Chapter 1158: Wind Blowing West
Translator: Lordbluefire
“Sun Mo, what are you doing?”
Yun Yao jumped in fright when she saw Sun Mo’s reaction. (Making trouble here would only get yourself killed!) She quickly put down her coffee and pulled Sun Mo away.
“Elder Brother Zhang, we are tired. Can we go and rest first?”
Elder Brother Zhang smiled as he admired Yun Yao’s clumsy acting skills.
“Don’t you feel that this coffee looks very familiar?”
Sun Mo tugged away from Yun Yao’s grip.
“Familiar?”
Yun Yao didn’t understand. She cast a glance at the coffee and got very angry with Sun Mo. “Do you know how expensive this stuff is? Other than the bosses of the various powers, ordinary people basically wouldn’t have any chance to drink this. Familiar? This is the first time I saw this!”
“Are you sure? You saw this type of coffee powder just recently.”
Sun Mo was helpless. As expected, this girl had low intelligence.
“Eh, why did you have to expose it?”
Yun Yao subconsciously hugged her bag and grumbled unhappily. There were a few bags of coffee powder stored within. She wanted to enjoy them slowly after she got back.
“The packaging of the coffee powder is the same as what we found!”
Sun Mo gave the answer.
“So what?”
Yun Yao didn’t understand.
“This means that it is very possible for Elder Brother Zhang’s coffee to have come from the same supplies warehouse!”
Sun Mo stared at Elder Brother Zhang.
“Ah?”
Yun Yao scratched her hair and mumbled, “Are you saying that Elder Brother Zhang knew the location of that supplies warehouse? In that case, why did he still want to send others to look for it?”
“You should ask him that!”
Sun Mo sat down. He lifted the cup of coffee and tasted a mouthful of it.
“When did you discover it?”
Elder Brother Zhang was curious.
“Ever since I entered the base, I’ve been suspicious. In this cruel environment, no matter how benevolent you are, you would have to guarantee that there’s only a single voice of command in the base. Even if you don’t mind suffering from hunger, your subordinates won’t be able to take it. If they cannot fill their bellies, they will definitely rebel.
“However, you didn’t do so. The management here is very relaxed. You allow everyone to slack and do whatever they want to. However, your soldiers are different. Although their complexions aren’t the ruddy red of vigor, they clearly don’t suffer from long-term hunger. At the start, I originally thought that your supplies came from plundering. But if you did so, Tang Qiao would surely be unhappy. After all, he is the boss of a large power. Why would he be willing to spare you a piece of the pie?
“Also, Yun Yao told me that you spread the news of the supply warehouse to everyone. So…the answer became very clear.”
Sun Mo deduced, speaking frankly with assurance.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
Elder Brother Zhang applauded. He was very satisfied with Sun Mo’s performance.
“Ah? He is correct?” Yun Yao was badly shocked. “But why do you do this?”
“What do you think?”
Elder Brother Zhang counter-asked.
Yun Yao pondered and honestly shook her head. “I don’t know!”
She then looked at Sun Mo.
(This man is very impressive. I’ve stayed here for many years but didn’t notice all these details.)
“You must be selecting candidates for some other purposes, right?”
Sun Mo guessed.
“That’s right!”
Elder Brother Zhang frankly announced. “I’ve said before. Knowledge is the only thing that would allow humans to not die out. And now, I’m searching for people who can inherit the ‘spark’.”
“Spark?”
Yun Yao felt a headache and suggested weakly, “Can we still speak in a language that humans can understand?”
Elder Brother Zhang looked at Yun Yao in a doting manner. He wrote some numbers in his book and showed it to them.
“What is this?”
Yun Yao was bewildered.
Elder Brother Zhang glanced at Sun Mo.
Sun Mo frowned. He pondered for a few seconds before he was enlightened. “Is this a set of coordinates?”
“That’s right. These are the numbers my teacher left behind for me. Through a special formula, we can calculate a set of coordinates that point to the ‘spark’. With the ‘spark’, we would be able to end this ‘end-of-the-world’ phase and allow this world to revitalize!
“Sadly, my knowledge is limited, so I only know the rough direction.”
Elder Brother Zhang sighed.
“What a pity!”
Yun Yao sighed.
“Yun Yao, are you willing to take risks?”
Elder Brother Zhang asked.
“What do you mean?” Yun Yao blinked. “Do you want to find the spark?”
“Mn!”
Elder Brother Zhang felt somewhat awkward. “Letting you guys search for the spark using an ‘immature’ set of coordinates is a type of ‘murder’, but I truly don’t wish to see humans going extinct.”
“Before Yun Yao, how many people have you chosen?”
Sun Mo was curious.
“Three, but only one agreed to the journey. The other two were killed by me.”
There was a hint of threat in Elder Brother Zhang’s words no matter how one listened to it.
Sun Mo nodded. After all, no matter who it was, after they discovered an abundant supply warehouse, they would definitely want to live a few years’ worth of secured life without needing to worry about food or clothes.
“A year ago, Elder Brother Li suddenly left. Did he go to search for the spark?”
Yun Yao suddenly recalled Elder Brother Li who had always taken care of her. He had suddenly chosen to leave the base to explore elsewhere one day.
“Yes!”
Elder Brother Zhang explained, “Searching for the supply warehouse is just a training exercise. I need those who wouldn’t give up even when facing untold dangers and difficulties. Yun Yao, your performance these few years has been watched by me. I admire you very much.”
Searching for the supply warehouse required time. At the start, many people were raring to try it but gradually, they lacked motivation after they ended up coming back empty-handed a few times.
After all, most people were already fatigued from trying to find food every day. Who would still want to waste time and energy trying to find a warehouse which may or may not exist?
“There’s no need to say anything more. I’ll go!” Yun Yao stared at Sun Mo. “Will you come with me?”
“It’s very dangerous out there!”
Sun Mo frowned.
“I’ve long since wanted to get out there to take a look!”
Yun Yao felt some yearning. “I don’t want to die without seeing the majestic sea, a towering mountain, or the vast blue sky!”
“I will prepare enough resources for you all as well as a wild jeep. You guys can set out in three days!”
Elder Brother Zhang was familiar with the process. However, on the second day, trouble occurred.
Over ten cars stopped outside the base, and over 300 armed thugs were blocking the entrance.
“Zhang Guoye, you are not honorable at all. I admired you and that was why I permitted you to set up a base here. Yet, you are trying to monopolize something you shouldn’t? Isn’t this too excessive?”
On a modified truck, a middle-aged man over 40 years old was cursing while holding on to a microphone.
“Today, if you don’t spill the secret about the supply reserve warehouse, I’ll burn this entire place down.”
This person was none other than Tang Qiao.
The people in the base immediately sank into chaos. Some wanted to flee, and others were preparing to resist. After all, Tang Qiao’s reputation wasn’t good. Everyone knew that he would often kill people and skin them alive.
Sun Mo and Yun Yao immediately went to look for Elder Brother Zhang.
“What should we do?”
Yun Yao was so anxious that her head was covered in sweat. She felt plenty of self-reproach.
She must have been seen.
Yun Yao didn’t guess wrongly. Yesterday, when they had come back with so many resources, they had coincidentally been seen by someone. That fellow had immediately sold the news to Tang Qiao.
“The resources prepared are still lacking slightly, but you guys can set off now!”
Elder Brother Zhang passed a slip of paper to Sun Mo. “This is the map leading to the jeep. You guys should go now!”
“What about you?” Yun Yao was worried.
“I’ll naturally go meet with Tang Qiao!”
Elder Brother Zhang took out a diary from a drawer and passed it to Sun Mo.
“You can read through this if you are free!”
Elder Brother Zhang smiled in a friendly manner. After patting Sun Mo and Yun Yao on their shoulders, he walked out.
This diary had clearly been around for a long time, but it was very well-maintained. There was a row of tiny words on the cover.
‘With knowledge, hope will exist!’
“What should we do?” Yun Yao gazed at Sun Mo. “I feel that we should help him and leave after we defeat Tang Qiao!”
“We shouldn’t waste the time Elder Brother Zhang has gotten for us.”
Sun Mo urged Yun Yao to leave quickly instead.
Elder Brother Zhang was a very intelligent person. He hid the jeep at a very concealed place. Moreover, as the fight began, Tang Qiao’s soldiers also didn’t have so much time and numbers to surround the base.
Sun Mo and Yun Yao followed the trail near the subway station and sped quickly. In the end, they climbed out from a collapsed crack and entered a garage at the side of the road.
At a corner of the garage, Sun Mo saw a jeep being concealed by a bunch of garbage bags.
He opened the door, got on the vehicle, and started it.
When Sun Mo stepped on the pedal, the engine whirled. The jeep was like an unrestrained wild horse that rushed out.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Over at the base, sounds of explosions could be heard drifting again.
“They actually use cannons?”
Yun Yao turned her head and looked.
A cannon was considered a massacre weapon used for defending one’s residence. It seemed like this time around, Tang Qiao was determined to kill Elder Brother Zhang.
…
Three hours later, the battle ended. The base was breached.
“Damn it. If you don’t tell me the answer today, I’ll skin you alive!”
Tang Qiao was very angry. His enemies only consisted of Zhang Guoye and over thirty others. His force outnumbered them more than five times to one, but this battle caused Tang Qiao to suffer over 100 casualties.
The quality of soldiers on both sides were equal, but the weapons used by Zhang Guoye’s soldiers were simply too good. This caused Tang Qiao to be even more determined in getting the supply reserve warehouse.
“You have not caught me yet!”
Zhang Guoye laughed mockingly as he ignited a cigarette.
He usually didn’t smoke these things as they were too rare. He didn’t want his subordinates to feel that it was unfair.
“Can you even run?”
Tang Qiao’s son mocked.
Right now, they had trapped Zhang Guoye inside a room. Thugs were everywhere in the surroundings. Zhang Guoye wouldn’t even be able to escape even if he had wings.
“Who says I’m going to run?”
Zhang Guoye spoke in disdain. He activated a lighter and lit up the fuse beneath him.
“Oh no!”
Tang Qiao felt that something was wrong. “Quickly, send two people inside. The others should retreat now!”
Just when Tang Qiao pulled his son along and retreated over 30 meters, an explosion occurred.
Zhang Guoye had buried explosives below this place.
…
The jeep was filled with resources.
“Should we ration the food?”
During dinner, Yun Yao saw Sun Mo frying a can of luncheon meat and even adding vegetables to the porridge. This was simply too extravagant.
“When the gas is used up, can you carry so many things with you when we have to leave on foot?”
Sun Mo was speechless. This girl wasn’t too clever.
Although Zhang Guoye had prepared many buckets of gas, there would surely come a day when the gas was used up.
“That’s true!”
Yun Yao could see clearly now and she began to relax and feast.
Ten days later, the gas was used up. The two of them could only proceed on foot.
Another half a month passed and the two of them arrived at the location of the coordinates. However, no one knew where the ‘spark’ was located exactly.
“Sun Mo, it’s all up to you now!”
Yun Yao encouraged him.
“…”
(Are you not planning to use your brain a little? Speaking of which, mathematics is my weak point.)
For a total of three days, Sun Mo tried his best but was at his wits’ end.. Just when he was so vexed and wanted to kill someone to vent, he heard the sound of gunshots ringing out nearby.
