13: Chapter 13 Exploring the Surroundings

Lin Waner stood at the doorway to see him off.

"Be careful," she said.

Wang Jie nodded: "Keep an eye on the base. If anything happens, press the alarm."

Lin Waner didn't speak; she just watched him.

Wang Jie felt a bit uncomfortable under her gaze, so he turned and climbed onto the tank.

"Let's go."

The convoy roared and drove off into the distance.

This time, they headed west.

To the west was the commercial district of Jiangdong City, the busiest place before the apocalypse.

Wang Jie's former company was there; he used to take the subway to work every day, looking at those high-rises and feeling that one day he, too, would have a place of his own there.

Now those high-rises had all turned into ruins.

The streets were filled with abandoned vehicles, some overturned on the roadside, others crashed into shops.

The corpses on the roadside had rotted down to mere skeletons, with clothes still hanging on them, rustling in the wind.

Occasionally, a few zombies could be seen wandering among the ruins.

Hearing the sound of the vehicles, they would turn their heads, chase for a few steps, and then quickly be left behind.

Wang Jie looked at the familiar street scenes outside the window, unable to describe the feeling in his heart.

The steamed bun shop where he bought breakfast every day had a broken door, and it was pitch black inside.

The office building where he often worked overtime had a large section of its glass curtain wall shattered, with black smoke billowing from within.

The cinema he liked to go to on weekends still had its signboard hanging at the entrance, but the poster on it had faded.

Everything was destroyed.

"Commander," the driver suddenly said, "there's a situation ahead."

Wang Jie looked in the direction of his gaze.

Ahead was an intersection, with a dozen or so people standing in the middle of the road.

No, not people—humanoid things, but their movements weren't like zombies.

They were standing there as if keeping watch.

Wang Jie raised his binoculars and looked carefully.

Those people were wearing uniform clothing—black combat suits, tactical helmets, and holding guns.

They were living people.

And organized living people at that.

Wang Jie frowned.

There were actually other survivor factions in this area?

"Stop," he said, "prepare for combat, but don't fire first."

The tank stopped, and the infantry vehicle stopped as well.

All gun barrels were aimed at those men in black.

Those people seemed to have discovered them too.

One of them raised his hand and made a gesture; the dozen people immediately scattered and sought cover.

Both sides stood in a standoff, the atmosphere tense to the extreme.

Wang Jie climbed out of the tank, stood on the turret, and shouted towards them:

"Who are you?"

The other side was silent for a few seconds.

Then a voice shouted back: "We are from the Jiangdong Survivors Alliance! Who are you?"

Jiangdong Survivors Alliance?

Wang Jie was stunned for a moment.

He had never heard of this name before.

"We are survivors from the west!" he shouted, "We'd like to inquire about the situation!"

The other side was silent for a while longer.

Then a man walked out from behind cover, raising his hands to signal he had no malicious intent.

Wang Jie had the Sniper aim at him, then jumped off the tank and walked forward.

The two men walked to the middle of the road, stopped ten meters apart.

The man was in his thirties, with a square face and steady eyes.

He was wearing a black combat suit, with an emblem on his chest—a handshake pattern.

"My name is Zhang Hai," he said, "I am the patrol captain of the Alliance."

"Wang Jie," Wang Jie said, "from the west."

Zhang Hai sized him up: "The west? Hasn't that side already been occupied by zombies?"

Wang Jie didn't answer, instead asking: "What kind of organization is your Alliance?"

Zhang Hai was silent for a moment, then said: "It is an organization formed by several survivor bases. We want to unite all survivors to fight against the zombies together."

Wang Jie raised an eyebrow: "All survivors?"

"Yes," Zhang Hai nodded, "no matter who, as long as they are human, we welcome them."

Wang Jie looked at him, calculating quickly in his mind.

Was this Alliance real or fake?

If it was real, it might be an opportunity.

If it was fake—

"Where is your headquarters?" he asked.

Zhang Hai pointed to the east: "In the industrial park to the east. It used to be several factories, now we have converted it into a base."

Industrial park?

Wang Jie's heart stirred.

The camp of that "King Kong" that Chen Xue mentioned was also in the industrial park.

It couldn't be such a coincidence, could it?

"Do you have a person called 'King Kong' there?"

Zhang Hai's expression changed.

"How do you know about King Kong?"

Wang Jie didn't answer, just looked at him.

Zhang Hai was silent for a few seconds, then said: "King Kong is indeed there. But he is not one of us. He is—an enemy."

Wang Jie's eyes narrowed.

"Tell me about it."

Zhang Hai sighed.

"That industrial park originally had three factions. Our Alliance, King Kong's group, and an organization called the 'Academy of Sciences'. The three parties originally kept to themselves. But half a month ago, King Kong suddenly started to expand, occupied the territory of the Academy of Sciences, and even wanted to annex us. Now both sides are at war."

Wang Jie listened, his mind racing.

Academy of Sciences?

What was that?

"What does the Academy of Sciences do?"

Zhang Hai shook his head: "I don't know. Those people are mysterious and never communicate with us. We only know they conduct their own research and don't participate in conflicts. But after King Kong occupied their territory, he seized a lot of equipment and data."

Wang Jie was silent for a while.

He remembered what Chen Xue had said—King Kong's people were not good people.

If what Zhang Hai said was true, then this King Kong might be the biggest threat in this area.

"Can you take me to your base?" he asked, "I want to meet your leader."

Zhang Hai looked at him, hesitating for a moment.

Then he nodded: "Sure. But your soldiers must stay outside."

Wang Jie thought about it and agreed.

He turned back and gestured to the convoy to stand by in place.

Then he followed Zhang Hai towards the men in black.

They crossed a few streets and arrived at the entrance of a residential complex.

The complex was surrounded by high walls, and there were armed sentries at the entrance.

Zhang Hai said a few words to the sentries, who opened the gate and let them in.

Inside the complex, it was a completely different world from the outside.

Some people were growing vegetables, some were repairing houses, children were playing, and elderly people were sunbathing.

Although conditions were rudimentary, there was a kind of vitality rarely seen in the apocalypse.

Wang Jie looked at all this, feeling somewhat moved.

This Alliance might really be the good guys.

They walked to a building, and Zhang Hai stopped.

"The leader is inside," he said, "you go in yourself."

Wang Jie nodded, pushed the door open, and walked in.