The Great Merchant in the Cataclysm Chapter 26

Chapter 26: Ready to Go
On the road returning to the warehouse, Zhang Mu saw the group of people who just abandoned Wang Liang. They had been hunted down by walking dead and only a few people escaped.
It was too late to save them. Moreover, he didn’t want to save them.
There had been over a dozen people, but now, only two were left. Zhang Mu shook his head in disdain.
They were too stupid. If they had stayed with Wang Liang, with his help, they would be able to survive in this world more easily.
A kind and virtuous evolver wanted to help them, but they actually abandoned him. How stupid were they!
When they had abandoned their friends, they should’ve known that they would be abandoned as well someday!
Most people in Zhang Mu’s past life had acted like this, but Zhang Mu refused to become one of them. As a merchant, he liked crystals, but there was something more important than crystals. In his past life, even though finishing his quests alone was dangerous, he still refused to join any force. He didn’t believe in other humans. Monsters were straightforward; they never hid their will to eat him. However, he couldn’t see through humans’ smiling faces. It wouldn’t be surprising to be stabbed by someone who just declared that you were his friend.
When Zhang Mu returned to the warehouse, it was already lunchtime.
He knocked at the door. Yuan Rui excitedly opened it and pulled him into the room. She smiled at him, then complained, “Uncle, why didn’t you tell me that you would go outside? I thought that you had abandoned me! If you didn’t come back, I would’ve gone on the street to look for you!”
Yuan Rui’s tone became mournful.
Zhang Mu immediately took out the Obsidian Beetle to draw her attention and apologized, “I didn’t want to disturb your sleep, so I went out for a walk. I saw some people who were looking for food and I talked with them for a while. If I was going to leave, I would tell you!”
At this time, the Obsidian Beetle felt that its self-esteem take a blow.
As a monster, no, as an Obsidian Beetle and a first-ranked mutated animal, it was used as a toy by his owner to ingratiate to a little girl!
It looked at Zhang Mu with bitterness, but Zhang Mu just ignored its complaint. Instead, he threatened it through the mental bond between them and bribed it, “Be good and I will give you a crystal!”
“No! Give me two crystals!”
Zhang Mu ground his teeth, “Deal!”
When did the little beetle become such a miser?! Zhang Mu cursed in his heart.
After getting Zhang Mu’s promise, the Obsidian Beetle started to play. It slowly flew to Yuan Rui and danced in the air. Its wings flapped and its ass shook, which looked pretty comical. Yuan Rui smiled through her tears.
Zhang Mu let out a sigh of relief and thumbed up Little Black.
It was worth his two crystals!
Yuan Rui choked on her sobs and asked, “Uncle, you saw other people? Were there still a lot of monsters? Why did these people leave their houses? Was it because they were all as strong as you?”
Zhang Mu touched his nose and smiled, “How could there be anyone as strong as me? Perhaps it was because they were too hungry. They had to go to the street to look for food. I saw over a dozen of people, but only one man had powers just like me. However, he wasn’t very strong. They were surrounded by walking dead and only two people survived.”
“Uncle, why didn’t you save them?”
“I’m not a god. I can’t save everyone!” Zhang Mu shrugged his shoulders. He was lying. He could save them, but he just didn’t want to. However, he didn’t want to let Yuan Rui know the truth.
“Oh,” Yuan Rui said, then fell in silence. Zhang Mu knew that she was a kind girl, but he must let her know the brutal nature of the world. He told her the thing that had happened, of course, it didn’t including his talk with Wang Liang.
“How could they do that! They dropped a stone on the man who has fallen into a well! Do they have any heart?”
“Humans are selfish. In order to stay alive, they can do anything. So, do you understand the importance of staying alert and keep your eyes open? Don’t pity these people. They deserve their deaths.”
“Yes, they were all bad people. Uncle, you are a good man. Aren’t I very lucky?” Yuan Rui suddenly winked at Zhang Mu.
Zhang Mu coughed in embarrassment. He looked at Yuan Rui and said in a serious tone, “I will leave Luoyang City tomorrow. What is your plan? Do you want to leave with me or stay here? I will leave sufficient foods and water for you. The place where I’m going is very dangerous. Don’t risk your life.”
Zhang Mu knew that after tomorrow, the debugging time would end. At that time, all the walking dead’s physiques would return to normal. However, they would also be released from the rule of “Walking dead can’t hunt the humans outside of its hunting range”. Therefore, houses wouldn’t be safe anymore. All the survivors would have to live more agonizingly.
Zhang Mu wasn’t worried about them. However, it would become troublesome if this area was surrounded by them. He preferred to go to some remote place before this happened. Maybe he would have to battle some mutated animals on the road, but it was still a better choice.
As for the low-level walking dead in the city… Zhang Mu would leave them to Wang Liang and the other evolvers. It was not a good choice anymore to keep hunting walking dead in the city. He’d better reach the next era merchant’s shop within a month.
Yuan Rui was surprised by his words. She froze for a while, then asked him in a confused tone, “Uncle, why do you want to leave? Isn’t it very safe here?”
“I know, but… I want to find out that who caused the whole disaster. Don’t you think that this catastrophe is very strange? There must be someone who is controlling it!”
Zhang Mu said in a solemn tone.
He hid a part of the truth, but it was indeed the most important reason why Zhang Mu did all this.
Now, he was waiting for Yuan Rui’s answer.