There wasn't much they could use in the mall, and Zhang Tianyuan left before Bai Xu did.
The moment he stepped outside, he took off his helmet and let out a long, forceful breath.
Only after recovering for quite a while did he feel his churning stomach gradually settle.
Bai Xu had found it oppressive and terrifying inside. Hadn't he felt the same?
Besides, Bai Xu had at least been an experienced criminal investigator before this. He had only been an ordinary person and had never seen anything like it.
The hellish carnage inside the mall had hit him far harder than it had Bai Xu.
"Let's go, Instructor Yin. We'll move on to the next place." After resting for a while, Zhang Tianyuan put his helmet back on and headed toward the next building.
They were in a commercial district, surrounded by malls. There was no shortage of targets.
But even after Zhang Tianyuan called several times, Yin Hongwen didn't move. Just as he was about to call again-
Instructor Yin suddenly pointed into the distance. "President Zhang, look! Are those vehicles moving over there?"
Zhang Tianyuan jolted and hurriedly jumped onto the roof of a nearby vehicle. Sure enough, several vehicles were moving in the distance.
"Quick, sound our horns! Honk right now!"
Zhang Tianyuan signaled to the driver on watch in one of the vehicles, telling him to press the horn.
The long blast of the horn could be faintly heard several kilometers away in the quiet city.
Zhang Tianyuan also ordered the team members gathering supplies nearby to assemble immediately and prepare to come back to support them. The drivers in the vehicles fully armed themselves as well, setting their rifles beside their legs.
A combat squad carrying RPGs and various other light weapons also quickly concealed themselves nearby.
If the newcomers had ill intentions, they could swiftly send them into the next life from eighty to a hundred meters away.
Under the current circumstances, no one should have had more firepower than their team.
Zhang Tianyuan took out his binoculars and saw that, after they sounded the horn, the group was indeed heading toward them.
But with a motorcycle leading several SUVs and small trucks, they didn't look like post-apocalyptic tyrants.
That eased Zhang Tianyuan's mood a little.
People in the apocalypse always hoped to see other humans, yet feared seeing other humans.
Elsewhere.
The burly driver with a cigarette between his lips narrowed his eyes, vaguely sensing something off about Zhang Tianyuan's group in the distance. As he spoke, the cigarette bobbed up and down with his lips:
"Why do their vehicles look so much like military vehicles? Did they break into some military base?"
The burly man tightened his grip on the steering wheel. "I'm just afraid they have guns and will do whatever they please..."
The more he thought about it, the worse it seemed.
He wanted to turn around and leave, but they were already so close that, even if they fled, the other side could easily catch them with all those vehicles.
He could only steel himself and keep driving.
When he got closer, what the burly man saw nearly made his eyes pop out.
Those people were even wearing matching uniforms!
This was the apocalypse!
There was actually a group with matching uniforms. One look told him they weren't some ragtag band.
"They probably aren't people we can afford to mess with!" The burly man glanced at the youth beside him, who didn't understand the stakes and was still excited about seeing other living people, and inwardly groaned.
In less than a minute.
The burly man's convoy arrived in front of Zhang Tianyuan.
The youth beside him eagerly unbuckled his seat belt and rushed out. The child who had been sitting on his lap playing with the seat belt leaned against the window instead, looking curiously at Zhang Tianyuan and the others.
He hadn't seen so many people in a long time.
The burly man got out too, signaling for the people in the other vehicles to stay inside for now.
He looked over Zhang Tianyuan's outfit: specially made boots, a gleaming black helmet, black clothing somewhat similar in style to the armed police's uniforms, an enormous flashlight on his back, and a dagger and a small flashlight strapped to his legs.
The outfit wasn't quite military or police, but one glance told him it was anything but ordinary.
He watched the youth from his group enthusiastically hug Zhang Tianyuan and couldn't seem to detect any ill intent. Only then did he walk over, making a point of removing the cigarette from his mouth:
"You're from that Mutual Aid Society? You're the ones sending out the broadcasts too?"
Zhang Tianyuan gave him a hearty smile and offered his hand. "Yes, that's us!"
He hadn't expected there to still be survivors living near the Imperial Capital. It really was a pleasant surprise.
Zhang Tianyuan exchanged introductions with the burly man and learned the basics of his situation.
The burly man put the cigarette back between his lips and said, "Ding Jingye. There are seventeen of us altogether. We gradually came together after the virus outbreak and have been living at a base outside the Imperial Capital."
Zhang Tianyuan understood.
Ding Jingye's group was exactly the sort of comfortably situated survivors he had imagined before.
They lived on the outskirts, far from the Darkseekers' range of activity. Whenever they needed something, they went into the city during the day to find it, then left before nightfall. Keeping themselves fed and clothed was easy enough.
Zhang Tianyuan pointed at the small convoy behind him and said, "We've set up an organization called the Mutual Aid Society. We're planning to head to the grasslands up north to look for official institutions.
"If you have any leads on that, you can tell us.
"You can also come with us. We'll keep you safe and provide you with enough food. We also have doctors and medical equipment on our team, so we can ensure you get treatment for everyday illnesses."
They only had a few vehicles here, and one was a medical vehicle with a conspicuous red cross on its body.
Ding Jingye saw it too, and delight stirred in him.
"We have a pregnant woman back at our place. Could you help?"
"Can you do prenatal examinations?" Zhang Tianyuan led Ding Jingye over to the medical vehicle and asked the doctor inside directly.
The doctor inside made an "OK" gesture.
Only then did Zhang Tianyuan tell Ding Jingye, "Then I'll go with you to bring her over. Can she still walk normally..."
"No, you may have misunderstood me." Ding Jingye hurriedly waved his hands, cutting Zhang Tianyuan off.
"I didn't mean for you to give A He an examination. I wanted to ask whether you could help A He abort the baby."
Zhang Tianyuan froze. He looked at Ding Jingye without speaking, then finally asked after a long while, "Why?"
Ding Jingye grew a little anxious. "The apocalypse has been going on for so long. Have you seen a single newborn baby?"
Seeing that Zhang Tianyuan still didn't understand, he continued, "For adults, the KV Virus has a mortality rate of 90%, but for babies, it's 99.8%!"
"Babies don't turn into those damned things. Except for babies born immune to the virus, practically none survive six hours after birth!"
As he grew agitated, the cigarette fell from Ding Jingye's lips. He crouched to pick it up but didn't stand again, remaining there in a dejected crouch.
"Over these ten months, I've seen three pregnant women give birth. One had an obstructed labor, and the other two passed away not long after their babies were born..."
Zhang Tianyuan took off his helmet, trying to draw in a little more air. He looked at Ding Jingye:
"So you're saying this world may not have had a new baby in ten months?"
Zhang Tianyuan trembled with dread. He had finally glimpsed the movie's dark side.
If he hadn't come, humanity in this world would inevitably go extinct!