Chapter 99: Chapter 99 Temporary Refuge
Mao Zhihang also got out of the car and introduced himself to Xing Taining, who stood before him. He then naturally took out two packs of cigarettes from his pocket and stuffed them into Xing Taining’s hands.
Xing Taining’s eyes lit up.
Heaven knows how much pressure he had been under lately and he was exactly in need of cigarettes. A crumpled one had been in his shirt pocket for many days, and when his craving hit, he only dared to take it out and smell it.
“How can I accept this? You see, you’re survivors, and I…” Xing Taining felt the cigarettes were too valuable to take.
“Officer, everyone in our car is family, and no one fancies a smoke. It’d be a waste to let them sit, so please, take them!”
Mao Zhihang’s words were proper, attempting to make the officer feel wholly justified in accepting them.
“Alright then, thank you, I’ve been really needing these. They’ve become so hard to find. By the way, you can enter the temporary refuge. It will be safer here,” Xing Taining said, the first time he had encountered such generous survivors.
“This place is no longer safe.”
Lu Hao and Su Jin had also stepped down from the vehicle. Upon hearing the officer’s offer of refuge, they immediately rejected his statement.
Seeing the puzzled look on Xing Taining’s face, Lu Hao told him about their recent experience, expressing their belief that this place might soon be the next target of a zombie horde.
Xing Taining’s expression instantly became serious, and he took up the walkie-talkie from his pocket, trying to contact his superiors, but all he heard was static.
“If what you’re saying is true, then I’m afraid it’s already too late.”
Xing Taining leaned helplessly against the vehicle, which was one of only two left; the rest had been taken by the rescue team to help other survivors.
Thinking about the situation of the people inside, he felt he lacked the ability to take them away from here.
His hands trembling, he took out the crumpled cigarette from his chest pocket, patted his body and cursed. He hadn’t indulged in smoking a cigarette for days and now couldn’t even remember where he had lost his lighter.
Su Jin took a windproof lighter out of her pocket and handed it to him.
After thanking her, Xing Taining lit his cigarette, took a pleasurable drag, and blew out a smoke ring before asking, “Aren’t you going to leave? Don’t worry, I won’t stop you.”
“How many people are inside?” Lu Hao asked.
“Eight hundred or a thousand, I guess. All sorts, men, women, the elderly, and children.”
“A thousand people and they can’t fight the zombies?” Su Jin retorted.
She really couldn’t understand why humans always chose to give up in front of zombies, why a group of intelligent beings couldn’t overcome mindless monsters.
“Fight? Haha, young lady, you make it sound so easy. Those people inside, each one is more cowardly than the last. It’s good enough if they don’t die of fright at the sight of zombies!”
He had rescued many survivors before and had seen how cowardly those who only knew how to hide were. Once filled with vigor, he had been ground down by these days to learn resignation.
Su Jin said nothing, turning to walk back to the car. She understood all too well. In her previous life, she had been like that at the beginning, only knowing how to be protected without learning to become strong.
Xing Taining watched the group turn to leave, let out a soft chuckle, and thought to himself, “The wise adapt to circumstances.”
In fact, Su Jin was discussing the matter with the family inside the vehicle.
She had confirmed with Mao Qiqi that the horde of zombies was indeed moving in this direction. Although they weren’t moving fast, it was only a matter of an hour.
“Do you all think it’s worth it?”
She was referring to the matter of fighting for these thousand people. In fact, she and Lu Hao had been inclined to help these people, but they were unsure whether this decision was the right one.