Chapter 583: He Lu
Translator: Liu_Kaixuan Editor: Valvrave
“Who are they?” The middle-aged man felt confused. Originally, he thought he was fraught with grim possibilities. Moreover, it was likely that his daughter and the other survivors would be implicated because of him. He never expected the grim situation would be solved with three mere gunshots. The three infected were killed without breaking a sweat.
“Chii-!” As the brakes sounded, the tour bus stopped smoothly and accurately before the three dead infected. At that time, the middle-aged man saw the tour bus’s door opening, and two beautiful girls getting down from the car. Upon seeing the two girls, the middle-aged man stunned. It was obvious that the two girls were as old as his daughter. They were not only beautiful but also clean. If the surroundings were not in ruins and the thick smell of blood was not lingering in the air, the middle-aged man would almost think that he was walking on Jingling’s street, chancing upon two modern girls. How could the two girls like that in this devastated world? Were they members of Shen Hai?
The middle-aged man thought about Shen Hai immediately. In Jinling, Shen Hai Organization was a mysterious team, which was too high to be reached by ordinary people. In the middle-aged man’s heart, anything that Shen Hai’s members achieved could be accepted.
As the middle-aged man was lost in various thoughts and conjectures, he suddenly saw one of the girls in white taking out a crystal syringe. Then, she used the syringe to take out blue liquids from the three dead infected. Every action of hers was natural and smooth just like floating clouds and flowing water.
The middle-aged man held his breath and said nothing. He knew clearly that in front of this strong team, he was at most as small as an ant. It would be a naive thought for him to hope for getting help from them. In this terrible world, the dangers coming from human beings were no less than zombies. Who would help others? Therefore, when Li Yuxin extracted the blue liquids, the middle-aged man stood on the side like a sculpture, neither talking nor running away. It was the most harmless way to deal with such a situation. However, Jiang Zhuying didn’t intend to miss such a good chance to ask him questions. After all, he was the first living person they had met after entering the Jinling area.
“Hey! Old grandpa, isn’t a survivor gathering area around here? Where is it? Is it behind?” Jiang Zhuying pointed to the camp surrounded by dilapidated furniture behind the middle-aged man.
Upon hearing Jiang Zhuying’s question, the middle-aged man felt nervous. Apparently, that group of people was not related to Shen Hai. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have asked him about the camp. All of Shen Hai’s members knew everything about them like the back of their palms. Although the middle-aged man thought that the two girls couldn’t be bad people, his vigilance was already raised to the highest level. After all, his daughter and other members were hidden in that camp behind him. In the case that the other party had bad intentions, the people in the camp would have no way to resist.
“There are no survivors camps in this area. Only a few old people that are sick are hidden behind. They are all hungry. I would like to find some food. Maybe we will get infected by the plague, and then die. Also, I am not that old to be called grandpa. I’m only 51 years old…” said the middle-aged man while stroking his white hair behind to show his face clearly. He wanted to tell Jiang Zhuying that this world had made him like this. How could a 51-year-old man accept being called a grandpa? It was disgraceful.
After the middle-aged man spoke, Jiang Liushi also got off the tour bus. Then, he smiled and said, “Uncle, we just arrived here. Actually, we wanted to inquire about something. Also, we want to find diesel. There is no need to be nervous.”
Xiang Xuehai had told them that there were some survivors in the area, but as soon as they met the middle-aged man, Jiang Liushi felt that the situation was different. Otherwise, the middle-aged man wouldn’t look so miserable.
“Diesel? We don’t have diesel or any other kind of fuel. Shen Hai has collected everything. If you want to acquire fuel, you can only purchase it from Shen Hai. However, they only accept mutant nuclei. They are very powerful, so you should better be careful.”
“Shen Hai? They only accept mutant nuclei?” Jiang Liushi was surprised. It seemed that Shen Hai was the local tyrant.
“Miss Xiang, have you heard of Shen Hai before?” asked Jiang Liushi.
Xiang Xuehai shook her head in response. “No. When my members returned, they did not report anything about that name at all.”
“I see…” Jiang Liushi nodded.
He glanced at that middle-aged man in front of him. The man was full of white hair, and his face was filled with wrinkles. He was too skinny, obviously due to malnutrition. However, Jiang Liushi could feel some weak energy fluctuations from him. Apparently, he was a paranormal. But how could he be in such a fragile condition? Had he been distributing his food to others? Thinking about this, Jiang Liushi felt the man was good. It was rare for anyone to do so in this world. As a result, Jiang Liushi turned back and took out a fresh-keeping bag from his tour bus. Then, he threw it to the middle-aged man.
The man grabbed it and then he looked at it. He was shocked totally. ‘This…am I dreaming!?’ It turned out to be a large piece of barbecued meat about a pound or two. The surface of the barbecue was still fragrant with grease. Looking at the color and aroma of the barbecued meat, the middle-aged man suddenly remembered something – mutant meat! He couldn’t afford it, but naturally, he could recognize it.
It was said that this kind of meat was not only delicious but also had a soft taste. It was beneficial to humans. Even if one was sick, it could help to cure their illness. Once paranormals ate, their abilities would be improved.
“You…are giving it to me?” asked the middle-aged man.
Jiang Liushi nodded. “Yes. I’d like to inquire some information from you.” Jiang Liushi wanted to know about how much the plague had spread and the so-called Shen Hai.
“Well…you can ask…”The middle-aged man answered excitedly. He couldn’t wait to give this piece of barbecued meat to his daughter and the other members. As long as he thought about how excited his daughter would get when seeing the piece of meat, the middle-aged man felt thrilled. Such a big surprise! It would be more satisfying than eating the meat on his own.
Jiang Liushi noticed that from the beginning until now, the middle-aged man had been quite nervous, stealing glances at the camp behind him. Evidently, he had important people there.
“Uncle, you and everyone around should be starving. You should eat something first. I am not in a hurry. I have a lot to ask,” said Jiang Liushi said.
The middle-aged man was so moved that he actually cried. He could not help but thank Jiang Liushi as much as possible.
“Please follow me. As long as I can answer your questions, I will share everything I know with you,” said the middle-aged man.
Then, he led the way to his camp. Since Jiang Liushi had given him a large piece of meat, all his worries were wiped out. As for his daughter, although she was beautiful, she was inferior to the two girls behind Jiang Liushi. Moreover, if Jiang Liushi took a fancy to his daughter, it would be a good chance for her. It this post-apocalyptic world, living alone was also miserable.
Jiang Liushi led Jiang Zhuying, Li Yuxin, Ran Xiyu, and Xiang Xuehai to follow. Ying and Ling were left on his tour bus. Sun Kun and Zhang Hai had parked their tank at the edge of Jinling because they didn’t have enough fuel.
“The place is small and devastated. Please don’t hate it.” The middle-aged man pushed the door open. The people in the house looked toward the middle-aged man nervously. They had heard those gunshots, so they had been worried all this time but could not do anything.
“Father, you came back!” He Lu shouted with tears. In this world, everyone was fragile. Myriads thoughts had flooded her mind when she heard the gunshots; the most intense one was that her father was dead.
“Lulu, look!” The middle-aged man showed a fresh-keeping bag. All the people inside the room were shocked.
“Meat?” He Lu opened her eyes largely. She felt as if she was dreaming.
Was it a dream?
Everyone held their breaths, and they looked at the piece of meat without blinking. Subconsciously, they swallowed a mouthful of saliva.
“Today, I met a group of kind people. I’m really lucky,” whispered the middle-aged man. Then, he invited Jiang Liushi and the others to enter.
“This meat was given by this benefactor. We all should thank the benefactor…”
“Eh?” Jiang Zhuying suddenly looked at the idle-aged man’s daughter. “You are…Song Helu! Yes, I’m sure you are,” shouted Jiang Zhuying.
The girl was flabbergasted. She had not been called by the name Song Helu a long time now. All the people in that camp just called her by her nickname, He Lu. She looked with confusion and stared at Jiang Zhuying.
“You are…” Song Helu said hesitantly, “Jiang…Zhuying!?”
“It’s you! That’s wonderful!” Jiang Zhuying felt extremely happy. She never thought that she could meet her old friend here!