Chapter 59: Chapter 52 Local
Two agile figures jumped from a withered tree in the park onto the school’s perimeter wall, then nimbly pushed off and effortlessly vaulted over it.
The school playground was in disarray, the ground littered with dried blood stains and flesh scabs sticking to the floor, hosting far more zombies than the streets outside, all blocked by the school’s bulletproof gates.
They hadn’t spread out.
Therefore, this place was generally off-limits to ordinary survivors.
Outside the school supermarket, a female zombie in a school uniform, with pale skeletal features already showing on its face, occasionally twitched in its spot.
But the next moment, a shovel smacked onto its head, splattering some viscous fluid.
At the same time, as the zombie was about to fall, Jack intervened with his leg to soften the noise of its collapse.
For Tao Yu and Jack, who both had strong mobility, avoiding zombies and entering the school was not difficult; they had a clear understanding of the zombies’ habits and easily established tacit coordination.
To move lightly and quietly, Tao Yu didn’t even wear his helmet, and Jack minimized his gear as much as possible.
Their movements were soundless.
Seven months had passed, and although the supermarket was a bit cluttered, the shelves were still crammed with goods, with just a few scattered on the floor.
It was evident that no one had patronized this place from the beginning to the end.
Apart from a few zombies already cleared at the entrance, there were still about seven or eight inside the supermarket.
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“Be careful not to let them knock over the shelves, otherwise we’ll have to run ahead of time,” Jack whispered, holding the shovel.
Tao Yu simply nodded without making a sound.
“I’ll take the left, you take the right.”
Jack made several hand signals to Tao Yu, gesturing numbers and directions.
Tao Yu also raised his hand and gestured an OK.
Dang~
Click~
Pfft~
Both wielding a shovel and a crooked knife, their movements were clean and crisp.
Plus, they controlled the directions well, preventing the zombies from toppling the shelves.
They easily eliminated all the zombies in the supermarket.
Besides, they thoroughly checked inside and out, ensuring no stragglers suddenly emerged and made noise.
Once certain, they quickly stuffed their backpacks with various high-energy foods.
Snickers, chocolate, biscuits, canned food, and some sports drinks kept filling their backpacks.
Tao Yu even ate as he packed, snacking directly.
The Swallow Essence Technique – Modified not only accelerated digestion and provided resistance to poison, but it also increased the energy reserves one could store in advance.
Given the abundance of food, keeping oneself at peak condition was definitely the right choice.
Jack, who was beside Tao Yu, was wide-eyed at the sight of his voracious eating.
He really could eat a lot.
Then, as he helped pack Tao Yu’s backpack, Jack came closer and whispered,
“Is this the Yuan Force strengthening skill you were talking about?”
“Mmm-hmm~”
Chewing with his cheeks puffed, Tao Yu hummed affirmatively and nodded.
He then tilted his head to glance at Jack, pondering for a moment.
Maybe he could try teaching Jack the Basic Breathing Method, even the Wanliu Stance Skill and Myriad Streams Five Forms.
Jack couldn’t absorb those Yuan Force skills, but skills that could be practiced should definitely be no problem for him.
In truth, the dojos in the outskirts didn’t have strict measures to prevent the outside transmission of skills.
As long as the apprentices who’d learned didn’t openly teach others in the name of the dojo and kept it private for friends and family, it wasn’t a concern.
Outsiders valued their own skills highly, plus practicing skills without proper mastery could lead to injury or, in the case of breathing techniques, could harm the internal organs.
There were far more cases of people being crippled in secret practice than of successes. Tao Yu had only dared to train in the Basic Breathing Method under the guidance of his older brother.
Therefore, ordinary people without connections, willing to pay for learning, would still mainly rely on dojos.
This was also why Wanliu Dojo tied its outstanding students to the dojo.
However, although Tao Yu’s proficiency in several skills wasn’t high, due to the holistic awareness brought about by Deification, he felt he could at least get Jack started.
Trading free knowledge for genuine goodwill seemed like a good deal.
If Jack managed to get a foothold in the settlement later, it could mean having an extra source of support…
…
“Are you willing to teach me?”
Having returned to the driver’s seat of the pickup with supplies, Jack also seemed invigorated, even beginning to lift his hands and gesture some moves of his own.
“Since you’re willing to take the risk of going with me to find the meteorite, teaching a few skills is nothing, but whether you can learn them is up to you.”
Tao Yu was indifferent.
“Haha, thanks, bro, you’re pretty decent.”
“Remember, if you get a chance to learn skills at a gathering place in the future, try to find a formal venue, otherwise, if you train incorrectly or ruin your potential, it’ll be troublesome.”
As Jack started the pickup, Tao Yu reminded him again with a word of caution,
“Currently, our entire Pioneer group, myself included, prioritizes interests. You need to change your way of handling things a bit and be more vigilant.”
Jack listened to Tao Yu’s words, laughing and glancing at him while driving,
“Brother Zhang Wei, no matter what, I’m ex-CIA, not so naïve, but still, thanks.”
“My name is Tao Yu.”
Since he had decided to cultivate a long-term operation, and with the groundwork laid, Tao Yu no longer concealed his identity.
“Haha, Brother Tao Yu, we’re friends now, right?”
“Naturally.”
“Hold tight, I’m going to accelerate.”
Jack started shifting gears and stepped on the gas, zooming off the highway and driving straight onto the Gobi, kicking up a trail of dust behind him, forming a long snake-like pattern across the barren desert…
…
wa cha la la yo oh…, wa cha la la yo oh…
As the sun set, since they couldn’t pick up speed on the Gobi, and after changing a tire mid-way, Tao Yu and his group finally bypassed the center of Las Vegas.
Carrying a cloud of dust, they returned to the highway on the Gobi, driving toward the military base in the distance.
Next to this military base lies the globally notorious restricted area, Area 51…
So, researching the meteorite over here wouldn’t be surprising at all.
“This Breathing Technique is really useful, I’m hungry again.”
Jack’s face lit up with excitement as he bit into a Snickers bar, but it was evident that his breathing rate was similar to Tao Yu’s while driving.
With Jack’s robust physical condition and without any mistakes, there was no need to worry about damaging his internal organs, so by midday during their break for a meal, he had already been initiated into the Basic Breathing Technique under Tao Yu’s guidance.
His talent was beyond question.
Perhaps this also involved some factor of being a “Child of Destiny” vested with the Yuan Force.
No wonder Cao Shaolin was so strong.
And since he had successfully initiated, the rest was just a process of familiarization and adaptation.
“Now that you’ve just initiated, make sure you don’t breathe incorrectly. If you feel pain, stop immediately, or you might suffer from lifelong internal injuries.” Tao Yu warned again, as not everyone could disregard pain like him, and there were plenty who had ruined themselves and were left disabled.
“I don’t feel uncomfortable at all. Right now, I’m feeling great, full of energy.”
“Are you sure there’s no one left in the military base ahead? Won’t we become targets if we drive there and it hasn’t been overrun?”
“I’m sure. Before, some survivors tried to take some military weapons from here, but ended up finding only zombies. Moreover, the ammunition depot has exploded.”
Jack mentioned casually.
“Exploded? Didn’t the meteorite explode too?”
“No, if the meteorite had exploded, the base would be gone.”
Jack was clearly aware of the meteorite’s power; it was the kind of thing that could make a handgun deal missile-level damage.
The military wasn’t foolish—of course, they would have stored it separately and safely.
But at that moment, Tao Yu’s pupils contracted slightly as he suddenly shouted,
“Stop the car!”
Jack didn’t know what Tao Yu meant, but due to the tacit understanding and trust between them at that moment, he slammed on the brakes, causing the pickup to slide a distance on the highway, leaving evident skid marks.
“Duck your head, be careful, the ground ahead is littered with nails. It must be deliberate.”
Tao Yu quickly scanned the surroundings and spotted some people peering out from behind several scrapped vehicles in the Gobi direction.
From their weapons and attire, they were either Pioneers or people who had killed Pioneers and taken their equipment…
“They may be Pioneers. Remember what I told you, stay alert, don’t speak, I’ll handle the negotiation.”
While quickly advising Jack, Tao Yu opened the car door and, staying alert, waved toward the other side and called out loudly in the common tongue,
“Hey, big brother, I’m a local, one of our own.”