Chapter 47 Seizing the Flow

"Over the— Ah!"

"Pop-pop-pop—"

"Bang bang!"

"Rat-a-tat-tat-tat—!"

Peashooters and corn catapults launched their attacks simultaneously.

Some pods exhausted their peas and immediately snapped shut, while other pods sustained the barrage, alternating to achieve total fire coverage.

The searing heat waves of successive explosions blasted some people off their feet, and the dazzling light made both Zhang Xinrou and Lin Chaofeng instinctively close their eyes.

A few seconds later, fragments of human bodies rained down from the sky.

Though some were not blown to pieces on the spot, they were firmly glued to the ground of the isolation zone by the popcorn.

Everyone else had retreated beyond the fence.

In the distance, Ge Shan lowered his binoculars, reached his hand out of the window, and made a retreat signal.

For now, the farm did not require their intervention. The intensity of this fire coverage had already exceeded his imagination, and getting too close might result in friendly fire.

On the other side of the farm, Yang Sen and the others had quietly hidden back in the grass. Too many people had gathered at the farm archway, and showing up now would be no different from walking right into a trap.

"Listen up, people outside! Crossing the fence is strictly prohibited! If you wish to trad—"

"Are you an idiot?!" Zhang Xinrou glared, her eyes wide. "You still dare to come out for trade through the archway? The moment you pop your head out, you'll be riddled into a sieve by the people outside!"

Lin Chaofeng instantly corrected himself: "Trading at the farm is temporarily suspended! You are advised to return in three days!"

How awkward. He had rehearsed various scenarios of people causing trouble in his mind many times, and his lines just spilled out automatically once memorized.

"Tang Miao is already dead! The spatial dimension and the store are in my hands now! It's futile for you people to guard this farm!"

"You're full of crap! The one in my hands is the real one!"

Before Lin Chaofeng and Zhang Xinrou could reply, the people outside descended into infighting. Before long, zombies in the distance were drawn closer, plunging the scene into utter chaos.

Outside the tree trunk barriers, roaring, screaming, crying, and gunfire merged into a chaotic mess.

Some people, terrified of being bitten by zombies, mustered all their strength and charged into the archway.

Explosions rang out one after another. The ground beneath their feet and the tree trunks behind them were trembling. Zhang Xinrou and Lin Chaofeng looked at each other in dismay, their palms sweating with tension.

Noticing something was wrong with Zhang Xinrou, Lin Chaofeng shouted, "Stop crying! It's just a minor issue, once the bombing stops, everything will be fine!"

With the roar of explosions filling her ears, Zhang Xinrou couldn't hear a thing and just kept wiping away her tears.

She had had a dream two nights ago, dreaming that Lin Yue shot Tang Miao, and had woken up in the middle of the night terrified.

Now, hearing others say that Tang Miao was dead, her heart simply could not settle.

With a cry in her voice, she asked Lin Chaofeng, "Where on earth did Tang Miao go?! Is she really dead?"

Lin Chaofeng furrowed his brow and thought for a moment: "Yes! They're all dead! Blown to smithereens, every last one of them! Don't you worry!"

Hearing this, Zhang Xinrou felt as though the sky had collapsed. Even Lin Chaofeng believed Tang Miao was dead; what would happen to the farm without Tang Miao?

Lin Chaofeng cowered with his head in his hands beneath a tree trunk, his nose suddenly twitching as he caught a strange scent.

Thick smoke drifted in from outside the archway. People outside were splashing gasoline onto the tree trunks, which ignited instantly upon explosion, causing the trunks at multiple points around the farm to catch fire.

Realizing that fire coverage only existed at the archway, while other areas were just lined with trees, the people outside attempted to destroy the tree trunks to breach the farm.

Some even tried to burn the peashooters and corn to death with fire, only to find that amidst the roaring flames, the peashooters and corn remained completely unharmed.

Chunks of flesh flew in from the archway and landed beside the two of them. Zhang Xinrou cried as she tossed the body parts back out.

More than half of the bloody sun had risen at the edge of the sky, casting a dim red glow over the landscape. Amidst the dense smoke and the flames of explosions, specks of fluorescent light began to spread.

The two hid behind the tree trunks for several hours until the outside fell completely quiet.

Zhang Xinrou pulled out a small mirror and poked it out to observe the situation.

Numerous vehicles were parked both inside and out of the isolation zone, blood and gore covered the ground, and a few zombies wandered about unsteadily.

The isolation zone was blanketed with vibrant red mushrooms, amidst which lay many corpses wrapped in white mycelium, surrounded by shimmering fluorescent spores that looked all the more eerie under the red glow.

Lin Chaofeng shivered, a chill running through his limbs for no reason. Were all the people outside completely dead now?

Zhang Xinrou pulled back the small mirror and flicked her chin at Lin Chaofeng, signaling him to get up and check the outside situation.

Lin Chaofeng shook his head like a rattle-drum. "No way, let's wait a bit longer. What if someone is hiding in ambush?"

Just as the two were hesitating, someone outside the farm leaned heavily on a car horn, and a motorcycle stopped outside the isolation zone.

When Tang Miao returned, she had first dropped off Luo Hong at the Jin'an Safe Zone, where she happened to run into Ge Shan and his group.

She had instructed Ge Shan to take Luo Hong to their safe zone and announced that the farm would be expanding its recruitment in three days, telling Luo Hong to promote it heavily in the safe zone over those three days.

Tang Miao casually removed her helmet, squinting as she took in the magnificent post-battle scene of the isolation zone, while Zai Zai rested on her shoulder, looking around curiously.

Multiple spots on the tree trunks were scorched black, but the bark itself remained undamaged.

The battle had been even more intense than she anticipated.

Zai Zai raised her head, gazing pleadingly at Tang Miao. "I can't reach Big Brother."

In the past, she and Jiang Nanxing could communicate in their minds without speaking, but no matter how she called out to Jiang Nanxing this time, there was no response.

Tang Miao rubbed the top of Zai Zai's head and gently pushed her toward the archway. "Go on, go find your brother."

"Tang Miao! I knew you wouldn't die so easily!"

Zhang Xinrou wanted to rush out of the isolation zone to give Tang Miao a giant hug, but hesitated because the ground was paved with mushrooms, leaving nowhere to step.

With a flick of Tang Miao's mind, the mushrooms at the archway automatically receded, clearing a path.

Zhang Xinrou dashed out, hugged Tang Miao, and burst into loud tears, only calming down after being comforted for quite a while.

After wiping away her tears, Zhang Xinrou hurriedly checked Tang Miao's back, finding it smooth and uninjured, which finally put her mind completely at ease.

Tang Miao's eyes flashed with amusement as she asked with a smile, "Why are you unbuttoning my clothes?"

"I had another dream two days ago, dreaming that Lin Yue shot you multiple times in the back. It scared the life out of me."

Lin Chaofeng, standing nearby, had a sudden flash of realization. "So the reason you were crying the whole time earlier was because you were scared Tang Miao was actually gone?"

Zhang Xinrou didn't answer. She pulled Tang Miao toward the farm, rolling her eyes at Lin Chaofeng along the way.

Farm production had been running steadily, but the matters concerning Jiang Nanxing and Song Mingchen were probably rather tricky to handle; Tang Miao needed to look into them quickly.

"Wait, we have a few new friends." Tang Miao looked toward the grass not far away. "Come on out."

The four figures smeared with zombie gore slowly stood up—well, make that five.

Behind Yang Lin was a heavily bound zombie.

Yang Sen wanted to start explaining why they had fled on their own earlier, but Tang Miao just patted his shoulder. "Rational enough. You didn't let me down."

Tang Miao's gaze swept over the group, calmly straightening the rumpled clothes of Wang Jiahuan and Lu Qingyun to make her physical contact with them seem natural and unassuming.

After touching everyone, Tang Miao already understood what was going on with this iron-bucket-wearing, tightly bound zombie.

Yang Lin lowered his head with anxiety gnawing at his heart. How could he muster the courage to ask Tang Miao to let Yang Lele stay?

He remembered very clearly that Miaomiao Farm did not feed idlers, but little Le's body was impaired—missing a leg and an arm—making her utterly incapable of doing any heavy work on the farm.

If she absolutely had to contribute something to the farm, her only use would be going to the isolation zone to feed the mushrooms.

"Since you're all here, you might as well stay. You can just do her share of the work along with yours. I won't say much else; the lot of you go with Lin Chaofeng and Zhang Xinrou to wash up and change your clothes. Lu Qingyun, stay behind."

Hearing this arrangement, Zhang Xinrou looked hesitant. "Tang Miao, shouldn't we go check on Jiang Nanxing and the others first?"

"Don't worry." Tang Miao nudged Zhang Xinrou toward the farm. "There's nothing majorly wrong. Let's get everyone settled before handling that."

Tang Miao had already scanned the situation the moment she stepped out of the vehicle. Under the current circumstances, the timing, location, and people were all in her favor; she just needed to go with the flow.

As for Lu Qingyun, who had been singled out to stay, she subconsciously puffed out her chest and stood straight. Ever since she returned to the safe zone, the people around her had constantly talked about Tang Miao.

Just the supplies Tang Miao had gifted to the safe zone alone were enough to earn Lu Qingyun's utmost admiration.

When Tang Miao personally called her name, Lu Qingyun felt even more flattered than she could express.

The person before her was tall and slender, and though her skin was sallow from hunger, her gaze was resolute and unyielding.

"I've been looking forward to your arrival for days, and we've finally met. Let's take a stroll around the farm perimeter and have a chat along the way."