Chapter 297: Tide Caller
Soft warm light emanated from the semi-circular window on the sixth floor of the intersection building.
In the slightly cramped living room, five guys with eerie complexions sat around the round table, watching Master Rong, who was majestic outside, gripping a young woman’s hand, calling her mom repeatedly, with tears streaming down.
“At the time, I didn’t realize what was happening, but later I thought I’d never see you again, I… I felt awful, I couldn’t stay at home anymore, I never thought I’d see you again in this lifetime…”
Li Xinlong spoke incoherently for two sentences before choking up.
Jiang Rong’s eyes reddened.
Before the apocalypse, she had always worried that her son wouldn’t study well and would struggle in society later on.
After the apocalypse, she had only one thought: just stay alive.
Tonight, she discovered that her son was not only alive and well but also sensible.
Suddenly, everything she had once lost and never had was given to her, this ill-fated woman.
The joy she had never experienced even made her feel a trace of fear.
“It’s good now, your son has made it big, managing a convoy of over a thousand people, from our Changxing to the surrounding three counties near Xiaohe, who doesn’t know my Li Xinlong’s prestige, those scavengers are dying to join my convoy, right, Ake.”
The chubby guy nearby nodded quickly, “Exactly, Aunt Rong, from now on you’ll enjoy the good life with us, no more worrying outside.”
Speaking of worrying outside, Li Xinlong couldn’t hold it together again.
The chubby guy nearby quickly signaled the other four brothers with his eyes, and the four quietly left the room.
Jiang Rong quickly stood up, “These are your friends, right? Mom will cook for you, don’t go out, it’s dangerous outside so late…”
Although these people were dressed strangely, thinking that her own son was by her side, the immense happiness and joy made her feel as if she was back to pre-apocalypse days.
The group exchanged glances, their gazes turning to Li Xinlong.
But now Li Xinlong had eyes only for his own mom, holding her hand and hurriedly saying, “How could I let you cook right after coming back, Dad’s gone, from now on I can only honor you.”
Jiang Rong’s eyes went vacant for a moment, then she forcefully shook off Li Xinlong’s hand, smiled at the group, and went into the kitchen.
As she turned away, tears the size of beans had already soaked her collar.
Yeah, how could there be such a good thing.
Her son being alive was already the greatest luck.
As for past matters, Jiang Rong didn’t want to dwell on them anymore; in this lifetime, she just wanted to guard her son, watch him safely start a family, have one, no, at least three children; anyway, there were plenty of mutated plants in the bag, enough to raise even more kids.
Just didn’t know where to find a teacher for the kids later.
Couldn’t just grab one, right?
But there are so many subjects, grabbing one wouldn’t be enough…
And grabbing temporarily wouldn’t work in time; better to start preparing in a few days, get the school together ahead of time?
Just as Jiang Rong’s thoughts wandered to over a dozen years later, Li Xinlong wiped his tears and followed in.
Although it was just a short half year, shorter than any of Jiang Rong’s work trips away, Li Xinlong felt like a lifetime had passed, with countless words he wanted to say to his mom; it might sound like a mama’s boy, but those who hadn’t lost wouldn’t understand the feeling.
In the living room, the group was at a loss, turning to look at the plump Ake.
Pang Ke gestured for them to sit down.
One of them, a man with stern features and a buzz cut, glanced at the kitchen and said warily, “A-Auntie… n-not simple, huh, what did she do before?”
The chubby guy also touched his big belly with lingering fear; the sensation of electricity surging all over his body was too memorable.
He was better off, being a Tier 1 Defender, recovering quickly, but the guy in front of him still had his mouth twitching.
“She was simple before, it’s after the apocalypse she’s not simple, but that’s normal too; Aunt Rong came back alone from so far away, she must have some tricks up her sleeve, but don’t go blabbing about Aunt Rong’s stuff; Old Yang, Brother Shan, go settle the convoy, and bring some food up; Director Nan, you go help Aunt Rong.”
“Should we bring that woman up too?”
Brother Shan, with faded tattoos on his face, asked.
Pang Ke hesitated, “That woman’s a bit demonic, don’t bring her up yet; later let A Long explain it to Aunt Rong himself.”
The other two men went downstairs, and the only woman among the five got up and headed to the kitchen.
“Master Rong, Aunt Rong, let me help.”
“I’ve got this here, go out and wait to eat.”
The woman flicked her purple sleeves helplessly, “Master Rong chased me out.”
In the kitchen, Li Xinlong kept chattering nonstop, talking about how since the apocalypse he’d used his clever brain to escape from home, led his bros and dad to build a huge base, killed back to clean up the residential community, then due to lack of resources led the convoy wandering everywhere…
Only when Jiang Rong handed him a pear did he belatedly react.
His eyes widened slightly, incredulously weighing it in his hand.
“Holy crap, a pear!”
Jiang Rong habitually smacked her son’s hand, “No swearing.”
After smacking, she suddenly thought that her son was already so grown up, maybe she was being too controlling…
Jiang Rong started feeling anxious again.
Li Xinlong looked at his hand in surprise.
It had been a long time since anyone dared to “offend” him like that.
But this was from his own mom.
Felt great!
“Mom, you don’t know, fruit is rare after the apocalypse; I’ve only seen it once, a grape vine; it was because we ate that that me and Pang Ke got so strong, too bad that grape vine was taken by a big force later; Mom, where’d this pear come from?”
Looking at her son’s excited gaze, Jiang Rong hesitated a moment, then decisively said, “A kind person gave it; I don’t even remember what they looked like.”
Perhaps her son had already achieved something, but she didn’t want him to have too much contact with the train.
The train conductor was in a good mood this time, but not necessarily every time.
Anyway, the train would soon leave the storm zone, maybe…
They’d never cross paths in this lifetime.
Li Xinlong shook his head regretfully.
Only then did he notice that the kitchen counter was piled with food: mushrooms, unknown vegetables, flowers, white onions, red fruits, cured meat, luncheon meat, pickled small cucumbers, and even a package of fresh Chinese pastries!
Li Xinlong was stunned for a moment, his mind gradually clearing from the joy of reunion.
He also recalled the scene when he entered.
With a complicated gaze at the busy woman, “Mom, you’ve become an evolver?”
“Mm.”
Jiang Rong deftly slammed the luncheon meat onto the cutting board, casually crushing the small iron box into a metal sheet and setting it aside.
If on the train, someone would specially recycle these metal items.
Li Xinlong opened his mouth, subconsciously wanting to ask.
But his mind turned.
Mom had come back from so far away, suffered so much on the road, and upon returning home was questioned by her own son; how bad must she feel.
He swallowed all his questions.
While processing the food, Jiang Rong said lightly, “You don’t know how lucky your mom is; on the road not only did I meet kind people, we even evolved together; though tiring and dangerous, we supported each other and made it back from the south…”
“Along the way some joined, some left; don’t know if they can get home, or if they do…”
“No more of that, but if you piss me off again—”
Jiang Rong raised the kitchen knife and snorted coldly twice, electric sparks crackling on the blade.
“You’ve mastered lightning?”
Li Xinlong cooperatively shrank his neck.
“Just an energizer, lucky to ambush you guys, or I’d have been embarrassed today.”
“Ooh…”
Li Xinlong raised an eyebrow, noting the new term for now.
“Right, why do they call you Master Rong?”
Jiang Rong glanced at her son.
Li Xinlong scratched his head, “It’s that big-tongued Pang Ke; they thought my name was Li Xinrong, it spread, and became Master Rong.”
“Alright, alright, go keep your friends company; I’ll make you something good.”
Li Xinlong walked out reluctantly, then suddenly remembered, “Right, Mom, I haven’t hooked up power here in the kitchen!”
Jiang Rong casually swiped the induction cooker, which beeped.
Jiang Rong turned back with a sly smile at her son.
Jiang Rong: I can electrify you, and can’t handle a little kitchen?
Li Xinlong came out just in time to see Old Yang and Brother Shan carrying big and small packages of food up.
“Master Rong, everything’s arranged downstairs; staying one night is no problem.”
Seeing Li Xinlong frown, Old Yang hurriedly said, “We leave tomorrow, can reach Zhijin by noon.”
“What’s the rush? We’re a convoy of five thousand, not like their armored train with tons of supplies; tomorrow hunt nearby, eat our fill then hit the road.”
Li Xinlong said calmly.
Pang Ke glanced at the kitchen and immediately understood.
“Then…”
“Don’t bring my mom; Ake, you keep an eye out, don’t let convoy matters bother my mom; if I find out, don’t blame my black hands!”
Though his eyes were still red, the chilling killing intent in his tone was real.
In the kitchen, Jiang Rong stiffened.
Because the living room voices were deliberately lowered, plus the kitchen noise, she only caught the word “train.”
Then thinking of the range her son mentioned, which matched where the train’s front was staying at Xiaohe, her heart tightened.
……
The next day, hearing the rustling of dressing, Jiang Rong quietly opened her eyes.
She got up and quickly dressed only after the room door sounded.
Waiting until the convoy left in order, she quietly followed on her motorcycle.
Seeing Li Xinlong just leading people to hunt mutated beasts in the county town, she relaxed, and only after they returned fully loaded did she quietly go back home.
……
Zhijin City, top floor of a large commercial street building.
Howling wind blew from the ground up a hundred meters to the rooftop, tousling Zhong You’s medium-short hair; he sat on the edge, one leg dangling naturally, gazing gravely at the city center three streets away.
In his extreme vision, a hole over ten meters in diameter appeared on the bustling pedestrian street, with an edge building of over a dozen stories collapsed right above it; in the shadows below, densely packed white cocoons hung there.
The wind made them sway, like a mountain of corpses and sea of bones, eerily chilling.
A special operations personnel with a bronze kite pin on his collar came up to the rooftop hugging his gun.
“Captain Zhong, the thing is set up.”
Zhong You withdrew his gaze, “Where’s the armored train?”
“Just reached the edge of Zhijin City; it’ll be noon by the time they get to the Zhijin scavenging market, slow as a turtle.”
The bronze kite said.
A cold glint flashed in Zhong You’s eyes, “I told you to answer my question, not give opinions; next time, go back.”
The bronze kite panicked and quickly apologized.
Looking up, the rooftop was empty, only some water traces left on the edge, vanishing quickly in the wind.
Zhong You felt the mad falling speed, his mind calm as a still lake; he drew two short spear sections from his waist, twisted them together, and thrust fiercely into the adjacent office building; glass and cement shattered explosively, peeling down with sparks.
A jet-black stream of fresh water from the steel tank on his exoskeleton’s back flew out, forming a thin membrane wrapping his body and extinguishing the sparks on the wall.
“Bang!”
A mass of water hit the ground, bouncing around like a ball.
But it was forcibly pulled back into the steel tank behind him by some mysterious force.
Not a drop left on the ground.
But the huge noise still drew many greedy gazes.
As a megacity of ten million, though zombies occasionally left the edges of Zhijin City, experts analyzed that over five million terrifying zombie hordes remained inside.
So Black Kite hadn’t made a move on such a big city, just periodically clearing surrounding villages and county towns to limit zombie numbers.
A gust of wind came; Zhong You tilted his head.
A tumor-like cyst burst on the ground, scattering a foul smell everywhere.
Surrounding zombies immediately let out terrifying howls; high-level zombies leaped down one after another like they’d taken aphrodisiacs, the whole street shaking like an earthquake, crackling noisily.
Zhong You stood still waiting a moment, dipping his short spear tip into the ground mucus, then began to flee.
Night demons crazily climbed from vehicles and stairs.
Tearing sounds incessant.
Fat-headed butchers drilled out from buildings, wielding unknown weapons in mad pursuit.
Earth ghosts followed, hurling “tumor bombs” at Zhong You’s back, stirring waves of zombie horde frenzy.
Zhong You wasn’t in a hurry, leading the horde in circles nearby until attracting a Tier 2 jumper, then got serious and ran toward the pedestrian street cave.
Several hundred meters away, Zhong You leaped onto buildings on both sides, casually wrapped a ground ghost bomb in water, flung it toward the shadows under the collapsed commercial building; his short spear arrived first, viciously piercing the tumor.
A faint muffled sound.
Next moment, except that Tier 2 jumper, the roaring horde surged into the hole one after another.
The hole was like bottomless, swallowing several hundred zombies, dozens of Tier 1 zombies, without stopping.
That jumper had clearly reached Zhong You’s side but struggled to a halt.
Roared angrily at Zhong You, then turned to leave in the opposite direction.
But the next moment, the Tier 2 jumper plunged into the cave as if enchanted.
The small zombie tide Zhong You stirred quickly halted at an eerie speed.
If viewed from high altitude over Zhijin City, similarly sized zombie tides led by Tier 2 evolvers were surging toward the hole.
(Thanks to bigshot Hongchen Hantianwu for the alliance leader reward; plus Orange White Bear bigshot, now owing 40,000 words total)
