Rotting Land: Survive-Chapter 507 - 500: Returning Home (5)

"Do you have others living on that mountain peak?"

As soon as these words were spoken, not only the survivors, but even the short man himself was stunned.

He obviously hadn’t noticed the loophole in his wording and was just about to bluff his way out of it, but upon meeting Xu Renjie’s sharp gaze, he immediately gave up the idea of pretending.

"My... my wife and kids are also on the mountain."

Upon hearing this, the survivors all exchanged glances.

Without a doubt, this statement was enough to reveal that the short man had lied earlier.

But it also meant that his description of the town was true.

Xu Renjie decided not to dwell on it any longer; he raised his brow and glanced at the distant mountain forest. As a field reconnaissance soldier, he knew well the difficulty of surviving in the wild.

Although that mountain forest was far from a real jungle, for ordinary people, surviving in such an environment was already an extreme challenge.

"Have you and your family been living in that mountain forest all along?"

"Yes!" the short man lightly responded.

To this, Old Xu sincerely commented, "Not easy!" 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

As someone who had survived in the wild forest himself, Xu Renjie knew how tough life in the woods was.

Especially since this thin, short man before him had no professional survival training and was taking care of a wife and child.

Relying solely on himself, he managed to live in these deserted mountains for four months all by himself.

This perseverance and patience were truly admirable.

However, the short man, used to scavenging and begging, seemed to think nothing of it. He chuckled honestly, "Haha, I had no other way. You know, I was always worried about getting caught for killing someone. If that happened, my wife and kids would have no one to rely on, so I hid in the mountains. It’s tough, but we’ve gotten used to it."

The more the short man spoke, the softer his voice became, and albeit unwillingly, Old Xu could feel a deep sense of guilt welling up from within him.

It was the guilt of a man towards his wife and children.

For someone like this, Xu Renjie quietly said, "Come back with us. At least there’s a place to stay."

The short man said nothing; he seemed to be pondering.

Sharing the same sentiment, Wei Dazhuang urged once more, "Brother, where we stay is a big house, definitely better than a cave. There’s no need for your wife and kids to suffer."

Undoubtedly, Dazhuang’s words were quite straightforward.

But the short man...

"Thank you, brothers! If someone had asked me this four months ago, I would have agreed without hesitation, but now..." He subconsciously glanced at the mountain peak and smiled slightly, "After being up there so long, haha, we’ve gotten used to life in the woods. Hearing what you just said about the city, I think it’s safer in the mountains. Besides, my family has traveled far and wide all our lives, getting used to considering the world as home. To settle down in one place now would be... Oh, how about you all come to my place for a visit?"

The short man extended an earnest invitation, his rare smile appearing.

But Tang Xiaoquan still politely declined his kind offer; they had nearly three hours of driving ahead, and further delays might prevent them from reaching their base before nightfall.

"We appreciate your offer, brother, but we still have matters to attend to, so we can’t go with you."

"Alright then, business comes first." The short man didn’t insist, slung his packed bag onto his shoulder, jounced it twice to ensure secure fastening, and bid farewell to each of them with a handshake.

"You take care, my brother. If you get bored in the mountains, come find us at the suburban villa. Just head west along the outskirts. By the way, what’s your name?"

"Me? Niu Lizhan! And you all?"

"Xu Renjie!"

"Tang Xiaoquan!"

"Wei Dazhuang!"

"Hu Xiaodong!"

"Wang Qiang!"

"Tang Xiaoquan!"

"Alright, until we meet again!"

After parting ways, the survivors quickly headed towards the city management vehicle.

The clues they needed to find were already in hand, and there was no point in staying any longer.

Although they hadn’t managed to find Tang Xiaoquan’s parents, they understood that the information they had about the shelter would be key to locating his parents.

Shelter reconnaissance should not be delayed. Xu Renjie decided to convene a meeting as soon as they returned to the base to discuss the next step.

The group navigated through the alleys just as they had come, taking winding paths, as the few oblivious beasts were easily disposed of by the survivors.

But as they emerged from the alley and returned to the main street, they found that the place where they had parked the city management car was now surrounded by roving beasts.

"What the hell are these damn things!"

It was no surprise Wang Qiang exclaimed; the beasts in his vision were nearly all charred black, with some even exposing bone joints, forming natural bone blades.

"Get ready for battle!" Xu Renjie wasted no words, drawing the hunting crossbow from his back, while Hu Xiaodong immediately raised his recurve bow.

There were about ten enemies in total, a manageable number for the survivors.

Soon, the charred zombies, attracted by the engine, noticed the approaching survivors, and one by one, they growled with excitement. Two evolved runners quickly sprinted towards them.

"Whoosh! Whoosh!" Two arrows zinged through the air; Xu Renjie and Hu Xiaodong had each selected their targets and simultaneously released their bolts and arrows. Within half a second, the projectiles precisely took down the charging beasts.

Having scored direct hits, the two once again readied their arrows.

Then came another pair of whooshes, felling more of the beasts.

As they drew closer to the city management vehicle, Wei Dazhuang drew the cleaver from his back.

Without worrying about blocking the archers’ line of sight, he charged in with his blade, confronting the beasts directly.

It had to be said, the beasts had been tempered by fire, their skinless joints transforming into hardened, sharp bone blades over time.

This astonished Wei Dazhuang; one swing of his blade should have easily cleaved through, yet it only left a dent on the bone’s surface.

Likewise, Wang Qiang was equally surprised, narrowly avoiding a hit from the bone blade.

Fortunately, his reflexes from regular training saved him, and after this encounter, he and Wei both took extra caution.

"Damn! These beasts really have tougher bones now! Be careful, Dazhuang!"

Following an attack from the nearby beasts, Wang Qiang shouted a well-intentioned reminder.

But before he could finish, a loud shout from Wei Dazhuang echoed. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote at Qidian.com. Your support is my biggest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com for reading.)