“Do you know the specific situation over at Beita Camp? How many people, how many guns? Also, where is their village and how do you get there from Niuquanzi Town?”

Zhang Su asked in detail.

Ever since those two half-grown boys appeared in Niuquanzi Town, he sensed something unusual, and his intuition was indeed correct.

Upon hearing Zhang Su’s words, Wang Xingui felt delighted, guessing the other party might be planning to go after Beita Camp, which would be good news for their United Village, he quickly responded.

“There aren’t many people in Beita Camp, probably fewer than twenty able-bodied men. However, they have a guy with pretty high skills, who made a batch of well-crafted firearms and some detonators, quite formidable! Head southwest from Niuquanzi Town, and you can find Beita Camp in just two kilometers.”

Zhang Su took note of this information, since if they could produce detonators, they must have gunpowder or similar materials. Once acquired, these could be handed over to Yu Qing and have some significant use!

After inquiring thoroughly about Beita Camp, he continued, “Today we collected some supplies from Niuquanzi Town. Do you have pork here? I’d like to trade some.”

Saying that, Zhang Su opened the car’s trunk, which was filled with various living supplies, from daily necessities to textiles, all included.

“Brother, you this, haha, isn’t it a bit improper?”

Wang Xingui was prepared to be taken advantage of but was surprised when Zhang Su proposed to trade supplies.

“I offer what you need, and you offer what I need—a civilized exchange, isn’t that good?”

Zhang Su understood what Wang Xingui thought. Nowadays, most people believed the world had turned into one where the strong prey on the weak, but he hoped to build a positive development circle around him.

To achieve this, trust-based exchanges are the foundation.

As long as both parties can benefit, the cooperation can continue, although there is a prerequisite, the rules are set by the strong.

“Yes, yes, Brother, you’re right!”

Wang Xingui gladly accepted the rules set by Zhang Su, eventually trading half a pig and some crop seeds for soap, toothpaste, plastic basins, and toilet paper.

Both parties felt it was a very profitable transaction, an extremely perfect deal.

“Brother, where are you setting up camp?”

As Zhang Su was about to leave, Wang Xingui tentatively inquired.

Zhang Su casually pointed north, saying, “We cleared out a village up north. By the way, Xiaowang, do you know where there might be coal nearby?”

“Coal? There’s some at Niuquanzi Town, didn’t you notice? It might have been taken by Beita Camp though; we used to transport coal from that direction. Are you in urgent need? If needed, we have some reserves at the village, we could… haha, trade some with you.”

Having tasted the benefits of peaceful trade, Wang Xingui was willing to accept a bit of a loss in price rather than let supplies sit idle.

“Next time then, that’ll be it for today, I’m off, I’ll come back for another trade!”

Zhang Su patted the car door, pressed the gas pedal, and started the car. Since there’s coal at Niuquanzi Town, there’s no need to trade.

They spent over half an hour in United Village. On the highway, Zhang Su looked around but couldn’t see the two troublemaker kids.

“If I’m not mistaken, the three who ambushed us yesterday are from Beita Camp, and the two kids today were tracking us to figure out which faction we belong to and where we reside.”

Zhang Su gazed deeply into the distance with a faint voice.

“Huh?” Qi Xiaoshuai laughed, “Brother Su, then doesn’t that mean those people really think we’re from United Village now?”

Zhang Su nodded, “Exactly, that’s what I intended, to test them out!”

The group returned to Celestial Horse Island. Everyone was thrilled at the sight of half a pig, as they hadn’t had a decent meal of meat for a long time.

That evening, a big pot of classic northern dish, pork stew with vermicelli, was served at the table, with the aroma wafting through the entire inn area.

The Celestial Horse Island group felt like it was New Year, as everyone ate to their fill.

“Hey, take a look at this; Niuquanzi Town has two excavators damaged like this, who has the ability to fix them?”

After dinner, everyone lazily relaxed in the Little Lucky Inn’s dining room as Zhang Su showed them photos taken on his phone.

“Brother Su, these excavators are basically scrapped…” Jia Shiqin examined each photo carefully, finally concluding, “Back in the day, we could try fixing them, but now, lacking resources everywhere, I think there’s no hope.”

Tan Huajun also nodded, “If we had an excavator at the camp, we might eventually figure it out, but Brother Su, you mentioned this thing is in Niuquanzi Town, without a stable repair environment, it’s difficult…”

Jia Shiqin continued, “Brother Su, to be honest, it’d be easier to just go to any construction site in Qin City District and drive one back.”

“Right!”

A phrase awakened the dreamer, Zhang Su slapped his thigh. Excavators might seem rare, but the key is finding the right places. Aren’t there plenty on the construction sites still in operation…

Zheng Xinyu said, “The city is so dangerous. We barely escaped, Brother Su. What do you need an excavator for? Our progress here is steady and not slow. Besides, it doesn’t seem like there’s any work that requires an excavator.”

“Hey…” Zhao Dezhu laughed, “The big guy wants to dig a trench in the fields below to connect the mountain foot to the road, so zombies can fall right in.”

Those who didn’t know Zhang Su’s idea looked at him with strange eyes. This project isn’t as simple as building a wall around the inn area. Without modern large machinery, it would be unbearable.

Zhang Su nodded, “That’s right. Zombies fall into the trench and can’t get out. Burn them with fire, and we save a lot of trouble. Plus, the trench can be reused. Once built, it’s a one-time effort.”

“I advise you to be cautious, Brother Su. Going into the city to get an excavator is too risky…”

Zhong Xiaoshan also opposed it. For both public and personal reasons, she didn’t want Zhang Su to risk going back into the city.

“Yeah, Brother Su, let’s put this on hold. We should first build up the mountain’s defenses. Perhaps there are excavators nearby, and we can look around next time.”

“Mr. Zhang, don’t go into the city lightly. It’s a dragon’s den and a tiger’s lair.”

Everyone advised him not to go back into the city, not because they thought the trench was a bad idea, but because looking for an excavator there was too risky. Plus, it’s over twenty kilometers from the city, and moving an excavator makes a lot of noise. It’s too easy for something unexpected to happen!

“Alright, I won’t go into the city.”

Zhang Su took their advice and planned to scout the surroundings first. Besides, the two excavators in Niuquanzi Town might be repairable. He planned to take Jia Shiqin and Tan Huajun to check them out next time; who knows, maybe they’ll get lucky and fix them.

The days spent fleeing for life felt endless, but once things stabilized, time passed quickly.

Time flew with the alternation of day and night, and a week passed in the blink of an eye after exchanging pork with United Village.

During this week, two groups of survivors passed by on the highway. However, after the signpost was removed, unless someone familiar with the area was around, they wouldn’t know there was a developed tourist area with a bunch of inns in the mountains.

Within a week, everyone worked diligently, pushing the defense construction in an orderly manner. Although it wasn’t completed within the week, the framework was taking shape. Unless something unexpected happened, it would take another ten days or so to finish, with the rest being reinforcement work.

During this time, Zhang Su continually went to Niuquanzi Town to haul materials, and also took Jia Shiqin and Tan Huajun to check out the two excavators. Things weren’t as simple as he had thought. The two men, armed with basic tools, were at a loss against that iron hulk.

Every time Zhang Su went to Niuquanzi Town, he was very cautious, always on guard against people from Beita Camp. However, since being tracked by some mischievous kid that day, he hadn’t encountered any more local survivors.

After more than ten days, growing increasingly proficient, they had roughly ransacked the main street of Niuquanzi Town. They also successfully brought back a few tons of coal to Celestial Horse Island to prepare for heating in the winter.

Daily training never stopped, with everyone maintaining a high-spirited attitude, actively living in this post-apocalyptic world. The spirit was much improved from when they first arrived at Celestial Horse Island.

The youngest, Mo Qianlan, picked up a rifle and practiced earnestly with Tan Huajun. The bullets she fired were just as deadly as anyone else’s. Meanwhile, she learned from Zhang Su how to skillfully wield a dagger for stabbing, executing moves quickly and cleanly.

Zhang Su had a special talk with Mo Qianlan. Her mindset was simple: she didn’t want to be a fledgling protected by others anymore; she wanted to become a warrior like her mother!

The young girl’s determination spurred on some of the lazy guys, like Wu Lue, Lü Leiyang, and Liu Tianji, who couldn’t help but train with full concentration, fearing they’d embarrass themselves by not being able to keep up with the young girl against a zombie horde.

In contrast to the peaceful and thriving Celestial Horse Island, United Village had been anything but peaceful these days.

Three days after Zhang Su exchanged flying pigs, Wang Xingui was ambushed by people from Beita Camp while gathering supplies in nearby villages, leading to a fierce battle. It only ended when the sound of gunfire attracted a zombie attack.

As a result, two people from Beita Camp were injured. United Village also had two injuries, plus one person was bitten by zombies.

During this clash, people from Beita Camp noticed something. United Village was still the same mess as before, with no standard rifles and no grenades. Their vehicles were still vans or pickups—no sight of any RVs!

This discovery made Beita Camp people suspicious, leading them to doubt Ga Wa and Xiaohu’s investigation results.

Until four days later…

“Brother Su, this zombie is wilting!”

That morning, Zhang Su again went with a few others to the ticket inspection hall where zombies were being held. Wu Lue poked a listless zombie with a stick in the dark. It could only let out faint whimpers, lacking even the strength to lift its head.

Yet, even so, its jaws remained powerful, with its teeth clicking sharply. No one doubted the power of its bite, although it practically lost the ability to pounce or kill, unless blood was shoved right to its mouth…

In contrast, the zombie tied to the tree was in much better condition. Although slightly less spirited than a few days ago, it could still launch effective attacks when someone approached, with the ropes creaking on its body.

“Seems like it might be related to sunlight?”

Liu Tianji curiously watched the listless zombie, as it was his first time seeing one in such a state.

Zhang Su opened the ticket inspection hall door, “Trying it out will tell us.”

Before long, with some hustle, they dragged the dying zombie out of the ticket hall and tied it next to another zombie. After observing for a while, perhaps the time was too short, no obvious change occurred—it remained as lifeless as before.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep