Chapter 338 - 167: Night Talk

Chapter 338: Chapter 167: Night Talk

Liu Zhengyi’s voice was laced with bitterness.

"Later, Zhang Qiang rallied a group of people—all young and strong, and a few of them eventually awakened Superpowers. They seized the camp’s armory and granary, then declared themselves the new leadership."

"After that, the camp changed. We used to all be equals, but then we were split into an upper class and a lower class. The upper class ate the best food, lived in the best places, and did no work at all. The lower class did all the labor, went hungry, and had to endure being bullied."

Xu Mo listened in silence. This kind of story was all too familiar to him.

Back in Jiang City, he had worried about this very issue. Would the divide between Superpower Users and ordinary people tear society apart? Would a new form of class oppression emerge? At the time, it was just speculation, but now he was hearing a real-life example.

"Eventually, some people couldn’t take it anymore," Liu Zhengyi said. "They wanted to fight back, but they were no match for the Superpower Users. Then, someone came up with an idea: eating the meat of mutated creatures."

Xu Mo’s gaze shifted slightly.

"Zhang Qiang and his group forbade anyone from eating the meat of mutated creatures," Liu Zhengyi said. "They claimed the meat was poisonous and would kill anyone who ate it. But we all figured they were just afraid of other people gaining Superpowers and threatening their positions."

"So some people ate it in secret."

"The result was..."

Liu Zhengyi was silent for a few seconds.

"The result was... some died. Others didn’t die, but their bodies changed. Some grew extra arms, some grew scales, and for others, one leg became longer than the other. But they also gained strength, enough to fight back against the Superpower Users. They called themselves Mutants."

Xu Mo’s brow furrowed. He knew what came next.

"Then the fighting started." Liu Zhengyi’s voice was calm, as if he were telling someone else’s story. "Mutants fought Superpower Users, and Mutants fought other Mutants. The ordinary people were caught in the crossfire, getting the worst of it from both sides. People either died or fled."

"In the end, the Mutants won, and Zhang Qiang and his people were driven away."

"But what happened after they won? The Mutants started fighting amongst themselves. Who would be the leader? Who would control the granary? Who would get the good houses? They turned on each other."

"And then..."

Liu Zhengyi’s voice trembled slightly.

"And then the zombies came."

Xu Mo’s heart sank.

"That night, zombies suddenly surrounded the camp. We don’t know where they came from, but there was a massive horde of them, an endless tide you couldn’t kill your way through. The Mutants were still busy with their infighting, completely unable to mount an effective defense. The ordinary people hid in their homes, too scared to come out, but the zombies found them in the end."

"I hid in a water tank on the roof, listening to the horrific screams below, listening to the roars of the zombies... I listened all night long."

Liu Zhengyi’s voice choked up again.

"They’re gone! They’re all gone!!"

"Out of more than a thousand people, less than a hundred survived. And those who did... they all fled. I don’t know where they went. I didn’t run. I just waited, hoping someone would come back."

"But no one came back."

"So I started broadcasting on the radio. I broadcast every day, but no one ever responded. Maybe they didn’t want to answer me... or maybe they’re all gone. Which is it? I really don’t know."

"Today..."

Liu Zhengyi was about to say more, but at that exact moment, the voice on the radio abruptly vanished.

KSHHHHHH—

Only the monotonous hiss of static remained.

Xu Mo turned the dial, carefully adjusting it around the same frequency, but he couldn’t pick up the voice again. He didn’t know if the signal was lost, or if something had happened on Liu Zhengyi’s end.

Silence returned to the cabin. Xu Mo gripped the steering wheel, his gaze fixed on the road ahead. His face was expressionless, but inside, his mind was anything but calm.

Liu Zhengyi’s story echoed in his mind.

A camp of over a thousand people, wiped out by infighting. Superpower Users and ordinary people split into two classes, Mutants emerged as a new wildcard, and in the end, they were all devoured by zombies. Fewer than one in ten survived, and the one left behind was now hiding in some corner, talking to himself over the radio every day, waiting for people who would never return.

Xu Mo was reminded of the very questions he had worried about back in Jiang City.

’After civilization collapses, how do survivors maintain order? How do they stay united? How do they prevent themselves from tearing each other apart?’

Jiang City’s approach was to strictly control the consumption of mutated creature meat, issuing official warnings so everyone knew what would happen if they ate it. They established the Hunter system, giving capable people a path for advancement while also keeping them in check. They maintained transparency, making sure everyone knew what the outside world was like and understood that unity was the only path to survival.

’But would Jiang City’s methods work in other places?’

’That man, Liu Zhengyi... his camp had over a thousand people, so it wasn’t small. They had Superpower Users, ordinary people, and all sorts of resources.’

’Logically, they should have been able to survive. But they still ended up dead.’

’Dead because of infighting.’

’Dead because of division.’

’Dead because of the darkness in human nature.’

Xu Mo thought of a term—Dark Forest.

That was a concept from a science fiction novel he had read a long time ago. In the Dark Forest, every civilization is a hunter with a gun. Whoever exposes themselves first will be eliminated.

’But this apocalypse is even more terrifying than the Dark Forest.’

’Because here, there is no concept of "civilization." There are only isolated individuals and small, isolated groups. They suspect each other, guard against each other, and attack each other. There is no trust, no cooperation, no common goal. All that’s left is the instinct to survive, and the ruthlessness to do anything it takes.’

’Liu Zhengyi is calling out on the radio, hoping someone will come save him.’

’But who would go save him?’

’I don’t know where he is. Liu Zhengyi never mentioned his location, maybe he forgot, or maybe he left it out on purpose. Even if I did know, I couldn’t possibly go out of my way to find him. It’s not on my route, and who knows what dangers are lurking there.’

’Besides, is his story even true?’

’In this apocalyptic world, people will spin any lie to get your sympathy. Maybe the camp never existed. Maybe Liu Zhengyi himself is a trap. Maybe he’s got a whole group over there, just waiting for prey to take the bait.’

Xu Mo wouldn’t go looking for Liu Zhengyi. He certainly wouldn’t go to verify the man’s story. He wouldn’t even let himself think about it too much.

’Because there’s no point in thinking about it!’

’In this world, everyone has their own road to travel. Liu Zhengyi has his, and I have mine. If our paths don’t cross, then we can only go our separate ways.’

Xu Mo took a deep breath, forcing the chaotic thoughts from his mind.

The sky to the east was beginning to lighten. The night was almost over, and a new day was about to begin.

He had to keep driving. There were still over two thousand kilometers of road ahead of him.