Chapter 28: Abundant Resources

The supplies stored in the basement, or rather the cellar, far exceeded everyone's imagination.

Chen Ye guessed that perhaps the village chief of Longevity Village had already noticed something amiss and stored some supplies in his home's basement.

According to messages passed up from below, the cellar contained not just potatoes and sweet potatoes—they later discovered many canned goods, rice, and flour as well.

It was then that Chen Ye realized Captain Chu's Eavesdropping Radio was a rare treasure indeed.

Without the information from the Eavesdropping Radio,

finding this much supplies would have been impossible without one or two days.

Surprised cheers occasionally rose from the cellar.

"Auntie Zhao, hurry up and come out, otherwise we won't have enough time!"

The bespectacled young man leaned over the cellar entrance, urgently calling down to the old woman who was still stuffing potatoes into her bag.

"Xiao Fu, wait just a little longer for your auntie. We finally found so many supplies—it would be a shame not to take more this time!"

The old woman's voice echoed from the cellar.

The bespectacled young man holding the steel pipe appeared to be around twenty years old, looking like he hadn't yet graduated from university, with that uniquely clear-eyed innocence often seen in college students.

It was this university student surnamed Fu who had originally discovered this cellar.

The grandmother-grandson pair had become universally disliked within the convoy, with only this university student still paying them any attention.

The other survivors had already climbed out of the cellar.

When they had left the small supermarket earlier, many people's backpacks were only half full, but now every backpack was bulging, with satisfied smiles on everyone's faces.

To make room for these supplies, many people simply dumped out the snacks they had found in the small supermarket, filling their packs entirely with potatoes, sweet potatoes, rice, and flour.

After all, compared to potato chips and spicy strips, the supplies from the village chief's house provided more satiety and were better suited for survival in the apocalypse.

Some even took off their shirts to wrap up supplies, carrying bundles in their arms.

The exaggeratedly large backpack on Iron Lion's back was now packed completely full.

With that massive backpack on his back, Iron Lion looked like he was carrying a small mountain, a sight that made people click their tongues in amazement.

This kind of backpack probably only someone like Iron Lion, a big fool, could carry.

Not only was this guy carrying a mountain-like backpack on his back, but he also held several large bundles in his arms, apparently containing plenty of supplies as well.

Even the Zhou sisters, Zhou Lan and Zhou Xiaoxiao, were loaded down with supplies.

Zhou Lan had one pack on her chest, another on her back, and carried yet another in her hand.

Zhou Xiaoxiao carried no less supplies than her older sister Zhou Lan.

Smiles beamed from every face.

In contrast, Nana and Chen Ye carried relatively little supplies.

"It's getting late, we need to leave here quickly!"

Chen Ye urged.

Nana glanced at the watch on her wrist, her expression turning tense.

"Forty minutes until four o'clock—we must leave the village within forty minutes!"

"Let's go!"

Everyone quickened their pace to leave the village chief's house.

Only Chen Ye watched their surroundings with vigilant eyes.

This trip had been far too smooth.

Such smoothness left Chen Ye with a persistent feeling of unease, as if some great horror awaited them ahead.

"You... you all wait for me!"

The old woman in the cellar seemed to have heard that everyone planned to leave, her anxious voice rising from below.

Aside from the university student called Xiao Fu, no one paid any attention to the old woman, and many faces even showed a hint of schadenfreude.

Perhaps disasters linger for a thousand years.

With the help of the kind-hearted university student, the old woman eventually managed to climb out of the cellar.

When Chen Ye saw the supplies the old woman carried, he froze momentarily.

The old woman was completely covered in supplies.

Not only did she have a very large backpack on her back, but she also carried a large bundle in each hand, with another bundle hanging around her neck.

Compared to the other survivors, this old woman had actually gathered the most supplies.

Seeing how others looked at her, the old woman even seemed somewhat proud.

Don't assume that elderly people lack physical stamina.

Compared to young workhorses blessed with the 996 work schedule, these elderly people seem to have inexhaustible energy.

If you don't believe it, go see the egg-grabbing scenes at supermarkets or certain tourist attractions.

However, in such an environment, carrying this many supplies was practically no different from seeking death.

Chen Ye ignored the old woman, his eyes vigilantly scanning their surroundings.

The hunchbacked old puppet from earlier had now completely vanished without a trace.

"Let's go!"

The Sword Fairy Maiden Nana walked at the front, her long sword in hand.

Close behind her was the hulking Iron Lion.

Unfortunately, Iron Lion's backpack was simply too large, causing some trouble when exiting through the door.

They finally had to violently dismantle the village chief's door to successfully get the backpack out of the room.

The courtyard appeared unchanged from when they had entered.

The black luxury car sat quietly in the yard.

Chen Ye would have liked to take the car with them—if they could have managed it, it would have been greatly useful for modifying his motor tricycle.

But his abilities were limited, so he could only look for opportunities another time.

Everyone began retracing their route back.

The sky remained gloomy and gray.

A dim, gray sun hung high outside the village.

No one spoke, but the atmosphere was clearly much better than before.

Only Nana kept checking the watch on her wrist as she walked.

In the Sword Fairy Maiden's heart, her premonition matched Chen Ye's—she also felt a persistent sense of unease.

Every supply run usually meant narrowly escaping death.

But this one had been exceptionally smooth.

"Something's wrong!"

Suddenly, those long legs stopped in their tracks.

Iron Lion also came to an abrupt halt, his massive backpack lurching behind him, but the big fool's astonishing strength stabilized him before he could fall.

Chen Ye instantly raised his hand crossbow.

"What's wrong?"

"This road—we've walked it before!"

The young woman pointed to a civilian house with its door open by the roadside.

This house looked familiar—someone had previously entered this building and never come out.

Everyone looked at each other, momentarily at a loss for words.

Chen Ye lit a cigarette, the small flame briefly illuminating his eyes.

He frowned as he surveyed their surroundings.

Although Chen Ye had some sense of directional impairment, the environment before him looked all too familiar.

"Ahead is... the Big Willow Tree?"

A trembling voice suddenly spoke up, filled with boundless fear.

Everyone startled and quickly looked ahead.

They saw an enormous big willow tree standing not far away—just around a corner they could see the Big Willow Tree Small Supermarket.

By all reasoning, the big willow tree should have been behind them, so how had it suddenly appeared in front of them?

The color began draining from everyone's faces.

The excitement from gathering supplies was rapidly fading.

"We went the wrong direction!"

Nana glanced at her wristwatch, her young face showing an extremely serious expression: "Thirty minutes left—if we turn back now and hurry, we can still make it!"