Yang Chang got up and started looking for Shen Feng. It was already daylight, and they should be heading to the dam. However, no matter how much he searched, he couldn't find Shen Feng.
Yang Chang thought carefully and then knocked on Chu Chaoyan's door. Chu Chaoyan was a woman, so she had a room to herself, while everyone else had to squeeze in and make do for the night. If the leader wasn't anywhere else, could it be that the leader was in this room?
After all, someone had said that once you eliminate all the impossibilities, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.
Chu Chaoyan opened the door and saw Yang Chang outside. She asked in confusion, "What is it? Is it time for breakfast?"
Yang Chang curiously peeked into the room and said, "It's still early for breakfast. I'm looking for the leader to see if he's here."
As soon as he said this, Chu Chaoyan became angry. Pointing at Yang Chang's nose, she said, "What are you looking for Shen Feng in my room for? Do you have all sorts of strange ideas in your head? I'm telling you, Shen Feng has never entered my room!"
After speaking, Chu Chaoyan slammed the door shut.
Yang Chang felt a bit helpless and muttered, "Where on earth did the leader go?"
Just as Yang Chang was wondering, the guard on duty shouted, "The leader is back! The leader is outside."
Yang Chang's confusion was finally cleared. It turned out the leader had gone out, no wonder he couldn't find him. But where did he go so early in the morning?
Yang Chang's confusion was quickly resolved because Shen Feng returned to the dock with a group of children and then found a pile of bread for them to eat. The bread had actually dried out due to water loss, but the children ate it with gusto, clearly having been hungry for a long time.
Afterward, Shen Feng said to a driver, "When you drive back with the supplies later, remember to take these children back too. Let them do some miscellaneous work with the logistics team. Although I don't particularly like children, I won't stand by and watch them suffer outside."
Yang Chang walked up to Shen Feng and whispered, "Leader, when did you go out?"
Shen Feng shrugged and said, "I couldn't sleep at night, so I went to the rooftop to watch the scenery, and then I went out. Coincidentally, I saved these children."
At this moment, a young boy chimed in, "You also killed a lot of zombies! Many, many zombies died in that village."
Shen Feng looked at the little boy who was with his sister. The boy was quite brave, and Shen Feng couldn't help but ask, "What are your names? Where are your parents?"
The little boy, with his sister, replied, "My name is Wang Xiqiang, and my sister's name is Wang Xiran. Our parents are already dead. Now, only my sister and I are alive."
Wang Xiran asked cautiously, "Big brother, if we follow you from now on, will we not have to go hungry anymore?"
Shen Feng reached out and ruffled the little girl's head, saying, "Don't call me big brother from now on. It sounds like I'm in a gang. Call me Leader! It sounds more civilized. Of course, I guarantee that you will never go hungry again. In a while, someone will take you to the base."
Yang Chang quickly said to Shen Feng in a low voice, "Leader, we should be setting off soon. Don't delay."
Shen Feng nodded, then announced a headcount and prepared to set off. One person from the transport team needed to be sent back, not only to transport the giant snake's meat and head but also to send back the more than thirty children here. Now that the plan had begun, it had to be completed.
After last night's events, Shen Feng suddenly realized that many of the weak were actually waiting for rescue, and he had to act. Otherwise, the weak would continue to be exploited, just like these children, who were bossed around by stronger people and might not even be able to protect their lives in the end.
"Let me be the savior!" Shen Feng murmured to himself.
Afterward, Yang Ye quickly boarded the cruise ship. Over eight hundred people boarded together, and it was just enough to set off. It was a bit crowded, but as long as they traveled for two hours and reached the dam, they could disembark.
As the ship set sail, Shen Feng had Li Xiang and others learn to operate the ship. Although it wouldn't be learned overnight, knowing more would be useful in the future. Shen Feng's biggest concern was the lack of gasoline. The gasoline in Luzhou would eventually be depleted, and if there was no gasoline supply, then transportation in Luzhou in the future would become a problem.
As the ship sailed, Shen Feng continuously observed the city. He noticed that many zombies were roaming the streets, and small flags were waving from some balconies or windows. It seemed that due to the presence of so many zombies, people in the city couldn't break out and could only send out pleas for help.
Ren Jing also woke up in the morning. He had undergone another evolution, and all his injuries were healed. He had also evolved twice, but he still felt that his strength and speed were no match for Shen Feng, which made Ren Jing very helpless.
Ren Jing guessed in his heart that the reason he couldn't match Shen Feng's speed and strength was probably because he didn't have any special abilities. If he had special abilities, he might also gain greater speed and strength. However, obtaining special abilities was clearly not a simple matter.
The group sailed downstream and entered the waterway after an hour. The dam appeared in the distance. Everyone quickly boarded the Hezhou and headed towards the dam.
The Hezhou was covered with lush vegetation, and no human figures could be seen. It was impossible for anyone to live here. Shen Feng led his men forward, and Yang Ye explained, "The hydropower station is inside the dam. I don't know if anyone is still alive inside. It's best if some employees have survived, otherwise, without enough manpower to cooperate, I won't be able to open and close the dam gates freely."
As a result, at this moment, Shen Feng saw the vegetation not far away begin to shake and quickly shouted, "Prepare for battle! There seem to be enemies here!"
Subsequently, the combat team members quickly picked up their weapons and prepared to deal with the upcoming battle.
However, at this moment, the person in the grass spoke out and shouted loudly, "We are not enemies! We are not enemies!"
Saying that, the people in the grass emerged one after another. They were all wearing hydropower station employee uniforms. It seemed that these people had all escaped from inside. Shen Feng roughly counted the number of these people and found that more than fifty of them were hiding on the Hezhou. Now that they saw rescuers, they emerged from the grass.
Shen Feng looked at Yang Ye and said, "From now on, you will appease these people. It's best to persuade them to join the Self-Help Association. I'll lead my men to search the Hezhou first to ensure there are no zombies inside."
Shen Feng didn't think there would be too many zombies on this Hezhou, otherwise, these fifty or so people wouldn't have survived here. He planned to carefully survey the terrain of the Hezhou. In the future, this area would be a temporary base. It was bordered by vast rivers on both sides, so zombies couldn't get through, and safety would definitely be guaranteed. However, the living quarters would have to be rebuilt.
Yang Ye quickly persuaded these workers to join the Self-Help Association. They were not stupid either. Knowing that rescue would not arrive soon, they chose to defect to the Self-Help Association. According to them, a ferocious zombie appeared inside the dam, constantly hunting humans and eating their brains. They could no longer hide inside, so they risked running to the Hezhou to hide. For more than twenty days, they had been surviving by fishing. As for water, they could only drink some Yangtze River water.
A worker pointed fearfully at the Yangtze River and said, "Large pythons often appear here. Last time, two of our companions were eaten by a python. This python is really huge, at least tens of meters long!"
Upon hearing this, the combat team members all laughed and then said, "This snake, no, this dragon has already been killed by our Leader. We even ate python meat yesterday."
Shen Feng carefully asked the workers, "What kind of zombie is it inside the dam? Did anyone see clearly?"
The workers began to recall carefully. They were extremely terrified of the ferocious zombie, but they still recalled the zombie's appearance in detail: "This zombie is very short and thin, but it is very fast. By the way, the zombie's hands can extend long bone spurs, which can even pierce iron doors."
Hearing this description, the evolved individuals were dismissive and said, "It seems to be a speed-type zombie. Let's go in and deal with these zombies."
After hearing the description, Shen Feng did not underestimate it and quickly said, "Ordinary speed-type zombies don't have bone spurs on their hands, so don't underestimate them. I'll lead the evolved individuals in later, and the others will guard outside."
Because twenty or so people had eaten snake meat yesterday and became evolved individuals, Shen Feng's evolved individuals increased to over thirty. With so many evolved individuals, Shen Feng was not too worried about encountering danger.
However, for safety's sake, Shen Feng still had his subordinates fully armed. If a speed-type zombie ran outside and injured the ordinary people outside, it would not be good.
Afterward, Yang Ye led the evolved individuals into the dam. As soon as they walked in, everyone smelled a foul odor, the smell of rotting flesh. Immediately, everyone covered their mouths and noses with cloth. Although it couldn't block the unpleasant smell, it provided some psychological comfort.
As they went deeper, the stench became more pungent. The ground was covered with corpses, some human and some zombie. It seemed that most people inside the dam had not survived. The survivors were likely only the fifty people on the Hezhou.
Looking at the dark interior of the dam, everyone turned on their phone flashlights for illumination. Since the internet was disconnected, everyone didn't pay much attention to their phones anymore. After all, without the internet, they couldn't even get the most basic news. Charging their phones while using the generator was just a habit.
Shen Feng had two long swords hanging from his waist. At this moment, Shen Feng drew one sword and walked ahead to scout the way. The others followed cautiously.
Shen Feng and his group moved around inside the dam, but they found nothing unusual. It seemed that the mutated zombie that had appeared earlier had already left. Because they walked around inside the dam and found nothing, it seemed that there were no living creatures left.
Afterward, Shen Feng told everyone to split up. Five people formed a group to search in different directions. If they found anything unusual, they were to report it immediately, and no solo actions were allowed.
Yang Ye led Shen Feng to the control room. Upon opening the control room, they found that all the equipment inside was intact, and there were only two zombie corpses on the ground. Yang Ye quickly said, "These facilities should be usable. After clearing the zombies inside the dam and conducting maintenance, they will be restarted, and the plan will be successful."
As a result, at this moment, a shrill scream came from inside the dam: "Ah..."
Shen Feng quickly left the control room and rushed towards the direction of the scream. Upon arriving, he found a young man clutching his right arm and howling in pain. His right arm had been severed, and the severed hand had fallen to the ground, with blood staining the earth.
Shen Feng quickly tore off a strip of cloth from his body and tightly tied it around the young man's right arm. His right hand was beyond saving, so the best course of action was to stop the bleeding quickly. Perhaps this young man could still save his life. However, he had only become an evolved individual that morning, and before he could use his newfound strength, his arm was severed. Truly, life is unpredictable.
"Leader, the brothers have all gone to chase the zombie. This zombie is very fast, almost as fast as you!" the arm-severed young man gritted out, "You must avenge me!"
Shen Feng quickly nodded and said to his companions, "I'm going to chase the zombie. You guys protect him. Remember, the most important thing is defense!"
Shen Feng did not expect that the zombies inside the dam were so terrifying that even evolved individuals could be so easily injured. Could it be that this was not an ordinary mutated zombie?