Chapter 1821: Chang Shoujie
The safe zone had more people than the small city, and with the three hundred that Ao Quan and his group had brought from the outer zones, the total was nearly a thousand. These people were mostly young and middle-aged adults. Although the locals from Zone 010 carried genetic diseases, their physiques appeared healthier than the ordinary people from the outer zones.
Of course, the natural environment and Ao Quan’s group would automatically filter out the old and weak.
“Is everyone here?” Xu Huo looked at the safe zone player.
The safe zone players hadn’t bothered to number each person either. They had herded them all together like sheep, so it was hard to say if anyone was hiding.
Deng Xiahei had also gone to help search, but the news he brought back was that he had found a small mining pit on the eastern side of the city. He had gone in to check it out, and there were some scattered ores below, along with over a dozen people squatting there.
He had brought them back along the way.
Most of these people wore numb expressions, while the outer zone residents were mostly terrified. Not only were they reserve food like the Zone 010 locals, but sometimes Ao Quan and his group would come up with new ideas and go out of their way to torment them.
For example, they would go to great lengths to make them reproduce.
And the burden of reproduction fell solely on the women in Zone 010, so among the captured outer zone residents, the number of women was very small, because many had died from miscarriages and infections.
They were the most afraid.
Xu Huo’s gaze swept over these people. Few of them paid any attention to him; they were just anxiously staring at the safe zone player who was speaking from a high vantage point.
No matching target.
Xu Huo told the safe zone players to search again.
“Someone is running out of the city.” Deng Xiahei suddenly leaned in. “When I went out earlier, I placed props in different spots around the city. If someone moves around, they’ll trigger them. I’ve already hit two sensing props in a row. They’re moving fast.”
Xu Huo roughly guessed who it was. He grabbed the space ray and moved several times in succession, then intercepted the person ahead.
“What are you running for?”
Gao Dawei slammed on the brakes abruptly, nearly dropping the person he had slung over his shoulder.
Xu Huo glanced at the unconscious man and smiled slightly. “Put him down.”
“My uncle isn’t a bad person. If you want trouble with Ao Quan and his group, it has nothing to do with us. I’ll just take him out to hide for a while and come back when things calm down.” Gao Dawei still wanted to negotiate with Xu Huo.
“He’s the one I’m looking for.” Xu Huo stared at the man on his shoulder. “Mr. Chang, I made a special trip here to find you. There’s no need to keep pretending to be unconscious anymore.”
Gao Dawei paused, and was about to say something, when the seemingly unconscious man lying on him reached up and tapped his shoulder.
Gao Dawei was shocked. He fumbled to get the man out of the wheelchair and set him down. “Uncle, how are you still awake? I clearly knocked you out…”
The old man, with graying hair, a face full of wrinkles, and black thorn-like patterns covering his neck, limbs, and even his somewhat atrophied legs, gestured for him to calm down, then said, “When Dawei mentioned you, I knew you would definitely find me. Did Ao Quan tell you? He’s the only one here who knows my past.”
“Not exactly. He died rather suddenly.” Xu Huo stated matter-of-factly, then invited him to the commercial building.
Once at the commercial building, Chang Shoujie learned of the upheaval in the safe zone. After hearing that Ao Quan, Brother Lou, and some C-level players had been killed, he was silent for a moment before asking Xu Huo the purpose of his visit.
“As you can see, I am now a decrepit old man, and I’m even showing signs of degeneration. The only reason I can live here in peace is because of help from old friends. If you want me to do something for you, I’m afraid I no longer have the strength.”
Chang Shoujie’s face was filled with a sense of decline. Even after learning that someone like Xu Huo had appeared, he hadn’t planned to leave. It was only after Gao Dawei’s failed persuasion and forcibly “knocking him out” that he was brought out.
Although he hadn’t actually passed out, his indifferent attitude represented his abandonment of life.
“I have a friend who works on potion research who once sought you out. You still had the black snake tattoo back then. He should have mentioned some experiments to you. I came specifically to find him. If you can provide any clues, I would be very grateful.”
Chang Shoujie didn’t refuse him outright, but said, “In my life, I have met too many medical and pharmaceutical talents while trying to revive Zone 010. I don’t know who you’re referring to.”
“You should remember him well. He came from Stellar Pharmaceuticals.” Xu Huo said. “There shouldn’t be many researchers from Stellar Pharmaceuticals who appeared in Zone 010 and actively sought you out.”
Chang Shoujie thought for a moment before saying, “There was such a person. At the time, I was trying to find a cure for the black thorn disease. He approached me, and I was very happy. I even invited him to conduct research at the camp where I was temporarily staying. But it ended not long after due to a lack of materials. He had the same intention. When the research couldn’t continue, he had to leave and find a more suitable place.”
“Around what time was this?” Xu Huo asked.
“Five or six years ago…” Chang Shoujie tried hard to recall. “When he came, I had high hopes, but in the end, there was no progress.”
“Can you tell me where he went?” Xu Huo pressed.
“The Polar Safe Zone.” Chang Shoujie answered quickly. “It was a large base newly established at the time. After the numbered safe zones that were set up during the Great Disaster gradually disappeared, the later safe zones were no longer ordered by numbers. Instead, the founders decided for themselves. Back then, there were many small-scale camps that weren’t very organized. The Polar Safe Zone was relatively large.”
“You didn’t enter the Polar Safe Zone?” Xu Huo didn’t quite believe him.
“You probably know a little about my situation. I’m practically a pariah in Zone 010.” Chang Shoujie showed a hint of a smile. “With the precedent set, what’s so strange about a large safe zone shutting me out?”
His smile was bitter, causing Gao Dawei and the safe zone players nearby to show complicated expressions.
Chang Shoujie rubbed his legs and said, “It’s probably retribution. So many people died because of my instigation, so after becoming a B-level player, I quickly degenerated. The symptoms weren’t severe, but I soon couldn’t walk anymore.”
Among those present, whether they knew the inside story or not, no one offered words of comfort. For the survivors of Zone 010, those who hadn’t directly experienced it would inevitably be wise after the event, thinking he was foolish and harmful. The emotions of those who had experienced it might be even more complex, perhaps even filled with hatred towards him.
Without a positive outcome, and after repeated attempts had all come at a heavy cost, more people projected their confusion, helplessness, and pain into anger. As the leader, Chang Shoujie naturally became the target of their venting—even Chang Shoujie himself, in the end, couldn’t say with certainty that his persistence was right. That’s why he stayed in this safe zone full of cannibal players.