Survival Guide in the Age of Cataclysm

Chapter 34 Night Watch

【Humanity】

[A normal adult male, his heart filled with a bitterness far more intense than hatred, the drugs he had taken had damaged his body.]

[Note: A person dies when killed.]

……

Xu Yang recognized the man; he was the one who had been at the front of the line that morning, claiming to have experience in arson, murder, and looting. It turned out that they had taken on the same mission.

However, judging from the other party's description, he was just an ordinary person, and it seemed that he was injured.

At the same time, Mann, who was chatting nearby, also saw the man rushing over. His black leather shoes clattered on the black ground, the sound rapid but weak.

"Everyone's waiting for you. Could you come earlier?"

"Time is not—"

"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore." Mann interrupted the man's explanation and walked to the center of the group. "Everyone should have seen the mission description, right? Let me briefly explain it again."

"We'll take the route within the safe zone to reach Settlement Nine. We'll pass through a forest along the way, and it will take about a day and a half in total. There might be wild animals at night, so please keep watch."

"There's also the issue of doomsday caravans. Although the chances are slim, if it really happens, I hope everyone can be mentally prepared."

After explaining the mission requirements, Mann glanced at the bracelet on his wrist: "Alright, it's about time, let's set off."

After saying that, he was the first to board the unmanned transport vehicle.

The remaining three looked at each other, and without much time for conversation, each went to the door of the transport vehicle.

The door slammed shut.

Xu Yang sat in the passenger seat. As the engine vibrated beneath the seat, he saw the gray wall in front of him fall through the car window.

Suddenly, my field of vision opened up.

The vehicle moved slowly forward, leaving the yellow-green scenery behind the windows. The sound of tires rolling over the ground was clearly audible, mixed with other noises.

It's sticky and greasy.

It came from inside the carriage; it was the sound of flesh.

Xu Yang tapped lightly on the window sill, glancing at Mann who was driving: "Brother Mann, aren't you the boss? Why are you personally handling a deal?"

Mann looked ahead and said with amusement, "You've definitely never had a proper job. Who says bosses don't have to get involved themselves? If it were that easy, why are there more employees than bosses in the world? Besides—"

As he said this, the corners of his mouth turned up.

"This isn't just a simple business deal; I'm going to open up new markets. Maybe in the future, you'll be able to buy synthetic meat from my factory in any gathering place."

Xu Yang smiled, not refuting the ambitious middle-aged man, and continued to ask:

"By the way, bro, you said before that the doomsday convoy might appear? Are they really that rampant in this area?"

Mann glanced at him sideways: "Very arrogant, but you don't need to worry. The Red Fall has only just begun and will probably continue for another month."

"Those looters mostly target scavengers returning from the quarantine zone laden with their loot. I'm just a synthetic meat seller, what would they want from me?"

"Meat?"

"Then let them have it. They can take as much as they want." Mann laughed. "Besides, aren't you guys here? Marauders aren't stupid; they'd risk their lives for a pile of meat."

Xu Yang nodded, stretched his back to his seat, and

"Then it seems like the journey should be safe."

Mann laughed and scolded, "Don't jinx it. If there's any real danger, I'll ask a few of you. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs isn't short of senior personnel. If we add a filter when issuing missions, you won't even see my mission."

"..."

Xu Yang exhaled, not wanting to speak. Looking at the gradually unfamiliar, mottled scenery ahead, he narrowed his eyes, feeling slightly sleepy.

I glanced at my wristband; it was 13:56.

Afternoon nap time.

……

The transport vehicle traveled along the winding road.

I don't know how much time passed.

"Hey, buddy—"

Xu Yang suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze falling on the dark hand gripping his clothes. The unfamiliar scent of soil and vegetation clung to his face, slightly cool.

The car door opened, and a dark-skinned man stood below the car; the color of the sky resembled his skin.

It was evening.

Pressing his temples, Xu Yang asked, "What's wrong?"

The latter then withdrew his somewhat stiff hand. "Uh, I came to call you. We need to discuss the night watch later."

"Okay." Xu Yang jumped down from his seat.

A crisp cracking sound came from beneath my feet; the ground was covered with withered grass, soft and spongy to the touch.

He looked around and saw three transport vehicles parked together in the dark yellow wilderness, with a fire burning around a flat spot in the middle.

The highway was not far away, and looking ahead, there was a dark mass.

It is a forest.

"Awoo~"

A howl rang out, and not far away, atop a hill, a gray wolf looked at Xu Yang and his companion, with other shadows undulating around it.

Xu Yang was slightly taken aback.

The dark-skinned man next to him had already taken action, unloading a hunting rifle from the bag on his back.

Bang!

Grayish-white smoke billowed from the muzzle of the gun.

The wolf's carcass fell to the ground with a thud, and a rustling sound gradually faded into the distance.

"Great marksmanship, bro," Xu Yang praised.

"It's alright." The dark-skinned man smiled somewhat embarrassedly and put the hunting rifle back into his backpack.

"I'll go carry that wolf back; we can roast it and eat it later," Xu Yang said, about to step forward, but the person next to him pulled him back.

"It tastes very gamey and not good. There's food at the camp."

"Huh, is there?"

With that, the two walked toward the campfire.

Beside the campfire.

"Killer Brother" was sitting on the ground, eating something while holding a small iron can. In front of him was a large iron pot, emitting a meaty aroma.

Meanwhile, Mann and his two employees were chatting about something, and they must have already finished eating.

Xu Yang rubbed his stomach, but his eyes were filled with doubt.

"This is……"

"The boss and his team made synthetic meat and invited us to eat it together," the dark-skinned man explained.

As he spoke, he picked up a tin can, filled it with meat broth, and handed it to Xu Yang…

Fortunately, the rapier gloves were heat-resistant enough, so Xu Yang didn't feel the heat on his hands when he was drinking soup from the iron can.

"Phew~"

"call…"

"call……"

As the temperature dropped slightly, he slowly began to drink the broth. The meat was in small pieces, making it easy to eat, just like drinking hot porridge.

The three sat together, and Xu Yang glanced at the other two.

"Speaking of which, we should be considered a temporary team. By the way, I don't know your names yet. My name is Xu Yang, and I'm better at close combat."

Brother Sha glanced at the wrist guard on Xu Yang's hand, wiped his mouth, and spoke in a deep voice.

"Newt used to be a combat coach for a while, and he can also use a handgun."

The dark-skinned man put down the tin can he was holding and said, "Just call me Eisen. As for me, my marksmanship is pretty good."

"I just figured it out," Xu Yang joked.

Eisen waved his hand: "That was just good luck. To be honest, I rarely handle guns these days, but I didn't expect my accuracy to be so good."

"You rarely handle guns?" Newt, who seemed to have found a skewer somewhere, asked, picking at his teeth. "You don't sound like someone who specializes in foreign affairs, do you?"

"It's just a part-time job. I had hunting experience when I was younger, and now that I have some free time, I'm out here to earn some extra money," Eisen replied with a smile.

"Is this your specialty?"

"Pretty much, except I got into some trouble in another settlement before and came here."

Eisen nodded, not pressing further, and instead asked, "What are our plans for the night watch?"

"I'm fine with anything, you guys arrange it."

Eisen then turned to look at Xu Yang.

After a moment's thought, the latter replied, "I'll keep watch for the first half of the night."