Chapter 230 - 135: F-6 Area

Chapter 230: Chapter 135: F-6 Area

Their route required them to turn here, follow the riverbank for a stretch, and then turn back inland.

Just as Xu Mo and his partner began moving along the riverbank, Xu Mo noticed two figures moving on the opposite bank, about two or three hundred meters away. Judging by their gear and the way they moved, they were clearly also survivors on a patrol mission.

The other party had clearly spotted them as well. The two groups stopped simultaneously, sizing each other up from across the wide river.

Xu Mo raised a hand and waved to the other side in a friendly gesture.

The two on the opposite bank quickly waved back. One of them seemed to shout something, but the distance was too great, and with the interference from the wind and the sound of the current, it was impossible to hear clearly.

Since they were all "colleagues" on the same type of mission, meeting in this empty wilderness naturally created a sense of camaraderie born from shared misery.

Xu Mo signaled for Zhang Yun to remain vigilant while he took a few steps closer to the river’s edge, choosing a slightly elevated spot with a clear line of sight to make communication easier.

The two on the other side did the same. Separated by about a dozen meters of water, they could now make out each other’s expressions and could hear one another by raising their voices.

Across the river were two men, both looking to be around thirty. One was tall and carried a modified shotgun on his back. The other was shorter but stout, holding a rifle with a bayonet. Both wore common mixed-and-matched combat gear, their faces weathered from long exposure to the elements.

"Hey! Brother! What unit are you with?" the tall guy on the other side spoke first, his voice booming with a northern accent.

"Transferred over from Area G. F-6 patrol," Xu Mo called back. "What about you?"

"We’re from Area E-4, right across this damn river," the stout man chimed in, his tone surprisingly cheerful. "This godforsaken place has nothing in it. It’s even more boring than being on edge in the ruins."

"Tell me about it," the tall guy agreed. "We’ve been walking for half the day and have only seen a few crows. Haven’t spotted a single zombie. How’s it on your side? Find anything?"

"Nothing so far. All clear," Xu Mo replied. It was the standard answer.

"Heh, all clear is good." The tall guy seemed to be a chatterbox. "Heard there was a big commotion over in Area G to the east yesterday. Something about tanks rolling through? You guys were in Area G yesterday, did you hear anything?"

Xu Mo’s heart skipped a beat, but his expression remained unchanged. "Not sure. We just got rotated over today."

"Oh, is that so." The tall guy sounded a little disappointed but didn’t dwell on it. "Probably just another drill or a cleanup of some leftover zombie nest. If you ask me, instead of wasting time on that, they should send more people to help build the walls..."

"Oh, give it a rest," the stout man cut him off. "Let’s just worry about our own patch of dirt. By the way, brother, is it just the two of you? This area might be open, but if something really does jump out of the river, two people might be cutting it close."

"We’re just following patrol regulations. Besides, there are only two of you as well," Zhang Yun spoke up from behind Xu Mo, her voice cool and clear. "If we find a problem, we just report it."

"Is that a lady with you?" The tall guy finally noticed Zhang Yun behind Xu Mo. A flash of surprise crossed his eyes, followed by a wide grin. "Impressive! A woman out here doing this kind of work! My respects!"

Zhang Yun just gave a slight nod and didn’t say anything else.

The two groups exchanged a few more words, mostly just idle complaints about the hot weather, the boring patrols, and how hard it was to earn Contribution Points. The atmosphere was actually quite relaxed. In this post-apocalyptic world, being able to have a meaningless but very human chat with "colleagues" on the same mission, separated by the safety of a river, was a rare and welcome distraction.

While keeping up his end of the conversation, Xu Mo habitually scanned his surroundings out of the corner of his eye, paying special attention to the river’s surface right beside them. The water wasn’t too fast-moving, but it was murky and yellow, making it impossible to see what lay beneath. The mud on the bank was damp, marked with a messy jumble of claw prints and drag marks, though it was impossible to tell what kind of animal had left them.

Just as the tall guy started rambling on about how his neighbor, Old Wang, had dug up half a case of expired canned goods while digging a cellar, Xu Mo’s eye twitched violently.

Beneath the water’s surface to his right, several shadows, slightly darker than the surrounding water, were streaking from the center of the river toward the bank at incredible speed. They moved without a sound, but their swift, purposeful advance was clearly not that of ordinary fish.

Almost instinctively, while still mumbling a dismissive, "Yeah, lucky him," to the tall guy, Xu Mo’s right hand, holding his rifle, had already lifted, shouldered, and aimed in a single, reflexive motion. The action was so smooth it was almost casual, not even breaking the rhythm of his speech.

BANG!

The sharp crack of the AK-47 shattered the peaceful chat in the wilderness.

The barrel wasn’t pointed at the two men across the river, but at the shallow water by the bank to Xu Mo’s right. The bullet hit the water with a dull THUMP, kicking up a small spray of muddy water.

The sudden gunshot made the tall and stout men on the opposite bank freeze. The rest of their words caught in their throats, the smiles on their faces instantly solidifying into expressions of shock and alarm. Both men instinctively raised their weapons, their gazes flicking uncertainly from Xu Mo to the river’s surface where his rifle was aimed.

"What’s wrong?!" the stout man demanded, his voice cracking with alarm.

Before the words were even out of his mouth—

SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH!

Several silvery-gray figures burst from the water less than two meters from where Xu Mo had fired!