Chapter 380 - 180: The Fall of Ming Pearl

Chapter 380: Chapter 180: The Fall of Ming Pearl

After they all sat down, Old Chen was the first to speak:

"Mr. Xu, you’re the Messenger from Jiang City?"

Xu Mo nodded and pulled a stack of documents from his backpack. They were his identification papers, along with credentials for the Dandelion Plan, all bearing Jiang City’s official seal and signature.

"Here’s the proof issued by Jiang City." Xu Mo handed the documents to Old Chen. "My mission is to travel from Jiang City to Ming Pearl Port, confirm its status, and establish contact."

Old Chen took the documents and examined them carefully. His gaze lingered on the seals and signatures for a long time before he looked up at Xu Mo.

"Jiang City... How far is it from here?"

"About two thousand kilometers as the crow flies," Xu Mo said. "I’ve been on the road for a while and took some detours."

Old Chen nodded. "Was the journey safe? Did you run into any danger?"

Xu Mo thought for a moment and gave a brief summary of his journey—the zombies in Luochuan City, clearing the Jiangzhou Bridge, the sandworms and sandstorms in the desert, and the rainy night in Pinggu City.

Xu Mo didn’t go into detail, just mentioning the highlights, but it was enough for Old Chen to understand how perilous the journey had been.

After listening, Old Chen was silent for a few seconds. "It’s not easy, making it here alive," he said.

"I was lucky," Xu Mo replied.

Old Chen shook his head. "It’s more than just luck."

He handed the documents back to Xu Mo and leaned back on the sofa, a hint of emotion in his eyes.

"Two thousand kilometers... Traveling alone through so many dangerous places... Are all of you from Jiang City like this?"

Xu Mo smiled. "I’m just one of many. There are plenty of people far more capable than me."

Old Chen didn’t respond, merely nodding.

After a few seconds of silence, Xu Mo asked, "Leader Chen, I’d like to know more about what happened to Ming Pearl Port."

Old Chen’s expression shifted.

"Bingbing and Zhong must have told you some of it, right?" he asked.

"They did," Xu Mo said. "But they also said you know the finer details."

Old Chen fell silent for a moment before speaking slowly.

"Everything Bingbing told you is true. The Fog Zone, the zombie horde, the nuclear bomb, the mutated zombies, the internal zombification... not a single part is false. That’s how Ming Pearl Port fell."

He paused, then continued, "But there’s one thing she didn’t explain clearly—where those who zombified internally actually came from."

Xu Mo looked at him, waiting for him to continue.

"Those people... they were scratched by zombies, but they didn’t die right away, nor did they turn immediately," Old Chen began.

Xu Mo’s brow furrowed.

"After they were scratched, they knew they might turn into zombies." Old Chen’s voice grew heavy. "But they didn’t want to die out in the wastes, didn’t want their bodies left to rot in the wild. They wanted to go home, to return to their roots. So they hid their injuries and snuck back into the city, back to their families."

"And the result?"

"The result was that they turned in the middle of the night," Old Chen said. "They bit and killed their families, their neighbors, the people who came to rescue them. It spread from one person to the next, one block to the next. A large portion of the zombies in the city came to be that way."

Xu Mo fell silent. ’Someone who’s been scratched wanting to go home, to die beside their loved ones... Anyone can understand that impulse.’

But their return brought death to the ones they loved.

"There were many reasons for Ming Pearl Port’s fall," Old Chen continued. "The zombie horde from the Fog Zone was the external cause, and the internal zombification was the internal one. With both external and internal factors combined, not even the gods could have saved it."

Xu Mo nodded.

The two were quiet for a moment before Old Chen spoke again. "What about you, Mr. Xu? Are you going to keep heading forward?"

"Yes!"

Xu Mo nodded firmly.

"Ming Pearl Port may be gone, but its people aren’t. I want to find the major organizations that inherited what was left of it, pass on the information from Jiang City, and bring back some form of documentation. That’s the only way Jiang City can confirm that Ming Pearl Port has truly fallen."

Old Chen looked at Xu Mo, a newfound respect in his eyes.

"That won’t be easy," he said. "You still have another eight or nine hundred kilometers to go. The road ahead won’t be any less dangerous."

"I know," Xu Mo said. "That’s why I wanted to ask for your help."

Old Chen raised his eyelids. "Go on."

"I need a vehicle," Xu Mo said. "I had to leave my last car in Pinggu City. I also need some fuel and supplies. And if it’s possible, I’d also like a written report from your Nomad’s House about the situation in Ming Pearl Port."

"That can be done." After hearing Xu Mo’s request, Old Chen nodded.

"A vehicle, I can give you one. It’s not new, but it should be in good condition. I can also give you some fuel and supplies."

He paused, then continued, "As for the written report, I can write that for you as well. You saved my people and came all this way to deliver a message. It’s the least I can do."

Xu Mo stood up and said solemnly, "Thank you."

Old Chen waved his hand dismissively.

"Don’t mention it," he said. "In this apocalypse, it’s not every day you meet someone like you."

He stood up, walked to the door of the RV, and glanced back at Xu Mo.

"Wait here a moment. I’ll go make the arrangements."

With that, Old Chen exited the vehicle.

Xu Mo stood inside the RV, watching Old Chen’s back disappear outside.