Chapter 111 Cry for Help

When Ruan Ning used her mental power to scan, she discovered a small, locked warehouse in the corner, filled with dense, faint life force, all of which belonged to women.

She walked over, and Tang Hengdao flicked the lock with the tip of his blade, causing it to fall off with a thud. Pushing open the heavy iron door, a stench of musty, sweaty, and excrement-laden air rushed out.

There were no windows in the warehouse, only light coming in through the doorway.

Dozens of women were crammed inside, most of them ragged, pale and emaciated, with empty or fearful eyes. Some huddled in the corners, unresponsive to the light from the open door; some shrank back in fear; and a few looked up, numbly or warily at Ruan Ning, who stood backlit.

Ruan Ning stood at the doorway, her gaze sweeping over the trapped women. Her face remained expressionless, and her voice was clear and calm: "It's safe outside now. You are free."

After saying that, she turned and left without a word or a pause. It was as if she had simply opened a door that shouldn't have been closed.

The women in the warehouse were stunned for a few seconds.

Only after Ruan Ning's figure disappeared into the light at the doorway did the first woman, trembling, tentatively take a step outside. Then came the second, the third... They supported each other, their eyes red-rimmed, and staggered out of the cage.

Zhou Min and Lin Yan were sorting through the backpacks they had looted not far away when they saw this scene and stopped in their tracks.

Their brows were furrowed, and their eyes were filled with complex emotions.

In the apocalypse, women, especially those without superpowers or who have lost their support, have heard about and can imagine what they will encounter. But seeing so many women tortured beyond recognition still makes their hearts feel heavy and suffocated, as if a stone is lodged in their chests.

Sympathy, reluctance, and a sense of sorrow for one's own kind.

Suddenly, a disheveled woman with bruises on her face trembled violently when she saw the corpses of the superhumans who had once abused them on the ground.

She suddenly bent down, picked up a blood-stained stone from the ground, and let out a non-human roar mixed with sobs and hatred, before smashing it hard against the head of a corpse!

A muffled thud.

This was like igniting a powder keg.

Another woman nearby screamed and lunged at him, scratching with her nails and biting with her teeth.

The third woman picked up a broken stick and began to beat it wildly.

The fourth, the fifth… more and more rescued women joined this belated, bloody outpouring. They cried out, cursed, and poured out their long-suppressed fear, pain, and hatred onto the already cold corpses of their abusers.

The scene became chaotic and tragic.

Zhou Min turned her head away, unable to bear watching any longer. Lin Yan gripped the hilt of her knife tightly, her lips pressed into a straight line; they could understand this hatred.

Ruan Ning had returned to the car and was checking its condition, seemingly oblivious to the cries and thuds behind her. Da Huo squatted at her feet, watching the women venting their anger warily, but did not stop them.

After a long while, the outburst gradually subsided, turning into suppressed sobs and heavy breathing. Some women collapsed to the ground, exhausted, staring blankly at their mangled corpses; others huddled together, weeping silently.

Ruan Ning then turned around, her gaze calmly sweeping over the women. Her voice, though still flat, carried clearly across the now quiet open space: "We're leaving. There are some supplies left in this base; you can deal with them yourselves. Whether you stay or leave is your decision."

She said nothing more, opened the car door, and got into the driver's seat. Lin Yan and Zhou Min exchanged a glance, then silently got into the car and closed the door.

The engine was running, and the wheels were turning slowly.

Just then, the woman who had first picked up a stone and threw it at the corpse suddenly broke free from her companion's support, stumbled to the front of the car, and spread her arms to block the way.

Her face was still wet with tears, but her eyes held a desperate urgency.

"Wait! Please wait!" she cried out hoarsely, almost with all her might.

Ruan Ning stepped on the brake and looked at her through the car window.

The woman, panting, said quickly, "I...we don't know what it's like outside, or where to go...which base are you going to? Can you tell us?"

Ruan Ning paused for a second before replying, "Northwest, 'Highland Outpost'."

The woman's eyes lit up for a moment, then were quickly filled with a deeper longing.

She lunged at the car window, her fingers gripping the frame so tightly her nails turned white: "Take us with you! Please, take us with you! We'll take care of our own safety on the road, we won't be a burden! We'll find our own food and drink, we won't take anything from you! If... if we encounter unavoidable danger, don't worry about us, just keep going! If we reach the Northwest Base, it's our destiny; if we don't make it, if we die on the way, we'll accept it, we won't blame anyone!"

Her words were urgent and rapid, filled with a desperate plea, her gaze fixed on Ruan Ning, then sweeping over Lin Yan and Zhou Min in the back seat.

Other women slowly gathered around, standing behind her with similar despair and expectation on their faces, silently watching the three people in the car.

Ruan Ning didn't answer immediately. She turned off the engine and looked at Lin Yan and Zhou Min.

Zhou Min's lips moved slightly, and she whispered, "They're too weak; they might be a burden on the road."

Lin Yan looked at the numb yet expectant faces of the women outside the window, her brows furrowed: "But leaving them here... is almost the same as letting them wait to die. If this base is destroyed, the remaining people may not be able to accommodate them, and other refugees or gangs may come."

Ruan Ning withdrew her gaze and looked again at the woman leading the way outside the car, and the faces behind her, young or no longer young, all equally filled with suffering.

Taking them along carries obvious risks. But refusing them is tantamount to sentencing them to death. A doomsday-era "saintly heart" is unacceptable, but some lines, once crossed, truly reduce humanity to mere bestiality.

“Let’s discuss this,” Ruan Ning said to the woman outside the car, then rolled up the car window.

A brief silence fell over the car.

“Take it with you,” Ruan Ning finally spoke, her voice calm, “but let’s make the rules clear first.”

She rolled down the car window again, facing the woman in the lead, and all the women who had gathered around. Her voice was clear, calm, and devoid of any emotion:

"I can take you along. But listen carefully:"

"First, you need to find your own car and someone who can drive. We'll only guide you; we won't handle anything else."

"Second, you have thirty minutes. Go to this base and find all usable food, water, weapons, medicine, and fuel. Whatever you find is what you need to survive on the way."

"Third, choose a temporary team leader and make arrangements for the people in the vehicle. Stay close to our vehicle on the road, keep your distance, but don't fall behind. If any situation arises, follow our instructions."

"Fourth, as you said, when faced with insurmountable danger, we prioritize self-preservation. No one is obligated to die for others."

"If you can accept this, then go and prepare. Meet here in thirty minutes. Latecomers will not be waited for."