Chapter 55 Preparations for Action

Han Yuting lay on the ground, breathing heavily. She wanted to curse, but Mu Qingyu, though a thin and weak girl, felt like a mountain pressing down on her, weighing nearly a thousand pounds.

She didn't even have a chance to struggle.

"Sister, that man surnamed Gu looks like a cult charlatan." Mu Qingrong ignored Han Yuting and spoke to Mu Qingyu on her own.

Although those people's behavior seemed like that of a madman, Mu Qingrong, who had watched too many movies, felt that their behavior was more like that of a cult in a horror movie—forced brainwashing.

"It's not just similar, it's probably like that." Mu Qingyu simply plopped down on Han Yuting to prevent her from getting up and causing trouble, and ignored Han Yuting's face, which was flushed red from the pressure.

"Their behavior may seem absurd, but their daily prayers and hymns are reinforcing the leadership of Chief Gu."

"He appears gentle and doesn't seem to use any forceful methods to oppress anyone, but in reality, whether it was deliberately using living people to lure away the zombies in the early stages or using lightning-based superpowers in front of everyone, it was all a means of psychological oppression."

"I think this person was originally the leader of some kind of cult before the apocalypse. He took advantage of the apocalypse to gather a group of believers," Mu Qingyu analyzed.

"He came to this village because he saw how wealthy it is," Mu Qingrong guessed.

Mu Qingyu shook her head: "Wealth is useless. Money is worthless after the apocalypse. I think what he values ​​here is the machinery. Think about it, that man with the hunting rifle, he's holding a homemade hunting rifle."

China has very strict control over weapons and firearms. While cold weapons like knives might be obtainable through illegal channels, it is extremely difficult for ordinary people to acquire firearms, even if the target is a cult leader.

At most, Han Yuting mentioned that the man surnamed Gu also had a pistol.

"He wants to make his own firearms?!" Those people's goal is actually the same as theirs! "No wonder, we were surrounded as soon as we entered that courtyard. Those things seemed to be carelessly thrown in the courtyard, but they actually had people watching us the whole time."

"Making guns is actually not complicated, but it requires professional knowledge; otherwise, you could easily injure yourself," Mu Qingrong said.

“Not only that.” Mu Qingyu shook her head slightly: “That courtyard might still be bait. They lack people who know how to make guns, so they want to capture outsiders. Do you remember what the man with the hunting rifle said to us? Ordinary people wouldn’t be thinking about those steel balls and steel pipes at a time like this.”

Mu Qingrong nodded: "Sister, you're right. Besides, capturing people to expand the population doesn't do them any harm. At worst, when zombies attack, more people can act as human shields."

As she spoke, Mu Qingrong paused, "Sis, she rolled her eyes, don't crush her to death."

Mu Qingyu glanced at Han Yuting before slowly standing up, looking down at her and asking, "Is that enough? Still want to go crazy?"

Han Yuting was suddenly able to breathe fresh air freely again. Apart from curling up and taking deep breaths, she was too weak to even go crazy.

Mu Qingyu nudged her with her toe and said, "Tell us everything you haven't told us yet, or you'll be seeing your children today."

Having witnessed Mu Qingyu's terrifying power, and seeing how nonchalantly she said she was sending her to see her children, Han Yuting knew that she had misjudged them this time. She had thought they were innocent little rabbits who had stumbled into a trap, but they turned out to be wolves in sheep's clothing.

There wasn't much more information. The entertainment center was voluntary; Chief Gu wouldn't force anyone to go.

However, the key point is this "however".

Earning 12 points per day is not easy for each family. Families that don't have enough points have to contribute members to build a wall around the village or keep watch at night, based on the number of points they are short.

This is a rather dangerous job; the villagers are not allowed to use weapons. Only Chief Gu and his former subordinates are permitted to possess them. Many people have misunderstood this.

When Chief Gu and his group arrived, there were fifty or sixty people left in the village; now, there are less than forty villagers left.

Moreover, among the "villagers" in the ancestral hall today, about ten were people whom Chief Gu had captured from outside in the past few days. Most of them had fled from the city and entered the village in search of food or a place to stay.

Therefore, even if Chief Gu did not force them, some people were willing to "voluntarily" provide services at the entertainment center in order to accumulate points and avoid dying from doing hard labor at night.

This explains why, when the young brother and sister arrived today, the sycophantic man and his "family" were so eager to have a "daughter."

Han Yuting's children didn't die from such sordid things. On the contrary, they died because they refused to earn those points and preferred to do hard labor at night. As a result, they were attacked by zombies and died by the wall at the entrance of the village.

Han Yuting's children felt sorry for their elderly mother, so no one went to see her that night, which is how she managed to escape with her life.

"You're so clever!" After hearing Han Yuting's story, Mu Qingrong was even more furious: "Your children know there are some things they shouldn't do, and they'd rather do more dangerous work. But you, you want to push other people's children into a fire pit! What a kind soul!"

Han Yuting's expression was numb. When Mu Qingrong scolded her, she didn't react much. She just gave a smile that was more painful than crying and said, "Other people's children? I don't even have my own children. Why would I care about other people's children's lives?"

“Besides,” she said, sitting on the ground and looking up at Mu Qingyu, “if you don’t work at the entertainment center, you won’t earn enough points. In the end, won’t you still have to stand guard and build walls? I heard from people who came back alive at night that there are more and more man-eating monsters outside now. Before long…” everyone here will die too!

Mu Qingyu was too lazy to argue with her, and instead said to Mu Qingrong, "Tie her up and gag her. That way she won't tell on us and ruin our plans."

Upon hearing this, Mu Qingrong became excited: "Sister, are we going to take action?"

Mu Qingyu chuckled, "You don't even know what I want to do, yet you're talking about action?"

"We'll do whatever you tell us to do. Why do we have to know first?" Mu Qingrong said with a grin, then took the tape that Mu Qingyu "pulled" out of his body and handed it to him, and began to tie up Han Yuting.

Han Yuting didn't struggle—she couldn't win anyway, so she might as well see what the siblings were up to. Maybe they could actually drive Chief Gu and his group away?

As for who will protect the village and its people if Chief Gu and the others leave—that's not something Han Yuting is considering for the time being.