Shen Feng wanted to know about the town, but he couldn't get any information from the women. As he hesitated, a group of women seized a richly dressed noblewoman, who was wearing a long skirt and adorned with many pieces of jewelry. Even before they got close, the scent of perfume wafted from her.
The women pointed at the noblewoman and then at the gang leader, who had bled to death on the ground, their meaning clear: the two were in league.
Shen Feng waved his hand, signaling the women to handle it themselves, while he began searching the town. He had to find the prison; without a translator, he wouldn't be able to understand anything.
The slaves in the town were also stunned by the sudden turn of events. They had never imagined that their miserable lives, which they thought would never change, would suddenly be saved. Two powerful Asians had appeared, killing gang members on sight. Even though these ferocious individuals were armed with guns, these two could still kill them.
In just one hour, the gang members who had oppressed the slaves were almost all dead. Seeing that someone had come to save them, the slaves joined in, actively capturing scattered gang members and bringing them to Yue Hengyi. Yue Hengyi didn't waste words; he simply grabbed anyone the slaves brought and snapped their necks.
Shen Feng, surrounded by a crowd, found the prison. It was a secluded building that might have been a high-end hotel before the apocalypse. After the end of the world, it became the gang's place to detain people, anyone who dared to oppose them was locked up here.
Shen Feng kicked open the cell door and began searching for Li Gui. The prisoners inside were unrecognizable, mostly men, with injuries all over their bodies. It was clear that the gang here not only tormented women but also men, though in the prison, it was purely physical torture.
"Mr. Shen, I'm here,呜呜, why did you take so long to come?" Li Gui pushed his way out of the crowd. Seeing Shen Feng, he was as moved as if he had seen a loved one. While imprisoned, he had lost all hope, as he had heard that prisoners were often sent to factories. Upon inquiring, he learned that the factories were for making canned meat. At that, Li Gui thought he would be turned into hundreds of cans and stored.
"Li Gui, I told you I would protect you, why didn't you trust me? Aren't I here now?" Shen Feng said calmly.
Li Gui, wanting to show his closeness to the noble esper, quickly stood beside Shen Feng and loudly addressed the surrounding prisoners and slaves: "Now, all eyes on me! Standing beside us is a powerful esper from the great North Hemisphere of China, the noble City Lord of Yuzhou, the ruler of immense wealth, the divine dragon of the upper Yangtze River, the leader of a mighty army, the savior everyone has been waiting to see, Shen Feng!"
A long string of titles was bestowed upon Shen Feng. For foreigners, the more titles one had, the more powerful they were considered.
Shen Feng didn't understand the long string of titles Li Gui spoke, but he gathered it was an introduction. He then made two gestures in the air with his hands, indicating modesty.
However, the slaves' enthusiasm was overwhelming. They had all been decent citizens who, while hiding from zombies and mutated beasts, were captured by the ruthless gang and forced to work, fishing and growing hemp daily. Disobedience meant the whip, and if a slave died from beatings, they were sent to the factory.
The women captured were even more miserable. They were locked up and left to the gang members, who took them as wives. In the five-story villa, the women on the first and second floors were playthings for the low-ranking members. The third and fourth floors were the domains of some of the gang's leaders, while the fifth floor was where the gang leader resided.
Now that everyone had been rescued, the slaves cheered loudly for their great benefactor.
This made Shen Feng feel a bit embarrassed. He had intentionally used a fishing expedition to find fun and a radio, and later, he had gone on a killing spree because he couldn't stand the gang's actions. Unexpectedly, he had rescued a group of unfortunate people. It was truly a case of planting a willow unintentionally, and it yielded shade!
Li Gui leaned closer to Shen Feng and explained, "Mr. Shen, you have no idea how detestable this gang is. They are simply bandits. With over a hundred members armed with guns, they've been doing nothing but evil. Anyone they caught suffered greatly. It's fortunate you came to rescue us!"
Shen Feng shook his head helplessly and said, "That's not important anymore. For now, you go find supplies. Also, explain our identity and let the people here choose their own way of life. I won't concern myself with the fate of these people!"
Shen Feng gradually sensed something was amiss. The eyes of the rescued people were filled with fanaticism. Shen Feng understood their excitement; it was the gratitude of regaining freedom, but they seemed to regard him as an object of worship, as if expecting him to become their leader.
Therefore, Shen Feng immediately had Li Gui explain the situation. What a joke! Shen Feng intended to return to China and had no time to stay on an island protecting these foreigners. Even if they admired him, he wouldn't agree!
Li Gui actually wanted to stay there and become the leader, which would be even better—a carefree life where he could order so many people around, a heavenly existence!
However, Li Gui knew he lacked the ability. So, he quickly translated Shen Feng's words: "Our great Mr. Shen Feng will stay in this town for two days and then leave. Please do not disturb him! Furthermore, your future path needs to be chosen by yourselves."
A group of people let out sighs, seemingly unable to believe what Li Gui had said.
Foreigners worship superheroes and firmly believe that when disaster strikes, superheroes will appear and save them. Now, they believed a superhero had appeared. Although he was from China, it didn't hinder their unwavering worship. The reason was simple: superheroes would protect them.
Shen Feng ignored their thoughts and, with Li Gui, left the prison, preparing to find anything useful. Logically, since there were factories processing canned food here, there must be plenty of gasoline. With gasoline, they could drive cars and operate boats.
"Look for gasoline. I can never have too much of it! Also, ask if there's a radio," Shen Feng said unceremoniously, treating Li Gui like a subordinate.
Li Gui quickly complied, inquiring about the town's supplies from others.
At this moment, Yue Hengyi, ignoring the obstruction of others, approached the hemp field with a torch, seemingly intending to burn the place down. The survivors quickly tried to stop him, but due to the language barrier, they were at an impasse.
Shen Feng walked over and asked, "Xiao Yue, what are you doing?"
Yue Hengyi, a hot-blooded young man, pointed at the hemp field and said righteously, "Brother Feng, don't stop me. Let me burn this harmful stuff. Don't forget how much we were harmed by these things in modern times. Today, I will emulate Lin Zexu's burning of opium at Humen!"
With that, Yue Hengyi prepared to burn the entire hemp field to prove his resolve. A true son of China must strike against addictive and debilitating harmful substances, lest he be called the "Sick Man of East Asia."
Shen Feng quickly grabbed Yue Hengyi's arm and asked, "Xiao Yue, did you go to high school?"
"Nonsense, I'm a legitimate high school student. If not for the sudden arrival of the apocalypse, I would be a university student now. It's just my bad luck to have encountered the apocalypse during my third year of high school!" Yue Hengyi replied impolitely.
Yue Hengyi was not ashamed of his education. He knew his capabilities. If he had participated in the college entrance examination normally, it would not have been difficult for him to get into university. After all, most people who attend high school can go to university, referring to undergraduate programs here. As for junior college, Yue Hengyi could get in by missing just one exam.
"Did you really go to high school? Then tell me, how did Lin Zexu do it when he burned the opium? Did he just set it on fire?" Shen Feng continued to ask.
"Didn't he?" Yue Hengyi retorted.
Shen Feng shook his head helplessly at this moment. Even high school students don't know everything. He then explained, "If you burn this entire forest, hundreds of people here will get high. Who burns opium with fire? It would be simpler to chop it down and throw it into the sea!"
Yue Hengyi lowered his head and thought carefully. He realized it was indeed true. Burning it with fire was satisfying at the moment, but what about the smoke afterward? The smoke would fill the town, and who knew how many people would be poisoned by it.
"I understand. I'll chop down the trees right away!" Yue Hengyi, having realized his mistake, immediately changed his strategy. Just as Shen Feng suggested, he would chop down these trees and throw them into the sea, thereby completely eliminating these harmful things.
Yue Hengyi had been momentarily blinded by anger and had forgotten how to use hemp, almost doing something that was beneath his educational level.
Seeing Yue Hengyi put down the torch, the others breathed a sigh of relief. They were not fools and knew what would happen if Yue Hengyi had actually lit the fire, so they had strongly objected. As Yue Hengyi began chopping down trees, some felt it was a pity, but more dared not to intervene, clearly aware of the dangers of hemp.
At this moment, Li Gui walked over with an old man. This old man had a full beard, but his beard was entirely white. He didn't look particularly robust, but he wasn't thin either.
"Mr. Shen, while I was looking for gasoline, this old man kept bothering me, saying that an ice age is coming and we need to prepare early. I had no choice but to bring him here. What should we do with him?" Li Gui said helplessly.
"Ice age? That was tens of millions of years ago! Global warming is more like it. What ice age?" Shen Feng found it strange when Li Gui said this. Was this old man crazy?
The old man knew who Shen Feng was. He was a powerful esper from China. If he asked for his help, he would surely receive it.
So, the old man requested Li Gui, "Tell this noble Chinese guest my identity. I am a meteorologist. I don't lie. I can prove what I'm saying."
Li Gui, helpless, explained to Shen Feng, "He says he's a meteorologist."
Shen Feng asked, "What does 'ice age' mean?"
Li Gui once again acted as a translator, but he was clearly not a professional translator. Many specialized terms could not be translated.
"The four seasons on Earth have their patterns. The temperature and light are different in each season. And looking at longer periods, global temperature changes also follow a pattern. Every few hundred years, the entire globe suddenly becomes cold. This is the ice age," Li Gui translated haltingly.
Shen Feng frowned upon hearing this translation and said, "Li Gui, did you translate it wrong? What ice age? You mean a Little Ice Age, right?"
Shen Feng understood the meaning of "ice age" solely based on the overall context. It turned out it was Li Gui's poor translation skills; after all, he was a temporary translator and couldn't explain many specialized terms in Chinese.
Li Gui nodded awkwardly, "Probably."
Shen Feng continued to ask, "How do you know a Little Ice Age has arrived?"
The old man explained, "Because volcanoes have been releasing large amounts of acidic gases for the past two years. Due to the situation with zombies and mutated beasts, almost no one pays attention to volcanic activity. However, the gases emitted by volcanoes prove that a Little Ice Age has arrived. Global temperatures will suddenly drop, and snowstorms and droughts will occur frequently."
Shen Feng heard this explanation and couldn't help but connect it: "So, because of the arrival of the Little Ice Age, last year there were floods in the summer, flooding Jingxiang and Jianghuai. The temperature has also been getting colder year by year. This is indeed possible!"