Chapter148

Park Su thought his words were polite enough not to anger them, but contrary to his expectations, the robust man didn't release Ge Qing and Lu Shang; instead, his tone became even harsher, "Haven't offended us? Are you joking?

Your convoy comes here to take our resources, which is an offense in itself. Since you've scavenged Pingcheng's resources, those should stay in Pingcheng. Moreover, we are originally from Pingcheng, so those things rightfully belong to us. If you want to stay the night, you can leave what you've taken from us.

If you disagree, not only are you unwilling to return what you've taken, but you also want to take advantage of us by staying in our houses? No such good deal exists. Either return what you've taken from Pingcheng, and we'll release your friends, or your friends stay here to work off the debt with labor while you can leave.

But if you leave now, there are quite a few zombies outside, and I'll tell you, to leave Pingcheng, you'll have to go through villages like ours. If you don't leave your goods here, you'll have to leave them in another village. You decide."

Upon hearing this, Park Su understood they were just being unreasonable and was certain that even if they handed over all of Pingcheng's resources, these people wouldn't be satisfied. Their real aim was all the resources they currently held.

Moreover, Park Su didn't feel they should hand over the resources they had gathered. Firstly, those resources were unclaimed and belonged to no one. Secondly, with so many survivors here, they should be capable of hunting for their own resources, but instead, they were intercepting passing esper teams, hunters, or travelers, using some self-righteous justification to claim these resources for themselves.

It was laughable; their behavior was no different from highway robbers. The resources they'd earned with their lives shouldn't be so easily taken, and such conduct was even more detestable to Park Su, akin to wanting to have their cake and eat it too.

What surprised Park Su was that such a group could survive this long in the apocalypse, and from their tone, there seemed to be other similar groups around Pingcheng's outskirts.

Given the temperament of espers, this kind of robbery should provoke fights, especially since those capable of hunting for resources would likely have some skill. Furthermore, considering the distance from S Base to Pingcheng, teams from there would typically be competent. Why would they surrender their resources without a fight?

During their training, they had encountered other esper teams, but those teams, seeing their strength, didn't dare to provoke them, and after some greetings, they parted ways.

Park Su wondered if the team they met a few days ago had been robbed here, and why they didn't resist if so.

He even suspected there might be a powerful esper leading this group or that they had some drug to suppress the abilities of lower-tier espers. Either scenario suggested danger, prompting Park Su to recall if he had ever seen or heard of any substance that could inhibit esper powers in his previous life.

Beside him, Xu Nuo spoke directly, "The conditions you've set are not something we team members can decide. Such decisions need to be made by our leader. So, I suggest you let me and my teammates return to consult with our leader before making a decision."

The robust man, seeing how young Park Su and Xu Nuo were, didn't think there was anything wrong with what Xu Nuo said. Moreover, not being an esper himself, he couldn't gauge their abilities just by looking. From their appearance, they indeed didn't seem like they could make decisions.

So, after hearing Xu Nuo's words, he felt they were somewhat reasonable, and his tone softened, "You can go back, but this one next to you and your two teammates must stay here!"

Upon hearing that they wanted to keep Park Su, Xu Nuo clenched his fists, suppressing his anger to keep his tone steady, "Why do you need to keep my teammates here? They're just ordinary members and can't make any decisions."

The man looked smug, saying, "Go back and discuss with your leader. One person is enough. Don't think I can't see that you have a special relationship with these two. Only if he stays here will you do your best to persuade your leader to come here.

Don't worry, as long as you come back, they'll be safe. But if you don't return, I can't guarantee their fate.

Don't think I don't know what you're planning. If we let everyone go, would you come back?

You'd probably take your team and find another place to rest, then bypass Pingcheng from another route, taking our resources with you.

You must think we're fools, but it's fine. If you don't care about your friends and your little lover, you can leave. Your lover here is quite good-looking; he won't suffer too much. Our leader has a taste for these types, and he should be pleased with this one, hahaha..."

Before the man could finish his sentence, he felt his neck constrict, his feet leaving the ground, his words stuck in his throat, unable even to cry for help as his face turned purple, his life in Xu Nuo's hands.

Park Su, having heard the man's words, knew Xu Nuo would be furious; he felt disgusted himself. He didn't intervene, knowing that without teaching these people a lesson, today's matter wouldn't be resolved. Besides, seeing how confident these people were in confronting those who clearly had some skill, they must have some tricks up their sleeve. Park Su was curious to see what those tricks were.

Sure enough, as soon as the crowd noticed the commotion, they rushed over. One of them, a friend of the robust man, shouted anxiously, "You better let him go, or you'll regret it. We're not as easy to deal with as you think!"

Xu Nuo gave a cold smile. In his usual temper, he would have crushed the man's neck, but he decided against showing too much of his strength right away; he wanted to see what these people relied on. So, he just threw the man to the ground.

The man immediately started coughing violently, taking a while to recover, while his friends rushed to help him. Ge Qing and Lu Shang, seizing the opportunity, attacked those around them.

Their actions were much lighter than Xu Nuo's, just knocking people down before running to Park Su, instinctively shielding him.

Although Park Su didn't feel he needed their protection now, their actions touched him.

Seeing several of their own injured, the leader of the villagers became furious, pointing at them and cursing, "You really don't know what's good for you. We tried to talk nicely, but you strike first."

"Today, since you've injured our people, it's not just about leaving behind resources anymore. All of you will stay and work for us!"

Xu Nuo didn't bother with their clamor, "You spout nonsense and even dare to insult my love. I haven't killed you only because you're not espers and my love is kind-hearted. If you're courting death, I won't mind sending you on your way. After all, in this apocalypse, what's one more dead body?" With that, he led his people away, ignoring the shouting.

Other espers might worry about being surrounded by zombies outside, but with their isolation talismans, they were unafraid. Moreover, Xu Nuo was genuinely curious about what these people relied on to be so bold.

To their surprise, no one blocked their path as they left, though a few followed behind. It seemed they had some sense of the situation.

Park Su glanced back and saw one person sneaking back into the village, likely to inform someone. He quickly communicated this to Xu Nuo with his mental energy.

Xu Nuo had noticed this too and had been considering what these people might depend on. Whatever it was, it made them confident enough to handle regular espers. Although Xu Nuo was confident in his own abilities, he needed to ensure the safety of the espers following them. Otherwise, wouldn't Park Su's act of kindness turn into harm? Instead of leading these people back to their convoy and causing trouble, he decided to deal with it himself.

Halfway through their retreat, Xu Nuo stopped abruptly, turning to face the two followers with a gaze full of killing intent.

The followers stumbled, fear evident as one of them even tried to retreat, pulling his companion, "I feel these people are different from the ones we've dealt with before. Maybe we should go back before our boss arrives, or we might lose our lives. Why doesn't he give us some of that stuff for self-defense?"

The other was scared but slightly braver, "It'll be fine, our boss will be here soon. That stuff is in short supply, not enough even for our needs, let alone to give to everyone."

Their conversation was overheard by Park Su and Xu Nuo, piquing their interest in this mysterious substance that seemed to allow them to fearlessly confront espers.

Xu Nuo communicated with Park Su, "The most dangerous thing now is these people. If they can control regular espers, bringing them back to our convoy might not affect us, but what if your friends are influenced? So, I think I should stay here to see what tricks they have up their sleeve, avoiding dragging more people into this and causing unnecessary trouble."

Park Su frowned at this, "But we're not with the team now. They mentioned other villages have similar people. What if they suddenly attack our convoy?"

After writing two thousand words by six o'clock, and then completing the current task, this is an original publication, please do not reprint!