Chapter 30
The exposed steel skeleton of the arch bridge was twisted like a giant centipede and turned red by the scorching sun.
Ji Tao was stuck in the deformed chassis of the off-road vehicle, his protective suit had been stripped off, leaving his upper body naked.
Nine scavengers were gathered around the car, scraping his flesh with iron sheets. The rusty metal scraped out centipede-like bloody grooves on his skin. Even the blood was caught by three child-like scavengers in broken plastic bottles, trying their best to avoid wasting a single drop.
These scavengers were of different ages. The oldest one had a head full of messy gray hair, and the youngest looked only three or four years old. They were all covered in tattered anti-radiation cloth, like a group of broom-headed monsters.
The most peculiar thing is that these people all have some mutations in their bodies to varying degrees. Some have lizard scales, some have cockroach antennae, and the older they are, the more mutations they have.
The strongest among them was a one-eyed woman who looked quite fierce and strong. She was wearing the protective suit that she had stripped off from Ji Tao. Their excited discussion could be faintly heard from a distance.
He Tianlin watched the scene with a look of pain on his face. Ji Tao's current treatment was the equivalent of being tortured to death by slow slicing. "I don't know whether he should be thankful that the car didn't catch fire after falling off the bridge, or whether he should hate why the car didn't just explode and give him a quick death."
Liu Xia's mind was not on this. She came here to recycle garbage. If Ji Tao died just like that, all her efforts would be in vain. She had to take preemptive action before Ji Tao died.
"Xiao He, come with me. While Ji Tao is still alive, let's get some useful information." Liu Xia looked around and estimated that their location was within the effective range of the sniper rifle and was also very suitable for hiding. "Ruotong, find a suitable cover here and provide long-range support."
The plan was quickly formulated and immediately executed.
He Tianlin was somewhat surprised at Liu Xia's calmness and ability to respond. Seeing such an impactful scene, Liu Xia seemed to be completely unaffected, and even his expression did not fluctuate at all.
Liu Xia was the first to bear the brunt of the attack. He quickly approached the riverbed by relying on the cover, holding a well-maintained modified submachine gun in his hand.
Although it was not as good as the weapons of the Beehive, let alone the large-caliber pistol that Song Xuan gave her, it was already the best weapon that could be found in the restaurant. Most importantly, it was more compatible with the bullets looted from the restaurant, so she didn't have to worry too much about bullet loss for the time being.
Under the scorching sun, the air was slightly distorted, making people feel like they were on fire.
Ji Tao was probably the most confident in expressing this feeling among the people present. He not only felt that he was about to be set on fire, but even felt that his flesh and blood had been roasted by the sun and could be eaten with just a sprinkle of cumin.
"It should be delicious." Ji Tao looked at the scorched earth and the white bones everywhere in front of him with lifeless eyes, thinking self-deprecatingly.
These eyes with more white than pupil were always feared by people in normal times, but now one of them was missing. It was pulled out of his eye socket by the strongest one-eyed woman and was chewed raw with relish right in front of him.
Perhaps it is because the one-eyed woman is also missing an eye that she is particularly keen on this.
Ji Tao felt that this exploration trip was the most wrong decision he had ever made. After years of being at ease in District 6, he underestimated these scavenging beggars and thought that he would have nothing to worry about as long as he brought weapons with him.
After all, this is District 9, the dirtiest garbage dump in the dungeon.
Those who were expelled here were not going to live long, so he just had to be careful not to disturb the mutant ants and rats hiding deep underground.
No one would have thought that these scavenging beggars would set a trap on the bridge. He was even careless enough to fall into the trap and overturned his car.
Ji Tao was silently cherishing the memory of his life when he saw a man wearing a radioactive cloak approaching from a distance, holding a submachine gun in his hand and walking towards him.
Ji Tao, who had already lost the will to live and only wanted to die quickly, seemed to have been given a temporary shot of stimulant. A last-minute light flashed in his pupils. He suddenly opened his bleeding mouth and a broken voice came out of his dry throat: "Help... Help me..."
The one-eyed woman who had been concentrating on picking meat alertly noticed the change in Ji Tao. Her wolf-like right ear trembled slightly. Her strong intuition made her quickly turn around and look behind her in a defensive posture. Her golden vertical pupils, which had been mutated due to long-term consumption of mutant beast meat, revealed a look of vigilance.
Half of the one-eyed woman's face was covered with thick animal hair, and her sharp fangs were still stained with Ji Tao's bloody flesh, making her look a bit like the half-wolf, half-human monster in film and television works.
The other scavengers noticed her actions and panicked, putting down their work and hiding behind the wreckage of the car.
Liu Xia has already seen that among this group of scavengers, the one-eyed woman is probably the only fighting force. Ji Tao has fallen into this situation today, probably because he was ambushed.
She had no intention of killing these scavengers directly. She knew in her heart that they were also pitiful people. As long as both sides could communicate in a friendly manner, there was no need to shed blood.
"I hold no ill will towards you." Liu Xia swung the submachine gun behind him, the metal buckle making a crisp clicking sound. He signaled He Tianlin to remain hidden and not come out. He then spread his hands and slowly walked out from behind the concrete bunker. "I want to make a deal with you."
The one-eyed woman's beastification was already very high, which gave her the instincts of an animal. She could clearly sense the powerful aura emanating from the person opposite her.
If there weren't so many old, weak and sick people in the scavenger team, she would even want to escape involuntarily.
"What deal?" The one-eyed woman pressed the iron sheet in her hand against Ji Tao's carotid artery. Her voice was very rough, like a stone scratching on a rough grinding stone, which was caused by years of erosion by radioactive dust.
"Give this half-dead guy to me temporarily. I can exchange supplies with you." Liu Xia pointed at Ji Tao calmly and took out three boxes of compressed biscuits from the backpack behind him. "When he dies, the flesh on his body will still be yours. I'm not interested."
"Okay!" The one-eyed woman agreed to Liu Xia's deal without any hesitation.
She knew that if she didn't do this, she might be able to escape, but the others would definitely die. Moreover, this deal was a win-win for her, so why should she refuse it?
Liu Xia nodded in appreciation and threw the compressed biscuits in his hand to her.
No wonder this one-eyed woman can be the leader of this group of scavengers. She is very sharp and decisive. If she had not been born in this era, she would definitely be an elite in the workplace.
The one-eyed woman didn't waste any words. She asked people to pick up the compressed biscuits on the ground and pack up the blood, flesh and other supplies they had just collected. Then they swarmed away from the back of the off-road vehicle and disappeared from sight in a short while.
When the scavengers disappeared into the ruins dragging the supplies, Ji Tao's broken body trembled.
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