Chapter 5: Encounter.
Seeing the current situation, these people finally realized that if they didn't take action themselves, they would definitely not fare well. Rather than that, they might as well take the initiative and avoid ending up like that old man.
So the remaining people could only grit their teeth, grab their weapons, and charge at the remaining zombies.
There weren't many zombies to begin with, and Mo Xiu had already taken care of two of them. With seven or eight of them, dealing with the remaining two zombies together would be quite easy.
They were too panicked, and by the time the two zombies were knocked to the ground and lay motionless, they had exhausted most of their strength.
However, what's even more disheartening is that they still have a long way to go. They can't just go back now; all the suffering they've endured would have been for nothing.
Watching Mo Xiu's gaze calmly sweep over the remains of several zombies, Xi Wenlin felt a chill run down his spine.
He finally realized that Mo Xiu had truly changed. She had become completely out of control, no longer the person they could manipulate at will.
With heavy hearts, the group continued onward. Compared to the beginning, they were much more cautious, all on high alert.
Only the old man who had almost wet his pants from being scared by the zombies earlier had sprained his ankle when he fell to the ground, and limped to the back of the line.
He wanted to call his wife for help, but because he had pushed the woman earlier, she was now far away and ignored his shouts and curses.
The old man was cursing and swearing, trying to get the old woman to come back and help him.
Mo Xiu, annoyed by the insults, said indifferently, "If you want to attract zombies, keep cursing."
Upon hearing this, everyone else immediately glared at the old man with eyes like knives. The old man shuddered and reluctantly shut his mouth.
Mo Xiu took them to a small supermarket they had visited before. The supermarket was almost empty, but if you looked carefully, you could still find some items that had slipped through the net.
Carrying a large backpack, Mo Xiu checked the shelves with the same practiced ease as always.
The others also searched for supplies eagerly, and each found some, more or less.
On the way back, they only encountered one lone zombie, which Mo Xiu didn't bother with and left to the rest of the team to deal with.
After everyone had gone back, the people in the villa immediately surrounded them, asking what they had found.
Xi Wenlin cleverly moved aside, but others were eager to show off their achievements, so they opened their backpacks to show the others.
When he realized that no one in the villa was going to take the cookies from his pocket, he quickly closed the bag and held it tightly to his chest.
"What are you doing? We finally found this!" the man said unhappily.
"What are you doing? Why are you closing the bag?"
In the past, whenever Mo Xiu went out to find supplies, she would always share them with everyone when she returned! So, the food you found should definitely include some for us too!
The people on the other side spoke with such self-righteousness that the person who had returned was furious.
This is food they risked their lives to find after encountering zombies; why should they give it to others?
But clearly, those who stayed in the villa didn't think that way.
The two groups quickly started arguing, while Mo Xiu leisurely sat back on the sofa in the hall, watching the show with great interest.
After a standoff, the ugliness of human nature was once again revealed. Seeing that the returning person was unwilling to share, some people tried to steal it outright.
The first to be targeted were the elderly men and women who didn't seem to have much fighting ability, followed by the delicate and frail Lu Pingwan. Of course, everyone else's backpacks were also coveted.
Before long, the two who had started arguing began to fight.
Xi Wenlin realized what was happening and immediately grabbed his bag, walking over to Mo Xiu's side and saying, "Mo Xiu, aren't you going to do anything about this? They're going to take the supplies we worked so hard to find!"
Mo Xiu smirked at her words: "What do you care? Didn't you take the supplies I retrieved without a second thought?"
Xi Wenlin was surprised by Mo Xiu's words and had no rebuttal to her.
Those who remained in the villa were like packs of wolves. Of the seven people who went out, aside from the elderly couple and Lu Pingwan, there were only four who were strong enough to be no match for the other side!
If no one intervenes, they will definitely rob my supplies. What should I do?
Just when Xi Wenlin was at his wit's end, Lu Pingwan, who was almost cornered, suddenly ran towards Mo Xiu.
She shoved her crossbody bag directly in front of Mo Xiu and said anxiously, "Mo Xiu, this is what I found this time. Here you go?"
Mo Xiu raised an eyebrow upon hearing this: "You mean, you're going to give me the supplies you went through so much trouble to find?"
Lu Pingwan nodded firmly, then said, "I only want to keep one pack of instant noodles, the rest are yours, okay?"
It was clear that Lu Pingwan was seeking protection from Mo Xiu. Her current strength was too weak, and her level one water-based ability had almost no offensive power.
Rather than having all the food taken by others, it's better to give it to Mo Xiu, so that at least you can keep some to survive.
That's a clever one.
Mo Xiu nodded inwardly, thinking that Lu Pingwan's water-based abilities had indeed been very useful to her along the way. Seeing that the other party had not found much supplies, she only symbolically took a sausage and pushed the bag back to her.
"The rest is all yours."
Upon hearing Mo Xiu's words, a hint of surprise flashed in Lu Pingwan's eyes.
She immediately hugged her bag, bowed to Mo Xiu, and said gratefully, "Thank you so much!"
Seeing Lu Pingwan's success, the others followed suit. They all shouted that they were willing to give their food to Mo Xiu, as long as Mo Xiu would leave some for them.
This was Mo Xiu's original intention, but he didn't expect everything to go so smoothly. Before he could even do anything, these people were already vying to hand over 'protection money'.
"Alright, since you insist, I'll have to accept it. I'll take you out to find supplies from now on. When we come back, we'll count them, and you can give me one-third, and the remaining two-thirds are yours."
Those who had originally stayed behind dared not compete anymore after Mo Xiu had spoken, and could only give up unwillingly.
Having learned about the journey from others who had gone out, the remaining people were certain that Mo Xiu would no longer care for them or provide them with food.
So when Mo Xiu spoke up for the second time about going out to find supplies, everyone became enthusiastic.
Humans have a strong ability to adapt to survival, and after only a few times, these people began to adapt to this kind of life.
However, some people began to feel that they didn't need Mo Xiu at all. After all, Mo Xiu did almost nothing, just walked with them on the road, and generally didn't fight when they encountered zombies, only reacting when their lives were in danger.
They could have gone out to find supplies on their own, and what they found on their own should naturally belong to them.
Mo Xiu smiled after hearing this, not caring, but decided not to go with them next time.
Those who volunteered to go out that day soon encountered danger. One of them was bitten by a zombie and did not return.
They then realized the importance of Mo Xiu and begged him to continue following them.
Mo Xiu agreed, but that didn't stop him from raising the price on the spot, directly increasing the amount of supplies he wanted to collect from one-third to half.
But by this point, no one dared to complain anymore.
In this way, Mo Xiu would go out with these people about once every three days, strolling around with them, and only take action when there was a crisis.
He had no worries about food and drink every day, and a group of people had to try their best to please him. He was much more comfortable than in his previous life.
However, having trained these people sufficiently, Mo Xiu felt that they should leave this place.
He still had accounts to settle at the Shanhe Base, and more importantly, there were people he needed to find and wait for. Therefore, he absolutely had to go.
However, the journey there was long and arduous, and Mo Xiu did not intend to follow the original route.
You have to understand, in his previous life, he took that path and encountered a zombie horde. He barely managed to escape with these people, and only half of the team survived.
Mo Xiu changed her route not for anyone else, but mainly to protect her own life.
Opening the map she had prepared earlier, Mo Xiu replanned the route. Although the new route would take almost half a month longer than the previous one, it was safer.
Moreover, the journey will pass through a small town called Anping, which is famous for its grain production, where we might be able to find more supplies.
After making preparations, Mo Xiu explained his plan to the team. As for whether the others wanted to come with him, that was up to them.
Although the people in the group didn't understand why Mo Xiu deliberately took a long detour, they had already seen how terrifying the apocalypse was and realized that only by sticking close to Mo Xiu could they be safe.
Moreover, because everyone has been out searching for supplies these days, preparations are more thorough, and there is plenty of gasoline.
Mo Xiu didn't want to squeeze in with them, so she got a car. She got herself an SUV. The rest of the people followed in three larger cars.
The journey was relatively smooth, as Mo Xiu chose sparsely populated roads, so they didn't encounter many zombies along the way.
For some reason, the closer Mo Xiu got to Anping Town, the more uneasy he felt. He had a feeling that something important was waiting for him there.
On the third day after they set off, they arrived at Anping Town.
This town has a lot of farmland, but a sparse population.
Someone must have been here before, because there were signs that the zombies had been cleared out. This saved them a lot of trouble, but they also took away most of the supplies.
Having experienced the apocalypse and rebirth, Mo Xiu has great faith in her intuition.
So after everyone found temporary accommodations and settled in, Mo Xiu drove around the town alone.
Ever since he entered this place, he has felt an inexplicable attraction even more clearly, as if it came from his soul.
Finally, upon arriving at a small, half-open warehouse used for storing grain, Mo Xiu's feeling reached its peak.
He got out of the car and walked quickly to the warehouse door. After a moment's hesitation, he pushed the door open.
The warehouse was almost empty, with only some scattered bags and shelves.
Mo Xiu went inside and soon heard some soft noises.
He slowly walked in following the sound, and when he reached a corner of the warehouse, he saw a humanoid creature curled up in the corner, seemingly moving.
Is it a zombie?
Mo Xiu had some doubts, but intuitively he felt that the other party shouldn't be.
So he moved closer and saw clearly that the person lying on the ground was a person, and a rather young-looking man at that.
The other person had disheveled hair, was thin, and wore a dirty T-shirt and pants. He was lying on the ground, struggling to chew a small handful of raw rice.
Even when Mo Xiu came over, the other person only glanced at him before continuing to eat in a messy manner.
The young man's face was somewhat dirty, making it difficult to discern his features. However, Mo Xiu immediately recognized those extremely familiar eyes—eyes that had once been bloodshot and fierce for him.
"wood!"
Mo Xiu was stunned for a moment, then rushed over without hesitation and hugged the person on the ground into her arms.
His eyes were terribly red. In his past life, he was left with only his soul, and this man was the only one who truly cared for him.
He thought it would be a long time before they met, but unexpectedly, his change of course at the last minute led to them meeting sooner.
"Great! I'm so glad to see you again!"
A note from the author:
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