Zayn took the matter as a pushover, but he was interested in this unique village. He couldn't find any zombies or mutated animals around, and it had obviously come for some good reason.
The residents could own wheat fields and other plantations outside as if they were not afraid of attacks. Something must have played a role in driving the menace away.
Zayn wished to discover why this village was safe from zombies and mutated animals.
*Sniff* *Sniff*
Angie sniffed here and there as if she was curious about something, but she wasn't quite sure where the smell was coming from.
"Are you bothered by the scent of the plantation?" Zayn also took a sniff and felt there was nothing wrong with the smell of the garden.
"..." Angie shrugged and was no longer bothered about anything. She went into her tent and beckoned Zayn to follow her.
"As I expected. The villagers don't like newcomers. We've only camped outside the village, but they've been watching us like hunters." Steven folded his arms while surveying the surroundings.
"Well, what can we do. They might have their reasons, but we also didn't come to make trouble. However, it would be different if they came at us with malicious intent." Rico sighed and turned his head towards the settlement. Some village men are watching them from afar.
"Are we going to ignore them? I want to hold a party." Rick groaned.
"It's okay. Our vehicles serve as our circular defense, and I've put countermeasures in case they try to do something stupid. We're going to have a little barbecue party with wine!" Steven raised his hands high.
"O-oh!"
"As expected of our captain!"
The soldiers cheered and immediately prepared their little party. They didn't invite Zayn and Angie since those love birds had entered their nest.
"..." Grisella sat on a rock, staring at the bonfire while eating barbecue alone.
Even though it was called a barbecue, it was just dried meat, mushrooms, and potatoes that were skewered on a stick before being grilled.
"Yo, little girl. Are you all right? Those stinky men have started partying with their wine. You can't drink that, mkay? It's only for adults and can get anyone drunk." Rico approached the little girl with a cup of coffee.
He spoke to her and looked at everyone who was having fun from the side since he wouldn't be participating in the drunken event.
"I'm fine. Thanks for asking. Where did Boss Zayn and Miss Angie go? They weren't at your party?" Grisella asked curiously. She couldn't see Zayn and Angie around since the party started.
"Well, they've gone into their lair. No one knows what they're up to, and we'd better not disturb them." Rico scratched his head. He didn't know how to explain properly to a child.
"Hmm, why?" Grisella asked further.
"Hm, let's call that a courtesy. It's impolite to interrupt a superior." Rico laughed dryly before taking a sip of his juice.
"Is that wine?" Grisella narrowed her eyes.
"No, it's coffee. I'll stay up all night in case something happens." Rico showed his coffee.
"O-oh... Anyway, where will I spend the night?" Grisella looked around. There were only a few tents, and most people would sleep outside.
"You can sleep in that tent. It's a storage tent, but it's divided into three compartments. The small one is empty. Use the sleeping bag and you can sleep soundly without interruption." Rico pointed to a tent next to Zayn's.
"..." Grisella only nodded in response. She needed to sleep alone as usual.
"Hahaha, add more!"
"Godamn, this wine tastes heavenly!"
"After two pretty crazy days, we can finally get some relief."
"Yeah, forget the troubles of the world for a moment and dive into the pleasures."
"I can fly!"
"Shut up, you're already drunk!"
"Huh, I'm not drunk. You're drunk, dammit."
The soldiers chatted as if they didn't care about anything other than enjoying the wine. Some of them collapsed due to drunkenness, but more than ten people were still staying strong because of their alcohol tolerance.
"Ugh, they came here to stay overnight, but they feasted on delicious food and wine! And here we just watch like losers." A villager muttered in annoyance, but he felt jealous and hungry.
"Did they do this on purpose?"
"I think they want to set us up."
"What kind of trap?"
"They want us to fall for temptation and join them. After we collapse from drunkenness, they can do whatever they want to our village. We can't let them know more about our village."
"That makes sense, but what are we going to do now?"
The villagers exchanged opinions in whispers. They then glanced at the leader of the village protection group.
"Sacher, what do you think?" Someone decided to ask.
"They weren't the goddamn soldiers that showed up back then, but they're still something to be suspicious of. We always drive soldiers away from the base, and they're no exception. However, we're going to dig a little bit out of them this time. Listen, this is the plan." Sacher invites the youth protectors of the village to gather before he whispers his plan.
A few minutes later, he separated the youth from the adults because they would share tasks.
"Which of you has a high alcohol tolerance? You will play a key role in everything with me." Sacher spoke in a whisper-like voice.
"..." The adults looked at each other. It had been several months since they had last touched an alcoholic beverage. Let alone wine. They couldn't even have a cheap beer since the zombie apocalypse broke out.
"Let this daddy accompany you for this plan. We can't go in a large group or they will suspect us." A chubby man raised his hand.
"Oh, it's you Gota. Fine, but what about your tolerance for alcohol? They will definitely try to get us drunk for their sake." Sacher nodded.
"I can drink six bottles of beer, vodka, wine and stuff and I'm still sober. That was almost half a year ago, though. However, I'm confident in my big belly." Gota patted his belly confidently.
"Good. We're going there now. You guys, please keep an eye on them. We're counting on you for this." Sacher reminds everyone.
"We will pay attention to your signal." A youth nodded in understanding.
After that, Sacher and Gota approached a group of soldiers who were partying with only themselves. They didn't come with firearms or sharp weapons because that could backfire.
"Oh, who came here uninvited."
"Isn't this a man trying to chase us away without hearing a word from our boss?"
"We won't bother you and will only spend the night outside the village. What do you want now?"
The soldiers who were still sober noticed two people approaching.
"Haha, no offense, sir. We only came to see what you were up to and hoped to get some information about the situation outside of you." Sacher answered clearly.
"Hm, it's not free, you know. I also want to know a few things from you. Let's call this an exchange." Steven grinned and motioned for the two guests to sit on the ground with them.
"That sounds fair. Since we came, you may ask for some information from us. You need to remember, that we have the right not to answer it and you have to change the question." Sacher sat cross-legged, but he spied the wine.
"Would you like a drink while we talk? This is a luxury in the dark ages of the zombie apocalypse." Steven made an offer as he was in no hurry to talk.
"That's good." Sacher glanced at Gota before nodding.
Two large glasses of wine were then served in front of the two guests.
"I'm the captain of the fifteenth squad, Steven. Who am I talking to?" Steven took a sip of his wine, then started a conversation.
"I am Sacher, and he is Gota." Sacher raised his wine and checked it. It didn't look like it was poisoned, so he took a sip.
"!?" Sacher was surprised because that wine felt like it was pampering him from the inside. Apart from giving off a delicious taste and warmth, it also made her feel pleasure!
"Sacher, hmm... I saw how you tried to chase us away while talking to our boss. However, one thing caught my attention. I believe you chased away every single soldier from the base that came here, but what was the reason? Did something bad happen to you?" Steven went straight to the heart of the first major problem.
"Are you asking because you don't know or are you pretending you don't know?" Sacher frowned.
"How would we know? We are one of the anti-zombie squads at the forefront. We cleared out the zombies around this city to create a safe zone. Otherwise, this city would have become like New York, destroyed by zombies and monsters. Everything we know only the battlefield, and return only to prepare to go to the battlefield again with our lives at stake. You never know how many of my comrades have fallen." Steven narrowed his eyes and answered fluently, but his tone was cold.
"So, even the soldiers at the base don't associate well with each other, huh. I'm also a bit curious about why you are exiled from the base. Are you criminals for killing a higher up or something? As for our problem, it started with those bastard soldiers." Sacher pursed his lips. He tried to assess these soldiers while exchanging information with them.