"Hmm! Still not awake!"

Duan Lei couldn't see as much. Although his physique now surpassed a grizzly bear, his insight couldn't compare. He nodded in agreement.

"Wait here. I'm going to wash up!"

Li Chenzhou looked down at himself, then walked towards the door, saying as he went.

The three inside didn't speak, just watched Li Chenzhou leave.

"What... what did that guy do?"

Once Li Chenzhou closed the door, Grizzly Bear asked quietly.

"He went to the location where the summoning originated!"

Duan Lei replied with certainty.

"He's covered in feathers from chickens, ducks, geese, dogs, cats, rabbits, mice, and various birds, as well as insect shells, arthropod parts, and wing fragments. And human and zombie blood.

"That summoning must have drawn all the nearby creatures there. Then the boss went over, and they must have attacked him under the command of the summoning creature. Then the boss killed them and destroyed the thing that summoned them as well!"

"Looking at him, I wouldn't be surprised if he just ground those guys up in a machine, poured them into a bathtub, and took a bath himself!"

Grizzly Bear's lips twitched. Then, startled, he turned to Duan Lei.

"You're saying he took out the thing that was summoning?"

"Yeah!"

Duan Lei nodded.

"Something that could summon all the creatures in a village, leaving not even a fly behind... he could kill it?"

Grizzly Bear was incredulous.

"Could it be... he found the gathering place of the summoned creatures, fought them, and then ran back here?"

"If that were the case, the boss would have rushed back to get us and run for our lives!"

Duan Lei shook his head.

"No one who needs to escape would be in the mood to take a bath and change clothes first. So, the boss must have taken care of things. We might even be staying here for a while longer!"

"Alright!"

Grizzly Bear glared at Duan Lei, ultimately not refuting his judgment, and nodded vigorously.

"If it turns out everything is as you predicted, then... I really suggest you join us. It's a waste for you not to be a scout!"

"It's a waste for me to be a scout!"

A hint of pride appeared on Duan Lei's lips...

When Li Chenzhou opened the door again, he was fresh and clean, and had even changed into a new set of combat gear.

"The summoning is gone! Why?"

As soon as he saw Li Chenzhou, Grizzly Bear couldn't wait to ask.

"No need to worry about the summoning anymore. It's been dealt with!"

Li Chenzhou said calmly.

"Moreover, Wu Village is no longer dangerous. There won't even be any mutated creatures appearing for a while. We can stay here for a bit and use it as... a temporary base!"

Although he knew that powerful enemies would appear in five years, having his own force under such circumstances was naturally for the best.

But Li Chenzhou still didn't want to change his mind. He didn't plan to use Wu Village as a base to start building a base and recruiting people.

The reason was simple: even a strong base had its limits. After all, the total number of survivors in an area was limited, and it couldn't expand indefinitely. It would also take up a lot of Li Chenzhou's energy and time.

So, Li Chenzhou still planned to be a traveling merchant, clearing cities while establishing trade with bases worth nurturing. This was definitely better than fighting alone.

As for whether these bases would become powerful and refuse to obey him? Li Chenzhou didn't care. He didn't want to be a leader anyway. He just needed to make humanity as strong as possible.

When the Devourers arrived in five years, they would threaten all of humanity. Li Chenzhou wasn't afraid that they wouldn't stand up and fight back!

However, Li Chenzhou didn't mind helping some bases take shape as soon as possible, so Wu Village couldn't be abandoned. He wanted to gather some people here and create the beginnings of a base as soon as possible.

Because Wu Village had a good location, right on the edge of the highway out of the city, as long as there were signs of human habitation here, a large number of survivors would gather. The only problem was... choosing a good leader for this base!

Hearing Li Chenzhou's answer, Grizzly Bear opened his mouth wide and looked at Duan Lei. Although Li Chenzhou's answer was simple, it was clear that Duan Lei's previous speculation was completely correct!

"What's wrong?"

Seeing Grizzly Bear's expression, Li Chenzhou couldn't help but find it strange and asked curiously.

"He... he..."

Grizzly Bear pointed at Duan Lei, stammering.

"As soon as I saw you come back, I said you had already dealt with the thing that was summoning, which meant the village was no longer dangerous and we might be staying here for a while!"

Duan Lei continued Grizzly Bear's words.

"Oh!"

Li Chenzhou understood, but just nodded casually and looked towards the city.

"It's almost dawn. Let's get ready, find a car, and prepare to go into the city!"

"Aren't we staying here?"

Grizzly Bear was confused.

"This is just a temporary base, our temporary foothold, just a place to come back and rest at night!"

Li Chenzhou said.

"What about Xiaoya?"

Duan Xue suddenly asked.

"We'll take her with us, so we need to find a car! Luckily, Wu Village has one, so it shouldn't be difficult!"

Li Chenzhou said, then looked at Duan Lei.

"Take the things out of your bags and eat something. I'll go get a car, and then we'll be ready to go!"

"Okay!"

Duan Lei immediately nodded in agreement, then looked at Li Chenzhou, hesitant.

He was the only one of the three who knew why Li Chenzhou was in such a hurry—for the sake of the 50,000 Slaughter Points.

But Duan Lei didn't know why Li Chenzhou hadn't said anything about taking Duan Xue as a follower yet. He wanted to remind him, but he couldn't say it directly. But if he didn't remind him, he would always be worried, since she was his sister, his only family in the world.

"I know what I'm doing!"

Li Chenzhou nodded at Duan Lei, then went out through the window. Grizzly Bear looked at Duan Lei inexplicably. Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck him, and he stuck his head out to look around, then immediately asked.

"Xiaolei, are you really not planning to stay here for long?"

"Of course!"

Hearing this, Duan Lei immediately understood what Grizzly Bear was thinking, so he nodded.

"You're planning not to go to the picking garden and use this place as the location for your base?"

Duan Lei didn't hesitate and directly pointed out the problem. Anyway, the news about Li Yunshan and the others being surrounded by the zombie horde had to be told to Grizzly Bear, so... he might as well be the bad guy!