Eaten Ch.203

Chapter 203: Jingzhou has Fallen

Liu Shen stopped talking. Lin Mengzhi was half a head taller than him, easily slinging an arm over his shoulder without even needing to jump.

“Old Liu, what’s with you—itching for trouble or something? I’ve been hanging out with A’Heng for years, and I still haven’t taken as many slaps as you got in just one day.”

The boy was clearly being sarcastic. Liu Shen gave a cold snort and shoved him away.

After steering clear of the fight between the locusts and the frogs, the group continued on their way. The plain seemed endless—so vast that even using their abilities to teleport, they still couldn’t reach the edge anytime soon. They walked and stopped intermittently, even taking a short two-hour break, before finally making it out of the plain.

At the far end of the plain flowed several blue rivers of varying widths. No human had ever seen rivers this vividly blue—it looked like thick paint diluted with only a small amount of water. Beneath the surface, fish and shrimp darted and leapt continuously.

“Hurry, hurry—let’s dump Qiu Li in and see if the water’s toxic. That brat’s had it too easy for too long,” Lin Mengzhi said, actually moving as if to throw him into the river, muttering that it was about time to change the water anyway.

The betta fish flicked its tail twice and appeared by the riverbank, its figure almost graceful and elegant—if not for its pitch-black face that made people hesitate to approach.

“I don’t need a water change.”

Wu Heng held the bird upside down, letting it try a sip.

X let out the first “Dad!” of its bird life in sheer terror.

The joy of becoming a father for the first time led Xie Chongyi to give the bird a bit of face for once. After rescuing it from Wu Heng’s hands, Wu Heng flashed him a smile. “Just kidding.”

After saying that, he released vines to test the water. The vines spread out upon entering, like water snakes, scattering the fish and shrimp in all directions. Once Wu Heng confirmed the water wasn’t poisonous, he turned back and told the others.

Water, like air, was indispensable. Aside from Wu Heng’s people—pampered enough to still insist that raw water should be boiled before drinking—the rest, upon hearing it wasn’t toxic, immediately crouched by the riverbank and drank their fill like cattle.

Wu Heng crouched at the bank, observing the fish beneath the water.

“What’s wrong?” Xie Chongyi reached out and brushed aside a strand of hair by the other’s ear—even though it didn’t really need brushing.

“The fish here… are different from the ones outside.”

At a glance, they still looked black and brown, but on closer inspection, most of their scales were actually purple and gold—just so densely packed that the colors appeared darker overall.

The poppy used its leaves to scoop up a few and handed them to Wu Heng. Like eating peanuts, Wu Heng popped them into his mouth and chewed thoughtfully.

“What do they taste like?” Xie Chongyi asked, resting his chin on his hand.

“Like fish.” Wu Heng wasn’t particularly impressed, but that didn’t affect how much he liked this place. Compared to that tiny room he used to live in—one that didn’t even deserve a lock—this land now belonged entirely to him… and to Xie Chongyi.

Not far behind them, Liu Shen was crouching on the ground, tightening the caps on the two canteens he had just filled. Behind him squatted two people about his age—one burly, one thin.

“Boss, we finally made it here after all that trouble. So what’s going on now? That kid isn’t even as big as my shoe size—why does he get to boss you around?”

“Your shoe size is forty-eight. Even the boss doesn’t have feet that big.”

“Is that what I meant? The hell, is that what I meant?!”

“I know what you meant,” Liu Shen glanced back at the skinny underling, then sighed and looked away. “It’s just fate. A rotten kind of fate.”

The burly one, who spoke less, looked much calmer. He had his own ideas, but expressed them more tactfully. “Or… we could wait until they’re not paying attention and just—”

Liu Shen curled his lip, his expression mocking. “Finding a moment when dozens of people are all not paying attention at the same time won’t be easy.”

Seeing the burly guy get shot down, the skinny one chuckled. “Boss is already parasitized. If you go after that kid, I’d say you just can’t stand seeing the boss alive—”

“Ugh!!”

Before he could finish, Liu Shen suddenly turned on him and knocked him to the ground with a punch.

Liu Shen straddled the skinny man, shook out his wrist, and drove another punch straight into his face. The blow landed solidly—blood burst from the man’s mouth and nose—but Liu Shen didn’t stop. He kept punching, one after another, his expression blank, as if he were beating a lump of mud.

At first, the skinny man begged for mercy. Later, he couldn’t even make a sound. Only then did Liu Shen stop and stand up. He let out a breath of satisfaction, shaking his wrist as he walked to the riverbank to wash the blood from his hands.

“He’s venting, isn’t he?” Dou Lu sat on a large rock, elbows resting on her knees, looking at the person in the distance whose head was no longer even recognizable.

Xue Qi leaned beside her. “Most likely. He can’t beat Wu Heng, so he takes it out on his subordinates. Later he’ll just end up getting slapped around by Wu Heng again.”

“Have you guys thought about what kind of base we’re going to build?” The clear water and beautiful surroundings made it hard for anyone to stay in a bad mood.

“Beautiful and peaceful,” Dou Lu said.

“I like it lively,” Lin Mengzhi said.

“Like before—where there’s food to eat, books to read. You can work, or you can wander.”

Lin Mengzhi turned his head in shock to look at the speaker. “We still have to study?!”

Xue Shen agreed with the previous idea. “Once the base is established, we can open up a route between Deathlands and the inland. We can bring back some compulsory education textbooks—they’ll definitely be useful.”

“Can’t we just ask Jingzhou for a few helicopters?”

“Deathlands isn’t under Jingzhou’s jurisdiction. They’re not obligated to help us. For now, we can only rely on ourselves.”

“What if we pay them? I mean, give them what they need in exchange.”

Ying Liuquan appeared silently behind them and said softly, “What they want is most likely the living things in Deathlands—animals, plants, or even soil. But they’ve also said that organisms from here can’t survive once moved outside. So if we let them set the terms, they’d probably ask to establish their own laboratories or research institutes here.”

“Wu Heng won’t agree,” Ruan Silian said with certainty.

“They’ll provide it for us,” Old Lin said from the side, bending over and rubbing a grain spike between his hands as he examined it. “Soon, everyone is going to face destruction. For the sake of survival, you will be the ones setting the terms. When that time comes, you can get whatever you want. But I think…”

“Think what?” Lin Mengzhi asked eagerly.

Old Lin turned back and gave them a meaningful smile. “By then, what you’ll want more… might be humans themselves.”

Lin Mengzhi blinked a few times, let out a couple of “whoa” sounds, and raised his hand. “I want women.”

The moment he finished speaking, Dou Lu expressionlessly smacked him on the head from the side. “Captain, be serious.”

“Um… hello?” A young man slowly approached from the front. He was from Liu Shen’s group, but didn’t seem particularly rough. His scholarly-looking face carried a hint of timidity, though his eyes lit up slightly as he looked at them. “Um, hello… could you give me your… uh, what’s your name?” He was asking Ruan Silian.

Lin Mengzhi reacted first this time, leaning close to Dou Lu’s ear. “He wants a woman.”

Dou Lu froze for a second, then kicked off the rock and jumped down. She immediately started punching and kicking the young man, driving him away. Afterward, she stood there with her hands on her hips, panting heavily as she faced the group, who all looked confused. “What are you staring at?”

“Actually, I think it might be nice if someone could take care of Sister Ruan,” Xue Qi said quietly.

This time, Xue Qi was the one who got hit.

Wen Yuan’s group silently watched as the two sides alternated between real blows and half-serious scuffles, sitting there like statues.

“Do you think we can really help them build a proper base?”

“That’s something for the captain to worry about.”

Each of the three teams had its own distinct atmosphere, like three different scenes. At the center of those scenes, Wu Heng and Xie Chongyi were by the river, washing their hair.

Because they were worried that using industrial products like shampoo might damage the water quality and ecosystem, the two of them only rinsed their hair with clean water. They rubbed it dry with towels, then draped the towels over their heads.

Xie Chongyi silently leaned closer and kissed Wu Heng on the nose. On his pale, almost translucent nose bridge, tiny droplets of water were still rolling down, gathering at his lips, trembling as if about to fall.

“Class Monitor, from now on… this will be our home,” Wu Heng said, his eyes full of life.

Xie Chongyi smiled so much that his eyes curved. He leaned close, almost brushing against Wu Heng’s breath. “Then from now on, we’ll work at sunrise and rest at sunset… and what should we say to each other?”

Wu Heng thought for a moment. “Welcome home.”

Beyond the three “scenes,” they became the fourth.

—

They were about four to five hundred kilometers away from Wang Ruixiang’s Marker No. 2. In less than a day, they had already reached their destination. Along the way, they had passed countless mountains, rivers, and lakes. They had even encountered large flocks of birds and herds of strangely shaped cattle and sheep—but none of them showed any aggression. This suggested that they hadn’t yet been infected by the external virus.

They recalled the ring-shaped zone at the edge of Deathlands—it was probably responsible for that.

No wonder there were so many people trying to claim this place, like fish swarming across a river. But for now, it seemed they were the first team to actually arrive. The snow mountain had replaced what used to be a deadly hazard—though it hadn’t made things much easier.

If not for Wu Heng, almost all of them would have died on that mountain.

After reaching their destination, no one was able to speak for a long time.

What came into view was not a barren wasteland, but a dense cluster of city buildings. Even from a distance, it was clear they were at least several decades old—possibly even centuries. Lush green wild plants filled the gaps between the structures, sealing off doors and windows completely.

“Why… does it look like this?” Jiang Xun turned to Wen Yuan.

“I don’t know.” The internal structure of Deathlands had always been impossible to detect.

Xie Chongyi was the first to move. He grabbed Wu Heng’s wrist. “Let’s go take a look.” Then he glanced back at the others. “Everyone, stay on guard.”

Along the way, weeds grew up to their knees, and beneath them were patches of waterlogged ground that sank with every step. Wu Heng was wearing canvas shoes—his very first step soaked them through—but he didn’t say a word. His gaze moved from the muddy ground beneath his feet to the hand clasped with Xie Chongyi’s. He didn’t want to break this moment.

It looked close, but was actually far. This time, they walked for over an hour before finally stepping onto a concrete road covered in dry, withered grass.

Lin Mengzhi bounced in place. “It really is a concrete road! Why would there be concrete here?”

“Could it be like the snow mountain—brought here from somewhere else? Like… the Northern Base?” Xue Shen carefully took out his treasured glasses, his sharp gaze scanning everything around them.

If they weren’t already in Deathlands, they might have thought this was a long-abandoned city somewhere.

But now that it had appeared here, the shock was like suddenly finding a KFC out in the middle of nowhere.

They advanced slowly toward the “city,” staying alert the whole time. Along the way, they even found plastic trash.

“White Rabbit milk candy? Whoa… but the box is all worn out—looks like my grandma’s sewing kit.”

The group moved cautiously, and after about twenty minutes, they finally approached the first piece of man-made structure.

It was a bus stop.

Wu Heng, Xie Chongyi, and a few others stood beneath the shelter, looking up at the dozen or so route numbers above them—and the words at the very top:

“Welcome aboard Jingzhou City Bus.”

Welcome aboard Jingzhou City Bus?

Vague and uncertain memories suddenly became clear and undeniable in that moment.

Bang.

In the dead silence, something struck the shelter roof—not too heavy, not too light. A gray shadow flashed past their eyes. Xie Chongyi reacted instinctively, reaching out just in time to catch what fell into his palm.

“White magnolia,” Wu Heng said, recognizing the flower in his hand.

“So… this is Jingzhou?” Even Xue Qi caught on. Old Lin had mentioned before that, roughly speaking, only places that had disappeared would partially reappear in Deathlands.

“Jiang Xun, contact Jingzhou.” Xie Chongyi’s gaze turned cold—colder than ever before.

Jiang Xun instinctively glanced at Wen Yuan, noticing that he remained silent and didn’t mind Xie Chongyi giving orders over him. So she immediately began trying to establish contact with Jingzhou.

Some of the others, still completely confused, exchanged looks full of doubt. Contact Jingzhou? Were they supposed to tell them there was a Jingzhou bus stop here?

Wu Heng’s wrist was being gripped so tightly by Xie Chongyi that it started to hurt, but he didn’t react. Instead, he tilted his head to look at Xie Chongyi’s expression. “You think Jingzhou has fallen, like the Northern Base?”

Hearing Wu Heng’s voice, Xie Chongyi’s grip loosened slightly. He lowered his head and looked at the red marks he had left on Wu Heng’s wrist.

“Don’t be afraid,” Wu Heng said, not very good at comforting people. “You can bring your mother here.”

Not just his mother—any relatives or friends, even things like ginger or old ginger—if Xie Chongyi wanted, Deathlands would welcome them all.

A few minutes stretched on like years. More white magnolia flowers fell from above, this time landing at their feet instead of in Xie Chongyi’s hand.

“Can’t get through,” Jiang Xun swallowed. “What’s going on?”

Xie Chongyi said, “Just a bad feeling. Keep trying until you reach them.”

After that, as if unaffected, Xie Chongyi continued leading Wu Heng deeper into the city. He even had the leisure to point out buildings he could still recognize along the way. These structures had almost become part of the surrounding vegetation—overrun, corroded, battered by wind and rain until they were broken and mottled.

Before long, even those who hadn’t understood why a city appeared here began to sense something was wrong.

“Why are all of these landmarks from Jingzhou?”

“Damn, back in college my roommate and I even checked in at this crappy café—one cup of coffee cost me 108!!!”

A few hours later, everyone was drenched in sweat from exhaustion. Liu Shen cleared out a patch of ground and sat down, and the others followed, resting where they could. Wu Heng told Xie Chongyi to wait where he was, then nimbly made his way through thorny brambles thicker than a person’s body. Using his ability, he cleared away the sign on one of the buildings—it was a government emblem.

The vines continued creeping upward, tearing away the weeds around the sign and across the entire building. Beneath the overgrowth, the damaged yet broad and orderly walls were revealed, along with countless glass windows. The wild plants had all grown up from the flower beds below.

After clearing out the plants in the middle of the flower bed, a red banner with white characters—caked with dirt—was exposed.

Wu Heng glanced back. Xie Chongyi was talking with Jiang Xun and the others. Only then did he quickly step into the flower bed, pick up the banner, and read it word by word.

“Never give up our beautiful homeland; together, create a bright future for humanity.”

After reading it, Wu Heng crouched down and used his ability to dig a hole at lightning speed, then buried the banner inside.

“What are you doing?” Xie Chongyi’s voice appeared behind him like a ghost.

The breath Wu Heng had been holding suddenly tightened. His fingers curled slightly. “Just… seeing what’s in the soil.”

Xie Chongyi pulled him up. With his head lowered, it was impossible to tell what he was feeling. As he brushed the dirt off Wu Heng’s hands, he said, “Jiang Xun just got through to Xiao Ge. Jingzhou—and the three major bases south of it—have all fallen. Two-thirds of the survivors have been buried there. The remaining one-third has already been urgently evacuated to Kuhuang.”

Wu Heng let Xie Chongyi carefully brush the dirt off his hands, grain by grain, his expression focused.

Only after cleaning them completely did Xie Chongyi let go. Then he reached into the hole Wu Heng had just filled and pulled the banner back out.

“Let’s go.”

“Go where?” Wu Heng hadn’t even processed what was happening yet.

Xie Chongyi narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at the striking emblem on the building above. Holding the banner in one hand and pulling Wu Heng along with the other, he stepped onto the stairs.

“The government building was allocated to those with the highest-level abilities after the apocalypse,” he said. “But it’s obvious they didn’t accomplish much. I’ll take you inside and have a look—because now, it’s under your control.”

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