Chapter 187 The Survivors
“I was willing to give her food because she didn’t intend to sell the child or let her child go hungry, even though I didn’t like the methods she used… but I have no right to criticize her,” Mu Qingyu said.
"That's her way of life, I'll just ignore her." She wouldn't allow others to morally blackmail her, but she allowed her conscience to occasionally kick in, and then she would give alms to others.
Gao Yingwei fiercely wiped his rain-soaked face, spat out a mouthful of saliva, and said, "Pah! This damned world!"
Yes, if given the chance, who wouldn't want to be a good person!
"You should worry more about your soldiers. Being too kind in the apocalypse will only hurt yourself and others. Look, even your orders aren't always obeyed," Mu Qingyu said coolly.
The two of them stayed in that spot, mainly to keep an eye on the fire in the warehouse and prevent it from burning down the surrounding area.
However, after another half hour, in the pouring rain, the fire in the warehouse finally subsided and began to extinguish, making it impossible for it to spread further.
"Xiao Wu." Gao Yingwei called Xiao Wu back and then instructed, "We'll set up camp in the warehouse area today. We'll also take shelter from the rain; we don't know how long this rain will last. Park the car in an open area so we can leave at any time. Someone needs to take turns guarding the car tonight."
They had three military trucks, which were now completely filled with collected supplies, so someone had to guard them every step of the way.
"Yes, Captain. And what about the survivors who were with us?" Xiao Wu asked.
"Let them into the garden, we'll leave the rest to them." Gao Yingwei said, pointing to one of the two warehouses that Mu Qingyu had last opened behind him, "We'll stay here and just guard this warehouse and the car. We don't need to worry about the others; they can go wherever they want."
Xiao Wu responded with a "Yes" and then left.
Mu Qingyu realized that Xiao Wu wasn't very smart and didn't have much of his own opinion, but he was quite good at executing tasks.
A while later, another soldier ran over to report. He hesitated when he first arrived, but after being reprimanded by Gao Yingwei, he finally said, "Reporting, Captain, there are survivors... They, they ate mutated rat meat..."
Most of the mutated rats in Huisheng Garden were burned to death, and most of them were burned to a crisp. However, a small number of them were burned to death but not completely cooked.
Peel away the charred skin, and inside is red, cooked meat. Some people, having run out of food and missing out on the remaining supplies from the previous raid, stumbled upon the aroma of roasted mutated rats…
Starving people don't care about anything else, so they pick up the mutated rats to eat. As more and more people do it, they even start fighting over them...
Upon hearing this, Gao Yingwei frowned deeply: "Why not stop them? What if the meat contains a virus... What if these survivors mutate at the same time here? It would be a very dangerous situation."
“We couldn’t stop them…” The soldier lowered his head, then looked up again after a while, his eyes filled with tears: “Captain, they’re in such a terrible state… Who would eat that stuff if they weren’t starving? They… they… When I see them, I keep thinking about my parents at home, with no one to take care of them. Are they also starving and thirsty like this…”
Gao Yingwei fell silent, his fists clenched tightly, as if he couldn't breathe.
"It's okay. You can eat it." Mu Qingyu's tone was the same as always: "It's just that it tastes terrible. Don't be fooled by the meaty aroma when it's grilling it. It tastes rotten when you eat it. But once it's cooked, there are no viruses. It can fill your stomach."
Mu Qingyu spoke calmly, but her heart was far from at peace! She loathed mutated rats, but what she loathed most was their flesh! She had eaten it in her past life.
For a time, she even ate them regularly. She can never forget that disgusting, rotten smell! Now, whenever she sees the mutated giant rats, even from a distance, she feels they reek of stench!
Just as Mu Qingyu said, the mutated giant rats lose their virus when cooked and become edible. After people in the previous generation discovered this, a large number of refugees began to use the mutated giant rats to fill their stomachs.
Mu Qingyu's camp experienced a relatively small rat infestation, which was eventually resolved by the fire-type ability users who rallied together.
It was also on that occasion that the survivors at the bottom of society—including Mu Qingyu—fought and scrambled among the piles of charred dead rats, trying to snatch the rats that hadn't yet been carbonized.
The disgusting taste and sensation went straight to the top of my head... but in order to survive, I had to swallow it down no matter how disgusting it was... that's how cruel the world is.
The reason there wasn't a large-scale rat plague in the past was because their meat was edible!
Therefore, humans are actually very terrifying creatures. Even when they are in dire straits, anything that humans can put in their mouths will hardly escape human consumption.
The base doesn't even need to organize anything to deal with the mutated giant rats; when there's no food, people will hunt on their own.
"If you see field mice while you're traveling, especially mutated field mice, you can eat them too. They're much tastier, even though the meat is a bit tough," Mu Qingyu continued.
"How do you know everything?" Gao Yingwei looked at Mu Qingyu strangely. This woman looked to be only in her early twenties, not that old!
Mu Qingyu smiled at Gao Yingwei, revealing her gleaming white teeth: "Because I've eaten them all!"
For some reason, Gao Yingwei's stomach involuntarily tightened, and he decided that he would not speak to Mu Qingyu anymore.
"I'll go take a look," Gao Yingwei sighed, and followed the young soldier to see those people eating the mutated giant rat meat.
Their convoy was followed by many people, some of whom would fall behind as they walked, but new people would join them at the same time.
Gao Yingwei was determined to ignore them, so he never bothered to keep track of how many people had been lost or how many had joined.
Gao Yingwei left, and Mu Qingyu silently followed. She mainly wanted to see who these people who followed Gao Yingwei were, so she could have a better understanding of their situation.
At this time, the survivors also entered Huisheng Garden. They had originally traveled together along the same route, but did not belong to a single group, so they all gathered in twos and threes.
It's clear that the conditions of these survivors varied greatly.
Some people drive out in G-Class or Land Rover vehicles, loaded with supplies, and dressed fairly well. They usually just find a place to park their cars and then stay there, looking around very cautiously.
There was also a beat-up truck and a bus. All sorts of people got off the vehicles; they looked like a hastily assembled team.
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