Hong Jie avoided Xiao Mei's gaze and argued, "We just wanted something to eat... You know, you're pregnant and need more food..."
"So you let my husband risk his life?" Xiao Mei's voice suddenly turned sharp, and she lunged at Hong Jie, "You vicious woman! You killed A Hao!"
Li Xinhu and several other team members quickly stepped forward to pull back the enraged Xiao Mei.
"It's all you! It's all your fault!" Even after being pulled away, Xiao Mei still pointed at Hong Jie and shrieked relentlessly, "How could A Hao, such an honest person, do something like that? You must have incited him!"
Hong Jie's face darkened. She retreated a few steps, a hint of resentment and grievance flashing in her eyes, then suddenly sneered, "What? Li Xinhu, have you forgotten how my man died? For whose sake did he not escape back then? Now A Hao is dead too, and you all want to blame me alone?"
Li Xinhu's face grew even uglier. He clenched his fists tightly, the scene of Hong Jie's husband sacrificing himself to save them flashing in his mind, making his throat constrict and his voice hoarse: "Sister-in-law, I, Li Xinhu, haven't forgotten the kindness from back then, and I've been trying my best to take care of you. But A Hao's death is different from the situation back then..."
Xiao Mei froze, looking at Li Xinhu in confusion: "What does she mean?"
Hong Jie sneered and continued, "Xiao Mei, don't just cry."
She pressed closer to Li Xinhu: "Li Xinhu, isn't that right? You promised my husband you would always take care of me!"
Li Xinhu's face grew even uglier. He clenched his fists tightly, yet he couldn't refute.
"Now A Hao is dead, just like my husband back then." Hong Jie's voice carried a bone-chilling coldness, "Xinhu, how will you take care of Xiao Mei this time?"
Xiao Mei looked blankly at Li Xinhu, then at Hong Jie, tears streaming uncontrollably from her eyes.
"A Hao..." she murmured, then suddenly knelt to the ground, embracing her husband's already cold body, and burst into heart-wrenching sobs.
Li Xinhu stood rooted to the spot, torn between two difficult choices, his face etched with deep pain and helplessness.
Lu Shiyan stood quietly in the distance, watching the scene unfold, his eyes devoid of any ripple. In the apocalypse, every team had its own entanglements and tragedies.
Xiao Han walked over to Lu Shiyan and whispered, "These people are already in chaos internally. Let's leave early and not get involved in trouble."
Lu Shiyan nodded slightly, then turned and walked towards Su Wan: "Pack up, prepare to depart."
Su Wan glanced at Xiao Mei, who was still crying in the distance. Perhaps it was her own pregnancy that made her feel a strange sympathy for Xiao Mei.
"Let's go." she said softly, turning to follow Lu Shiyan's steps.
The argument on Li Xinhu's side continued, Hong Jie's voice sharp and piercing: "Li Xinhu, you promised! You said you'd always take care of me! Now A Hao is dead too, are you going to promise to take care of Xiao Mei as well?"
Li Xinhu's face was ashen, unable to refute. Xiao Mei held her husband's corpse, tears raining down.
Li Xinhu looked as if he had been defeated, all his strength seemingly drained in an instant. Hong Jie's words were like a sharp knife, precisely piercing his most vulnerable spot.
"I didn't..." he tried to explain, his voice so low it was almost inaudible.
Several team members exchanged glances, suddenly unsure whose side to take.
Xiao Han looked back and clicked his tongue: "Human nature, huh? In the apocalypse, that's the thing that stands the test the least."
Lu Shiyan's expression was indifferent, his gaze sweeping over the chaotic scene on Li Xinhu's side: "Is the car checked?"
"No problem, ready to go anytime." Xiao Han patted the hood of the off-road vehicle.
"Get in the car." Lu Shiyan looked at Su Wan.
Su Wan nodded, just about to turn around, when she suddenly heard a desperate shriek from behind her.
Seeing that Li Xinhu was under her thumb, Hong Jie gained more confidence and coldly snorted at Xiao Mei, "What's the use of crying? Blame those people for being too vicious; A Hao just wanted to find something for everyone to eat!"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Mei suddenly lifted her head, her bloodshot eyes fixed on Lu Shiyan and his group in the direction of the campsite. They were calmly packing their things, as if the tragedy happening here had nothing to do with them. This indifference completely ignited the despair and madness in her heart.
"Yes... it's them!" she mumbled, her voice hoarse, "It's all because of you!" Xiao Mei suddenly stood up from the ground, her eyes bloodshot, a dagger A Hao had dropped somehow in her hand. "If it weren't for you coming here, A Hao wouldn't have died!" She charged at Lu Shiyan and his group like a madwoman.
Li Xinhu was greatly alarmed and immediately rushed forward: "Xiao Mei! Stop!"
Xiao Han's eyes sharpened, his hand already on his weapon, but he saw Lu Shiyan wave his hand lightly, a faint current of electricity flashing at his fingertips.
Xiao Mei, halfway through her charge, suddenly seemed to trip over something and fell heavily to the ground, the dagger flying several meters away. She lay on the ground, crying out in heartbreaking sobs, unable to get up again.
"Let's go." Lu Shiyan's voice was calm, as if everything that had just happened didn't exist.
Su Wan took a deep breath and got into the car. She glanced at Xiao Mei, who was still crying in the distance, her heart complex. There were countless tragedies in the apocalypse. Li Xinhu... what exactly did he experience in the book to become that unyielding person? The current him seemed even more difficult than in the early stages of the book.
Li Xinhu stood rooted to the spot, watching Lu Shiyan's car slowly start, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes.
"Boss..." a team member whispered, "What do we do?"
Li Xinhu looked at Xiao Mei, who was crying heartbreakingly, then at Hong Jie, whose face was ashen and who was still trying to bind him with past favors, and finally at A Hao's cold corpse.
A Hao was a brother who had followed him out, and now he had died so senselessly, leaving his wife in such grief.
He remembered his original intention for forming the team. A strong sense of responsibility and unwillingness to give up overcame all the pain and confusion, and his eyes gradually became firm.
"Pack up, we're leaving too."
"Xiao Mei, accept my condolences. A Hao, we'll take you with us and find a safe place to bury you."
Hong Jie sneered, "Now you're starting to act like a good person?"
Li Xinhu ignored her and walked directly to A Hao's body, squatting down and taking off his own jacket, gently covering A Hao's face.
"I'm sorry..." he murmured to himself, his voice barely audible.
The off-road vehicle drove out of the service area. Su Wan looked through the rearview mirror, watching Li Xinhu and his team gradually become small dots, finally disappearing from sight.
"That Li Xinhu..." Xiao Han suddenly spoke, "He seems a bit interesting."
Lu Shiyan remained focused on the road ahead, not responding.
Su Wan shook her head, not saying anything more. She looked out at the rapidly receding scenery outside the car window, silently praying that Li Xinhu would overcome this crisis and become the person she knew from the book.
The car moved forward in silence. The sky outside the window gradually brightened, and a new day began.
"How far are we from Central Base?"
"According to the current route, we should arrive this afternoon." Lu Shiyan replied, his voice calm, "If everything goes smoothly."
"Smoothly?" Xiao Han chuckled, "The word 'smoothly' doesn't seem to apply much in the apocalypse."
Su Wan looked ahead, unable to help but recall the original description of Central Base—it should be a relatively safe haven, but it also held countless unknown secrets.
