One night passed.

In the firepit burning in the center, only a few tiny flames were left.

Qingyang had been meditating all night. Even though he hadn't slept at all, he didn't feel tired.

With his eyes closed, his intake of external information was reduced; in the state of meditation, he had actually rested quite well.

Creaaak~

The door that had stayed tightly shut all night was pushed open by Niu Gao, and the morning light spilled into the house.

The early morning sunlight was warm and gentle, carrying a kind of healing aura.

As the sunlight streamed in, Qingyang opened his eyes. He took a few seconds to adapt to the brightness, then slowly stood up.

Tap, tap, tap——

"What are you going to do?" Seeing Qingyang walking toward her, Sister Lan, who had just woken up, looked at him and asked.

Qingyang cupped his hands in a salute, then said, "Thank you for putting me up last night. It's dawn now, I'm heading out. If fate allows, we'll meet again."

Hearing this, Sister Lan's just-awakened mind cleared a lot. She asked in puzzlement, "You're going to Oil City?"

Qingyang nodded lightly and said, "Yes."

"Oh, okay, then go." Sister Lan nodded.

After spending a peaceful night together yesterday, nothing had happened.

Now at first light the next day, this Taoist was leaving.

That made Sister Lan and the others breathe a sigh of relief. It seemed this Taoist's sudden arrival last night had really just been an accident.

After saying his goodbyes, Qingyang turned and headed for the door.

Niu Gao, who had just opened it, watched Qingyang slowly walk toward him and narrowed his eyes. Seeing Sister Lan behind Qingyang wave at him, he somewhat reluctantly stepped aside.

Seeing this, Qingyang gave a slight nod and walked out.

Sister Lan, Niu Gao, and the others came out of the house, watching as Qingyang walked out through the wall and headed in the direction of Oil City.

Niu Gao was a bit curious and said to Sister Lan, "Sister Lan, why don't we go take a look? I kind of want to see if this kid will really go to Oil City like he said yesterday."

Sister Lan neither agreed nor disagreed, but her actions already gave the answer.

She watched the little Taoist's receding figure and followed far behind him.

Very soon.

They saw the little Taoist facing the rising sun, walking toward Oil City at an unhurried pace.

The morning sun stretched his back into a long shadow. No one knew what would happen to him after he crossed over.

There were other Survivors in the small town. Two early risers saw Sister Lan, Niu Gao, and the others standing by the roadside and walked over curiously.

"What are you doing up so early? Hm, who's that guy? Judging by the direction, is he going to Oil City?"

Sister Lan ignored him. Instead, Niu Gao next to her replied with great interest, "Let me tell you, last night....."

.....

Ten minutes later.

The Taoist Qingyang was less than a hundred meters from Oil City. He saw, not far ahead, those trenches dug into the ground, with concrete at the bottom.

It looked like water had been added to the trenches. Now, under the sunlight, the surface shimmered.

These trenches hadn't been used to carry oil out yet. Just two days ago, a layer of concrete and sand was laid in them. The sun had been fierce the past two days, so to keep the concrete from cracking under the heat and to increase its strength, they had sprayed a layer of water on top.

As he drew closer to Oil City, the scene on its walls became clearer and clearer.

At the main gate in the middle of the wall, to the left and right, two people stood with guns in their hands. Next to each of them there was a machine gun, with a person sitting behind it.

Besides these four, he could see a few more people farther along the wall, walking back and forth on patrol.

Just as Qingyang was about to keep walking forward, a sharp voice rang out from the wall: "Stop! Take another step and we'll open fire."

The guard stared fixedly at Qingyang, flicked off the safety on his gun, finger on the trigger, muzzle aimed at Qingyang. The moment this person made any suspicious move, he would shoot.

They had spotted this Taoist from a kilometer away. If not for the fact that he wasn't carrying a gun and hadn't come by car, they would have warned him off already. They hadn't expected this man to walk all the way up to the gate without the slightest fear.

Only now did the guard finally lose patience and shout for him to stop.

Hearing the guard's warning, Qingyang drew back the foot he had just stepped out, and looked up at the guards on the wall in formal military-style uniforms, holding standard-issue firearms. His suspicion that this place belonged to the military solidified even more.

At a distance of a hundred meters, normal speech wouldn't carry clearly, and unlike the man on the wall, he didn't have a loudspeaker.

So, in order to make himself heard, he sank his breath to his dantian and shouted, "This poor Taoist, Qingyangzi, has come to pay a visit."

His voice was loud and powerful, drifting over steadily.

The guards exchanged looks.

"What the hell is this?" one of them said, a bit dazed.

"Ask him what he wants. If it's nothing important, tell him to get lost. This isn't a place just anyone can enter."

"Got it."

So one of the guards picked up the loudspeaker and shouted, "This place is closed to outsiders. What do you want?"

Hearing that, Qingyang thought for a moment, then said, "I'd like to see your leader. A few days ago, a helicopter saved me from a Zombie Tide. I've come especially to give my thanks."

"Helicopter? Could it be the one Director Li was on when they came back a few days ago?"

"No idea, go notify Director Li and the others, where's Captain Bi?"

"Out on patrol. I've already called Captain Bi just now. Director Li is heading back to Big Camphor Tree Base today; he's with Director Li right now."