Chapter 138: The Granary

Behind him stood another towering figure, half-human and half-beast, with azure scales covering one side of his body and a sharp, massive claw.

His pupils flickered with a yellowish-orange glow, making him look exceptionally ferocious.

"Rest assured, I have already sent my subordinates to find them and test their strength."

A voice like grinding rust issued from the scaled man's mouth.

He had taken in the corpse-infant, acting as its 'adoptive father,' primarily because he saw good potential in it and believed it could become a major asset in the future.

Moreover, even without the corpse-infant, the scaled man had intended to expand onto the land. Although he was one of the overlords here, life in the shallows was far from easy, as the behemoths in the deep sea possessed a strength that completely outclassed his own.

Not long ago, he had witnessed with his own eyes several hundred-meter-long tentacles reaching out from the pitch-black deep sea, devouring an entire group of his underlings.

That terrifying scene inevitably brought to mind a certain movie—Deep Rising.

The corpse-infant nodded fiercely.

"Especially that woman. I'm going to torture her with my own hands and make her experience a pain worse than death!"

.........

After Lin Dong's territory was attacked, he didn't care about it at all. To be precise... it wasn't even really an attack; at best, it was like a delivery of takeout, giving his underlings a taste of the ocean.

Meanwhile, Cheng Luoyi was also taking action.

The sanctuary had been developing quite well lately.

Because they had occupied a grain depot in the suburbs outside Jiangbei City, storing a large amount of edible grain inside.

Cheng Luoyi was responsible for guarding the location, while Chen Min and a group of 'porters' transported the supplies back.

Right now, they were working in full swing.

Survivors with sacks of grain strapped to their backs were loading them onto carts, and everything was proceeding in an orderly fashion.

Sun Xiaoqiang and several awakened ones stood nearby, acting like 'foremen' as they kept watch, primarily to ensure everyone's safety.

However, since all the powerful corpse kings in Jiangbei City had been eliminated by Lin Dong, the scattered zombie factions nearby posed no real threat to them, making this assignment relatively leisurely.

At this moment, Sun Xiaoqiang pulled half an apple out of his pocket and examined it with a wise look in his eyes. He had picked it from a village.

In the apocalypse, fresh fruits and vegetables were scarce and extremely precious, so he was somewhat reluctant to eat it.

The teeth marks on the apple had oxidized, leaving brownish traces.

Sun Xiaoqiang stared at it for a long time, but still couldn't resist the temptation, opening his mouth to take a small bite. The sweet and sour flavor spread across his taste buds, and a look of complete satisfaction appeared on his face.

"This is really delicious..."

The people nearby glanced at him without responding.

Sun Xiaoqiang sighed emotionally.

"It's just a pity that apples get smaller the more you eat them. It would be great if they got bigger the more you ate."

"Is there anything that gets bigger the more you eat it?"

Asked a delicate-looking girl among them. She was none of other than Li Yun, one of Lin Dong's 'builders.'

Sun Xiaoqiang nodded.

"Of course there is. Not only does it get bigger, but it also gets longer the more you eat it."

"Uh......."

Li Yun's expression froze, feeling somewhat odd. She suspected he was making a dirty joke, but lacked any evidence.

<div>"Xiaoqiang, you'd better watch less unhealthy stuff, or it will warp your mind."</div>

"What unhealthy stuff?"

Sun Xiaoqiang looked bewildered.

Li Yun continued to ask.

"Then what are you talking about?"

"Snake, of course."

Sun Xiaoqiang replied as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"...........Dumbfounded, Li Yun was rendered completely speechless. The people nearby couldn't help covering their mouths to snicker.

Sun Xiaoqiang asked in confusion.

"What else could it be? What were you thinking of?"

"Oh! So it's Snake! If you hadn't said anything... I almost thought it was Snake." Li Yun forced a laugh to ease the awkwardness.

At that moment, a cool breeze swept past. The gloomy sky began to drizzle with light rain, and the dark clouds on the horizon grew heavier, drifting toward them as the rain showed signs of intensifying.

"Sigh! Why is it raining?"

"What kind of ghost weather is this? We're delayed again."

"Yeah, it rained last time we hauled supplies from Binhai City, and I got stuck deep in the mud."

"........"

The survivors grumbled.

Chen Min and a few other porters covered their heads and ran over to Cheng Luoyi.

"It's raining. Maybe we should let everyone take a break."

"Whenever I ask you to haul cargo, it either storms or rains."

Cheng Luoyi said coldly.

Chen Min scratched the back of his head.

"There's nothing we can do about it. The roads in the suburbs are hard to navigate. It's fine for us awakened ones, but it's really tough for ordinary people to transport the grain back to the sanctuary."

"Fine, but you'd better hurry. Staying out here in the open is never safe."

With that, Cheng Luoyi walked straight ahead and entered a dilapidated security guard booth to take shelter from the rain.

Sun Xiaoqiang and the rest of the awakened ones followed closely behind her.

Chen Min scratched his head.

"What danger could there possibly be?"

Immediately after, he led the group of 'porters' to cover the grain sacks with straw mats, packed up their tools, and herded everyone into the room to wait out the rain.

'Whoosh!'

They lit a bonfire to dispel the surrounding chill and dampness.

Human constitutions were truly frail, vulnerable to both cold and heat.

Chen Min warmed his hands by the fire, then took out an ear of corn, skewered it on a tree branch, and began roasting it over the flames.

Nearby, Sun Yuhang turned to look.

"Uncle Chen, what flavor is that corn...?"

".......Dampening his expression with a side-glance, Chen Min retorted, "If you want to eat, just say so. I'll share half with you when it's done roasting."

"Hehe, alright, thanks uncle."

Sun Yuhang said with a cheerful smile.

The firelight leaped inside the cozy room, providing great warmth. People talked and laughed, creating a lively atmosphere.

Yet outside, the rain was growing heavier. Dark clouds rolled across the sky, plunging the world into gloom. The rain poured down in sheets, and a layer of mist rose from the ground.

"The weather in the apocalypse is getting weirder and weirder."

Sun Xiaoqiang said, holding his half-eaten apple.

Meanwhile, Cheng Luoyi stood by the window, her pitch-black eyes staring fixedly outside, her gaze gradually turning sharp.

"Prepare for battle."

"Huh? What is it?"

Startled by her words, everyone in the room immediately rushed to the window and looked out as well.

Before long, they spotted several zombie figures moving through the curtain of rain. Raindrops splattered against their bodies as their terrifying, bloodthirsty faces advanced directly toward the grain depot.

"There really are zombies..."

Chen Min's brow furrowed heavily.

Panic instantly swept through the room. The ordinary survivors hid inside while the awakened ones prepared to fight outside.

The door was pushed open, and figures streamed out one after another. Ignoring the torrential rain, they drew their weapons and took up positions guarding the entrance of the grain depot.

"Roar—"

In the distance, the zombies spotted the humans and instantly grew restless, charging toward them like a pack of starving wolves.

Guarding the grain depot lately meant that coming under zombie attacks was far from a rare occurrence.

Chen Min gazed ahead, his expression still relatively calm.

"Fortunately, the number of zombies isn't very large."