Chapter 30

In the small building, the number of people getting up early gradually increased.

Perhaps due to the experience of truly being hungry, they still placed great importance on breakfast. While Su Hao was talking to the middle-aged man, another man and woman also entered the hall.

They were not a couple, but merely stayed in adjacent rooms. Both were in their forties; the man had a somewhat arrogant expression, a protruding belly, and a prematurely bald head that shone brightly. The woman had an ordinary appearance, not fat, but with a ring of fat around her waist like a lifebuoy. They glanced at the dining table, did not greet anyone, and walked over to a large barrel by the wall, lifting the lid to find no food as expected.

"How can it be empty?"

The fat man walked over, frowned, looked at the table, and then scanned the crowd, asking in an official tone, "Why is there no breakfast? Who is in charge here?"

Su Hao glanced at him but ignored him, continuing his conversation with the middle-aged man.

"Do you think someone will come to save us?"

"Definitely. The government can't abandon such a large city."

"You just said it's a highly contagious disease. Haven't you considered that it might already be quarantined, with no one allowed to enter or leave?"

"That's possible. But there should be rescue teams bringing food and medicine. This isn't Chernobyl; the virus isn't nuclear pollution. They have no reason to abandon us. After all, the city has millions of residents."

"If there were a rescue, it should have arrived by now. After so much time, haven't you suspected anything? What if this isn't a disease but a war?"

"It's impossible for a war to break out. The world will only trend towards peace, and any country that starts a war will face condemnation and encirclement. Ha ha, this won't happen, at least not in our generation..."

The middle-aged man was very talkative, and Su Hao gradually understood where his stubborn thoughts came from.

They had been confined in the bathhouse for a long time.

To be precise, it was three weeks and four days.

From the guards' conversations, they knew that there was unrest outside, but they didn't know that the world was no longer as they imagined.

They were fortunate to be isolated from the world and even more fortunate to be rescued. Their concept of zombies was still stuck at the moment the virus broke out. With the inertia of thinking in the civilized era, it was normal and not surprising to think about the issue from the perspective of national order.

Of course, not everyone would have the same thoughts. Some would certainly think something was wrong and feel that something had happened outside. They found it hard to believe and instinctively denied such thoughts. With the influence of others' words... in a closed small circle, it was easy for everyone to reach a consensus on the development and understanding of events.

In short, this was a subconscious refusal to accept reality, a self-hypnosis that idealized everything.

Su Hao looked at the confident middle-aged man with pity in his eyes.

Not just him, but the other core team members also focused their gazes on the middle-aged man. There were coldness, ridicule, laughter, as well as indifference, sighs, and sorrow...

"Hey! I'm asking you a question! Who is in charge here?"

The fat man standing to the side was very dissatisfied with being ignored. He angrily slapped the table and repeated his earlier question, which no one had answered.

"Why is there no breakfast?"

Su Hao stopped Du Tianhao, who was about to attack, and stared at the fat man for a few seconds before saying calmly, "If you want to eat, make it yourself."

This indifferent statement left the fat man speechless. He suppressed his anger, slightly relaxed his tense expression, and said in a serious tone, with a hint of threat, "Young man, this is a society governed by law. Don't think that saving a few people is a great achievement. Volunteers, it sounds good, but it's just to add an extra item to your resume to make it more attractive for job applications and assignments. Hmph! Don't try to dismiss me with words like 'self-sacrifice.' This place doesn't belong to you, and the resources here are public. I don't want to comment on you, but since you're here and have done some things, you should continue and do them well."

Perhaps Du Tianhao's fierce and cold gaze made him feel threatened. The fat man swallowed hard, his expression softened, and his tone became more friendly and righteous, "You saved us from those thugs. That's right and deserves praise. But you're not police or government officials. I understand the fatigue and indifference towards the same things. You're tired, and some things can be discussed and arranged to make a more reasonable plan. I'll write you a good thank-you letter. But now, you must finish what you started."

To Su Hao's surprise, and the other core team members, they looked at each other, completely not expecting the fat man to say such things.

Liao Qiu's eyes showed a hint of confusion, "What exactly are you trying to tell us? I don't understand at all."

The fat man's smile froze instantly. His lips twitched, and he completely gave up on being friendly, raising his voice, "This is a large-scale disaster caused by a contagious virus. As volunteers, if you're unwilling to help, why are you here? I said, this building doesn't belong to you, and the resources here are state property. If you refuse to serve the disaster victims, then please leave—"

Du Tianhao's gaze suddenly turned cold and fierce. He grabbed the automatic rifle by his feet, stood up from his chair, and pointed the gun at the fat man's stomach, pressing it hard.

"What are you doing? I'll report you! You, you can't... you have no right to do this—"

The fat man screamed like a pig being slaughtered, took a few steps back, and slipped on a patch of oil, falling heavily.

Su Hao squinted his eyes, sighed, patted Du Tianhao's shoulder, walked in front of him, lowered the gun, squatted down, and looked at the terrified fat man, asking coldly, "Where do you live?"

The question came suddenly, and the fat man looked at him in confusion, not speaking or reacting.

Su Hao's eyebrows slightly furrowed. He pulled out his M500, the large barrel directly pressing against the man's forehead, and repeated the question, "Where do you live?"

The fat man's face immediately broke out in a cold sweat. He looked at Su Hao in terror and anger, then glanced around, noticing that more than ten people had come down from upstairs, entered the hall, and were standing by, shocked and fearful, but no one came to stop him or say a good word.

He felt the cold, hard metal circle on his forehead, which was painful to the touch. This reminded him of a few weeks ago when he was beaten by thugs in the bathhouse, lying on the ground and screaming in pain.

"Along... Along Jiangxi Road 363, Ya... Ya Yun Kang Yuan, Building 3, 4th floor, Unit B."

He looked at the gun in Su Hao's hand, especially the finger on the trigger. The fat man suddenly realized that these people who saved him were not as easy to deal with as he thought, and they were not as tame and tolerant as ordinary people. They might be more terrifying and fierce than the previous thugs. Volunteers... are they really volunteers?

"You're right, this building is state property, not your home."

Su Hao's voice was calm, "So, you shouldn't be here. Now, get out! Go where you should, back to your own home."

The fat man's face turned pale. He moved his throat, his body trembling in fear, almost crying, "No, I won't go out. You can't do this, you can't..."

Su Hao's eyes flashed with a cold light, "Why not?"

"Outside... outside are those monsters."

The fat man's whole body was trembling, and a large patch of his pants was wet, "They... they will eat me."

"Oh! So you know everything."

Su Hao pretended to be surprised, shaking his head. He extended his left hand, maliciously pinched the fat man's face, and then patted it, saying coldly, "But you're wrong about two things. First: we are not volunteers. Second: this is my territory, and I decide what to do. Since you feel constrained here, I won't make it hard for you. There, the door is over there, go out."

He pointed to the end of the corridor.

"No... I won't go! I won't go—"

The fat man screamed, suddenly getting up from the ground, running to the dining table, and tightly hugging the table legs, as if they were the most solid and reliable thing.

A wicked smile appeared on Su Hao's lips. He raised his devilish hand and pointed to the cowering fat man. Du Tianhao understood and walked over, forcefully grabbing the once arrogant, now almost terrified man. The threat of death made the fat man burst with unimaginable strength, hugging the table legs as if he were welded to them, making it impossible to pull him away. This stubborn behavior made Du Tianhao suddenly furious. He roared, pulled two of the fat man's fingers, and bent them backward. The sharp "crack" sound made the poor fingers collapse, and the unimaginable pain made the fat man scream like a ghost, immediately letting go of the table and rolling on the ground, clutching his wound.

Du Tianhao bent down, grabbed the fat man's right foot, lifted it, and dragged him out of the hall.

The crowd standing around immediately cleared a path, keeping a distance from the tall, rough man who seemed to exude a plague. He "hehehe" laughed coldly, ignoring the man's face, which was already bruised and purple, and the desperate pleas. He walked to the side door of the small building, removed the obstacles in front of it, and threw the almost lifeless fat man out heavily.

The small building was dead silent.

The hall and the space between the stairs were filled with people, all the doors upstairs were open, and many people poked their heads out from the upper floors, holding their breath and watching the scene. No one spoke, no one was as noisy as during the dinner the previous night, and no one questioned it.

Although many people's eyes showed sparks of indignation. They clenched their fists, their teeth grinding, and the tight skin and muscles on their faces showed that they were trying hard to control their anger.

Su Hao turned around and saw the middle-aged man who had spoken to him earlier, his face pale, cold sweat soaking his clothes, and his legs trembling involuntarily.

"I don't like solving problems with violence. But for those who are stubborn, it's the simplest and most effective way."

His cold gaze slowly swept over everyone, and Su Hao's voice remained calm, "Now, you have one hour to pack your things and clean the rooms. I hope this place becomes clean, like a place where people live, not a pigsty full of garbage. I don't care what you used to be or how noble your status was. As long as you're here, you must follow my orders and arrangements. You'd better remember every word I say, because I won't repeat it, and I have no patience to tolerate the same mistakes. Of course, if you feel this is an insult to your so-called freedom, you can leave now."

"Bang! Bang bang—"

The fat man was banging on the door, accompanied by cries and pleas.

The angry crowd remained silent, and the people on the balcony pulled their heads back. The rooms quickly filled with hurried and panicked footsteps.

No one went to open the door, and the crowd in the hall gradually thinned. Some people who turned to go upstairs were whispering, and words like "crazy," "thug," and "murderer" could be heard. Some people picked up the rebar and sticks from the hallway corners and quietly carried them with them.

"Rescuing them was a mistake."

Old Song looked at the crowd disappearing at the end of the stairs and said in a dry voice, "If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, it would be hard to believe that someone could have such thoughts. Don't they understand that the world is no longer the same?"

Xin Yan's expression was solemn, and she said slowly, "They were confined for a long time and knew nothing about what happened outside. It's... understandable."

Han Jing nodded, "They should be made to understand the truth."

...

It was nearly noon, and two heavy trucks drove out of the small building in sequence, heading out of the city.

The open trucks were filled with people, some sitting, some standing, looking at the fully armed core team members standing at the back of the truck with cold and hostile eyes.

Tao Yuan and Old Song drove the trucks, while Su Hao and Du Tianhao guarded the people in their respective trucks. This setup was more like supervision than protection. People did not want to get close to them, gathering on both sides of the truck, silently and blankly