Chapter 66: The Uninvited Guest in Pursuit

Since they were going to fight—and it was essential to hone the combat skills of the group—adequate preparation was necessary, and above all, that meant eating.

The four walked into the woods along the roadside, keeping a good distance from the zombies’ bloody remains, and only then did they find a flat patch of ground to rest. The nutritional supplements that the leader had acquired earlier were handed out to Da Zhuang and Skinny Monkey. Du Yun’s portion was carried by the leader. Each person held a tube of supplement, resembling toothpaste; they casually bit open the cap and began to eat.

Du Yun had long coveted these supplements, but as a luxury, such things were far beyond what an orphan like her could afford. Now, finally able to taste one, she felt an eager anticipation.

With the curiosity of a city dweller seeing new things, Du Yun twisted off the cap, squeezing out a semi-solid strip much like toothpaste. She sniffed it—apart from a faint sweetness, there was no other scent. She tentatively took a bite and spat it out; this was as unpleasant as the nutritional buns she’d tried before! Wasn’t it said that supplements were both nutritious and delicious?

Liars! Liars!

Grinding her teeth in frustration, Du Yun felt both her taste buds and spirit being tormented. The supplement she had longed to try tasted exactly like those dreaded nutritional buns, only worse in texture. The shock to her little heart was considerable.

She glanced back at the other three, who were equally disgruntled as they gnawed at their supplements. Du Yun’s resolve wavered. On one side was their limited travel time; on the other, ten days of nutritional supplement torture. After hesitating for a while, she finally gritted her teeth and spoke, “When can we find a place to cook a proper meal?”

“Absolutely! This supplement is barely edible. I’ve eaten it for years, but even now, it makes me want to vomit!” Skinny Monkey chimed in, nodding vigorously. Perhaps he’d grown picky after sampling Du Yun’s cooking these past few days; what used to be tolerable now seemed revolting.

Da Zhuang agreed as well. Neither realized that their attitude toward Du Yun was slowly changing—from seeing her as a burden, to a follower, then recognizing her skills, and now, feeling a subtle reliance on her.

The leader nodded too. Perhaps he had also grown spoiled by Du Yun’s cooking; what once seemed acceptable was now hard to swallow and felt like an assault on his taste buds.

Thanks to the dreadful taste, their meal left everyone listless. After forcing down a tube of supplement, they all sighed with relief and quietly tended to their weapons.

Once rested, the leader considered the tactics they would need for the upcoming battles and, for once, explained them in detail until everyone understood. Only then did he signal them to move on.

“Wait! Wait! Don’t go!” Just as Du Yun and the leader prepared to resume their journey, a voice called out from behind. Turning around, they saw Dong Iron Hammer charging toward them, dragging a crowd of people in tow.

“You’re heading into the city, right? So are we. Mind if we join you?” Dong Iron Hammer gasped, clearly having rushed to catch up. He carried a large, bulging backpack, heavy with supplies.

“You’re going to the city too?” Du Yun asked, surprised as she looked at the people following Dong Iron Hammer. The road would pass through countless villages and towns; even with three special forces members among their group of four, Du Yun couldn’t guarantee safe passage to the spaceport, let alone these ordinary folk.

Setting aside her personal feelings, Du Yun didn’t particularly want to take them along. Their relationships were tangled, and none seemed to have any fighting ability—except maybe the young girl Peach, with whom Du Yun felt some connection. The rest, she honestly didn’t care about.

“It’s dozens of miles to the city, with a bus station along the way. I know the route and might even be able to get us a vehicle,” Dong Iron Hammer said, sensing their reluctance. He knew he’d have to show some value if he hoped to be taken along.

Du Yun remained silent. Though he might be useful, that was the extent of it. As for a vehicle, with the leader’s skills, acquiring one shouldn’t be a problem.

The leader and his men were silent as well. Taking them along wasn’t a major issue, but bringing them all the way back to Emperor Star would be a different matter.

“I know you’re heading for the city. My son is great at gathering information—he overheard your plans. We have enough food for a month; we’ll share half with you. I also know where the police station’s armory is, and I can break in. There are firearms and laser weapons inside. All I ask is that, when you leave, you take us with you.”

Dong Iron Hammer gritted his teeth, laying his cards on the table. He had planned to become a local tyrant after the zombies were lured away, but last night’s chaos had terrified him. Remembering what his son had heard about their escape from this cursed planet, Dong Iron Hammer was tempted. The prospect of returning to normal life made him unwilling to go on living in constant fear.

So he had packed up overnight, collecting valuables from wealthy homes in town, and now sought them out.

“Take you with us?” The leader frowned, eyeing the group. The energy weapons were enticing—exactly what they needed—but he was reluctant to bring more people along.

Interplanetary migration required little cost, but the cause of the zombie outbreak was still unknown. Every extra person brought added risk.

Besides, while most of these people were young and strong, not all could fend for themselves. They would have to divert attention to protect them, which hardly seemed worthwhile.

While the leader hesitated, Da Zhuang and Skinny Monkey stood behind him with serious expressions, showing their resistance. They were here on a mission, not to rescue refugees. Bringing along someone capable like Du Yun was fine, but taking so many outsiders—what sense did that make?

“We’ll take responsibility for our own safety. Just let us follow you,” Dong Iron Hammer pressed, lowering his expectations. If not for the piles of zombie corpses along the road and the group’s obvious combat prowess, he wouldn’t have humbled himself like this.

“Let’s go to the armory,” the leader finally said, nodding in agreement.