Chapter 67: Chapter 67: Road Encounter
The moment before the convoy left Chengguan Town, Ye Fan suddenly remembered the self-destruct truck and ordered a Conscript to act as a driver and take that truck along on the journey to Si River.
Within Ye Fan’s radar range, no red dots were visible anymore.
Before leaving this morning, he had already given Xu Haoran orders that the unit’s operations should not cease during his absence.
A combined combat unit of a company and an engineer platoon, naturally, must not be idle.
The Engineer Platoon’s tasks included supporting the Engineers in building a base vehicle, while the company’s duties were to collect resources and clear the surrounding villages.
Before Ye Fan left, two combat platoons had already been deployed on operations.
The convoy drove for a while, covering about a dozen kilometers, when Ye Fan saw a white dot on the radar screen.
White indicated his Red Alert Units, and this should be a platoon.
They were located in a village that Ye Fan needed to pass through.
However, Ye Fan did not find any red dots in this village. Could it be that this platoon had already wiped out all the zombies?
Seeing Ye Fan’s convoy approaching, the entire platoon stood at attention by the roadside.
Ye Fan got out of the car, and the soldiers saluted in unison.
The leader was a Scout produced just the day before, as there were no officers yet, he was temporarily in charge.
"Sir, Dawn Corps First Battalion, First Company, Third Platoon Commander, Scout Jiang Hao, currently leading the team in exterminating zombies!"
Ye Fan glanced around and remarked, somewhat puzzledly: "No smell of gunpowder here, nor zombie corpses to be seen. How are your results?"
"Sir, we arrived in this village just ten minutes ahead of you, but strangely enough, there isn’t a single zombie here."
"Oh! Not a single one?"
Ye Fan found it strange. He knew this village had a population of four to five thousand people. How was it possible not to see a single zombie?
Could the survivors have wiped out these four to five thousand zombies?
Ye Fan felt it unlikely and asked Jiang Hao, "Have you discovered anything?"
"Some findings; we’ve found tracks showing that a horde of zombies has left, sir. Look over there."
Saying this, Jiang Hao led Ye Fan to a path leading out of the village, where indeed many footprints could be seen.
Judging by the direction the footprints led, it seemed as though they were heading towards Mei City.
"Based on my Scout expertise, these footprints were left three days ago, and about four thousand zombies departed, meaning this village’s zombies have migrated collectively."
Ye Fan frowned slightly; this was not good news.
He had never imagined that zombies could understand migration. This action suggested some unknown changes occurring within the zombies.
His confidence in this apocalypse stemmed from the belief that zombies lacked intelligence, and no matter how many there were globally, he could kill them all bit by bit.
But the fact that zombies could engage in collective action was troubling. Additionally, he had seen some evolving Iron Armors at the government building in Chengguan Town, making him realize this world wasn’t as simple as it seemed.
"Go back and tell Xu Haoran to reinforce the defenses at the Great Tavern and the police station, to guard against zombie changes."
"Understood!"
"Continue the search and try to clear out some zombies in the area, to ease our future pressure."
After giving instructions to Jiang Hao, Ye Fan got back in the car, and the convoy moved on.
They exited the narrow road ahead and hit the highway.
The roads outside the Main City District were still passable, although occasionally a vehicle overturned into a deep ditch was visible.
The radar was kept on at all times, occasionally spotting red dots in the distance.
Sometimes, blue dots were also visible in hidden spots, scattered here and there.
Many people still managed to escape from the cities, but not all could find a survivor camp, as this was a dangerous world without communication.
These people could barely survive for now, but with winter approaching in the north, survival would certainly be a significant issue.
Ye Fan currently lacked the energy to worry about these matters; even if he planned to shelter more survivors, it would have to wait until the base was established.
After traveling over a hundred kilometers, by the afternoon they crossed a Great River called Songjiang.
There was a Jianghai Bridge over the river, built thirty years ago, still grand and majestic, serving as an important link between Ice City, Mei City, and Huacheng City.
Past Jianghai Bridge heading west, just over a hundred kilometers was their target, Sishui County.
Further south by three hundred kilometers lay Kao Mountain Farm, where Ye Fan intended to establish a base.
The bridge appeared to have been cleared, with a passable lane arranged for vehicles.
The abandoned cars on the bridge had their fuel caps removed, indicating that someone had already scavenged them.
As the convoy crossed the bridge, they were halfway there.
"Sir, there’s a village forty kilometers ahead. Upon reaching there, we will enter the boundary of Sishui County. However, reaching the outskirts of Sishui City’s Hardware Mansion may not be possible today unless we drive at night."
"Let’s avoid driving at night. See if we can find someplace to stay at the village tonight; we’ll set off early in the morning."
"Understood!"
The convoy continued forward, arriving on the outskirts of the village around four in the afternoon.
Ye Fan had never been to this village before, and it didn’t appear particularly small.
However, the zombies weren’t primarily in the village; most were gathered about three kilometers away at a small corner of the mountain, seemingly herded there by someone.
Within the village, Ye Fan noticed sixty to seventy blue dots.
Ye Fan didn’t find it convenient to speak, as Gao Dongliang was seated upfront.
But the Red Alert Soldiers were already in the know, and Nana accurately reported the number and approximate location of all Red Alert Units.
The people were gathered on the east side of the village, so Ye Fan decided to drive the cars to the west side.
Upon entering the village, they found a few spacious courtyards to park all the vehicles.
The Iron Armor and Mammoth Tank parked in one yard, while the armored cars and trucks parked together, mostly obscured by the trucks.
Ye Fan got out and instructed the team to be on guard, then took the Scout, Sniper, and a military dog to walk slowly out of the yard.
Medical soldiers Xiao Jing and He Xiaoting followed, faithfully performing their duty as medics.
The small group reached the village edge. Ye Fan casually glanced around and suddenly saw on the map five or six blue dots rapidly approaching.
Apparently, the survivors had heard the vehicles enter the village and were likely coming to survey the situation.
With only five or six people coming, Ye Fan was not particularly concerned and decided to wait there and see who they were.
The approaching vehicle was a civilian Jeep, one of the higher-end models.
With a screech, the Jeep drifted to a stop about ten meters in front of Ye Fan and the others.
The car door opened, and five people stepped out.
Much like Ye Fan’s group, all five were clad in camouflage and armed.
The leader, a dark, robust young man in his twenties, glanced at Ye Fan’s party and was somewhat taken aback.
These Red Alert Soldiers under Ye Fan’s command were well-fed, well-rested, consistently consuming Mutant Beast Meat, and although they lacked many beds, each soldier had their own sleeping bag, which was warm and comfortable.
The proximity of a river to Chengguan Town, though unsafe for drinking, allowed for bathing.
These Three-Star Soldiers couldn’t even contract the virus, living with few restrictions.
Their clothes were frequently washed with a type of clear soap that was refreshing, comfortable, and effective in sterilization and deodorization, leaving one refreshed and comfortable.
As a result, they looked healthy and clean, a clear contrast to ordinary survivors.
The robust young man across the way hesitated, then displayed a wary expression, advising his companions, "Be cautious, except for the one in the middle, everyone else, including the dog, looks dangerous."