Chapter 776: Old Corpse in the Desolate Village

“Old Yuan, young people don’t quite believe in these things, don’t mind them. This skill is rare, let’s have you show us.”

Duan Wuhu moved to a different spot, sitting beside Yuan Huotu, intending to see how he performed fortune-telling.

Yuan Huotu appeared simple and honest, slightly embarrassed by the praise, and started shaking the copper coins again, saying, “I’ve been weak and sickly since childhood. Later, I met a master who said my Five Elements lack fire and earth. After changing my name, I actually got better. I learned divination from that master, but I’m not well-versed.”

After speaking, he closed his eyes, accelerated the shaking, ding ding, ding ding, the sound of copper coins crashing was dense and heavy, then scattered them onto a nearby blanket.

The copper coins settled, silent and still.

“Initial Nine, Six Two, Nine Three, Nine Four, Nine Five, Upper Nine… Heaven Fire Tongren Hexagram, Heaven Fire Tongren…”

Yuan Huotu muttered for a while, casting a glance at Pu Chanyong, “See, I said it’s accurate. I asked about luck, and this hexagram shows there’s an upward opportunity right now, along with friends’ help!”

Yuan Huotu held the copper coins excitedly, “Heading to Mountain and Sea with these friends is our support. Our fortune is definitely on the rise!”

“Alright, alright, upwards, upwards…” Pu Chanyong responded reluctantly, after all, it’s a good omen, challenging it would surely anger everyone.

“Haha, this hexagram is pretty good, we’re honored!”

Duan Wuhu joyfully chimed in, thinking if the hexagram was bad, he’d say it was just a joke. If it was good, he’d give a thumbs up — classic double standard.

“A good omen, not bad, Brother Pu. We can be skeptical, but a basic reverence wouldn’t hurt. What if it’s true, right?”

Zhao Dezhu was delighted, he relatively believed in these.

“I think Huotu’s fortune-telling actually has some skill, I’m willing to believe.” Zhou Haiquan, the oldest in Dragon Head Camp, spoke solemnly.

Wu Lue was initially dubious, seeing everyone else agree, he nodded vigorously, who doesn’t wish for good fortune?

“This journey to Mountain and Sea District, you’re going to check on Dragon Head Camp’s situation, plus find other brothers out on missions, we also need to see Mountain and Sea District’s condition, then investigate the zombie herd. On the road, don’t talk about who’s helping whom, everyone is working hard, helping each other, advancing together.”

Duan Wuhu summarized, making the surrounding people nod in agreement, thinking it very sensible.

“Snore… snore…”

As they spoke, snoring was heard from a corner. Turning to look, they saw Fan Donglu, the largest person among Dragon Head Camp’s five-man team, had fallen asleep clothed.

Earlier during road clearing, Fan Donglu exerted the most effort.

“Let’s sleep too, I’ll set a rotating alarm, sleep safely.”

With Shen Linrui not around to manage Dragon Head Camp, Duan Wuhu naturally took charge, organizing all the details.

After setting the alarm and ensuring that the watchmen were in place, he finally fell asleep lightly.

In the pitch-black night sky, Shen Linrui, who was on lookout on the rooftop, babbled to Flash in his pocket, discussing the risky experiences with his camp brothers and the beautiful life during peaceful times.

“I really wish I could go back to the past. The Circulation Celestial Travel journey has only covered a third, really want to continue, but… no chance ever again.”

Shen Linrui was not from Qin City, his situation was similar to Ju Mumio’s; Ju Mumio was on a global trip, while he was taking a motorcycle journey around the country.

Starting from Yunnan Province, following the national border and coastline all the way north, coincidentally arriving at Qin City right before setting off for Huolu City’s next stop, that’s when the disaster struck…

“Ah, Flash, don’t you think it’s a coincidence, if I had left Qin City a day earlier, perhaps I would be among the fifty thousand troops coming from Huolu City now.”

Faced with the middle-aged man’s ramblings, Flash couldn’t take it, having been worn out by dozens of kilometers of travel, not sleeping for a day or night wouldn’t even relieve it; buried in the pocket, quietly fell asleep, not noticed by Shen Linrui.

Meanwhile, Lu Yubo was chatting, holding a walkie-talkie, whispering sweet nothings with Mo Qianlan like a couple, revolving around three themes: stay safe in the camp (outside), remember to miss me in the camp (outside), eat well and stay warm, take care of yourself in the camp (outside)…

Apart from the overly sweet declarations, Mo Qianlan told Lu Yubo about the execution event at Celestial Horse Island that night, leaving him incredibly annoyed, having missed a good show…

After finishing the serious talk, they continued their affectionate exchange.

After a while, Shen Linrui noticed Flash had fallen asleep, and Lu Yubo also didn’t want to disturb Mo Qianlan’s rest, so the two men started chatting. They were initially positioned in the middle of their rooms, moved closer to each other’s sides for convenience.

Separated by twenty meters, in the silent night, large volumes were unnecessary.

Through their conversation, Lu Yubo learned about Shen Linrui’s background, having previously run a bar and homestay with his girlfriend in Yunnan Province, after saving enough money, they hired others to manage their business.

With a stable monthly income of two to thirty thousand, life was very comfortable, prompting him and his girlfriend to embark on a nationwide motorcycle journey…

Lu Yubo really wanted to ask about Shen Linrui’s girlfriend but held back, refraining from asking because regardless of the process, the outcome was bound to be tragic.

Shen Linrui wasn’t particularly interested in Lu Yubo himself, focusing mainly on Zhang Su, but his questions were measured, avoiding sensitive areas. If he sensed Lu Yubo’s hesitation, he would promptly skip the topic.

The middle-aged man and the young man’s conversation had a gap, but the former maintained the ambiance expertly, keeping the chat pleasant until their replacements climbed up to the rooftop, ending their talk.

“Captain Shen, you two can really chat, I woke once at ten and heard you two chirping until now, aren’t you thirsty?”

Pu Chanyong adjusted his hat, jokingly dazed.

“I haven’t had such a satisfying conversation with someone in a long time, feels good, Xiaolu, thank you for chatting with me, I feel much better.”

Shen Linrui didn’t mind Lu Yubo inquiring into certain things about him, revealing them made him feel relieved.

“No need for thanks, what’s there to thank, haha, just sitting without chatting there’s nothing to do.”

Lu Yubo sheepishly scratched his head.

Relieving them, Zhao Dezhu grinned, “You chatterboxes go rest, it’s our turn…”

Crack…

Before finishing his sentence, a cracking sound from the distance emerged, the four on the rooftop turned towards the origin, those with binoculars lifted them, those with flashlights adjusted their beams to point afar.

“Seems there’s nothing.”

Lu Yubo licked his dry lips, frowning as he stared in the direction where the sound originated, only to see dilapidated rural courtyards, amidst the havoc wreaked by shockwaves, lying desolate.

“Probably a window frame frozen brittle couldn’t hold out and snapped, the shockwave impact on this area isn’t small.”

Shen Linrui set down his binoculars, breathing a quiet sigh of relief, the surrounding deserted village, having checked it roughly, had no visible signs of zombies.

“You guys go to rest!”

Zhao Dezhu tapped Lu Yubo’s shoulder, taking the binoculars from him and preparing to take over the watch.

Crack boom…

Just as the four were relaxing, another sound echoed, this time from a different direction, turning seventy or eighty degrees, alerting them again.

“Damn, what’s going on, Brother Lu, no noise during the past hours?”

“There was, some fine noises are normal, but not this loud, wait, no, damn it, there are zombies!”

Lu Yubo whispered urgently, the tone filled with caution.

“There’s a group of zombies.”

Shen Linrui raised the binoculars, using the flashlight’s limited beam, noticing approximately forty or fifty zombies trudging amid the ruins, heading their way, but it was only part of them, hidden ones lingered in the shadows!