"Speak, what's going on with you two?"
Lin Yuan squatted on the ground, looking at the two survivors playing dead, one big and one small, like a brother and sister.
"We're already dead, don't eat us."
The sister, covered in dust, spoke.
"Yeah, yeah, humans aren't tasty."
The brother, also covered in dust, chimed in.
Then they both lay down again, playing dead (｢･w･)｢ hey.
"Rumble, rumble~"
Their stomachs betrayed their pretense.
They had originally been hiding in the basement of the service area supermarket. They had almost fooled Lin Yuan and his group, but they hadn't expected Jiang Ziqi, whose hearing was exceptionally sharp.
Then they were caught.
Lin Yuan looked at the lively duo with a helpless expression and turned to Jiang Ziqi, "Ziqi, go back and get some snacks."
"Mhm, I'm going now."
Watching Jiang Ziqi skip away, Lin Yuan looked at the siblings again, "Alright, alright, stop pretending. I'll say it again, we're not robbers, nor are we bandits. We're a survival team in the apocalypse. We got the message from the airdrop and know you're here, so we're passing by to rescue you."
"You really don't eat children?"
"No."
"You're really here to save us?"
"Really."
"Do you have food?"
"We'll get you food right away."
"And you won't covet my sister's beauty."
Lin Yuan's veins bulged on his forehead. With a snap, he flicked the younger brother who had interjected, and replied impatiently, "No, your sister hasn't even finished junior high!"
"Oh _(:з」∠)_", the boy sighed, clutching his head.
Lin Yuan: (ʘ言ʘ╬)?
What's with that tone, you seem a bit disappointed.
Ten minutes later.
The siblings were already sitting in the space formed by the convoy, eating. Fortunately, with Lin Qingyan's reminder, they didn't gorge themselves but ate slowly.
"So, can you tell me what happened here now?" Lin Yuan asked, a lollipop in his mouth.
"Mhm, I'll tell you. We were originally eight people, but ten days ago we were robbed by a group of people. There were many of them, I didn't count carefully, maybe over thirty.
They came and took everything from the service area. My parents, my brother, and the others were all taken away," the sister said, her eating slowing down.
"How did the two of you end up here?"
Wouldn't a robbery leave nothing behind? Why were only these siblings left?
As if recalling something terrifying, the sister's body trembled slightly. After a long pause, she replied, "They didn't want children, only women and adult men. My brother hid me in the basement, and I wasn't discovered."
Lin Yuan nodded. They knew this feeling well. If Jiang Ziqi hadn't heard the commotion, they wouldn't have found this hidden basement entrance.
"They didn't want children? How do you know that?"
"Among the previous eight people, there were two young children, younger than us, only five or six years old. We saw them with our own eyes..."
There was a ventilation shaft in the basement. By standing on a stool, one could see outside.
Lin Yuan didn't hear the rest, he only saw the direction they pointed. There were two small mounds, only slightly raised, unnoticeable unless specifically pointed out.
Could it be.
"Later, we buried them there because the broadcast said that zombies would eat people, and also eat corpses."
"Didn't they follow you in?"
The sister shook her head, "Those bad guys came very quickly. They didn't have time to react. Only my brother, who was playing around here at the time, rushed us in and then drew them away."
He didn't ask about the other survivors. He could imagine it. To harm children was because they were considered burdens. As for women, it was to vent repressed emotions in the apocalypse, and this venting was usually brutal. Adult men, ahem, prime labor, simply put, slaves.
If necessary, these captured people could even be used as bait.
And these siblings likely witnessed some things, bloody, explicit, tearful.
The sister was already about fourteen or fifteen years old, and she clearly knew her fate if she fell into the hands of those people.
Then why were they making such playful remarks just now? Lin Yuan looked at Wu Mengyao and Sun Qin, who had already started helping the siblings measure their heights and sizes.
Jiang Ziqi, who was rolling her tentacles to give gifts to the siblings, Mu Qingtian, who was on guard with a sniper rifle, Zhao Anjing, who was playfully bickering with Zhu Mingjun, and Lin Qingyan and Zhou Ping, who were mixing vitamins.
He suddenly understood something.
"What are you thinking about?" Wu Tian patted Lin Yuan's shoulder.
Why was he spacing out?
Lin Yuan, lost in thought, was startled awake. He saw Wu Tian had arrived and smiled, though it was somewhat forced.
"Nothing, I was just thinking, there's really nothing in this world that goes perfectly smoothly."
Wu Tian rubbed Lin Yuan's face and sat beside him, "Are you worried about the trouble these siblings might bring?"
"Not exactly. No one in the team opposes keeping them, and it's also a mission from the country. We took weapons, so it's only right to save them. I'm just a little worried." As he said this, Lin Yuan picked up a map and pointed to the road ahead.
"Look at the map, there's only one way to get off the highway, but there are three routes that lead to national highway GS685. Each route is less than 1k..."
"Changing lanes means more uncertain risks. Coupled with the information provided by these siblings, there's a group of desperate people lurking nearby.
According to the routes on the map, the ones that fit the description and are close to this service area, besides the one on the road to Yuzhou, there's only the one I just mentioned, the one that goes through a village. Perhaps, those people are watching us right now."
Lin Yuan's words sent a chill down Wu Tian's spine, and goosebumps rose on his skin, as if numerous snake-like eyes were watching them.
"Then what do we do? The airdrop has already landed, and they might have guns. Besides the armored vehicle, none of our other cars are bulletproof."
"There will always be a way. Currently, the enemy is in the dark, and I am in the light. We need to change from being passive to active. Once it starts raining, Jiang Ziqi, Mu Qingtian, and I will go on reconnaissance. You will stay behind to guard the convoy and prevent anyone from coming from another direction. Understand?"
"Okay, but is it suitable to take Ziqi with us without any training?"
"Her identity is special, and she needs to grasp her own strength."
"What are your names?"
The sister, who was distractedly chewing on chocolate, immediately looked up and said, "My name is Liu Mengmeng, and my brother's name is Liu Ziyi."
"Mhm, so can I call you Mengmeng?"
"Yes."
"Wait here. I'll ask Sister Qin Xia to help you take a bath. We have some more questions to ask you later."
"Okay." Liu Mengmeng's eyes were fixed on Lin Yuan, as if she wanted to see through him.
Just as he stood up, a drop of rain fell, hitting the ground in front of Lin Yuan.
Then more and more rain fell, and the sky and water instantly merged.
"Everyone get in the cars, park them at the entrance of the service area supermarket, and pause for rest."
"Understood!"
The convoy changed formation and stopped at the supermarket entrance, completely blocking the door.
Lin Yuan and the others had already entered the supermarket and were discussing the next route. The food inside had all been cleared out, leaving only some less important items.
"Captain, won't this be too dangerous? They said there were at least 30 of them, and now the airdrop has landed, so they probably have guns. I'm good at stealth, so let me go instead. Captain, you should stay with the team as a witness," Wang Zhihai immediately objected when he heard Lin Yuan planned to send three people for reconnaissance.
The others remained silent, but their eyes showed concern for Lin Yuan.
"Wu Tian, you should also try to persuade the captain."
Although Wu Tian was worried, he still said, "I support his decision."
"But!"
Lin Yuan quickly said, "Brother Wang, I understand what you mean. You have more important tasks. If you're really not at ease, why don't we have a competition?"
Competition?