C10 Summoning Again

Watching the Winter Soldier descend the stairs, Han Feng was reassured of the villa's security.

"Go help Liu Rui with the food," Han Feng instructed offhandedly before resuming his search for the car keys.

"Understood," the Winter Soldier replied, then pivoted to head into the kitchen.

"Where are the car keys... the car keys... not here?" Han Feng murmured to himself.

"Come out and help look for the keys first, we can move stuff later," Han Feng called out to the kitchen. Following his command, the two emerged and ascended the stairs with him.

"Let's search separately," Han Feng directed before he began scouring the rooms.

"Ah, jackpot!" Han Feng exclaimed, having stumbled upon what seemed to be a storeroom containing a diesel generator.

In a post-apocalyptic world, a generator was a treasure. Should the power fail, it would become indispensable.

Han Feng heaved the hefty generator out with considerable effort, the strain of the task clearly indicating its weight.

After standing up, he re-entered the storeroom; there was one more item he hadn't retrieved.

A fire axe. There it was, another axe in the storeroom. Different from the one the Winter Soldier wielded, but its blade was just as sharp.

As Han Feng emerged, placing the fire axe beside the generator, the sound of retching echoed from a nearby room.

He didn't need to guess—it was Liu Rui. Bravado had preceded him out the door, but the sight of a dead zombie had reduced him to his true self.

Approaching the room, Han Feng found Liu Rui attempting to leave.

"It's revolting! Just revolting!" Liu Rui exclaimed, his hand over his mouth, tears streaking from the corners of his eyes—not from fear, but as a natural response to the severe nausea.

Han Feng steadied Liu Rui, patting his back as they made their way downstairs.

"Sit down for a bit, have some water, rinse your mouth. I'll be down to check on you soon," Han Feng assured him, guiding Liu Rui to the couch.

"You... Okay, just come down quickly," Liu Rui managed to say, his voice trailing off as he urged Han Feng to return swiftly.

Han Feng ascended the stairs once more, embarking on a search for the car keys. His quest ended in the bedroom where Liu Rui had been sick; there they were.

"Take the diesel generator over to the car," Han Feng instructed the Winter Soldier, car keys in his left hand and a pair of fire axes in his right.

Descending the stairs, Han Feng noted Liu Rui's improved complexion, a welcome sight.

"Head over and unlock the car. Tidy up the trunk and ditch anything we don't need," Han Feng directed, tossing the keys to Liu Rui.

Liu Rui and the Winter Soldier made their way to the Humvee as Han Feng pivoted towards the kitchen.

Inside, Han Feng gathered all the essentials—rice, flour, oil—and to his surprise, found the fridge stocked with steaks and other large cuts of meat.

Moments later, the Winter Soldier and Liu Rui re-entered the kitchen to find an array of food scattered across the floor, leaving Liu Rui dumbfounded. His previous foray into the kitchen had been a cursory glance for prepared meals; after all, to a young man of wealth, 'food' meant ready-to-eat dishes, and he had overlooked the raw ingredients.

"Don't just stand there, move it! The meat's going to thaw," Han Feng chided the bewildered Liu Rui.

"Right, on it!" Liu Rui snapped to action, hauling the provisions outside.

Within ten minutes, they had stripped the house bare. Although they hadn't found any water buckets, the bounty of food they secured would last them a considerable time.

The Humvee's trunk was methodically packed, even containing several boxes of charcoal—likely leftovers from the family's barbecuing days. Han Feng had made sure to salvage anything of use.

"Phew... that's the last of it," Liu Rui said, mopping his brow.

"Get in the car. We've still got to unload all this later," Han Feng said with a chuckle, eyeing Liu Rui's portly, dust-covered figure.

"Ah? I'm beat! I can't move another inch. Let's rest a bit before we tackle that," Liu Rui groaned as he climbed into the vehicle.

Han Feng remained silent, pondering. It was time to summon another mobilization soldier. The Winter Soldier, lacking ammunition, had been limited to using the fire axes for defense, which significantly compromised their safety. Han Feng was already strategizing the next summon.

Liu Rui was behind the wheel while Han Feng sat with his eyes closed in the passenger seat. It looked like he was resting, but Han Feng's focus was on the system. Eighty gold coins—that was his tally since the zombie outbreak began. It might seem modest, but considering the outbreak had only been underway for ten hours, Han Feng was quite content with his progress.

"Almost eight," Han Feng noted, glancing at his watch and seeing the evening creeping in. Time to pick up the pace.

"Once we're home, let's haul everything inside. No need to arrange it neatly—just stack it up," Han Feng instructed the other two in the car.

"Okay." "Yes," Liu Rui and the Winter Soldier responded in unison.

Since there was no need for meticulous sorting, just dropping the supplies on the floor, the trio worked swiftly.

"It's getting dark. Are you coming with me, or will you stay and wait at home?" Han Feng queried Liu Rui.

"Why?! It's dark already. Where are you headed?" Liu Rui's voice shook as he questioned Han Feng.

With the streets teeming with flesh-eating zombies, venturing out with poor visibility was tantamount to a death wish. Liu Rui harbored these thoughts but kept them to himself.

"I'm not leaving. But I do need to clear out any zombies from the neighboring homes. They're contained now, but there's no telling if they might break a window and come out at night, giving us a scare," Han Feng reasoned, offering Liu Rui some reassurance.

"That's a relief... I'll stay put. I'd just be in your way out there. I'll wait here for you guys," Liu Rui decided, feeling that the outside world was far too perilous.

Han Feng had a primary goal he hadn't shared with Liu Rui: gathering gold coins. He aimed to amass enough to summon the mobilization soldiers, a secret he guarded closely.

Securing the front door, Han Feng and the Winter Soldier each took up a fire axe and made a beeline for the nearest residence. They broke in using the same method as before, only to find the house deserted.

"Off to a rough start..." Han Feng mumbled, scratching his head in mild frustration.

"Let's move on to the next place," Han Feng said, glancing around the kitchen before heading out the door.

"Boom!" The familiar sound of a door being forced open echoed once again.

From trembling at the sight of zombies to now being able to take them down solo, Han Feng had come a long way.

The zombie before him was the last one in this household; the Winter Soldier had taken care of the others.

Still, Han Feng was determined to practice his skills, even if it meant taking extra time.

Together, they tirelessly fought zombies until after ten o'clock.

Nearly two hours of relentless activity had taken its toll, and Han Feng was running on fumes.

With the final zombie down, he lit up a cigarette and took a drag.

Night had fallen; it was time to head back. Han Feng leaned against the doorway, pondering.

152 gold coins in total. Of those, Han Feng had personally dispatched five zombies, while the Winter Soldier had handled the rest.

Centering on Liu Rui's house, Han Feng had cleared the surrounding residences.

Regrettably, not a single survivor was found.

"System, summon the mobilization soldiers," Han Feng commanded inwardly with a focused mind.

"To summon mobilization soldiers, 100 gold coins are required. Please confirm," the long-missed mechanical voice intoned in Han Feng's head.

"Confirmed."

"Please wait."

Hearing that the mobilization was underway, Han Feng signaled to the Winter Soldier and strode toward Liu Rui's home.

From the streets came the rhythmic sound of military boots: "Thump, thump, thump!"

"Commander, Mobilized Soldier 002 reporting for duty!" The soldier saluted after his announcement.

"Just call me Captain Han from now on. 'Commander' sounds too old-fashioned. And... you'll be known as Number One," Han Feng instructed the newly summoned soldier.

"Understood!" Number One responded.

"Knock, knock, knock!"

"Liu Rui, it's me, open up," Han Feng called out, rapping on the door.

As the door swung open, Liu Rui's anxious eyes met his.

"Who's this?" Liu Rui inquired, spotting someone identical to the Winter Soldier, but the fresh uniform was a dead giveaway that this was someone else.

"Uh... he is... he's the Winter Soldier's brother who's come to seek refuge with us. Just call him Number One from now on," Han Feng said haltingly, without offering Liu Rui an explanation.

Liu Rui had more questions, but he didn't even have a clear grasp on who the Winter Soldier was. Besides, having another person like this could only enhance his own security, so Liu Rui refrained from probing further.

"By the way, we're almost out of fuel for the car," Liu Rui mentioned abruptly, as if the thought had just struck him.

"Out of fuel? I guess I'll have to go with the Winter Soldier tomorrow and scrounge up some more," Han Feng replied with a sense of resignation.

Before the zombie outbreak, Han Feng had never had to worry about things like fuel. But now, looking at the gas-guzzling Humvee outside...

Han Feng let out a weary sigh.