The World Turned into Zombies, So I Went Back to the Countryside to Farm 65p1

Chapter 65 p1: Prophet

A spacious stone house with a lit stove was as warm as spring, but the atmosphere at the long table was filled with the smell of gunpowder.

“I think we should first solve the problem of production. There are still too few people who can work. If we can get more manpower, or some more seeds, next spring will definitely be…”

The old man, dressed plainly and with a turban, was interrupted before he could finish.

“Old En! Don’t forget, you’ve already taken a third of the children from the patrol reserve to help you reclaim the wasteland in their spare time. Last time, to find your quinoa seeds at the survivor base, we lost two people!”

“Do you know how precious every person is to the camp now?”

The speaker was a little younger, about thirty years old, with a large and burly build. The bulging muscles under his tight combat suit all showed that he was a genuine practitioner.

“I think we should still expand our territory first, absorb survivors, and reproduce. At the very least, we should increase the number of times the soldiers go to the nursery…”

The female doctor sitting next to him just frowned, but it was caught. The man’s gaze fell on her.

“Does Doctor Yan have any brilliant ideas? Oh, right, I forgot that your Red Cross only has three people in total, including you. If the birth rate in the camp suddenly increases, I’m afraid you won’t be able to handle it.”

He squinted and looked at the female doctor’s graceful figure under her white coat.

“If you’re really too busy, you can also apply for maternity leave…”

Yan Zhen just stood up and looked at the person sitting at the head of the table, respectfully placing her right hand on her chest.

“I have no objection. I will follow all of the Prophet’s arrangements.”

The snow had stopped, but the sun had not come out. The light in the stone house was still a little dim. The person sitting in the shadows was wrapped in a large cloak, with a scepter symbolizing authority by her side.

Her fingers were well-defined, looking slender and powerful, tapping on the table, seemingly nonchalantly.

The burly man immediately knelt on the ground, his right hand pressed against his chest, and he bowed deeply.

“I’m sorry… Prophet. I was the one who led the team poorly for the two soldiers who died. Please punish me!”

The rhythmic tapping finally stopped, and the woman’s voice was calm but full of pressure.

“Give the two dead soldiers’ families compensation rations. The male family members can enter and leave the nursery at will for a year. The female family members will be exceptionally arranged to work in the Red Cross or the school.”

“As for you—”

The woman slowly leaned forward and looked at him kneeling on the ground, trembling like a drowned dog, and slowly spat out the words.

“Go to the church and receive your punishment.”

“Yes… yes…” The man nodded like a pecking chicken and was about to crawl out when the woman’s cold voice came from behind him.

“I heard from Lorian that there was another movement in the horde of zombies in the survivor base last night, and some of them have drifted down the river.”

The man turned back and bowed deeply again.

“Yes… Lorian has already led a team to patrol the hydropower station this morning. It will definitely not affect the camp.”

Lorian was the deputy of the patrol team, also battle-hardened and experienced, and much smarter than this idiot with only a body full of muscles. Only then did the woman nod.

The man fled out of the stone house as if he were escaping. It wasn’t until he was out of the house that he dared to straighten his bent back.

Two fully armed soldiers were already waiting for him.

“Captain Liang, please—”

While the woman was dealing with the patrol captain, the other two people also stood up, bowed deeply, and pressed their right hands to their chests, not even daring to breathe.

“Old En, let’s put the matter of finding seeds aside for now. If there’s not enough food, let the patrol team and the church eat first. We survived the most severe winter the year before last. How to increase production is your own business. The patrol team can’t lose any more people.”

Old En could only bow deeply again.

“Yes, Prophet.”

After dealing with these matters, the woman seemed a little tired and leaned back in her chair, closing her eyes.

Yan Zhen tactfully walked behind her and massaged her temples. “Let me relieve the Prophet’s fatigue.”

***

The snow had stopped, but the temperature had gotten even lower.

Wen Zhao had originally thought that since she had found a shepherd’s hut in the forest, there must be a human settlement nearby. Even if she only ran into one or two locals, it would be good. But after trekking through the knee-deep snow for more than two hours, she still hadn’t found a single trace of human life here.

Even with adrenaline, Li Mi’s breathing was gradually weakening, and Jiang Zao’s condition was not good either.

Seeing that the sky was getting dark again, if they couldn’t find a human settlement, they could only turn back to the small wooden cabin. But that also meant, Wen Zhao looked back at Little Mi, that they could only wait quietly for the moment of separation.

Although Jiang Zao didn’t say it, Wen Zhao knew that if Little Mi were to leave them again, for the two of them who were already in despair, it would be the last straw that broke the camel’s back.

Therefore, neither of them dared to stop.

It was as if as long as they kept moving forward, there was still a glimmer of hope.

Jiang Zao stumbled through the snow. Her shoes and socks were already soaked. The hot breath she exhaled, along with her body temperature, quickly dissipated in the air. Wen Zhao, who was walking in front, was not much better off. After a few days of fighting, she was also exhausted.

When she was in the river, her body was also cut by the sharp stones in the water. She had been enduring it without saying anything. It wasn’t until this morning that Jiang Zao had found out.

Not only that, but her left hand, which had been injured before, was now severely swollen and deformed, and she couldn’t even lift it.

Even so, she still insisted on carrying Little Mi on her back, walking in front, and clearing the way for her with the Mountain Stream Snow.

Jiang Zao wanted to switch with her, but she refused.

Looking at her back as she carried Little Mi and trekked through the knee-deep snow, Jiang Zao’s eyes grew hot again, and her vision gradually blurred. Just then, the person in front of her fell with a thud.

“A-Zhao!”

Jiang Zao stumbled over and wanted to help her up from the ground, but she didn’t have the strength to drag her.

Wen Zhao was panting heavily and reached out to touch her cheek.

“I’m fine… don’t, don’t cry anymore.”

Jiang Zao’s eyes were already red and swollen, and even her corneas were bloodshot. If she kept crying like this, her eyes would also have problems.

“We… we’ll rest here for a while… you put Little Mi down… I’ll carry her.”

As soon as Jiang Zao finished speaking, she probably inhaled some snow pellets and coughed violently. The cough seemed to come from deep within her lungs and was heartbreaking to hear.

Wen Zhao struggled to kneel up with the help of the Mountain Stream Snow, opened her windbreaker, and pulled her in.

“I’m fine… we have to go… at least we have to get out of the forest… if we stop here… we’ll freeze to death.”

Jiang Zao nodded. The two of them supported each other, huddled together, and stumbled forward.

A long string of footprints was left behind in the snow.

***

“Captain, the zombies at the underwater valve have been cleared.”

A frogman with a rope tied to him came out from under the rolling dam, stabilized himself, and reported upwards with a walkie-talkie.

A blond, blue-eyed man was standing on the high ground of the observation tower near the hydropower station. He had a high nose bridge, three-dimensional features, and his pupils were a light brown, indicating his mixed-race identity.

Lorian picked up the walkie-talkie in his hand. “Dismissed.”

The man was about to turn and go down when the drone operator who was squatting next to him made a new discovery.

“Captain, the drone has found fresh human footprints in the forest. They’re heading towards our hunting ground.”

The trees in the primeval forest were so dense that they blocked out the sun. If the drone flew any lower, there would be a risk of crashing. Only by raising the perspective could he see the dense rows of footprints in the snow.

Lorian gritted his teeth.

“Everyone, assemble. Whether it’s a person or a zombie, we can’t let him step into our hunting ground!”

In just a minute, by the time he came down from the observation tower, the ten-man patrol team had already assembled and was ready to set off.

Lorian mounted his horse and rode towards the hunting ground.

“Giddy-up!”

The several people behind him also mounted their horses in unison. The horses’ hooves kicked up snow pellets, and an all-terrain assault vehicle parked next to the observation tower also quickly started its engine. The driver stepped on the gas, and it drove on the snow as if on flat ground, keeping up with the pace of their companions.

After leaving the forest, they entered a vast expanse of snow. Both of them were on the verge of exhaustion.

Wen Zhao saw a bright color in the snow. It was a half-person-high wire fence inserted into a tree stump.

A hint of joy appeared in her heart. She supported Jiang Zao and stumbled over. “Little Zao, look, this place is surrounded by a wire fence. There must be… there must be people inside!”

“That’s… that’s great.”

Jiang Zao was also on the verge of despair. At this moment, it was as if a traveler walking in the desert had suddenly seen an oasis. She was excited and took out her ice axe from her backpack.

“Use this to cut the wire fence.”

Wen Zhao nodded and was about to do it when a rumbling sound came from the hillside in the distance.

It was like thunder, and also like thousands of horses charging over.

Wen Zhao’s expression turned grim, and she protected Jiang Zao behind her.

“Go, go quickly. Something is coming!”

A patrol member looked at the two small black dots that were running quickly on the snow plain and raised his gun.

Lorian pressed his hand down.

“Just two zombies. Don’t waste bullets. Kill them when they get close.”

The all-terrain assault vehicle behind him shot out like an arrow from a bow. The drone operator next to the driver raised his binoculars.

“Captain, they don’t seem to be zombies…”

He zoomed in. From their S-shaped running steps, he gradually focused on their faces.

Although the women’s faces were covered in blood, they didn’t look like they had mutated at all.

“They’re survivors! They’re survivors!”

He shouted excitedly.

Lorian quickly picked up the walkie-talkie.

“Give the order. No shooting. We want them alive.”

“Yes.”

The few horses scattered.

Two legs were no match for four. Hearing the approaching sound of horses’ hooves, Wen Zhao pulled her behind her, and a cold light flashed as she drew her Mountain Stream Snow.

Jiang Zao stood back to back with her, looking at the fully armed soldiers who had gotten out of the all-terrain assault vehicle not far away. She also took out her ice axe and held it in her hand. Her bow was not lost, but the arrows in her quiver had all been washed away by the water.

The soldiers also raised their guns and approached cautiously.

“Stop! Drop your weapons and raise your hands!”