At this moment, Quan Xiaoyu’s face was somewhat pale. The veins on his clenched fists bulged, and his gaze was slightly unfocused.
Chu Tian immediately noticed that something was wrong with him. He quickly put an arm around Quan Xiaoyu’s shoulder and squeezed it firmly, asking softly, “What’s wrong with you?” As he asked, his eyes glanced at Jia Lunxu.
Quan Xiaoyu’s abnormality had begun the moment he saw that man.
Chu Tian did not know about Quan Xiaoyu’s past, nor did he know who that man was, but it seemed that it was neither a pleasant memory nor someone Quan Xiaoyu welcomed.
Someone unwelcome? Chu Tian pondered thoughtfully.
Quan Xiaoyu did not notice Chu Tian’s protective posture with his arm around his shoulder. However, he had also recovered from the unpleasant memories.
He took a deep breath and quickly calmed himself. “It’s nothing. I’ll go call the doctor and the others inside.”
“Mm.” Chu Tian nodded and released the hand around his shoulder.
Quan Xiaoyu turned and walked outside.
Quan Xiaoyu’s judgment had been correct. There was no ambush here like he and the doctor had imagined, and it did not seem dangerous.
These people were clearly not from the same group. There were three or four groups, and all of them looked somewhat travel-worn.
They occupied different sections of the hall, each minding their own business and not interfering with one another.
With a smile, Chu Tian nodded to everyone in greeting, looking exceptionally gentle and mild. He appeared just like a harmless, soft-spoken young man from the neighborhood.
“Child, everyone here is a survivor who came seeking help and lodging. You and your companions can find a place to rest yourselves.” The priest’s calm and benevolent voice sounded as he came to Chu Tian’s side. “I no longer have extra food to provide you, but I can still offer you some clean water.” There was a hint of apology in the priest’s voice.
Chu Tian quickly declined. “No need, Father. Thank you for your help. We are already extremely grateful that you are willing to let us stay here. We can handle these small matters ourselves.” He spoke respectfully and courteously.
This respect did not come from worshiping status, nor from fear of power, but from sincere admiration for a benevolent person.
This priest truly seemed to be doing everything in his power to offer people the greatest possible assistance, just as Quan Xiaoyu had said, regardless of whether they were poor or wealthy, or whether they were supposedly good people or bad people.
Perhaps it was precisely because of this purity that he had received God’s protection in some unseen way. A church willing to accommodate everyone, opening its doors to all without the slightest defense or suspicion, had remained safe and sound amid the moral decay and collapse of law and order in the apocalypse. Even the clergy inside appeared completely unharmed.
The church had not been attacked or occupied. The priest continued leading the believers in helping passing survivors, making this place seem like an Eden in the middle of the ruins, something truly astonishing.
Perhaps he and the doctor had been thinking too narrowly, Chu Tian thought.
When it came to sincerity toward others, he and the doctor were far inferior to Quan Xiaoyu.
Chu Tian warmly greeted the several groups of people there, casually explaining that they were merely passing through and would leave after staying one night, so they would not disturb everyone for long.
His gentle and sincere demeanor won the goodwill of most of the women present and a small portion of the men. Soon, someone began chatting with him.
It was a man who helped among the church members and was responsible for distributing clean drinking water to everyone.
When Quan Xiaoyu and Chu Tian entered, he had gone with the other believers to fetch water and had not been present.
When he came out, he saw Chu Tian politely greeting everyone. After learning that Chu Tian was a newly arrived survivor, he warmly and amicably approached him to strike up a conversation.
Communicating with people was one of Chu Tian’s greatest talents. Before long, he had coaxed the man into opening up.
Through their conversation, Chu Tian learned that the man’s name was Xie Mingxuan. He was twenty-seven years old and a Catholic. Before the apocalypse, he had been a practicing lawyer.
On the day the apocalypse broke out, he happened to be at the church doing volunteer work. Afterward, he remained there, helping the priest provide aid to the survivors.
He had originally been an orphan. Later, thanks to the assistance of kindhearted people, he managed to complete university, pass the bar examination, get through his internship, and finally become a professional lawyer.
Unfortunately, less than three years later, the apocalypse arrived. With no family or obligations tying him down, he stayed here. The only thing he worried about was the son of his deceased benefactor.
His benefactor’s son was in this very city, but the outside world was now far too chaotic. In the past, the distance between north and south might have been just a little over two hours by car. Now, however, it was the northern and southern shores of an ocean of zombies.
As an ordinary person, he truly felt powerless to do anything.
When he heard that Chu Tian had come from the south, he became excited and asked about the situation there.
Chu Tian gave him a general overview of the situation in the south over the past two months.
After listening, Xie Mingxuan appeared somewhat dejected. He had not expected the south to be so chaotic, with natural disasters compounded by human calamity.
Since the apocalypse began, he had lived in this church, filled with humanitarian spirit. Although he had learned about the chaos outside from survivors who came seeking help, no one had ever described it as directly and brutally as Chu Tian had.
He fell silent. Given his benefactor’s son’s circumstances, it seemed that surviving in such chaos would be extremely difficult.
At the same time, he felt somewhat regretful. Why had he not gone to look for him sooner? He also felt defeated. As an ordinary person with no abilities, who had barely killed a few zombies, what could he possibly accomplish by going there? Perhaps he would already be dead on the road before even traveling a few kilometers.
Of course, Chu Tian had not gained nothing from the conversation. From Xie Mingxuan, he learned the origins of the several groups in the church, especially the group led by the man who made Quan Xiaoyu act so strangely.
There were roughly four groups of people in the church.
One group consisted of university students from a nearby college, led by their teacher. Supposedly, when the apocalypse broke out, the school became a disaster area, so the teacher organized some of the students and hid in the school cafeteria. They survived for two months by relying on the supplies stored in the warehouse.
Later, when their food was nearly gone, they managed to sneak out through the sewers and fortunately made their way to the church. Their group of more than thirty people had been reduced to only the teacher in charge and a dozen or so students by the time they arrived here.
At the same time, they were also the most miserable-looking of the groups. They had nothing at all, their clothes were torn and ragged, and they relied entirely on the people in the church for food and drink.
Another group consisted entirely of young and middle-aged men. There were not many of them, only a dozen or so, but they all looked extremely capable. They carried weapons such as knives and clubs, and their clothes were relatively neat, making them appear well-trained.
They claimed to be discharged soldiers planning to head north to join the military. Since they were passing through this place, they had borrowed lodging for a few days to regroup and make preparations.
Speaking of discharged soldiers reminded Chu Tian of Zheng-ge’s group. At first, they too had claimed to be discharged soldiers. It was only after Zheng-ge’s death that they learned from Old Wu that Zheng-ge had indeed served in the military, but had been kicked out of the army for seriously violating discipline.
After returning home, he had joined forces with local gangsters and bullies, assembled a group, and started some sort of militarized training and management operation. He had transformed himself and established a security company.
At the time, Old Wu had not been a good person either. Having read some books and possessing a sharp mind, he was recruited by Zheng-ge to serve as his scheming adviser. But that was all in the past and need not be elaborated upon.
However, those dozen or so people were indeed different from Zheng-ge’s men. They looked exceptionally capable and efficient. Chu Tian felt that they did not resemble discharged soldiers. They were more like active mercenaries!
There was another group consisting of nearby residents and others. They had met one another while fleeing the city and decided to travel together, eventually arriving at the church to seek help. This group included men and women of all ages. There were more than twenty of them, each with their own background, and even Xie Mingxuan could not explain much about them.
Finally, there was the group Chu Tian paid the most attention to.
That group’s leaders were two people.
One was named Jia Lunxu—the man Quan Xiaoyu seemed especially concerned about. He was a rock-element ability user with formidable combat strength. On the very first day he arrived, he had helped the priest repair the defensive structures along the church’s outer walls.
The other was named Lei Shi. Supposedly, he was a lightning-element ability user and was also very powerful. Although no one had personally witnessed his abilities, according to his subordinates, their boss could summon lightning in an instant and turn zombies into charred corpses with a single strike.
They had also come from the south. Originally, each of them had led their own people northward. Later, they encountered each other on the road and began killing zombies together. In the end, the two leaders reached an agreement, hit it off immediately, and became one group.
When they arrived, they too had said they intended to head north, staying here for a few days to regroup and reorganize their forces.
When speaking of them, Xie Mingxuan appeared both envious and admiring.
He said that there were many ability users in their group. Besides the two leaders, there was a handsome young man named Wen Tong, who possessed a space-type ability. He often took out supplies to help the people in the church, especially the group of students.
There was also a healing-type ability user, another exceptionally good-looking young man, who had helped everyone alleviate and resolve quite a few injuries and ailments. As for their water-type ability user, she was a beautiful and friendly young woman who helped the church solve its problem of obtaining clean water.
The clean drinking water currently being distributed to everyone was purified water provided by their water-type ability user.
This group certainly knew how to make themselves known! Chu Tian thought inwardly.
To help others so openly and generously—were they truly as selfless as the priest?
Xie Mingxuan expressed intense envy toward their supernatural abilities. At the same time, he deeply admired their willingness to help others without expecting anything in return. He sighed that he wished he could be like them, so that he could help more people. He even wanted to go look for his benefactor’s son. What if the man was still alive, waiting for rescue?
Chu Tian glanced at Xie Mingxuan in surprise several times. As a second-level spiritual ability user from the very beginning, he could easily tell whether other people were lying.
When he discovered that there was not a single lie in Xie Mingxuan’s words, he was incredibly astonished. Was this person really a lawyer who had grown up in an orphanage?
In his impression, those who came out of orphanages and eventually made something of themselves were usually sensitive and selfish, with extremely strong self-esteem, and somewhat willing to resort to unscrupulous methods to accomplish things.
And lawyers—weren’t they supposed to be dark-hearted and cunning? At the very least, shouldn’t they be wolves in sheep’s clothing?
Therefore, Chu Tian thought about it for a long time. After going back and forth in his mind, he could only conclude that Xie Mingxuan was a rare oddity—a pure white flower that had emerged from a dye vat without being stained.
Author’s Note:
Sorry, I may have disappointed everyone. Wen Tong still has an ability, but… hehehe…
Actually, I planted a great many foreshadowing clues in the earlier chapters. Almost every cause and character will have a corresponding event and outcome. I don’t know whether anyone has noticed.
Also, everyone should remember one thing: when the enemies are too weak, fighting them isn’t nearly as satisfying!