Apocalypse Chapter 51: Private Grain Station

Chapter 51: Private Grain Station

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

Jiang Rong had only seen five or six people at the Chenggang Gym, and he thought even if Guan Shao’s teammates brought their families, there would only be twenty or thirty people at most. With so many empty houses in the base, let alone twenty or thirty people, even one or two thousand people could easily be accommodated. But he never imagined that Guan Shao would bring back more than eight thousand people all at once.

Looking at the winding military trucks and the young men in camouflage standing beside the vehicles on the mountain road, Jiang Rong was stunned for a while, which was rare to him. After a while, he took a deep breath, “Guan Shao, come clean. What were you doing before this?”

“Isn’t it an international security company job? Don’t you think a security company would need this many people?” Guan Shao said openly.

Jiang Rong nodded slightly, “I believe you.” 

The military was like a big family; once you entered, everyone was family. Guan Shao could not only bring back eight thousand people; even if he brought back eighty thousand people, he would still open the base gates to welcome them.

Guan Shao waved to the crowd, and five people quickly walked from the military off-road vehicle to stand in front of the two. The leader reached out to Jiang Rong, “Mr. Jiang, nice to see you again! Do you remember me? I’m Wang Chenggang, the owner of the Chenggang Gym. We talked before.”

Jiang Rong smiled and shook hands, “I remember. Welcome to Spark Base.”

Several people behind Wang Chenggang also looked familiar. If he remembered correctly, the people he saw at the Chenggang Gym last time were all here. Jiang Rong shook hands with them one by one and quickly remembered their respective characteristics.

Wang Chenggang was needless to say. After the Great Crisis, he became an esper with enhanced speed in the middle-speed category, able to accelerate to a hundred meters in just a few seconds.

The round-faced tall guy was named Zheng Zhanqing. He was lively and accompanied by a big wolf dog. He was also an esper who could control mutant animals, and the wolf dog “King” by his side was his most profitable partner.

The burly and vigorous man with a ruddy complexion was Jiang Jinhua, an esper of the fire element.

The fair-skinned young man with a baby face was Wang Ting. When Jiang Rong shook hands with him, he suddenly became transparent, startling Jiang Rong.

The only companion among the group who was not an esper was Meng Weixian. Although he hadn’t awakened any abilities, he was a famous genius in the military before the Great Crisis. Whatever he saw, he remembered clearly, even more accurately than a computer. This time, it was because of him that everyone could choose a route that was close and not too congested to reach Spark Base.

After days of rushing, everyone was already exhausted. Jiang Rong quickly called his esper team and worked tirelessly all day to properly accommodate this group of people.

The base suddenly increased by more than ten thousand people in a short period, making some originally manageable matters urgent. For example, there weren’t enough solar panels. Five or six thousand solar panels could barely be used by the ordinary people in the base, and there was no way to allocate them to the military.

For example, the placement of thousands of military vehicles. Although Jiang Rong and the others had already found people to start building warehouses, the warehouses under construction could barely accommodate the materials they had brought, and they couldn’t fit so many military vehicles.

The most important and acute problem among them was the issue of food. Jiang Rong and the others did find quite a bit of grain, but that grain could only feed over thirty thousand people until next spring. Now with more than eight thousand additional mouths to feed, and all of them being young men, whether the food could last through the winter was still a problem.

Seeing Jiang Rong frowning and typing on the computer, Guan Shao put down the fruit plate and gently massaged his shoulders, “Did I bring trouble to you?”

Jiang Rong raised his hand and placed it on Guan Shao’s back. He leaned back against Guan Shao, “How can this be considered trouble? It’s just bringing forward some problems that we’ll have to face eventually.”

The construction of the base required manpower. In Jiang Rong’s expectation, there might not be many people flocking to the base before it was officially built.

Unexpectedly, he and Guan Shao jointly brought tens thousand people to the base, which was a huge leap. With more people, there were both joys and worries. As long as the problems were solved, the rest would be advantages.

Feeling the gentle force on his shoulders, Jiang Rong said softly, “Everyone came to the base to survive. If they can’t even eat, the construction of the base would be a joke. Although the food can still last for a few months, if we can’t plant or harvest enough crops by autumn, everyone will go hungry.”

The Great Crisis had been going on for two or three months, and there wasn’t much food to be found outside anymore. Jiang Rong divided the food he found into two parts, one for planting and the other for eating. If there were any problems with planting crops in the autumn, they wouldn’t have enough food next spring.

Jiang Rong opened the map, his gaze falling on several cities near D City. “I’m thinking of taking everyone a bit further away in a couple of days to see if we can find more food.”

Guan Shao bent down and left a gentle kiss on Jiang Rong’s forehead. “Don’t worry, you’re not alone in this. Everyone in the base is capable and can help.”

Jiang Rong smiled and nodded. “Yeah.” After a pause, he asked, “By the way, how are Wang Chenggang and the others doing now? Isn’t it too hot for them?”

Solar panels were limited, so the soldiers could only live in houses without electricity. Although soldiers had much better physical fitness than ordinary people, Jiang Rong was still worried that they wouldn’t be able to live well.

Guan Shao smiled. “It’s okay, they’ve adapted to the heat. Besides, there are many espers among them, so everyone can come up with ways to cool down.”

Jiang Rong pondered, “I’ve already asked Pan Pan to recruit people. As long as we can activate the precision photovoltaic equipment, we can produce more solar panels.”

Actually, the best solution would be to restart the civilian power grid in D City. However, D City’s electricity was mostly supported by other provinces and cities. If the upstream supply was cut off, how could they restart the downstream?

Guan Shao pressed his thumbs against Jiang Rong’s temples with both hands. He spoke softly, “I brought people back to relieve your pressure, not to keep you up at night worrying.”

Jiang Rong understood Guan Shao’s meaning and smiled apologetically. “Sorry, I tend to overthink and get anxious.”

Guan Shao bent down and hugged Jiang Rong’s shoulders. “You’re responsible.” 

Most of the leaders in other bases just wanted to recruit more people, treating them as the cheapest labor. There weren’t many leaders like Jiang Rong who considered the people in the base in everything they did.

After a pause, Guan Shao lowered his voice. “Xiao Hao and the others are asleep. Shall we go to sleep too? We can talk about it tomorrow.”

Jiang Rong’s body stiffened, and his ears visibly turned red. He understood Guan Shao’s implication. As newly established partners, it was normal for them to have intimate contact. But he felt it was happening too quickly, and amidst his curiosity and anticipation, there was also some fear.

Guan Shao spoke warmly, “Don’t worry, I won’t force you if you’re not ready.”

The next day, when Jiang Xiaoheng got up, he smelled the familiar aroma coming from the kitchen. He skillfully grabbed a small stool and ran into the kitchen. Climbing onto the stool and peeking into the pot, he cheered, “Big brother! We have steamed buns with meat for breakfast today!”

The steamed buns in the pot were only as big as his fist, and the meat juice was faintly seeping through the skin, looking delicate and lovely. The air was filled with the unique fragrance of meat buns, and Jiang Xiaoheng took a deep breath, “It smells so good!”

He loved Daddy’s homemade meat buns, and he could eat several each time. Daddy’s skills were great, much better than those bought outside. But making meat buns was troublesome, and Daddy didn’t do it often. Jiang Xiaoheng proudly said to Jiang Hao, “Big brother, you’re lucky today. Daddy’s meat buns are the best!”

When Jiang Rong came out of the storage room carrying dog food, he saw the two children standing on stools in front of the stove. Jiang Rong smiled, “Good morning, have you brushed your teeth?”

Jiang Xiaoheng grinned, “Good morning, Daddy. Big brother and I will go brush our teeth now.” Saying that, he reached out to pull Jiang Hao’s hand. “Come on, big brother, let’s go wash our faces and brush our teeth.”

The sound of the washing machine and the theme song of the Meow Meow Squad came from the bathroom. Jiang Rong couldn’t help but poke his head out to remind them, “Jiang Xiaoheng, don’t play around while brushing your teeth!”

When Guan Shao entered the room, he saw Jiang Rong feeding Lele dog food. The chubby dog was buried in the food bowl, and Jiang Rong was stroking its back with a serious expression.

Guan Shao put down the documents in his hand and asked puzzled, “What’s wrong? Why that expression?”

Jiang Rong hesitated, “Lele… has been eating a lot lately.” 

The dog food stored in the cupboard was being consumed rapidly. Could it be that Lele’s appetite had increased after awakening its abilities?

Guan Shao also crouched down beside Lele and felt its smooth fur. “It’s okay, there’s plenty of dog food in the warehouse. The mutant cats and dogs in the base won’t lack food in the short term.”

Jiang Rong sighed lightly and patted Lele’s head. “Lele, take it easy, don’t overeat.”

Lele innocently raised his head and whimpered, his round eyes filled with grievances. Seeing his pitiful look, Jiang Rong couldn’t bear it and rubbed his head. “It’s okay, go ahead and eat.”

If Lele’s appetite really increased significantly, it would be pitiful. Back then, when they came out of the Peaceful Base with nothing, Lele not only had to hunt to fill his own stomach but also had to share his food with Jiang Rong and his son.

Without Lele, they wouldn’t have been able to return to their hometown. Just for this kindness, Jiang Rong would never let him go hungry in this lifetime.

The two of them crouched beside the dog, stroking his back. Carelessly, their hands touched each other. Sensing the calluses in Guan Shao’s palm, Jiang Rong’s scalp tingled uncontrollably, and his ears turned red again.

It was these hands that almost took a hold of his life last night. If Guan Shao hadn’t intervened with the gun, he would have surrendered.

Guan Shao took Jiang Rong’s hand and held it, rubbing circles on the back of his hand with his thumb. Jiang Rong’s face also started to turn red, and he lowered his voice, “That’s enough, be mindful of the surroundings!”

Guan Shao smiled slightly, “So my wife is sensitive all over?” 

Jiang Rong gritted his teeth, “Shut up!”

At that moment, the washing machine made a beeping sound, and Jiang Xiaoheng’s voice came, “Daddy, the clothes are washed!”

Guan Shao quickly stood up. “I’ll hang them up.” 

Watching the man stride towards the bathroom, Jiang Rong raised his hand and touched his own flushed cheeks.

The two children loved the meat buns made by Jiang Rong very much. They each ate one with great enthusiasm, unwilling to put them down even if the meat juice dripped from the corners of their lips. Jiang Rong carefully wiped the meat juice from the corners of their mouths. “Eat slowly, there’s plenty in the pot.”

Jiang Xiaoheng looked up seriously and asked, “Daddy, can you make me ten… no, many more meat buns later? I want to let Dou Dou taste Daddy’s cooking.”

Jiang Rong nodded, “Sure.” 

Recently, some children had come to the base, and Jiang Xiaoheng might have made new friends.

Jiang Xiaoheng smiled, showing his little white teeth. “Daddy, can Dou Dou come to our house in a few days? Daddy, you’ll definitely like him.”

After pondering for a moment, Jiang Rong politely declined, “Xiaoheng, Daddy doesn’t mind you making friends. It’s just that Daddy is busy right now and doesn’t have time to entertain him. Besides, we have Little Fairy and Little Guaiguai nearby. Are you sure Dou Dou won’t be scared?”

Jiang Xiaoheng replied softly, “Oh, I see.”

Jiang Rong rubbed Xiaoheng’s hair. “Don’t be so disappointed. When Daddy has time, you can bring Dou Dou and other friends over, and Daddy will entertain them.”

Jiang Xiaoheng cheered up again, “Okay! Daddy, Dou Dou is really cute and well-behaved. You’ll definitely like him.”

Jiang Rong picked up a meat bun and put it in his son’s bowl. “The friends you choose must be good. Now, let’s eat breakfast.”

Watching Jiang Rong interact with the children, Guan Shao couldn’t help but smile. He had never imagined that one day he would sit at the breakfast table like a normal person, accompanying his family for breakfast. He had never imagined that he could have such a warm family.

After breakfast, Guan Shao skillfully cleaned up the dishes. At that moment, the intercom in the living room rang, and Chu Qiang’s voice came through, “Xiao Jiang, I found the address of a private grain station! Do you want to go check it out?”

Jiang Rong quickly picked up the intercom. “Of course, let’s go. Where’s the address of the grain station?”

***

Since Spark Base was established, Chu Qiang felt incredibly lucky. Yesterday, when Jiang Rong mentioned the potential food crisis at their base, this morning Ruan Hanyu passed on some news: a new member joining the base had previously worked at a private grain station north of D City before the Great Crisis.

Now, even the slightly famous comprehensive markets in D City have been searched countless times, and state-owned grain warehouses have been dug through by numerous esper groups. Apart from searching every house one by one, it was almost impossible to find any usable supplies.

This private grain station was close to D City Airport and looked like an inconspicuous food processing factory from the outside. However, only those who had worked there knew that it stockpiled a considerable amount of grain.

With one hand on the forklift steering wheel and the other holding the walkie-talkie confidently, Chu Qiang exclaimed, “What do you mean someone brings pillows when we’re feeling sleepy? This is it! Xiao Jiang, I think you’re the chosen one. Look, we were worried about the lack of people at the base before, and then Master Guan brought over more than eight thousand people to join. We were worried about food yesterday, and today the location of the grain warehouse is exposed. Hey! Even the heavens are helping us.”

Sitting calmly in the back of the off-road vehicle, Jiang Rong advised, “Focus on driving and watching the road. The person mentioned there might be mutant animals near the grain station; it’s unimaginable to approach rashly.”

Chu Qiang, unconcerned, replied, “What’s there to fear? Before, when there were only a few of us, it was indeed a bit overwhelming. But now we don’t worry anymore; we have two esper trucks here! Even if Pan Pan isn’t around, we can still win with our eyes closed.”

Pan Pan had to select personnel for training to expedite the opening of the precision optoelectronics equipment at the base, so he had to obediently stay at the base. With a long journey ahead and rumors of mutant animals near the grain station, Jiang Rong chose fifty military espers to accompany them.

Ruan Hanyu whispered, “No wonder brother Chu is so happy. When have we ever fought such a wealthy battle before?”

Behind the pickup truck were two military trucks filled with esper soldiers. Apart from their esper abilities, these soldiers were skilled in martial arts and firearms. With such formidable espers, they could shine in any base. Now, they belonged to Spark Base, and their numbers were considerable.

This was the confidence of Chu Qiang and his team. In the past, they were always busy and stressed out, nothing like this time, where they were calm and composed.

Wang Chunlan focused more on practical matters, “I hope there’s food in the grain warehouse.”

The survivor who gave them the information had no way out, which led him to their base. Who knew how many people he had told this information to during this time.

The people now were not as at a loss as they were at the beginning of the Great Crisis. Survivors were forming groups, and various esper teams were abundant. Once the news leaked out, many esper groups would certainly come.

What could remain in the places they had swept through? Wang Chunlan just hoped that everyone wouldn’t come excitedly only to leave disappointed.

After traveling more than seventy kilometers northwest from Spark Base, Meng Weixian, sitting in the back of Jiang Rong’s vehicle, suddenly spoke up, “Jiang Rong, ahead, the small town up ahead should be our destination.”

The survivor who revealed this information refused to guide them, fearing for his life. The town was too remote and lacked navigation, making it easy for everyone to get lost. Fortunately, there was a genius with an exceptional memory in the team. After chatting with the survivor, Meng Weixian confirmed the exact location. With his guidance, everyone managed to arrive here smoothly.

Jiang Rong looked up and saw the tallest building in the town, with faded characters hanging on it: Chen Dong Food Processing Factory.

Yes, this was it.

Jiang Rong picked up the walkie-talkie and said to Chu Qiang, “Qiang, the town ahead is the grain warehouse we’re looking for. Get ready to clear the road.”

A bus was parked sideways on the road ahead, completely blocking the not-so-wide road. To enter the town, they had to move this bus.

Chu Qiang rubbed his hands eagerly, “Here we go! Gang, get ready to work.” It’s always satisfying when someone lends a hand, especially when it’s someone you know well.

Wang Chengang responded, “Got it, let’s do it!”

The two forklifts, one on the left and one on the right, wedged against the front and rear of the bus, gradually maneuvering it into position. Once the bus was aligned, it revealed the hundreds of small cars stacked behind it.

Just as Chu Qiang was about to roll up his sleeves and get to work, Wang Chengang next to him suddenly burst out with a curse, “Damn it…”

Among the vehicles congested in front, there were forklifts, loaders, and even large construction vehicles, blocking the entire road in every direction. Seeing these vehicles, it was evident that an esper had already visited this place.

However, it wasn’t the reason Wang Chengang cursed. The real reason was: among the congested vehicles were countless skeletons, with green flies buzzing around them.

These skeletons belonged to humans.

Guan Shao opened the car door and walked to the pile of skeletons. He squatted down with a serious expression, carefully examining the condition of the skeletons. After a while, he stood up and said, “Based on the bite marks on the skeletons, they were likely attacked by mutated rodents.”

Jiang Rong couldn’t help but gasp, “Mutated rats?”

Guan Shao nodded, “Yes, and judging by the condition of the skeletons, this group of mutated rats is larger and more numerous than the ones we encountered last time.”

Outside Tangqiao Village, Jiang Rong and his team encountered a nest of mutated rats. To be precise, they were mutated field mice. Field mice were timid creatures that fed on grass seeds in the fields, causing significant damage to crops. Fearing the threat of field mice to future crops, Jiang Rong and Guan Shao joined forces to eliminate them.

Mutated rats, on the other hand, were omnivorous animals that had existed in the human world before The Great Crisis, inhabiting dark places. They had a strong reproductive ability and carried bacteria, stealing food and destroying objects. They had always been despised by humans.

After mutation, the size of the rats could grow to that of a dog, and they were fierce in nature. They ate everything in groups. Food, living beings… wherever the swarm of mutated rats passed, nothing could grow.

Seeing the skeletons on the ground, Jiang Rong felt a chill run down his spine, recalling the scene when he and his son were submerged by mutated rats in his past life.

Countless sharp teeth bit into him, cutting chunks of flesh. No matter how he struggled and begged for mercy, the rats wouldn’t let go. It was torture; before the rats bit into his trachea and major blood vessels, each bite required him to endure.

Jiang Rong couldn’t remember how long he was bitten by the rats in his past life. After the rats burst his eyeballs, he couldn’t see anything. Although his eyes couldn’t see, his ears could still hear the sound of the rats swallowing and tearing, and his nose could still smell the foul odor and the lingering scent of blood on them.

Everyone present had experienced the hardships he went through in his past life.

Among them were parents with children, even though they held their children tightly, they couldn’t resist the sharp claws and teeth of the mutated rats. Among them were elderly people with mobility issues, no matter how they cried and begged, the rats would climb onto their bodies.

The huge mutated rats surged from all directions, cutting off people’s escape routes, knocking down the panicked crowd, and devouring their defenseless bodies…

The sun was shining brightly, but Jiang Rong stood in the middle of the road feeling cold. Looking at the skeletons on the ground, his eyes turned red, “First… let’s collect the bodies.”

Whether the corpses on the ground belonged to unarmed civilians or arrogant espers, they shouldn’t be left lying on the street.

This wasn’t the first time esper teams had collected corpses. Previously, wherever they went, they would organize people to collect the corpses. However, most of those corpses belonged to people who couldn’t survive the Great Crisis. The corpses before them were the result of the disaster caused by mutated rats, and compared to the former, the latter died too pitifully and tragically.

As the espers began to act, the congested road became clear. Earth-type espers dug a huge pit in the largest square in the town, and Little Guaiguai rolled up each corpse it could find and carefully placed them in the deep pit.

The town wasn’t large, but the number of corpses chewed to death exceeded six hundred. The mutated rats had devoured them so thoroughly that there was no need to cremate the skeletons. The earth-type espers covered the deep pit, leaving behind a large unnamed grave mound.

Everyone stood quietly in front of the grave mound, completely devoid of the joy of finding food. Jiang Rong took a deep breath and looked around, “Comrades, we will face a fierce battle against mutated rats. There’s a high possibility of casualties. If anyone doesn’t want to participate, you can take the car back to the base now.”

The inevitable battle with the mutated rats was looming. As the rats depleted the surrounding food sources, they would inevitably spread to the neighboring towns. Sooner or later, they would pose a threat to Spark Base. If it were other mutated flora and fauna, Jiang Rong might have given them a chance to survive. But for mutated rats, there was no mercy.

Of course, this was Jiang Rong’s own thinking. Perhaps the people present just wanted to find food quickly and return. Before taking action, it was necessary for him to seek everyone’s opinion. If anyone wanted to leave, he wouldn’t object, nor would he hold it against them afterward.

However, after waiting for a long time, not a single person chose to leave. Even the only ordinary person, Meng Weixian, tightened his grip on the gun in his hand. Anyone with courage would fight to the death when they saw their compatriots being devoured by mutated rats in such a manner.

Jiang Rong nodded with satisfaction, “Very well, it is my honor to join forces with all of you to vanquish the mutated rats.”

 

 

This Title is available for faster chapter releases through paid Patreon membership. Any proceeds go to keeping the website running. Check it out HERE.