Rotting Land: Survive-Chapter 486 - 481: Escort (Part 3)

Considering the limited number of seats and the time spent outside, Xu Renjie didn’t bring too many people along for the trip.

In his view, leaving the main force at the base and guarding the headquarters is the perfect strategy.

Therefore, for this operation, he took on the role of driver himself, and didn’t bring Wang Zhongyu for the same reason - for the benefit of everyone at the base.

In this way, if any issues arose at the base, having a driving expert like Wang Zhongyu there would increase their chances of escape.

Aside from the escorts, Liu Yunpeng and Li Huiru, the actual combat team members were Tang Xiaoquan, Wang Qiang, Hu Xiaodong, and Wei Dazhuang.

Although the number in this group wasn’t large, it was a balanced mix of brains and brawn, with both short and long-range attack capabilities complementing each other.

They took their seats according to the arrangement: Xu Renjie as the main driver, Liu Yunpeng as the co-driver, and in the back were Tang Xiaoquan, Li Huiru, and Wang Qiang, with Hu Xiaodong and Wei Dazhuang in the trunk.

Logically, there was nothing wrong with the seating arrangement itself, but in previous interactions, Wang Qiang and Li Huiru really didn’t get along.

And she also looked down on Wang and Tang as a pair of losers.

This created instability in what should have been a harmonious car atmosphere.

This instability became increasingly apparent as the vehicle entered a relatively bumpy road.

Due to the potholes on the road, the poorly shock-absorbed city management vehicle inevitably shook up and down.

The constant shaking of the car body also caused the survivors inside to sway back and forth.

In fact, this was perfectly normal, but the problem lay in the seating arrangement of Wang, Li, and Tang.

Given their body shapes, the petite Li Huiru was naturally placed between Wang Qiang and Tang Xiaoquan.

Tang Xiaoquan was alright because his build wasn’t that robust, allowing him to control his swaying.

But Wang Qiang was different, with a height of over 1.8 meters, broad shoulders, and a hearty personality, so he didn’t consider others when swaying.

This inevitably led to him touching Li Huiru’s body.

Knowing she already looked down on him and had a bit of a cleanliness obsession, any contact with Wang Qiang only increased her inner aversion.

At first, she managed to endure it, but as the journey continued and contact increased, Li Huiru instinctively felt the other was taking advantage of her, and the feeling of "disgust" in her heart finally erupted:

"What’s wrong with you? Why do you keep brushing against me? Are you being a pervert?"

A pervert!? Initially, it was nothing, but after hearing these three words, the flame atop Wang Qiang’s head flared up, and his fists clenched instantly.

Who knew that upon seeing Wang Qiang’s reaction, Li Huiru not only didn’t back down but instead sneered even more contemptuously: "Oh! What? Feeling guilty? Want to hit me because I’m right?"

"You~" Wang Qiang’s eyes widened, his hands clenched and released repeatedly. Yes, he did want to slap the woman in front of him, but having been taught not to hit women, he restrained his urge, his chest heaving with angry deep breaths.

"Hmph! You country bumpkin! What are you looking at? Do you think you have the right to take advantage of me?"

Undoubtedly, Li Huiru’s words were extremely hurtful, especially humiliating for a man.

Seeing the situation spiraling out of control, the usually observant Tang Xiaoquan spoke up: "Miss Li Huiru!! I regret what you just said!"

As he spoke, Tang Xiaoquan waved his hand and solemnly addressed Tang Qiang: "He, the so-called country bumpkin you referred to, is someone who crawled through zombies and survived multiple life-threatening situations. Your safety on this journey relies on his protection. If you think he’s a country bumpkin and dislike him, that’s fine. We’re very democratic in our actions. Moreover, we made it clear before leaving to talk less and follow instructions. But your current attitude, hmm, is quite disappointing. If you think this man next to you is a pervert trying to take advantage, or if you have any dissatisfaction with our team, that’s fine, you can get off the car now, we won’t stop you! That way, it’s fair for everyone. Don’t you agree?"

His tone was calm throughout, without any insulting language, but these indifferent words seemed to startle Li Huiru.

What a joke, getting off now would be equivalent to suicide.

For this, Li Huiru bit her lips in frustration, clearly annoyed by the young man’s threats.

She wanted to defend herself, but facing Tang Xiaoquan’s sharp gaze, she wilted and quickly switched to her soft and charming demeanor, coyly saying, "Oh, Brother Tang, I was just joking earlier, I’ll definitely listen to your instructions."

"Good! That’s for the best!" 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Not even bothering to look directly at Li Huiru, in Tang Xiaoquan’s view, a woman like Wei Yang who was wise, gentle, and virtuous was the ideal, while someone like Huang Yaru was nothing but a seductive harlot trading on her looks.

Indeed, the latter could undoubtedly lead a comfortable life thanks to so-called natural assets without much effort, but it was all reliant on others. Once the people you’ve pleased grew bored and found new interests, they would discard you without hesitation. By that time, what you lost would not only be your youth but also the will to survive which you’d never recover.

After all, if a woman only relied on men to survive, her fate was easily foreseeable, especially in the brutal apocalypse.

The destination was approximately a three-hour drive from the villa. As time went on, the travelers began showing signs of fatigue from the journey, compounded by earlier discomforts, leading to a quiet, contemplative drive towards their destination.

Finally, after a bumpy ride, the survivors entered the county of DZ. Under Liu Yunpeng’s guidance, after many turns, a row of brick and tile walls came into view.

"That’s it! That’s it! That’s my dad’s food processing factory!" A cheer erupted, and if not for still being a distance away, Liu Yunpeng might have jumped out and shouted for joy.

However, despite Liu Yunpeng’s excitement, Xu Renjie and the escort team were unusually solemn.

Tang Xiaoquan leaned forward and patted Xu Renjie’s seat, signaling, "Old Xu, find a place to park nearby, let’s observe first!!"(To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you’re welcome to recommend it, vote monthly tickets, your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile readers please visit m.qidian.com for reading.)