“Hey, hey, stop chatting, has anyone been to Celestial Horse Island?”

Zhang Su picked up the walkie-talkie and asked everyone.

“I’ve been there, I’ve been there…”

Soon, Zhang Ya, who was in the same car, replied, “Last year, my company went to Celestial Horse Island for a team-building outing!”

“Tell us more about it.”

Zhang Su turned his head and glanced at Zhang Ya, saying.

Zhang Ya thought for a moment and said, “To put it simply, it’s a few mountains with a long canyon. The slope isn’t very steep, the road is well-built, nothing particularly special, just the air feels nice up there. It’s a newly built scenic area in recent years, not very distinctive, and the company chose it for team building to save money.”

“There should be places to stay on Celestial Horse Island, right?” Zhang Su pressed further.

Zhang Ya replied without hesitation, “Yes, there are several farmhouse-style inns on the mountain. It’s convenient to eat, Brother Su, I think it’s pretty good, I remember…”

She knew Zhang Su was considering setting up camp, so she spilled all her memories about Celestial Horse Island.

Zhang Su glanced into the distance and said, “So, Celestial Horse Island does sound like a suitable safety camp. There’s not much farmland on the mountain, but there aren’t many of us, so it’s more than enough. There are fish ponds too, worth checking out!”

No one objected; after wandering outside for so long, it was time to find a place to settle down, somewhere suitable.

The vehicle drove to the junction pointing towards Celestial Horse Island, where Zhang Su parked by the roadside and informed everyone to get off.

Standing by the roadside and looking towards the mountain, he could vaguely see some shadows of houses through the gaps of trees that weren’t completely withered, very concealed.

“Xinyu, Zhuzi, Master Jia, you three come with me to check the route ahead, see what’s happening up there. The rest stay here.”

After speaking, the four sat in the Prado, heading toward the scenic area.

The road from the provincial highway to the foot of the mountain was a very smooth self-built road, adhering to the principle that to get rich, one must first build roads, applicable everywhere.

The scenery along the self-built road was noticeably better than the provincial highway. Although there were zombies wandering in the distance, the nearby wasteland was very clean.

Zhang Su opened the window, a burst of cold wind hit him, it was the long-lost fresh air that he greedily took a deep breath of, only feeling refreshed.

Inside the car, the others felt the chill. Seeing Zhang Su indulge in the fresh air with the window open, they all followed suit.

“I’ve almost forgotten what fresh air smells like!”

“Yeah, feels a bit strange.”

“We’re really pitiable, even a breath of fresh air has become a luxury.”

The vehicle continued climbing the mountain after passing a section of self-built road through the fields. As soon as they turned a corner, two zombies appeared in front of the car.

Judging by their attire, the two zombies seemed to be local villagers, both male. Upon hearing the roar of the car, they turned and dashed towards it.

“Dodge those two old Liu zombies!”

Zhao Dezhu cursed, waited for the car to stop, jumped out, and swung a knife at the zombie’s neck.

Zheng Xinyu and Master Jia jointly dealt with the other one, making it unnecessary for Zhang Su to act.

After disposing of the zombies, they pushed the bodies under the trees beside the road, returned to the car, and continued climbing uphill. After approximately two hundred meters, they reached a spacious half-hill platform, which was evidently Celestial Horse Island’s parking lot!

Not far away, a large rock about seven or eight meters tall bore the powerfully written words “Celestial Horse Island,” and nearby was the entrance arch and ticket checkpoint leading to the scenic area.

Walking along the road onto another fork for twenty to thirty meters, farm-style inn buildings appeared before them, each uniquely built along the mountain. Judging by the scattered signs, there were at least seven or eight of them.

Unlike the city’s shops which had been thoroughly destroyed, the inns here on Celestial Horse Island were well-preserved, as if the heavy rain a few days ago hadn’t caused much impact here.

Zhang Su wasn’t particularly interested in the inside of the scenic area, and unable to drive further into the mountain, he parked the car in the middle of the parking lot.

“If not for the disaster, this place would be quite lively during the golden week…”

Getting off the car, Zhang Su looked around the ghostly quiet farm-style inns, deeply moved.

“Someone’s coming!”

Just as he prepared to step toward the nearest inn called Wangshan Inn, he suddenly heard footsteps, instinctively tightening his grip on his rifle.

Zheng Xinyu and the others followed Zhang Su’s gaze but saw no one, though they faintly heard footsteps coming from behind the courtyard walls, heightening their alertness.

Soon, a man and a woman rounded the wall, coming into view, and both parties stared at each other, flabbergasted.

The woman wore a goose-yellow light down jacket, in her early thirties, while the man, in a black cotton coat, was removing an apron from his chest, probably having been at work earlier.

“Ah, military men, finally our saviors are here, God bless!”

The man started with a slight shock upon seeing the standard rifles hanging from Zhang Su and the others’ chests, then cheered excitedly.

“Officers, are you here to rescue us? We’ve been waiting for days, finally you’re here.”

The woman was equally thrilled, wringing her hands.

Zhang Su slowly lowered his gun, not responding directly, instead asking cautiously, “How many people are there with you?”

“Officer, smoking? Reporting, officer, there are four of us here, just my brother and I, and a male and female, the surviving chefs.”

Saying this, the man eagerly offered a pack of cigarettes, flattering, “Officers, you’ve had a tiring journey, come and rest in the courtyard.”

“No rush to leave, I’m asking you. Are there only the four of you left in the entire Celestial Horse Island scenic area?”

Zhang Su did not take the man’s cigarettes, asking warily.

“Yes, we originally planned to earn some during the golden week, but before we could sell our stock, the disaster struck. We wanted to return to the city, but the roads were full of biting zombies, leaving us no choice but to retreat here again!”

“Indeed!” the woman continued, “Phones don’t work, TV has no signal, we know nothing, it’s driving us nuts. Officers, can you tell what’s happening in the city now?”

The woman watched Zhang Su eagerly.

“The city’s condition is even worse. When the disaster first broke out, there must’ve been many people turned into zombies here, right? Did you handle all the zombies yourselves?”

Zhang Su asked with curiosity, considering the inn’s scale, there should be at least three to five staff per place, even during a tourism off-season with no tourists, there should’ve been at least forty people around here!

Judging by the transformation rate, at least thirty-plus people should’ve turned, yet the place looked clean and orderly, with no traces of fighting or chaos.

“Ah?” the man replied confusedly, “A lot of people? There weren’t many people…”

“The scenic area was undergoing forest renovations this year, only to open formally during the golden week. There were no tourists, and the inn owners mostly live in Qin City or Qing County, seldom coming because of the lack of business, so at that time, there were only… a dozen people.”

“How did you handle the people who turned into zombies?” Zhang Su pressed on.

The man portrayed a lingering fear, pointing at the nearby cliff: “We knew they were zombies and worked together to get them off the mountain…”

Zhang Su and the others exchanged looks, feeling speechless internally; up here, handling zombies was indeed convenient.

“And since then, have there been any more zombies here?”

Zhao Dezhu asked.

The man gestured exaggeratedly, “Of course, we have no peace; some wander up every now and then, but not many, at most three or four. We’re always watching, and upon spotting zombies, we lead them to the cliff. Zombies are dumb, won’t step forward, they all fall off, avoiding any danger.”

“Alright!” Zhang Su frankly stated, “I won’t beat around the bush; we’re not soldiers nor here to rescue you. We’re survivors like you.”

“Survivors like us?”

The siblings were slightly taken aback, then the slightly plump man said, “Being survivors is good, we’re in the same boat. You’re planning to avoid the disaster here, right? No problem, we have plenty of space here!”

Zhang Su felt an odd vibe from the man’s warm demeanor but couldn’t pinpoint the source, wondering internally if it was due to having not encountered kind people after the disaster, making this interaction feel unusual?

“You’re quite enthusiastic, huh?”

Sometimes direct questioning is the best way to uncover lies.

Faced with Zhang Su’s doubt, the man awkwardly chuckled, pointing at their chests and shoulders, “You have guns. It’s chaotic outside now, having guns means you can protect this place, how could we not be welcoming, heh.”

“And besides… we wouldn’t dare oppose you all.”

Realistically speaking, it felt very genuine…

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep