Chapter 28: Not Lifting a Finger

Gao Yuan had many questions to ask, but for a moment he didn't know where to start.

Estimating the time, Xiang Weiguo should have just arrived in the village by now. Luo Xingyu had already been rescued, but Xiang Weiguo wouldn't know that. However, if Xiang Weiguo didn't encounter any ambushes in the village and didn't find any traces of the enemy, he should be trailing over here, right?

Gao Yuan looked at Luo Xingyu and said, "Is there anything you want to ask?"

Luo Xingyu thought for a moment and replied, "There's nothing I want to ask."

"No, you should ask something. I know you want to know about some things. This is a good opportunity, ask whatever you want to."

Luo Xingyu squatted down, her face serious as she asked, "Let me ask you, did you say that the people from the refuge are looking for you?"

"Yes, we... we are among those being targeted. There's a military presence in the refuge, and now with some kind of wartime military governance policy in place, anyone caught who's... will be executed on the spot."

Luo Xingyu asked urgently, "Are there many people in the refuge?"

"A lot, a great many. So many people have gone to the refuge that it's now overflowing. They're living in temporary shelters built near the refuge, probably totaling more than a hundred thousand."

Gao Yuan was startled by the number Li Bo mentioned and exclaimed, "More than a hundred thousand? That many?"

Li Bo looked troubled as he said, "As for the exact number, nobody knows for sure, but that's the figure that's been mentioned. If you look down from Xishan, you can see it. The refuge covers a huge area, and it's surrounded by a dense mass of people."

"So, if the refuge can't hold that many people, what's the solution?"

"It's not that it can't hold them, but rather that it can't accommodate them, so they have to live outside the refuge. However, if there's danger, everyone can enter the refuge."

Luo Xingyu seemed somewhat excited as she whispered to Gao Yuan, "There are actually that many people in the refuge..."

Gao Yuan, however, continued to look at Li Bo and remarked, "You seem to know quite a lot about the refuge. Did you specifically look into it?"

Li Bo was silent for a moment, then spoke in a low voice, "To be honest, if I had known it would turn out like this from the beginning, there's no way I would have followed Ma Xiaonan in doing those bad deeds. At first, I really thought it was the end of the world—with zombies coming out, who knew how many days we had left to live. When we lacked food and clothing, and someone led the way, of course, I ended up taking the wrong path."

Gao Yuan just sneered, but Li Bo looked helpless as he said, "We know that the refuge has food and drink and so many people. Of course, we wanted to get into the refuge too, but before we tried entering, we inquired a bit and then... got too scared to go."

Gao Yuan said coldly, "You inquired yourself, right?"

Li Bo silently nodded, and Gao Yuan continued, "Because you and that Ma Xiaonan had done way too many bad things, because you knew victims had entered the refuge, that's why you ran away. Now, I'm only puzzled by one thing—could it be that the military presence in the refuge is so substantial that they can maintain order in the surrounding areas?"

Li Bo nodded and confirmed, "That's right. I'm not too clear on the details, but I've heard that the refuge sends out a lot of people every day to clear zombies in the villages and gather resources. They're preparing for planting after the spring next year. Uh, nobody can go into the cities anymore, but the zombies in the nearby villages will be cleared out sooner or later. Therefore, we thought it would be better to run away sooner."

After speaking, Li Bo hesitated for a moment, and then he whispered, "We intended to come here first to settle down, rest for a while, and then run off to Shanxi Province in the west. Once we get there, we could enter the refuge."

Gao Yuan exhaled slowly and said, "Some things, once you've done them, can't be taken back."

Li Bo pleaded urgently, "I did do... bad things, but I was forced into it, Big Brother! Don't kill me. You can use me, really, I can be useful. I can do anything and endure hardship. In these times, an extra pair of working hands is useful too, Big Brother."

Gao Yuan turned to Luo Xingyu and asked, "Do you want to ask anything else?"

Luo Xingyu pursed her lips, pondered for a moment, then shook her head and said, "I can't think of anything to ask right now."

Gao Yuan nodded, then began to search Li Bo's body. He found a dagger, very shoddy merchandise—the kind that Gao Yuan wouldn't want even if it were free—but it still counted as something useful. Continuing the search, he found items like gold necklaces and gold rings on videos.

Weighing the small bag he had found on Li Bo, Gao Yuan opened it to see the contents and said in a deep voice, "This bracelet is made of gold, and there's even blood on it."

"Zombie, it came from a zombie..."

Li Bo's defense was weak, and Gao Yuan shook his head, "Anyway, I dare not take anything from a zombie. I'm afraid of infection. Even if it were of use, it would at least need to be disinfected. You didn't even bother to wash it. I don't believe it came from a zombie."

Gao Yuan had no further interest in searching the body, so he stood up and said, "Get up, we're leaving."

Li Bo lay on the ground, a look of uncertainty on his face as he asked, "You're not going to kill me?"

Gao Yuan thought for a moment, then replied, "I thought about killing you, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. So I'll just take you back with us. If our boss says you're to be killed, then you won't survive. If he says you can go, you can walk away. If he decides to keep you as a laborer, you'll just have to honestly do the hard labor."

Li Bo struggled to stand up, but as he was about to turn over, he immediately lay back down and questioned, "Are you playing me? You promise not to kill me! Swear it!"

Gao Yuan exhaled, shifting the knife to his right hand. "If I say I won't lay a hand on you, I definitely won't. But if you truly don't want to get up, then I'll just let you be, how about that?"

"I'll get up! I'll get up, big brother; please say something nice about me, okay? I'll definitely repay you, for real..."

Li Bo managed to stand up with great effort. Gao Yuan pulled on the rope and called out to Luo Xingyu, "Xiaoyu, go get our bags. Time to go home. Uncle Xiang must be getting anxious."

Gao Yuan and Luo Xingyu's bob backpacks were on these people, so the backpacks definitely had to be taken back.

Luo Xingyu frowned as she looked at Li Bo, then she turned around and went to get her backpack back from where Ma Xiaonan was.

Gao Yuan said to Li Bo, "Walk in front."

Li Bo turned around and began to walk slowly forward, adding, "We..."

Gao Yuan didn't wait for him to finish speaking. He took two steps back, then ran forward and delivered a flying kick right to Li Bo's buttocks.

The edge of the cliff was nearby, a sheer drop of at least two hundred meters.

Li Bo, kicked by Gao Yuan, lost his balance, staggered a couple of steps, and ultimately fell over the cliff.

"Ah..."

At the sound of the drawn-out scream, Luo Xingyu whipped around. Gao Yuan spread his hands and explained, "He fell on his own."

With disdain on her face, Luo Xingyu replied, "You think I'm dumb?"

"Really."

Luo Xingyu sneered again. "When you just said you wouldn't lay a hand on him, I knew you were going to kill him. You might not have used your hands, but you could use your feet."

Earlier, Gao Yuan had checked to see that Luo Xingyu wasn't looking before he made his move. However, Luo Xingyu was too smart and didn't fall for it.

Gao Yuan replied helplessly, "Alright, I knew I couldn't fool you. Yeah, I was just worried that you'd feel bad about it."

"I'd feel bad? I'd feel bad? Please get it straight. I would rather have kicked him off myself. Killing scum like him is ridding the people of a menace. I wish I could've stabbed him myself. Why would I feel bad?"

Luo Xingyu appeared quite indignant while Gao Yuan said softly, "Well, some things are better left undone. Let's just pack up our things and hurry back. Uncle Xiang is worried."

"My knife is on him, and so is the walkie-talkie. Ah, my bag got dirty with blood..."

One had to retrieve their own belongings. Even the chocolates in the bob backpack were all eaten by these people, which pained Gao Yuan greatly. As for the spoils of war, there was really little of value. The only thing worth anything was a handgun, and it had run out of bullets.

As for other items, there was nothing that caught Gao Yuan's eye. These people all had some gold and jade items on them, but at this time, gold certainly had some use, though not very significant.

After searching a body, they would throw it down the cliff. When Gao Yuan was searching the last body, Luo Xingyu suddenly asked, "Brother, why didn't you wait for Uncle Xiang to interrogate that man before killing him?"

Gao Yuan paused for a moment, then whispered, "I was afraid Uncle Xiang wouldn't agree. That man had many lives on his hands. Letting him go would only bring us trouble; he couldn't be kept alive. But what if Uncle Xiang insisted on releasing him or locking him up? He's an old soldier; I was afraid he'd be too rigid in his ways. It was better to deal with it right here. After going back, we can just say that I killed all four of them outright."

Luo Xingyu nodded, but then she said, "I guess Uncle Xiang wouldn't have done as you said. Haven't you noticed? He's got a stronger killing intent than you do."