The choice of bases varies greatly. Some people prefer defensive types, others prefer resource types, and some like offensive types. Depending on their needs, the locations where bases are established also differ. For defensive types, building on a mountain is best, making it difficult to attack and easy to defend. Resource-type bases are built on plains, ensuring no pressure on grain production. Offensive types, however, are often set up near dangerous areas, where survival depends on fighting.
Before occupying a city, Shen Feng had chosen to build his base on Jiangxin Island, guarding the dam so that no one could pass. This was the case when Luzhou was recaptured; tens of thousands of zombies crowded the narrow dam but failed to break into the base.
Now, Shen Feng saw this base built on the mountain and realized that many times, the choice of base could be both offensive and defensive, while also controlling resources, allowing for both electricity and grain production.
Hearing Shen Feng's praise, Yue Hengyi said unhappily, "Why are you talking so much? Isn't it time to steal grain? Hurry up and find a route, don't be indecisive. Steal it and leave, don't ruin your lifelong reputation."
Yue Hengyi didn't want to be a thief either. His family education had always taught him that among thousands of professions, stealing was the worst. Now, forced by circumstances to steal grain, it seemed there was a suitable excuse, but such a thing would still be ridiculed if spoken of. If you don't believe it, look at Liu Bang. He was a pavilion chief by birth, yet he was still mocked for two thousand years.
Shen Feng looked at the mountain terrain and said, "We'll go in from the mountaintop, below the watchtower! Fortune favors the bold. As long as we're fast, others won't discover us."
Yue Hengyi found Shen Feng's suggestion unreasonable and said, "What are you thinking? The watchtower and searchlights on the mountain are always watching. Entering from the mountaintop is precisely how we'll be discovered. It's more reasonable to enter from the foot or the mountainside."
"Oh, you dare to question Big Brother's decision? Do you think I don't know this? If you can think of entering from the foot of the mountain, can't others think of it too? The more loopholes there are, the more likely it is a trap. Conversely, entering from the mountaintop allows us to play a trick of surprise!" Shen Feng said sternly to Yue Hengyi.
Yue Hengyi then understood Shen Feng's consideration, which was based on psychology. Smart people often think alike, which is why there's a saying about heroes appreciating heroes. In reality, it's because their thoughts are the same. Therefore, the strategy to deal with smart people is to anticipate them. Knowing what a smart person is thinking, and then avoiding falling into a trap.
"Big Brother is right, let's enter from the mountaintop," Yue Hengyi could only admit that Shen Feng's idea was correct.
Next, the two arrived at the mountaintop. Yue Hengyi pried open the barbed wire with his bare hands. Fortunately, the barbed wire was not electrified, otherwise, it would have taken some effort to get in.
Taking advantage of the searchlights not shining their way, the two entered directly. Shen Feng quietly looked into the watchtower and saw that the guards had fallen asleep inside, holding old-fashioned rifles. Shen Feng didn't disturb him and led Yue Hengyi straight into the interior of the base.
When the two reached the depths of the base, they were surprised to find that the entire base was brightly lit. Every household had electric lights. Before the apocalypse, this would have been nothing unusual; only the most backward places would lack electric lights. Otherwise, who wouldn't have high-power appliances?
But now it was the apocalypse. Unless they occupied a place with ample energy, what base could have electricity all day long?
Entering this base was like entering a civilized society. The bright lights were the most comforting thing.
"These people really know how to enjoy themselves. They even have electricity. Air conditioning and refrigerators must be usable, and perhaps there are computers and televisions here too. Brother Feng, where is the grain you mentioned?" Yue Hengyi looked at the tens of thousands of people in the base living a civilized life and couldn't help but feel envious, but he hadn't forgotten the main purpose of their visit.
Shen Feng thought for a moment and pointed to the forest in the distance, saying, "Over there, it's in that forest."
There were many tall trees in the distant forest. The two quickly entered the forest. Yue Hengyi looked around but saw no grain. He remembered to search upwards and only found bananas on a few banana trees. Some of the bananas were already yellow, indicating they were edible.
"Are these few bunches of bananas considered food? Don't joke!" Yue Hengyi said, looking at the rubber trees.
Shen Feng patted the big tree beside him and said, "This is food!"
Yue Hengyi was confused and continued to look up but saw nothing. If there were coconuts, it would be fine, but there were no coconuts either.
"Eat bark?" Yue Hengyi asked.
"No!" Shen Feng asked, "Have you ever had yogurt sago?"
Yue Hengyi shook his head and said, "I like to drink grass jelly. As for sago, I've seen others drink it, but I haven't myself."
Shen Feng patted the big tree beside him and said to Yue Hengyi, "Look, this is the raw material for sago. This tree seems to be called a sago palm, but it's not the coconut that's eaten, but the pith inside the trunk. It's all starch. When dug out, it's called sago. Understand?"
Yue Hengyi's eyes were opened. Looking at the surrounding trees, he thought they were for building houses. He never expected these trees to be food! He never imagined that food could grow on trees.
"But how can we take it away? We can't cut down a dozen large trees and carry them away, can we?" Yue Hengyi continued to ask.
Shen Feng also rubbed his chin. Indeed, this was a big problem. Even if these sago palms were over twenty meters tall, and even if one tree could produce a hundred kilograms, they would still need to take away eight or nine large trees for a sea voyage. Such a large target would be difficult to act upon.
"Let's go and look nearby. Maybe we'll find something. I don't believe that with tens of thousands of people living in this base, they wouldn't have stored grain!" Shen Feng thought that since cutting down trees was too conspicuous, they should look nearby. If they found a warehouse, they would find the grain.
The two walked around the forest and suddenly saw a giant tree in the center of the forest, estimated to be forty meters tall, more than double the height of the surrounding coconut trees.
"It seems this is the mutated sago tree. The surrounding sago trees grow from its roots. It's a pity it can only live in tropical regions, otherwise, we could take it back to Yuzhou to plant!" Shen Feng muttered to himself, looking at the large tree.
"There's light over there, let's go and see!" Yue Hengyi didn't have as many thoughts as Shen Feng. Seeing good things and wanting to possess them was too much. Stealing grain was already immoral, and Shen Feng even wanted to steal other people's food crops, which was inappropriate.
Shen Feng and Yue Hengyi followed the lights out of the sago forest and then saw a factory. Even though it was dark now, there were still people working in the factory, possibly on a three-shift or two-shift system.
The two quietly approached the factory and observed the work inside through the window. A group of workers in white clothes were making sago. They sent the felled sago trees to machines, cut them into sections, then split them open, extracted the pith, ground it into starch, then added water and mixed it into a paste. After sieving, it was formed into granules, which was sago.
"So that's how it's made. I thought sago was rice from the West. I've learned something new!" Yue Hengyi couldn't help but say.
After watching the process, Shen Feng said, "Let's follow the sago production process and see where the sago is sent."
The two followed the footsteps of the workers and finally found that after being dried to remove moisture, the finished sago was loaded into trucks outside the factory. The trucks then drove away. Shen Feng and Yue Hengyi quickly followed the trucks. It was quite difficult to avoid being discovered along the way. Fortunately, their speed was so fast that most people couldn't see clearly.
They followed the trucks all the way to the other end of the base, where the vehicles stopped. More than a dozen people came out of the warehouse and began to unload the sago from the trucks.
Shen Feng and Yue Hengyi exchanged glances, made a gesture, and entered the warehouse together, hiding first. After two hours, the unloading was finished, and the warehouse guards had fallen asleep. Only then did the two begin to act.
"How much are we going to steal?" Yue Hengyi asked.
Shen Feng said displeasedly, "Can you stop using the word 'steal'? We are scholars! How can scholars talk about stealing?"
"Oh, then how much are we going to pilfer?" Yue Hengyi reacted quickly and continued to ask.
Shen Feng looked at the sago in the warehouse, which was about fifty kilograms per bag. After a brief calculation, Shen Feng replied, "Let's move about eight hundred catties first. If we reach Luzon, we don't need to stop and head straight for Taiwan!"
Yue Hengyi nodded, then thought for a moment, found ropes in the warehouse, tied up four hundred catties of flour, and put them on his back. Shen Feng did the same, but he discovered a problem: they couldn't get out through the window. The amount of grain they were carrying was too much. While a person could climb out of a window, the grain tied together couldn't be carried out and would get stuck.
Shen Feng thought for a moment and pointed to the warehouse door, saying, "We'll go through the main door!"
"The warehouse door is locked from the outside. If it's damaged, it will definitely make a loud noise and attract attention, so we can't be so reckless!" Yue Hengyi advised.
Shen Feng shook his head and pointed to the door frame on the side of the door, saying, "Look closely. The door frame here is embedded in the door and has no corresponding fixing method. We can just remove the door frame without damaging the door."
"Oh, as expected of Brother Feng, your observation is so meticulous. You found a way out so quickly. But there are still guards outside. How do we deal with these people?" Yue Hengyi continued to ask.
Shen Feng shrugged and said, "We'll take it one step at a time. Let's pray that these people haven't noticed anything happening at the warehouse. If we're discovered, we'll just run faster!"
Shen Feng and Yue Hengyi then used ropes to wedge into the gap between the door and the door frame, and then with a strong pull, they removed the door frame embedded in the warehouse. Unexpectedly, the door suddenly made a noise: "Clang..."
The iron chain outside the door hit the iron door, making a sound. Shen Feng quickly put down the door frame and said, "Run! We might have alerted the guards!"
Shen Feng and Yue Hengyi, carrying a bulging bundle of grain, quickly moved away from the warehouse area and began to sprint back in the direction they came from. They thought they had alerted the guards, but until Shen Feng and Yue Hengyi rushed out of the warehouse area, they were not stopped.
"Heh, it seems that not everyone in this base is smart. The outer defenses are so strong, but the internal defenses are so weak," Shen Feng said while running.
Yue Hengyi ran and looked at the brightly lit residential area in the distance, saying enviously, "It would be great to live here for a while. I haven't touched electronic products for a long time. If I could find a game console, that would be great."
"Forget it. If we delay our time for a game console, it won't be worth it. When we return to China, I'll give you a bunch of game consoles!" Shen Feng replied casually.
The two, carrying the grain, quickly returned to the sailboat and then began to make dinner. They cooked a pot of meat congee, and after drinking it, they went to sleep, preparing to set off again when daylight came.
However, while the two were fast asleep, the guards in the warehouse area began their patrol. They suddenly discovered that the warehouse door had fallen inwards, and they couldn't help but wonder, "Why did the door fall down like this? Could there be a thief?"
Upon entering the warehouse, they indeed found many footprints on the ground, and a lot of grain was missing from the warehouse. There was only one explanation for this situation: there had been a break-in.