Chapter 485: Burden
Chapter 485: Burden
As darkness settles in, the world around them turns bleak and desolate. The modified ground is barren, corpses scattered everywhere like fitting decorations in the apocalyptic scenery. Beneath a blood-smeared wall, a limp body lies slumped. Around it gather Second Brother, Third Brother, Fourth Brother, and Fifth Brother.
One of them kicks Zhou Xiang’s corpse and checks for breath. Sure enough—he’s dead, completely still.
Fatty trots over, his short legs wobbling beneath him. An Ran follows behind, cradling Doll in her arms. At the compound gate, several bodies hang, feet swaying in midair. Before long, the budding green vines drain them dry, leaving only skeletons wrapped in clothing. Even their shoes are barely hanging on.
The surrounding elderly, weak, sick, disabled, and pregnant survivors look on in terrified silence, huddling together. They’re confused—weren’t Zhan Lian, Luo Feifan, and even Zhang Boxun saying the mutated vines have turned over a new leaf and won’t harm people anymore?
So why are they suddenly stringing people up to die?
Fatty says An Ran’s strength is unfathomable. Could it be that these vines are deeply connected to her?
Unconsciously, everyone comes to a silent conclusion: An Ran was not someone to provoke. Neither was anyone else around her. Absolutely not.
“Fatty, Fatty!” A child runs from the neighborhood, waving frantically, his face flushed red as he shouts, “Some bad guys stole our supplies! They took the truck and escaped through the back gate!”
“What?!!!” Fatty freezes as if struck by lightning. Then, without hesitation, he gathers his men and runs toward the storage area where the supplies have been kept.
Before the apocalypse, this neighborhood was considered middle-to-high-end: spacious, with lush greenery. The supply trucks are parked beneath several buildings and guarded by soldiers.
Supplies for the elderly, the weak, the sick, the disabled, and pregnant women are distributed under the soldiers’ supervision. People simply have to collect them at the appointed time.
Even after Zhang Boxun leaves, he arranges for the supplies to remain guarded. But now, not a single guard remains.
Nothing is left but dead plants. The trucks are gone. Not a person in sight.
Fatty stands frozen, despair on his face. He stomps the ground, grits his teeth, and shouts in rage, “Who?! Who did it?!”
“Lei Jiang. It has to be him. That was Zhou Xiang who got killed just now!” Third Brother runs out and speaks, his broken arm swinging at his side. With little else to do, he often sits downstairs with a broken bowl, begging for food.
He’s seen Zhou Xiang and Lei Jiang together many times and has picked up some bits of information. He knows Lei Jiang is strong and has a way of winning people over.
But since he and his companions are burdens, Lei Jiang doesn’t care about them. His attention is never on the elderly, the weak, the sick, the disabled, or pregnant women. He never bothers to check in on them or learn more about their needs. After Zhan Lian and An Ran enter the complex, Lei Jiang stops appearing altogether.
In fact, because of these burdens, Tang Jianjun has lost many soldiers. Some of the troops feel nothing but disgust for them. No one wants to get close, to get involved, to even talk to them.
Everyone fears that associating with burdens is like letting leeches cling to their bones.
Burdens are just that—burdens. Useless in every way except to drag others down.