Chapter 61

"Fortunately, the burn area isn't too large. Don't let it get wet for the next few days." Looking at Tong Shu's red and blistering skin, Wang Jie felt that the man deserved to die. These people were clearly well-trained and specialized in robbing passersby; judging from their attack, every move they made was ruthless and deadly.

"Where did you come from?! How long have you been hiding here! Do you have any accomplices?" Qin Jiaqiang walked over and kicked the two men.

Seeing their companions dead and others missing, the two men were trembling with fear, begging for mercy and answering every question: "We're locals! We were desperate and had no other food, so we resorted to robbery. There were only four of us, really! Please let us go, we won't do it again..."

The two of them cried their hearts out, looking as miserable as could be, but Tong Shu and the others weren't buying it and watched their performance with indifferent expressions.

As the two began their third round of begging for mercy, Tong Shu finally recovered from the excruciating pain. She walked over, looked down at them, and asked, "Where are the supplies?"

"...We really don't dare to do it again. We used to be good people...supplies?" The two men, who were shouting enthusiastically, looked up with difficulty.

"Where did you put the supplies you looted during this time?" Tong Shu asked again.

It seemed these people had their eyes on their supplies. The man on the ground, seething with resentment, tried to protest, "We...we don't have many supplies. It's because our supplies are running low that we've targeted you..."

Tong Shu was too lazy to listen to their nonsense. With a "tsk," she stepped on the shovel, grabbed the springy wooden handle, and shoveled it right next to the man's ear: "Where did you hide it?"

The man was so frightened that he wet himself and screamed wildly. The other man was also terrified and hurriedly shouted, "In the corner of the factory! In the corner of the factory! We wrapped ourselves in waterproof cloth! Don't kill us!" This man had witnessed Tong Shu kill their leader. This woman looked gentle and refined, but she was actually ruthless. He dared not play dumb anymore and quickly confessed.

Tong Songming and Wang Jianye entered the factory with axes and shovels. The factory was overgrown with plants, and it took them quite a while to clear a path out. The corner the man pointed to had a window that had been broken, so it seemed that the four men usually went in and out through this window.

Tong Songming and Wang Jianye carried over a package wrapped in a waterproof cloth. When they opened it, the contents were quite abundant, including several colored books.

Tong Shu showed a look of disdain. Wang Jie gave her a signal, and the two went to the side to talk.

"...What do you plan to do? You can't really kill these two people, can you?" The man in the yellow shirt could be said to have acted in self-defense in a moment of desperation, but if Tong Shu really killed these two people who were kneeling and begging for mercy, then he would really have to re-evaluate his cousin.

"Take all the supplies, and these two..." Tong Shu glanced over there, "Tie them up and hang them on the tree. Whether they live or die is up to their own fate."

Wang Jie breathed a sigh of relief. The fact that these people were able to steal so much stuff meant that people often came to this area. They wouldn't have trouble finding people. It would be best if a group of strong people came along so they could just capture them and use them as laborers.

If they're really unlucky and don't run into anyone, then it's just bad luck for them, and they deserve it. He knew these guys couldn't possibly be clean, but not having to deal with them personally made Wang Jie feel much more relieved.

"Dad, tie them up tightly and hang them on the tree. We'll pack up and leave," Wang Jie said to his father as he ran over.

Wang Jianye nodded, ran into the tent, took out a bundle of rope, and tied the two people up securely.

"Are we going to keep these two people around? What if they harm others again?" Qin Jiaqiang asked with a gloomy expression.

Wang Jianye gave him a complicated look. He guessed that his brother-in-law was having some kind of psychological problem because of his daughter's situation: "Jiajia, the person who just died was acting in self-defense. If we had killed these two, that would have been murder!"

Qin Jiaqiang didn't take it seriously, but didn't say anything more, and helped Wang Jianye hang the man with Tong Songming.

“These two are no good. We need to hang something around their necks so that no one who doesn’t know better can save them.” Wang Jie said, then found a piece of scrap wood and a piece of charcoal. He wrote down, word by word, “Robbery and murder criminals. Please act only if you are capable of helping.” The two men, their mouths gagged, lost all hope after seeing the words on the wood. With such a thing hanging around them, who would risk saving them?

Tong Shu and the others didn't care about that. The two of them were hoisted five meters high, swaying like two pieces of cured meat.

“There are a few factories inside. We’ll go out from there later.” Remembering their business, everyone perked up. Although the two men were blindfolded and gagged, they decided to change factories to drive the RV out, just to be on the safe side.

After tidying up the campsite, the group walked nearly a kilometer into the industrial park, where a small two-story factory came into view.

Several people went inside and checked; there was no one there, but they did find some clothing, bedding, and personal belongings. Seeing an unfinished slingshot, Tong Shu knew what was going on—this must be one of the people's hideouts. The second floor, protected from the killing vines, was relatively safe.

"Should we go somewhere else? What if someone else comes along?" Wang Jianye asked, a little worried.

"No need, let's just stay here. There could be people anywhere, but we can't keep walking like this forever," Tong Shu said.

“That’s right, those four bandits are here. Even if there were any, they’ve already robbed them all. I reckon there won’t be anyone else here for a while except for us.” Wang Jie agreed with Tong Shu’s opinion.

Seeing that everyone else had agreed, Wang Jianye didn't say anything more. He cleared a space, and Tong Shu turned her backpack upside down, revealing a luxury RV.

“I’ve only driven this car once before, and it looks so new now. Anyone who sees it will probably be suspicious,” Wang Jianye said worriedly again.

“It’s alright. I modified it according to the manual and added a transforming button. After using it, there won’t be any changes inside. People outside will see exactly what we want them to see,” Tong Songming said, a hint of smugness in his voice.

"Tsk, as expected of a product from a small island, it's amazing." Wang Jianye watched as Tong Songming climbed into the driver's seat and pressed a button. The RV, which was originally full of technology and shiny, instantly turned into an old and dilapidated van. He couldn't help but exclaim in amazement.

"Let's go, get in the car, we need to hurry and get going."

The group quickly got into the car. Qin Jiaqiang took the driver's seat, Tong Shu, who was injured, went to reserve a bed to rest, and Tong Songming sat in the passenger seat, discussing with Qin Jiaqiang which way to go.

Wang Jie went back to the island first, and soon brought his mother and Shu Hua out. Shu Hua's eyes reddened with heartache when she saw her tired daughter. Looking at the thick bandage wrapped around her arm, she felt that her arm was also in great pain.

"...You should rest for a while too. Your mother and I will make breakfast, and we'll call you when it's ready," Shu Hua said to Wang Jie in a low voice.

Wang Jie was also exhausted after a long night. With the help of a few more people, he was finally able to relax for a moment. The warm car interior made it so comfortable that he couldn't keep his eyelids open. He simply collapsed onto the sofa bed and slept soundly.

"...Ah Jie said that Shu Shu killed one of the robbers and another fell off the roof. I don't believe it at all. Shu Shu was afraid of ghosts when she was little. This doesn't seem like something she would do." Shu Li said to her younger sister while washing fruit.

Shu Hua's expression was cold, and she tightened her grip on the chopping vegetables: "They've already put a knife to your neck. If you don't go all out, you'll be the one who gets hurt. Even a rabbit will bite when cornered. In this world, the most important thing is to survive."

Shu Li sensed the displeasure in Shu Hua's tone and quickly explained, "That's true, but... I just can't get it. I still think we live in a peaceful era."

“It’s getting more and more dangerous now. We’re being protected by the kids and their fathers and not allowed to go out. At least we should take good care of things at home and not say anything that would hurt their feelings,” Shu Hua instructed.

Upon hearing this, Shuli immediately became serious and said, "Of course, our family must stick together as one. Xiaoxiao's situation must never happen again."

Shu Hua secretly breathed a sigh of relief and nodded. She didn't show it on her face, but she was actually very worried that her two older sisters and their families would be traumatized and estranged because of Tong Shu. Her two sisters had sought refuge with Tong Shu because of her, and if something really happened to Tong Shu because of their families, she would never be able to forgive herself.

While Tong Shu was asleep, a shift changed in the driver's cab. Grandpa and Grandma Tong had also come out of the island. The two elderly people had been told not to come out for a while and were getting quite cooped up. The island was nice, with plenty of supplies and it was safe, but it was still a game world. The whole environment felt unreal until they entered the RV, when Grandpa and Grandma Tong finally felt a sense of reality.

"Don't open the car windows, there might be germs outside." Wang Jie had already woken up and was drinking a bowl of porridge when he saw people coming out of the island curiously peeking out the window, so he quickly reminded them.

"I don't think there's anything wrong with it. Those people yesterday didn't take any precautions, and they were still full of energy," Wang Jianye said.

"You really didn't hear a single cough from those guys?" Wang Jie complained to his dad. "I bet if they weren't already sick, even if all of us put our arms around them, we couldn't beat them. Didn't these guys say they came from some martial arts school?"

Wang Jianye really didn't pay attention to this. He was caught up in his emotions and only cared about himself. Now his face is so swollen that he can't make any expressions.

“If things are in such a mess in the east, who knows if it will be even worse somewhere else,” Shuli said worriedly.

“The east is the most densely populated area. If we go to the central region, we can find a small place to settle down and it won’t be any worse than it is now,” Wang Jie said.

The trees outside the window rushed past, and the RV, carrying the family's hopes, sped forward.