Chapter 4: Wasteland Apocalypse — Ye Heng

That night, Lin Meng met with the old man again.

This time, the old man beamed with joy, directly praising Lin Meng for her high efficiency in handling affairs and for being generous toward him.

"Little Meng, Grandfather is so happy, the money you burned for me is enough to last me a while; it seems the child from the third family is still the most filial."

"By the way, I still owe over five million even on my deathbed; remember to help Grandfather pay off the debt. Once you clear those debts, Grandfather will give you a big gift."

……

As the sky just showed a fish-belly white, Lin Meng woke up.

Grandfather indeed sent another dream last night, saying he had received the paper money, but Lin Meng couldn't feel happy.

This old man is really inconsiderate, leaving over five million in debt and just patting his butt as he left.

Her parents toiled their whole lives, but they didn't even make it to their sixtieth birthdays before both passed away; by the time they died, they had only repaid about two hundred thousand, leaving three hundred twenty thousand in debt weighing on her.

Last night's dream was still incredibly real, as if she were speaking face-to-face with her grandfather.

Unfortunately, in the dream, only her grandfather could speak.

Lin Meng tried several times to say something, but she couldn't open her mouth, and she became so anxious that she sweated profusely in the dream.

The old man probably won't come looking for her again in the short term, and her next goal is to first repay the three hundred twenty thousand debt.

As for the big gift Grandfather mentioned after repaying the debt, she doesn't have the mind to think about it now.

After all, judging by her current financial situation and earning ability, this three hundred thousand is practically an astronomical figure for her.

Thinking and thinking, Lin Meng felt her eyelids grow heavy, and she fell into a deep sleep.

Ye Heng hurried along carefully and cautiously, finally returning to the refuge just as dawn was breaking.

Although called a refuge, it is actually a closed-off valley surrounded by mountains on all sides.

Only in one of the steep cliff faces is there a hidden, inconspicuous path that leads in, easy to defend but hard to attack.

A group of survivors hid here from the apocalypse and established the refuge.

Ye Heng is the leader of this group of survivors; he comes from a mercenary background, has great combat strength, and is deeply admired and trusted by everyone.

He organized an exploration team that goes out to search for supplies and gather information, which is their daily work.

"Boss, you're finally back!"

At that moment, the few squad members on night watch saw Ye Heng, excitedly went up to him, and seeing he was safe and sound, they all breathed a sigh of relief.

But when they saw his empty hands, although no one said anything, the disappointment in their eyes did not escape Ye Heng's notice.

He looked around and gestured for the few people to come over.

"Follow me, I have something to say."

A few people followed Ye Heng into his wooden cabin, and the team captain asked, "After separating from us, did you encounter any danger? Why did it take so long to come back? We were almost going to form a team to look for you."

"No need, don't forget the team's rules—I'm back on my own, aren't I?" Ye Heng replied lightly.

Although they still acknowledged Captain Ye Heng's strength, after three days without return, everyone in the refuge worried about him.

Their squad has a rule: when going out as a team, if anyone gets separated or loses contact, no one is allowed to go look for them.

On this wasteland, the outside is full of various uncertain dangers, and no one can guarantee that going out ensures a safe return.

The result of going out to look for someone is likely to be like the Calabash Brothers rescuing their grandfather.

Therefore they have a seemingly cold-blooded rule: anyone who leaves the team must rely on themselves to find a way back to the refuge; they cannot let one person drag down the whole team.

Seeing the team members looking exhausted, Ye Heng spoke up to explain:

"I encountered a bit of opportunity along the way, which delayed me a little; look what I brought back."

As soon as he finished speaking, Ye Heng moved his mind and conjured a fish tank full of water.

Instantly, an exclamation rang out inside the wooden cabin.

"Is this uncontaminated water?"

Ye Heng nodded: "Yes, there are three fish inside; I caught them, prepared them, to give some nourishment to the pregnant women, and I'll also distribute the water, giving a bit more to families with children."

Before the crowd could recover from their shock, they saw Ye Heng move his finger and conjure two bags out of thin air.

The leader, Sun Hao, gave a start, rushed forward to open the bag and take a look, and let out another exclamation.

"Holy smokes, Ye Heng, you really had a big opportunity this trip—you even managed to get hold of such fine grain powder! And what are these strings of things? Fruit?"

The others also excitedly gathered around, seeing the fine grain and unfamiliar fruit in the bags, and a bunch of big shots actually started drooling on the spot.

Although Ye Heng was physically exhausted, thinking that these were all sent by Lin Meng, he couldn't keep the curve of his mouth from turning up.

"I met a kind-hearted girl; these are all things she gave me."

Sun Hao and the others heard this, their eyes widened in disbelief.

"Good grief, where in this day and age could you meet such a foolish girl who actually gives away food!"

"Brother Sun, couldn't it be that the girl has a keen eye, saw that our Brother Ye is a promising prospect, and willingly gave them?"

"Exactly, maybe it's a certain young lady from the Evolution Special Zone out for training who fell for our Brother Ye at first sight; I've heard there are plenty of lovesick young ladies in the special zone."

They chattered away, all guessing what the situation was with the girl Ye Heng had met.

Ye Heng didn't explicitly say anything about it; the fact that their spaces are connected is their secret, and there's no need to tell others.

Moreover, Ye Heng felt that the other party didn't trust him much; otherwise, they wouldn't have withheld even their name.

He had given his own name, but he didn't know whether the other party remembered it.

"Brother Ye? Brother Ye? Missing that girl?"

Ye Heng's thoughts were pulled back to reality, and he gave a white-eye glance:

"What are you talking about? Her identity is very special, not something I can just randomly think about; let's not discuss this further, let me introduce her."

"That girl said this fruit is called grapes; I've tasted them, they're very delicious, and there's also this fine grain—we'll keep a portion for our team and distribute the rest; although the supplies aren't much, they'll last us many days."

Sun Hao was in charge of distribution; after setting aside some for Ye Heng, he took people to the refuge to allocate the supplies.

Ye Heng looked at the food on the table, his heart unable to calm down for a long time.

He didn't tell the team members that such fine grain was just chicken feed in that girl's mouth.

And these, in his view, were of such high quality that premium fruits like them might not even be seen in the Evolution Special Zone, yet that girl told him not to just throw them away.

Ye Heng had a vague suspicion that the girl might not be in the same spacetime as him.

The chicken feed and rotten fruit in her hands were priceless where they were.

And the stack of paper money she cherished was just a pile of waste paper in the wasteland apocalypse.

Nowadays resources on the wasteland are growing ever scarcer, yet the Evolution Special Zone's exploitation of outsiders is constantly intensifying.

Bi Hu Suo can't hold out much longer.

Perhaps he could ask that girl for help?

But would she be willing to help him?

He has nothing; what does he have to offer to ask for help?