Da Peng's worry was not in vain. Soon, another zombie scrambled out of the grass. The few people, however, exchanged smiles and easily took care of it.
In broad daylight, zombies were sluggish. As long as they weren't too numerous, they posed no threat to the former hunters.
"I heard our Doctor Gu is about to refine the antidote. With the antidote, even if one is scratched or bitten by a zombie, as long as they quickly take the antidote, they won't turn into a zombie."
A young man gossiped.
"Is that true? It would be great if there was an antidote. Everyone wouldn't have to live in fear."
As they spoke, they couldn't help but glance at the headless zombie lying on the ground.
These zombies often showed signs of decay on their bodies, with skin and flesh peeling off. As time went by, the area of decay grew larger, revealing the bones and nerves beneath.
What was most chilling was that these nerves would twitch and writhe, sending inexplicable shivers down one's spine.
Just like the zombies before them, even with their heads severed, the nerves in their limbs continued to twitch. This situation would last for several hours before subsiding.
"We're recruiting people now because we're building a pharmaceutical factory and need to hire a large number of workers to fill these vacancies.
Perhaps the factory is for producing the antidote. If that's the case, we won't have to fear these zombies anymore," Da Peng said.
He had blind faith in Doctor Gu's medical skills.
Thus, he recounted how Doctor Gu had previously treated Prince Xia in Jinsha City and pulled him back from the brink of death.
Upon hearing about Doctor Gu's past feats of medical prowess, the fellow sailors immediately felt that the antidote must be real.
They continued to climb. Fortunately, besides the two zombies that had blocked their path earlier, there were no further unexpected encounters.
After hiking for half a day, they finally saw signs of human habitation.
They initially thought it was a village, but upon closer inspection, it was more of a settlement for refugees than a village. It could no longer be called a village.
The environment of the settlement was extremely dirty and chaotic, located in a mountain hollow and formed around a mountain stream.
Seeing such a place, and comparing it to their current lives, Da Peng and the others couldn't help but feel that Phoenix Village was too peaceful, practically a paradise.
Phoenix Village's planning and layout were excellent, with clear divisions for living, sanitation, recreation, animal husbandry, and agriculture, allowing them to live in a clean, hygienic, and orderly environment.
Unlike this refugee settlement, where eating, drinking, defecating, and sleeping all happened in the same area, with excrement everywhere, both human and animal, mixed together.
Furthermore, it had rained recently, making the ground muddy and sticky. The surface was covered in soft, dark, viscous mud, mixed with who knew what – perhaps feces or other things. Even walking on it with shoes on made one's soles tingle.
The living conditions of the people here were also dire, evoking a sense of pity.
The children were skin and bones, and the adults were sallow and gaunt, their faces haggard.
Seeing this, a sailor quietly asked Da Peng:
"Captain, in this kind of environment, can we recruit anyone?"
"As long as they're not sick and are reasonably healthy, we can take them back. Don't you see they're so thin from hunger? A few days of full meals will fix them.
Weren't you all like this when you first came to Phoenix Village? You truly forget your troubles once you're well."
After Da Peng's words, the sailor chuckled sheepishly and felt embarrassed to continue complaining.
Da Peng was right. Everyone who came to Phoenix Village was in a sorry state at first.
Indeed, their lives had improved, and they had forgotten their most difficult times.
The word "eat" had a magical effect. Da Peng inadvertently said it a bit too loudly, and the faces of some of the indigenous people lying on the ground suddenly showed expressions of greed and longing.
Da Peng's trouser leg was then tugged. He looked down to see a ragged, pale young mother holding a skeletal infant in her arms, pleading with him:
"Sir, do you have any food? Can you spare some for me? My child is starving to death, please, be kind."
Although Da Peng and his crew were not adorned with gold and silver, nor dressed in fine silks, their clothes were clean and tidy, without a single patch. Their complexions were ruddy, and one sailor, with a particularly hearty appetite, even had a slightly bulging belly from eating large portions, appearing somewhat prosperous.
The difference in one's mental state and demeanor between being well-fed and starving was evident.
The refugees could easily detect the aura of abundance emanating from them.
As the woman knelt and begged, the gazes of the surrounding refugees converged on them.
For a moment, Da Peng and his crew felt as if they were surrounded by a pack of wolves.
Seeing Da Peng being held back, a sailor was about to step forward to pull the woman away, but Da Peng waved him off and asked:
"How old is the child? Where are the others in your family?"
"The child is a little over two months old. He hasn't had much milk since birth and is on the verge of starvation, *sob sob*. The rest of my family drowned when the flood came. The child's father gave me his foot basin to sit on, and by chance, I floated to shore holding the child, and we survived.
Good Samaritan, please be merciful and save us mother and child! Your great kindness, I will repay you like an ox or a horse."
The woman pleaded earnestly.
Seeing that Da Peng was willing to stop and inquire, she seemed to have found a lifeline and desperately tried to grasp it.
Da Peng took out a cloth bag from his embrace and said:
"The things inside are edible. Eat them first, then wait for us at the old banyan tree by the village entrance. Our village is recruiting people. If you're willing to leave your homeland and come to our village, you can follow us later."
"Thank you, benefactor."
The woman didn't know what was in the bag, but since Da Peng said it was edible and could save them, she eagerly accepted the cloth bag. After watching them leave, she hurried to the old banyan tree at the village entrance with her child.
Upon reaching the banyan tree, she impatiently opened the cloth bag and found a fist-sized, milky-yellow lump.
She didn't know what it was, but she took a bite. The lump was slightly sweet and sour, with a milky aroma. It was delicious.
This was a specialty of Phoenix Village, Phoenix Milk Curd. It was made from the milk of the dairy cows raised in Phoenix Village.
Before the fleet left Phoenix Village, Gu Qingcheng had asked Qin Yue from logistics to give each of them a large piece for nutritional supplements during the journey.
Da Peng gave his milk curd to the mother and child and continued deeper into the settlement.
The scenes he witnessed along the way made him feel that the common people were truly suffering. But fortunately, they lived in Phoenix Village.
For some reason, Phoenix Village seemed to have planned everything in advance, able to calmly cope with the current natural and man-made disasters. How fortunate they were to be villagers of Phoenix Village.
The deeper they ventured, the straighter the sailors held their chests. This was an unconscious display of confidence.