Very soon, the other side also noticed the vehicles here. Both sides stopped moving and got out of their vehicles.
The first person to get out of the vehicle was Xiao Ziran. When he saw that Chu Tian and Quan Xiaoyu were safe and sound, even someone like him breathed a sigh of relief.
“How did you guys come here?” Chu Tian led Quan Xiaoyu over to them and asked.
Xiao Ziran curled his lips, revealing his signature look of disdain. “What else could we do if we didn’t come? You two were gone all night, and it was already long past the agreed-upon time for you to return.”
As they spoke, the vehicles behind them also stopped, and people got out one after another.
Chu Tian glanced at the people behind Xiao Ziran. Other than the two women on the team, everyone else had arrived.
Especially Bai Mingxi. Before Chu Tian and the doctor could even finish speaking, he threw himself at Chu Tian and hugged him, wailing, “Tiantian, you scared me to death! We all thought something had happened to you. I was so worried. If something happened to you, how would I go on living…”
Hearing this, Chu Tian desperately wanted to kick him away. After holding himself back again and again, he finally managed to pry Bai Mingxi off him and gave him two words.
“Get lost!”
Bai Mingxi obediently sobbed his way off to the side. Although his words had been nonsense, his concern had been genuine.
Li Nan also came over and tightly grabbed Quan Xiaoyu’s hand. Although he did not say anything, his concern and worry were plainly visible.
Quan Xiaoyu habitually patted him on the head and smiled reassuringly. “It’s all right now.”
Over there, Zuo Li’s boss and teammates had also arrived. They had likewise left two people behind to keep watch, with everyone else coming.
Zuo Li went over and briefly explained the situation to their leader, then turned around and urged everyone to leave quickly. This was not a place to talk.
Everyone returned to their vehicles, and the vehicles in front began turning around.
Bai Mingxi and Li Nan insisted on squeezing into Quan Xiaoyu’s vehicle. Only after getting in did they discover that there was another person inside.
They knew this person. He was the ability user from Lei Shi’s side who provided medical treatment for everyone. Bai Mingxi and Li Nan exchanged a glance, both of their eyes filled with confusion.
But this was indeed not the place to talk. So they exchanged quick greetings and took their seats. Even Bai Mingxi obediently kept quiet at this moment.
Only Li Nan, curious about someone who possessed the same ability as himself, could not help taking a few extra glances at him.
Lu Zhongxia, meanwhile, stared straight ahead, sneering repeatedly.
Their great team leader—simply a savior descended to earth! And those teammates who had once sworn their loyalty to him! Not a single one of them had shown up today!
It was truly ridiculous. What kind of spell had he been under back then to believe in them?
He had even once thought Jialun Xu was a powerful, kindhearted man with ambitions. He had even developed the slightest bit of affection for him, to the point that it had attracted Wen Tong’s secret attempts on his life.
He had really been blind! He must have had lard covering his heart!
Other people’s teammates had all mobilized the moment one of their members went missing. And his own? They had not even sent a single person! They had not even been willing to send just one vehicle or a few people!
Chu Tian glanced at Lu Zhongxia through the rearview mirror and basically understood what he was thinking. He then exchanged a glance with Quan Xiaoyu, who understood as well.
It seemed that although no one said anything about Lei Shi not sending anyone out, everyone basically knew what had happened. As for what they thought about it, everyone could only have their own opinions.
The journey passed without incident, and all the vehicles returned safely to the church.
The priest was still the one who came to open the door. When he saw everyone return safe and sound, he was extremely happy, repeatedly making the sign of the cross over his chest and thanking the Lord.
After returning to their respective areas, Chu Tian immediately suggested to Xiao Ziran that they pack their things and leave the city at once—the sooner, the better.
This was something he and Zuo Li had discussed the previous day. Once they returned, each of them would make the same suggestion to their respective leaders.
They had already discussed the route out of the city as well. Zuo Li and the others had a special map in their possession with other routes out of the city marked on it. It was an escape route they had prepared for themselves long ago.
While several people were discussing these important matters, Quan Xiaoyu discovered something that greatly surprised him.
In a corner, he found Xie Mingxuan bound tightly from head to toe. Even his mouth had been stuffed with a strip of cloth.
The people under Xiao Ziran basically acted as though they did not see this situation. Although the church members looked at Xie Mingxuan with sympathy, not one of them stepped forward to help him.
Even the priest shook his head, sighed, and walked around him.
With his face full of question marks, Quan Xiaoyu looked at Bai Mingxi.
Bai Mingxi shrugged and explained, “This great lawyer is something else…” His face was filled with an indescribable expression. “You didn’t come back last night, and he was terribly anxious. But really, who among us wasn’t anxious? Was he more anxious than Xiao Nan?”
“Before we could even do anything, he insisted on going out to look for you. You know, he’s just an ordinary person, and somehow he found an iron rod and was about to go outside…”
Because Chu Tian had suppressed him intellectually ever since they were children, Bai Mingxi had long since assumed that he was “stupid.” But after encountering Xie Mingxuan, he had been deeply humbled.
In this world, there was no lowest level of stupidity—only someone even lower!
“The doctor said to wait a little longer. As soon as it got light, we would immediately go out to look for you. At night, monsters are everywhere outside. Even an ability user could leave and never come back.”
“Unfortunately, this guy simply wouldn’t listen.” Bai Mingxi spread his hands. “He insisted that people needed to be rescued in time, and he insisted on going out alone, saying that he didn’t want to drag anyone else down… He made such a huge fuss. Nobody could persuade him. Even the priest couldn’t.”
“So the doctor got annoyed and simply tied him up and threw him somewhere. But even then, he still wouldn’t accept it. He spent the entire night making muffled noises.”
Bai Mingxi wore a pained expression. It was obvious that he had suffered quite a bit from those noises last night.
“Brother Xiaobai, don’t say that. Lawyer Xie was only trying to help.” Li Nan tugged at Bai Mingxi’s sleeve, stopping him from continuing. After all, Xie Mingxuan was right there.
Quan Xiaoyu did not know how to describe what he was feeling at that moment.
Xie Mingxuan really was that kind of person. He knew that very well.
But such kindness put an enormous amount of pressure on him.
He hurried over and untied the vines and cloth binding Xie Mingxuan.
“That’s wonderful, Mr. Quan. You’re all right. As long as you’re safe, that’s all that matters. Thank the Lord!”
Xie Mingxuan almost burst into tears of joy.
Sure enough, even in this situation, the first thing he cared about was still Quan Xiaoyu’s safety.
He had heard every word Bai Mingxi said, yet he did not take any of it to heart.
Quan Xiaoyu’s gaze toward him was extremely complicated. He thought for a long time before finally sitting cross-legged on the floor.
Then he said to Xie Mingxuan, “Lawyer Xie, let’s have a talk.”
Talking had never been something Quan Xiaoyu was good at.
This was the first time he had wanted to have a serious conversation with someone.
Even in his previous life, when he had disagreed with some of Xie Mingxuan’s actions, all he could do was use his inadequate vocabulary to simply try to stop him.
But that had not worked.
Xie Mingxuan had still died.
In this life, if Xie Mingxuan did not change, Quan Xiaoyu could be certain that he would still die.
Looking at Quan Xiaoyu’s serious expression, Xie Mingxuan felt a trace of nervousness. He knew that Mr. Quan was not particularly easy to get along with, but he did not know why he had specifically sought him out for a conversation.
“You’re a kind person. I know that, and I admit it.” Quan Xiaoyu carefully considered his words. “You believe in the goodness of human nature. You help other people and pursue the greater good. There’s nothing wrong with that. In fact, those are all excellent qualities.”
Was Mr. Quan Xiaoyu praising him?
Xie Mingxuan was a little bewildered, but judging from his tone, it did not seem to be that simple.
“However, have you ever considered that sometimes, being excessively kind can actually become indulgence and a burden to other people?”
Quan Xiaoyu swore that this conversation was practically exhausting the entire vocabulary he had accumulated across both his previous and present lives.
Xie Mingxuan was somewhat stunned.
A burden? Indulgence? Why?
He only wanted to help other people as much as possible. Before the apocalypse, he had hoped to use his knowledge to help those who needed it. After the apocalypse, he still hoped to protect the weak.
How could that become a burden or indulgence?
He had never intended to gain anything in return!
Xie Mingxuan wanted to explain. He felt that his intentions had been misunderstood, but Quan Xiaoyu raised a hand and stopped him.
“I say you’re indulgent because you blindly protect the weak and interfere in everything, causing them to lose their opportunities to grow. As for being a burden, let me give you an example. If you had gone out last night and died while I came back alive, tell me, how would you want me to deal with that?”
“Of course, before the apocalypse, none of this would have mattered. But this is the apocalypse.”
“I don’t know whether you’ve seen how cruel the outside world is. Sometimes, your protection is actually breaking the other person’s wings.”
“Taking it one step further, if you’re part of a team and you insist on doing things your own way, doing things that are beyond your capabilities simply because of what you call kindness, doing what you consider a good deed at an inappropriate time and place, you might save one person while causing many more people to die!”
“What if you had come out last night, and the others, worried that something might happen to you, had followed you out too, only to encounter a zombie horde?”
“Then your selfish decision would have caused the deaths of the people who genuinely cared about you and needed you to protect them!”
Xie Mingxuan listened blankly, suddenly at a complete loss.
He did not want to cause anyone’s death.
Although he did not have any abilities, he had always tried his hardest to help others with everything he had.
But Quan Xiaoyu was right.
What if someone had gone out with him yesterday because they were worried about him?
Even though he knew he had no supernatural ability, even though he knew how dangerous the night was, he had still gone out with the determination to die.
He had always thought that sacrificing himself was the greatest sincerity and kindness he could offer to others.
Wasn’t that how it was supposed to be?
But if his death could not save anyone, then what exactly was he dying for?
Once he thought these things through, Xie Mingxuan became extremely flustered.
“To be honest, Lawyer Xie, you’re a good person, and you’ve helped me before. I’m grateful to you. I don’t want anything to happen to you, just as you don’t want anything to happen to me.”
“But with you like this, I really don’t dare let the team take you in. I don’t dare bring you with us, and our team leader won’t agree to have you with us either.”
“Because you’re too dangerous. Someone like you really does help other people while often getting your own teammates killed.”
After saying all this, Quan Xiaoyu felt mentally exhausted.
There were causes and consequences accumulated across two lifetimes in those words.
For the team, someone with Xie Mingxuan’s personality really was a burden.
If he had possessed powerful abilities, it might have been different. Powerful abilities could make up for his shortcomings, providing strong support for his kindness and allowing him to survive a little longer.
However…
Quan Xiaoyu stood up from the floor. He did not look at Xie Mingxuan or care about his reaction.
He walked straight over to Chu Tian and buried his head deeply against Chu Tian’s chest, an indescribable exhaustion filling his heart.
The tragic expression on Xie Mingxuan’s face from his previous life was still before his eyes, overlapping with Xie Mingxuan’s face now.
Xie Mingxuan was the only person he wanted to save yet felt powerless to save.
Because the person who had killed Xie Mingxuan was Xie Mingxuan himself.
Chu Tian held him tighter, seemingly able to sense his emotions, and softly comforted him.
“You said it very well. You’ve already done everything you could.”
For someone who was determined to destroy themselves, there was only so much other people could do.
Quan Xiaoyu gave a slight nod against his chest and said nothing more.
Bai Mingxi stared wide-eyed at the two people embracing intimately.
Hey! They had only been gone for one day!
What happened?
Hadn’t they only been awkwardly holding hands yesterday?
How did things progress this quickly?
Li Nan was also extremely surprised. He knew Xiaoyu-ge’s personality better than anyone.
This was the first time he had ever seen Xiaoyu-ge voluntarily become close to someone.
He stared for a long time without recovering.
The doctor watched from the side and clicked his tongue twice with his usual sarcasm before heading over to find the mercenary leader.
Chu Tian had already explained the situation to him, including the psychic zombie.
Chu Tian’s ability was no secret within the team. Upon hearing about the psychic zombie that could control a zombie horde, Xiao Ziran immediately knew that things were troublesome.
However, Chu Tian and Zuo Li had already discussed an escape route the previous night.
Today, they would each inform their respective leaders. At this point, Xiao Ziran only needed to go over, speak to his leader, and confirm the departure time.
So he gave the order to pack their belongings and be ready to leave at any time before departing.
Chu Tian had another task at this point: persuading the priest to leave with them.
Therefore, he took Quan Xiaoyu and left as well.
Everyone was busy with their own affairs, and no one paid any attention to Xie Mingxuan, who was still sitting on the floor in a daze.
The doctor’s plans were quickly settled.
The mercenaries were also very efficient. It would not take long for them to be fully prepared to depart.
The temporary alliance was officially established.
They decided to leave before eleven that morning.
As for Lei Shi’s group and the ordinary people in the church, they were beyond what the alliance could take responsibility for.
Now, all that remained was for Chu Tian to persuade the priest.
If the priest was willing to leave, they would provide protection for the priest and the other church members.
Author’s Note: I’m a little tired today, so I didn’t proofread for typos after finishing the chapter. Please forgive me.