After the chaos within Rongcheng concluded, Shen Feng chose to return home to reunite with his family. Chu Chaoyan, after photocopying top-secret laboratory data, shamelessly came to the Shen residence for a meal. With the crisis outside Rongcheng resolved, everyone could finally enjoy a proper meal.
Unfortunately, out of the three who used to dine there, Yu Renshu had left Shen Feng. Now, only Shen Feng brought Chu Chaoyan to the meal.
Shen Feng stated his purpose: "Mom, Dad, and Sister, come with me to Luzhou. I can protect you better in Luzhou, and maybe even find a way to turn you into ability users. General Xie has already agreed, so you don't have to wait for the year to be up; you can leave now!"
Upon hearing this, Shen Yu immediately shook her head and replied, "Impossible, I won't go to Luzhou. I will stay in Rongcheng forever; this will definitely be the safest place in the future. What's the point of going to Luzhou? To live a life where safety is not guaranteed?"
Shen Xin, however, did not directly answer Shen Feng's question. Instead, he suddenly asked, "Why is that child Yu Renshu missing? Did you abandon her after playing with her?"
Shen Xin was more concerned about his son's romantic issues at the moment. Yu Renshu had been chatting and laughing happily while dining at home before, but now she was nowhere to be seen.
Shen Feng quickly explained when he heard the question, "How could that be? Yu Renshu left on her own. She went to the laboratory. After all, she's a doctor, and the laboratory is her ultimate destination. Besides, how could you think I'm the type to abandon someone after playing with them?"
Shen Xin smiled upon hearing his son's answer and then said, "Look, others are willing to stay in Rongcheng, so what reason do you have not to? Since you have a good relationship with General Xie, why not stay directly? In the future, we can all contribute to the army together, wouldn't that be better?"
Shen Feng did not expect that not only could he not persuade his family to leave with him, but he was also being persuaded to stay by them. He looked at his family helplessly.
Shen Yu also advised her brother, "Although a man's ambition should be in all directions, you also need to consider your own safety. It's so much safer to stay in Rongcheng. Why not bring your sister-in-law over, and we can all live together in Rongcheng? A family should be reunited."
Chu Chaoyan, hearing their persuasion, immediately sensed trouble. Luzhou was taken back by Shen Feng and his people. If Shen Feng stayed here, wouldn't Luzhou fall into chaos? Therefore, Chu Chaoyan quickly interjected, "Shen Feng, I remember you said before that someone in Luzhou was preparing for rebellion, right? When are we going back?"
Chu Chaoyan wanted to remind Shen Feng of Chang Jianyi's safety, implying that he couldn't stay in Rongcheng, otherwise Chang Jianyi might encounter danger.
Shen Feng was overwhelmed and said, "Let's eat, let's discuss it after the meal. In any case, I won't abandon my senior. If she doesn't want to leave Luzhou, neither will I!"
Hearing this answer, Chu Chaoyan breathed a sigh of relief and then beckoned everyone, "Hurry up and eat! The ingredients for today's hot pot were not easy to find. I traded rice and flour with many people for them, so they are very precious."
The Shen family was having hot pot that evening. To ward off the cold, a lot of chili peppers were added to the pot. People from other provinces generally could not get used to it. Chu Chaoyan brought many canned goods and vegetables as gifts. The family sat around the table eating hot pot. The dishes were simple, far from the abundance before the apocalypse, but this was considered a rare moment of warmth amidst the end times.
There were not many vegetables in the hot pot; most of them were processed foods, such as rice noodles and luncheon meat, or cured meat and some wild vegetables. It was now late autumn, and obtaining vegetables was not a simple matter, as the output of vegetables from greenhouses was limited, and only powerful people could obtain enough vegetables.
Shen Feng knew that as long as he could take his family away, they would have everything they wanted in Luzhou. Why suffer in Rongcheng? To be honest, Rongcheng was very safe, but everyone needed to work hard. In contrast, in Luzhou, Shen Feng, as the controller, could obtain many things and provide more security for his family.
After eating the hot pot, Shen Feng continued to persuade his parents, "There are no more zombie hordes around Luzhou, and the safety is not as bad as you imagine. I am now the world's first fourth-tier ability user, and my strength far surpasses that of ordinary people. Protecting you is not a problem! Moreover, in Luzhou, you won't have to work so hard anymore!"
Shen Yu continued to shake her head stubbornly, "No, no matter how good Luzhou is, it is still managed by a civilian organization and does not belong to an official organization! Moreover, in Rongcheng, I will have a brighter future. You know, individual strength cannot contend with the strength of the entire country."
He Liping also advised, "A Feng, we know you have good intentions, but Rongcheng is our home after all, and we won't leave easily. How about this, when there's an opportunity in the future, or if Rongcheng encounters danger, we will come to Luzhou to seek refuge with you."
Shen Feng was speechless. He did not expect his family to be so stubborn and unwilling to leave Rongcheng. He had no choice but to give up. It was a pity that the opportunity he had fought for by killing the zombie king during the day could not persuade them to leave. What a waste!
Chu Chaoyan also tried to invite the three members of the Shen family, but they also refused.
In fact, it was not difficult to understand why the Shen family chose to stay in Rongcheng. Now that the large-scale zombies in the Sichuan Basin had been eliminated, zombies from other provinces could not enter. This was one of the safest places, and it was reasonable for them to stay. On the contrary, who knew what dangers they might encounter if they went to Luzhou.
Thus, Shen Feng and Chu Chaoyan spent the night at home, and the next day they set off, preparing to return to Luzhou.
As they were leaving, Shen Feng handed his family a bottle containing a red gel-like substance and whispered, "What's inside this can help you evolve, but be careful not to eat too much, or your body won't be able to handle it. Keep it safe. As long as you become stronger, you will have some ability to protect yourselves even if you encounter danger. Keep this a secret."
Shen Yu nodded and took the glass bottle, preparing to keep it safe.
At this moment, He Liping found a box on her person and handed it to Shen Feng, saying, "There's a ring in here. Your grandmother passed it down to me. Take it back and give it to your wife. Remember to give me a grandson soon!"
He Liping regretted not being able to meet her daughter-in-law. If the family could have eaten face-to-face, it would have been such a good thing. It was a pity that she still had to stay in Rongcheng and could not come to Rongcheng at this time. The heirloom gift could only be taken back by Shen Feng.
Shen Feng smiled awkwardly and replied, "I'll try my best."
Afterward, Shen Feng bid farewell to his family and set off. He placed the box in the car, and then, with the remaining two thousand people from Luzhou, he headed towards Luzhou. If the road conditions were good, they could reach Luzhou in a day. However, the road was blocked by cars, so on the way back, Shen Feng had to lead his men to clear the obstacles.
When he left Luzhou, Shen Feng never expected to go to Rongcheng. At this time, out of the three thousand people, less than two thousand remained. One thousand people died in the battle with mutated plants. It was a pity for these soldiers, who had followed Shen Feng for a long time.
The vehicles were also loaded with many items, including thousands of firearms and several trucks of medicine. This trip could be said to have incurred great losses but also yielded significant gains.
Chu Chaoyan still held a USB drive and handed it to Shen Feng, saying, "I saw Yu Renshu at the Rongcheng laboratory yesterday. Do you want to know about her situation?"
Shen Feng took the USB drive, knowing that it contained a large amount of secret laboratory data, so he took it very seriously and replied casually, "I don't care about Yu Renshu's situation, but if you want to talk about it, I won't stop you."
Chu Chaoyan secretly glanced at Shen Feng and found that Shen Feng seemed completely indifferent, showing no emotion. So, she said in a low voice, "I saw that Yu Renshu was indeed highly valued in the laboratory, but she seemed unhappy. Aren't you going to help her?"
Shen Feng shrugged and replied, "She chose to leave on her own. What can I do to help her? Besides, there's still a plague spreading in Luzhou. You should worry about your grandfather. His health isn't good, and I don't know if he can hold on!"
Chu Chaoyan was not too worried about this matter. She said directly, "Aren't we bringing back two trucks of medicine? Aren't plagues easy to deal with? As for my grandfather, he never drinks cold water, so he won't get sick so easily. Bacteria and such are killed after boiling water, right?"
As she spoke, Chu Chaoyan couldn't help but grab two long swords from the car. When she picked them up, she felt their weight. They were about twenty catties each. With such heavy weapons, it was difficult for non-ability users to get used to them; they consumed too much physical strength.
These two long swords were forged overnight in Rongcheng. They were made entirely of titanium alloy, heavy and hard. The hilts were made of huanghuali wood, and the scabbards were also wooden, giving them a majestic appearance.
Titanium alloy surgical knives were very sharp, but correspondingly expensive. Strictly speaking, this alloy was generally used for precision instruments. Now that two long swords had been forged, besides being durable, they did not fully utilize the true value of titanium alloy.
"Only you can use such heavy weapons!" Chu Chaoyan couldn't help but mutter.
As she spoke, Chu Chaoyan drew out half of a long sword to examine it. She found that these two long swords had been polished to be exceptionally smooth, almost usable as mirrors. Chu Chaoyan compared them to her own daggers and felt that her weapons were too inferior.
"I wonder what dangers there will be in the future. As for cold weapons, they are probably useless on the battlefield," Chu Chaoyan said. Although she liked these two weapons, she could still see the situation clearly. In the future, the role of cold weapons would likely not be very significant.
However, at this moment, Shen Feng suddenly saw a dense mass of black shadows spreading from the ground ahead. Upon closer inspection, they turned out to be giant rats. So many mutated rats were rushing forward together! Shen Feng quickly honked the horn to warn the vehicles behind.
"Beep beep..." The honking sound echoed through the surroundings. Many soldiers on the trucks were startled and wondered if zombies had appeared.
After the honking sound, it instantly startled the rats spreading from the front. These rats immediately ran towards both sides of the convoy and disappeared in the blink of an eye, but the dense mass of rats was still frightening to behold.
Shen Feng estimated that the large group of rats that ran past were all mutated rats because they were huge, as big as cats and dogs! There were at least tens of thousands of them. These rats dared not attack the convoy but fled to the sides, which was strange.
"Damn, so many rats, the harm they will cause in the future will not be simple!" Shen Feng couldn't help but exclaim.
Chu Chaoyan was also shocked by the scene. Tens of thousands of mutated rats were running on the road in broad daylight, as if no one else was around, with extremely arrogant demeanor! Although they dared not attack humans, with such a large number of rats, those who didn't know might think an earthquake was coming!
"Rats are mutating, cats and dogs will also mutate, could it be that other strange animals will also mutate in the future?" Chu Chaoyan asked.
Shen Feng shrugged and said, "When we get back to Luzhou, ask Teacher Niu. He studies biology, so he'll definitely know more. As for me, I can't answer you."
At this moment, Shen Feng remembered what the zombie king had said when he was killed: "Humanity's danger is hidden in the ocean."
Shen Feng did not understand what this meant. The animals in the ocean, such as sharks or whales, no matter how much they mutated, could not threaten human survival. Why would the zombie king say that humanity's danger was hidden in the ocean? Shen Feng was confused. The only thing he was sure of was that humanity currently had two threats: one was zombies, and the other was mutated beasts!
Chu Chaoyan suddenly remembered something and quickly said to Shen Feng, "Oh, right, you don't know yet, do you? Yesterday, your battle with the zombie king was broadcast nationwide. Everyone in the country saw you kill the zombie king. You're a big celebrity now! At least half of the people in the country recognize you!"
Shen Feng thought about it. It seemed that a helicopter had been hovering overhead during the battle yesterday. Now that he thought about it, perhaps the TV station people were filming at that time.
"That's perfect. What men like most is to make a name for themselves. Now that it's done, I'm considered a success!" Shen Feng said with a smile.
"There's no need to worry about not having a bosom friend on the road ahead; who in the world doesn't know you? Saying this about you is a bit demeaning!" Chu Chaoyan shrugged.
Shen Feng continued to drive. He intended to return to Luzhou as quickly as possible. Luzhou must have been suffering from the plague for a long time now, right?
After three days, Shen Feng finally saw the city walls of Luzhou from afar and couldn't help but let out a cheer. The soldiers in the trucks behind also saw the familiar scenery and couldn't help but cheer.
Chu Chaoyan had to cover her ears. To her, the cheers of Shen Feng's group reminded her of these words: "Often high apes call out, evoking strange feelings, their sorrowful turns lingering and fading."
Chu Chaoyan did not want to hear sounds like monkeys calling wildly in the mountains, so she covered her ears. Then she saw many people at the foot of Luzhou city welcoming them. Among them, Chang Jianyi was standing at the front, smiling, clearly having been waiting for Shen Feng.
Chu Chaoyan couldn't help but feel a little jealous.