Chapter 151 Supplies

Ling Zhe pushed his way through the congested aisle, walking with difficulty from one packed carriage to another.

Beneath the seats, on the luggage racks, even inside the restrooms... people were everywhere.

Some were utterly exhausted, some still haunted by shock, others wore expressions of absolute despair, and quite a few were injured, bleeding in vain.

There was no dedicated medical bay on the train, and even if there were accompanying medical personnel, it would be impossible for them to venture deep into the crowds and attend to everyone. From Nanchuan to Xijing, this slow train took eighteen hours—neither too long nor too short, but this chaotic situation would have to be sustained for a while.

The vast majority of people were content. At least they had escaped Nanchuan; thinking of those who failed to squeeze onto the train, what was there to complain about?

Of course, Ling Zhe was not wandering aimlessly around the train just to cause trouble for himself. He was searching for something that interested him.

With the fall of Nanchuan, the Future Corporation could not possibly continue leaving important supplies in the inner city. Even with the time crunch, they would have to respond to the emergency and take a portion of them away.

When boarding just moments earlier, Xueman had overheard a conversation among nearby staff members, confirming this fact: several carriages were loaded with supplies.

Naturally, this was a secret; if the news leaked, it would undoubtedly trigger a chaotic scramble. However, the infected possessed exceptionally sharp hearing, and minor noises within a certain range could not be kept from them.

Xueman had casually mentioned this piece of news to everyone.

The speaker meant nothing by it, but the listener took it to heart. Ling Zhe's interest was piqued. He did not intend to let the opportunity slip and prepared to investigate for himself.

The primary reason the Future Corporation was able to rapidly seize sovereignty over the city in the apocalypse was that their subsidiary, Future Agriculture, held massive stockpiled reserves of agricultural crops.

Food is the paramount necessity of the people. In an apocalyptic world overrun by zombies, where the weak fell prey to the strong, everyone's demands regarding clothing, food, housing, and transportation had been reduced to the absolute minimum—as long as there was a mouthful of rice to eat and one could preserve their life, that was enough.

To survive, so many perimeter survivors had to toil laboriously, willingly risking their lives to venture outside the city walls to forage for more supplies for the Future Corporation in exchange for protection and a bite to eat.

Ling Zhe and the others had experienced all of this. Fortunately, they had Yichen's assistance, and Ling Lan was a high-status doctor with substantial pay. Everyone ate every single meal, making them relatively well-off by comparison.

Ling Zhe looked further ahead than others. He believed that working and risking one's life for someone else was inferior to figuring out how to solve the food problem oneself.

When he originally chose to work for the Future Agricultural Company, it was precisely to acquire some crop seeds through that channel.

Having seeds meant having a future. Even if there was temporarily no suitable place to plant them, at least he still had a card to play in his hand. If he could find suitable soil to farm in the apocalypse and cultivate a batch of new-generation crops, not only could he meet his own group's needs, but he could also benefit others and make a fortune.

Although Bai Ge was currently helping them out through Zhou Zihao's connections, keeping them temporarily free from worries about food and clothing, it was ultimately not a long-term solution. Relying on others is inferior to relying on oneself; firmly grasping the future in one's own hands meant never being subjected to the control of others.

Ling Zhe had not shared his intention of searching for crop seeds with the others. If the earnest and cautious Ling Lan found out, she would certainly stop him from acting alone.

Before he knew it, Ling Zhe had approached the rear of the train, drenched in sweat.

Further ahead, movement became completely impossible. The crowd was packed even tighter, blocking the way like a solid, airtight wall.

Ling Zhe climbed onto a luggage rack to gain a higher vantage point and look out, only to see that a dispute had broken out here.

On one side was a mother with a child; on the other was a row of guards armed with live ammunition, blocking the passageway between this carriage and the next.

"Have mercy, good brothers! The child is sick and hasn't eaten in a while. I know there is food in the carriage behind you; please be accommodating and give us just a little..." The young mother cried and begged consecutively, her voice shrill and piercing, evoking deep sympathy from anyone who heard it.

The guards seemed as cold as stone, eyeing her indifferently, holding their weapons with utter apathy. They had orders to guard this spot, and no one was allowed to pass through here.

A thought stirred in Ling Zhe's mind, and he figured that the last few carriages must indeed hold the Future Corporation's supplies. Ordinary people weren't fools; could such a thing really be kept hidden?

The child being held also began crying along with his mother, and it was evident he was indeed suffering from the torment of illness.

"Do you people have any humanity left?!" a few middle-aged men shouted curses from within the crowd, quickly inciting an overwhelming wave of condemnation from the populace.

Time was of the essence, and nearly everyone who boarded the train had come empty-handed. When it came to hunger, hardly anyone was not running on an empty stomach.

There were still seventeen or eighteen hours left in this journey—that was a long time! Now hearing that food was separated by only a single carriage door and a few rows of guards, who wouldn't have some ideas?

However, cursing was just cursing; the majority of people still feared the guns in the guards' hands. With no one stepping forward to lead, no one made a move.

Perhaps driven frantic by panic, seeing that her entreaties were useless, the child's mother put the child down and lunged forward.

With a single gunshot, the mother was hit, blood staining her clothes as she collapsed to the ground.

"These beasts! Let's fight them to the death!" Someone shouted, and the crowd surged forward in an uproar.

With the inner city falling today, everyone harbored deep-seated fear in their hearts, lacking a proper outlet to vent. Perhaps the gunshot and the blood reignited everyone's anger and resentment—they could not simply sit and wait for death!

Zombies were terrifying, but were people now going to ride roughshod over their heads as well?

Ling Zhe watched the commotion from the rear, finding the scene somewhat comical.

Were these inner-city bastards only experiencing the apocalypse today? To phrase their own selfish desires so righteously and drag out notions of "humanity" was clearly using former moral standards as a flimsy pretext, wearing a false mask without even realizing it.

The gun rang out a few more times. Some people were hit, but more individuals overturned the guards, snatched their guns, and smashed their communication devices.

The space here was already cramped, and with so many people acting together with a unified goal, they were as unstoppable as a bamboo being split!

This sudden success made these people glow with vigor, smiles breaking out across their faces. They needed a revolution, a catharsis, a proof that they were not worthless zombie rations!

"We did it!" Several hot-blooded men took charge as temporary commanders, on one hand arranging for people to pry open the carriage door, and on the other helping up the mother who had just been shot and the child on the floor.

Yet someone shrieked, and the joy on everyone's faces was instantly replaced by terror.

The child who had previously been "sick" fiercely clamped his teeth onto the person beside him!

"Zombies!" The crowd exploded in chaos.

Those who had stripped the guards of their guns panicked. How could ordinary civilians possibly know how to operate such weapons?

In that moment of hesitation, the child had already injured several people in succession.

With his small target, agile movements, and the dense crowd surrounding him, disaster struck everyone in no time!

What the hell! Ling Zhe, who had been watching the spectacle, was dumbfounded.

Why did these people have to put on such a righteous act of benevolence?! They had ruined themselves!

Seeing people pushing one another, panicking, and turning back to flee in a roaring stampede, Ling Zhe hesitated for a moment.

What he was searching for might well be right before his eyes, and the probability was very high! If he turned back and left just like that, he might never get another chance!