Chapter 703: Innocence
"We don’t know either. But if Captain Zhang mentioned Kunlun Mountain, it’s probably right. He has no reason to deceive us; it doesn’t benefit him," Bai Yifan said.
He hadn’t met Captain Zhang, but he had seen the Crystal Cores sent by him, quite generous indeed.
Even when Uncle Wang had accidentally knocked him over, he still kindly sent Crystal Cores.
He seemed to be just a captain of the Human Survivor Alliance, hoping for the strength of humankind to grow.
Also, when he was around, no one from the Human Survivor Alliance ever boasted about completely eliminating zombies.
"Xiao Fan, look up Kunlun Mountain."
Bai Xiqin, using the wide down jacket, took out a tablet again.
The tablet contained all kinds of data downloaded before the apocalypse; even without internet, it provided plenty of knowledge.
Not only did it describe mountains and rivers, but Bai Xiqin had also downloaded many history books.
Like this, Bai Xiqin had several tablets filled with information, besides computers with stored data, and many USB drives.
Just in case.
"Oh."
Bai Yifan didn’t understand why his sister suddenly wanted to look up Kunlun Mountain but decided to help out anyway.
"Kunlun Mountain is the main chain of a mountain range, also known as Kunlun Ruins, the ancestor of all mountains. In ancient mythology, it was said that a deity living in the mountains, the Queen Mother of the West, had the head of a human and the body of a leopard..."
Bai Yifan quickly read the data from the tablet.
This information was mostly related to myths, which, looking at it now, seemed like far-fetched tales.
"... The current Kunlun Mountain isn’t the ancient Kunlun Mountain. The ancient Kunlun Mountain was actually the present Mount Tai?"
Bai Yifan paused when reading this.
"Let me see."
Bai Xiqin also paused for a moment.
Bai Yifan quickly handed the tablet over to Bai Xiqin.
Leng Yebai leaned sideways toward Bai Xiqin’s head, joining her in looking at the text on the tablet.
Though mountains and rivers in ancient and modern times are the same, their names may differ. Over the lengthy span of five thousand years, historical compilations during different dynasties might have noted differences.
"Ancient Kunlun Mountain, Mount Tai..."
Bai Xiqin softly pronounced these two names, feeling that the Kunlun Mountain mentioned by Captain Zhang should be Mount Tai.
They were all stuck in a misconception.
Assuming Kunlun Mountain was indeed Kunlun Mountain.
Yet the current Kunlun Mountain and the ancient Kunlun Mountain were located differently.
Searching further with the tablet revealed descriptions of Kunlun Mountain as a sacred mountain, and even as the ’Gateway to Hell.’
Why were there two extreme descriptions?
"Xiao Niu, Grandpa and Grandma had no reaction to Kunlun Mountain," Leng Yebai suddenly said softly.
Bai Xiqin immediately remembered that when they initially mentioned going to Kunlun Mountain, Grandpa and Grandma looked quite upset.
But when they heard they were heading to the western Kunlun Mountain, their expressions seemed less tense.
"Mount Tai, it should be... where Grandpa and Grandma... self-destructed," Bai Xiqin concluded.
Grandpa and Grandma suddenly regaining future memories implied they merged with their future selves.
They must have known that Mount Tai held some crucial clues.
"So should we head to Mount Tai or Kunlun Mountain?"
Bai Yifan scratched his head, confused.
After all, he didn’t need to think too hard. Wherever his sister went, he’d follow!
"Mount Tai. But this clue is likely gone," Bai Xiqin thought of Zhang Yiming, who had time-traveled with them.
Zombie Emperor Zhang Yiming had vanished, and the current Zhang Yiming hadn’t regained his future memories.
Since Zhang Yiming said Zombie Emperor Zhang Yiming had returned to the future, there was no way they could ask Zombie Emperor Zhang Yiming for answers.
"Alright!"
Seeing the serious faces of Bai Xiqin and Leng Yebai, Bai Yifan was unfazed, rubbing his fingers nonchalantly.
If the sky falls, the taller ones will hold it up, and if not, he’ll just bow a bit.
"Xiao Fan, what do you think the future world will be like?"
Out of the blue, Bai Xiqin asked Bai Yifan a question.
Bai Xiqin’s voice was light, as if she was merely making small talk without much concern.
But Bai Yifan could feel Leng Yebai’s eyes staring intensely at him.
... It seemed they cared a lot about what he had to say.
It felt like his words could decide Earth’s future.
Isn’t this nonsense!
"...I don’t know," Bai Yifan, under the gazes of Leng Yebai and Bai Xiqin, managed to squeeze out four words after a long pause.
He was genuinely afraid of inadvertently speaking something negative, as if it came true, he’d deeply offend the mighty Pangu!
Bai Xiqin shook her head, refraining from asking Bai Yifan more, fearing he would speak recklessly.
After all, things Bai Yifan mentioned tended to happen, so she was wary of him saying something like Earth exploding.
The journey remained silent as they quickly arrived at the seaside.
Waves pushed ice blocks onto the shore, forming heaps.
The beach was snowy, with zombie fish inside the snow no longer leaping.
Frozen with the seawater and ground, if closely observed while squatting, their decaying bodies appeared to tremble lightly, attempting to jump up.
Ice firmly trapped them on the ground, creating a pitiful sight.
"Xiao Fan, go catch some zombie fish, and also get some seawater."
Bai Xiqin checked to see no one was around and handed Bai Yifan a small bucket.
Bai Yifan, seeing no apparent danger from the sea, quickly ran over, filling the bucket with seawater and catching some zombie fish to put inside.
"Here!"
Bai Yifan handed the bucket to Bai Xiqin.
"Okay."
Bai Xiqin took the bucket, putting it into her space and notified the small beasts Taowu to steer clear.
"Sis, why did you need that?" Bai Yifan, curious, inquired.
"To save the world," Bai Xiqin replied pensively.
The Spiritual Spring Water couldn’t perfectly counteract the zombie virus since Zhang Yiming drank it without any effect.
Vitality, something zombies sorely lacked.
But Bai Xiqin’s space was abundant with vitality; if the Spiritual Spring Water didn’t work, maybe planting vegetation in the space might.
Using seawater and zombie fish for experiments was because life originated from the sea; perhaps they could gain clues from the sea.
It didn’t hurt to try when idle, better than doing nothing.
"Sis, there are zombie fish right by your feet, why specifically choose from the sea?" Bai Yifan pointed to the frozen zombie fish in the snow.
"I’m afraid they’d bite me. Besides, you’re already at the sea fetching water; it’s convenient to catch a few zombie fish there!" Bai Xiqin stated calmly.
Bai Yifan: ...
He wasn’t afraid of getting bitten or the sea monsters, boohoo...
With their task complete, Bai Xiqin used the plastic underfoot to propel herself and the two others toward the safe base.
"By the way, Sis, are mom and dad really safe going to gather resources with the Base Commander? With the scarcity of supplies now, it’s not easy to hunt some sturdy mutant bison. What if they get surrounded and attacked by desperate zombie animals, wouldn’t that waste resources for outsiders?"
Bai Yifan suddenly tilted his head, chatting with Bai Xiqin with a naive, innocent look.
He appeared quite guileless.
Bai Xiqin: ...
Leng Yebai: ...