Upon arriving at the chicken farm, Shen Feng discovered that the children there were holding weapons and discussing something in a particular spot. Some of them even had guns. Seeing this, Shen Feng dared not appear easily. Instead, he quietly entered the chicken farm, twisted the necks of two chickens with lightning speed, grabbed five eggs, and slipped away unnoticed.
"Xiao Yue, you're lucky! We can have noodles for lunch and chicken soup for dinner. Once you've recovered, hurry up and get back to work. I've been put on a wanted list, so it might be inconvenient for me to show my face from now on," Shen Feng said to Yue Hengyi after returning to the cabin.
Yue Hengyi had also recovered considerably. After drinking the ginger soup and sweating profusely, his mind cleared up. Seeing Shen Feng return with bags full of items, he couldn't help but ask, "Did you go robbing? Why do you have so many things?"
"Don't talk nonsense. I paid for them. At most, it was forced buying and selling. You just focus on recuperating. The reason your constitution is weak is due to the severe damage to your skin and mucous membranes. Once your skin recovers, you'll naturally be immune to all illnesses!" Shen Feng muttered as he prepared lunch.
Leaning against the cabin, Yue Hengyi couldn't help but ask, "You're wanted? What does that mean? Did you do something wicked?"
"How would I know? I can't even recall doing anything wrong. Besides, this is my first time here, so I shouldn't be targeted. And if I'm wanted, why aren't you? That doesn't make sense either!" Shen Feng said helplessly.
"It seems we'll have to wait until I've recovered to gather information. I'll never wander into forests casually again, especially rainforests!" Yue Hengyi said with emotion, never expecting so much danger in the Southeast Asian rainforests. Even trees that appeared harmless could trap ability users.
Yue Hengyi had never believed his body was weak before, being a fifth-tier ability user. Everyone treated him with respect. He had experienced many things from mountains to oceans. However, after falling ill twice in two months, Yue Hengyi realized his constitution might indeed be inferior to that of ordinary ability users.
Shen Feng's cooking skills were not particularly good; he could only manage edible meals. He hadn't had the opportunity to practice his cooking before. His skills were only slightly better than Chu Chaoyan, who couldn't cook at all. After Chu Chaoyan received guidance and systematically learned to cook, Shen Feng's culinary skills became the worst in the family.
However, even so, Shen Feng did his best to prepare a delicious meal. At noon, he made tomato and egg soup with noodles. The noodles were wide but lacked chewiness, turning into flat pieces once cooked. Yue Hengyi, being ill, didn't want anything too greasy like meat. He really enjoyed the noodles Shen Feng made, eating bowl after bowl until the entire pot was empty.
In the afternoon, Shen Feng continued to brew ginger soup. After Yue Hengyi drank it, he fell into a deep sleep again.
Five days passed like this, and Yue Hengyi finally recovered completely, his spirits improved, and his body temperature returned to normal.
With his body restored, Yue Hengyi couldn't wait to move around. However, the sky outside the cabin remained gloomy, and it rained periodically. Shen Feng also cautioned Yue Hengyi not to stray too far from the shore.
But as Yue Hengyi was walking nearby, he suddenly spotted a group of people slowly approaching from the forest. He quickly turned back to find Shen Feng and said, "Brother Feng, someone is approaching us. There are over a dozen people!"
Shen Feng quickly ducked into the forest to observe. He saw that about a hundred meters away, more than a dozen people were advancing, hacking through branches with machetes. Seeing this, Shen Feng immediately became vigilant. He seemed to have seen these people before.
Shen Feng quickly returned and told Yue Hengyi, "I stole their crispy rice and cabbage earlier. They're probably here for revenge. Let's go!"
Shen Feng had now recognized the group in the forest. These were the same people who had been in the house earlier. They were all armed with guns and other weapons, and some of them were evolved individuals. Moreover, he had stolen their crispy rice when they weren't paying attention. Feeling guilty, he now wanted to leave.
Yue Hengyi said helplessly, "You, a dignified man, why do you do such petty thieving? You're really embarrassing us ability users!"
"Stop the nonsense. Come help me move the boat into the water. We'll head north. You ate the crispy rice I brought, so you're an accomplice!" Shen Feng said irritably.
The two of them then worked together to move the boat into the water. Shen Feng unfurled the sail, took the helm, summoned a strong wind, and set off towards the north. This was a shallow area surrounded by forests. They unfurled the sail and headed north, while the group in the forest discovered nothing.
After getting on the boat, Yue Hengyi still felt something was amiss and couldn't help but ask, "Even if we stole their crispy rice, they have flour here. We could just return two pounds, why flee?"
"If my stealing the crispy rice gets out, I'll be laughed to death. The crispy rice incident is minor, but being caught red-handed would be a big deal. I can't afford to lose face!" Shen Feng said.
Yue Hengyi shrugged, helpless against Shen Feng's stubbornness. He was a powerful ability user, yet he liked to fuss over trivial matters.
Soon, a group of people emerged from the forest and saw the messy chicken farm on the beach. They fell into thought, as if someone had lived there. The chicken feathers were still on the ground, and some garbage could also be found nearby.
"Boss, could these traces be left by Shen Feng and the others?" Yilin asked.
The boss stroked his chin upon hearing the question and said, "It's possible, but not necessarily. We haven't heard from the others either, so I don't know if they've had any success."
"Then shall we go back?" someone asked.
The boss pondered for a moment and said, "If it's these two, they have no reason to stay here for a while. These traces of life weren't formed in a single day, so it might be someone else, likely mercenaries or something. We'll continue our search to the south!"
The group then headed towards the volcano to the south. If they couldn't find Shen Feng along the entire west coast, they would have to turn back.
Shen Feng and Yue Hengyi sailed north for forty kilometers and found a beach with some abandoned houses nearby, surrounded by many trees. There was no one in the houses, nor were there any zombies. All the supplies had been taken, leaving only empty rooms.
"Alright, let's rest here. I'll go scout for information and get revenge for you. You stay here and guard the boat," Yue Hengyi said to Shen Feng. With that, he put on his raincoat and prepared to set off.
"Remember to find enough food to bring back. Without several hundred pounds of food, don't even think about sailing for a long time!" Shen Feng said to Yue Hengyi with a shrug.
Yue Hengyi nodded and set off, heading in the direction of the base Shen Feng had described. Halfway there, it started raining again. This was typical of the rainy season in Southeast Asia, with frequent rain and rare sunny days. However, it was precisely because of the abundant rainfall that crop yields were high, with three harvests a year.
When Yue Hengyi arrived at the base, he found a group of people fleeing with bags and baggage. With the global doomsday, bases lacked gasoline, making bicycles the most popular mode of transportation, as they only required human power to move. Each hour of travel consumed about a bowl of rice. If someone had a tricycle, they were the coolest on the road.
Yue Hengyi began to look for Chinese people. Generally, Chinese people had fairer skin, while the locals were darker. He just needed to find people with fair skin. After finding someone, he asked about the current situation.
Someone who understood Chinese heard Yue Hengyi's question and quickly replied, "I heard that someone in our base provoked a Great Demon King, and he's coming to destroy our base in a few days, so we have to flee! I can't talk to you anymore, we have to hurry. Before it gets dark, we're heading to a base in the east!"
Yue Hengyi was confused upon hearing this. Great Demon King? What kind of person is called a Great Demon King?
"What kind of Great Demon King makes you so scared? How many people are fleeing?" Yue Hengyi asked.
The Chinese person replied, "Don't talk about us, even the leader's family has fled! Everyone who wants to survive in the base has left. At least ten thousand people are running away! I heard that this Great Demon King can summon tens of thousands of wind blades with a wave of his hand, falling like raindrops, like knives from the sky. Who can survive? Moreover, he can summon typhoons, causing torrential rain and floods, and our entire base will be submerged!"
After speaking, the person pushed Yue Hengyi aside and fled.
The base had four large gates, all of which were wide open. Over ten thousand people, with their families, were fleeing to other bases. For this base, with its population loss, decline was inevitable. Without people, any base would eventually fall.
Upon hearing the person's description, Yue Hengyi became suspicious and thought, "Listening to this description, why does it sound like Shen Feng? But Shen Feng said these people put out a bounty to kill him, while these people say Shen Feng wants to destroy this base. What's going on?"
Yue Hengyi couldn't figure it out. He walked into the base and saw that apart from the elderly and children, almost everyone who wanted to survive had left. As he walked, he looked around. Many walls still had wanted posters, with Shen Feng's wanted poster hanging on them.
"Damn it, a bad start! How can I gather information in such a fallen base?" Yue Hengyi was very frustrated.
Yue Hengyi walked into the central villa of the base. No one dared to approach it, fearing they would be caught in the crossfire if revenge was sought.
He walked around the vicinity and found a cripple. He looked like a Chinese person, but it was uncertain if he could speak Chinese.
"Hey, can you speak Chinese? Aren't you running with them?" Yue Hengyi asked directly.
The cripple leaned against the eaves, staring blankly at the muddy street. Upon hearing the question, he said helplessly, "With my condition, can I escape? I'm waiting to die. If the Great Demon King doesn't kill me, I'll survive and can find a better room to rest. If I die, dying at the hands of the Great Demon King isn't shameful."
Yue Hengyi thought for a moment and asked, "So, how did you provoke the Great Demon King? Since you're afraid, why provoke him?"
The cripple said with a wry smile, "How would I know what those people were thinking? I heard a small captain saw that the bounty reward was very generous, two ability potions. Drinking the ability potions would make him successful. He didn't consider if he could win, and led over forty people to attack the Great Demon King. I saw it clearly from the street corner. The Great Demon King turned everyone into a sieve with a wave of his hand! Oh, and the Great Demon King at that time was wearing the same raincoat as you!"
Yue Hengyi muttered to himself, "Not only the same style, but the same one!"
Then, Yue Hengyi continued, "Since you were all wronged, why not find the Great Demon King and explain?"
"The Great Demon King is too fast. We couldn't explain or apologize. Who could catch up? Moreover, a few days ago, the leader's wife encountered the Great Demon King, and the Great Demon King said he would come here in a few days! Calculating the time, it's within these two days. Alas, if you want to survive, you should run quickly!" the cripple said with distress.
Yue Hengyi now understood the whole story. It turned out that a greedy small captain wanted to get the reward, so he led people to attack Shen Feng, which led to a misunderstanding. Given Shen Feng's personality, he wouldn't slaughter ordinary people without reason.
"Alright, alright, you'll be fine. Find a place to live. By the way, do you have any places that sell food here?" Yue Hengyi then asked.