Apocalypse Rebirth: 3000 million won at the beginning

Chapter 2228 It's Good to Be Alive
silence.

On the shores of Juyan Lake, shrouded in sea fog, nothing could be heard except for the sound of their footsteps.

Ten minutes later.

Zhou Songming walked to the courtyard gate, touched the rammed earth wall, and walked to the right based on his memory.

Ding ding ding ding—

He touched the iron lock on the gate, then took out the key from his pocket and unlocked it.

squeak-

He pushed open the iron fence and walked north with Zheng Nong.

In the quiet environment, Zheng Nong felt a sense of eeriness and couldn't help but move closer to his brother-in-law, Zhou Songming.

"Brother-in-law."

"Ok?"

"With this sea fog coming, do you think zombies will come over here? The fog is so thick, we can't see anything. What should we do if we encounter zombies?"

"Just stick with me, why think so much?" Zhou Songming was also a little uneasy, but without firewood, they would freeze to death sooner or later.

Moreover, if they couldn't burn the vapors to evaporate the indoor air, they would be forced to move around in the dark, essentially like blind people.

“Brother-in-law, why don’t we wait until the sea fog clears up and then go join the Big Camphor Tree? This Juyan Lake is so boring. In the past two years, I haven’t seen anyone except the two of you.”

When he brought up the topic again, Zhou Songming didn't bother to respond.

In his view, attaching oneself to any power would mean losing one's freedom.

Back then, he worked at the Northwest Base for so many years, but in the end, he was still forced to leave by the big boss.

They have so much grain on hand now. As long as they can cultivate the land around Juyan Lake, they will have more than enough to eat.

"Brother-in-law, why are you ignoring me?"

"Brother-in-law, how should we move the poplar trees we're going to cut down later?"

“Brother-in-law, that poplar wood is so wet, it’s really heavy to drag. If only we had stored more wood during the drought.”

"Brother-in-law, can you hear something over there?"

Zheng Nong, standing next to him, kept rambling on and on, like a chatterbox.

This made Zhou Songming, who was already somewhat nervous, completely impatient.

"Shut up, just walk your own way and don't say a word!"

"If you talk to me, I can't recall the route."

Sensing his brother-in-law's impatient tone, Zheng Nong shut his mouth.

But he was still incredibly uneasy, looking around anxiously.

After walking several dozen meters, Zhou Songming suddenly stopped.

"What's wrong, brother-in-law?" Zheng Nong asked.

Zhou Songming shook his head and said, "Don't bother me, I'm thinking."

He was trying to recall the location of the poplar forest. According to his memory, the nearest poplar forest was to the northeast of the house they had built.

They are heading northeast now.

Zhou Songming turned his head and sensed the direction of the rope.

But he was still a little unsure, because they couldn't tell which way to go in the sea fog.

"You said the poplar forest is in this direction, right?" Zhou Songming asked.

“Yes, that’s the direction,” Zheng Nong replied without hesitation.

"Let's go." After receiving confirmation from Zheng Nong, Zhou Songming continued walking northeast.

The nearest grove of poplar trees to them is about 700 meters away.

The reed ropes they wore were about the thickness of a little finger. It was impossible for them to carry the ropes themselves, so these ropes were all given to them by Zheng Xiufang.

Whoops!

Zheng Nong suddenly tripped over a stone on the ground and fell to the ground.

The rope tied around his waist pulled Zhou Songming to shift in that direction as well.

Both of them fell to the ground.

"Are you alright?" Zhou Songming got up, groped his way to the ground, and helped Zheng Nong up.

"My leg hurts a bit, and it seems to be bleeding," Zheng Nong added. "But it's okay, I can bear it."

After a moment of silence, Zhou Songming carried the rope on his back.

"Can you still walk?"

Zheng Nong touched his ankle; it was wet, clearly indicating that it was bleeding.

However, he could tell from his touch that the wound wasn't big, and after taking a couple of steps, he was alright.

"If you can leave, then leave, brother-in-law. I don't want to stay here for too long."

Zhou Songming nodded and led Zheng Nong to continue walking towards the poplar forest.

A dozen minutes later.

Zhou Songming suddenly felt the ropes around him tighten. He turned his head to look at Zheng Nong, and saw that the ropes behind Zheng Nong had also tightened.

This means they have walked 750 meters.

The rope was only a little over 700 meters long, and they were only 700 meters away from the poplar forest.

They had already let out all the ropes, but they still hadn't touched the trees.

This suggests that they may have passed through the poplar trees.

“Go to the left, slowly, and stop as soon as you feel the rope bend,” Zhou Songming said.

He wanted to use this method to pinpoint the location of the poplar trees.

Because once the rope gets tangled in the poplar tree, their bodies will bend at the waist, and they can simply fall back in that direction.

After walking about ten meters to the left, they suddenly felt the rope binding them bend, and they could no longer move forward.

So they folded the rope and went back.

Snapped!
Zhou Songming struck a poplar tree with the stick in his hand.

He quickly stepped forward and touched the poplar tree with both hands.

"That's right, we found it. Come here and stand behind me, I'll chop it up."

Zheng Nong pulled on Zhou Songming's sleeve and walked behind him.

wow~
Zhou Songming took off the rope, axe, and saw from his shoulders.

He rolled up his sleeves and spat twice into his palm.

He picked up the axe and began chopping at the poplar tree.

More than ten minutes later.

Zhou Songming touched the cut in the ground and felt that the tree was about to fall.

He's cut down so many trees that he's long since learned from experience.

“Come here, help me push it northwards,” Zhou Songming said to Zheng Nong beside him.

Zheng Nong quickly got up, and the two of them retreated northward together.

Click click click~
The poplar wood made a dull cracking sound.

wow~
The poplar tree has fallen to the ground.

"Pack your things, let's get ready to go back."

"Huh?" Zheng Nong asked, puzzled, "Aren't we going to saw it off? Then why did we bring a saw and rope?"

Zhou Songming explained, "I just felt the size of this poplar tree, and it's not very thick. The two of us should be able to drag it back directly."

Generally, for thicker poplar trees, after they are felled, they are cut into sections and dragged back piece by piece so that they can be pulled back.

But this poplar tree is quite thin, so there's no need to break it.

After Zheng Nong understood, he hugged one end of the poplar tree. "I'm all better now."

Zhou Songming then touched the rope around his waist, followed by the rope on Zheng Nong's body, and pulled it back twice.

A moment later, Zheng Xiufang, who was in a house in the distance, saw the rope move and began to pull it back.

They didn't have walkie-talkies and could only communicate through the most basic method: the movement of a rope.

The two hugged the poplar tree and followed the direction of the rope around their waists as they walked back.

The branches and leaves of the poplar trees behind me made a soft sound as they rubbed against the ground.

But in the silent, terrifying sea fog, the dragging sound was quite loud.

There were no insects chirping, not even the sound of wind, only the sound of tree branches scraping against the ground.

rustling—rustling—

It was eerie yet rhythmic.

After walking two hundred meters.

Suddenly, Zheng Nong stopped.

Zhou Songming, who was standing nearby, saw him stop and asked, "Why did you stop?" Zheng Nong, with a mournful face, said in despair:
"The rope seems to have snapped!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Songming quickly dropped the poplar tree on the ground, felt around for the rope, and found the end of the rope on Zheng Nong's body.

In the foggy environment, where it was pitch black, they were unable to contact Zheng Xiufang.

If they force their way back, they will most likely lose their way.

They even went further and further astray.

Zhou Songming's mind raced, searching for the best solution at that moment.

"What should we do, brother-in-law?" Zheng Nong's voice was trembling with tears.

"Don't rush," Zhou Songming said, taking a deep breath and speaking in a very steady voice.

"Let's just stand here and not move. Your sister will be able to find us when she pulls the rope back, and she'll definitely come out looking for us."

“We went back the right way. We walked about 200 meters. Our house is only about 500 meters away. Your sister came out with me before, so she should know the general direction.”

"Ten minutes later, start shouting. If your sister hears it nearby, she will definitely come over."

After hearing Zhou Songming's words, the flustered Zheng Nong inexplicably calmed down.

"Okay, brother-in-law, I'll listen to you."

The two sat on the poplar wood, eating cornbread from their backpacks.

The two were exhausted from dragging the poplar tree. Before the sea fog, dragging such a poplar tree would have been no problem for them, but now the poplar tree was covered in moisture and was much heavier.

The two chatted as they ate corn tortillas.

"Brother-in-law, I think I loosened the rope when I fell."

Zhou Songming didn't blame Zheng Nong. He knew that Zheng Nong must have tied it too loosely, which was why it came loose so easily.

He had checked it himself, but not thoroughly enough.

"It's okay, just be more careful next time."

Seeing that his brother-in-law didn't blame him, Zheng Nong felt much calmer.

The two sat there and waited.

the other side.

When Zheng Xiufang pulled the rope back, she could clearly feel that the rope seemed much lighter.

Normally, there would be a little resistance when pulling it back, but now it feels like there's no one tied to the rope.

She panicked and stopped.

She sat on the ground for a moment, then suddenly remembered what Zhou Songming had told her about how to handle similar situations.

She sat up abruptly and quickly pulled the rope back.

A few minutes later, she retrieved all the ropes.

When she saw that the end of the rope wasn't tied to anyone, her anxiety finally subsided.

She didn't know what her brother and husband had encountered outside. Could it be that they had run into zombies?
However, other unforeseen events occurred.

If there are zombies outside, running out now, without any visibility, would be tantamount to suicide.

To go out or not to go out?
She struggled internally for a minute.

Finally, she resolutely tied one end of the rope around her waist, and then carried a large bunch of newly woven reed ropes from the corner of the wall.

She has to go out.

She was left alone here, and even if no zombies found her, she would be trapped in extreme pain and fear every day.

You might as well go out and give it a try.

In this world, she only has these two relatives left.

Without them, her life would have no meaning.

He tied the rope tightly around his waist.

She clenched her fist and adjusted the wheel in the center of the guest room to automatic deployment mode.

After doing all this, she walked out the door.

Following my memory, I walked towards the courtyard.
"Songming, a small farmer"

She shouted as she walked.

If there are zombies, her shouting like that will definitely attract them.

But for her, dying early meant being reborn sooner.

It would be better to shout and see if Zhou Songming and the others can hear us.

Head northeast, shouting all the way.

After walking two or three hundred meters, she suddenly heard Zheng Nong's voice ahead.

"Xiao Nong, is that you?"

Two or three hundred meters away, Zhou Songming and Zheng Nong, who were sitting on poplar trees, suddenly stood up.

Because the area was very open and the surrounding environment was extremely quiet, their shouts could be heard.

"It's your sister's voice."

"Brother-in-law, you heard that too?"

The two stood up and shouted excitedly:
We're here!

We're here!

far away.

Upon hearing their voices, Zheng Xiufang was so moved she almost cried.

She was already scared when she ran out alone, and she didn't know what Zhou Songming and the others had encountered, or even if they had encountered zombies.

She ran out with the determination to die.

Surprisingly, we actually heard their voices, which means they are still alive.

It's good that you're alive!

She dragged the rope, pricked up her ears, and walked in the direction of Zhou Songming and the others.

They kept shouting to each other to confirm their location, and their voices grew closer and closer.

Ten minutes later.

Their voices were so close they could almost touch.

Zhou Songming gently swept the area with a stick, and the sweep touched Zheng Xiufang.

Excitedly, Zheng Xiufang grabbed the stick and lunged at Zhou Songming.

"You big jerk, you scared me to death!"

Zheng Xiufang cried uncontrollably. She was so nervous and scared when she found the two people after just walking out.

Zhou Songming remained silent, only gently patting Zheng Xiufang's back.

"It's alright, it's alright, our whole family is here."

Zheng Nong rolled his eyes, touched the rope on his sister's body, and then tied the rope that had broken off his waist back on.

"Brother-in-law, sister, let's go back first. We can't see anything outside, it's creepy!"

Zhou Songming nodded, and then tied the rope around Zheng Xiufang's body as well.

Zheng Xiufang carried the package and walked at the front, pulling on the rope as she walked back.

Since no one was home at the house, recycling was not possible.

If they were to retrieve the rope on the way back, they definitely wouldn't be able to carry that many ropes; these are hundreds of meters long, they're too heavy.

The three of them pulled on the rope, dragging the poplar tree, and slowly made their way back to the courtyard.

The three of them finally felt safe after returning to the courtyard.

At least the yard has a wall, so even if they aren't tied with ropes in the yard, they won't run out.

"Finally back! I was so scared just now."

Zhou Songming urged:

"Hurry up and drag it back to the house first."

The three of them pulled on the rope and returned to the house two minutes later.

Because Zheng Xiufang had left in a hurry and had opened the door to keep the rope out, the house was filled with fog when they returned.

But the fire in the kitchen still flickered, bringing them a little comfort.

"Xiao Nong, take the rope back and put it away properly," Zhou Songming said wearily, slumped on the ground.

What just happened scared him half to death.

But the pillar of this family absolutely cannot fall. He must stay calm and make the right decision.

Now that he's safe and his nerves are relaxed, he can't take it anymore.

Sitting in the corner, I stared blankly at the firelight in the kitchen.

"It's so good to be alive."