21 Chapter 21, 2nd night, Burn

After confirming the information, Shen Congfei and the others immediately left the zoo and headed for the areas with weaker defense in the city.

Walking along, it was clear that the frequency of patrol squads appearing on the street was not as high as before.

Moreover, they passed by the destroyed Imperial Bar.

It was now completely sealed off, leaving only a ruined and battered façade guarded by two soldiers from the Imperial Army, as if to preserve a final shred of dignity.

Shen Congfei merely glanced at it before shifting his gaze elsewhere. Despite the weak defenses, this wasn't their primary target.

The real target was a few blocks behind the Imperial Bar.

The business street.

It used to be the largest commercial center in the entire edge city, according to the information previously gathered by Uncle Tang.

After being occupied by the Imperial Army, the logistics of the entire city became difficult. Purchasing goods required strict inspections, and many items became restricted commodities.

Accordingly, this place became the real target for Shen Congfei and his group.

They initially posed as regular pedestrians, making it seem as though they were inadvertently heading towards the business street.

The soldiers at the checkpoint, noticing this, started shouting in the language of the Empire.

After Xia Wei quietly translated, they found out that it meant "subject to inspection".

Seeing this, Shen Congfei signaled to the others.

Upon receiving their understanding nods, he immediately put on a panicked expression, stepped back, and quickly sprinted into a nearby alley.

The checkpoint soldiers, who had been intending to come over for inspection, were alarmed by this scene. They started making a fuss in the Empire's language and chased after Shen Congfei with their guns raised.

The four remaining on the spot raised their hands, adopting the guise of "innocent civilians".

The checkpoint soldiers were naturally diverted by Shen Congfei's sudden running, not paying attention to the others.

However, the real hunters always appear in the form of prey.

As soon as the chasing soldiers got to the entrance of the alley and were about to enter, they were brought down by a spray of bullets.

"We are under attack, they have a gun!"

Seeing their comrades fall, the soldiers who hadn't entered the alley immediately hid on both sides, holding their guns and occasionally shooting into the alley for suppression fire.

In such a situation, Shen Congfei was naturally not foolhardy enough to charge forth. He hid behind a car parked in the alley, using his automatic rifle to suppress the soldiers in the alley.

However, soon after, intense gunfire was heard from outside the alley.

"Spark, it's done."

Hearing the voice, Shen Congfei carefully peeked out to discover "Xue Yangping" coming at them with a gun – the checkpoint soldiers that had been engaged just moments ago now lying on the ground near the entrance of the alley.

After he stepped out of the alley, the checkpoint soldiers remaining at the entrance to the business street were also wiped out by Xia Wei and the others' sudden onslaught.

On the streets, the pedestrians who had been frightened by the firefight cautiously peered out from their cover.

"Excuse me, are you with the Resistance?"

Hearing someone raise this question softly, Shen Congfei nods in affirmation:

"Yes, we're from the Resistance. Everyone, there's no need to worry."

"If you want to join us, don't hesitate. Pick up the guns on the ground."

After saying this, almost no one picked up the guns lying next to the fallen bodies.

Shen Congfei felt a bit disappointed.

But as he turned to lead the others further into the commercial street, two voices sounded from behind:

"I'll join!"

"And... and me too."

Upon turning around, he sees two men in their twenties – one fat, one thin.

"Good, what are your names?"

"I'm Tom."

"I'm Jerry."

Great, Tom and Jerry.

Shen Congfei's mouth twitched, and he almost laughed out loud.

"Ahem, alright then, since you're willing to join us, just follow along. Oh, do you know how to shoot?"

"Yes, both of us were members of a shooting club before."

As the thinner Tom finished speaking, the chubby Jerry nodded in agreement.

From their posture holding the gun, it was evident that they had some experience.

And so, their group of five quickly grew to seven.

Shen Congfei carefully led the way up front.

He felt helpless that his Hunter skills only worked in the wilderness.

However, the trap skill, which was also described as applicable only in the wilderness, was different.

In the city, some simple damage traps could still be set up.

This discovery caused Shen Congfei to notice something peculiar.

The overpowered Hunter ability was clearly limited for the purpose of game balance.

However, the trapping skill, which directly injects relevant knowledge into one's brain, doesn't suffer such a considerable constraint.

So, his current state seems to be somewhere between an NPC and a player.

While he still seems an NPC, he is somewhat restricted by the limitations for players.

Whether this state is good or bad, he isn't sure.

But for now, in order to survive the coming apocalypse.

The only option was to rely on this crummy player template.

With this in mind, Shen Congfei grasped his gun, aiming at a checkpoint he had discovered ahead, and fired.

The firefight between them lasted for several minutes until finally ending.

Most of it was done by Shen Congfei.

His hunting skill wasn't restricted in the city, and although it only improved his accuracy by twenty percent.

This perk was still far superior to what the others had.

Proceeding in such a manner, they managed to sweep through an entire street.

Only at the end did they uncover the truth.

After the Imperial Army gained complete control of the commercial street, they moved the majority of supplies away.

The remaining supplies were scarce and would not last long with the consumption of the entire city's population.

Yet, the Imperial Army still put up a facade of controlling the supplies.

In reality, they wished for the city's population to starve to death.

From this, Shen Congfei could see the problem with the Imperial Army.

The supplies they brought with them during the airborne insertion simply weren't sufficient for their consumption.

This was why they moved the city's supplies in advance for military use.

Thinking about this, he quickly summons the two new recruits, notifying the townspeople at the entrance to come in.

As a large number of local residents flooded into the commercial street and saw the desolate streets and the few supplies left in the commercial center, they were all in disbelief.

After most of the evidence was presented, Shen Congfei and the others took some of the supplies and gave the rest to the crowds present.

In the end, he lit a torch, standing before a pile of miscellaneous objects set up for burning.

Shen Congfei raised the torch high, making the faces of the bystanders visible in the firelight.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, you've all seen the situation here. The true intentions of the Imperial Army are now clear."

"They never intended for us to survive."

"So, think carefully about what we should do next. I don't need to remind you."

After finishing his speech, he tossed the torch onto the pile of miscellaneous objects behind him.

"Whoosh!"

The flammable items in the pile were immediately set ablaze.

Fierce flames rose high into the sky.

The next day, the entire deserted street was burnt to a crisp.

The fire burned all day, turning the sky a shade of red.

At the same time, a rumor about the Imperial Army planning to starve the city's population started circulating rapidly.

Meanwhile, Shen Congfei and the others hid in the zoo on the eastern side of the city, checking the loot from the day before.