“Sure. We’ll cooperate and go with you. If, as you said, all we have to do is register before we can move in.”
The doctor nodded and agreed exceptionally readily, as though deliberately expressing how urgently he needed a place to stay.
Quan Xiaoyu frowned and tilted his head, looking at the doctor with a trace of displeasure.
The doctor gave him an almost imperceptible wink, signaling for him to stay calm.
Quan Xiaoyu turned around and glanced through the window at Chu Tian inside the car. He was not good at handling this sort of situation, and instinctively, he considered Chu Tian much more reliable than the doctor.
Chu Tian nodded at him from inside the car, meaning that it was fine to leave this to the doctor. Only then did Quan Xiaoyu keep his mouth shut and remain silent.
The doctor also noticed the small interaction between the two. He pursed his lips and shrugged indifferently.
“Of course! We’re the ones who have stepped forward to maintain order. The world is in chaos now, and our boss wants to establish a safe zone here. Everyone has to work together if we want to survive.”
Now that he had an ulterior motive, A-Tao’s tone also became gentler. The vicious and impatient expression on his face was replaced by a hypocritical smile.
“There aren’t many original residents in the community right now. As long as you follow our rules, we’re more than willing to welcome other survivors. This thing—”
He patted the submachine gun in his hand.
“It’s mainly for protecting everyone. Secondly, it’s to intimidate people who want to cause trouble. After all, there are always some people who want to stir up trouble, aren’t there?”
His tone was half inducement and half threat.
The lackey standing beside A-Tao had naturally also noticed the women on the bus. His eyes were shining with excitement, and even the hand holding his gun was trembling.
At this moment, the lackey also cooperated with A-Tao’s words, nodding desperately.
The acting skills of those two were truly terrible. Even someone like Quan Xiaoyu, who disliked dealing with people, could see through their intentions at a glance, let alone the doctor and Chu Tian.
The doctor remained as calm as ever.
“That’s wonderful, then. We escaped from the hospital. There are all kinds of women and patients in the vehicle. I’m a doctor, and it took a great deal of effort for me to bring everyone out safely.”
He deliberately emphasized the women. When he saw the muscles on the two men’s faces twitching with excitement, he silently laughed inwardly.
Looks like there’s going to be something fun to do again.
Indeed, these people looked completely ordinary. One of the two who had gotten out to speak was a refined doctor in a white coat, while the other was a teenage-looking boy. It was obvious that the two of them were the ones making the decisions, so it was easy to imagine what kind of people were in the vehicle—old, weak, sick, and disabled.
But that did not matter.
The women were what mattered most.
When the time came, they would keep whoever was useful and dispose of everyone useless. At most, it would mean digging a few extra holes to bury the bodies.
“In that case, all of you get out of the vehicles and come with me. I’ll take you to see the boss,” A-Tao said, rubbing his hands.
That way, he could get a good look at the women.
He had to be the first to pick the best one!
“It’s huge inside, and no matter where we’re going, it’s too far,” Quan Xiaoyu said irritably.
The nearest residential buildings were a kilometer away. Walk all the way in?
Had this thug been doing this for so long that his brains had been eaten by a dog?
Hearing this, the doctor also appropriately put on a troubled expression. He spread his hands and said, “Why can’t we drive inside? It’s too far, and there are so many of us…”
“Oh, oh! Right, right! I didn’t think that through.”
A-Tao slapped his head. He had indeed forgotten about that. This place was freaking huge! It really would be troublesome without a vehicle.
Rich people were such a pain!
Why did they have to live in a place this godforsaken?
“How about this? We’ll drive ahead, and you just follow us,” A-Tao said.
He was not afraid they would run away. They desperately needed somewhere to stay, and that unpleasant expressionless-faced kid also lived here.
“Okay. Then we’ll trouble you to lead the way.”
The doctor lowered his voice and smiled, his tone so gentle that it was practically dripping with sweetness.
Quan Xiaoyu could not help glaring at him. There was a trace of disdain in his eyes.
Couldn’t he just speak normally?
What was with that perverted aura?
The doctor gave him a huge smile in return, then turned around and strode back toward the bus.
As for how the doctor would explain things to the group in the back, that was not something Quan Xiaoyu needed to worry about.
Quan Xiaoyu returned to his car. A-Tao also started the vehicle they had hidden behind the main gate and honked the horn, signaling for them to follow.
Quan Xiaoyu started his own car and followed behind.
“They definitely don’t look like good people. Their acting is so terrible! These days, even thugs should read a few more books! They can’t even lie properly,” Bai Mingxi muttered.
“Anyone with eyes can tell they’re not good people. You don’t need to point out the obvious,” Chu Tian replied irritably.
“Then why are we still following them? Why do we have to meet some boss? That title alone sounds creepy! What if something happens? They have guns.”
“You really talk too much. You already said they have guns. Do you think you have a choice about whether to follow them or not?”
Chu Tian really wanted to give Bai Mingxi a few knocks on the head as he usually did, but the current situation was not suitable.
“Besides, look at that doctor behind us. Does he look like a good person to you?”
“Not really,” Bai Mingxi said hesitantly.
“Exactly. Evil people have their own nemesis. We’ll just wait and see what happens. As for you, just take care of yourself.”
“Oh.”
Bai Mingxi nodded, seeming to understand and yet not quite understanding.
At this moment, Quan Xiaoyu was not paying much attention to their conversation. As they drove along, he had already keenly sensed that something in the community had changed—a change in the amount of life energy.
He could not explain exactly what it was. It was simply a feeling.
He could sense that there seemed to be less vitality here, while most of what remained had gathered in the same direction.
And that direction was precisely where they were heading now.
There was no doubt that these people were not good people.
At present, Quan Xiaoyu only hoped that Li Nan would listen to him and stay at home without coming outside.
Judging from the weapons they currently possessed, as long as Li Nan did not open the door himself, they should not be able to break in.
Chu Tian keenly sensed Quan Xiaoyu’s growing anxiety.
He reached out and patted Quan Xiaoyu on the shoulder.
“Hey, relax. What’s wrong? Why did you suddenly get nervous?”
Remembering that Quan Xiaoyu was a resident of this villa community, he asked again, “Do you have family living inside?”
Quan Xiaoyu nodded, but he did not relax because of it.
Chu Tian knew that at a time like this, any verbal comfort would be useless.
When bandits had invaded your home, no one could possibly relax until they had seen their loved ones safe and sound.
So Chu Tian did not try to comfort him. He simply kept his hand on Quan Xiaoyu’s shoulder, gave it a gentle squeeze, and said, “It’s okay. At least for now, they haven’t gone on a killing spree. As long as the person is still alive, we can save them.”
He paused, then added, “Don’t worry. Even though my leg is injured, taking down a few thugs is still no problem.”
He gave Quan Xiaoyu a bright smile, revealing a row of neat, white teeth.
Looking at that smile, which was so remarkably similar to his father’s, Quan Xiaoyu’s eyes reddened slightly.
How long had it been since he had felt this way?
How long had it been since someone had encouraged him like this?
Ever since his parents died, he had never seen such a smile again.
In the past, his father had always comforted and encouraged him this way.
He had been withdrawn and had no friends. Because he was quiet and taciturn, he was often the target of bullying by his peers.
Although he would fight back without hesitation and knock them all down, those people had clearly been the ones who started it. Yet in the end, he was always the one criticized by the teacher and whose parents were called.
It was simply because he did not know how to lie or defend himself.
Whenever something like that happened, his father would always smile gently, resolve everything in front of the teacher, and then pat him on the head to comfort and encourage him.
Sometimes, he himself did not understand how such an elegant and sociable man could have a son like him.
But back then, all of it had eventually become nothing more than memories.
His parents were gone.
And that forever-elegant, forever-gentle mother of his was someone he would never see again.
Thinking about this, Quan Xiaoyu became a little sad again.
Time could only allow wounds to heal. It could not make a person forget the pain of being wounded, nor could it erase the ugly scar left behind after the wound healed.
That was why he absolutely could not lose Li Nan now.
Li Nan was the only family he had left in this world, and the only person he still had to care about.
Chu Tian discovered that he seemed to have gained some kind of ability to sense Quan Xiaoyu’s emotions.
Even when Quan Xiaoyu said nothing, he could still feel the unbearable grief lingering around him.
To ease the suffocating atmosphere, Chu Tian tried to find another topic.
“So, you went out to look for medicine today because of someone at home? Are they injured?”
He had noticed that most of the medicine in Quan Xiaoyu’s backpack consisted of antibiotics, along with some hemostatic medicine and bandages.
That was why he had asked.
What he did not know was that most of the medicine in Quan Xiaoyu’s backpack had actually been collected for Chu Tian.
He had originally planned to give it to Chu Tian after they went their separate ways.
But through a strange twist of fate, they were still together even now.
And judging from the current situation, they were about to fall into another crisis.
So the medicine Chu Tian saw was actually medicine Quan Xiaoyu had gathered for him, while everything else Quan Xiaoyu needed was safely stored inside his spatial ability.
Quan Xiaoyu shook his head, not knowing how to answer.
Of course, he could not tell him about the spatial ability. Naturally, he could not say that he had gone out to gather supplies either.
But there really was no one at home who was injured or sick.
Therefore, he had no way to explain why he had been willing to risk his life to go to the hospital and look for medicine.
After all, what ordinary person would risk their life by venturing alone into a hospital to search for medicine they did not even currently need?
Quan Xiaoyu was not good at lying.
More importantly, he did not really want to deceive Chu Tian.
Ever since they met, they had always stood on the same side. No matter what, they could be considered half-comrades-in-arms by now.
So Quan Xiaoyu did not want to lie to Chu Tian.
Thus, in accordance with Quan Xiaoyu’s personality, when he could not answer but did not want to lie, naturally, he simply remained silent.
Chu Tian felt as though he had asked a question only to make things awkward. He rubbed his nose awkwardly.
This was the first time he had encountered someone who disliked talking this much. For a while, he really had no better way to deal with him.
He simply leaned back against the seat and closed his eyes to rest.
Very soon, they would have to face a crisis that they did not know whether they could resolve.
Bai Mingxi was also unusually sensitive at this moment. He curled up in the back seat without saying a word.
And so, amid the silence, the car continued forward, slowly drawing closer to its destination.