Chapter 54: Chapter 49 Unexpected
The fleeting sense of crisis had prevented Tao Yu from taking any action.
From Jack’s attitude towards Cao Shaolin, it seemed that for now, the newcomer had started to be accepted. If Tao Yu were to target Cao Shaolin suddenly, he would face resistance from the whole community.
It would be better to look for an opportunity at night and avoid arousing his suspicion and alertness for now.
So on the surface, Tao Yu also showed a warm and friendly smile to Cao Shaolin.
“Let’s go, I’m quite curious about how they vanished into thin air.”
“Yeah, let’s check it out together.”
Jack translated for Tommy and the others.
The community had over twenty people, but not many were capable of using weapons or combat, and there were about ten elderly, frail, and sick among them.
In this post-apocalyptic environment of seven months, having ten such individuals in a team, and a third of them being women, was telling of Jack’s overabundant sense of justice in both character and personality.
As a former CIA special operations member, it would not be accurate to call him a saint, but as a partner, he was more trustworthy than most Pioneers.
While Tao Yu made this assessment of the community, the group walked down the corridor to the room where the captives had been held and entered through the door.
The room had been cleared out once before, with boards nailed over the windows. Other than that, it was just a regular hotel room, and the bed’s mattress appeared messy and unmade.
“They were all tied up, usually just sitting on the bed. We’re short on food ourselves, so we only gave them some nearly expired food to keep them alive.”
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“But now we’ve found they’ve disappeared, even the ropes they were tied with are gone, and there were no signs of escape. Everything looks so normal.”
Cao Shaolin seemed quite astonished as he said this.
“Is Brother Cao in charge of food?”
Tao Yu casually asked.
“I have to do whatever is within my power. I can’t fight like Brother Jack, so I have to contribute by handling the logistics.”
Cao Shaolin showed a shy smile.
“Just vanished like that?”
Jack stood in front of the boarded-up window, looking perplexed, unable to comprehend how this could happen.
They had never encountered such a bewildering disappearance before, so it was definitely beyond their understanding.
“Did these three people say anything? Did they leave any other clues, or why did they attack you?”
Tao Yu also timely posed his question.
“They had a strange accent, and they had plenty of food, which relieved a lot of our pressure,”
Jack began to reminisce.
“Moreover, they had a strong will to survive. When captured, they kept begging us for a chance. Now that I think of it, they must have planned ahead and were confident they could get away.”
“As for the reason they attacked us, they said they wanted to coerce a few ordinary people to scout for them, which is why they didn’t kill anyone. They found a well-stocked gas station and even told us the location.”
Hearing this, Tao Yu pondered quickly.
A strange accent was normal, as it must have cost them Yuan Force to communicate. As for the supplies, for an average Outsider Pioneer, transporting goods to sell and drawing maps for profit was a common practice.
The gas station might indeed have plenty of supplies, like a truck, but lots of zombies as well.
Or it could be a temporary gathering place for a small group of Pioneers.
“They have no weapons now, so just increasing the vigilance should be enough.”
Unable to figure it out, Jack decided not to overthink it. He had enough daily worries already, enough to make his hair fall out.
“Is Brother Zhang Wei still planning to rest up before leaving?”
Jack turned back to ask Tao Yu.
“Yes.”
“Can I ask who you gather zombie information for? Are there any formal forces still out there? The official broadcasts are gone, and now we only have some local broadcasts that have lost contact.”
Seeing the right moment, Jack too posed his inquiry, wishing to understand if there were still places that could arrange for people to investigate.
They were barely surviving, whereas some places could send out people for investigations, a stark contrast.
“I’m serving a company. The company is currently planning to establish a community in the nearby area, and I think you guys could join us if the conditions are right.”
Tao Yu gave some information after careful consideration.
Incorporating fragments of the native population into the community was one direction of development; after all, most Outsiders could be seen as ordinary people, and early Pioneers were too few in number.
Someone like Jack could stand out in times of need.
“A community? That’s a big project?”
Cao Shaolin appeared surprised at this moment, his face revealing an excited expression, seemingly quite interested.
Jack and his group were all ears, but hearing is one thing, trusting is another. Only they knew how much they believed.
“Yes, we are actually looking for a suitable location now, and I personally think this place is pretty good.”
Tao Yu wasn’t just making it up; they had already discovered the Icebound World in other directions, obviously not suitable, the Rainforest required immediate development, and the prairies had Blackwater.
This place was full of zombies, but the buildings were ready-made.
Especially knowing that this was a city called Henderson in Nevada, about ten kilometers northwest of the famous Las Vegas.