Chapter 120: Once you have taken the supplies, you may choose to leave on your own.

“Of course, I’m only speaking my own mind. If you think what I’ve said makes no sense, you can step away on your own.”

After saying this, Wang Qiang turned and walked off. What they thought and what they did had nothing to do with him; it was just his private wish, nothing more.

He had no right to block anyone from seeking a better life, but their pursuit should not stand on what Qin Sheng had built.

Xun Feng had only cast a glance at the crowd to whom he had just aired his ideas. He felt there was no use in such talk—perhaps not even a need to say it.

If Qin Sheng were to become captain of the Safe Zone guard, she would have to seize that place through her own strength and skill. For the ones who already harbored resentment, persuasion was the least useful thing in the world.

“Enough overthinking. There are still plenty of zombie corpses to clear up here. Do you really want to sleep in a pile of them tonight?”

Fatty swept his eyes across the bodies and quickly called back the men who were still musing over Wang Qiang’s words.

Fatty was easygoing by nature. Though he unconsciously felt Wang Qiang’s ideas were kind but impossible—too idealistic for the world as it was—he respected them. Everyone’s pursuits are different, he thought; Wang Qiang could respect others as others would respect Wang Qiang.

Wang Qiang’s selfishness was nothing more than this: Qin Sheng had given too much, and he could not accept so calmly all the benefits she’d brought them.

“Right. Don’t overthink it yet. We’ll decide everything when Qin Sheng comes back. If we leave this as it is, who knows—we might draw even more zombies back by the smell.”

As soon as they heard that risk, everyone dropped their own worries and hurried to tidy the camp. It was rare to see the whole squad so unified.

Leaning calmly against a tree, Xun Feng looked over those clearing the camp and then walked to the tent where Qin Sheng had lived.

When he opened it, he was not at all surprised to see a fair amount of compressed biscuits.

It seemed Qin Sheng had prepared in advance, perhaps knowing that unexpected visitors would one day arrive at the camp. He only wondered how she had known what lay ahead.

That was not for him to judge. He only needed to finish what he had been told.

Xun Feng took the compressed biscuits out inside the tent. When he stepped back out, all the nearby zombie carcasses had been carried away. Some even scrubbed away the bloodstains on the ground.

Apart from the strong, metallic odor of blood lingering in the air, everything looked as though nothing had happened.

Wang Qiang and Fatty, who had both been poisoned, had nearly recovered after taking the medicine Xun Feng gave them. After only a short rest, they were already helping to clean up camp.

As soon as Wang Qiang returned and saw Xun Feng carrying what looked like a cache of compressed biscuits, he caught Xun Feng’s eye. Wang Qiang understood at once and called everyone around.

“Come here a moment. Gather up and hear what I have to say.”

At his call, everyone set down their work and came, one by one, before Wang Qiang and Xun Feng.

“What’s this? We were busy, and now you call us in?” one man said.

“Yeah, yeah.”

The specifics were left to Xun Feng, since Wang Qiang had only guessed at them.

“All of you might need these supplies. Anyone who wants to leave can take one share.”

Xun Feng delivered it exactly as he had been instructed, with no unnecessary words. Those who stayed in camp needed no supplies, after all—Qin Sheng had carried out two big sacks before leaving, and everyone had seen it.

This bundle was likely taken from one of those sacks.

It was also clear: if someone took supplies and left to fend alone, the camp would not stop them and would respect the choice. But they would lose any chance to return.

Those who stayed, in turn, could be counted among those who supported Qin Sheng as captain of Safe Zone Team Seven. They had done what they felt was enough, perhaps even everything.

Qin Sheng had, it seemed, planned for all of this.

As people looked from one another and hesitated, many stepped forward and took their supplies before leaving. They all, in truth, wanted to compete for the captaincy of Team Seven.

Only two or three stayed.

Those few happened to be among the men who had been forced to follow Zhang Dong before. There had originally been four; one had already been killed by Zhang Dong.

“You all right now? If this place stinks like this, I’m heading to finish the cleanup. No one can sleep through this much blood scent in the night.”

The man who spoke was Yu Yong, one of the older men in the squad, steady in action and speech. After the past days’ events, he had come to admire Qin Sheng even more. He was absolutely unwilling to leave.

Rather than a high position with heavy responsibility, he only wanted to live better in the Safe Zone. If the captain was someone like Qin Sheng, that was enough for him.

“You, kid, you’re always playing the old mother-in-law no matter where you go!”

The man teasing him was much younger than Yu Yong and about the same age as Qin Sheng. He had met Yu Yong while dodging zombies. Since childhood he had trained in sanda, and he had entered the Safe Zone guard trials with Yu Yong. Everyone called him Xiaoxiao, and he had never offered his real name.
It was as if he had chosen a new life and a new identity for this ruined world.

Yu Yong had been, in this world, his mentor, friend, brother, even father. So wherever Yu Yong went, Xiaoxiao followed.

“You little brat, always joking with me. Enough—go on, fetch plenty of water from the nearby creek!”

Yu Yong laughed and nudged Xiaoxiao aside lightly. The two gave Wang Qiang a look, exchanged a few jokes, and left.

Wang Qiang turned to the last remaining youngster in front of him. He looked much younger than everyone else, and from his nervousness he kept dropping his head, never quite daring to speak or step forward. It was Yu Yong who had kept him at their side.

He was also, among the four of them, the most straight-talking and therefore the first to be targeted—“the one who sticks his head up gets shot.” There was no escaping that.

“Why do you want to stay here?” Wang Qiang asked. At the sight of a fifteen- or sixteen-year-old boy, his rough-mannered voice softened almost with brotherly tenderness.

The boy glanced down, licked the corner of his mouth, and said carefully, “That sister looks the strongest.”

There was no need to ask who he meant—he was talking about Qin Sheng.

Wang Qiang understood and agreed. Not only this boy, who was that age, admired strength, but Wang Qiang himself did too.

Above all, he admired Qin Sheng’s ability and competence, and the way she handled things—bold, careful, and ready. She had thought through everything in advance; otherwise the camp would have become chaotic by now.

“Why is that?” the boy looked up, curious now that Wang Qiang had not answered right away.

The boy’s skin had a sickly pallor, and his large eyes flickered with a childlike innocence, though he bore many scars and wounds. He had obviously suffered much on the way to the Safe Zone.

Wang Qiang came to himself and let his gaze fall on the boy’s scabbed skin. He sighed with pity. A child of only fourteen or fifteen, without family nearby—no parent, no kin—was too heart-wrenching.

“What’s your name?” Wang Qiang asked softly, noticing the boy’s fear.

The boy lifted his head slightly, forcing himself to be steady, and spoke shakily: “I don’t know. They all call me Xiaonuo.”

Hearing that, Wang Qiang felt something was off. How could he not even know his own name? He glanced again at the wounds and thought perhaps the boy had suffered amnesia.

Xiaonuo noticed Wang Qiang’s surprise and, pressing his lips together, explained, “I grew up in a welfare home, so I don’t have a real name.”

The boy had rarely spoken this much before; perhaps he was slowly letting his fear go.

On hearing this, Wang Qiang took a deep breath, stood, and gently patted Xiaonuo’s shoulder with unusual gravity, as if making a vow.

“From now on, we are your family. Xiaonuo, you’re our younger brother.”

Xiaonuo looked shaken and thrilled, his lips lifting faintly. He looked as if he truly welcomed the thought of having so many brothers.

“We’ll protect you from now on.”

The smile deepened on the boy’s face, and he nodded.

For a moment, Wang Qiang felt a strange dizziness, as if he had caught a glimpse of Qin Sheng in him. Those eyes that almost spoke when he smiled, the tiny mole in the center of his brow—so similar.

Very similar, and yet not the same.

He shook his head, thinking he was reading too much into it. There are plenty of people with a mole between the eyebrows; with a little distraction, an imagined likeness is easy enough.

And besides, wasn’t Xiaonuo the one who had grown up in a welfare home?

Still, Wang Qiang thought, Qin Sheng would probably like Xiaonuo a great deal.

“Brother Wang Qiang, I’m going to help Uncle Yu and Brother Xiaoxiao carry water,” Xiaonuo said, almost immediately after, volunteering without waiting.

“Alright.” Wang Qiang smiled and patted his head, watching him run toward the others.

But when Xiaonuo ran past the tree where Xun Feng sat with his eyes closed, he caught a branch and nearly fell.

At the sound, Xun Feng opened his eyes, cool and still. Their gazes met for an instant. Xiaonuo recoiled instinctively, sprang up, and hurried toward Yu Yong.

Xun Feng saw the boy’s face clearly in his mind again. For some reason, it felt strangely familiar—as though he had seen it somewhere before.