After lunch, Zhang Su led a few people from the team on a tour around the inn area. The whole farmhouse inn area was built along the mountain, arranged in a stepped pattern from bottom to top, with a total of seven inns, each having its own unique characteristics.

“The owner of this Xinxin Farmhouse runs a large bathhouse in the city, doing big business, and over there, that Qingfeng Xiaozhu… the two-story one, despite its elegant name, is the cheapest inn around here, styled more like an apartment lacking character, mainly catering to company team-building events and inexpensive out-of-town groups…”

“That one over there, with some cartoon elements, is popular among young people, and let me tell you, Boss Zhang…”

Zu Meng acted as a guide, introducing the local situation to Zhang Su and his group, talking about who owned which inn, which ones secretly arranged special services, and others that were notorious for ripping off guests…

After a more detailed understanding, Zhang Su came to a final conclusion.

The terrain here on Celestial Horse Island is naturally advantageous, making it relatively simpler than the villages to create a safe base. All it requires is some work on the road up the mountain to turn the inn area into a secure, defensive stronghold.

The inn area can support farming and livestock, and there’s a fish pond, never short of water or electricity, allowing for sustained development!

“Brother Su, aren’t the conditions here just like the ideal place you described to me before?”

Standing on a viewing platform, with Celestial Horse Island gorge not far away, Zheng Xinyu said to Zhang Su.

Zhang Su nodded, “That’s right, everything seems pretty good here; now it’s up to future development.”

Standing on the viewing platform, looking into the distance, the mountains are not high but studded with strange rocks, and the ravine is not wide but winding and secluded.

“The mountain doesn’t need to be high; it’s famous if there’s a fairy. The water doesn’t need to be deep; it has spirit if there’s a dragon. You all might not know…”

“Hey, hey, hey, stop bragging.”

Zhang Su called Zu Meng, who was introducing Celestial Horse Island to others, over to his side, pointing at the ravine, “Old Meng, where does that lead?”

Zu Meng followed Zhang Su’s pointing finger and said, “From what I remember from the map, this ravine extends well over ten kilometers. On the opposite side should be… um, I really don’t know.”

“Are there any other roads leading into Celestial Horse Island?”

Zhang Su asked as he looked into the depths of the valley.

Zu Meng smiled and replied, “There definitely are, but those places might only be accessible to monkeys.”

Zhang Su nodded in satisfaction. The scenery of Celestial Horse Island may not concern him, but the geographical environment of the inn area was exceptional, solidifying his idea of establishing a safe base there.

…

Since they ate a late and particularly large lunch, the two chefs made a big pot of vegetable porridge for the evening.

Steaming hot vegetable porridge with silky smooth eggs, drizzled with a few drops of fragrant oil, felt both comforting and warming to eat.

As night fell, Zhang Su’s group stayed at Wangshan Inn, the one closest to the parking lot. They parked the car in the inn’s courtyard and everyone gathered in the inn’s hall.

Everyone had grown accustomed to the darkness. Even though there were lights, they only kept a small emergency lamp on as a habit.

“I called everyone here to discuss matters related to Celestial Horse Island. We walked around this afternoon and believe this place is very suitable for establishing a safe base. What are your thoughts? Feel free to speak openly.”

Zhang Su went straight to the point.

“Brother Su, I have a somewhat immature thought.”

Delivery guy Qi Xiaoshuai raised his hand.

Seeing Qi Xiaoshuai being a bit shy, Zhang Su encouraged, “Just speak your mind, are we in class? Go ahead, Qi Tongxue.”

“This place is great in all aspects, but it’s possibly too great. I feel like a place this nice shouldn’t be empty, or at least temporarily unoccupied. If someone sets their sights on it in the future, wouldn’t we be in danger?”

Qi Xiaoshuai cautiously said.

“Haha, Xiaoshuai, what you’re saying… haven’t the guns given you confidence? We’re in danger? I want to see who dares to mess with us, it would be just like your previous job!”

Zhao Dezhu said confidently.

“Just like my previous job? What do you mean?” Qi Xiaoshuai was puzzled.

Zheng Xinyu chuckled and said, “It means they’d be delivering things to us, like delivery!”

The crowd smiled. Although Zhao Dezhu seemed a bit arrogant, considering the firepower the team now possessed, perhaps ‘confident’ was a more suitable term.

Zhang Su smiled and pressed his hand down, “What Xiaoshuai mentioned is indeed possible. This place isn’t too far from Qin City, and there will undoubtedly be teams venturing out of the city later, who might discover this location. But giving up something so good because we’re afraid it might attract attention is not an option.”

“With our strength, we are fully capable of owning this excellent location to build our safe base!”

Hearing Zhang Su’s words, everyone felt ambitious and excited, feeling greatly affirmed.

In the apocalypse, everyone had experienced initial confusion, journeying restlessly, and finally finding a place where they could settle down. Nobody wanted to let it go easily; their hearts longed too much for a safe place to rest both body and soul.

“Now, we’re mainly discussing the construction of the safe base. Does anyone have relevant experience?”

Zhang Su looked at everyone.

The crowd seemed dispirited. They were all ordinary people with ordinary jobs; being involved in an apocalypse base project would be quite extraordinary.

Just when everyone had run out of things to say, someone in the corner spoke up.

“Um, Brother Su, I’ve played some construction simulation games with post-apocalyptic scenarios in them. Can I give it a try?”

It was the programmer Liu Tianji speaking.

“Sure, write a rough plan, and we’ll discuss it together later.”

A smile appeared in Zhang Su’s heart; he only had scattered ideas, and if someone could lay out a detailed plan, it would be excellent.

“I’d like to know everyone’s skills in detail, like what you can do: woodworking, construction, electrical work, those sorts of things.”

Liu Tianji took out his phone to prepare for recording. Although there was no signal, at least there were small games to entertain, and he always kept the habit of charging it.

“Me.” Jia Shiqin was the first to raise his hand: “I’m an electrician, a certified experienced electrician.”

“I can do carpentry work and have some experience in farming and planting. Simple lathe, planer, punch, and milling — as long as there’s equipment, I can do it!”

Yuwen followed closely behind, and no one expected this middle-aged Chinese teacher to possess so many skills.

“You thought I was just a Fish Slaughterer? Haha, I can also raise fish. The supermarket’s aquatic department is managed by my apprentices!”

Zhao Dezhu said.

“If I have the materials, I could… well, try to make some improvised mines and bombs for… defending against enemies.”

Yu Qing said, and then noticed everyone was looking at her with peculiar eyes.

“Are you serious?”

Zhang Su looked at this Holy Mother lady with a strange expression.

Holy Mother making bombs — who would believe that if you say it?

Yu Qing nodded: “Making bombs is not difficult; the hard part is controlling the materials. As long as there are materials, I can make them, anyone can, just be cautious during the process.”

“What about bullets then?”

Zhang Su urgently pressed for more information.

Yu Qing thought for a moment and shook her head: “Can’t make new bullets. They require machine tools and high precision control of craftsmanship.”

“You mean if there were machine tools, you could manage bullets, right?” Zhang Su seized the core of the issue and asked.

“Pretty much, I guess…” Yu Qing nodded uncertainly and then added: “But empty casings can be reused. Replace them with new primers, add a suitable amount of gunpowder, and put on the bullet head. However, I don’t recommend doing that; it has certain risks.”

“Erh… Teacher Xiaoyu, you remind me that I once saw online that as long as the casings aren’t deformed, there’s no risk, but hand-making bullets is still difficult and requires some tools, right?”

Wu Lue chimed in, with his online knowledge being quite extensive though not profound.

Yu Qing nodded: “Yes, it requires some tools and equipment, but not high-precision machine tools; hand tools are fine.”

“Good, in any case, it means bullets can be potentially reused, so we should try to collect the casings in the future!” Zhang Su said.

The bullets brought out from the military camp numbered only thirty thousand rounds, which seemed like a lot but in real use could be consumed rapidly, causing some anxiety. If there’s a chance for reuse, that would be great.

“Alright, you guys continue.”

Zhang Su raised his hand to let everyone continue.

“I can handle simple wound and illness problems, and we have a very complete stock of medicines now.”

“I don’t know much but learn quickly. Teach me, and I can do it!”

Surveying the group, the shortage of skilled professions was significant, which was unavoidable as everyone was previously ordinary people doing mundane jobs.

Unfortunately, without the internet, much knowledge couldn’t be retrieved online. Given the learning capacity of modern people, it wouldn’t be too difficult.

Starting might be tough, but it still filled everyone with hope for the future. Having their own safe base to build upon slowly beats wandering aimlessly.

At nine in the evening, Zhang Su stood on the balcony of the second floor of Wangshan Inn, looking at the whole inn area. The room was dark, lit only slightly by moonlight on the windowsill. While he was gazing intently, arms suddenly came from behind to embrace him.

Zheng Xinyu’s gentle voice said: “It’s rare to find a stable place to settle. Both Xiaoshan and I have washed up. Shouldn’t we rest early?”

Zhang Su didn’t move, letting Zheng Xinyu’s restless hands caress him, his gaze fixed far away as he solemnly said: “Want to rest? No way…”

“Huh? Why not…”

Zheng Xinyu paused, turning her head to look at Zhang Su curiously in the moonlight.

“I need to go out for a while; you two stay here.”

After speaking, Zhang Su turned around, picked up Zheng Xinyu and placed her to the side, grabbing the rifle from the bedside table.

“Did you find something wrong? I’ll go with you!”

Zhong Xiaoshan got up from the bed.

If it were a simple matter, he wouldn’t need a gun!

“What’s up? I want to go too!”

Zheng Xinyu hurriedly started changing shoes.

“There’s a small problem I noticed, but it doesn’t concern you two; be good and stay here!”

Zhang Su put on his clothes, checked his weaponry, and solemnly instructed, heading towards the door, noticing the two women had no intention to stop what they were doing.

Reaching the doorway, Zhang Su turned back again: “I’m not joking with you, don’t wander around!”

“Got it, got it!”

Only then did the women believe Zhang Su wasn’t joking, but this made them worry even more.

Once Zhang Su exited, Zheng Xinyu immediately picked up the walkie-talkie: “Hello, hello, Brother Zhuzi, Bozai, Brother Su is going out for business; he’s already left.”

“I can hear you… are you guys stupid?” Zhang Su’s frustrated voice came through from the walkie-talkie.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep