Chapter 182: Different Departments

Its branches crushed the surrounding vegetation, sending dust and broken leaves into the air.

Ye Jun stared at the scene in disbelief.

His entire body began trembling.

If they had remained in that tree, they would almost certainly have died.

He slowly turned toward Ji Henghua. "Brother... You saved me. You really saved my life."

However, before Ji Henghua could respond, Ye Jun’s expression suddenly changed.

His eyes widened as his body moved instinctively. "LOOK OUT!"

The next second, Ye Jun lunged forward and pushed himself in front of Ji Henghua.

Ji Henghua heard a sharp tearing sound. Then came a muffled groan.

When he turned around, he saw a zombie standing directly behind Ye Jun.

Its claws had struck Ye Jun’s arm as he intercepted the attack.

The creature was so close that Ji Henghua could clearly see its rotting face and bloodstained teeth.

His pupils contracted. For a moment, his mind went completely blank.

Then Ye Jun shouted through gritted teeth. "Kill it!"

Ji Henghua immediately recovered.

He grabbed the knife hanging from his belt.

Without hesitation, he raised it and swung with all his strength.

The sharp blade struck the zombie, sinking deep into its body.

The creature let out a guttural growl before collapsing to the ground.

He didn’t stop until he was certain it was completely dead.

However, by the time he turned around, Ye Jun had already made a horrifying decision.

Within three seconds, Ye Jun had ruthlessly severed his injured arm to prevent the zombie virus from spreading.

Ji Henghua’s eyes widened as he stared at the severed limb. "Why did you do that?"

His voice trembled slightly.

Ye Jun merely smiled apologetically. "It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it."

He glanced at his missing arm before continuing, "In fact, I should be thanking you. If you hadn’t carried me away from that tree, I might have been crushed into a meat pie."

He chuckled and pointed at his blood-dripping arms.

"As for this arm, it’ll grow back in a few days."

Although Ye Jun possessed regenerative abilities, Ji Henghua still felt a sharp ache in his chest.

He looked at him with a complicated expression. "You didn’t have to do that."

His voice softened. "What if you had gotten infected? What if you had turned into a zombie?"

Ye Jun laughed and waved his hand. "So what?"

He looked directly at Ji Henghua.

"You’re my best buddy. You saved my life, so it’s only right that I return the favor."

Hearing those words, Ji Henghua fell silent.

He slowly clenched his fists. He had never expected Ye Jun to risk his life for him, especially when they hadn’t known each other for very long.

’I’ll remember this.’

He silently vowed that he would never forget Ye Jun’s sacrifice.

Just then, Ye Jun changed the subject. "Anyway, I think we should camp here for now."

He glanced toward the surrounding forest.

"After checking the area for any immediate threats, we can get some proper rest."

He paused before adding, "The kidnappers’ hidden base is only about ten kilometres away. Once we’ve recovered our strength, we can make our move."

Ji Henghua knew that attacking the kidnappers while they were exhausted would be reckless.

Suddenly, Ye Jun remembered something. "You must be hungry, right?"

Ji Henghua had eaten only half a piece of moldy bread earlier.

Before he could say anything else, Ye Jun waved his remaining hand.

A small, packaged cream bun appeared in his palm.

The soft bread was sealed inside a transparent wrapper, and its creamy filling was visible through the packaging.

Ji Henghua was stunned. Ye Jun offered it to him. "Here. Eat this."

Ji Henghua immediately shook his head.

"You should keep it. You’re the one who’s injured."

"Consider it a gift for my saviour."

Ye Jun pushed the bun toward him. "Besides, you can repay me sometime in the future."

Ji Henghua hesitated, but eventually, he slowly accepted it.

As he looked down at the neatly packaged bun, his eyes became slightly moist.

It had been a long time since someone had treated him with such genuine kindness.

For the first time in a long while, he felt that perhaps humanity hadn’t completely lost its warmth.

...........................................

Meanwhile, at Fair Shallow Land, Ni Mengxue had noticed something rather strange.

She had recently emerged from her work in the system space because she wanted to begin organising the base’s administrative structure.

As Fair Shallow Land continued expanding, she could no longer manage every responsibility herself.

She needed proper departments, each with clearly defined duties.

The first would be the Business Department, which would oversee commercial activities within the base.

Under it, she planned to establish a Merchant Management Division responsible for supervising shops, merchants, and other businesses.

Next would be the Law and Order Department.

This department would be responsible for drafting regulations, maintaining public order, and handling disputes between residents.

She also intended to create an Import and Export Department.

Its primary responsibility would be establishing trade connections with other bases and acquiring resources that Fair Shallow Land couldn’t currently produce.

Apart from these, Ni Mengxue wanted an Entertainment Department to organize recreational activities and manage future entertainment facilities.

Finally, there would be a Taxation Department responsible for collecting and managing the base’s taxes.

’If I want this place to develop properly, I need an organized administrative system.’

Once these departments were established, she could begin constructing the schools and entertainment facilities whose blueprints had already been unlocked.

However, while she was considering these plans, she happened to notice Valer and Fu Lin leaving the base.

She glanced at the time, and it was almost 8:30 p.m.

Ni Mengxue frowned slightly. ’Why are they going out so late?’

Nighttime was particularly dangerous in the apocalypse.

Zombies became more active after sunset, and even with the electric fence protecting Fair Shallow Land, traveling outside the base at night was risky.

Nevertheless, Ni Mengxue didn’t think too much about it. Perhaps they had some personal business to attend to.

However, over the following three days, she noticed something unusual.