Chapter 157: Planning

Xuesheng sealed the gap in the carriage, which Yichen had slashed open, with a wall of ice. The black rain was still pouring outside, trapping them on the bridge with no way out for the time being. Everything would have to wait until the rain stopped.

Everyone had sustained minor injuries to varying degrees from the explosion just moments ago. Fortunately, the rear carriages were stocked with common medicines, hemostatic bandages, and other supplies. After bustling about for a while, Ling Lan finally managed to patch everyone up.

With the long night stretching ahead of them, the group began to discuss their next steps and arrangements.

"Without transportation, we won't be able to reach Xijing anytime soon. Our current location is isolated from everything, which makes things rather tricky," Bai Ge said.

"What should we do then? Cheng Xianglong requires professional medical attention," Ling Lan frowned. This was a conflict that needed to be resolved as quickly as possible. Having dragged on for so long in the poor air quality of the train, she worried his wounds would become infected and deteriorate.

"I'll contact Zhou Zihao right now and have him send someone to pick us up..." Bai Ge thought for a moment, then pulled out her phone.

Her phone screen showed five percent battery remaining, which was just enough for a phone call. To be honest, she really didn't want to keep troubling Zhou Zihao, but there were many things she couldn't handle on her own. For the sake of the bigger picture, she had no choice but to continue owing him a favor. Since resources were available, they had to be utilized.

"Wait," Ling Lan stopped her.

"What is it?" Bai Ge asked, looking somewhat surprised.

"For now, don't reveal to anyone that we're still alive. If the Future Corporation was involved in plotting this explosion, the nature of the situation changes entirely," Ling Lan said. Being older, she tended to consider certain matters more thoroughly.

Ling Lan had worked at Future Pharmaceuticals for a period of time. Although she hadn't come into contact with any core figures within the corporation, she had dealt with Ouyang Hong quite a bit. Judging by Ouyang Hong's operational style, his ultimate downfall, and the various events of his past, she felt that the Future Corporation was the kind of organization that would quickly sweep things under the rug without a shred of sentimentality.

Everything, whether good or bad, was built upon the foundation of utility. They valued you entirely because you had worth; the moment you became worthless, they would cast you aside without a moment's hesitation.

If this incident was connected to the Future Corporation, then rashly informing them of their survival and exposing their location would only invite even harsher retaliation.

Bai Ge thought about it and realized Ling Lan made sense. In this day and age, not everyone could be trusted. Although Zhou Zihao was deeply devoted to her and harbored no intent to harm her, there was no guarantee that his father, Zhou Shiwen, and the other top executives of the Future Corporation shared the same mindset.

Yichen had already been manipulated by Mu Zongxing once at the Old Mill. Regardless of the reasons, until the Future Corporation's suspicions were cleared, they could not contact them for the time being.

Mu Qing had been silent the whole time, but when she heard the words "Future Corporation," her body gave a slight start. She wanted to know the cause of her father's death and who the murderer was. For now, the Future Corporation bore the heaviest suspicion.

Cheng Xianglong's condition could not be delayed, and yet they could not let the Future Corporation know about their situation. Bai Ge immediately adjusted her train of thought and proposed a new plan.

"Once dawn breaks and the rain stops, we'll split into two groups. One group will stay behind to guard the existing supplies and the wounded; the other group will scout the nearby area to see if we can find any form of transportation."

Survivor bases were basically established by relying on former large cities. Large cities had dense populations and correspondingly sufficient resource supplies. No matter what, they always offered more comprehensive safety measures. As for those smaller cities of the past, most had become ruins, abandoned by humanity.

With the end of the world having arrived nearly three months ago, those small cities probably had very few zombies left either. In order to find living humans for food, survivors would inevitably head toward densely populated major cities. Perhaps, without taking too many risks, they might find usable abandoned vehicles nearby.

There were cities in the vicinity of the Minjiang River Bridge, and their exact locations could be determined by searching the map.

"We can't stay in this carriage either. Part of the bridge was blown up, and the steel bars and masonry might have loosened. Staying here means we could risk falling and plunging to our deaths at any moment," Bai Ge continued analyzing.

Everyone nodded in agreement. Ling Zhe immediately suggested, "Once the rain stops, let's head to that large mountain cave we passed earlier. We can also move the supplies from the rear carriages into the cave for storage."

Everyone unanimously agreed with Ling Zhe's suggestion.

If they truly couldn't leave this place in the short term, they could rely on those supplies to sustain themselves for three to five months. If they managed to leave successfully, hiding those supplies would also prepare them for future emergencies.

Among the supplies were several packs of vegetable seeds, along with potatoes, carrots, and other easily storable foods—all things Ling Zhe desperately wanted to get his hands on right now.

Ling Zhe had his own ideas. He guessed that the soil inside that mountain cave might not have been polluted by the black rain yet.

A space that large could perhaps be put to good use. By extension, with so many tunnels and mountain caves along the route from Nanchuan to Xijing, shade-loving crops should be able to be cultivated inside all of them.

Farming in the apocalypse and becoming a "farm owner" sounded like a pretty good deal.

Moreover, this place was far away from any cities, so there shouldn't be any living people around. No one would compete with him for the harvest; it would be entirely his own... Just thinking about the scene of harvesting made him somewhat excited.

With the various issues discussed and arranged, Liang Bing and Yichen took the first watch, allowing the others to finally get a peaceful night's sleep.

They no longer worried about what Yichen might do. Regardless of his current state or how much human consciousness he retained, everyone knew and firmly believed one thing: at critical moments, he was absolutely the most reliable person, second to none.

As dawn broke, Liang Bing woke everyone up one by one.

"The rain has stopped," she said expressionlessly.

"We can move out," Bai Ge rubbed her sleep-filled eyes, perking up.

According to the plan discussed last night, everyone headed downstairs first, preparing to carry the unconscious Cheng Xianglong and the supplies together to the nearby large mountain cave tunnel.

Yichen had remained silent the entire time. From last night until now, he hadn't interacted with anyone at all, simply sitting aside hugging his Shengxie sword, acting entirely like an outsider. He couldn't communicate with the others, but he could understand the content of their conversations.

He was well aware of the plans and arrangements. No one needed him to set an example or make decisions here, nor did anyone assign him any tasks. He knew that all he could do was control these zombies and make them play a certain role.

When the group arrived at the rear carriages, quite a few zombies were already busy at work. They were carrying crates of supplies; although their movements were somewhat awkwardly stiff, they were orderly and completely free of chaos.

Seeing this sight, everyone wisely stepped aside, quite content to leave these heavy and rough tasks to the zombies. It gave them a chance to conserve their energy and rest up.