Chapter 330 - 165: A Helping Hand

Chapter 330: Chapter 165: A Helping Hand

"You saw those scavenging birds, didn’t you?"

Zhou Jianguo nodded again.

"Those birds eat zombie corpses. Over time, they’ll mutate. When that happens, they won’t be ordinary birds anymore." Xu Mo looked at him. "Have you ever seen mutant birds?"

The color drained from Zhou Jianguo’s face.

"I... I have. Once." His voice trembled. "A massive flock passed through here, blotting out the sun. We hid in our homes, too scared to go outside until they were gone. Later, we heard a village to the east was... by that flock..."

He couldn’t go on.

Xu Mo nodded.

"That’s exactly it. If you don’t dispose of those bodies and just let the birds feast on them every day, it won’t be long before a flock of mutant birds appears in these skies. When that happens, your town will likely be their first target."

Beads of sweat formed on Zhou Jianguo’s forehead.

"You’re right, Mr. Xu! Absolutely right!" he exclaimed, nodding repeatedly. "I’ll get people on it right away! We’ll burn them immediately!"

He turned to leave, but Xu Mo stopped him.

"Wait."

Zhou Jianguo stopped.

"There’s also the matter of the people who were bitten," Xu Mo said. "If they turn, what’s your plan?"

Zhou Jianguo fell silent for a moment, then said in a low voice,

"We... we see them off."

Xu Mo nodded.

"Good."

He said nothing more.

Once the tank was full, Xu Mo got back in his vehicle and drove to the lodging Zhou Jianguo had arranged for him. It was a relatively well-preserved house with a small courtyard where he could park. Zhou Jianguo had also posted two guards at the gate, claiming it was to prevent any disturbances. Xu Mo didn’t object.

Inside, Xu Mo shut the door, sat down in a chair, and let out a long sigh.

From outside, he could faintly hear Zhou Jianguo’s voice shouting orders to burn the bodies. The chaotic murmur of other voices followed, but Xu Mo ignored it all.

That evening, Xu Mo was cleaning his firearms when he heard a knock at the door.

"Mr. Xu? Mr. Xu?" It was Zhou Jianguo. "Dinner’s ready. Would you like some?"

"No, thank you. I have my own food," Xu Mo replied, continuing to clean his gun.

There was a moment of silence from outside, then Zhou Jianguo spoke again.

"Alright then, get some rest. If you need anything, just give a shout."

As the footsteps faded, Xu Mo took out his Triangular Spike and began to maintain it as well.

...

Outside the window, the sky slowly darkened. A few lights flickered on in the settlement. In the distance, he could hear the sound of children laughing and adults talking, the voices intermittent and their words unclear.

After he finished eating, Xu Mo walked to the window and peered out through the glass.

There was a bonfire in the square. The flames cast silhouettes of people gathered around it, apparently in discussion. He could faintly make out Zhou Jianguo’s voice, along with others chiming in.

Xu Mo didn’t bother listening; he already knew what they were discussing.

’It was about whether or not to go to Jiang City. After all, they’d only learned of its existence from him.’

’To Xu Mo, a thousand kilometers was a manageable distance, but to these ordinary people, it was an insurmountable obstacle. Without enough vehicles, sufficient supplies, or the ability to handle the dangers of the road, setting out rashly would mean certain death along the way.’

’So, they could discuss it all they wanted, but in the end, they’d probably just stay here.’

Meanwhile, by the bonfire in the square, the leaders of Linhai Town were, in fact, discussing that very topic.

"Zhou," a lanky young man asked, "do you think that place, Jiang City, is really as good as it sounds?"

Zhou Jianguo didn’t answer right away.

A burly, scar-faced man spoke up instead.

"I don’t know if it’s ’good,’ but it’s definitely better than here. They can send one man on a mission, driving a thousand kilometers to an even more distant location. That tells you the place is no joke."

"But it’s a thousand kilometers," another person said. "How would we even get there? Walk? We’d be zombie food before we got halfway."

"Exactly. Besides, he’s just passing through. He’s not here to escort us."

"We should still ask! What if he’s willing to take us with him?"

"Take us? How? He’s got one vehicle! How many people can that fit? And didn’t you hear? He’s going to Ming Pearl Port! He’s not passing through on his way back to Jiang City!"

"And even if he did agree to take you, would you be willing to abandon your wife and kids to save your own skin?"

The man was left speechless.

Zhou Jianguo sighed and waved his hand dismissively.

"Enough arguing."

The group fell silent, their eyes on him.

Zhou Jianguo stared into the bonfire, remaining silent for a long time.

"We can’t go to that place," he said, his voice low. "A thousand kilometers... it’s too far for us. Even if we could make the journey, we’re no match for the Mutant Beasts and zombies out there. We’ve survived this long by hiding in this town, by sticking together. Outside of here, we’re nothing."

The others fell silent.

"So we’re not going?" the burly man asked.

Zhou Jianguo shook his head.

"It’s not that we’re not going. It’s that we can’t go *now*."

He looked up at the others.

"But we can remember the place. We can prepare. We can wait. Wait until we’re stronger, until the roads are safer. Maybe one day, we’ll be able to leave, too."

Zhou Jianguo paused, then continued,

"And even if we can’t make it out, what about our children? When they grow up, maybe they’ll be able to. And when they do, they’ll know which way to go."

Everyone listened in silence.

The bonfire CRACKLED, casting complex expressions across their faces.

The next morning, when Xu Mo awoke, the sky was already bright. ℴℴ𝘮

After cleaning up, he stepped outside and saw that the two men from the night watch were still at the gate. The moment they saw him, they snapped to attention.