Chapter 103: Transformation (Please Vote for Recommendations)

Hearing Yang Fan’s words, Li Qiang’s expression changed slightly.

“Sigh… There really is no such thing as a free lunch in this world,” Li Qiang breathed out in his heart, then looked at Yang Fan seriously and said, “Rest assured, this time we owe you a favor. We’ll pay you back in the future.”

With that, Li Qiang picked up the equipment. Each piece weighed about fifteen pounds; with twenty pieces, that was three hundred pounds in total. Li Qiang took them one by one, making Wang Cheng and Fu Gaobin’s expressions shift, but since Yang Fan said nothing, neither did they. In the end, Li Qiang glanced at Fu Gaobin and said, “You two already have armor, so I’ll give these to them.”

Without giving them a chance to speak, Li Qiang strode quickly down the slope, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

“Old fox,” Fu Gaobin muttered. In his eyes, apart from brothers like Yang Fan, everyone else was insignificant. He wasn’t close to Li Qiang and didn’t particularly like him, so he was rather rude. Wang Cheng, always following Fu Gaobin and Yang Fan, squatted down with a mischievous air and said, “Brother Yang Fan, Li Qiang doesn’t seem like a good person. If you keep helping him, what if that bastard turns on us someday? Wouldn’t we be raising a white-eyed wolf?”

Wang Cheng had hit the nail on the head. Li Qiang was a soldier, and from the start, his intentions weren’t exactly noble, so Wang Cheng and Fu Gaobin didn’t have a good impression of him.

But none of the three could truly read people’s hearts, relying only on instinct. They still didn’t know what kind of person Li Qiang was. However, being a soldier, he should at least have some moral principles—that was Yang Fan’s thinking. The way Li Qiang distributed the equipment showed he wasn’t a fool. As for other matters, time would tell.

The priority now was to solve the issues of safety, food, and the journey ahead. The mission to reach the military base couldn’t be delayed any longer. But given their current numbers and skills, moving the vehicles would mean certain death.

Yang Fan estimated that he’d need at least ten more days, keeping the elite and weeding out the useless, like sifting sand from the sea—bit by bit, risking their lives. One rotten apple could spoil the whole barrel.

He handed each of them a cigarette, then lowered his voice and said, “You two need to pay close attention to the people around us. If you spot any promising talent, keep an eye on them. If you can recruit them, do your best. We need to build our own force, understand?”

Wang Cheng and Fu Gaobin nodded fiercely. To ease the tension, Fu Gaobin spat on the ground and cursed, “Don’t worry, Brother Yang Fan. We’ll gather hundreds of elite followers. In the apocalypse, we’ll slaughter gods and demons, be invincible, and do whatever we want—women, power, anything. You’ll be the founding emperor, and we’ll be loyal generals.”

Fu Gaobin joked, and Wang Cheng chuckled. But Wang Cheng was clearly thinking more clearly; shielding them from the wind and snow, he said, “Brother Yang Fan, this is still Li Qiang’s territory. If we recruit people too openly, won’t that cause trouble?”

“Who cares? With Brother Yang Fan leading, what could Li Qiang possibly say?” Fu Gaobin blindly worshipped Yang Fan, but Yang Fan was not so arrogant. He nodded, agreeing with Wang Cheng, then said, “Keep observing for talent worth recruiting. Don’t make it too obvious. You can chat with them, hint at our intentions, and use some finesse. With my current strength and reputation, I expect some will want to join us. If all else fails, use incentives like life potions.”

At the mention of life potions, Wang Cheng slapped his thigh. “With those, we won’t have any problems. Don’t worry, Brother Yang Fan, Gaobin and I will be extra vigilant.”

“Good. Whether we survive this apocalypse depends on our own efforts.” Yang Fan smiled, and the future no longer seemed so terrifying. Seeing Yang Fan smile, Fu Gaobin and Wang Cheng felt a surge of happiness. At this moment, Yang Fan was their god, their pillar, their spiritual leader.

“Hey, what do you guys think of me as a person?” After a while, Yang Fan suddenly asked, catching them off guard. Fu Gaobin was the first to answer.

“Uh… Well, I feel that deep down, you’re still a good man, Brother Yang Fan. Whether it was in junior high or high school, the few of us were together, and we all know each other well. We’re soft-hearted, always getting into trouble, but never anything major. Maybe the apocalypse changed you—sometimes you’re tough and unreasonable, but I get it!”

Fu Gaobin spoke simply, and Wang Cheng just nodded; he hadn’t been with Yang Fan as long and had less to say. Yang Fan listened and merely smiled, gazing at the snow-covered plain and murmuring, “So, I’m still a good person after all.”

————

By nightfall, the True Eagle Eye still hadn’t located Bai Chen, Fang Na, Zhu Liang, Chen Ming, Zack, and the others. Darkness descended, and Yang Fan and Li Qiang had already set up defensive measures around their camp. With fire beads in hand, they feared neither cold nor sleeping outdoors; it was like sleeping on the ground or on a bed—no difference.

Only a bit of security was missing. Yang Fan deployed teams of five in the east, south, west, and north. If any signs appeared, they were to report immediately, whether it was passersby or insect creatures.

This was vital to everyone’s safety. Even if Yang Fan and Li Qiang said nothing, everyone knew there was no room for carelessness.

At night, more stars appeared in the sky. Wang Cheng went to rest, while Fu Gaobin insisted on staying. Unable to persuade him otherwise, Yang Fan and Fu Gaobin guarded the eastern sector, staying alert. Li Qiang and his men watched the west.

Throughout the night, Yang Fan and Fu Gaobin joked, reminiscing about amusing stories from school, often breaking into laughter. Luckily, the wind and snow were fierce, so no one could hear them. Even if someone did, seeing it was Yang Fan, they wouldn’t dare make a move.

Eventually, Fu Gaobin gazed at the sky, melancholy and sorrowful. “I wonder what happened to my parents, and Huang Haonan, those idiots. Will I ever see them again?”

Tears glimmered in his eyes. Yang Fan patted his shoulder and said, “Don’t worry. You will. Everything will get better.”

“Yeah.” Fu Gaobin nodded. Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly noticed something unusual in the distance and pointed. “Brother Yang Fan, look!”

Yang Fan focused his gaze, and instantly drew a sharp breath. About eight hundred meters away, just outside the True Eagle Eye’s range, something appeared…

(Thanks to Blue Bean from the South, Wandering Lufa Xi, Flashlight, and General Wu Ban for their rewards in Starting Point Coins. Strong recommendation time! I’ll just say one thing: please click, vote, support in every way! Thank you for your support. I must hurry and write…)