The male supporting character was actually myself.

It's impossible for so many elderly, weak, women and children to follow us around.

Even if we could escort everyone to a large, secure base like T26, it would be difficult for them to make a living, given how they operate.

Anyone who has stayed at the M City security base knows this.

Large bases consume an astonishing amount of food and water daily; to survive safely and with dignity, one must possess sufficient capacity to contribute.

Upon hearing this, Du Rui and her husband nodded, deeply moved.

They are still young people with skills, but they still cannot find stable jobs at the M City security base. They can only do odd jobs to barely earn enough for their daily needs, even with someone helping to take care of their babies.

Otherwise, the couple would have to divide the work: Du Rui would take care of the baby herself, while Guo Quanyi would do odd jobs to earn contribution points to support his wife and child. The baby would also need to drink formula, which would be very expensive, and the family of three would probably not have an easy life.

Xiaogang Village is almost entirely populated by the elderly, women, and children, most of whom cannot even find odd jobs.

“Since it’s difficult to make a living away from our homeland, let’s stay and transform this place into a safe base!” Jiang Chen continued, “I just checked the map, and there’s a wide, unobstructed road at the entrance of the village that runs north to south.”

There's a highway a few kilometers away; we can open an exit and build a road to bring it down, making it easily accessible in all directions.

With convenient transportation and a relatively secluded location, and no other villages nearby, we can expand outwards and build a small to medium-sized secure base.

I calculated the time.

I can stay in Xiaogang Village for about a month and a half. This time is enough for us to first build a safe core area centered around the village's well, so that everyone has a safe place to stay, and then we can slowly expand outwards.

Once construction is nearly complete, I'll take Feibai to the T26 base to find his family.

The others can stay and build and defend this place as our own home. Even if Fei Bai feels unhappy in T26, he can bring his family over.

He was speaking to his small team.

After all, none of them had considered establishing their own base before this.

"I understand the logic, but where do I even begin?" Brother Niu finally stopped coughing and said with a bewildered look, "I used to be a gangster, I don't know anything and can't help at all!"

"I can help!" Liang Suogui, who had finally seen a glimmer of hope, hurriedly stepped forward. "I used to be a master craftsman on the construction team. I'm an expert at building houses!"

"We can do that too. We can help with things like moving bricks and mixing mud."

"The women in the village are very capable, and the elderly can even cook and light the fire!"

……

The villagers responded enthusiastically, hoping to seize this glimmer of hope.

Jiang Chen smiled and nodded, "Brother Niu, your only task with the brothers is to protect the safety of this place. You can choose any guns and ammunition you want and use them as you please. When the safe base is built in the future, you will also be the leader of the guard team."

Upon hearing this, the bald-headed Brother Niu's eyes lit up, shining even brighter than his forehead. "I can do this job! Let's do it!"

Guo Quanyi and his wife were overjoyed. Even if they went to the T26 base, it wouldn't be any better than the security base in M ​​City. The two of them and their baby would have trouble making a living.

But if Jiang Chen takes the lead in establishing a safe base, then the difficulties will be easily solved!

With everything in the new base needing to be built, they will always find a suitable place for themselves.

Everyone was immersed in looking forward to the future, and the village was filled with a joyful atmosphere full of hope.

“Feibai, it might be a little later before I can take you to T26, but I promise I'll make sure you're reunited with your family before the Mid-Autumn Festival!” Jiang Chen hesitated. “Now that you've awakened your fire-type ability, if you can't wait and want to leave first…”

Gong Feibai, still maintaining his cool demeanor, interrupted him, "I won't leave."

Although I really want to get back to my parents right away, they are safe in T26 for the time being, and they need my help here more.

Once the infrastructure construction starts, there will definitely be a lot of noise. If it attracts zombies, my superpowers can be a great help.

It's just a little later, I can wait.

Besides... I know what despair feels like.

You gave me hope, and now we have the ability to give them hope, so why not?

Jiang Chen patted his shoulder and said firmly, "I will definitely make sure your family is reunited before the Mid-Autumn Festival!"

I quickly ate a bite of breakfast.

He took out several drones with camera functions from his space and asked Guo Quanyi, Xiao Pangzi and others to help control them to film the entire area within a radius of hundreds of miles around Xiaogang Village.

The meticulous Tang Xueli and Du Rui, who had an art background, drew a topographic map based on the video they had filmed.

After briefly dividing the basic area and the future expansion area, Jiang Chen assigned tasks and then drove towards the nearest town.

"Host, Chu Han is still up to no good and hasn't left the vicinity of Xiaogang Village yet," Xiaobai reminded him, perched on his shoulder.

Jiang Chen glanced at the simple high wall that had been quickly left behind in the rearview mirror and chuckled, "It's alright, I've arranged everything. The protagonist hasn't awakened his superpowers yet, so he wouldn't dare to risk his life."

With Shirley and Brother Niu around, Chu Han definitely won't get close easily.

"You have a lot to do for me today. Whether or not Xiaogang Village can be transformed into a safe haven depends on you."

Upon hearing that it had such an important role, the little white cat finally had a chance to shed its "useless" label and immediately perked up with confidence, "Don't worry about it, host, I can do it!"

We passed through a small town along the way.

Traces of a battle still lingered on the streets, clearly indicating that Chu Han led a group of high-level zombies to escape to Xiaogang Village from here last night.

The town was practically empty by then.

Occasionally, one or two zombies would get stuck, but Jiang Chen would quickly take them out with a single shot.

The town is small, with a few small workshop-style factories.

The new fabrics piled up in the textile factory's warehouse; all kinds of new furniture in the furniture store; diesel generators; motorcycles and other brand-new and usable items—Xiaobai hopped and skipped around and packed them all into its space.

At this time, less than a month had passed since the start of the apocalypse. Jiang Chen noticed that some wild vines were spreading wildly and lushly; some bluestone paths had even been overgrown with weeds.

"The plants do seem to be growing a bit too fast." He suddenly remembered what Shirley had noticed and couldn't help but frown slightly.

After quickly sweeping through the small town and eliminating the zombie threat, Jiang Chen drove straight to a nearby city.

"Boom!"

He had just parked his car on the side of a wide road when a soda can suddenly fell from the building.

Looking up, I was surprised to find someone still on the fourth-floor balcony!

"Brother, please save me!" A man with a pointed face and a mustache was waving at him. "I'm the only living person left here. Please have mercy and save me!"

The little white cat bristled with alarm, "Host, be careful, something's fishy!"

Chapter Twenty: You...you've been dead for at least half a month!

Despite the chaos outside, there are still people holed up in residential buildings.

And judging from the looks of it, it seems it has never come down, since there are ordinary zombies wandering around in the stairwell.

What did he eat and drink during all this time?

It's really suspicious!

Jiang Chen remained unmoved, carefully clearing away the surrounding zombies before sending Xiao Bai to act alone.

"Host, please be careful! I'll come find you here in a bit." The fluffy dumpling looked up at the catfish spirit still clinging to the window for help, its eyes filled with vigilance. "Although I've checked, the house is full of trash, and it doesn't have any weapons or anything."

But I think this catfish spirit is very abnormal.

"I know, you go first. Remember to only collect supplies from the underground warehouse that are unlikely to be discovered. Leave the supplies on the surface for any survivors who happen to pass by," Jiang Chen instructed.

The little white cat ran towards the shopping mall not far away, looking back every few steps.

When the catfish-bearded man saw the clean-cut, handsome boy get out of the car, he immediately beamed and said in a low voice, "Hehe, young man, you're a benefactor! I knew a long time ago that a benefactor would come from the east to rescue me today!"

Jiang Chen looked up at him and asked without any attempt to hide her feelings, "Who are you? What do you do?"

"Shh! Be careful not to attract those things!" Catfish Beard said slyly, "I'm a very famous demigod!"

I foresaw it before the catastrophe.

When I told others, they didn't believe me and even laughed at me.

I've stockpiled enough supplies to last three months, even if I'm careful with what I buy, just to wait for you!

"Oh? You can even predict that?" Jiang Chen asked with some curiosity. "Then predict my future first. If you predict it accurately, I'll save you."

Catfish Beard stroked his mustache with his hand. "Tell me your birth date and time, and I'll tell you all about it!"

If he weren't leaning against the security bars of the window and talking to Jiang Chen, his appearance, muttering to himself while counting on his fingers, would have been quite intimidating.

"No, that's not right." Catfish Beard pinched for a while, looking at him with a horrified expression. "Your birth date and time... is it accurate? According to your calculations, you... you've been dead for at least half a month!"

Wow, you actually have some skill?

If things had gone according to plan, the original owner would have been killed by the protagonist, wouldn't he?

Jiang Chen raised an eyebrow slightly.

"But judging from your appearance, you are destined for great wealth and high status. How strange!" Catfish Beard was full of questions.

"I am an orphan. My birth date and time were given to me by someone else, so it's probably not accurate."

Catfish Beard beamed with joy upon hearing this. “That must be wrong! Let me tell you, you’re destined for great wealth and a carefree life, with plenty of people to support you.”

This is why the world is not what it used to be.

In ancient times, you would have been able to rule the world and become emperor in no time…

He was about to continue boasting when Jiang Chen interrupted him, saying, "Have you considered whether there are any other survivors in the city?"

"This, this..." Catfish Beard clung to the iron bars, his face bearing marks. "Brother, please help me down first, and I promise I will do everything in my power to assist you in building this city!"

Jiang Chen countered, "What grand city-building project?"

“The secrets of heaven cannot be revealed, but I know you desperately need people right now,” Catfish Beard pleaded. “I really can help. If you save me, I’ll tell you where you can find a large number of survivors!”

Carrying a gun, he fought his way up to the fourth floor and knocked on Catfish Beard's door.

"Brother, even if I were to meet a benefactor and be saved today, my luggage is all packed. Look how accurate my divination is!" Catfish Beard picked up the bag he had prepared in advance, opened the door with a sly grin, and followed him downstairs.

The catfish with whiskers is named Hu Dali, and he is a calligraphy teacher.

He was still obsessed with metaphysical research in his thirties, and his constant rambling and mystical talk led to him being ostracized by everyone, with relatives and friends no longer wanting to talk to him.

Before the apocalypse, he was teaching calligraphy at a training class to make a living. According to him, he observed the stars at night and discovered that a catastrophe was about to happen. So he notified his relatives and friends to take refuge, but he was scolded severely.

Hu Dali had no choice but to stockpile a large amount of food and water and stay at home obediently to wait for rescue.

Official rescue teams prioritized visiting schools, research institutes, and residential compounds. People like him, who lived on the outskirts of the city and dared not go out to actively seek help, naturally missed that opportunity.