Chapter 45

"Please speak, my lord." Several warriors immediately said.

Cheng Yang directly said, "I have only one requirement. This time, when we head to Xiangcheng City, I hope you all will follow orders. If anyone disobeys, I will have to expel them from the team. This isn't about me exercising any special privileges; it's for the benefit of everyone, including the entire Luofeng Village. In a moment, each of you will provide two possible locations where your family members might be. We will search according to the principle of proximity. We can't search indefinitely, so we will only conduct a half-hour rescue operation at each location. Regardless of the outcome, we will move on to the next location. Today's rescue operation will continue until 5 PM, and any unfinished tasks will be continued tomorrow. Until this round of rescue is completely over. Do you have any objections?"

This matter undoubtedly concerned the vital interests of everyone present, and for a moment, there was a flurry of discussion in the crowd.

After a while, the warriors below one by one expressed their willingness to follow Cheng Yang's decision. This outcome was within Cheng Yang's expectations, as his decision was not biased but made for the greater good. Even if some of the warriors who lived farther from the south of the city preferred to search from far to near, they knew it was unreasonable.

Everything was quickly decided, and Cheng Yang led everyone through this passage.

This was not the first time Cheng Yang had walked this special path, but for the others, it was incredibly novel.

If this passage had existed before the apocalypse, it could have been described as a masterpiece of nature. However, now such miracles are everywhere in the world, and people even deep down wish that these miracles had never appeared.

This passage, several dozen meters long, is entirely composed of red rock, looking as if it were formed entirely from solidified lava. However, according to those who witnessed its formation, this stone bridge and the surrounding ravines around Xiangcheng City were formed during the earthquake. They appeared very suddenly, emerging from the ground.

Cheng Yang and the others quickly passed through this passage, and the scene before them changed dramatically.

On the south side of the passage, trees grew abundantly, presenting a natural beauty of a primeval forest. On the north side, however, it was a complete post-apocalyptic scene, even more desolate than Huimin Town.

This area belonged to the outskirts of Xiangcheng City, with few high-rise buildings and more shantytowns. But now, even the low shanties had completely collapsed, leaving only ruins.

Grass and trees had already grown on the ruins of Huimin Town, but here, it still looked like the immediate aftermath of the earthquake. If it weren't for the occasional wandering demonized beasts, Cheng Yang and the others would have thought they had arrived in a city that had just experienced an earthquake, rather than in the apocalypse.

For these scattered low-level monsters, Cheng Yang didn't need to act himself; he didn't want to compete with his subordinates for spirit energy points.

However, Xiangcheng City was not just home to scattered demonized beasts but also many monster groups. To speed up their progress, Cheng Yang naturally had to join in the fight.

Cheng Yang and the others were heading northeast, about one kilometer northeast was the home of a warrior named Shu Yuan. His family had lived in the outskirts of Xiangcheng City for generations. Before the apocalypse, his home had already been demolished, making him a genuine second-generation demolition victim. However, he wasn't the type to sit and eat away his savings, so he bought a large truck and ran a transportation business, which led to his fortuitous rescue by Cheng Yang.

His home was the closest rescue point to the southern passage of Xiangcheng City, so it became the first destination for Cheng Yang and the others.

Just as the group of over thirty people had advanced about forty meters and eliminated a group of over eighty monsters, a noisy human voice suddenly came from the ground nearby.

"Save me..."

"Please, save me..."

The voice was very weak but still clearly heard by Cheng Yang and the others.

"What should we do, Yangzi?" Liu Hao turned to look at Cheng Yang, his eyes showing a hint of pity.

Cheng Yang knew that this fat man was very sympathetic. Seeking his opinion was also a sign of respect for his position; otherwise, he would have rushed to save the people without asking.

Cheng Yang said, "Let's save them. Too many people have already died in the apocalypse. If we can save one, we should. However, our main task today is to rescue the families of our team members. Bringing them along will slow us down. So we can't save too many outsiders."

"I understand, Yangzi," Liu Hao said.

Cheng Yang then quickly walked in the direction of the voice. A few moments later, he arrived at a pit formed by a collapsed wall.

Liu Hao bent down and asked, "How many of you are inside?"

"Eighteen," a voice replied, "Please give us some water. Some of us haven't had water for three days."

Cheng Yang said, "Come out first. We have some water and food."

"Are there still monsters outside? They are too terrifying. One of my neighbors was eaten by them," the voice trembled, showing fear of the demonized beasts.

Cheng Yang said, "No, the surrounding monsters have been killed by us."

Soon, two men crawled out of the pit. Their eyes were sunken, and they looked exhausted, on the verge of collapse.

"Water, where is the water?" one of them said, trembling.

Liu Hao handed over a bottle of mineral water, which the man snatched and then crawled back into the pit.

Cheng Yang and the others did not blame the man for his impolite behavior. In the face of survival, maintaining human moral standards was already a great achievement. If he still cared about manners, he would be considered too rigid.

The other man's face showed concern. He had seen Cheng Yang and the others' strength, which had deeply impressed him. If not for the threat of survival, they wouldn't have dared to call out for help. In the apocalypse, who knew who the others were?

"You said there were eighteen of you. Why are only two of you coming out?" Liu Hao frowned and asked.

The man said, "They are too weak. Xu Zhou will go down and give them some water to drink and help them recover before they can climb out."

Cheng Yang sighed inwardly. These people were so weak that if they brought them along, they probably wouldn't be able to go to many places.

Yu Kai saw Cheng Yang's frown and guessed his thoughts. He immediately said, "Yangzi, I think this pit is quite safe. Why don't we let them stay here and leave some water and food for them? They can recover and we can pick them up when we return in the afternoon."

The refugee, seeing that Cheng Yang and the others were not bad people, immediately pleaded, "Sirs, please take us with you. We won't be a burden."

As he spoke, he suddenly knelt down and repeatedly bowed to Cheng Yang, saying, "Please, take us with you, or we will all die."

Cheng Yang helped him up and said, "Don't worry. My brother didn't mean to abandon you. Our base is outside the city, and we will definitely pass by here in the afternoon. Also, we need to fight monsters on our way to the city today, and we won't have the energy to protect you. You will be safer staying here."

The man, hearing Cheng Yang's words, stood up and hesitantly asked, "Is that true?"

Cheng Yang smiled and said, "Do you think we have the need to lie to you with our strength?"

"You're right," the man smiled bitterly. Cheng Yang's words were very convincing. With their strength, they had no reason to lie. If they didn't want to save them, they could simply ignore them or even kill them without anyone stopping them.

At this moment, the man who had rushed into the pit with the mineral water came out again, expressing his gratitude to Cheng Yang and the others.

After calming him down, Cheng Yang said, "Old Li, leave ten rations for them."

Li Wanshan did not hesitate to follow Cheng Yang's instructions and immediately allocated ten rations from the others. These included roasted meat and some instant foods, all part of their supplies for the day. However, considering their mission to save people, they had brought more food than usual.

The man who had just come out was initially confused but understood after the other man explained. He then expressed his gratitude again.

After arranging for these people, Cheng Yang and the others continued on their way. As they left, the two men looked at Cheng Yang hopefully, pleading for him to come back and take them with him. They had realized that Cheng Yang was the leader of the group.

After walking about 700 to 800 meters, they had killed several groups of monsters and saved about 70 to 80 people. Following the previous example, Cheng Yang did not take these people with them but instructed them to find a place to hide and wait until the evening to be picked up. Among the rescued, the lack of food was not particularly severe, as the apocalypse had only started four days ago. As long as they were a bit brave, they could find some food in the ruins. If a few more days passed without rescue, many more people would starve to death.

Soon, they finally arrived at the location Shu Yuan had designated. Although the houses had all collapsed due to the earthquake, the changes in the city's crust were not significant, and the original layout could still be vaguely recognized.

PS: I have received recommendations, brothers, let's go! I'll try to make it to the new book list tonight. To boost the rankings, I'll add an extra chapter tonight. If my book is on the homepage new book list tomorrow, I'll continue to add more chapters.