Chapter 56: The Latecomer

Yu Shunzhou had already lapsed into unconsciousness, and Jia Weidong gently laid him down.

At this moment, Gao Yuan's feelings towards Jia Weidong became very complicated.

It was Jia Weidong who had injured Yu Shunzhou, but it was also Jia Weidong who had helped carry him for over thirty kilometers, a full eight hours. Except for switching arms with Xiang Weiguo, he basically hadn't rested at all.

Moreover, Jia Weidong had taken a very convenient shortcut that hardly required any detours.

One could say that if Yu Shunzhou were to survive, Jia Weidong had also made a significant effort.

Although Jia Weidong liked to talk tough to Yu Shunzhou, Gao Yuan now found it difficult to hate someone who had helped them greatly and was very straightforward.

Yes, as long as he wasn't facing Yu Shunzhou, Jia Weidong was very polite, and he even felt uncomfortable eating Gao Yuan and the others' food.

Now that they had arrived at their destination, should they just let Jia Weidong walk away, kill him, or beat him up to vent their anger?

Gao Yuan looked to Xiang Weiguo for guidance, but Xiang Weiguo replied indifferently, "You make the decision."

Jia Weidong knew that his fate was being decided. It was clear he wasn't used to letting others determine his destiny, but he had no room to resist now, since Luo Xingyu was intentionally or unintentionally pointing the gun at him.

Gao Yuan sighed and said to Jia Weidong, "Uncle Xiang said that as long as you brought the person here, it would be fine. His word is his bond, so what he agreed to is also what I agree to. You can go now."

Jia Weidong bent his knees and gently laid Yu Shunzhou down before stepping back two paces.

Gao Yuan sighed and said, "I'll tell you again, he really didn't eat your dog because he refuses to eat dog meat. He loves dogs, really likes them, and never agrees to eat dog meat. Moreover, he was under those bad people's control, and even if there was dog meat, he wouldn't have gotten any. It's true."

It was already very dark, and Gao Yuan couldn't see Jia Weidong's face clearly.

After a moment, Jia Weidong said in a low voice, "Is it true?"

"True."

After another silence, Jia Weidong said softly, "I'm sorry, it was my fault."

Yu Shunzhou was in no state to argue with Jia Weidong, so of course there was no response from him.

Jia Weidong exhaled and said to Gao Yuan, "When he wakes up, please apologize to him for me. If there's a chance, I'll treat him to a meal, wild boar, badger, wild rabbit, wild fowl—I've got it all. I'll make sure he eats his fill."

Gao Yuan felt much relieved and nodded, "Okay, I'll tell him. Aren't you going to come in with us? You could at least eat something before you leave; the shelter should provide a meal, right?"

Jia Weidong gave a wry smile and said, "No, I would be quarantined if I went in, which would be troublesome. I might as well go back directly. Brother Yuan, Uncle Xiang, and Xiaoyu, perhaps we'll meet again if there's a chance."

Gao Yuan thought for a moment and said, "Let's give you some food. We probably won't lack any once we're in the shelter."

Jia Weidong waved his hand and said, "Okay, they indeed provide enough food inside. Just give me some of yours."

Xiang Weiguo rummaged through his bag and gave Jia Weidong a packet of meat that they had cooked to use as dry rations. After handing over the meat to Jia Weidong, Gao Yuan said, "Wait."

Gao Yuan took out a box of compressed biscuits and a can from his bag, placed both items in Jia Weidong's hands, and said, "Keep these, just in case you need them in an emergency."

Long-lasting, high-calorie food was precious in the apocalypse.

Jia Weidong didn't decline; he was quite pleased and after placing the items in his shoulder bag, he said with a smile, "These are good stuff; really good stuff. Thank you, Brother Yuan, thank you."

Bending down, he pulled out the long spear and Jia Weidong pointed towards the shelter, saying, "Just call out and someone will come, don't go rashly, it's hard to see at night and you might have an accident. There are many people standing guard inside. If you say someone needs a doctor, they'll help right away. I'm leaving, oh right."

Jia Weidong pointed in a direction, "From now on, I'll be near that mountain over there, about a dozen miles from here. Halfway up the mountain, there's a small house. Being close to the shelter means there are no bad people around. I'll probably be staying there for a long time. If anything happens to you guys in the future..."

After a moment of silence, with considerable hesitation, Jia Weidong said, "Actually, I think having too many people might not be such a good thing. In case something else happens, you can come up the mountain to find me."

"Alright, see you again, if we have the chance."

Xiang Weiguo shouted loudly, "Wei Dong, be careful on your own. If there's any trouble, come find us at the shelter."

Jia Weidong waved his hand and blew a whistle, then slowly walked away with a few dogs following him.

Gao Yuan looked at Xiang Weiguo and asked, "How do we get over there? We're one spear short for a stretcher pole."

"Hide the guns first, then we'll enter the shelter."

Startled at Xiang Weiguo's words, Gao Yuan then understood what he meant.

"Hide all the guns?"

"No, just hide the machine gun, and take the captured rifles with us, along with the ammo. Hide ours and bring the captured ones, come up with a story, and don't let anyone know we have our own guns."

Xiang Weiguo's suggestion was easy to understand; if they entered the shelter with guns, they would certainly be confiscated. Hiding the guns outside would allow them to be prepared in case of any future emergencies.

Luo Xingyu whispered, "Why don't we give Jia Weidong a gun?"

Xiang Weiguo said lightly, "Because he can survive very well without a gun, giving him one might not be a good thing."

The reason they waited until after Jia Weidong left to hide the guns was the same; some things are better kept amongst themselves.

Hiding the guns was easy, just find a secluded spot and make sure they're sheltered from rain and snow, then come back later when they had more time to hide them well.

After quickly hiding the guns, they concocted a consistent story, especially since it was evident that Yu Shunzhou had been shot.

What remained was to communicate with the people in the shelter.

Having moved some distance away from where they hid the guns, Gao Yuan turned on his flashlight and headed towards the direction of the shelter.

The shelter occupied a large area, surrounded by many temporary houses. As Gao Yuan approached within about a hundred meters of the temporary houses, someone suddenly shouted, "Stop, who's there?"

Gao Yuan shone his flashlight, illuminating a machine gun position, a semicircular emplacement built with sandbags and equipped with a general-purpose machine gun; three people were inside.

Lowering his flashlight, Gao Yuan shouted loudly, "Survivors, we just found the shelter. There are four of us, and one person is seriously injured not far from here. Can someone bring a stretcher to carry him over? Also, we have guns, which will need some explaining, but we're definitely not bad people."

"How was he injured?"

"Gunshot wound. We encountered some bad people."

"Gunshot wound? Wait a moment; we can't leave our position, but I'll have the people who receive survivors come to you, very quickly."

After a short while, in less than a minute, Gao Yuan saw several lights moving rapidly from the pitch-black temporary houses in the distance, running towards them.