Chapter 29: Sorry, No Such Person

Anna thought for a moment. "Well... if not the Fenghuo Squad, then there's the Pofeng Squad. If I remember correctly, it should be about twelve kilometers away. It's straight down the River Road. If we can travel on the ice, we could probably get there in half a day."

Hearing this, Chen Yuan's eyes lit up. That's right. There's a massive river that winds around the city. Why are we walking on the ground?

He thought for a moment, then said to Anna, "If it's only half a day, then I'll take you two there."

"R-really?" Anna asked, surprised. She knew Chen Yuan wasn't looking for a camp. And why would he? With three powerful robot dogs like his, who needed one?

Chen Yuan nodded. "What's there to lie about? I have a friend who should be there too."

That morning, he had checked the tracker and found that Jiang Nan's position was fixed at the Science and Technology Museum. That location was near the river and was also the camp she had been trying to find.

Thinking of Jiang Nan, then looking at Anna, he couldn't help but compare the two. Jiang Nan was the strong, "cool older sister" type, while Anna was more like the beautiful, girl-next-door type. Each had their own charms.

If only this weren't the apocalypse, he sighed internally. Shaking his head, he began to search the bar for materials. If they were going to skate there, they would naturally need a vehicle.

The three of them hauled two large sofas to the entrance and used an axe to chop off the legs. Qi Yan took out a hammer and nails and, using some scavenged wooden planks, firmly fastened the two sofas together. The result was two three-seater sofas, joined face-to-face. The softness of the seats was a given, but more importantly, the high backrests on either side acted as a windscreen, providing a welcome sense of security.

Tieniu (Iron Bull) and Tieqiong (Iron Dome) carried the sofa-sled on their backs, walking side-by-side toward the river.

There were many access points along the River Road, built for swimmers in the old world. Now, with the river frozen solid, the ice level was naturally much higher. Working together, they placed the sofa-sled onto the ice. Chen Yuan then tied a rope to Tieniu.

"Tieniu, head for the location marked on the map. Let's go."

At Chen Yuan's command, Tieniu's thick mechanical legs began to drive. The sled moved slowly at first, then gradually accelerated, speeding towards the center of the river. Tiedan (Iron Egg) and Tieqiong ran alongside on either side, ensuring their safety.

Chen Yuan kept his left eye on the map in his vision. Tieniu's movements confirmed his earlier thought: the map system was universal. This thing was incredibly useful! He made a quick calculation. This wouldn't take half a day; half an hour would be more than enough.

The three of them sat on the sofa, their heads bowed slightly as the biting wind howled past their ears.

"I never thought I'd see the day you could skate on Jiangcheng's river," Qi Yan remarked with a sigh, taking in the scenery.

Anna nodded slightly. As far as the eye could see, it was a landscape from a snow kingdom, like something out of a fairy tale. Yes, it would be even better without the zombies and the ice age that showed no signs of ending.

Each of them was lost in their own thoughts. Chen Yuan kept his attention on their direction.

Half an hour passed in a flash.

As Tieniu slowly decelerated, a massive snowball appeared in their vision.

"We're at the Science and Technology Museum!" Qi Yan said excitedly.

"Yes, I can't believe it was so fast," Anna added, her voice also filled with excitement.

Chen Yuan confirmed the tracker's position. Jiang Nan was indeed inside.

"Tieniu, pull the sled to the bank and park it." "Tieqiong, stay on alert." "Tiedan, you're with me."

「Roger...」

The three robot dogs acknowledged the commands and began to move.

The spot where they landed was still over three hundred meters from the museum. Perhaps because the Pofeng Squad needed to go out on supply runs, a two-meter-wide path had been cleared on the way to the building. The snow was piled up on the sides, as high as a person.

The three of them walked along the icy path, and the building ahead gradually became clearer. The Science and Technology Museum had always been a spherical structure; covered in accumulated snow, it looked exactly like a giant snowball.

「Report, Master. Human activity detected ahead.」Tieqiong extended its mechanical arm, its voice emitting from a speaker. At the same time, Tiedan's arm also extended.

After the incident last night, Chen Yuan had given his robot dogs a proper education on what was human and what was a zombie. With this clear distinction, he hoped to avoid the confusion of them just reporting a "moving object."

"I know. Continue forward. Stay alert," Chen Yuan instructed in a low voice, glancing at the two women beside him. "I don't know anything about this Pofeng Squad. Let's see what the situation is."

The two women naturally nodded in agreement. Chen Yuan was now their pillar of support; whatever he said was right.

As the three of them drew closer, the path widened. When they were less than fifty meters away, a dozen or so people poured out of the museum. They held clubs and long knives, forming a single line.

The man in the lead, holding a homemade spear, took two steps forward and held out his hand. "Stop right there!"

Chen Yuan raised a hand slightly, and the three of them stopped. Tiedan, Tieqiong, and Tieniu moved three meters ahead, taking up a defensive formation.

"Which squad are you from?! What's your business?!" The leader, Xue Wu, had a deep, powerful voice that penetrated the cold air and echoed across the snow.

Chen Yuan cleared his throat. "We're not from any squad. We're looking to join you."

Hearing this, Xue Wu frowned slightly. The Pofeng Squad already had fifty members, and those who had made it this far were all survival experts. Seeing a single man with two women, he felt an unconscious aversion. They looked thin and weak. What could they do? Just be another drain on their rations?

He shook his head and said in a deep voice, "We don't need any more people here. You should find another camp."

Chen Yuan's brow furrowed. Are you kidding me? I went through all this trouble to bring them here, and you're telling me you don't want them?

Qi Yan and Anna's faces fell.

"The two of them are from the Explorers' Guild. They have strong wilderness survival skills. You should consider it," Chen Yuan pressed, not giving up. If they weren't accepted, would they be stuck with him? He didn't lack for supplies, but he had his secrets.

Xue Wu exchanged a few words with the people beside him, then spoke again. "We'll take a look first. If they're not up to snuff, they can go to another camp."

With that, his men lowered their weapons.

Chen Yuan nodded slightly and led the two women forward. The two groups stopped three meters apart. He scanned their ranks and saw that this Pofeng Squad's overall style was quite different from the Fenghuo Squad's. From their stances alone, he could tell they were highly disciplined.

While Chen Yuan was sizing them up, they were sizing him up as well. The three robot dogs, in particular, intrigued them. In this frozen wasteland, where did he find such things?

But Xue Wu only gave the dogs a brief glance before shifting his gaze to the man in the lead. "They are from the Explorers' Guild. What about you?"

Chen Yuan smiled faintly. "I'm not joining. I was just escorting them here."

Xue Wu nodded and turned his attention to Qi Yan and Anna. From their gait and posture, they indeed didn't look like helpless girls who couldn't even truss a chicken. "Do you have your Explorers' Guild badges with you?"

"Yes, we do." Qi Yan and Anna exchanged a look, and both took out a black badge from their pockets, on which was carved an exquisite axe. The badge was a symbol of their identity and honor, as well as official proof that they had passed the guild's assessment.

Xue Wu took the badges and examined them for a moment, then nodded with satisfaction. His team needed exactly this kind of talent.

"Alright. Welcome aboard." With that, the men behind him also broke into smiles. Since they had joined, they were now teammates, and they would have to fight shoulder-to-shoulder in the future.

"You are not part of our team, so you cannot enter," Xue Wu said, his attitude towards Chen Yuan completely different from how he had treated the women. He was giving him a direct order to leave.

Chen Yuan's mouth twitched. You've got to be kidding me. So pragmatic. The useful ones get to stay, the useless one gets kicked out? But he couldn't be bothered to argue. If he were in the same position, he would probably be even stricter.

"I have a friend here named Jiang Nan. Could you let her come out to see me?"

Hearing this name, Xue Wu's brow furrowed slightly. In a deep, cold voice, he said, "Sorry. There is no such person here."