianyi spent several days in a state of blissful intimacy. Chang Jianyi had shared an important piece of information with Shen Feng: the stronger an animal, the weaker its reproductive capacity. For instance, tigers and bears typically have very few cubs, with one or two being the limit. Conversely, wild boars and rats, for example, could have seven or eight in a single litter.
This was not mere hearsay, but the result of Chang Jianyi's patient investigation.
"We are both ability users, and we will continue to evolve. As we grow stronger, our fertility will weaken. We should have children as soon as possible while we still have the chance, otherwise, we might not be able to conceive later on!" Chang Jianyi said to Shen Feng.
Upon hearing this, Shen Feng asked with some distress, "But the world is in chaos, and I am often out fighting. Raising a child would fall entirely on you. Your work is already so demanding; wouldn't pregnancy be too much of a burden?"
"It's fine. Don't forget I'm also an ability user. How could a little work possibly wear me out?" Chang Jianyi replied nonchalantly.
In truth, Shen Feng had never considered having children before. He was still a university student. If not for the zombie outbreak and the current chaos, he would still be living a carefree life on campus, only considering children ten years down the line. However, with Chang Jianyi raising the issue of reproductive difficulty, he had to seriously consider it.
Shen Feng knew his parents were eager to have grandchildren, but he worried about raising a healthy child in these turbulent times. The conflict between these two desires was immense. Even as an ability user, Shen Feng found himself troubled by this problem.
Fortunately, during dinner, Chang Haojie overheard his sister and brother-in-law's conversation and volunteered, "Brother-in-law, you don't need to worry. If you have a child and don't have time to raise it, I'll help you. After all, I'm your child's uncle."
Shen Feng replied with mock annoyance, "What nonsense are you talking? You can barely take care of yourself, and you want to help us raise a child! You haven't even finished elementary school; how can you raise a child? We'll hire a tutor for you. Just focus on your studies, and we'll talk about it when you're older."
Chang Haojie seemed unconvinced. "I'm an ability user now, and I can help you. Brother-in-law, why do you have to belittle your own people?"
Shen Feng paid no mind to Chang Haojie's words, but Chang Jianyi's eyes lit up, and she seriously considered the feasibility of the idea. She then said, "That's actually a good idea. With Xiao Jie taking care of things, we'll have enough time to handle our own affairs, won't we?"
Shen Feng shrugged. Since it had come to this, he had no reason to object.
As night fell, Shen Feng and Chang Jianyi returned to their bedroom. The lights in the room were off, with only a desk lamp still on. Suddenly, Shen Feng felt a sense of haziness in the bedroom. Although he was an ability user with enhanced vision and hearing, capable of seeing a fly a hundred meters away, at this moment, a feeling of haziness washed over him.
The saying "beauty is best seen under lamplight" had always puzzled Shen Feng. Could one truly see a beauty clearly under a lamp? What was the point?
But now, Shen Feng understood. It wasn't about seeing the beauty clearly, but about the haziness, the hidden stirrings. In the dim, yellowish light, if one wanted to see the other person clearly, they could only move closer. As they drew nearer, their relationship would deepen, and the mystery would slowly unfold.
"Senior, you are truly beautiful, like a fairy descended from heaven," Shen Feng praised sincerely.
"Sweet talk. I wonder if you've used these words to deceive other women," Chang Jianyi said, though pleased, she couldn't help but chide Shen Feng.
It turned out that when Shen Feng had previously gone to Rongcheng, Chu Chaoyan had secretly recorded all of Shen Feng's interactions with Yu Renshu. This notebook eventually fell into Chang Jianyi's hands. Upon seeing the intimate gestures between Shen Feng and Yu Renshu, Chang Jianyi was consumed by jealousy. She hadn't expected that her absence would give Yu Renshu an opportunity.
Fortunately, Yu Renshu had entered the research institute in Rongcheng and could no longer stay by Shen Feng's side. This had appeased Chang Jianyi; otherwise, she would have sought out Yu Renshu to settle the score.
However, according to Yang Chang's report, Shen Feng's relationship with Chu Chaoyan had become complicated again, which made Chang Jianyi start to worry about Chu Chaoyan.
Shen Feng quickly reassured her, "Senior, my heart is devoted to you and has never wavered. I promise, I will not have feelings for any other woman besides you. Please rest assured."
Chang Jianyi gave Shen Feng a knowing smile and then said, "As you go on this expedition, I have only one request: absolutely do not get involved with other women, especially Chu Chaoyan. I know you're keeping her as a hostage, but if you dare to make a move, I will not forgive you."
Shen Feng gave a wry smile and made his promise helplessly.
Under the cover of night, dark clouds spread and gradually obscured the ground. The clouds churned, creating a scene of surging winds and gathering clouds. The calm ground seemed to respond, as gusts of strong wind howled through the streets, kicking up dust.
The howling wind in the sky roared, and the ground became a scene of flying sand and stones, as if in response to the celestial gales.
The strong wind blew past the steep peaks, across the smooth plains, and through the deep valleys, causing the trees on the ground to rustle. The trees swayed with the wind, transforming into waves of green.
Under such fierce winds, the clouds churned more violently, and the howling wind on the ground grew sharper. Finally, after the wind had howled for a long time, the clouds in the sky stopped their turmoil, and raindrops began to fall, settling the dust on the ground.
It was raining in Jiangyang.
On the day of departure, those staying behind in Jiangyang came to see them off. Chang Haojie was the most reluctant, saying to Shen Feng, "Brother-in-law, you must go and come back quickly, preferably before the New Year. While you are away, I will become stronger and protect my sister."
Shen Feng affectionately ruffled Chang Haojie's hair and smiled, "Alright, alright. Hurry up and study, hurry up and train. When you grow up, you'll be able to protect your sister."
At this moment, Professor Niu stepped forward, his eyes rimmed with dark circles, clearly not having slept well. He handed Shen Feng a book and said earnestly, "Shen Feng, I am just a traditional scholar and cannot help you in battle. However, I believe that the mutated beasts on Earth have all evolved from existing life forms. Therefore, I have created this illustrated guide, which essentially covers all the flora and fauna in China. If you encounter trouble, remember to consult the guide."
Shen Feng was touched that Teacher Niu had made such a guide for him. He quickly said, "Thank you, Professor. You have been a great help, and I will not disappoint your expectations."
Shen Feng glanced at the guide twice before putting it away. The guide contained photos and descriptions, and most importantly, it detailed the weaknesses of these creatures. If he encountered mutated beasts, this guide would be invaluable.
As Shen Feng bid farewell to everyone, Chu Chaoyan and others were also saying goodbye to their families and friends. The five thousand people present were all heading to Yan Jing for battle. Parting was always the most sorrowful moment. In these chaotic times, no one knew if they would meet again after parting, so before they left, they could only offer reluctant instructions, hoping their loved ones would return safely.
Chu Yangtian, leaning on his cane, looked at his granddaughter and sighed helplessly, "You must be careful when you're in battle, Chaoyan. I am old now, and my death is nothing to regret, especially after enjoying so many years of peace. But you are still young; you must take care of yourself when you are out there."
Chu Chaoyan replied dismissively, "Grandpa, don't worry. I will return safely. I am an ability user now, and I can protect myself."
Chu Yangtian shook his head helplessly. He knew his granddaughter too well; she often acted on her own assumptions. So, he looked at Shen Feng, who gave a slight nod. Clearly, Chu Yangtian hoped Shen Feng would look after Chu Chaoyan, and Shen Feng had agreed.
Ke Yiming sat in his car, watching the group of people parting ways. He shrugged helplessly, thinking, "Where is the danger? As long as the defense line holds, and it starts snowing, the battle will basically be over. These people are just too timid."
With that thought, Ke Yiming lit a cigarette and began to puff away.
After bidding farewell to everyone, Shen Feng officially embarked on his journey. The five thousand soldiers represented the limit for Jiangyang. Only about three thousand of them had actual combat experience. The remaining two thousand had been recruited in the past month. A significant portion of the soldiers were young, including high school students.
Shen Feng had no choice. If he had options, he would never choose these students for the battlefield. But now, there were no other options. He could only pray silently, "I will do my best to bring you back safely. The rest will depend on your luck during the battle."
After getting into the car, Chu Chaoyan began writing in her notebook, "Year one of the apocalypse, early winter. Our group of five thousand has officially departed for the north. More than half of the zombies in the north are besieging Yan Jing. This has never happened before. Now we are going to reinforce Yan Jing. I hope this journey is smooth."
Shen Feng, while driving, curiously asked, "What are you writing? Can I see?"
"Hmph, you want to see? No way! Didn't you always say scholars are useless? Then don't look at what I'm writing; go learn what you should be learning," Chu Chaoyan pouted, showing no intention of satisfying Shen Feng's curiosity.
Shen Feng shook his head helplessly and said, "Who cares?"
In the car Shen Feng was driving, Ke Yiming was also in the back seat. He was keeping a close eye on Shen Feng, not missing any opportunity except for bathroom breaks. He had become Shen Feng's shadow, constantly watching him, afraid he might slip away.
Ke Yiming, with nothing else to do, saw a guide book next to Shen Feng and reached out to take it. "Lord Shen Feng, I'm looking at the guide book someone gave you. You won't be angry, will you? If your wife finds out you're driving me around in your sedan, she won't hit me, will she?"
"Get lost! Don't be sarcastic, or I'll beat you!" Shen Feng replied irritably.
Ke Yiming shrugged and said helplessly, "You need to have some sense of humor, otherwise, the journey will be very boring. We'll take at least a week to reach Lianyungang. If it's too rigid, we'll get bored to death."
Hearing this, Chu Chaoyan suddenly turned around and asked, "Speaking of which, why are you still a Tier 3 ability user? Aren't you part of the Ability Administration Bureau? Don't they give you evolution bases?"
Chu Chaoyan remembered that the first time she met Ke Yiming, he was a Tier 2 ability user. After so much time had passed, Ke Yiming was still a Tier 3 ability user. His advancement speed seemed to have slowed considerably.
Ke Yiming shrugged and replied indifferently, "It's because the place I'm stationed at is mainly responsible for defending the Three Gorges. I'm usually not needed for protection, so the resources are supplied to personnel who need to fight. Now, the Ability Administration Bureau already has Tier 5 ability users, and several Tier 4 ability users!"
"Who are they? Tell me," Chu Chaoyan was even more curious.
Ke Yiming leaned back in his seat and said lazily, "That's a secret. You'll all know when you get to Yan Jing. Besides, it's not difficult for Shen Feng to become a Tier 5 ability user. You definitely have enough evolution bases."
Shen Feng curled his lips and replied, "These are life-saving items. I don't want to waste an opportunity to evolve casually. I'll take an evolution base when I'm on the brink of death."
For this expedition, Shen Feng had brought many evolution bases, purely for survival. During the evolution process, ability users and evolved individuals would have extremely strong recovery abilities. As long as they did not die on the spot, they could be saved.
Shen Feng also realized that the headquarters' laboratory must have researched methods for producing evolution bases. Otherwise, the evolution bases from the Treant heads he had gifted earlier would not be enough to produce Tier 5 ability users. Each advancement required ten times the amount of evolution serum as the previous one, and the same applied to evolution bases. Shen Feng estimated that to evolve into a Tier 5 ability user, he would need over forty liters of evolution base.
This amount of evolution base was almost equivalent to two large bottles of mineral water, too much to drink.
At this moment, a thought suddenly struck Shen Feng: "The evolution bases I have are just consumables. If only I could get the method for the laboratory to manufacture evolution bases, then I could also produce evolution bases!"