Qiongli stared at the young man, who also stared back at her, waiting for her answer.
After a long while, she sighed. Indeed, walking the path of the apocalypse with a three or four-year-old child would certainly bring about many troubles, but...she could not give up. Her main reason for coming to this land was the children in the remote village.
She had visited this land a few times, and also left a few times.
Even though it is not her hometown, everything about China enticed her. She was fond of the culture here and the innocent children living in the impoverished villages. Her own childhood was bleak, and she hoped to find what she missed in her younger years in these children.
Before the Apocalypse, her impressive academic qualifications could have granted her a privileged life. But she chose to sacrifice it all and journey alone to a small village to be a volunteer teacher.
Her incomplete childhood was gradually filled by the innocent children. She found this fulfilling, her love for this land increasing by the day. In turn, the land treated her well. Here, she met her loving husband and made numerous interesting friends. Even though she gave up her previous life, she ironically ended up living a life not inferior to that of the societal elites!
Looking at the sleeping Nannan, Qiongli gently pinched her smiling face, her eyes filled with tenderness.
"You mentioned that for the second time. She’s cute, but what about your life? And ours?"
"You don’t need to worry about that, you cold-hearted guy! Even if I die, I won’t burden any of you!"
Qiongli instantly lost her temper, turned around angrily, and left. After a few strides, she turned back and shouted: "Both you and he are beasts!"
The young man emotionlessly watched Qiongli leave, and broke into a brilliant and relieved smile only after she had gone some distance.
"Seems like I’ve chosen the right person."
The young man looked up, gazing at an unreachable circular platform in the high sky. There, Tang Ye was looking back at him. The young man was Tang Ye, and Tang Ye was the young man!
The two exchanged smiles. Tang Ye averted his gaze, and his other self lowered his head, heading after Qiongli.
"Hey, wait up. Where is Chenyang 169 Base?"
Qiongli looked back at Tang Ye, her eyes showing tension.
"What exactly are you up to? We have nothing. If you want our lives, believe me, you can take them quite easily!"
"Don’t worry, I won’t do that. I’m headed to Chenyang 169 Base... I just don’t know where it is, I forgot the name...heh heh, believe it or not, I take my word for that."
"It’s far, and there’s a lot of danger along the way. Are you sure you want to go?"
"It’s situated in Yunchuan City in Province G."
Tang Ye was taken aback, originally assuming it was located within Province S. He never thought it would be more than a thousand kilometers away in Province G, crossing at least three provinces to get there!
Even without any hiccups along the way, the journey would take at least four or five days by car. However, after the Apocalypse, the Earth underwent drastic changes. The plants either evolved or zombified, growing as if they had been administered growth-promoting hormones, reaching heights of more than ten meters!
The situation was evident from where Tang Ye stood. The highway they were on had been pushed up by tree roots, causing cracks all over the road surface. Driving was barely possible, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t encounter hordes of zombies along the way.
If they came across a large-scaled horde, even if Tang Ye, as the Zombie King, drove them away, it would take considerable time. Moreover, there were the ruthless looters who prowled the highways!
Initially, he thought that Chenyang 169 Base was in Mingzhen City because that’s where Qiongli and her group were heading. However, they were merely passing through!
"Why are you going such a long distance? Isn’t there a survivor base in Mingzhen City?"
"That’s not Chenyang 169 Base."
"Oh... okay, I’ll just follow you guys. As for the purpose, I’m not obligated to tell you."
"You’d better not have any ill intentions, or no matter how strong you are, I’ll fight you to the death!"
"Hahahahaha, you can’t do that. In front of me, you’re like an ant on the ground."
"Really?" Without looking back at Tang Ye, Qiongli replied coldly and then added, "The survivor base in Mingzhen City is Xifeng Base, but that’s not our destination. Going into that base merely replaces the danger of zombies with the danger from our own kind."
"It seems that you’re well-informed about these bases?"
"All these were told to me by my husband."
"Your husband? It’s been a long time now, is your husband in Chenyang Base?"
"Um, yes." Qiongli, holding Nannan, walked over to a mangled corpse on the ground and made a cross sign on her chest.
"May the Lord bless you. Amen~" She murmured in a foreign language. Tang Ye only vaguely understood her, though he often engaged in primitive foreign language exchange, he knew little about it...
"Tsk, in China, instead of praying to the Jade Emperor for his blessing, you’re praying to God. No wonder he won’t answer you."
He rolled his eyes at Qiongli, who instantly started to strip off the clothes from the corpse. Wrapping some around herself and some around Nannan.
"How do you guys keep in contact? You definitely can’t use phones now."
Qiongli pulled out a Nokia mobile phone with a red casing from her waist and waved it at Tang Ye.
"What’s so special about Chenyang Base? Why would you go to such lengths to get there? By the way, spare me the irrelevant details."
Frustration surged within Qiongli. She held back from bursting out but was still visibly irritated as she replied coldly, "Have you ever been in one of those bases?"
"Yes." Tang Ye honestly answered.
"It’s not that great. Some people can fill their stomachs, but there are also people who die fighting for food."
"Exactly. The situation in most of the bases in China is chaotic. Their food reserves are insufficient and cannot meet people’s needs. Thus, people still risk their lives to fight for food. Tell me, what difference does that make from how life was in Lin City?"
"I suppose there’s no real difference... But at least people won’t get eaten by zombies. Speaking of which, is Chenyang Base really that great?"
"It’s Chenyang 169 Base. There are many survivor bases in Province G referred to as Chenyang Base, and each has its own number. Many of these bases had to switch their societal models due to food shortages or corruption in the higher ranks. However, a small percentage still maintains the societal model from before the Apocalypse. Chenyang 169 Base is among such bases, and that’s where we’re actually headed."
"Told by your husband?"
"Do you believe it’s all true? Aren’t you afraid he is deceiving you?"
"I trust him. We love each other dearly!"