Post-Apocalyptic Survival Modpack

Chapter 28, Section 28: Heavy Rain Delays Work

a few days later.

night.

In the woods, the campfire crackled and burned, illuminating the surrounding area.

This is also the only place with light in the entire forest.

Many small insects were attracted and circled around the campfire, or hovered at the boundary between shadow and light.

In the past, doing this would have made Ryder feel uneasy, like he had a thorn in his side.

After all, no one knows what might be lurking in the dark forest—perhaps ferocious wild animals, or perhaps treacherous thugs and robbers—any of which could be a real headache.

But now we don't need to think about those things.

He felt particularly at peace.

because…

“It tastes really good.”

Beside him, Wang Ji was eating a grilled fish.

Before grilling, the fish was marinated by Ryder with some seasonings, making it very flavorful. In addition, the fish itself was large and fat, so the aroma was also very strong.

With the addition of seasoning, the satiety level increases by one level.

"As long as you're satisfied."

Ryder also picked up the grilled fish and slowly began to nibble on it.

These fish were all caught by Wang Jigang in a clear, transparent puddle; they are very fresh.

At first, Ryder was surprised and didn't understand.

As for now, I've gotten used to it.

'Let's just consider it a fish caught from another dimension.'

He had already filled in the blanks in his mind.

Tonight is peaceful as usual, nothing happened.

Time passed slowly, but the sky remained dark.

Boom——

A clap of thunder startled Ryder awake.

It's going to rain again.

"Again."

Ryder stood up, grinning, and complained.

Wang Ji is not afraid of rain; if he gets wet, he gets wet but won't get sick or feel uncomfortable because of it.

In fact, he has never been sick in his entire life.

Wang Ji had long ago determined one thing: he would not fall ill naturally, just as he would not be affected by the changing seasons.

If any abnormality occurs, it must be due to interference from unnatural factors.

But Ryder is different.

"Hiss—it's so cold."

He grumbled under his clothes, but still kept up with Wang Ji and hurried along.

We walked like that for half a day.

wow-

The rain poured down, blurring the view.

Before long, a layer of mist rose up nearby, making it impossible to see anything.

Stepping on the muddy ground, Wang Ji also felt a bit uncomfortable.

The weather was so bad that even he was somewhat affected.

So Wang Ji stopped, skillfully set up a temporary shelter, and casually made a campfire.

"Let's warm ourselves by the fire and rest for a bit."

Ryder immediately ducked inside, went to the campfire, and began wringing out his already soaked clothes.

While busy working, Ryder said, "Sometimes I really envy you."

"It seems that no unusual circumstances can affect you."

"No matter the wind or rain, or the scorching heat or freezing cold, nothing can stop you from moving forward."

Wang Ji paused for a moment, then pointed to the campfire and said, "But if you put me on this fire to roast, something bad will still happen."

Ryder was amused and laughed, "Who would roast a child for fun?"

Wang Ji curled his lip.

The uneventful journey continued for a few more days.

The weather has been bad lately, with rain every two days and sometimes it rains for a long time, which really disrupts my plans.

Fortunately, they just walked a little slower and nothing unexpected happened.

On an ordinary afternoon, the two finally spotted signs of human activity near the mountains.

This indicates that we are not far from a nearby settlement.

Ryder looked around and said, "There's a road, and judging from the tracks, cars often pass by."

Wang Ji followed Ryder's gaze and found that there was indeed a relatively flat dirt road not far away, with several deep ditches on it, obviously formed by years of trampling.

Looking at the bumpy road, Wang Ji couldn't help but say, "This road condition isn't very good."

As Ryder looked up toward the end of the road, he said, "That's normal. Apart from the capital and the towns near the capital, which have paved roads, the roads in other places are mostly natural."

"That's so natural."

Wang Ji couldn't help but complain.

Bang!

A crashing sound came from the other side of the road, and the two immediately became alert, retreating a distance and crouching behind the bushes.

"What's the noise?"

The two looked toward the direction from which the sound came.

Clang, clang...

A wooden cart loaded with goods was slowly rolling over, with several people pushing or pulling it from both the front and back, looking quite strained.

Following the first vehicle, several more wooden carts were pushed forward by a group of people.

Their destination was the other side of the road, which was probably the mine.

Ryder whispered, "Looks like we're in the right place."

Wang Ji nodded without speaking, but his brows were deeply furrowed.

The workers pushing the carts were all hunched over, thin, and with sallow complexions. Most of them wore only tattered burlap sacks held together by a rope, which could barely be considered clothes.

Looking at these people, Wang Ji couldn't help but ask, "Is the Empire a slave society?"

Ryder was taken aback by the question, then shook his head.

"No, slavery is illegal."

—At least that's how it appears on the surface.

Ryder added a sentence to himself.

"What about these people?"

Wang Ji pointed to the convoy.

After a long pause, Ryder finally replied, "They're probably all workers."

Wang Ji fell silent.

This was the first time he had ever seen people living such a hard life. Even in his hometown, in that inconspicuous little village that didn't even have a name, the villagers at least had normal clothes to wear.

Even if they often don't have enough to eat, they won't starve to the point of being skin and bones. Most people are still quite healthy, otherwise they wouldn't be able to work every day.

Why do people in this remote area live such miserable lives?

Is nobody going to do anything about this?
“We can follow them to find the mine, which will save us a lot of trouble.”

Ryder gently patted Wang Ji on the shoulder.

Looking at Wang Ji's expression, he knew what the boy was thinking, but there was no use thinking about it now; there were more important things to do.

In the past, Ryder would only lament that he was powerless to do anything and could not help anyone.

But things are different now; now everything has the potential to change…

Boom!
As the two were observing, suddenly, the car in front stopped and got stuck in place. Then, as if affected by something, the car lost its balance and flipped over to the ground with a loud bang.

The people behind stopped and peered ahead, wondering what was going on.

A worker scrambled to his feet in a panic, his face contorted with despair.

The ground was full of potholes and obstacles. Just now, this unlucky worker accidentally fell to the ground, and judging from the noise, he fell quite hard.

But to everyone else, it was no big deal; after doing this job for so long, who hasn't fallen a few times?

The key point is that when this person fell, he grabbed at the cargo on the truck with both hands, and the truck was already fully loaded. When the cargo fell, the cargo on top lost its balance and collapsed immediately.

"It's over."

We've made a huge mistake.

The unfortunate worker felt a chill run through his body; this was no better than being drenched in icy rain.

Some people around him were cursing angrily, some were urging him to hurry up and pick up the fallen goods, and some were shaking their heads and sighing. The scene suddenly became chaotic.

"Shut up, everyone!"

At that moment, at the front of the convoy, a worker who looked about the same age as Ryder suddenly shouted.

Everyone shut their mouths and turned to look at them.

It's clear that this worker seems to have a lot of influence among these people.
He turned and walked into the crowd, his lips trembling slightly, and suddenly said, "It's over."

"It's over. It was over a few days ago. The deadline has long passed."

"Even if we send the goods back right now, that devil won't let us go."

"Going back would mean certain death, and fleeing would likely result in being hunted down and killed..."

Listening carefully to what the man said, Wang Ji, who had been hiding, opened his eyes wide.

Wait, why does this plot seem so familiar?

Is the next step to start making a grand gesture, rallying warriors from all directions under the guise of righteousness...?

"found it."

Just then, a group of guards rode up from the other side of the road, interrupting the workers' conversation.

The group of people were shocked.

The worker who had just spoken immediately composed himself, turned around, and mustered his courage to ask, "Sir, what happened? We're transporting goods."

"You're late."

"There's a reason for that. Traveling has been really difficult lately; there's a heavy rain every few days..."

"Cut the nonsense."

The guard waved his hand impatiently and said, "It's late, it's late. A bunch of slaves, how dare they talk back?"

Upon hearing this, the lead worker turned pale.

He struggled to say, "At least let us transport the goods back, sir. Look, there are so many goods here, it must be inconvenient for you to handle them all. It's not too late to deal with us after we've transported them all back."

"puff."

The guard smiled.

"You're quite eloquent."

He said with a mocking expression, "Listen up, you bitches, your lives don't matter, and neither does this shipment."

"What matters is the master's authority."

"Now, die!"

The guard swung his sword, aiming straight for the worker's neck.

The method of chopping was very particular; it was all about achieving a clean and swift decapitation.

whoosh-

Suddenly, an arrow struck the guard's breastplate before the sword was swung down, piercing his chest and carrying him away from his horse. The powerful impact propelled him six or seven meters away before he came to a stop.

Impact II

But that wasn't the end of it. As he was shot away, the guard burst into flames, burning him and causing him to scream in agony. As soon as he landed, he thrashed about, which aggravated his injuries and made the pain even more intense.

【Fire Arrow】

Regardless of the damage, these two enchantment effects immediately amplify the power of this arrow.

The sudden change terrified everyone. The remaining guards were thrown into panic, their horses neighing and pacing back and forth, clearly startled as well.

Wang Ji rushed out like that.

"and many more!"

"Oh dear, that was too reckless!"

Ryder sighed and quickly rushed out of his hiding place to follow.

"Remember to leave them alive!"

(End of this chapter)