Shen Feng learned that the guy who had injured his subordinates was hiding in this valley, and immediately said seriously, "Since the enemy is right before our eyes, we must go in and take a look. How did you discover the enemy's tracks?"
There were five scouts here. They usually scouted for information during the day and slept at night. Their routines were different from ordinary soldiers. Their main purpose was to discover enemy situations and report them.
At this moment, hearing Shen Feng's question, the captain quickly stepped forward and replied, "City Lord, we found many bloodstains in the forest. They should be animal bloodstains, as well as drag marks. Following these drag marks, we finally arrived here."
Shen Feng looked into the valley. He could see that the valley was hidden by many trees. Looking deeper, he could vaguely see a small path on the ground.
Lu Xun once said, "There were no roads in the world to begin with, but when many people walked, a road came into being."
A small path in the forest could not have formed for no reason. There were only two possibilities. One was that many people had walked there, creating a path. The other was that wild beasts frequently roamed there, and the path on the ground was a beast trail.
However, speaking of which, the number of wild beasts in the Dabashan Mountains had sharply decreased. The reason was simple: insufficient resources. After the main resources were snatched away by the mutated birds from the sky, the remaining resources could not support more mutated beasts. Therefore, the number of mutated beasts in the Dabashan Mountains was far less than in other mountains.
Shen Feng thought for a moment and said, "I'll go first, Chaoyan will cover the rear, and the others will be in the middle."
As soon as he said this, everyone immediately objected. This arrangement was too childish. Not to mention anything else, how could the City Lord and his wife be the ones to lead the way and cover the rear? This was absolutely not allowed!
The scouts directly said, "How can the City Lord risk his life? If there is any danger, it must be us soldiers who go first, and the City Lord and Madam will be behind. If danger arises, we can shield you from bullets."
Shen Feng explained, "I am an ability user, and I am the fastest in the world. It is most suitable for me to take the lead. If there is danger, I can also notify you. Let me go."
Shen Feng made the decision based on his own strengths. His speed was the fastest, making him the safest, and he could protect others if there was danger.
However, the soldiers resolutely disagreed. This was their City Lord, and he absolutely could not take risks.
In the end, under the strong opposition of the soldiers, Shen Feng chose to stay behind with Chu Chaoyan to observe the potential dangers hidden in the valley. The scouts took the lead, scouting the way. As they entered the valley, everyone saw several traps. Although they were covered with loose soil, the color on them was completely different from the surrounding ground, and there were no footprints. Most importantly, there was an ear of corn placed on the traps.
"Yo, a South Korean trap, but it's useless for others, right?" Shen Feng couldn't help but laugh when he saw the corn on the trap. Such an obvious trap was meant to catch South Koreans?
It was understandable that Shen Feng thought this way, as South Koreans were called "bangzi" in China.
Chu Chaoyan said, "I don't think this trap was prepared for us. It's more likely meant to trap wild boars or similar animals, as ordinary animals don't have human-level intelligence."
Shen Feng nodded and continued to walk deeper. However, at this moment, one of the scouts did not pay attention to the top. After all, the danger usually came from the ground. If one accidentally stepped on a trap, it would be truly over. However, someone bumped into a thread hanging on a tree.
The thread was very thin, and ordinary people could not see it at all. Shen Feng, walking behind, did not have time to notice. When the leading soldier felt himself bump into the thread, he immediately felt something was wrong. Could this be a tripwire?
"Get down!" the leading soldier shouted directly, and then unhesitatingly threw himself to the ground.
Shen Feng and Chu Chaoyan were also startled and quickly lay on the ground. Shen Feng even deliberately pressed down on Chu Chaoyan to prevent her from being attacked by the bomb.
However, after the thread was triggered, the expected explosion did not occur. Instead, a strange sound came from a distance: "Ding dong dong..."
When some soldiers heard this sound, they felt it was too familiar, so they asked curiously, "Are there still cattle raised in the valley? Isn't this the sound of cattle bells?"
In the countryside, families that raised cattle would specifically hang a bell around the cow's neck. This way, no matter where the cow ran, they could find it by listening to the sound. Moreover, the bells in the past were all handmade, and their tones were different. Many people could distinguish whether it was their own cow by the sound of the bell.
Shen Feng slowly got up from Chu Chaoyan. After a moment of thought, he understood and then said, "I understand. This is not a trigger device for a landmine. This is a signaling tool. Now that we have triggered the bell, the people inside must be on guard."
Shen Feng thought that since he had been exposed, there was no need to be so cautious. He might as well just rush in.
Therefore, Shen Feng immediately said, "I'll go in and take a look first. You guys come in slowly."
After speaking, Shen Feng used "As Swift as the Wind" and instantly rushed into the valley. The soldiers could not even see Shen Feng's movements.
When Shen Feng rushed into the valley, he immediately frowned because he saw many crop stalks in the valley, including peanut stalks and potato stalks. However, the farmland was not very large, only about an acre. Further away, there was a mud house, similar to a pigsty.
Shen Feng did not expect that someone would be living and farming in the Dabashan Mountains. There were quite a few mutated animals in the mountains. Living in the mountains required courage. Once a mutated wild boar as large as a rhinoceros appeared, let alone the few traps at the entrance of the valley, even swords and spears would not be able to stop it.
While Shen Feng was observing the fields in the valley, a dirty child suddenly emerged from the mud house in the distance and shouted in a childish voice, "Who is it? What do you want?"
Shen Feng looked in the direction of the child and couldn't help but frown. It wasn't that he looked down on the child, but that the child was too dirty. His clothes were tattered, not to mention his face, which was covered in black. Especially around his mouth, it was all black. One might think that this little child had African ancestry.
"Who are you? Where are your parents?" Shen Feng asked directly.
The child did not answer, but stared at Shen Feng with a wary gaze.
At this time, Chu Chaoyan and the scouting soldiers had also arrived in the valley. They searched the valley but found nothing. It seemed that apart from this child, there was no one else. Shen Feng and the others repeatedly questioned the child, but they never got an answer.
Finally, being pressed too hard, the child said, "My brother told me not to talk to strangers."
Hearing this answer, Shen Feng understood. Indeed, it was not just this child living in the valley; he also had a brother. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to bring prey back from outside.
"Then where is your brother? And, were those animal traps in the mountains set by you?" Shen Feng continued to ask. He didn't want to trouble the child, as it was meaningless, but many of his subordinates had been accidentally injured by the traps, so this matter still needed to be clarified.
The little boy hesitated for a moment and said, "My brother went hunting with other uncles before and never came back. I dug out the potatoes and peanuts from the fields. I'm waiting for my brother to come back."
Shen Feng was somewhat surprised. This child in front of him looked only about ten years old. Could he really farm an acre of land with potatoes and peanuts?
"Don't lie to me. You're so young, and you can do farm work?" Shen Feng said immediately.
Seeing that they didn't believe him, the little boy became anxious at this moment and quickly led everyone into the house, saying, "If you don't believe me, look."
Shen Feng and Chu Chaoyan followed the little boy into the mud house and indeed saw many potatoes and peanuts. The potatoes were simply placed in the house. Perhaps due to improper storage, many of the potatoes had begun to sprout. Next to the potatoes was a black quilt, indicating that this was the little boy's bed.
The captain slowly walked up to Shen Feng and whispered, "When we were scouting the area nearby, we found many human bones. I think this child's brother has been eaten."
Shen Feng fell silent. It seemed that this was the only possibility now, otherwise, there was no way to explain the whereabouts of the child's brother.
When the zombies appeared, some people hid in the mountains, especially in remote places, which were the most popular. In the past, many people abroad also chose to take refuge in Greenland, but later they discovered that although Greenland had few people, they could not grow food there. The ground was covered with thick ice sheets, and plants could not grow. This child might have been brought to the mountains by his brother to seek refuge.
At this moment, seeing guests at home, the little boy did not forget his hospitality. He immediately started a fire, threw more than a dozen potatoes into the fire, and after they were roasted, he dug one out with a stick. It was black and he handed it to Shen Feng, saying, "Here, eat it. You must be hungry, right?"
Shen Feng smiled, sat down on the ground, and said, "This is your ration. How can I have the nerve to snatch your food?"
But the little boy didn't care and directly threw the potato into Shen Feng's hand. Shen Feng helplessly used a piece of wood to scrape off the charred part of the potato, revealing the golden crispy skin underneath. This was the most primitive way of eating potatoes after they were introduced to China – roasted. It was all carbohydrates, and it tasted good, but it lacked flavor.
Next, the little boy also threw potatoes to the people around him. Everyone hesitated, feeling it was impolite to refuse. Although it was not something particularly special, refusing a child's kindness seemed too cruel.
But the little boy didn't care. He found his own roasted potato, wiped it casually on his clothes, and started to gnaw on it. As a result, the charred part was not completely removed, causing him to always get black charcoal on his mouth when eating the potato.
Everyone finally understood why the boy had become like this. He was dirty all over because he was not particular. If he were more particular, he wouldn't be so dirty. However, he was already living alone in the valley, and there was no one to teach him. It was good enough that he could survive.
Chu Chaoyan saw how pitiful the child looked and couldn't help but feel sympathetic. She said to Shen Feng, "Let's take him with us. If he continues to stay in the mountains, he will surely die."
Shen Feng also nodded in agreement, then said to the little boy, "What's your name? I'll take you to Yuzhou. Then, you can go to school, you can read books, and you won't be attacked by others."
Hearing this, the little boy refused without hesitation. He said, "My name is Luo Hui, but I won't leave here. I'm still waiting for my brother to come back!"
"Then how long has your brother been gone?" Shen Feng continued to ask.
The little boy fell into a daze. He didn't remember how long his brother had been gone. He only knew that his brother had not returned for a long time. He did not dare to leave the valley, but could only watch the outside world from within the valley, always imagining that one day his brother would return with prey as usual.