Chapter 74 - 72: Earthquake, Teaming Up

Startled awake, Jiang Si snatched up her gun.

A helicopter was slowly landing a little over a hundred meters away. Lu Zhifeng peered at it through his binoculars.

In the cockpit sat a female pilot, just like Jiang Si.

This slightly lessened the group’s hostility toward the aircraft.

Soon, two men in suit jackets emerged from the helicopter. They looked quite respectable.

At the same time, each held a small handgun for defense.

Both sides were armed, and both were cautious. The older, shrewder-looking man addressed Jiang Linhai, "Friend, we mean no harm. Can we just rest here for a while? Live and let live?"

As long as there was no threat, who would want to kill wantonly?

Jiang Linhai made an OK gesture. The man smiled and returned the gesture, signaling a mutual understanding.

Once Zhuang Qi Yuan and Zhuang Chenshen were back in their helicopter, the son asked, "Dad, what if they decide to rob us?"

The two men who came out of the other helicopter were covered in weapons and gear, clearly far better equipped than they were.

They only had two guns—stashed illegally before the apocalypse—with only a few bullets left between them.

If those people suddenly got any malicious ideas, they’d be in a terrible spot if they were robbed.

Zhuang Chenshen glanced at Zhuang Feiyue resting in the cockpit and sighed. "We have to let your sister rest. She needs to rest, and then we need to figure out where to go."

Zhuang Feiyue was an adrenaline junkie and the only one who knew how to fly a helicopter. If she didn’t rest well, it would be easy for an accident to happen even after they took off.

Zhuang Chenshen took the crackers and water his wife handed him and had a couple of bites. Then he shot to his feet and walked toward the back of the cabin. Zhuang Qi Yuan followed close behind, only to see his father’s brow furrowed deeply. "We’re down to our last barrel of fuel," Zhuang Chenshen said.

Only one last barrel of fuel!

Zhuang Qi Yuan was shocked. "Then we should just stay here! What if we run out of fuel mid-air?"

Zhuang Chenshen pointed out the window. "Even if there aren’t any more major earthquakes, the food we have left will only last a month at most. The surroundings are desolate, riddled with chasms, and there’s no water. Plus, there are still aftershocks from time to time. Staying here is just waiting to die."

Zhuang Qi Yuan’s expression shifted drastically. Beside them, Wang Rongxue’s gaze immediately darted to the other helicopter. She lowered her voice and whispered, "Why don’t we go borrow a little fuel from them?"

’They didn’t try to rob us, which means they probably aren’t short on fuel. Maybe they have some to spare. Once we get to our eldest son, we can pay them back double,’ Wang Rongxue reasoned.

The moment the words left her mouth, both father and son shot down the idea.

"At a critical time like this, who would lend out fuel for free? A verbal IOU is useless."

Wang Rongxue clung to a sliver of hope. "We have to try! We can’t just stay here and die!"

Zhuang Qi Yuan stared at Jiang Si’s helicopter and said to Zhuang Chenshen, "Dad, why don’t we team up with them?"

"First, there’s strength in numbers. Second, we could share fuel. And third, we’d have two pilots, so Sis can get some proper rest."

Wang Rongxue’s eyes lit up; she thought it was a great idea. Zhuang Chenshen, however, frowned and lowered his voice. "If we team up with them, we’ll have to share supplies. We don’t have much to begin with. What if they don’t have any supplies or fuel? Then we’d just be giving our things away for free. Let’s just watch and wait for now."

When Zhuang Feiyue woke up, dusk was already settling in.

The helicopter opposite them remained silent and still.

Zhuang Qi Yuan leaned over and asked urgently, "Sis, we’re down to our last barrel of fuel. What should we do?"

If they could just find a place to get some fuel, that would work too, but most resources in the cities had already been claimed and controlled.

Getting two barrels of fuel would be no less difficult than being flayed alive.

Zhuang Feiyue surveyed their surroundings when suddenly, another tremor rumbled beneath them.

The aftershocks were constant. This place wasn’t safe either.

She glanced at the map and said, "We’ll just have to do our best to find a suitable place to survive before this barrel runs out."

Wang Rongxue’s heart trembled. "What if we run out of fuel mid-flight?"

Zhuang Feiyue was silent for a moment before saying, "Then everyone will have to be prepared to jump."

Wang Rongxue didn’t know the first thing about jumping from a helicopter. Her face went pale with fear. She turned to Zhuang Chenshen. "Why don’t we listen to Qi Yuan and ask them to team up?"

Zhuang Chenshen considered it seriously. Rather than his whole family facing such a huge risk alone, it was indeed better to take a gamble.

He had Wang Rongxue gather some instant noodles and water as a welcoming gift and, with Zhuang Qi Yuan in tow, approached Jiang Si’s group.

Seeing them get out of their helicopter again, Jiang Linhai and Lu Zhifeng raised their guns and moved to intercept them.

Zhuang Chenshen put on a friendly smile. "Gentlemen, I don’t know if you’ve eaten yet, but we have some instant noodles and water."

Jiang Linhai didn’t care about their meager offerings. He frowned and said, "Get to the point. Don’t beat around the bush."

This was exactly the kind of person he’d hated dealing with at his old job—it was mentally exhausting. It was why he had quit his stable government job to become a contractor back home.

Zhuang Chenshen asked tentatively, "Could we trade for two barrels of fuel? As soon as we reach the Northern Country, my eldest son will definitely compensate you double."

Jiang Linhai frowned. His reply was a single sentence: "We’re not trading."

’Jiang Si has plenty of fuel in her space, but the important thing is to prevent anyone from finding out she has a space at all.’

In times like these, fuel was the scarcest resource.

No one knew for sure how much fuel was needed to fly a helicopter safely to another location.

Only a fool would agree to a trade and reveal they had extra fuel.

Zhuang Chenshen had anticipated Jiang Linhai’s refusal and quickly proposed his son’s earlier idea. "Alright, gentlemen, how about this? We team up and travel together. We’ll save fuel that way, and we can contribute our remaining supplies to the group. My daughter can also fly, so the pilots can take turns and rest."

’Give them our supplies and fuel in exchange for a ticket on their helicopter.’

’In the apocalypse, no one has it easy.’ Zhuang Chenshen guessed they probably didn’t have many supplies stockpiled and would be tempted by the offer.

Taking turns flying the helicopter would allow Jiang Si to get plenty of rest.

When Jiang Linhai heard that last part, his expression showed a hint of hesitation. He glanced at the confident-looking Zhuang Chenshen and his son, then said, "Wait here. We need to discuss it."

Jiang Si had overheard their entire conversation from inside the helicopter. The moment Jiang Linhai climbed back in, she shook her head. "Don’t. One or two hours of deep sleep is enough for me to go for another twenty or thirty hours. At that rate, we could fly across the Arctic Ocean. We don’t need anyone else to pilot the helicopter."

"Besides, they talk about contributing supplies, but who knows who would really be contributing to whom."

When Jiang Si had taken out the helicopter, she had already stuffed it full of all sorts of supplies. It was basically a small, flying house. She had no use for their paltry offerings.