Chapter 50: Some People Are Not Worthy of Listening to Reason
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
There was a loud “bang”.
Cheng Shen, or rather a part of him, fell to the ground.
The conspicuous hollow in the shape of a footprint on his chest made Cheng Shen’s lackeys’ legs go weak, almost making them wet themselves.
Taking a deep breath, Lu Ming pointed at Cheng Shen’s body and said, “You all saw it. He tried to kill me first. I acted in self-defense!”
“Mm-hmm.”
Everyone nodded repeatedly.
Not only Wang Xiong and Zhang Chengcheng, but even Cheng Shen’s lackeys did the same.
Seeing that the eyewitnesses approved of his actions, Lu Ming nodded in satisfaction and said, “Then now, we can discuss the allocation of supplies.”
First, deal with the unreasonable ones, and then we can continue to reason.
There was nothing wrong with that!
Lu Ming would never resort to using force to suppress others. In fact, Lu Ming did not consider himself particularly strong. It was best to reason things out.
However, Wang Xiong spoke up.
“Brother Lu, considering what had just happened, I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to continue negotiating… I mean, reasoning with them. In my opinion, you should go back to the car and rest for a while. Leave the rest to me.”
Hearing this, Lu Ming looked down at his bloodstained hands and right foot.
He thought for a moment and nodded. “You’re right. I’ll get into the car first.”
He had just killed someone, so Lu Ming was indeed not in a good position to reason.
Otherwise, people might think that he was threatening them, and that would not be good.
Lu Ming got into the car.
Zhang Chengcheng followed Lu Ming into the car.
Only Wang Xiong was left alone outside—but he was capable enough to handle the situation on his own.
Glancing at Cheng Shen’s corpse and then at Li Zitong and the other three, Wang Xiong’s gaze deepened, his face thoughtful.
Meanwhile, the four individuals across from him, including Li Zitong, were all trembling, not even daring to breathe loudly.
Wang Xiong turned to look at Lu Ming again and realized that Lu Ming and Zhang Chengcheng had already gotten into the car. He knew what to do.
Wang Xiong walked straight toward the trembling four individuals and said.
“The one who died is the leader of your gathering place, right?”
The other three remained silent but Li Zitong took a deep breath and his gaze became firm. “Yes, his name was Cheng Shen. We called him Brother Shen. He was the leader of our gathering place.”
“How many people do you have in your gathering place?”
‘Fifty-six. All in the prime of their lives, no elderly or children.’
Wang Xiong nodded in understanding. “I see.”
With that, he looked at Li Zitong again, changing his serious expression to a smile. “Tell me what happened to you after that night.”
Wang Xiong seemed to be a combination of recklessness and subtlety.
Beneath his seemingly rough and imposing appearance, there was a delicate and keen heart.
In a gathering place of 56 people, with no elderly or children, and a leader like that, Wang Xiong could easily imagine the appearance of this gathering place.
Li Zitong’s experience confirmed Wang Xiong’s assumptions.
That night, seeing that the situation was hopeless, Li Zitong simply left as fast as he could.
However, he did not leave alone. Instead, he took Yu Fei and Bai Lu with him. Li Zitong had a bad habit of being attracted to beautiful women, and Yu Fei and Bai Lu were both attractive.
He had initially thought that as an Awakened, he could go anywhere he pleased. He could find a place to hide with the two beauties and live a decent life.
But plans did not always go as expected…
“We stumbled all the way out of Good Hope Village, but as soon as we left the village, we were surrounded by this group of people.”
Speaking of this, Li Zitong’s face showed agony. “They’re not human at all!”
Led by Cheng Shen, these Awakened individuals looked like humans but behaved like monsters.
“They beat me up, captured Yu Fei and Bai Lu, and then…”
As he spoke, Li Zitong burst into tears like a 150-pound child.
He had thought of living a fairy-tale life with Yu Fei and Bai Lu.
But instead, he encountered evil people, experiencing a nightmare…
Li Zitong was filled with grievances!
Watching this scene, Wang Xiong sighed deeply, patted Li Zitong’s shoulder, and turned to look at the other three individuals.
“Is what he said true?”
The three looked at each other and remained silent.
“I’m asking you, is what he said true!?”
Wang Xiong’s roar sent shivers down their spines. They all nodded hesitantly, and one of them said, “It’s not entirely wrong…”
This was the way of the world.
When the apocalypse came, everyone was struggling, and under great pressure, they naturally sought outlets for their frustrations.
And Awakened individuals were clearly superior, so it seemed logical for them to bully others, play with women, even though it was morally wrong.
Hearing this, Li Zitong cried even louder. He pointed at the other individuals while sobbing and cursing, “They have captured over twenty women, using them for their amusement every day. They torture people, kill them, and attract hordes of zombies with live humans. They’re not human at all! I’ve never seen anything like this in my entire life!!”
Hearing Li Zitong’s accusations, the other three individuals became agitated, and one of them retorted, “Who do you think you are, Li Zitong? Huh! Wasn’t it you who willingly revealed information about the Zhang family’s gathering place? Wasn’t it you who actively wanted to join us, claiming that as an awakened individual, you still had value and wanted to enjoy the good life with us? Huh! Now you’re acting all innocent.”
Li Zitong’s face turned red with anger. “You beat me up, you always beat me up!
If I don’t say these things, you’ll beat me to death! What can I do!?”
“Bullsh*t! Dare you say you’re not lusting after women’s bodies!?”
“I’m not! You goddamn… I’ll fight you!”
After saying that, Li Zitong charged forward.
The scene of them arguing made Wang Xiong’s head ache.
He couldn’t just stand by and watch them fight for real.
With a casual move that resembled picking up a baby chick, Wang Xiong separated Li Zitong from the other person. His immense strength demonstrated his power and immediately made everyone calm down.
Turning to look at Li Zitong, Wang Xiong asked solemnly, “Have you killed anyone over there?”
Li Zitong immediately shook his head, and the others did not refute it either.
“Have you ever forced yourself on a woman?”
Li Zitong shook his head again, but the other three still did not refute.
This made Wang Xiong nod in understanding as he looked at the other three Awakened individuals.
“What about you guys?”
They remained silent..
“I see…” Wang Xiong’s gaze gradually became stern.
He turned his head to look at the military vehicle, making eye contact with Zhang Chengcheng. Zhang Chengcheng nodded in understanding.
The vehicle started, but it was Zhang Chengcheng who drove Lu Ming away first…
Li Zitong and the others were taken aback, then they saw Wang Xiong turning back towards them.
He clenched his fists slowly, his gaze icy as he said, “Some people just don’t deserve to be reasoned with!”
Inside the returning military vehicle, there was a slight silence in the air.
A moment later, Zhang Chengcheng smiled and said, “Brother Lu,, we made quite a haul this time. The supplies from the Zhang family’s gathering place are enough for us…”
“Chengcheng.”
Lu Ming suddenly spoke, interrupting Zhang Chengcheng’s voice. Zhang Chengcheng listened as Lu Ming spoke softly, “I’m not a fool, and there’s nothing wrong with my mind. I understand perfectly well why we left ahead of time.”
Zhang Chengcheng pursed her lips and murmured, “I see…”
After speaking, she regained her composure and said, “If Lao Lu thinks that what Wang Xiong did was inappropriate, we can go back immediately.”
“No need…”
Through the rearview mirror, Zhang Chengcheng could see Lu Ming looking out the window with a calm expression.
He spoke softly.
“In fact, I also know that the world has already become like this, destined for many people to take the wrong path, the evil path.
“There will also be many people who are unworthy of reasoning, unworthy of being called humans.
“And I am strong… At least compared to the majority of survivors, I am indeed strong.
“A strong person has the ability to judge others. But I don’t believe that the strong have the right to judge others.”
Having the ability was one thing, having the right was another.
“If I can determine someone’s guilt or even decide whether they should live or die based on my own subjectivity, I might enjoy it for a while, but sooner or later, I will lose control.
“So I want to reason, I want to have calm and rational conversations with people, discussing how things should be handled, rather than imposing my own beliefs.
Zhang Chengcheng listened attentively until Lu Ming finished speaking, then she chuckled softly, “That’s why I like you, Brother Lu.”
“It’s actually good to leave this matter to Wang Xiong to resolve. Because we all know that if there comes a day when Wang Xiong loses control…
Lu Ming said solemnly, “Then I will intervene.”
Zhang Chengcheng smiled and said, “With you taking action, there won’t be any problems..”