Chapter 155: Call for Help
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Pairs of frightened, yet desparate eyes...
These was a group of lucky survivors staying there. It was not a small number either; there were even more of them hiding in that dark corner. Luo Yuan could not see clearly, and it was too dark for them to know what had come in through the doorway.
All they could do was hold their breath and be vigilant. Luo Yuan saw their teeth chattering in anxiety. The sound could be heard clearly amid the silent atmosphere. There was no need to be scared. It was so dark there, that hiding was useless.
“I'm human. Don’t be panic, everyone!”
Luo Yuan’s unexpected voice caused a commotion among the group. Many of them stood up as if they'd been relieved of a burden. Some even started to shout merrily.
“Don’t go, you will die!”
“Shut up, don’t make noise!”
Soon, there were people raising their voices and scolding. Although their tone was strict, a slight shiver could be heard in their condemning voices.
Chaos ensued when the others heard it. A few of them started to move forward, but quickly rushed back. Their faces betrayed their indescribable fear as the crowd’s shivering became more intense.
Luo Yuan’s heart flashed with a trace of uncertainty. They must have met rascals before. During the apocalypse, there were no rules. People like that were everywhere. To avoid any unnecessary trouble, he hurriedly said, “Please don’t panic. I have no bad intentions. I'm just looking for something in the supermarket.”
The crowd remained silent. Other than the sound of their breathing, shivering and the sound of their chattering teeth, nothing else could be heard.
Luo Yuan wanted to laugh, but he could not. Maybe that was how normal humans behaved during the apocalypse. They were scared and nervous, and the only thing they could was just wait to die. Without the system, he probably would not be any better either. He sighed and said straightaway, “Really, there's no need to be scared. I only need a few tents. Can I trade them for something?”
If they still did not say a word , he would just find them by himself.
The crowd continued to remain quiet, until finally there were some whispering sounds. Some of them seemed to be having a discussion before suddenly a strong flashlight flashed towards him, scanning his body a few times from top to bottom. The strong, dazzling light made Luo Yuan close his eyes slightly. Nevertheless, he still let them inspect him.
The crowd seemed relieved, and the nervous atmosphere seemed to dissolve after a while.
A man, who had to be their leader, got out of the crowd and looked at the broken door. He was scowling, but he kept his anger in check as he asked carefully, “Where do you come from? What's the situation like outside?”
Through the dim light, Luo Yuan noticed that their skin was very white, occasionally even transparent. It was obvious that they had not been in the sunlight for a very long time. However, they did not lack any kind of living resources in there. There were plenty of food supplies as well. None of them seemed to be underfed.
“I'm from Hedong City. I just happened to pass by here, looking for some resources, but everything is submerged out there, and by the time I arrived here, the area had already turned into a forest,” Luo Yuan said.
A commotion rose among the crowd, but no one dared speak. Clearly, the man had a very high prestige there.
“How is that possible?” he asked in shock. “How did you get here?”
“By luck. There were a few dangerous incidents along the way that almost cost me my life.” Luo Yuan knew that no matter how he explained it to them, they would not understand. He might as well just say as little as possible.
“You are really lucky. We have tents here. You don't need to trade them with anything. We don’t care. Just leave as soon as you have them. We want to close the door already,” the man said coldly. Then he asked a few of his men to find the tents using their flashlights.
“Can you give me a few flashlights as well?”
“Yes, but just two, plus one box of batteries. We don’t have much. Don’t be greedy.” Although the man’s attitude was cold, he did not decline his request. Maybe he knew Luo Yuan could not have come there alone from Hedong City.
“How long have you all been staying here?”
“More than five months. We have forgotten how long exactly,” the man said coldly.
“Don’t you want to leave?” Luo Yuan asked. Staying there was equal to waiting for death. Even if they did not run out of food, it would all rot eventually, and by that time, the only option they would have left would be death.
“Leave? Are you kidding?” The man chuckled and said, “Unless you want to die, I advise you to leave Jia Ping City.”
There seemed to be a hidden meaning behind his words. Luo Yuan recalled the strange response of the group earlier, and his heart was moved as he said, “Have you encountered any dangers before?”
Everyone’s faces changed all of a sudden.
The man’s expression flashed with a gleam of fear. He seemed to struggle as he said in a hoarse voice, “Don’t ask. You really don't want to know. Take my advice or leave it, it's up to you.”
Luo Yuan did not get angry. He was curious about why their expression had changed as soon as they had heard, and what it was that had happened they did not even want to mention.
There were resources everywhere in the store, but it didn't take them long to find the place where they stored the tents. They took about five tents and dumped them in front of Luo Yuan.
“Get what you want and get out fast.”
As soon as the man had finished his words, he led the crowd to the back of the store, where they hid themselves in total darkness.
Luo Yuan’s head was filled with questions, and his brows were wrinkled. Finally, he let out a sigh, chose four perfect tents and walked out of the fourth floor store.
He did not care about these people's warning. He been through great ordeals to get where he was now. There were no mutated creature that he had not come across. Considering his ability now, neither dark blue level creatures nor light green level creatures could be his rival.
An extremely dangerous creature for ordinary humans was nothing for him.
However, his heart was still slightly uneasy. No matter what he did, he could not let it go.
Jia Ping City was too quiet. The creatures there seemed to be sleeping deeply. All along the way, he had not seen any even remotely strong creature, not even a sign of one. This was really strange for a submerged region.
Anyone who achieved their purpose there could leave the city straightaway. No matter how dangerous it was, they would not be affected.
Luo Yuan carried the supplies as he walked out of the plant-covered supermarket. Noticing that he was back, everybody was silently relieved. The women started checking out what Luo Yuan had brought in excitement.
As Luo Yuan looked at the hole he had made, he could not help but feel sorry. The plants on the outside of the supermarket were somehow protecting the survivors inside from some kind of danger. Now that he had made that hole, their protection would be gone. All he could do was try his best to cover it.
He turned to Chen Xianfeng, who was standing far away, and said, “There were some survivors inside. Go and move some big rocks here. Lets help them fill the hole.”
“There are humans here?” Zhao Yali said in astonishment. “Don’t they want to follow us?”
“For them, it might be more dangerous to come out,” Huo Dong said. “It's better for them to drift along, and count the days as they live each one.”
Luo Yuan’s heart was heavy. The arrival of the apocalypse had turned humans from the owners of the city into rats inside a drain. The survivors left in this ghost city were less than ten thousand.
Chen Xianfeng obeyed Luo Yuan's order and started towards the nearby area without speaking a word.
There were collapsed buildings everywhere. Although there were few big rocks, concrete mud stones were in abundance.
Soon, he was moving a one-meter diameter, five-ton concrete mud stone, pushing it forward with heavy steps. Luo Yuan could only hope to have such strength. His strength had increased to an unbelievable extent after his mutation.
He put down the concrete mud heavily, letting out a loud sigh, before he quickly blocked the hole and stood beside it indifferently.
Luo Yuan used vines to cover it. He clapped his palms and inspected it carefully. You could not tell that there was a hole there. Plus after a few days, when the plants regrow and cover the exposed area, it would all be back to its original state.
Meanwhile, Huang Jiahui and the others had carefully divided the supplies and packed them inside hiking bags to carry them.
They had learned their lesson after losing their supplies last time, so they were not going to put all their eggs in the same basket. Although that might have been easier, once a problem arose, the whole team would be condemned.
“Help, help!”
Suddenly, Luo Yuan paused and concentrated, trying to listen. From a distance they could hear the faint sound of someone calling for help. It made him feel strange.
“What’s wrong?” Huang Jiahui felt curious as she noticed Luo Yuan’s expression.
“Somebody is calling for help. It sounds like they're somewhere nearby. Don't you hear it?” Luo Yuan asked suspiciously.
Everyone looked confused as they shook their heads. Only Chen Xianfeng’s expression seemed unsure.
“Let’s go check it out,” Luo Yuan said.
Everyone took their luggage and walked towards the source of the sound.
As they turned a corner on the street, the call for help suddenly became clear. Now everyone else could hear it too.
The shouts were obviously coming from a woman. The voice was very sharp and penetrative.
They kept walking for a while.
“Wait.” Cao Lin’s face changed as she asked, “How long has she been shouting?”
“We've been walking for more than a minute,” Lin Xiaoji said as he counted. His face looked worried.
Luo Yuan realized that too. This shout for help was too weird. Normal humans could not keep screaming while calling for help. Plus, the voice sounded forced. In such a dangerous situation, screaming out loud like this would attract more mutated beasts and speed up her death. It would serve no purpose. And yet, this woman was still alive and had the energy to shout loudly.
In their opinion, this call for help sounded very robotic. Each time was like a repeat of the previous one. There were no changes in intonation, and there was none of the fear or desperation normal people felt when facing danger.
A chilling feeling rose from the bottom of their hearts. Even Luo Yuan’s heart felt it.
Wang Shishi unconsciously pulled at Luo Yuan’s shirt. Normally she was the one who was afraid of this kind of thing the most. Regardless of how strong she was, it still did not cure her fear of ghosts.
From a psychological perspective, aggressive beasts could never be as scary as ghosts. Realistic creatures could be destroyed, but the fear of fantastic beasts could never be conquered. It was the unknown that made people the most afraid.
“Why don't we go back?” Cao Lin asked carefully as she flinched.
“Let's go and have a look first. I want to know what is playing this trick.” Luo Yuan’s face was very serious. Whatever that thing was, if it dared draw them in, then it had to be prepared to pay the consequences.
“Damn, it can't be a female ghost, can it?” Huo Dong joked with a very stiff expression. The call for help was getting clearer, as if that thing was walking towards them.
“Do you want to die?” Wang Shishi said in hatred as she stared at him.
“Where on earth are there ghosts? It must be a mutated creature,” Luo Yuan said steadily.
To some degree, Luo Yuan had become everyone’s pillar. Looking at him and his calm expression, everyone automatically felt more courageous. Although they were still nervous, their expressions had changed for the better.