Chapter 51: Lighthouse
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
On the way here, Li Zitong walked with Cheng Shen and the other three.
On the way back, only two people were left.
As Li Zitong pedaled the cart, he turned around to look at the familiar person.
Thinking about the explosive power that Wang Xiong had displayed just now, Li Zitong could not help but shudder.
“Don’t be nervous and don’t be afraid. I killed them because they really deserved to die.”
Wang Xiong could sense Li Zitong’s tension and tried to reassure him. But this comforting sentence inevitably made Li Zitong even more nervous—if they had met a day or two later, if he could not resist the temptation and accepted Brother Shen’s reward, perhaps…
Li Zitong’s uneasiness was evident to Wang Xiong.
After thinking it over, he had nothing more to say.
Humans are social creatures and are easily influenced by the people around them.
Even if Li Zitong was not inherently bad, if he hung around Cheng Shen for too long, he would inevitably be tainted by some undesirable things.
At the same time, Wang Xiong also lamented the dual nature of violence.
Killing, for the strong, was indeed very simple, and violence was the fastest way to solve problems.
But, from Li Zitong’s gaze, it was likely that when they met again in the future, the first thing Li Zitong would think of would be the scene of Wang Xiong killing someone.
Once the seed of fear was planted, it was bound to take root and sprout…
Cheng Shen’s gathering place was located in an office building near Good Hope Village.
The first half of the journey was relatively safe—there were really not many zombies left in Good Hope Village, although Wang Xiong did not know the reason.
The second half of the journey out of Good Hope Village was a little dangerous, but Cheng Shen and the others had already cleared it once before, opening up a safe route. With Li Zitong as their guide, there should not be any problems.
About an hour later, Wang Xiong followed Li Zitong and entered Cheng Shen’s gathering place.
They walked through a side door on the first floor and entered the lobby, which was in a mess and completely deserted. However, at the staircase and escalator entrances, there were piles of makeshift barricades and debris.
Passing through the barricades was the official entrance into the gathering place.
Li Zitong took the initiative to move aside the barricade, and Wang Xiong followed him to the second floor.
As they entered, they were greeted by a group of listless men on the ground.
Seeing Wang Xiong and Li Zitong, these men showed no reaction.
They were like zombies, their eyes devoid of light.
Wang Xiong felt his heart tightening… and then he heard Li Zitong’s voice in his ear. “This is a bait. Cheng Shen and the others have this tactic where they use living people to lure the zombies away and then go for the supplies.”
Although Awakened individuals were not afraid of zombies, it was a different story when it came to a horde of zombies. If the Awakened ones were surrounded by a horde of zombies, they would still have to die.
Using live bait to lure the horde away naturally reduced the level of danger.
As for whether the live bait would listen… In the face of absolute violence, this was not a difficult problem to resolve.
Taking a deep breath, Wang Xiong asked again, “Where are the others?”
He was referring to the women who had been persecuted.
The concept of live bait sounded cruel, but it was only a momentary cruelty. Once a live bait was used, there was almost no possibility of recovering it. So although these men were live bait, they were at most reserve live bait.
They had not been subjected to severe persecution.
Compared to them, women’s experiences were more cruel.
Li Zitong raised his hand and pointed to a large door. Seeing this, Wang Xiong approached it. The moment he pushed open the door, he immediately stepped back.
Turning to look at Li Zitong, Wang Xiong’s eyes reddened as he suppressed his anger. “Go find some clothes, right now, immediately!”
Another half an hour passed.
The women in the room had put on their clothes.
The door was pushed open, and one by one, the women walked out of the room like startled rabbits.
The men who were originally lying on the ground seemed to have sensed something. They half-sat up, staring at Wang Xiong, but no one dared to speak.
Only at this moment did Wang Xiong finally manage to calm himself down.
Looking at the 50 or so people gathered here, Wang Xiong thought for a moment and spoke.
“Cheng Shen and the others are already dead. I killed them.”
No one reacted.
It was Li Zitong who said softly, “Brother Wang is telling the truth.”
Still, no one reacted…
That’s true…
They were just ordinary survivors, who had been preyed upon by Cheng Shen’s group, and had long lost their trust in people. The current situation was nothing more than a change in leadership, and it was still unknown how the new leader would be.
The numbness in their eyes made Wang Xiong feel uneasy.
He could only say, “I, no, our gathering place is different from yours.
“Our gathering place is on Guangping Street in Good Hope Village. There’s abundant food there, high-level Awakened individuals, food and drinks, and safety. And more importantly, the leader of our gathering place, Mr. Lu Ming, is a reasonable and good person.”
Thinking of the past, Wang Xiong said, “Mr. Lu is the most outstanding person I’ve ever met. He not only has great strength, but he’s also cautious and meticulous. You might think that I’m bragging, but he’s indeed someone who doesn’t bully the weak or take advantage of the strong.
“I still remember when I first met Brother Lu, he helped me kill the zombies and protected us.
“When we didn’t have anything to cat, it was Brother Lu who reached out and provided us with food.”
“Now that the apocalypse has arrived, I know very well the treacherous nature of the human heart. I also understand what kind of torture you have suffered and what kind of evil people you have encountered. But believe me, even in the apocalypse, there is still the light of righteousness that illuminates the earth! Moreover, I firmly believe that Brother Lu is the light of our survivors, the lighthouse of our survivors!”
He spoke eloquently.
But words alone were not enough.
These survivors who had just experienced a nightmare would not regain their trust in others just because of Wang Xiong’s words.
Knowing that awakening from numbness was not something that could happen overnight, Wang Xiong sighed deeply and said, “Next, I’m prepared to bring you to Guangping Street. Of course, this is definitely not mandatory. If you want to go with me, you can. If you don’t want to, you are free to stay.”
This was the only thing Wang Xiong could do.
“We’re coming with you.”
As soon as Wang Xiong finished speaking, someone finally responded.
Turning to the source of the voice, Wang Xiong nodded gently—it was an acquaintance.
Yu Fei and Bai Lu.
At this moment, the two women’s expressions were filled with fear.
After experiencing such an ordeal, they felt that the gathering place on Guangping Street was simply a paradise on earth.
“I’m coming with you.”
Li Zitong said.
With them, more and more people responded to Wang Xiong. As ordinary people, they knew how terrifying the apocalypse was. At the moment, Wang Xiong seemed easy to talk to. Regardless of whether he was telling the truth or not, it was better to go with him than to face their own demise.
Soon, Wang Xiong counted the number of people.
A total of 52 survivors, with 50 of them willing to go back to Guangping Street with him.
After a slight hesitation, the remaining two women came to Wang Xiong’s side and spoke to him.
“Brother Wang…”
“Just call me Wang Xiong.”
“Okay, Wang Xiong. Here’s our situation. We came from the Red Thunder Martial Arts School and we were captured by Cheng Shen and his group. Now that Cheng Shen and the others are dead, my cousin and I want to go back there… What do you think?”
After a brief moment of thought, Wang Xiong said hesitantly, “You want me to take you back?”
The woman who spoke looked embarrassed. “I know our request is a little unreasonable, but my family is over there…”
This request was really unreasonable.
After considering it, Wang Xiong did not immediately refuse. He simply said, “Here’s what we’ll do. You both come back to Guangping Street with me first. When everything is settled, I’ll see if I can contact the Red Thunder Martial Arts School.”
The two women hesitated for a moment but eventually nodded.
They also knew that this was the best option available..