191

Luo Xun's group came out today driving two cars which were filled with vegetables that needed to be sold. Once most of them had been sold, the team split into two and went home. Back in the neighborhood, most of the onlookers had left. There some spots on the ground with traces of blood from the fallen, but it was not obvious.

Wang Duo had already returned upstairs. Luo Xun parked the car and brought the exchanged crystal cores back while ignoring the remaining onlookers.

Back home, Wang Duo was playing with Yu Xinran and Puppy who was rolling around. When Luo Xun came back Wang Duo rushed over, "All sold?"

"All gone." Luo Xun and the others entered the room and each grabbed a seat.

Yu Xinran jumped into Xu Mei's arms with a petulant expression.

Luo Xun asked Wang Duo, "Did you find out any new information?"

Wang Duo returning early was naturally for his ability to gather information. With Zhang Yi acting as the physical force, the two people would be able to handle the situation.

Wang Duo quickly grabbed his phone. "I heard that the glass was broken in the early hours of the 29th or 30th. Some people living nearby had heard sounds of movements at night and saw the damage in the morning. One of the curtains was half gone, it seemed like someone sneaked in and pulled them down." His expression soured, "Those people do not know what we have in the house but are saying that we have many supplies otherwise why would we have so many metal covers? Those rumors have been always around."

After all, it was the penthouse and two floors had the same look, how would it not be noticed? Before when Luo Xun had been staying in base, those with ideas to steal had been quietly dealt with.

However this time they went out longer and had troubles on the road so the rumors naturally resumed. It was said that they had even spread to the other neighborhoods.

Wang Duo had a nice face, relatively easy to identify but the rest of the team was even more flashy. Even if they had only been in contact with a few neighbors, the vast majority of people remembered Zhang Yi and Yan Fei's appearances. Second, people knew that the team was said to have several beautiful women along with He Qiankun's rotund build. Wang Duo especially wore more layers, a hat and a pair of glasses to gather information.

Wang Duo patted Puppy's head, "But since Puppy took action today, although there are rumors, I'm pretty sure that no one will dare come over for awhile."

Luo Xun sighed and shook his head, "This would only frighten them for a few days at most. If anyone has seen what's inside the house, people will come sooner or later."

Song Lingling frowned, "Can we not let anyone get inside?" Even if they would not live here for a long time, even if they had decided to move everything out to have a temporary place to stay, they did not want to let their home be peeped into and have people freely entering.

Luo Xun wrinkled his brow and turned to look at Yan Fei, who raised an eyebrow and said, "Completely seal it." He looked at the balcony window – those in Xu Mei and Song Lingling's room had been broken from the outside. "The door and windows would be completely sealed with metal and opened when we come back."

"Sealed? Isn't it already? Or you mean to turn these metal railings into plates." Li Tie referred to the window.

Yan Fei shook his head, "Those metal railings can be thickened and cover the entire window. We have metal at home and can make is as thick as the tunnel." If the thickness was at least 10 cm, it would resist most forms of violence.

"Just do it." Luo Xun clapped his hands, "We won't be able to stay long, since we have an extra truck this time, take as many things as we can! Let's leave the warming floor in a few rooms and the rest can be used to fortify the doors and windows."

This way, unless the invader was also a metal user, it would take a lot of effort in order to break in! After half an hour, Zhang Yi came back.

He entered the door and Wang Duo took of his coat for him. "Didn't find anyone, the military car dropped the men off at the crematorium." Zhang Yi went to the table and drank some water. "I waited a bit there but did not see anyone eye catching so I returned home."

Luo Xun tapped a finger, "Either the people who came were only to test the waters, or the people behind the curtain are afraid to come out..." He turned to the team, "We have no time to spend on them, pack everything, the goal is to leave in a few days. If we cannot increase the volume of the car we will do some temporary modifications." With Yan Fei, it was easy to make transform metal items.

All the people nodded, the atmosphere on base after coming back had become more and more unbearable. After adapting to their free life, returning to this cage of a base was like putting a knife against their back. Every step of the way was uncomfortable.

The last time, they took a lot of supplies. This time, in addition to the rest of the material, there were plenty of crops to bring along, most of which were ready to be harvested. In fact, in less than a month, the grains could be harvested.

Luo Xun originally wanted to leave after harvesting. But now they were not sure who was targeting their home and there were rumors about their resources. If the people behind those killed were unable to get their stuff, would they just let the news out?

Never mind that there was a lot of food in base, it was definitely greedy enough to target a private home able to grow so many crops. Once everyone in the area had their eyes on them, even if Luo Xun stayed at home, they might not be able to keep their supplies.

The mature vegetables had already been dealt with – moved outside the base and planted, once they went back they would get another harvest.

But the growing wheat and rice could only remained temporarily sealed inside a metal box. Even if Yan Fei could form multiple layers there would not be safe to take it all away. Besides, they had other things to bring as well.

"I'll see if I can rent or buy a large truck tomorrow morning." While everyone was busy during the night, they found that it they wanted to move everything, they would need to come back or have another truck.

After Luo Xun's words, Yan Fei pondered, "There is a way."

"What's the plan?" Luo Xun lit up and quickly asked.

"First get out of base, put the things in the new base and then come back to grab the rest." Yan Fei laughed at Luo Xun's frown. "First we leave, park the car in a secluded place then drive back two empty cars back to base."

There were car chassis and car wheels on the outside roads. They still carried spare wheels in the car, so it would not be trouble for Yan Fei to pull together a car. The speed returning would decrease and there would be issues if there was trouble on the road.

Luo Xun lit up, "That method is good! Okay."

The next morning, when the sky was dim, Luo Xun took the last bunch of things and opened the door smoothly.

Unlike when you went enter the city, car leaving did not to be checked. No one doubted that someone would take a lot of supplies out of base – stupid right? With the outside so dangerous and everyone looking for supplies, someone would be silly to bring things out.

Even if some people had the intention to leave A-city base, how far was the nearest base? Dangerous road? Would there by any surprises? Would the new location be safer then their current location.

When Luo Xun left town slowly and other people were already outside the wall.

They parked the car in a nearby house with cover. Yan Fei was left behind to build a metal protective shell. The other four people drove back the empty containers back to base.

192

They returned back to base and paid the entrance fee, for them the nuclei was nothing. Fortunately, records were handwritten instead of computer generated, otherwise people would ask strange questions.

The officers opened the door to see that Luo Xun's car was empty, they gave the team strange looks. But with only a couple people they disdainfully paid no attention to them.

People going out would not always come back with gains; they could encounter high level zombies, mutant animals or something that caused them to flee back to base with pursuers. It was relatively common to come back empty handed but the reason for the disdain was that they were not capable of having such large cars and were envious.

Luo Xun and the others had no time to pay attention to what others thought of them. They only had one goal – go home! Move the rest of their stuff!

Not long after, the car drove back. Other than some people who liked to gossip in the neighborhood, no one noticed their movements.

Luo Xun and team had packed and prepared everything they had to take beforehand while leaving it all in one room. Now they just had to grab their things packed in Yan Fei's sealed metal boxes. They packed and loaded as many metal boxes as fast as possible.

Because there was no inspection before leaving, even if the team only had four people, Yan Fei could manipulate all the metal boxes, so their speed was fast.

The sky had dimmed when everything was transported into the two large cars.

Luo Xun looked at the rest of things they could not bring but were not afraid if losing. "This is it, we can pick up the rest the next time we come back."

"Okay, I will seal the house." Yan Fei looked around and used metal to cover everything.

This was an unanimous decision, if there was no way to ensure that all the rooms were completely closed, it would be better to completely seal off a part of the house and keep it safe.

They selected two rooms for this treatment, one was home 1601 where Li Tie and the others lived, the other was the second floor of 1604. All the others were guarded with a relatively thick layer of metal but the two were completely blocked with metal, only leaving space to store things.

So even if someone found something that could get through metal, see how it would work against such a thick metal wall!

Before long, with some metal nuclei from the mutant vines, Yan Fei had sealed up their homes. The pair went downstairs where Zhang Yi and Wang Duo were sitting in the car waiting for them.

"Done?"

"Yes, let's go." Luo Xun looked at the metal covered house and lamented, this had been the dream of his last life, a long term, fortified place to live.

But when they left for twenty days and came back, the glass was broken. They were leaving again, what would the place look like after the next time? At least with Yan Fei's work, they would at least have a place to stay.

They drove the car outside of base, since it was evening, they were the only ones there. But because there were fewer zombies out, they did not have to wait for other teams before being let out.

It was getting darker, just as the moon was high in the sky, they finally reunited with the other members of the team.

"They're back! They're back!"

"It's their car right?"

"That's right, it's our two cars!" The group in the metal dome was so excited they hurried out and served big portions for dinner.

"All done right?" Li Tie grinned in welcome as the four came out of the car.

"Yeah, all done." Luo Xun washed his hands in the basin beside Song Lingling – tidying up that pile of things had been tiring.

"Here, your son was crying all afternoon probably because he did not see you. Just fell asleep." Xu Mei stuffed the small bun into Luo Xun's arms.

Luo Xun could only hold the child after washing his hands and helplessly look to Yan Fei. The baby was clearly Yan Fei's brother, why were they messing around with the generations?

Yan Fei seemed to have not heard anything wrong. He washed his hands and the two went to eat dinner. Today is was mutton and rice porridge with greens. It tasted warm and fragrant, suitable for an evening meal.

Luo Xun looked down at the small bun in his arms. He had woken up with Xu Mei came over and looked around with dazed eyes. Seeing Luo Xun holding him, the baby did not cry and went back to sleep.

"There were no problems coming out? There was nothing going on at home?" The four had dinner while the rest inquired about events until now. Xu Mei and the others had been afraid someone would make trouble.

Luo Xun was too busy eating to answer but Wang Duo wiped his mouth and explained. "Didn't meet anyone and nothing happened. Although when we moved things up and down, there were people secretly watching around."

Luo Xun swallowed his food, "The house was sealed along with the doors and windows except for what we agreed upon."

The crowd was reassured and Wu Xin laughed, "That's good, thieves won't get in through the roof."

His intention was to joke, but the rest of the group was silent. Wu Xin quickly waved his hand, "I was only joking!"

Yan Fei had not reacted, "If they really have the ability to lift the roof, so be it." What else could be done? They had done their best to protect the rooms, if others could still find a way inside, they would speechless whether they were there or not.

The next morning the team got up early and returned to their true base. There was a metal container on wheels behind each car as the group of people continued forwards.

Because of the cargo, the speed was bound to be much slower. As the moon rose in the sky, they sleepily made their way through the tunnel.

Yan Fei sealed the door after checking the area and easing the cars into the tunnel.Only after they had driven past the entrance and entered the basement did the group breathe a sigh of relief.

Although they still had to deal with crops about to mature, they were too tired. They said their farewells and got ready to sleep.

Luo Xun crawled into the soft quilt and yawned, he could not keep his eyes open. Yan Fei checked the baby. After he determined that the small bun was soundly asleep, he took of his coat and joined his lover. Puppy was lying on a mattress beside the cradle.

Suddenly there came a howling cry, everyone immediately jerked up with wide eyes. Puppy also perked up her ears and stared nervously at the window.

Luo Xun got up and patted her head, "Don't bark!" The sound did not seem far away, if one heard a dog barking, who knew if it would run over?

Although they lived near farmland with mutant plants, if the sound was from wild dogs or wolves...Puppy would not change sides since they were not short on meat.

Puppy was well behaved since the last time she fought with a zombie dog and understood the difference between them. She understood Luo Xun's intent while hugging her and just wagged her tail silently.

Yan Fei went to the window and peeked under a corner of the curtains.

*Awooo* The people and dog stiffened. Yan Fei beckoned and Luo Xun hurried over to the curtain.

"Look there."

Following Yan Fei's direction, Luo Xun saw a shadow moving in the distance. It was hard to distinguish as he saw another shadow pounce and the two rolled around and gave chase. Luo Xun had the feeling that the two seemed to be playing instead of fighting.

"...A passing wild dog? Wolves?" Luo Xun guessed with a sigh of relief that the two shadows had not entered the farmland.

"Maybe, it's none of our business, go to sleep." The longer noise was no longer made but while the two animals were playing, there was occasional barking. Luo Xun was still not clear whether it was dogs or wolves but he no longer paid attention, it was fine so long as they were not bothered.

193

The two unknown animals were near the farmland for a while but after the team went to sleep and woke up the next morning, they were nowhere to be seen. Plus, everyone just brought back a bunch of stuff to deal with, who had time to spy for mutant animals?

Since they came back relatively late yesterday, the team woke up around eleven o'clock in the morning. They quickly ate brunch, wiped their mouths and walked down to the basement.

Yan Fei had already ventilated the boxes of crops so that none died. The metal shelves were controlled by Yan Fei who placed them on a cart while the others pushed them into the planting rooms.

Although there were many kinds of crops planted in their homes, they were small compared to their current layers. But they could be set aside into the open space, after some watering they would continue growing.

The afternoon was filled with busy work. After putting together the shelves that were filled with mushroom wood, the plants would grow normally.

"This batch of wheat and rice can be harvested in around a month."

The team had finally finished the most important tasks and even brought back the goods from the car. They sat in the kitchen and had a short meeting while waiting for dinner to be prepared.

Luo Xun thought for a moment before continuing, "First get the crops set up then pack up the rest in two days. We'll see what is useful and missing. The next few times we leave, we fix the lack of metal, furniture, glass and so on."

They had brought quite a number of life necessities but if they wanted to live here comfortably for a long time, they were bound to need a lot of things. There was the original furniture along with items from Luo Xun's home and Yan Fei's metal replacements. Now that the place was set for habitation, it would take a lot of materials to fill up.

Yan Fei's powers were easy to use but they could not let him to everything. Especially since certain things made of metal were not as convenient.

Of course during the move Luo Xun was not able to bring their sofa and tables but they had brought the king size bed. Although the decorations in the house were from the past owners, the furniture had been his. The only piece of furniture not for convenience was the bed so he would bring it with him.

Hearing Luo Xun say so, the others also had a list on hand for when they were searching for supplies.

This time when they went back to base they checked the military server and got a lot of data. They were able to check the distance to various items.

"What are going to do this time?" After washing, the two men moved their bed and discussed the matter while wrapped in a soft quilt.

Luo Xun thought, "First get metal. There are some nearby towns where we should be able to get some and electronic appliances."

Their place had several freezers but these things could be broken if left to the elements, it would be safer to have spares. And air conditioning...now that the weather had started to warm up, the days would get hotter. The rooms had units but several are broken..."

Listening to Luo Xun ramble in his ear about required items, renovations and so on, Yan Fei who had started the conversation realized – the baby and dog had already fallen asleep while he was in a comfortable bed awake. He turned over and blocked Luo Xun's mouth, if there was something to say, do it tomorrow, it was time to sleep!

A group of more than ten people, including the baby and dog took things back into the rooms. The first floor of the hall, the public storage space was useless for the time being.

It took two full days to put everything in order, set the watering frequency, amount and daily sunshine. The group repeatedly checked and strengthened the doors and windows before driving the car through the tunnel towards their destination.