Chapter 1141 - 1129

Chapter 1141: Chapter 1129

"Hey, what’s everyone up to? Why does everyone have gloomy faces on such a joyous day?"

Rolling up his sleeves, Old Zhao glanced at the time on his watch: "Hmm, it’s 4 PM now, almost dusk. Xiao Wen, go get the cards, Xiao Wu, get some peanuts and snacks. Let’s have a good round of games."

"Right away, I’m on it!" With a flash, he dashed out the door. Watching the disappearing Wen Quanxin, Old Lin looked puzzled at Zhao Yunhai, then leaned in to whisper: "Haha, I didn’t expect you play cards."

On hearing this, Old Zhao raised his eyebrows: "What do you think? Are there any guys these days who can’t play cards?"

"Haha, knowing how to play is one thing, but playing well is another." With a strong hint of challenge, Lin Junfu was clearly throwing down the gauntlet to Old Zhao.

"Oh really? Then why not give it a try? Are you up for it?" Old Zhao didn’t back down.

Old Lin shrugged his shoulders: "Come now, what’s there to be afraid of? But it wouldn’t be fair for just the two of us to team up against Xiao Wu and the others, would it?"

"True, maybe we should ask Old Xu to join us." As he spoke, Old Zhao tugged at Xu Renjie, who was enjoying his tea, then softly added, "Old Xu, we’re two players short. How about joining us for a couple of games?"

As a squad leader, playing cards was routine. But since the apocalypse, for various reasons, Old Xu had mostly steered clear of cards.

Now, with Old Zhao and Old Lin showing interest again, and a lively atmosphere in the room, Old Xu didn’t want to dampen the mood. So he nodded: "Sure! I’m in."

"OK, that’s three, still need one more. How about asking Xiao Hu?" After securing Xu Renjie, Old Zhao set his sights on Hu Xiaodong.

He greeted Hu Xiaodong, but before Old Zhao could say a word, Wang Zhongyu interrupted: "Hey, hey, Uncle Zhao. Brother Hu is reserved for my team, nobody else can have him. Xiao Wu, why don’t you join Uncle Zhao’s team?"

Turning his face towards Old Zhao’s spot, and seeing the "Iron Triangle" seated side by side, Wu Chao immediately surrendered.

No way, playing cards with those three whose combined age is over a hundred? Wu Chao felt he’d either be stifled to death or have to throw the game.

Finally, stuck in the middle, Hu Xiaodong had no choice, and just as he was out of ideas, a name flashed in his mind.

Huo Yuankai! Right! He’s about the same age as Old Zhao and the others, wouldn’t he be perfect for this?

With this thought, Hu Xiaodong immediately scanned the room, trying to locate Huo Yuankai.

But even a full search yielded no sight of Huo Yuankai, not even the other young man was around.

Oh dear! Where has Huo Yuankai run off to?

Hu Xiaodong suddenly stood up. In his earlier exchanges with the brothers, he had completely neglected Huo Yuankai and his party.

Now that he realized it, he felt he had made a blunder.

He immediately raised his voice: "Brother Huo! Brother Huo!"

Old Zhao and Old Lin were bewildered by Hu Xiaodong’s calls, not understanding who this Brother Huo was.

They both turned to Xu Renjie, but at this moment, Old Xu wasn’t in any mood to explain. His eyes also searched through the crowd following Hu Xiaodong’s cue.

Soon, a shadow entered from outside.

As everyone turned their gaze, Hu Xiaodong breathed a long sigh of relief: "Brother Huo, why were you standing outside? Come, let me introduce everyone. This is Brother Huo, a survivor we met during the recent task, his son, and Little Gai."

He introduced them one by one. Hearing his name, Huo Yuankai politely gestured with sign language.

Seeing Huo Yuankai’s gestures, the others, not knowing the inside story, looked at each other in confusion, unable to understand what he intended.

As the atmosphere turned awkward, Tang Xiaoquan timely interjected: "Oh, Brother Huo can’t speak due to certain reasons. Although I don’t fully understand his sign language, I believe he’s greeting everyone, right, Brother Huo?"

Nodding his head, Huo Yuankai confirmed Tang Xiaoquan’s interpretation.

"Ah, Brother Huo helped us a lot in this operation. From now on, he’s one of us, part of our team. If anyone wants to communicate with Brother Huo, you can use pen and paper. Oh right, Brother Huo is quite skilled with the sword. If anyone’s interested, feel free to learn from him later."

Hu Xiaodong deliberately introduced Huo Yuankai to everyone, knowing well that they didn’t know him at all.

And naturally, people tend to keep a distance from strangers.

This was not a situation Hu Xiaodong wanted to see. Leaving aside other factors, just considering Huo Yuankai’s combat ability, it was clear this talent should be kept.

Moreover, through this operation, it was evident he still retained basic human decency. His concern shown towards a couple of under-engaged trainees demonstrated this.

And that is something incredibly rare and vital in today’s post-apocalyptic world—which is precisely the kind of thing the Survivor Team hopes to find in recruits.

In response, Huo Yuankai again gestured in sign language, which nobody understood.

Hu Xiaodong ignored that, having a better way to close the gap between everyone.

"Brother Huo, it’s been a long and tiring day, we’re planning on playing a few rounds of cards. I have a couple of buddies who are a player short. If you’re interested, why not go over and join them?"

After speaking, Hu Xiaodong passed the baton to Old Xu: "Right, Old Xu?"

Xu Renjie is no fool, and he understood the young man’s intent instantly. As the only one in the Iron Triangle to have had contact with Huo Yuankai, Old Xu quickly smiled and invited: "That’s right, Old Huo. These two gents have already teamed up, and I’m all by my lonesome. How about partner up with me, and let’s take them down?"

"Hey, hey, the game hasn’t even started yet, who are you taking down? Old Huo, this guy’s not reliable. How about teaming up with me?"

"Hey, Old Lin, what’s that supposed to mean? Burning bridges after crossing them? Old Huo, join my team."

The three of them, almost as if they planned it, collectively extended an olive branch to Huo Yuankai.

Of course, Huo Yuankai knew their interest wasn’t merely cards, but that didn’t matter. Setting aside everything else, given Xu Renjie’s apparent saving of his son, you could ask him to go through fire and water for Xu Renjie without him batting an eye.

After all, in this zombie-ridden post-apocalyptic world, to Huo Yuankai, nothing is more precious than his son.

Hence, Xu Renjie’s act of saving his son was akin to saving his life.

Faced with this lifesaver, Huo Yuankai had nothing more to say. He pointed in the direction of Old Xu, then followed up with a simple thumbs-up gesture.

Even if everyone else was clueless, it was clear who he had chosen.