Ch 161: The Farmer Ger in the Apocalypse

Tonight, the area around Song Kaiji was eerily quiet—unnaturally so.

They lived in a row of townhouses, with neighbors on both sides. To the right was an ability-user squad that either drank when they returned from missions or played cards when they stayed in. They were the type to constantly complain without a care and had no property management to rein them in. Yet tonight, they were eerily silent, as if they had gone to sleep unusually early.

On the left side lived a large family spanning three generations. The usual sounds of crying children and the chatter of an auntie who loved to talk while working in the yard were completely absent, as if they had never existed. The three closely built townhouses all glowed with warm, peaceful lighting, but inside, there was no sign of movement.

With the instincts of someone who had fought for a long time, Song Kaiji knew he should turn around and leave. But at this moment, thinking of his mother and his companions inside, he stood frozen at the villa’s entrance, clenching his fists.

---

Meanwhile, Feng Hao was deeply frustrated.

That morning, he had just learned that Qu Weiwei’s former captain, Shen Qing, was the same person he had encountered on his first day at Red City Base—the one who wasn’t attacked by zombies. He hadn’t even figured out what to do next when news came that Shen Qing had already left the base.

“He ran?” Feng Hao shot up from his chair.

The subordinate in front of him hesitated, unsure. “Maybe it was just a routine mission. The information hadn’t leaked, and barely anyone even knew we were watching him—he had no reason to run. Their squad used to leave the base regularly for missions… By the time we noticed, he was already gone.” In other words, they hadn’t been able to track where he went.

“At this time of night, what team would still be going out on a mission?” Feng Hao paced anxiously. Was this a coincidence, or had information been leaked? In his mind, Chen Jiaxi’s face flashed for an instant.

But he had no proof. Chen Jiaxi’s rank was not low, and without evidence, he had nothing to accuse her with. A coincidence? He wasn’t willing to bet on that.

Gritting his teeth, Feng Hao made a decision. “Report to the higher-ups. The individual I mentioned—the one who isn’t attacked by zombies—has finally been found. The situation is special. I’m requesting authorization to temporarily detain his squad members and family!”

---

At this moment, Shen Qing had already returned to Lantang Village.

As the sun set over the hills, villagers working in the fields and workshops were heading home in twos and threes. Rarely, the village had even lit two torches—one in the village center and one near the workshop—serving as streetlights.

When the villagers saw Shen Qing, those who had once greeted him warmly now seemed somewhat hesitant. Only a few aunties who were close to him and had always looked after him said a few words in passing.

Shen Qing wasn’t in the mood to care about their reactions. His mind was too preoccupied. After exchanging a few words, he quickly returned home.

Once he was out of earshot, a few villagers whispered among themselves.

“We used to see Qing Ge’er all the time, but now we don’t even dare say a word to him.”

“That’s just because you’re scared! He’s not a wolf—what, do you think he’ll gobble you up?” Another villager scoffed. “As long as you haven’t done anything guilty, what’s there to be afraid of? Even if you did, it’s not like you wronged him. What could he do to you?”

“Still… seeing him with that stern look on his face gives me the chills…”

“Not a wolf, but creepy all the same.”

---

“Qing Ge’er? Why are you back so early? Have you eaten? Want me to fix you something?”

Before Shen Qing even stepped inside, two little dogs had already barked a few times as a greeting. Recognizing him as family, they quickly quieted down and wagged their tails while sitting in the courtyard, waiting for Miao Shi.

Miao Shi rolled up her sleeves. Lately, Lian Ou and Lian Rong had been eating at their house frequently. Although Shen Qing had allowed it, Second Aunt Lian still felt a little embarrassed, so she had sent over some wild goods from the mountains as a token of gratitude.

Dried fungus, mushrooms, walnuts, chestnuts… Tonight, Miao Shi had made chestnut-braised chicken. She, Lian Ou, and Lian Rong had only eaten half of it, saving the other half in a clay pot for the next day.

Shen Qing waved a hand. “No need, mother. I already ate.” His mind was weighed down, his body exhausted. He didn’t say much and went straight to his room, flopping onto the bed.

The events of today felt like a boulder crushing his chest, but stressing over it wouldn’t solve anything. All he could do was hope that Song Kaiji successfully killed Feng Hao—he himself was completely powerless to change anything.

Lying on the bed for a while, Shen Qing soon realized that after getting used to modern soft mattresses, this wooden plank bed felt unbearably hard. He tossed and turned but couldn’t get comfortable, so he simply sat up.

His room now had a large, wide table. While he had been away, Lian Ou had been using this space to practice weaving cords according to pattern designs. His work was beginning to take shape—though it was still rough compared to the knots tied by skilled embroiderers in town, it was decent. The main issue was maintaining even tension; if the knots were too tight, they would lack grace. Lian Ou hadn’t fully grasped the technique yet and was still experimenting.

Still, the pieces looked quite nice.

Shen Qing was pleased. At Lian Ou’s current level, he might struggle to sell his work in a major shop like a country cuihua shop, where picky city customers would find faults. But if he made hair ties for the village market, they would definitely be in high demand.

As he admired Lian Ou’s handiwork, Miao Shi walked in with a bowl of chestnuts. “Try some. Your Second Aunt Lian just sent these over—this batch won’t last long.”

Meat was no longer a rarity for their household, but wild-grown goods were always appreciated for their freshness.

In past years, Shen Qing would have foraged for chestnuts himself. Not far from Lantang Village, there were two chestnut trees, but they were always picked clean by the villagers. Deeper in the mountains, there was a grove of six or seven trees, heavy with fruit, but no one dared venture that far—except for Shen Qing, who used to share them with the squirrels.

He wasn’t particularly hungry after eating Mother Tang’s dinner earlier, but seeing the golden, soft chestnuts with their subtle chicken-infused saltiness, his appetite stirred. He ate two, finding them fluffy and sweet, perfectly balanced with the savory broth. “I’ll go pick some later—won’t be any trouble.”

The chestnut trees were near the entrance of the mountain cave—not far from his usual path.

However, Miao Shi’s expression turned a little odd. She hesitated for a moment before saying, “Did you hear anything strange in the mountains on your way back?”

Shen Qing frowned. “What kind of strange noise?”

“Wolves!” Miao Shi’s face scrunched up in concern. “But no one’s sure if it’s true or not. There have been rumors— not just in our village, but in the surrounding ones too. I won’t even let Lian Ou come home too late anymore, just in case.”

Their courtyard was right at the foot of the mountain. Luckily, they had two dogs—not that they could fend off wolves, but at least they would alert them to danger. Their yard was well-fortified, with the workshop and patrol teams nearby, so Miao Shi wasn’t too worried about home security. But she was genuinely concerned about something happening to Lian Ou on the way home.

The incident started in Xiahe Village when an eight- or nine-year-old child went missing while playing in the mountains alone. They only found one of his shoes, with traces of blood nearby. The village elders took one look and concluded that the child had been taken by wolves—most likely, he was already gone. The child’s parents broke down in grief on the spot.

Because of her own past experiences, Miao Shi couldn’t bear to hear such stories. “And it’s not just Xiahe Village. Your uncle’s family also said they heard wolves howling near their village late at night—not often, just once or twice, but it was terrifying enough. Our village is the only one that hasn’t heard them.”

The villages in this area had always struggled with wild boars, but they had never encountered wolves before. People tend to fear the unknown, and while wild boars were strong and dangerous, wolves sounded even more terrifying. “Now, in the nearby villages, parents don’t dare let their children run around freely anymore. Even adults won’t go up the mountains alone—they have to travel in groups of seven or eight men. Your Second Aunt Lian got those chestnuts before this trouble started, but who’s going to pick them now? No one’s going to risk their life just for a snack.”

Chestnuts weren’t even a staple crop—just a casual treat.

Shen Qing suddenly understood. No wonder the village had gone all out and even lit torches this time. He recalled that after dealing with the wild boars, he had once heard wolves howling at night while he was up in the mountains. At the time, he thought maybe after the wild boars were wiped out, other predators had moved in to claim the vacant territory. But the howling had been distant, and he never heard it again, so he had dismissed it.

Could a wolf pack really have moved in near the village? Shen Qing’s heart sank. Just as things in the apocalypse were spiraling out of control, now his village had a new problem.

Suddenly, he lost his appetite. What once seemed like sweet, fragrant chestnuts now tasted greasy and unappealing after soaking up the chicken broth.

Frowning, he set his chopsticks down. “This might actually be partly my fault. I shouldn’t have wiped out all the wild boars—I should’ve left a few piglets and culled them periodically every few years.” After all, he had only learned hunting techniques from secretly watching the old hunters. He could imitate their methods, and with a few pointers, he had picked things up quickly. But no one had ever systematically taught him about animal territories and ecological balance.

However, since he had asked Gold-Tooth to bring craftsmen to build houses and roads near the East Mountain cave, clearing a large area of forest, human activity had likely scared the wolves away from Lantang Village. That must be why they were only haunting the areas around Shiqu Village and Xiahe Village instead.

“How is this your fault?” Miao Shi disagreed. “The whole village relies on you to deal with these things. If the men here can’t step up, who else is going to do it? Who has the right to blame you?” She grumbled a bit before adding, “By the way, Hunter Liu came by a few days ago, but since you weren’t home, he left without saying much.”

She suspected he had come looking for help. After all, news of Shen Qing’s wild boar hunt had spread far and wide. Since the victim this time was a child from Xiahe Village, and Hunter Liu had moved there, he must have been anxious to do something. He was probably hoping to gather hunters from nearby villages to either kill or drive off the wolf pack.

Shen Qing paused. Wolves weren’t a problem for him now—he had a stockpile of weapons in his storage space and could flatten the entire mountain if needed. But if he joined a hunting party, it would be difficult to use his modern weaponry without drawing suspicion. Thinking it over, he finally said, “If he comes looking for me again, we’ll talk then.”

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