novel520 Chapter 690 - 405: I Offer My Life as Collateral
Chapter 690 - 405: I Offer My Life as Collateral
Leaving the camp, Zhao Yuan walked south with a gun on his back.Thanks to the year-long defense of the Cangling Mountains, he was skilled at dealing with evolutionary plants and could identify the nests of Evolution Beasts, as long as he carefully avoided them. For him, the real trouble was people.
Just emerging from an abandoned convenience store, Zhao Yuan heard the sound of motorcycles, and a team of survivors sped past outside.
Zhao Yuan thought for a moment, grabbed some chocolate and biscuits, and quickly followed them.
Trailing far behind the tire tracks, he ate a piece of chocolate when he ran out of energy, and he quenched his thirst by using his ability to draw a sphere of water into his mouth.
Before sunset, Zhao Yuan finally saw the silhouette of a camp.
After observing for a while, he discovered it was a survivor camp. Only then did he approach to make contact, and after saying a couple of sentences, he met the camp leader.
It was a young couple, and the core members of the camp were also family units.
In the semi-enclosed underground laboratory, Zhao Yuan started by talking about the apocalypse, mentioning the Four Nations’ invasion and how he had sought assistance along the way.
Listening to that understated resilience, everyone’s breathing was almost imperceptible, and in the entire room, the only sound was the crackling of table legs in the furnace.
The male leader asked, "How many of them are there?"
"Conservatively estimated, thirty thousand."
"How many people do you have?"
"Three."
"Including support, how many people?"
"Three."
The room fell silent again.
Zhao Yuan hung his head, stroking the cold barrel of his gun, "I understand you, it’s difficult for everyone to survive in times like these. I’m just notifying you to be prepared in advance; otherwise, when the Four Nations invade..."
"Brother Zhao, are we going to fight the invaders?"
A young voice vibrated in his eardrum.
Zhao Yuan looked up; it was a teenager, about fifteen or sixteen years old, middle-school-aged.
"Yes."
As if realizing something, before he could speak, a hand landed on his shoulder, gently pressing down.
"Is there anyone who doesn’t want to go?"
The male leader’s calm voice spread.
"This is a major issue of defending the country; I don’t know about you, but I am definitely going!"
The previously questioning youth stood up and said with determination.
"Then I’m going too."
A younger child also stood up.
The older child turned to look at him, glaring, "Do you know what you’re going to do?"
The child seemed puzzled, "Isn’t it defending the country?"
The older child shook his head, "You’re too young, you don’t know anything, you’d better not."
The child retorted angrily, "The teacher talked about it; defending every inch, pledging to die before yielding!"
Listening to the argument between the two children, everyone, whether leaning against the wall resting with their eyes closed, deep in thought, or bracing themselves strong and steady, all showed a jolt of expressions, with a glint of passion in their eyes.
Zhao Yuan’s opened mouth froze; he couldn’t say anything.
The male leader waited for a while, and seeing no one speaking, he turned to speak seriously, "We don’t know how to fight a war, and we don’t say fancy words, but now, there are a hundred and forty-six people!"
Zhao Yuan rubbed his eyes, quickly lowering his head. The camp didn’t have 146 adult males, which meant the other party included women and children in the count.
He wanted to refuse; he didn’t want to impose his perseverance on others.
But thinking of the old sergeant and Lao Dong waiting for him to come back, he couldn’t speak. Imagining taking children to the battlefield, he felt a deep sense of shame.
Clearly, clearly, he had sworn under the military flag.
After all, it’s one thing seeking help from civilians; it’s another to have to rely on women and children.
If the company commander knew in the underground, he would surely curse him to death...
"Come tomorrow morning, let’s go back together, I’ve never seen what the border looks like..."
The female leader said warmly.
Zhao Yuan hoarsely replied, "Thank you..."
Just then, a man rushed in panic, "Black Bandits are here!"
Everyone in the room’s expression changed; the male leader immediately dashed out, and Zhao Yuan hurriedly grabbed his gun and followed.
Outside, there was dense fog; before he could react, his ankle was suddenly entangled by something, losing balance, he was hung up in the air, and a dark green vine whipped like a lash, knocking the rifle from his hand onto the ground.
Zhao Yuan’s heart sank, it was over.
Half an hour later, more than a hundred people from the camp were all gathered in the center of the hall, neatly tied up by vines.
Dozens of Black Bandits dressed in black stood beside them; they were strong men and women, holding firearms from the law enforcement bureau, each with a mocking expression, some eagerly rummaging for valuable things.
The people from the camp were looking bleak, like frost-bitten eggplants.
"Who are these people?"
Zhao Yuan, hung up, asked the camp leader next to him in a low voice.
The latter’s throat bobbed, "These people are different from us; they don’t farm, don’t build walls, don’t open markets, only do three things: rob, kill, burn."
"A few months ago, the ’Harvest Camp’ of more than two hundred people to the west had stored enough food for winter. The Black Bandits came, no negotiations, no warnings. By dawn when our people arrived, only the burnt remains of the granary were left; they didn’t spare a single person..."
Listening to these matters, Zhao Yuan felt even more desolate.
If he didn’t go back, what would happen to Lao Dong...
Crunching sounds echoed, and the leader of the Black Bandits entered. To Zhao Yuan’s surprise, it wasn’t a vicious bandit but a woman with a shaved head, wearing black leather, revealing a slender and strong waist.