Rotting Land: Survive

Chapter 568 - 558: "Waste" Utilization (Part 1)

"Hehe, don't get excited, young man. Have some water first. I suppose your story is going to be quite long!" Liu Fugui pointed at the teacup on the table, speaking kindly.

The young man nodded, took a sip, and wiped his lips before starting his story: "Not long after I was born, my father died from a sudden stroke, and on my 18th birthday, my mother unfortunately perished in a car accident. After that, I survived for a while thanks to the charity of my neighbors. When the final court judgment came, the perpetrator..."

His voice paused as the young man's shoulders shook.

"What about the perpetrator?"

"He got away with just paying 30,000 bucks!"

Understanding the situation, Liu Fugui timely patted the young man's shoulder and sighed, "This judgment is a miscarriage of justice."

"Yeah, Mr. Liu, who doesn't say so? But at the time, I was just a kid, powerless, with no ability to seek justice for my mom. The neighbors advised me to take the money and move on, warning I might not even get that if I persist. But... how could I take that money? I... I was unwilling!" His fists clenched tightly; despite so many years passing, the young man was still frustrated about not being able to seek justice for his mother back then.

Such things seemed all too commonplace in Liu Fugui's eyes. The society of the past was always a world for the upper class and the rich, and the law was just a tool created by a small group to restrain the poor.

This perception was precisely why Liu Fugui resorted to all means to become a person of status.

Yet, his sympathy for the young man's tragic ordeal was driven entirely by an ulterior motive; he just wanted to know about the shelter situation at the JZ County sports stadium.

Huang Yong, however, wasn't as patient. He had not expected that after all this time, the young man would be talking about such useless things.

Secretly cursing, he thought, who the hell wants to hear your life story? Who do you think you are, damn it!

"Trust me, young man, good things come to those who do good. Look, you survived, and as for those bad people, I believe heaven will deal with them—maybe they're already zombie fodder!" To be fair, Liu Fugui was quite adept at persuasion.

"Yes, they will definitely get their comeuppance." The young man's eyes gleamed fiercely, believing that if those handling the case back then appeared before him now, he would undoubtedly rush them recklessly.

He lifted his cup again, took a couple of sips to steady his mood, and continued: "In the end, I chose to take the settlement money—there was no other way; I had to survive. After getting the compensation, I bought an abandoned fried skewers cart from the neighbors, repaired it a bit, and started selling fried skewers day and night. Though life was hard back then, I could finally make a living on my own without relying on handouts from neighbors."

At this point, Liu Fugui felt some emotion, as it reminded him of his darling son.

His son was a few years older than the young man recounting his story, yet look at him—working hard for a living at such a young age, while his son was always lost in a world of debauchery. Ultimately, it was due to his failure as a father to provide guidance in his son's youth.

"But until that day, everything changed." The young man's tone suddenly shifted, filled with dread.

And Liu Fugui and the others could almost guess what "that day" referred to in the young man's words.

"That day, as usual, I was setting up my stall in front of the school, and business started picking up after the students were let out. But soon, I noticed chaos on the streets, and I suppose, Mr. Liu, you can more or less guess what happened next."

Liu Fugui sighed and nodded, "Must have been when the outbreak started."

"Yes, the scene was horrific—a child was being held down by his own father, who dug into him, eating his heart and lungs. The students were so scared they scattered, and I, too, didn't care whether they paid, packed up, and ran with the crowd."

"But shortly after, another tragedy unfolded, and not only that, it spread even wider. More and more people around me were being knocked down, and I was terrified. To survive, I ditched my skewer cart and ran toward the nearest Ziyan Chicken shop."

"Luckily, the staff inside didn't close the door while fleeing, and I hid there for about four days, relying on the deli food inside until the rescue team arrived."

Staring at the young man on the sofa, Huang Yong mentally noted that this guy's luck was insanely good.

To escape and end up in an empty deli shop—his food for those four days must have been quite decent, probably eating so much chicken he got sick of it.

"Later, I went with the rescue team to the sports stadium and stayed there for about a week. Then one day, we were suddenly told to evacuate urgently. The army didn't specify the reason, but rumors said a large number of zombies were gathering in several streets around the base. To avoid being surrounded, the top decided to evacuate everyone."

"So... how many of you were there at the time?" Liu Fugui asked.

"About 300 people or so!"

"Oh, evacuating that many people must not have been easy," Liu Fugui imagined the chaotic scene.

"Yeah, but it seemed the army was well-prepared. They grouped us by dozens according to a schedule, loaded us onto trucks, and it was quickly done." Almost reliving that day, the young man speedily recounted: "On that day, we hurried off, bringing nothing with us. A long convoy lined up, and as soon as it was full, we left the stadium."

"Oh!" responded Liu Fugui simply, continuing to ask, "And after you left, where did you go?"

"That... I don't know."

"You don't know? Did something else happen?" Huang Yong's eyes opened wide, almost popping out. Evidently, he didn't quite believe the young man's words.

To this, the young man seemed a bit helpless: "Yes, because the night we were leaving the city, the truck I was on got hijacked."

"What? Hijacked?" Huang Yong couldn't believe his ears.

"Yes, hijacked. I only found out later that among the survivors on my truck were some fugitives. They took advantage of the night to kill the truck driver, then used all of us as hostages, hijacked the vehicle, and in the end, the army had no choice but to let us go."

"Damn! So, what happened next? How did you end up alone?" (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please visit qidian.com to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)