Rebirth: I Will Win Easily in the Apocalypse

75: Chapter 63: Departure 2 75: Chapter 63: Departure 2 After everyone from Building 10 left, Song Zhao changed the dressings on the injuries of both Gu Yanzhi and Gu Yanlin.

Gu Yanzhi had sustained cartilage damage in his leg, and while changing the dressing, massage techniques were employed to enhance the absorption of the medicine and help restore blood circulation in the leg.

Song Zhao had previously arranged with the doctor and had been responsible for massaging Gu Yanzhi every evening.

By now, he was very skilled in the technique.

The cuts on his fingers were no longer a serious issue; they had begun to scab over.

The newly grown flesh was tender and bulbous, which Gu Yanzhi found rather cute to look at.

In comparison, Gu Yanlin’s wounds were much more severe.

His already injured fingers, which hadn’t had proper rest since being dug out of the supply pack, were forced into emergency rescue tasks.

Now the spaces between his ten fingers were bloody, with several fingernails ground down to the nail bed.

His palms were full of large blood blisters that had been lanced, revealing raw pink flesh beneath.

Gu Yanlin gritted his teeth in pain as Song Zhao applied the medicine.

As soon as the gauze tenderly covered the wounds, it would quickly soak through with blood.

Song Zhao wrapped a good 5 to 6 layers of gauze before finally no trace of blood could be seen.

The next day, the three of them spent the entire day at home, planning and packing.

On-road supplies were already sorted out somewhat, as they could take what they needed from the car, or actually from Gu Yanzhi’s space, because outsiders didn’t know what supplies they had.

The main thing was that Gu Yanzhi had prepared two larger supply backpacks for Song Zhao and Gu Yanlin, filling them with many emergency and commonly needed items.

This time, Gu Yanzhi instructed them to keep the backpacks close at hand, to avoid being caught unprepared as they had been during this sudden accident.

By evening, everyone from Building 10 gathered once again in Gu Yanzhi’s tent.

They had preliminarily chosen their destination city.

After leaving the Gu Family’s place the day before, they had discussed it for a long time and, after working all day today, they were drooping with fatigue.

Eventually, they reached a consensus.

Apart from Uncle Zhuang and the couple Zhong Junfeng, the rest decided to head to Lou Dong Base.

Uncle Zhuang had gone today to find Zhuang Nanyang in the military.

Zhuang Nanyang’s squad had also been conducting rescue missions in recent days and had been urgently dispatched to C city for supply excavation without any rest following the missions.

Most of the supplies in C city were buried under the rubble left by the earthquake, and every day they failed to excavate also meant one more day of subsisting on porridge that was as clear as water, a situation that couldn’t be sustained for long.

Zhuang Nanyang mentioned that his squad might also be deployed to other cities for tasks, but the specific orders had not yet been received, so they would remain in C city for a while longer.

Hearing his son say so, Uncle Zhuang wasn’t in a hurry to leave anymore; after all, he and the child’s mother planned to follow their son.

As for the others choosing Lou Dong Base, it was because the base was relatively larger and seemingly more secure.

Moreover, Lou Dong Base was situated between the bases in C city and H city, which would facilitate a move to H city should future circumstances require it.

Their visit to Gu Yanzhi was to inform them of their final decision, in case they had the chance to meet again in the future.

Additionally, Xiao Lin and Sister Li wanted to ask Gu Yanzhi if there was any way to trade for food.

As they spoke, Xiao Lin and Sister Li simultaneously produced the jewelry they had cherished for a long time.

This was the jewelry that had been allocated to each family on the first day they went to collect warming supplies.

Given Lou Dong Base’s allocation of 100 pounds of food per person, both their food stocks were insufficient for the 200 pounds they needed.

They figured the jewelry was doing no good just sitting around, and if it could be exchanged for food, it would resolve their immediate needs.

Uncle Zhang, as a local, also knew a few friends who could trade for food.

But these friends were asking for exorbitant prices, offering a mere 10 pounds of grain for jewelry that could be worth hundreds of thousands before the apocalypse.

This was unacceptable to everyone, so they were forced to come to Gu Yanzhi again, unashamedly seeking if there was any method available.

Exchanging some food was not a big deal for Gu Yanzhi, but he didn’t agree right away.

Instead, he sent Song Zhao out with the jewelry to see if his so-called “friend” would give a better deal for more food.

Song Zhao took about an hour to come and go.

“My friend says he’ll give 100 pounds of food for a piece of jewelry, do you want to trade?”
“We’ll trade, trade, thank you, thank you,” Xiao Lin and Sister Li readily agreed.

The offer of 100 pounds was ten times what they’d been told before—it was definitely because of Song Zhao’s face value that they were getting a bit more.

They were very satisfied with the amount.

Hearing the offer, Liu Sisi clenched her teeth and took out the jewelry she was fond of, asking Song Zhao to exchange it for food.

In this apocalyptic world, nothing was more important than food; the fact that someone was willing to trade for 20 pounds now was because of Song Zhao and Gu Yanzhi.

Without their influence, the jewelry might not fetch nearly as much in the future.

After more than two hours, Song Zhao finished delivering the 100 pounds of food to each of the three families before heading back home to rest.

In the early morning, just before dawn, Song Zhao took Gu Yanzhi out on an electric scooter, using the dim light as cover.

By the time they returned, it was broad daylight, but still before everyone got up for work, and the noise of the engine woke up the people who were still asleep.

Under the envious gaze of the onlookers, the car stopped outside the tent of the Gu Family.

Song Zhao and Gu Yanzhi had deliberately gone out on the electric scooter to find a secluded spot to retrieve the car from Gu Yanzhi’s storage space.

They chose a highly practical SUV, specially fitted with snow tires for better safety on icy surfaces than regular tires.

The vehicle’s exterior underwent special aging treatment to make it look like a domestically manufactured car that had been weathered for years.

One couldn’t tell it was the latest armored SUV model from M-Country, previously reserved for military use, unless they looked inside.

Gu Yanzhi had stockpiled a large number of vehicles, both domestically and abroad.

There were top-quality SUVs, motorhomes that could serve as mobile homes in the apocalypse, even mini cars designed for a single driver.

He also had vehicles for special scenarios like tractors, big trucks, flatbeds, and even two fire trucks that Song Zhao had acquired through a friend.

Gu Yanlin, hearing the noise of the car, emerged from the tent with a gun in one hand and a packed backpack in the other.

After parking the car, Song Zhao, also gripping a firearm, moved supplies back and forth from the vehicle.

Seeing the guns in their hands, their neighbors didn’t dare make any rash moves.

But from their actions, particularly the way they finally folded up the tent and packed it into the car, it wasn’t hard to guess they were moving on.

Song Zhao was the last to get into the car—shutting the door was when people finally mustered up the courage to approach, tapping on the window and gesticulating something outside.

Gu Yanzhi guessed from the gestures that they were asking for a ride or to join them on the road.

Song Zhao ignored them, pressed down on the accelerator, and the car shot forward.

The man, seeing the car drive away, ran after it while shouting in anger.

The snow tires gripped the ground well, making for a steady drive.

Song Zhao wasn’t driving fast, but it was much quicker than a running speed, and he soon left the man far behind.