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墨書 Inktalez
Things went surprisingly smoothly, to the point where Song Jiu felt a vague sense of being "a sheep entering a tiger's den."
As judged during the day, the security measures at Riverside Fortress were excellent. The five of them were spotted by the lookout on the tower as soon as they stepped out of the forest. Revealing their presence was part of the plan, and Song Jiu and the others did not try to hide; they raised their hands from a distance to signal that they meant no harm. The person on the tower cooperated, following them with a powerful searchlight but taking no other unusual actions.
The five walked in silence, occasionally exchanging glances. Xin Mengfan had her hands bound together, and as Song Jiu held onto the rope, he whispered a few words in her ear before they reached the main gate. Xin Mengfan understood immediately, closed her eyes to gather herself for a moment, and when she opened them again, her face wore an expression of deep sorrow as if she had just lost her father and her mother had remarried.
It must be said that Riverside Fortress exceeded Song Jiu's expectations in terms of scale. The observations made during the day in the forest proved to be of little use; the log wall not only blocked the zombies' approach but also kept their malicious intentions at bay. The tower was much taller than anticipated; although its exterior was rough, the lampstands on it and the basket hanging beside the main gate all testified to its strict defenses.
The five stopped in front of the main gate, where an old wooden barricade still bore remnants of dried blood. The sharpened wood pointed directly at them, exuding an invisible pressure. There was a gap of over ten meters between the gate and the defensive structures, and the double wooden doors were covered in rivets, with crisscrossing steel plates indicating their resistance to impact. The person on the tower was backlit, making it difficult for Song Jiu to see his face; judging by instinct, it seemed to be a man, and there was only one person. In another corner of the tower, there was only a torch flickering dimly, suggesting that there were no guards present.
Upon closer inspection of the fortress's exterior, Song Jiu felt even more satisfied. The height was sufficient to withstand zombie attacks, and the tightly fitted wooden pillars could resist any human force. The height and angle of the tower also provided adequate warning and defense capabilities. He spoke up: "I don't really understand; sorry about that."
"No worries, it's all part of getting familiar," Guard Boy replied with a grin, muttering to himself, "There have been quite a few new faces lately; it seems many people have retreated."
Song Jiu and his companions were puzzled by this remark but pretended not to hear it to avoid raising suspicion.
"So, what do you need?" Guard Young Man pointed at Xin Mengfan with his pen and said, "Let's confirm first; you want to exchange her."
"Yes, and two guns that were taken from us at the entrance," Song Jiu sighed in relief and answered according to their prearranged script.
"Oh, I didn't notice; what kind of guns?" The guard scratched his head hesitantly. "You should tell me what you need first. To be honest with you, we generally don't accept guns since we don't have ammunition; they just take up space."
"We..." Song Jiu paused for a moment, trying hard to appear sincere. "We heard that besides exchanging supplies here, you also accept Survivors?"
"Oh," the guard raised his eyebrows in curiosity. "So you..."
"Yes, we want to join here," Song Jiu confirmed. Seeing him frown slightly, he quickly added, "Since we didn't know the rules, we brought a woman along as proof of our intentions; I hope that's acceptable."
Guard Boy chewed on his pen while sizing them up with a hint of amusement in his eyes and asked, "Who told you about this?"
"There was a group at the train station; they mentioned it," Song Jiu replied vaguely before turning the question back.
Fortunately, Guard Boy seemed uninterested in probing further. After thinking for a moment, he asked, "Just you four?"
"Yes, it's just us four," Song Jiu responded.
"Oh, you're just in time; we've been short on people lately," Guard Young Man grinned widely as he gathered paper and pen before stepping outside to shout: "Baldy! Call Old Zhu over!"
Several people exchanged glances, each feeling an indescribable sensation, as if they were missing someone just when they needed a pillow to rest.
"Don't rush, wait a moment. It's a holiday today, and the person in charge isn't here," the Guard Young Man said with a friendly smile as he sat down on the ground. He pulled out a shiny gold cigarette case from his jacket and asked the group, "Want to take a break and smoke?"
"No, no," the five of them shook their heads in unison.
"It's a holiday," Song Jiu curiously asked, "but it doesn't seem like any special day."
"This is our local holiday—celebrating the arrival of new life, twins," the Guard Boy said, taking a puff of his cigarette as if chatting with familiar friends. "This is the first time this year; we have to celebrate properly."
Song Jiu and the others could only exchange confused looks, their faces reflecting their bewilderment.
"You mean someone had a baby?" Jiao Ziqian tilted his head and asked.
"Exactly," the Guard Boy replied happily, blowing out a series of smoke rings. "Where are you all from?"
"From out of town," Song Jiu answered.
"And this girl? Is she with you or did you bring her here?"
Song Jiu furrowed his brow and began to speak, "She is—"
"She's with you, right?" The Guard Young Man interrupted him, casting a meaningful glance at Xin Mengfan. "I can tell you're familiar with each other. Don't lie to me; we don't welcome liars here."
Song Jiu remained silent, staring intently at him in response.
"It was that guy named Yu who told you to bring women in exchange for goods," the Guard Boy chuckled, wearing an expression that said he understood everything. "He's talking nonsense; don't believe him."
"Oh, I thought he was serious," Song Jiu met his teasing gaze and smirked slightly. "But she really isn't one of us."
"It doesn't matter," the Guard Boy shrugged dismissively. "More people just means more chopsticks. This is a shelter, not a concentration camp; we don't practice gender discrimination here."
Song Jiu shrugged his shoulders, indifferent.
"I don't know what that guy Yu told you, but we do allow exchanges of supplies and accept Survivors here. Also, women can indeed be used to trade for supplies; however, they cannot be treated as mere commodities." The Guard Young Man extinguished his cigarette butt, his playful demeanor vanishing as he adopted a serious expression. "Because we also do not welcome those who treat women as goods."
Jiao Ziqian's expression changed as he looked at Song Jiu, who remained expressionless as if what was being said had nothing to do with him.
"So, do you understand what I mean?" The Guard Young Man squinted at Song Jiu and said slowly, "Think it over again. Will you trade her for some food and drink to leave, or will you all just get lost?"
"Damn it, I..."
"Ziqian, sit down." Song Jiu pulled the agitated Jiao Ziqian back and smiled, saying, "My brother has a temper, don't take it to heart."
The Guard Boy curled his lip and snorted, "Buddy, a hot temper leads to a quick end. Zombies won't tolerate your nonsense."
"Who can't brag? With your skills, I could take on ten of you. Do I need you to teach me how to survive?" Jiao Ziqian's anger flared up. Although he was held back by Song Jiu and couldn't make a move, his mouth didn't stop. He shot a sideways glance and provocatively said, "Not convinced? Let's see what you've got."
"Do you really want to walk out of here alive?" The Guard Boy seemed to find it amusing as he slowly stood up and clapped his hands. The slightly ajar wooden door swung open, and more than ten men rushed in, each holding shiny double-barreled shotguns that gleamed ominously in the dim light.
Behind them, A Hai and another Young Man also bristled with anger. Though they were unarmed, they showed no signs of backing down and stood shoulder to shoulder with Jiao Ziqian in front of Song Jiu and Xin Mengfan.
"What? Not convinced? Let's see what you've got," the Guard Boy mocked, throwing Jiao Ziqian's earlier provocation back at him.
Song Jiu stood up and pushed aside Jiao Ziqian who was blocking him. With a half-smile, he stared at the Young Man in front of him. After a moment of silence, he spoke up, "So, Zhu Guard, may I ask if we can join you or not?"
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