Chapter 202: Territory
“Al-alright, Doctor Chen.”
After Yang Yu and Yang Ao returned together, Wu Heng changed out of the clothes that looked clean but actually smelled sour and foul.
The clothes in his storage space came from everywhere—shopping malls, unknown street shops—and in all sizes for men, women, young, and old. If Doctor Chen hadn’t sorted them into categories, there was no way he could’ve reached out and picked exactly what he needed so easily.
“As a doctor, I still recommend you dress more warmly. You don’t know whether the weather here changes frequently.”
Wu Heng added a light green sweater over his shirt. He had thought about it—since animals in nature change the color of their skin or fur with the seasons to avoid attention and defend against predators, then he should also wear colors closer to the surrounding environment.
“You’re liking lighter colors more and more.”
“Doesn’t light color look like the color of a wedding dress?”
“….” Wu Heng lifted two boxes of soda down from the shelf.
“Going to do charity again?”
“If I made you work without giving you anything to eat, what would you do?” Wu Heng turned back to look at Doctor Chen.
Behind Doctor Chen stretched endless mountains and fields, with flocks of chickens, ducks, cattle, and sheep. “I can be self-sufficient.”
“Self-sufficient using my things?”
The man and the corpse bickered for a while before Doctor Chen returned to his main point. “Can I eat a duck?”
“The ducks aren’t mine,” Wu Heng said, “but I can go talk to their owner.”
Wu Heng appeared before the others in a clean set of clothes. His hair had grown back to its previous length, though it still didn’t match the neat, tidy style many parents expect for boys—his bangs reached past his eyebrows, even slightly covering his eyes, and his sideburns extended past his ears. The gloomy, unapproachable aura he gave off was even more pronounced than when his hair was long.
With this appearance, as he sat down, Liu Shen was finally able to observe and scrutinize him from the front.
Their first meeting had been in Kuhuang. Back then, they were nothing more than a group of children—both in appearance and behavior. Now, they had changed from the outside in. They had grown into youth amid a brutal and bloody apocalypse. They hadn’t died, hadn’t turned foolish, hadn’t gone mad—in fact, they had become even more ideal than what adults would have hoped for.
Lin Mengzhi handed out the sodas, and when he passed them to Liu Shen’s group, he said, “Say amen, and thank your god—Wu Heng.”
“Damn it—” Someone was about to curse loudly but had their mouth firmly covered by the person beside them.
“How do you still have soda?” the seer Sun Mo asked, holding the bottle in his hand. Although Liu Shen treated him fairly well because of his ability, soda was still a luxury. It wasn’t that it was hard to find—it just wasn’t worth the cost-performance ratio.
No one responded. Sun Mo extended his hand again. “My name is Sun Mo. ‘Mo’ as in silence.”
“Then why aren’t you silent?” Dou Lu asked.
“…Okay.”
Wen Yuan put the soda into his backpack, pulled out a map, and spread it open in the clearing. “Before entering this place, we identified three potential locations suitable for stationing and building a base. The western third is excluded for now—its elevation is too high, and the temperature difference between day and night is extreme. The north borders the snow mountains, which is where we are now, so that’s also not under consideration. One reason is we’re not sure whether the snow mountains will continue to shift position. Another is that more and more people will try to enter Deathlands, and this place is too close to them.”
From the map, the entire Deathlands appeared roughly circular, though irregular and incomplete. Seawater poured in from a crack opening in the east, flooding about half the land. The terrain distribution itself was completely irregular.
Next to Wang Ruixiang, three locations had been circled with a ballpoint pen—two large, one small. Connected, they formed an inverted triangle.
“Location 1: coastal, with a natural harbor. Food won’t be a problem. But you all know the dangers of the coast—it’s surrounded by sea on three sides, connected to land only on the west. Typhoons and marine creatures will be plentiful. Another issue is that there’s a volcanic belt to its north.”
“Location 2: a plain. It’s unclear whether the soil is suitable for growing crops, but among the three locations, it has the largest area and the most potential to develop on a large scale. However, we still need to consider one issue—can we actually defend it?”
“Location 3: the terrain is very similar to the Shenjian land we passed through before. You should all understand its pros and cons.”
As soon as Wang Ruixiang finished speaking, Xue Qi immediately shouted that he wanted Location 2.
“What do you think this is, kindergarten snack time?” Xue Shen pulled him back. “I choose 3.”
Based on what they currently knew, the Northern Base had already completely disappeared. The remaining bases further south would likely not escape this large-scale destruction of humanity—along with everyone else left on this planet.
If, in the end, Deathlands became the only remaining continent, then for the sake of survival, conflict would be inevitable. And the scale of that conflict—anyone with their head still on their shoulders could imagine it.
“I’m not turning into some kind of primitive ape. Then I’ll pick 1—1’s not bad either.”
Lin Mengzhi, who prided himself on understanding Wu Heng, lay down on the ground. “I still think 2 is better.”
“Exactly. Since we’re already here, of course we should pick the best place. If you’re scared of everything, why even come to Deathlands?” Liu Shen said with a cheeky grin.
“The hell do you know?”
“Who asked for your opinion?”
A group of them suddenly tangled together in a chaotic brawl—half joking, half serious. But the sound of fists hitting faces was completely real. Wen Yuan’s people had been trained; without his command, they didn’t move at all. So the ones fighting were Wu Heng’s spoiled, unruly teammates and Liu Shen’s already lawless group—now forced into an even more desperate position.
Outnumbered, each person on Wu Heng’s side had to deal with at least five opponents.
“If I don’t beat you till you call me grandpa today, then from now on I’ll eat your damn shit!” Lin Mengzhi slammed a punch into a man’s nose, sending blood mixed with tears flying.
The next moment, Lin Mengzhi was kicked to the ground. Before the man could get up, Dou Lu rushed in from behind, locking an arm around the man’s neck and driving her knee hard into his back again and again.
Soon, Dou Lu’s hair was yanked back. Before the slap could land, Xue Qi lunged up from the ground, grabbing the man’s legs and slamming him down. But in the next instant, a flying kick came from behind and stomped Xue Qi flat onto the ground.
Shen Ping’an hadn’t intended to join in, but after being knocked into several times, he flipped up to his feet, grabbed a man by the collar, and slapped him over a dozen times in rapid succession. Just as a pair of large hands wrapped around Shen Ping’an’s waist from behind—clearly about to lift him—Shen Ruyi rushed up and bit down hard on the big man’s shoulder.
Amid the noisy chaos, Wu Heng remained in the same position, propping his chin with one hand, staring at the map without saying a word.
“What do you think?” Wen Yuan asked in a low voice.
Xie Chongyi took a sip of soda. “You can’t guess?”
Wen Yuan hated working with Xie Chongyi the most—not because Xie Chongyi was weak, but precisely because he was too strong. He never took anything seriously and always had time to veer off into something unrelated.
Now was no different. Wen Yuan said expressionlessly, “You can.”
Wu Heng ignored their exchange as well. He took the ballpoint pen from Wang Ruixiang, clicked it open, lowered his gaze, and drew a circle around the entire Deathlands.
“No need to choose,” he said. “I want all of it.”
The moment those words fell, the surrounding scuffle came to an abrupt halt. Everyone turned to look in his direction.
Xie Chongyi let out a soft laugh beside him. He had expected as much.
—
Wu Heng didn’t say anything further. He picked up the map, stood up on his own, and ignored everyone else. “Class Monitor, let’s go.”
The others quickly came to their senses and followed the two of them in a large group.
The wilderness stretched like a green ocean, swaying and rippling. Slender leaves and drooping grain brushed against their waists and thighs. Once they passed through and forged a path, the plants quickly closed back in, covering their tracks, making it look as though no one had ever been there—an unclaimed land.
But that was only how it appeared. From this day on, this place had its first owner.
Wen Yuan walked half a meter behind Wu Heng, with a strip of local crops separating them.
As for Wu Heng’s decision, Wen Yuan neither approved nor objected. He had been assigned here in the first place without any right to participate in decision-making—his role was to execute orders, and he was very clear about his position.
But at the right time, he might still offer suggestions—provided he had a clear plan in mind. As it stood, however, among the three options Wang Ruixiang had proposed, no matter which one they chose, the situation they would face would be roughly the same. So, cutting it off at the source and directly taking control of the entire Deathlands might, in fact, be the best choice.
“Then we’ll use Location 2 as the central base. Once we get there, I’ll assess everyone’s abilities and assign them to set up defenses along the entire perimeter of Deathlands. Jiang Xun will establish links between all defensive points and connect them directly to the central base. That way, if anyone intrudes at any point, the base will be alerted immediately.”
“The premise is that we first need to build signal towers—but that won’t be difficult. Jiang Xun can handle it independently. Ginger has already taught her that skill.”
“However, I have a question I’d like to ask,” Wen Yuan said, slowing his steps. “If they’re survivors… Wu Heng, are you willing to take them in?”
Wu Heng stopped as well. He lifted his gaze from the map. “We’ll talk about it when the time comes.”
After a few seconds, he added, “If you need manpower, I’ll take them in.”
A faint trace of a smile appeared on Wen Yuan’s usually expressionless face. “Thank you.”
Wu Heng gave him a puzzled look.
Just as the two turned around, the shadows beneath them had grown noticeably larger—and were still expanding. Clouds? But clouds were always drifting.
“Locusts! It’s locusts! Everyone, be careful!”
Wu Heng looked up just in time to see the swarm—clustered like a mass of clouds—scatter in an instant. They were several times larger than mutated locusts, their bulging compound eyes reflecting the terrified expressions of the people below.
But before they could descend, the surrounding plains began to stir.
Everyone looked around, fists clenched, ready to strike at any moment.
One after another, massive green-brown frogs—each as large as a small mound of earth—poked their heads out. Their tongues shot out like thrown anchors, hooking dozens of locusts at a time.
“Leave this place.” Wu Heng had no intention of turning the area into a complete battlefield right now. Since there were creatures capable of dealing with the locusts, there was no need to waste energy.
Now that their abilities were usable again, they moved freely—covering hundreds of meters in the blink of an eye. It was effortless to withdraw from the combat zone between the locusts and the frogs.
Xie Chongyi didn’t do anything, nor did Wu Heng allow him to. Wu Heng simply took him and left the area directly.
They reappeared atop a relatively gentle slope in the distance. Farther away, locusts fell like rain, and the croaking of the frogs made one’s chest tighten with unease.
One by one, people began appearing behind Wu Heng. With his hands in his pockets, he looked at Wen Yuan. “Check if anyone’s missing.”
Yang Xiaoyun, standing behind Wen Yuan, turned and walked back to count.
“Anyway, none of our people are missing,” Shen Ruyi said indifferently, his face bruised and swollen. “Certain others would be better off all dead.”
Whether it was just his bad luck or something else, Wen Yuan’s group was intact, and Wu Heng’s group had no losses either. Only Liu Shen’s group had fallen behind—seven or eight people missing in one go.
After learning people were missing, Wu Heng narrowed his eyes and clearly saw the distant battlefield—some of them were indeed trapped, the frogs treating them as prey just like the locusts.
“Useless trash,” Liu Shen cursed. Aside from feeling embarrassed, he didn’t seem to care much. “Let’s go, let’s go. If they’re not good enough, they deserve to be frog food.”
Before he even finished speaking, the trapped individuals suddenly vanished from the ground. The green waves surged, and within seconds, they were thrown out from the vegetation in front of everyone, covered in dirt and looking utterly disheveled.
Before anyone could figure out what had just happened, Wu Heng’s hand had already struck Liu Shen across the face again.
Liu Shen licked the blood at the corner of his mouth and tilted his head at Wu Heng. “Hitting me again?”
Wu Heng stepped forward half a pace, his dark green eyes fixed unblinkingly on Liu Shen. “They’re my people now. You have no right to comment or decide their fate. Understand?”
