“I really hope there won’t be any more internal conflicts among humans in the future. Everyone should unite and cooperate—you give me an 8x scope, and I give you an extended magazine.”

Lying in bed, Zheng Xinyu was very tired but couldn’t sleep. She followed Zhang Su to carry out an extermination mission, but in the end, she didn’t kill anyone, feeling both regretful and relieved.

“If you want to make a wish, remember to look for a shooting star, not the ceiling.”

Zhang Su directly dismissed Zheng Xinyu’s beautiful wish.

“It’s been almost two months since the disaster broke out. Most survivors have banded together, forming groups of various sizes. Just within Qin City, survivor teams like ours number no less than thirty!

Every group has its own survival methods. Some focus on agriculture and livestock—the ‘self-sufficiency’ group—while others are primarily raiders—the ‘pillagers.’ There might even be worse groups like the ‘scorched earth’ raiders! So never dream of peace!”

“Having a stable living environment with food and drink isn’t enough. What do the scorched earthers want?” Zheng Xinyu blurted out as she asked.

Zhang Su chuckled and said, “If you’re on the run and have food and drink, that might be enough. But once you have a stable living environment, and survival is secured, then you start thinking about better living conditions!

Take clothing, for example. You’ll want to upgrade from keeping warm to focusing on style, daily washing, and grooming. Didn’t you mention hand cream today? These non-essential items will gradually become targets for competition, along with tobacco, alcohol, snacks, and medicine…”

Survivors are people who have lived modern lives and will inevitably keep chasing past comforts, except for children born after the apocalypse. They’re the ones who can truly get used to this harsh life.

“Brother Su is very realistic about the situation…”

Curled up beside them, Zhong Xiaoshan said softly, “Not every group can be self-sufficient. Take us, for instance; it’s really hard to achieve that right now.”

Within the area of Celestial Horse Island, there are a few greenhouses, but they’re not large. The previous B&B owner built them to attract customers with the idea of home-grown vegetables, and now they barely meet the camp’s population needs.

But yields decrease with the changing seasons, and the population might increase if more survivors are taken in.

And this is just about the vegetables. The main food problem is crucial. Currently, the Celestial Horse Island B&B area doesn’t have space to grow staple foods like rice, wheat, potatoes, sweet potatoes, or corn on a large scale.

There’s farmland at the base of the mountain, with plenty of space for cultivation, but zombies harass it daily, and there might be survivor groups looking to steal from us. Unless we build larger-scale defenses, it requires enormous manpower and resources to accomplish.

When that time comes, Celestial Horse Island is no longer a scenic area but a new type of city-state in the apocalypse.

Beyond crops, there are more than ten chickens and ducks on the mountain. With some breeding experience, they can reproduce to a certain number, and their eggs would be an essential supplement to our food supply.

If we can solve the staple food problem, Celestial Horse Island’s safe camp can achieve a fragile balance of self-sufficiency, but only enough to maintain basic survival needs.

The key is the staple food, which is why Zhang Su constantly takes people to scour towns and villages; our reserves of staple food dictate the survival timeline for everyone.

In the past, the government could handle these things through macroeconomic controls. Rice and grain were stacked in supermarkets, always available, but now, that’s no longer the case. We have to plan for ourselves, which is really taxing.

“Speaking of food, we hauled back over three thousand pounds today. Have you put it in storage yet?”

Zhang Su, once the backbone of their three-person escape team, has become the leader of the safe camp, with increasingly more to worry about. Though he has helpers, it’s still exhausting, a responsibility he cannot escape.

“Not yet.”

Zhong Xiaoshan rubbed her head against the pillow and said, “Counting the days, it’s almost officially winter. The temperature has started to drop slowly. Last night, while on duty, I measured it with a thermometer; it was only two degrees. I think we should hurry and bring back the supplies from Xiang Village.”

Winter is a season dreaded by all species.

In ancient times, every winter was a challenge. Not just common folks, but even people in the Imperial Palace sometimes froze to death…

Historical records often document such incidents. If a heavy snow were to hit, the once lively villages and counties might turn into ghost towns by the following year.

Zhang Su and his group are in a better environment than in ancient times, but he dares not underestimate this winter, as it’s the first after the disaster broke out. No one knows what it will be like, so it’s essential to prepare in advance.

“You’re right; if it drops another ten degrees, I don’t even have a down jacket… We’ll do a survey tomorrow to see everyone’s situation. It’s time to prepare for winter!”

The lowest recorded temperature in Qin City’s winters reached minus twenty-eight degrees—an awe-inspiring number. Thinking of this, the trio’s hearts grew heavy.

The others were still reveling in the joy of destroying Beita Camp, but as the safe camp’s leader, Zhang Su, along with his two helpful aides, couldn’t help but worry about the future.

On the following morning, the night owls gradually woke up, two hours later than usual.

After washing up, Zhang Su picked up one of the three walkie-talkies by the bed and pressed the call button: “Village Chief Ma, Village Chief Ma!”

He issued a bounty notice; since they had wiped out Beita Camp, it was only natural to inform Ma Changshou of the news.

After about half a minute, Ma Changshou’s voice came through the walkie-talkie: “Good morning, Boss Zhang. Rest assured, the task you assigned me is something I wouldn’t dare delay for a moment. I’ve already sent people out to investigate!”

Zhang Su gave a faint smile and said, “No need to bother anymore. I came to let you know that last night we took care of those guys from Beita Camp. Our area is now peaceful!”

“Dispose of them?”

Ma Changshou was startled by Zhang Su’s words, almost dropping the walkie-talkie in his hand. With a stiff smile, he said, “Boss Zhang, did you encounter people from Beita Camp? How… how did you deal with them?”

“How else could I deal with them? Just like you imagined, haha. Alright, this matter is settled. Keep the walkie-talkie with you for convenient contact if anything comes up!”

“Boss Zhang, wait a minute…”

Upon hearing Zhang Su preparing to end the call, Ma Changshou hurriedly stopped him and continued, “May I ask, do you have any heart medication over there?”

“Heart medication?”

Zhang Su didn’t press the talk button, turning with surprise to Zhong Xiaoshan, who was folding the quilt beside him. “Xiaoshan, do we have any heart medication?”

He had little knowledge about heart disease, after all, he was still young.

While working, Zhong Xiaoshan nodded and said, “Yes, we have several kinds, for different situations. Ask him which specific ones he needs.”

Zhang Su nodded and pressed the walkie-talkie button, “I don’t know much about heart disease. Village Chief Ma, could you tell me the names of the medications? I’ll write them down and then have a look.”

“Oh, that would be quite troubling for Boss Zhang. Um, nitroglycerin tablets and quick-release heart pills.”

Ma Changshou mentioned two names.

Zhong Xiaoshan said, “These are very common heart medications. We have them, and in good supply.”

Back then, they raided two or three big pharmacies in Qin City and made some supplements in Niuquanzi Town. Now, the safe camp has a complete range of medications.

“Alright, I’ve noted the names. But Village Chief Ma, these medications are very precious now. If I can find them, what will you trade in return?”

Zhang Su naturally brought up the price.

“Well, that depends on what Boss Zhang needs. Our West Camp Village has a mixed storehouse with various things, but not in large quantities, sorry, hahaha.”

Ma Changshou laughed dryly a few times.

Considering West Camp Village’s business model of charging tolls, Zhang Su understood Ma Changshou’s words and teased, “Then I need to think it over carefully and check the warehouse for the things you might want. I’ll contact you then.”

“Alright, Boss Zhang, I’ll wait for your message, but please hurry; heart disease can’t wait.”

Ma Changshou responded quickly.

“Xiaoshan, what’s the worth of nitroglycerin tablets and quick-release heart pills?”

Zhang Su put down the walkie-talkie. He needed to understand the general situation of these two medications first.

“Their worth… wasn’t expensive in the past.”

Zhong Xiaoshan spread her hands and continued, “But both are life-saving drugs! Brother Su, you can ask for a high price. As long as they feel that it’s more worthwhile than searching in the city, they’ll definitely agree.”

Zhang Su’s eyes lit up, which was good news. After understanding the stock situation with Zhong Xiaoshan and lighting a cigarette, he picked up the walkie-talkie to contact West Camp Village, “Village Chief Ma, I just ran into the warehouse manager on my way out. We have the medications you need!”

“Really? That’s great! Boss Zhang, how much do you have?”

Ma Changshou responded extremely quickly, clearly holding the walkie-talkie all the time.

“This kind of niche medicine, we don’t have much either. I found a hundred nitroglycerin tablets and two hundred small quick-release heart pills.”

The quantity Zhang Su reported to Ma Changshou was less than a tenth, watching the kitchen smoke rise, knowing that the kitchen staff had begun cooking.

“Ah, that’s enough, more than enough!”

To his surprise, even with a deliberately understated report, the other side still felt it was sufficient. This made Zhang Su feel a bit deflated because negotiating prices better when items are scarce.

“Alas, we have quite a lot in stock, but I can’t use it all for trade; we need to keep some for our own camp. We have some older gentlemen with heart issues too.”

Zhang Su lied effortlessly.

Yuwen, passing by downstairs, looked up at Zhang Su by the window and pointed at himself with surprise, signaling with his eyes, “Are you talking about me?”

Zhang Su didn’t realize how coincidental it was, that the oldest person in the camp overheard his words. He waved repeatedly to indicate it was alright, with a hint of awkwardness.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep