Back to the Apocalypse

Chapter 70

Xiao Sa had been just about to say some sweet words when his walkie-talkie lit up. The prison was not far from where they were staying, and the big explosions just now must have alarmed a lot of people.

Xiao Sa had no choice but to let go of Bai Jing for now and could only leave this topic of discussion for later. He connected the walkie-talkie, and an urgent voice sounded in his ear: "Brother Sa, where are you guys now?"

Xiao Sa glanced at Bai Jing and answered calmly, "Outside the prison. Most of the zombies have already been cleared. I'll leave the rest up to you guys to clean up. Quickly make your way over."

Zhou Ji was stupefied upon hearing this. He felt like there was a buzzing sound in his ears, and couldn't respond for half a beat. Although there had been some speculation in his heart, it still felt like a dream when he heard Brother Sa's words. He still remembered that it had also been Young Master Jing who made a move in the last county town, and let out a similar huge noise. The sky had glowed with a brilliant light, and the zombies had been cleaned up in an instant. Unexpectedly, they had also chosen to act alone this time.

"Zhou Ji, what's wrong? What happened?" Seeing that Zhou Ji was in a daze, Liu Wei was also anxious. His heart couldn't help but sink. He had gone to bed early tonight in preparation of taking over the prison tomorrow, and hadn't expected to have been shocked awake in the middle of the night. He had come out and discovered that Brother Sa's figure couldn't be found anywhere, and even Bai Jing disappeared. There was no way they wouldn't worry when they heard the noise outside.

Zhou Ji's mouth twitched. Seeing his brothers' anxious looks, and naturally noticing Yang Wenhua and Leng Han's searching gazes, he put on a look of extreme calm and glanced at everyone before saying, "Brother Sa told us to go over and clean up. The prison's zombies have already been wiped out."

"What did you say?" Liu Wei's mouth dropped open, and the gap it made was wide enough to stuff an egg in.

Everyone's chin fell to the ground and Chen Dawei stammered: "Al… already been wiped out?"

"You didn't hear me wrong. Now. Everybody, tidy up and follow me. We'll bring the children too. Even if they can't help much, they can still clean the place." Zhou Ji waved his hand expansively, his words bold.

Yang Wenhua was stunned, his gaze blank and mouth open. Including the people he had brought over, they had all been to the prison before. There were thousands, if not ten thousand zombies there. Who were those two? How long had it been? They could swear that nobody had stirred before they went to bed last night. They had not expected that they would be greeted with such shocking news at dawn.

Leng Han was very happy. His subordinates were also very happy. He just knew that he'd made the right choice. Based on today, it seemed like his investment this time had really paid off big time.

All of them set off for the prison in sledges. Although the heat wave hadn't yet reached them, they could feel the temperature begin to rise even from far away, and even before they got close to the prison, the sledges had become useless. They could only see a large area of ice and snow melting in front of them. The ground was wet like it had been flooded, and it was messy everywhere, but even so, it could not stop the joy from rising up in their hearts.

Not far from the prison, they could see two standing figures. It was dark at night, but illuminated by the light from the fire, the two figures appeared particularly bright, standing erect in the hearts of all people like two gods from up above. It unconsciously brought everyone a feeling of hope and peace, inspired awe, and firmly established their godlike position in the minds of all the people present from today onwards.

"You guys are here." Xiao Sa turned around indifferently, unfazed by everyone's startled gazes as he immediately began to give orders: "There are still some zombies remaining in the prison. Three first level ability users should bring people and clean them up. Yu Yue should go along. Everyone else should clean up the grounds outside. We need to be fast. Those with psychic powers should strengthen their vigilance. There has been too much noise here, and people will come by soon."

The crowd felt their hearts tighten when they heard this. They did not dare delay, as they all understood that since this piece of fat had been taken down, there would be a large number of people who would want to eat it. They needed to move quickly, and only after they had cleaned up the inside and set themselves up could they concentrate on guarding against others.

Everyone went ahead at full steam and began to get busy. Bai Jing separated from Xiao Sa and brought Yu Yue, Cao Lei, Wang Xuebing, Qin Hao, and a few children into the prison together. No pair of hands could be wasted at this time, and after they had cleared up an area, the children could help sweep it clean. By doing both things simultaneously, if things went smoothly, they would be able to move in tonight.

Xiao Sa remained outside, giving commands in an orderly manner. In addition to the original high walls of the prison, it would be best if they could build another city wall outside, and split the base into two parts - the inner city and the outer city - in order to facilitate management. He hadn't yet finished thinking about it when Sister Lian called out an alarm: "There are people coming from afar, 18 people from the east that we don't recognize, and 56 people on the road to the west who are all Liu Wanfa's subordinates. There are also some other scattered people who should be nearby residents."

Xiao Sa nodded and ordered, "First level ability users should go over and block them. Let them know that nobody should come any closer, or else we will kill without mercy. We will open the base to outsiders in a few days."

"Yes!" Xie Minhang stopped what he was doing, exchanged glances with Zhou Ji, and brought Liang La. The three of them went over to obstruct the newcomers.

After a while, gunshots rang out in the distance; Xiao Sa calmly looked over but wasn't surprised to discover that it was the group from the west. He had accounted for Liu Wanfa wanting to fish in trouble waters when he made his plans. Although he did not want to deal with them at present, he would not be merciful if someone came over to make trouble. The base was currently in need of people, and even if it was just a group of mobsters, they could at least do some rough work.

Zhou Ji and Liang La came back first. In fact, Xiao Sa was very curious - weren't they worried about Xie Minhang having to deal with 50 people on his own? Unconsciously, Xiao Sa asked the question out loud.

Zhou Ji laughed. It didn't show on his face, but he could guess in his heart what was wrong with Brother Sa. It seemed that he had never returned to normal ever since he met Bai Jing. He answered, "Xie Minhang is our brother, and he's more capable than I am. Naturally, he can be trusted to get the job done."

Xiao Sa was quiet as he was suddenly enlightened. Perhaps this was the trust that was lacking between him and Little Jing. It seemed that he would have to change in the future. Shifting the topic, he asked, "How is the situation?"

"The group of eighteen is a group of nearby wanderers. They heard the noise and came over to look. They went back once we explained what had happened here to them, and there was no conflict. But, they're not very interested in the base and should be planning to go to C City's survivors base, but were delayed because of the weather. City C's base is very big, and it seems that the army is guarding it at present."

Xiao Sa nodded, and didn't think too much of it. The first step was always the most troublesome, and they had only taken over their base and naturally could not be compared with bases that were supported by the army that were broadcasted over the radio.

Liang La followed up: "The local residents are very excited, and asked me what kind of conditions there are for settling in."

Xiao Sa frowned. He had thought about this question, but he still needed to make a long-term plan. For a base to be complete, it needed to have its own rules and regulations. After thinking about it, he said, "Let's first deal with the what's in front of us, and then have a meeting after things are straightened out. You guys go ahead and start. We'll strive to get everything done today."

Liang La and Zhou Ji nodded and left. Half an hour later, Xie Minhang also returned, the strong smell of blood on his body. Xiao Sa looked him over carefully, and confirmed that he was fine. "What happened?"

Xie Minhang laughed lightly, then casually said: "Liu Wanfa sent people over to test the waters. The leaders in that group are all dead, and I ignored the rest."

Xiao Sa nodded, and a trace of appreciation flashed in his eyes. Xie Minhang was really smart. If he killed everyone, who would help them erect walls and build houses? Perhaps Xie Minhang and Zhou Ji could be his left and right hands. After that, he had Xie Minhang get to work too.

It was easier to clean up the zombies today than it had been last time. Last time, they had to find the crystal nuclei, but this time they only needed to tidy them up. They managed to clear up the venue before noon, and some of the ability users began to turn the soil. After removing the snow, the whole prison took on a completely new look.

At this time, Bai Jing, together with Cao Lei, Qin Yi, Wang Xuebing and Yu Yue were cleaning up the zombies inside the prison. Because the place had originally been a prison, there were bars and partitions everywhere, and although most of the zombies had been led out, a small number of zombies were still stuck inside.

It was very convenient having Yu Yue lead the way. Starting from the office near the entrance, they cleared their way in, and it was only now that Bai Jing was in the mood to look around at their surroundings.

The high security prison was very large. There were eight buildings for prisoners alone - two for women, five for men, and one for prisoners who were exceptional cases. In addition to those, there was a large meeting hall, two small halls, two large courtyards, and thirteen workshops.

There was also a library, clinic, kitchen, shops, restaurants… everything could be found here, and it was almost like a small world on its own. After thinking about it, it made sense; this was a prison, and it naturally needed to have everything. It was normally isolated from the outside world, and would of course need to be self-contained.

The most delightful thing for Bai Jing was the residential building for the prison staff. It was a small apartment building with all kinds of equipment and facilities far away from the prison buildings, and was perfect for their core members to live in, while the prison buildings and warehouses could be reserved for those who had joined them early.

He had originally thought it would be very simple, but he discovered the difficulties as soon as they began to clean up. Since people would be living here, they would need to disinfect everything, and then equip the place with hydropower. Electricity was relatively easy since they could use solar power generators and wind turbines. Not only had Xiao Sa bought some, Bai Jing had also prepared quite a few. Only, water was a problem. Although the prison had a water tower, the river water now contained toxins and it was impossible for the few ability users they had to satisfy everyone's needs.

After thinking about it for a while, Bai Jing didn't stay hung up about it. These kinds of matters that required brainstorming could be handed over to Xiao Sa to handle. He only needed to stick to his role as the young master and ensure he had the strength to rush into battle. To tell the truth, he preferred fighting over thinking anyway.

Three days of hard work later, they had cleared up the whole place. During that time, Liu Wanfa sent people to visit again, but was much more cautious. After handing over some gifts, there was no other movement.

However, a group of escaped convicts from the next county somehow caught wind of the news and sent people over to make their presence known. They spoke some words about establishing new relations, and then rushed back to bring back news. Anyone who could kill their way out of prison certainly would not be fools. They had already suffered from Liu Wanfa, so there was no way they'd be willing to act as gunman for others.

Xiao Sa did not take Liu Wanfa's small actions seriously. As long as they were strong enough, they would be able to awe others, and nobody would dare to act presumptuously. Even if they had their own schemes, by the time the base grew bigger, all they needed to do was to get rid of the people they no longer needed. And they didn't need to talk about it now. Within a thousand meters outside the prison, not only the city walls, but also the residential buildings must also be built. At present, they were short on manpower, and keeping people like those was still useful for now.

translator: xiin

editor: alamerysl

this chapter was sponsored by ko-fis, thank you everyone!