Chapter 76: Anti-Aircraft Gun

After dinner, the group decided to stay in Amiens a little longer, planning to leave tomorrow. However, just to be safe, they took the train back out of the city, since no one knew whether the mutated creatures heading toward Paris would decide to "come back home" in the middle of the night.

Although the train cabins were cramped, they were certainly more comfortable than sleeping on the floor. Plus, Asgi had brought along a few blankets from home, which made Shao Ming sleep soundly through the night.

The next morning, the four of them drove toward the city center. The city had erected several barricades, and the off-road vehicle had to squeeze through narrow alleys multiple times to continue its journey. Fortunately, the mutated creatures were still concentrated in Paris, and the city remained as quiet as it had been yesterday.

"Food, water, and most importantly, water," Shao Ming said. "We also need tools, ammunition, and anything else you think could be useful. Let's bring everything back to the car."

As he spoke, Shao Ming felt almost giddy. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity—an entire city, empty and waiting to be looted. The French military's defense efforts might have been futile, but their sacrifice had led to this situation.

The off-road vehicle stopped at an intersection, and the group got out to split up.

"Remember, meet back at the car by noon," Shao Ming instructed. "We don't know when the zombie hordes might return, so… be careful, and make it quick. We're leaving France this afternoon."

Shao Ming didn't want to stay too long on this detour; they were already heading in the opposite direction of home.

Lambert went to search for a hardware store. The cutting blades from the fire station's cutting machine had already worn out, and the welding gun had run out of fuel. If they were to continue their train journey, tools were essential.

Feng Yusheng and Yamada Ryo went to search for food, water, and books on agriculture and machinery from the bookstore. Clearly, the group's knowledge wasn't enough to deal with the increasingly harsh environment. They needed expert books on train and vehicle maintenance as well.

The off-road vehicle was parked near a busy intersection, surrounded by auto repair shops and a large bookstore, with a gardening center further back. This was why they chose to park here.

As for Shao Ming, he was focused on searching for weapons. Since France allowed its citizens to own hunting rifles, finding .22 caliber bullets shouldn't be too difficult. Moreover, from their travels, they had noticed that the French military had set up checkpoints in major cities, so finding some military-grade weapons wasn't out of the question.

Shao Ming wandered through the blocks around the off-road vehicle, and eventually, he stumbled upon a zoo.

Now was hardly the time for a zoo visit, but he could still peer through the fence to observe the situation inside.

With his shotgun raised, in case any mutated animals decided to pop out, he scanned the zoo. The closest enclosure to the wall was a horrific sight: a pile of bones, suggesting that the animals had been devoured by mutated creatures.

Moving deeper into the zoo, Shao Ming saw the entire place was silent. Even if any animals had been caged, they were likely dead from starvation by now.

Leaving the zoo behind, he continued toward the city center. This area was filled with auto repair shops, each just a few steps away from the next. But now, with Lambert around, Shao Ming didn't need to go into each shop himself.

Walking alone through the eerily quiet streets was a strange experience.

He climbed over a row of cars that had blocked the road and reached an open green space. Or perhaps, "red space" would be a more fitting term.

Both sides of the street were stained with blood, and despite the passage of time, the rain hadn't completely washed away the bloodstains on the pavement.

Near a sandbag barricade, spent shells and weapons were scattered across the ground. Several trucks and armored vehicles were huddled together, and a green waterproof tarp had been set up as a makeshift tent. One corner of the tent had collapsed, suggesting that two or three vehicles had been driven away.

It was obvious this was a military outpost.

Shao Ming's heartbeat quickened. This was a jackpot.

He cautiously raised his gun, just to be safe.

The tent was empty, save for a few empty ammo boxes and some portable chairs and tables strewn about. The back door of an armored vehicle was open, but it too was bare.

Shao Ming lowered his shotgun. It seemed Amiens was truly devoid of any "corpses."

He picked up a FAMAS rifle from the ground. The magazine was empty—no bullets inside.

He picked up several other rifles, only to find they were all empty.

At this moment, Shao Ming's mood could be compared to that of someone who won the lottery only to find out they'd won a pile of air instead.

He threw the HK416 rifle back on the ground and continued searching through the ammo boxes.

Bullet boxes, grenade boxes, and artillery shells—all empty.

"Impossible, it can't be this clean..." Shao Ming muttered, climbing into a VBIC armored vehicle.

The inside was just as barren, but Shao Ming found a map on one of the seats.

The map was marked in French, with several red circles drawn around certain locations. It looked like the map indicated the locations of survivor settlements, and one of them was Amiens.

This map was clearly outdated. Shao Ming's eyes scanned further, and he saw that other marked locations included Paris, Lyon, and Bordeaux.

Paris was a lost cause, but perhaps there were still survivors in the southern cities of Lyon and Bordeaux.

He put the map down. France wasn't his final destination, but Asgi's daughter could very well be among the survivors at one of these sites—if she were lucky.

Shao Ming didn't intend to tell Asgi about this news. For him, the greatest hope might be that there was no hope. Moreover, if Asgi knew that his daughter might still be alive, would he still be willing to travel across Europe with them?

The keys for the armored vehicle were nowhere to be found, and now it was just a pile of scrap metal.

Shao Ming climbed out of the VBIC, bypassed the vehicle barricade, and reached the center of the green space.

Here, he discovered a surprise he hadn't expected. Due to the blockade of vehicles, he hadn't immediately spotted it.

It was an anti-aircraft gun.

To be precise, it was a Swedish-made Ericsson GDF 35mm anti-aircraft cannon.

Clearly, the French military hadn't had the chance to move it.

Nearby, a full supply of 35mm ammunition, specifically for this gun, was untouched.

Shao Ming was so excited he almost jumped for joy. This was definitely a jackpot.

By noon, Shao Ming was waiting by the off-road vehicle with two crates of 35mm rounds.

Lambert, carrying a full backpack and holding two gas cylinders, approached the vehicle.

"Look what I found!" Lambert said, holding up the gas cylinders. "It's gas welding equipment."

Seeing Shao Ming sitting beside the off-road vehicle with a big smile and empty hands, Lambert asked, "Didn't you find anything?"

Shao Ming grinned. "Oh, I found something big. You'll see in a minute."