Chapter 296: Going Home
She wasn’t hiding on the clean bed in the bedroom, but chose a corner in the foul-smelling living room, curling up behind the sofa.
Only now did she have time to check the things in the backpack.
The backpack was the Armed Corps standard sixty-kilogram marching pack, but hers was exceptionally heavy, probably reaching eighty kilograms.
The big pack had three small packs attached outside: the commonly used tool bag, medical kit, and tactical equipment bag.
Opening the big backpack, the first thing she saw was a note.
It was covered with densely packed handwriting.
“I know you’re excited, but don’t get too excited. You’ll be alone on the way back, so be careful. I had Old Liu fill up the gasoline for you, and there are two small bottles in the trunk, which should be enough for emergencies. Sigh, I’m envious that you’re about to reunite with your family. I traded for two pears; share them with your brother-in-law and nephew when you get back.” — Miao Qi
“Sister Rong, you left too hastily. I was still thinking of treating you to a meal, but I don’t know if there’ll be a chance in the future.” — Lu Xiao
“I put some fresh vegetables in for you; make sure to eat them within seven days.” — Huang Hai
“This time I made Chinese pastries that can last a long time! (￣︶￣).” — Yu Yue
“Hand-crafted multifunctional pliers, with two functions not squeezed in yet. One is in your bag.” — Xiao Ba
“The walkie-talkie has been modified; it can contact the train once.” — Yu Jing
“Safe travels.” — Liang Kuan.
“Damn it, these dog things didn’t leave me a spot. Flip it over!”
Seeing this, Jiang Rong’s mouth corners unconsciously twitched up.
Flipping to the back, it was still densely packed handwriting, but this time He Jie wrote very large.
“I swapped your bulletproof vest for the latest sand armor skin. I got you four bases of rifle ammunition, one base of handgun bullets. Didn’t swap your guns for new ones; I don’t trust that stuff from Old Da. Also stuffed ten grenades for you, three of which are vicious ones I hand-packed myself. If you encounter any idiots, blow the hell out of them for me. If you can’t win, don’t say you’re my soldier!”
In the gaps, there was also the mongoose’s delicate handwriting, as well as the young man she had subsidized, and colleagues like Goat who had fought together.
The space at the back really wasn’t enough, so some people didn’t say anything, just signed their names on it.
The edges of the entire paper were covered with these overlapping names.
Warm liquid suddenly slid down, smudging these names.
Clearly, they were all words of blessing.
Clearly, she was already over forty.
Clearly, she had long lost hope for this world.
Surging emotions poured out from her long-numbed heart. She realized that the one she understood the least was herself.
“This is a blessing; you have to smile.”
Jiang Rong forcibly lifted the corners of her mouth, sitting silently in the dark corner of the room, shedding clear tears.
At this moment, she seemed to understand the train conductor.
When joyful, you have to smile, so as not to disappoint those who love you.
She suddenly remembered something and subconsciously reached into the pocket at her chest. The Tier 2 general energy crystal that had been there was used at some point, leaving only a very small amount.
Upholding the habit of not wasting, Jiang Rong absorbed all the remaining energy.
Her main skill, which had leveled up once during the promotion, rose again to lv5.
But her palm felt empty, as if nothing had happened.
Thinking that she still had to travel tomorrow, Jiang Rong wiped her face, used the small bag as a pillow on the ground, hugged the rifle, and fell into a deep sleep.
……
The sandstorm had lessened in the early morning hours. A massive convoy was traveling on the abandoned national highway.
The vehicles were of mixed models, each with a black star painted on the body in black paint, surrounded by large and small motorcycles prowling like rangers on both sides of the convoy. One motorcycle turned back from the front and approached the off-road vehicle in the very middle.
“Master Rong, that house by the roadside seems to have someone.”
Li Xinlong looked at a standalone bungalow by the road. The doorway was covered in heavy dust, overgrown with weeds, and the broken door and window were pitch black inside. No matter how you looked, it didn’t seem like anyone was there.
“Probably a lone scavenger. Ignore it, go further ahead and check. It’s pitch black; be extra careful.”
Li Xinlong frowned and ordered.
Closing the car window, the inside of the vehicle only had the dull engine sound.
The house quickly passed by outside the car window.
For some reason, there was always a sense of palpitation in his heart tonight.
Like something was about to happen.
He had traveled this road many times; it was less than a hundred kilometers to Zhijin City. As long as he brought these over five thousand people there, he could exchange for Black Kite’s supplies, and the Black Star Convoy wouldn’t have to squeeze outside the Xiaohe ruins anymore.
At that time, with over five hundred guns, more than three hundred evolvers, plus over a thousand people, they could even clash with the train inside.
He suddenly felt his ears hot, and a soft, seductive female voice suddenly sounded in his ear.
“You seem a bit nervous.”
Li Xinlong tilted his head to dodge the woman, his gaze deep. “Are you sure Black Kite will give us that batch of supplies once the people arrive?”
The woman who looked sixteen or seventeen leaned back, shrugging. “How would I know? I’m from the Black Star Convoy, not them from Black Kite. Besides, you’ve verified the information yourself. Oh, you’re not planning to blame me if things fail, are you?”
“And then hypocritically say ‘that demoness misled me!'”
“I, Li Xinlong, am not that despicable.”
“Hmph, man!”
Her mouth spoke flippant words, but her eyes held casual indifference.
Li Xinlong took a deep breath. “You know how important this batch of supplies is to Black Star. With this batch of munitions, we can integrate three counties and push into Xiaohe City center. Even if we retreat a step, we can bring people to Zhijin for development.”
Hearing this, a hint of wariness flashed in the woman’s eyes, and even her posture straightened considerably.
“You dare go if that train hasn’t left?”
Li Xinlong said gravely, “I’ve checked those two’s backgrounds too—just ordinary people who just became evolvers, good equipment. Even if the armored train’s overall level is a bit stronger, can they all be first-time evolvers? In the end, it’s still about guns. Within a few hundred meters, a good gun can kill, a poor one can’t.”
“Worst case, I assign three people per gun; we’ll pile them to death.”
“I heard from Black Kite people that they’re called Tier 1 Evolvers.”
“Just a name; what’s the difference.”
The woman frowned. “Didn’t those two deserters say the train conductor is a Tier 2 Evolver? And with ten or more Tier 1 Evolvers on the train, with Black Star’s forces, they can’t beat the train at this stage.”
Li Xinlong’s face turned fierce. “Evolvers aren’t immune to bullets. With my current strength, facing five guns I’d still die. Tier 2 is strong, but I don’t believe he alone can trade for my hundreds of guns.”
“Then find two snipers to pin him down; even if he’s a god, he won’t fly away.”
The woman was utterly speechless, wanting to tell him people aren’t all the same, but at this stage, it would only make him angrier, so she swallowed the frustration.
Anyway, Black Star had no chance to clash with the train.
……
The noise faded away, and Jiang Rong leaned against the wall by the window.
Only after confirming no vehicles passed did she cautiously poke her head out. lv5 “Energy Conversion” activated, and dim light orbs lit up outside the window, like scattered fireflies.
Though faint, it was enough with her evolved vision.
Using various reconnaissance techniques learned in the corps, after confirming no one was there, Jiang Rong quickly packed her backpack in the room, pushed the motorcycle out from behind the house, got on, and rode away.
Such large-scale personnel migrations would definitely attract many predators following behind.
Then the slower survivors on both ends would suffer.
She’d seen too much of this on the train and naturally wouldn’t hold onto false hope.
If their goal was Zhijin, she couldn’t stay on this road. Better to tough it out overnight and go straight home.
Just as Jiang Rong left, a pair of scarlet ghost fires wobbled toward the house.
Sharp claws silently pierced the cement road surface, sniffing toward the house, then suddenly stood up and clung to the window. In the gaps between the protruding ribs under its armpits, densely packed eyes peered into the house.
Unfortunately, no tasty food was seen.
Rumbling vibrations already came from behind.
The disappointed Tier 1 Night Demon was about to leave when its reed-thin body was pinned by a massive fat hand that smashed through the window. The Butcher’s Maitreya Buddha-like big head shoved directly into the window frame, holding an utility pole upside down in hand, who knows where it snapped it from.
“Didi…”
The faint sound drew the attention of both. Clearly from underfoot, but the Butcher looked around for a long time without finding the source.
On the broken window frame, a slender silver thread reflected the flashing red light from the window bottom.
“Boom—”
Hearing the explosion, Jiang Rong estimated the distance, her eyelid twitching slightly.
She had originally just wanted to clear out the backpack.
Who knew He Jie had packed such fierce stuff.
Twisting the throttle, she quietly followed the convoy ahead.
Halfway there, Jiang Rong found a small road to bypass the convoy, heading northeast.
Her home was in Changxing County, a hundred kilometers east of Zhijin City, while they were now on the main road straight north to Zhijin.
Though leaving the convoy brought some dangers, it avoided the trouble of exposure from contacting people.
Looking at the familiar buildings on both sides, past memories surged like down feathers from a pillow.
In just half a year, it felt like half a century had passed.
Some places were so ravaged by sandstorms that she could barely recognize them.
Even her son and husband’s appearances seemed blurred, leaving only a vague shadow.
Her home was in a residential community by a crossroad, with a row of shops below in the alley, but the few breakfast shops at the corner had decent business. The others changed every half year, but now…
It no longer mattered.
Jiang Rong looked toward the sixth-floor balcony; no light at all.
Though she had expected it, she still couldn’t help looking.
Crushing an ordinary zombie, the motorcycle flicked its tail and stopped in the courtyard.
“Rip—”
A short, sharp crack suddenly appeared on the rooftop.
A tall, inhuman figure leaped from the rooftop toward the woman in the courtyard.
Jiang Rong didn’t fire; she just pulled a soybean-sized metal cone from her pocket, aimed at the jumper’s direction. Bluish electric light flashed from the void, the metal cone whistled through the air, and her palm was flung high.
“Pa!—Bang!”
The jumper smashed to the ground like a puddle of mud, limbs flying wildly.
Using this move for the first time, Jiang Rong raised her brow in surprise. Though she hit accurately, this was a Tier 1 Zombie—yet she one-shot it.
The noise alerted the “residents” in the community; a few ordinary zombies crawled out from the corner.
Jiang Rong wasted no more time, drew her gun to dispatch the zombies, shouldered her backpack, and headed to Building 2 in the corner.
Though alone, every tactical movement was extremely standard, without a hint of slacking.
At this moment, the woman became the armored train’s formidable captain again.
What surprised her was that even climbing to the sixth floor, Jiang Rong saw no zombies.
Even the wildly growing mutated plants showed signs of being cleared, igniting a sliver of hope in her heart.
Looking at the fingerprint lock on the home door, Jiang Rong took a deep breath and pressed her hand on it.
The small screen lit up.
The “ding-dong” sound was like heavenly music, instantly tensing Jiang Rong’s heart.
……
The room was spotlessly clean.
Like someone had cleaned it.
Things were all there.
But the people she most wanted to see were not.
Jiang Rong sat on the familiar bed, staring blankly at the wedding photo by the bedside.
In the photo, the man smiled brightly, while she pursed her lips, face taut.
She felt a bit regretful; back then, she should have smiled more.
Now…
‘They must have left on their own.’
Jiang Rong told herself this, and her mood indeed improved a lot.
As long as they’re alive, there’s hope.
Setting down the backpack, she began cleaning the house as she had countless times before.
Sweeping, mopping, changing bedsheets and covers, washing clothes and curtains…
The good thing about being busy is this.
You forget everything.
……
Downstairs, Li Xinlong frowned slightly at the zombie at the road junction that had been taken down.
Because the palpitation in his heart was too strong, he didn’t continue to Zhijin but changed direction midway, planning to go home first to calm down, then head out at dawn tomorrow.
As a result, he saw this scene upon arrival.
“A Long, what’s up?”
A chubby figure came to the off-road vehicle side and knocked on the car window.
Li Xinlong shook his head. “Something’s off. Call all Five Tigers, be careful.”
In the entire convoy, besides him, the strongest were five Tier 1 Evolvers, known as the Black Star Five Tigers.
Waving his hand, Li Xinlong cautiously led dozens of subordinates toward home.
Seeing the jumper in the courtyard, Li Xinlong’s heart grew darker.
The group raised spears and short cannons and went upstairs.
Seeing that several doors’ locks were completely undamaged, a trace of doubt rose in Li Xinlong’s heart.
Exchanging a glance with the fat man behind him, he then placed his hand on it.
“Ding-dong”
The fat man squeezed in swiftly with agility unfit for his body.
A stern-faced man followed closely.
Only then did Li Xinlong feel it was about right and entered.
As soon as he entered, before his eyes adjusted to the room’s darkness, he felt a cold, hard object press against his head.
Surging current instantly spread through his body, electrocuting him nearly to rolling his eyes.
“Nobody move!”
Li Xinlong spread his hands; the brothers behind trying to push forward bumped into him.
“Master Rong!”
“Don’t move, don’t move, nobody fucking move!”
Feeling the muzzle on his forehead tighten, Li Xinlong was scared out of his wits.
Perhaps seeing his good behavior, the person in front hesitated a moment before finally speaking.
“Drop the guns, turn on the light.”
Li Xinlong felt this voice oddly familiar and inexplicably complied.
“Click.”
Soft light illuminated the living room.
Only then did Li Xinlong see his good brothers and subordinates lying on the ground convulsing, the fat man twitching while winking at him.
He instantly understood what happened and calmly looked ahead.
Holding him at gunpoint was a woman with an assault rifle.
Li Xinlong’s mind was confused.
Where the hell did this woman in his home come from… woman?!!
Li Xinlong’s eyes desperately searched the woman’s face for familiar traces: brows, eyes, nose, lips…
Not one unfamiliar!
But put together, he still didn’t dare call out.
No other reason; the woman in front was too young.
His mom was clearly a forty-year-old middle-aged woman worn down by life, full of worries, but the woman before him—let alone thirty, someone would believe twenty-something. Just the calm in her eyes didn’t seem like a twenty-something’s.
But this calm was quickly broken by a complex fluctuation.
“Dragon Dragon?”
Hearing this familiar nickname and voice, Li Xinlong shuddered.
“…Mom?”
Hearing this address, the fat man’s fierce expression instantly cleared.
Stretching his neck in disbelief at his good brother.
Throwing away face just to survive?
But Li Xinlong had no time for him now; all attention was on the familiar yet strange woman before him.
