Chapter 41: Gathering Information

The next morning, after breakfast, everyone packed up the tents and set off again. Before leaving, Wang Bin had already planned the route.

First, he led the group to a village outside the city, found a standalone building, and helped Li Chengping and the others set up some defenses. Then, he headed towards the city with Guan Xiaoyue and Officer Miao.

To deter any potential troublemakers nearby, Wang Bin and his group fired a few shots, instantly clearing out the surrounding zombies.

Hearing such intense gunfire, any petty criminals would certainly think twice before causing trouble.

Wang Bin carried a small backpack to avoid drawing attention, while Guan Xiaoyue and Officer Miao traveled light, carrying only guns and ammunition.

After some exploration, Wang Bin now knew which roads were passable and which were not. The three of them quickly reached the urban area.

This city was larger than the one Guan Xiaoyue and Officer Miao had been in before, but it was also more desolate, with more zombies on the streets. Wang Bin dared not shoot zombies here, as they could easily become surrounded.

After walking for a while, they found a main street blocked by debris, with seven or eight people standing behind it, all armed. The sight made the three of them uneasy.

"Why are there so many guards here?" Officer Miao asked, frowning slightly.

"Could this be a gathering place?" Guan Xiaoyue wondered.

"Impossible. Although they have guns and have set up simple defenses, they don't look like soldiers, and there are too few guards. I guess it's a local faction," Wang Bin analyzed simply.

"That makes sense. So what do we do now?" Guan Xiaoyue asked.

"Wait and see what happens," Wang Bin replied after some thought.

The three of them waited for two hours, but no one went in or out, and Wang Bin was getting restless.

"Let's look around and see if there's a way to sneak in."

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"Okay!"

The three of them followed the perimeter wall for a long distance, but several entrances were blocked, and they couldn't get in.

"What now?" Guan Xiaoyue asked anxiously.

"Follow me!" Wang Bin said, leading them back to a section of the wall over four meters high.

"Brother Wang, why did you bring us here?" Guan Xiaoyue asked, puzzled.

"It's simple, we're going to climb in," Wang Bin said with a mysterious smile.

"How do we climb? The wall's so high. Are we going to make a human ladder?"

"Sort of. Officer Miao, please squat by the wall, Xiaoyue, keep watch."

"Okay!"

Neither Officer Miao nor Guan Xiaoyue objected and followed Wang Bin's instructions.

Wang Bin took a few steps back, then suddenly accelerated, using his "Crossing the River on a Reed" skill. When he reached Officer Miao, he lightly stepped on her shoulder and leaped over three meters high, grabbing the top of the wall and pulling himself up.

Guan Xiaoyue was startled by Wang Bin's jump but said nothing, keeping her gun ready and watching the surroundings.

"Xiaoyue, jump up, I'll pull you!"

After climbing up, Wang Bin lay flat on the wall and extended his hand to Guan Xiaoyue.

Without a word, Guan Xiaoyue ran over, lightly stepped on Officer Miao's shoulder, and jumped high. Wang Bin grabbed her hand firmly and pulled her up.

Once Guan Xiaoyue was up, they both lay on the wall and extended their hands. When Officer Miao jumped, they grabbed her hand and pulled her up together.

The three of them stayed on the wall, observing the situation inside.

They saw a large area enclosed by the wall, with many people inside. They counted over three hundred visible people, and who knew how many were inside the buildings.

Most people inside didn't have guns and were working with their heads down. Some were farming, while others were doing various odd jobs.

"This looks like a small settlement, but it doesn't seem to be run by the government or military. It must be some faction's doing."

"So what do we do?"

"I think we should go in through the front gate. That way, our story will make sense."

"But what if they confiscate our guns?"

"That's easy. I'll hold onto your guns for now and give them back when needed. Also, I won't pack too much food in my backpack, just some bread and water."

"Alright, let's do it your way!"

The three of them jumped down from the wall. Wang Bin collected their guns and adjusted his backpack, leaving only five packs of bread and three bottles of water before heading to the gate.

"Stop, what do you want?"

"We just came from another city and want to take shelter here!"

As soon as they approached the gate, they caught the guards' attention, who raised their guns at them.

"You can come in, but you have to hand over food, understand?" the leader, a burly man, said smugly.

"Understood, understood!" Wang Bin and the others feigned fear and nodded quickly.

"Come on, but don't try anything funny, or I'll blow your brains out!"

"We wouldn't dare!"

"Open your backpack!"

"This is all our food."

"We know, we know. You want to come in, right? We have to check if you're carrying any dangerous items."

"Alright!"

Wang Bin pretended to be very scared and slowly opened his backpack.

The leader impatiently pushed Wang Bin aside and dumped everything out of the backpack. His eyes lit up at the sight of the food.

"Bread!"

"And it's so well-packaged."

Before Wang Bin could react, the man had already bent down and grabbed four bags of bread, leaving only one for Wang Bin and the others. As for the water, they didn't take any since they had enough.

"Hey, that's our food! You can't do this!" Wang Bin acted angry and tried to retrieve the food, but as soon as he moved, several men around him grinned and pointed their guns at his head.

"Kid, don't be stupid. If you know what's good for you, get inside quickly, or you'll never get in once I change my mind!"

"Haha!"

Wang Bin and the others feigned fear and ran inside.

Seeing their embarrassed state, the guards laughed triumphantly, and snippets of their conversation could be heard.

"Boss, we're in luck this time, getting so much bread. You have to share some with us."

"Don't worry, you'll get your share. Two bags go to the higher-ups, one for me, and the rest for you guys."

"Thanks, Boss!"

Once Wang Bin and the others were out of earshot, their expressions returned to normal, full of disdain. They were sick of the bread anyway and didn't care about it. They wouldn't have acted so pitifully if not for gathering information.