bookcurios Chapter 125 Stealing Charcoal
Chapter 125 Stealing Charcoal
The entrance to the cave was sealed off to prevent air from entering, allowing the wood inside to burn slowly until all the air inside was consumed and the fire gradually went out.
The temperature inside the kiln gradually decreases. Once the kiln walls are no longer hot to the touch, the kiln can be opened, and the charcoal is ready.
For now, He and Ze's plans are all pretty good, but unfortunately, they were discovered by a group of people from the base just as the wood was being burned that afternoon.
The black smoke was so conspicuous in the freezing cold, and it had been burning for almost a whole day. Anyone with a brain could tell there was something wrong here.
That group had been entrenched in the base for quite some time, and they often committed atrocities, such as robbing people and food. However, they had never met their match, and they had managed to continue living like this.
Their leader was a burly man with a thick beard and a fierce face. His name was Da Lei. He was strong and had a loud voice like thunder, but he was a speed enhancer.
As dusk fell, he had secretly gone to investigate the source of the black smoke and discovered that He Heze and four others were burning charcoal. He planned to wait until they finished making the charcoal and then reap the benefits.
The next day, at the crack of dawn, He Heze woke the four men and they shared the remaining food. They were about to open the kiln to check on the situation.
After resting for a night, the group's superpowers returned, and they blew off the entire roof of the kiln. A brief burst of residual heat extinguished the fire.
Although it was their first time firing a kiln, it was still considered a success. Most of the wood had turned black, with only a few pieces on the edges not completely burned, turning into a mixture of black and yellow.
If you shake the charcoal in your hand, you'll find it's much lighter than when it was made of wood.
"It's done." He Heze nodded in satisfaction, took out the large bag he had prepared before leaving, and began to fill it with charcoal.
They took out the charcoal, planning that one person would stay behind to guard it and pack it, while the other two would each carry a bag back. They planned to bring a few more people with them to help move it on their return trip, especially Ren Xiaosha, whose speed made her more suitable for errands and moving goods.
"Clap."
A sudden sound echoed through the valley.
He Heze immediately looked toward the source of the sound. It was a trap he had set, and something had stepped into it.
"Damn it!" A man with a pointed face and monkey-like features poked his head out and angrily pulled his foot out of the trap. The trap was not meant to hurt anyone, but it contained many things that could make noise to alert them to someone approaching.
"Who are you, and what do you want?"
"What are you doing here? We're here to pick up something, of course." Da Lei appeared behind the man, waved his hand, and a dozen or so henchmen followed behind him, looking menacing.
"Pah! This is our stuff. You can burn it yourselves!" Li Wenli's eyes blazed with anger. How could they just give away the fruits of their hard work for a whole day and night?
"A bunch of idiots, do you know who I am? I'm the leader of the Thunder Squad. Even the authorities give me some face. You're nothing but weaklings! Hand over the supplies obediently, or you'll stay here forever," Big Thunder yelled.
"Go to hell!" Ren Shasha angrily shot out a water arrow, but the bearded man, Da Lei, quickly dodged it and was hit by his counterattack.
This man is a third-tier speed enhancer, and a very strong one at that. Judging by his abilities, he might even be a bit stronger than Ren Xiaosha, who is a speed enhancer of the same tier.
Ren Xiaosha helped Ren Shasha up, and the group exchanged glances.
These are life-saving supplies for the extreme cold; they cannot retreat, even if it's like throwing an egg against a rock, they must try.
He Heze raised his axe, pushed off the ice with his toes, and pounced over to chop off a person's head with one axe. Ren Shasha and Liang Jingyu released their superpowers in perfect unison, creating a swamp with a diameter of three meters in the opposite team.
Ren Xiaosha and Li Wenli raised their long swords without hesitation, dodging attacks while reaping the heads of nearby enemies.
All the weapons they carried were provided by An Yingying, making them virtually invincible against other awakened individuals of the same level at this stage.
After losing several brothers, Da Lei finally realized that this group was no ordinary people. He exchanged a glance with the sharp-mouthed, monkey-faced man, both of them looking solemn. They were well aware that their group was no match for the five people opposite them.
However, they were all trapped in the swamp and unable to break free. The scene just now happened too fast, and even Da Lei didn't notice it.
The Thunder team members began to beg for mercy, but it was completely useless.
These people were all trained by Zuo You, especially He Heze, who had been given detailed instructions by Zuo You.
"Even the slightest threat you let go could be the reason you perish in the apocalypse."
Zuo You's words were deeply imprinted in his mind.
"Quickly finish them off, leave no one alive!" He Heze roared solemnly, his axe relentlessly striking the enemy.
Warm blood splattered all over him, but he didn't react at all.
What He Heze didn't know was that while they were clashing with Da Lei's group, two pairs of eyes were watching the battle closely.
The two pairs of eyes were none other than Zuo You and Lin Ling. They didn't step forward to help, but secretly helped He Heze and his group get rid of two escapees.
Zuo You agreed to come and cut down trees for Lin Ling more than half a month ago, but after more than half a month, she didn't bring home a single branch.
Lin Ling couldn't stand staying at home any longer, so she used the excuse that Zuo You had deceived her young mind to pester Zuo You to take her into the mountains to hunt and cut down trees.
Zuo You understands the apocalypse better than anyone else. She knows that mutated beasts are more adaptable than humans. After more than half a month of extreme cold, as long as the mutated beasts were not frozen to death, their cold resistance was basically increased by several major levels.
If Zuo You hadn't drunk from the spatial spring, she wouldn't have dared to bring Lin Ling into the mountains; the unknown dangers were the most dangerous.
However, after being transformed by the spiritual spring, her supernatural abilities improved by more than double, and that's when she finally agreed to Lin Ling's request.
The main reason is that Zuo You was in the wrong. She's been thinking about giving up lately and forgot about cutting down trees. So, the two of them went into the mountains yesterday.
Good haul! We hunted a level 4 bear and a level 3 stag, enough to feed our family for a long time.
They spotted He Heze and his group yesterday. Lin Ling was annoyed by He Heze and didn't want to go up and greet them. Zuo You was happy to have some peace and quiet, so she didn't go up to greet them either.
I was about to go home when I unexpectedly heard the sounds of fighting and watched the whole battle.
It has to be said that the old teammates who have superpowered weapons have seen a significant increase in their combat strength.
However, Zuo You felt that He Heze had changed, becoming more decisive and ruthless than before, and also bolder. However, the act of burning charcoal in the mountains was too risky, and after this incident, they should act more cautiously.
After an unknown amount of time, only a dozen or so frozen corpses, four ice walls, and a charcoal kiln remained in the valley.
"Youyou, what are you daydreaming about? They've all left, let's go too." Lin Ling patted Zuo You on the back when she saw her lost in thought.
"Okay, let's go home." Zuo You snapped out of her daze and pulled Lin Ling along as they walked home.