Chapter 009.1 — Departure [1]
Author: He Feng Yan
Translator: HeXie
Editor: tattaro
As the boss, Wu Ye gets to decide where to go and what to do. After breakfast, he informed his “younger brothers” that he couldn’t live in this place any longer. He wanted to go to the nearest base to have a look and trade for some supplies. Qin Wuhua’s naturally black eyes confirmed his agreement. On the other side, Ji Yun rejoiced because the nearest base from this place is Lan Cheng Base. This base is where he was from. This morning, he thought about his teacher’s safety and even planned on how to convince his boss to go there. Fortunately, that’s exactly where his boss wanted to go. This is great news!
Lan Cheng Base is about 20 kilometers away from here. However, there is a shortcut which could cut distance to around 15 or 16 kilometers. Wang He’s pickup truck ran out of gas when they came here, so Wu Ye tried to negotiate with the system to get gas through credit. But the system still held a grudge from being called useless in the past, and it wouldn’t budge no matter how much Wu Ye tried to flatter it.
In the end, they were left with no choice but to travel on foot. Military troops usually march at an average speed of 4 to 5 kilometers an hour. Should they use this speed to travel along the shortcut, they would be able to reach Lan Cheng Base in 3 to 4 hours. That is if they would not encounter zombies on the road. It is already late right now, so they need to move quickly. If they set out now, they would be able to reach Lan Cheng Base before dark, counting in the possibility of something unexpected happening along the way.
Wu Ye did not carry much. He only had a backpack, a crossbow, 15 arrows, an unloaded pistol, an empty vaccine syringe, and a small tube of nutrients. There were also more than 20 crystal nuclei that Ji Yun had collected from Wang He. As the boss, he generously shared it among Qin Wuhua and Ji Yun. Wang He’s stash also had 5 or 6 kilograms of rice, 6 fried baked scallion pancakes, a small bag of salt, half-a-pack of cheap tobacco, 3 semi-automatic rifles in good condition, and a few odd things.
After crossing Ming Road with Wu Ye, Ji Yun put all their loot into his canvas bag and carried it without any sign of effort.
T/N: *I don’t understand what ‘Ming Road’ meant, but…well, I checked with several source and it truly translate as it is.
Before they set to travel, Wu Ye and Qin Wuhua worked together to fill some empty water bottles with leftover porridge and some with cooled boiled water. After putting all the bottles of porridge and water in the backpack, it was heavy.
Without a word, Qin Wuhua took the bag from Wu Ye and carried it on his back. Wu Ye was left to carry the quiver with arrows and the crossbow, a very light load. The quiver was a ‘supporting equipment’ Wu Ye casually asked the system during that time when he was trading for pure steel arrows.
As Wu Ye reluctantly left the farmhouse where he took shelter in for the past 20 days, the system suddenly issued a mandatory task to go to Lan Cheng Base.
After the rain poured for two days and nights, the cracked land was drenched and the forsaken weeds were vibrant once again. The heat that prevailed since the beginning of summer was washed away immensely, and the air was filled with the freshness that comes after the rain.
Wu Ye is a total urbanite. Before Father Wu made his fortune, Wu Ye’s grandparents were all iron rice bowl employees* in state-owned enterprises. Like Wu Ye, they also lived in the city. Furthermore, Wu Ye was born after Father Wu had made his own fortune in the city, so Wu Ye had never experienced living in the countryside at all. Even when he grew up and went camping, he drove in a Hummer. It’s no wonder that up until he became an adult, he had never walked along different types of terrain, such as this narrow and wide, uneven ridge of barren grassland.
T/N: Iron rice bowl mean secure employment.
After falling into the mud for the tenth time, Wu Ye decided to give up the shortcut route. Using his position as the boss, he ordered everyone to take the main road instead.
Seeing that Wu Ye was having a hard time, Qin Wuhua had long wanted to give up taking the shortcut. Ji Yun said he had no opinions and would follow whatever the boss would order.
After a short detour back to the cracked main road covered with withered grass, Wu Ye sighed in relief.
They have traveled at top speed for a while when the system suddenly released a random mission, [Hunt for Zombie Dogs].
Before Wu Ye could say anything, Ji Yun was already a step ahead of him. “10 zombies are approaching us. Look for a place and take cover, quick!”
“How did you know?”
“I’ll explain it later. There’s a car over there. We should hide there, fast!” Ji Yun was anxious. He noticed that the approaching number of zombies were remarkably faster than the usual.
After he had awakened with his ability, Qin Wuhua’s five senses had become sharper. He also sensed the unusual movement of the zombies. While running towards the abandoned truck, he said to Wu Ye, “Don’t be scared. Hide behind me.”
“Who’s scared?!” What Qin Wuhua said was a jab on his pride as a young master and it angered him immensely.
“Just do it.”
“….” Second Young Master Wu held back his breath and vowed in his heart. One day, you’ll see how powerful your boss is, you son of a b*tch!
Even with this thought, he still followed what Qin Wuhua told him to do. When they have finally climbed up the truck, he obediently stood behind Qin Wuhua with his back to his.
Around 10 zombie dogs surrounded them from every direction. They were furless and deformed, and it was hard to recognize which breed they originally came from. Their dark red flesh were exposed, their grey eyes were muddy, and their open mouths showed sharp sets of teeth. Black liquid oozed out from between their sharp teeth as they roared eagerly and pounced on Wu Ye’s group.
As the zombie dogs jumped, a thunder boomed as lightning fast arrow zipped through the air and hit two zombie dogs, which both fell heavily on the ground and rolled far away. The arrow hit two dogs. One got its skulled blown off while the other one was pierced through the head.
This system-made crossbow and arrows were effective in long-range combats and had incredible attack power compared with man-made and machine-made ones. When steel arrows were used in close-combat, it could be as destructive as a machine gun. This crossbow was also equipped with thermal vision which, to a certain extent, caused Wu Ye’s inaccuracy. Despite all of its advantages, they could not make up for its biggest weakness which is the slow reloading of arrows.
When Wu Ye shot at the second zombie dog, another taller dog leapt with its claws sprung out. It hung firmly on the truck, almost piercing through the thick steel plates.
At the same time, a zombie dog jumped into the truck and pulled Ji Yun into action. He rushed forward like a ghost, ready for a kill. With his field knife, he aimed at the zombie’s brain by piercing directly through its eye.
“Watch out! Get out of the way!”
HEXIE: Translator here…is wishing for divine providence to suddenly get enlightened and finished my thesis like a blast…why…am I not one of the lucky soul to get a system to assist my life? QAQ
Anyhow, please do check my patreon~and give me a little comments and suggestions?