Guo Pinming led his men, fighting and searching for vehicles. Any suitable vehicle they found, they would take. It was estimated that over twenty thousand survivors were still alive in the city. If these people were not evacuated, they would surely die in the horde of millions of zombies. To evacuate so many people, vehicles were essential.
Guo Pinming prioritized larger vehicles, as they could carry more people. However, when he arrived at a large company, he was surprised to find the company courtyard littered with dead zombies, each with an arrow through its body. He had never seen arrows used as weapons before.
At this moment, a soldier pointed to the arrows on the ground and said, "When we found many contraband items, we also found crossbows. Apart from their accuracy not being great, their lethality was quite good."
Guo Pinming looked at the more than a hundred zombies around him and frowned, saying, "So many zombies killed by arrows, this is not something that poor accuracy can achieve!"
There were two vehicles in the courtyard, both buses capable of carrying forty people at a time. Guo Pinming quickly walked over, hotwired the vehicles, opened the doors, and started them. He found them to be in good condition and usable. Guo Pinming then got out and said, "Get two drivers to take these vehicles away!"
However, at that moment, a group of people rushed out of the company building. Leading them was a woman holding a recurve bow. She looked to be around thirty years old and immediately said, "What are you doing? Why are you trying to steal my cars?"
Guo Pinming looked at the woman leading the group and explained, "We are here to rescue you. In a few days, a massive zombie horde will arrive in Xiang'an City, so everyone must evacuate. Please understand. As for these vehicles, we are borrowing them!"
"That won't do! I am the boss of this company, and these two cars are my property. I will not allow you to drive them away. You are not wearing military uniforms, and I have no idea where you thieves came from. I advise you to leave quickly! Otherwise, you see? These zombies on the ground were all killed by me. Don't provoke me!" the leading woman shouted.
Guo Pinming was helpless at her reaction and said, "We told you, we are borrowing your cars. Please understand. Moreover, we can take you and your people with us. Please do not worry about your safety!"
"Safety? I think being with you is the most unsafe thing. Don't think about stealing my cars!" the woman insisted, continuing, "These cars are mine, and I will lead my people away myself. If you dare to make a move, I won't be polite!"
Guo Pinming had no other choice. He didn't have time to argue further. He then nudged Lu Kaiyang and said, "Make a move!"
Lu Kaiyang also felt that the woman in front of him was brainless. His side was armed with guns. If they really started fighting, this group of thirty-odd people would be dealt with in a single burst. Yet, she dared to be so unreasonable. At this, Lu Kaiyang prepared to teach her a lesson.
Upon hearing Guo Pinming's instructions, Lu Kaiyang didn't say a word and directly aimed his gun at the woman.
The woman was not afraid at this point and puffed out her chest, shouting, "Shoot! If you have the guts, shoot!"
In reality, the woman was not foolish. She knew that the people opposite her had guns. However, she also recognized that the guns in their hands were standard rifles. How could ordinary people have such weapons? Therefore, these people were likely soldiers, or at least connected to the army. With the assumption that these people would absolutely not dare to kill anyone, the woman became aggressive, determined to keep her two cars.
Lu Kaiyang's lips curved upwards, and he fired a shot. "Bang," the bullet instantly shot out from the barrel.
The woman's smile instantly froze. In that moment, the bullet whizzed past her ear. Then, the bullet shattered the glass behind her. At this moment, Lu Kaiyang continued to hold his rifle, the dark muzzle still pointed at the woman. Lu Kaiyang's actions served as a clear demonstration: he was indeed capable of firing.
Lu Kaiyang continued, "If you think your arrows can compare to bullets, then try it again!"
Lu Kaiyang disliked this woman. Although she appeared strong and was quite attractive, she was now delaying their progress. More importantly, her group of just over thirty people wanted to claim two cars, which was too greedy. After all, if their side hadn't killed most of the zombies, she wouldn't even have had a chance to leave the company!
Guo Pinming pointed towards a direction not far away and said, "You all gather at the plaza over there. Once we collect enough vehicles, we will take you away. As for what happens after that, it's not something I can decide!"
As Guo Pinming finished speaking, he turned and left. Two soldiers quickly went to drive the vehicles. The most important thing now was to evacuate. No one wanted to face millions of zombies at this moment, so leaving early was the best option.
The woman with the bow and arrow was named Hong Yehui. At a young age, she was already the general manager of the company. Although the main reason was that her father was the chairman, her appointment as general manager was also due to her recognized abilities. Otherwise, with just connections, she might not have reached this position. In her free time, she enjoyed fitness, and her favorite sport was archery. However, her stamina was average, so she could only use a recurve bow. But after the zombie outbreak, this hobby helped her.
The first time Hong Yehui used a bow and arrow to kill zombies, she felt a surge of excitement. Even though she was killing zombies, they were still humanoid creatures, which made Hong Yehui feel a sense of guilt. But after the guilt subsided, she found that the survivors in the company feared her even more. Before, they feared her because she controlled their salaries. But now, Hong Yehui realized that the people below feared her power! She possessed the power to kill!
Hong Yehui relied on her archery to protect the people in the company. Of course, she also relied on this power to remain the leader among the survivors. She was the general manager before, and now she was the leading elder sister! Hong Yehui believed that even if the apocalypse arrived, she could still live well and stand above others!
However, the moment Lu Kaiyang fired his shot, Hong Yehui's previous bravado vanished. The bullet whizzing past her ear told her one thing: her previously proud abilities were actually insignificant!
The more Hong Yehui thought about it, the angrier she became. "So what if they have guns? Just because of this, they want to be above me? No, absolutely not!"
Hong Yehui led her people to the plaza. Here, she saw people from all walks of life. Most of them had been rescued. The young and strong men were organized by Yu Renshu to transport grain. A lot of grain had already been loaded onto two trucks in the distance, but there was never enough grain. Yu Renshu was still organizing people to transport grain.
Chu Chaoyan led a group of middle-aged women to carry bodies outside the city and chop down trees to burn. There were many pine trees on the surrounding mountains. This type of tree burns easily because it contains a lot of pine oil. Every autumn and winter, pine forests are prone to catching fire.
Hong Yehui saw many dejected people. At this moment, she suddenly realized that although these people were strong, they had not chosen to work. Instead, they were sitting idly, having lost all their spirit. The clothes they wore were all clean and bright, clearly indicating that these people were formerly successful individuals, mostly white-collar workers who disliked manual labor and preferred to give orders from their offices.
At this moment, Hong Yehui had a plan. These people were formerly "successful people" but had now fallen into a desperate situation. They must have been extremely unwilling. She could use this to her advantage. As long as she could successfully stir up their emotions, she would control a significant force.
Shen Feng circled the city and found no dangerous zombies or animals. The previous battles had scared away the mutated cats and dogs in the city. These cats and dogs originally survived by relying on humans. Although they had mutated and become larger, even turning into tigers or lions, they couldn't withstand a single shot.
Shen Feng returned to the plaza and saw Yu Renshu organizing people to transport grain. He walked over with a smile and asked, "Doctor, how is it? Is everything going smoothly?"
Yu Renshu saw Shen Feng and casually replied, "It's going alright. It's quite smooth, but there's very little drinking water. After we go to Yahe Town, we probably won't be able to drink mineral water and will have to boil water."
Shen Feng nodded and said, "Boiling water is fine. There's a small river over there, so water supply won't be an issue. Speaking of which, after you reached Tier Three, what moves did you learn? Can you tell me?"
Shen Feng had only seen Yu Renshu use what was called "Water Overflows the Golden Mountain" before, where the water in the Yangtze River channel decreased by half, which was quite spectacular. But now, Yu Renshu was a Tier Three ability user, and she must have learned more moves. So Shen Feng was curious if Yu Renshu had any more novel techniques.
When Yu Renshu heard Shen Feng's question, her face broke into a smile, and she said, "I'll tell you when there's an opportunity!"
Yu Renshu wanted to maintain an air of mystery. Abilities were rare, and her ability was transferred from Hou Wenxi. If she exposed her ability, wouldn't it be easy for her to be targeted? Therefore, even though Shen Feng was asking, Yu Renshu didn't want to reveal it.
However, at this moment, Hong Yehui led a group of people towards Shen Feng. She had inquired with the crowd and learned that Shen Feng was the leader. Therefore, Hong Yehui mobilized many people to come and demand an explanation. In reality, Hong Yehui didn't care about the two cars; what she cared about was whether she could become the leader in the eyes of others.
Shen Feng saw the crowd surrounding them from a distance and showed a mocking expression. These people seemed to think that by having more people and uniting, they could gain an advantage! However, they didn't know that times had changed. Ordinary people could not contend with evolved beings, let alone ability users!
"It seems like your opportunity to demonstrate your newly learned moves has arrived!" Shen Feng said to Yu Renshu while watching the troublemakers approach.
Yu Renshu shrugged and said to Shen Feng, "They are here for you, not me!"
Hong Yehui led over a hundred people to stand in front of Shen Feng. She didn't see any rifles on Shen Feng; he only had two long swords. At this, she relaxed. The opponent couldn't threaten her with rifles. With over a hundred people behind her as a backup, she believed she could force the opponent to back down. As long as she could achieve this, she would establish prestige among these people.
How could she easily establish prestige? It was simple: by defeating those whom others considered strong. At this moment, in the eyes of the crowd, Shen Feng was clearly a military commander, and thus a complete powerhouse. Therefore, if Hong Yehui could just make Shen Feng retreat, she would have won and naturally earned others' respect!
"We are here to protest! Your subordinates stole the cars and food that originally belonged to us, forcibly stripping us of our property. Your actions are no different from bandits, even worse than bandits! We protest your actions!" Hong Yehui shouted at Shen Feng with over a hundred people, also surrounding Shen Feng and Yu Renshu. This action instantly attracted the attention of everyone in the plaza, and all eyes turned towards them.
Shen Feng, facing the protesting crowd, did not get angry. Instead, he explained, "Your vehicles have been requisitioned because many people need to evacuate this city, and sufficient vehicles must be ensured. As for the food, it has always been uniformly allocated. If you have any objections, please discuss them later. Go back!"
"This is unfair!" Hong Yehui loudly accused Shen Feng. "The cars and food were obtained through our hard work. Now you've taken our things with a single word, diverting resources that belonged to us to others. Do others have cars? Your actions are no different from robbery!"
"Fair?" Shen Feng found the word laughable and then asked, "When I was killing zombies to save you, did I consider fairness? Also, why aren't you people working? Are you naturally noble? Talking about fairness now is just a waste of my time!"
Seeing that Shen Feng remained the same, Hong Yehui decided to give him a warning. There were no soldiers around, and the people in the distance were just sitting there passively, posing no threat. Therefore, if she was just a little more assertive, she could force Shen Feng to back down. He was just a young man, probably still in school, with no ulterior motives.
So, Hong Yehui continued, "This world is inherently about the survival of the fittest, the strong prey on the weak. We are more capable, so we deserve to get more. Now you're taking our things and helping the weak, which is going against the natural order!"
After saying this, Hong Yehui winked at several of her former subordinates. Then, these people rolled up their sleeves and surrounded Shen Feng. Rolling up sleeves was simple; it was a show of their muscles, also containing a meaning of defiance.
However, Shen Feng was not flustered by being surrounded. Instead, with extreme speed, he threw several punches. Instantly, four people were sent flying, crashing into the people around them before collapsing to the ground. In the eyes of the crowd, Shen Feng's movements were completely invisible. Then, the four people around him were sent flying, while Shen Feng remained standing in place, completely still!
Hong Yehui couldn't see Shen Feng's movements clearly, but she saw her four subordinates being sent flying, and her expression changed drastically. She hadn't expected this young pretty boy, Shen Feng, to be able to subdue four strong men instantly. She herself couldn't possibly be his opponent. What should she do now?
Shen Feng turned to Yu Renshu and smiled, saying, "Doctor, I don't hit women!"
"Understood!" Yu Renshu nodded and walked towards Hong Yehui, holding a bottle of mineral water.
Yu Renshu opened the cap and let the water flow out. However, the stream of water did not fall to the ground. Instead, the mineral water transformed into a water sphere, instantly engulfing Hong Yehui's entire head. Hong Yehui immediately struggled to breathe, flailing her hands in the air, her face turning purplish-red, and she was in great pain.
"Anyone else who wants to cause trouble, come forward. Let's see if the long sword in my hand is still sharp!" Shen Feng then drew the long sword from his body. The over a hundred people, having witnessed the terrifying scene just moments ago, quickly retreated. Then, one by one, they left. Even Hong Yehui's thirty-odd subordinates left in disgrace.