Chapter 421: Chapter 350: Rune (3)
’So, he didn’t dare push her too hard. What if he pissed her off and she decided to stab him during a moment of pleasure?’
’That would be the end of him.’
’Besides, there were plenty of beautiful women in the gathering place. He didn’t need to go after her type if he was looking for someone.’
At this thought, Liu Guang hefted the blood-stained Long-eared Wolf pelt in his hand, the smile on his face growing wider.
The Long-eared Wolf’s fur was very thick. With a few alterations, it could be made into a warm wolf-fur coat.
However, he also knew that such a fine item was not something he could afford to enjoy.
According to the rules, it had to be handed over to the leader.
He recalled his previous conversation with the leader.
A spark of anticipation ignited in Liu Guang’s heart.
’If the leader is pleased, maybe I’ll have a chance to become an Evolver.’
At that thought, a glint of what could only be called ambition flashed in Liu Guang’s eyes.
RUMBLE!
Just then, the sound of an engine rumbled from the distance.
"Brother Liu, I think the leader and his men are back!"
A guard on the watchtower seemed to have seen something and hurriedly shouted down to Liu Guang.
Hearing this, Liu Guang looked into the distance and, sure enough, saw a convoy of off-road vehicles approaching.
"Quick, open the gate! Welcome the leader!"
At the sight, he immediately called to his underlings behind him. Together, they pushed open the rusty, barred gate, which was normally only open wide enough for two people to pass through.
...
Inside the gathering place, Lu Shan walked ahead in silence, the wolf’s leg slung over her shoulder.
Hu Qi followed behind, his eyes scanning the surroundings to take in the Rotten Leaf Gathering Place.
Located in a valley, the entire gathering place was shaped like a long, narrow crevice—a rectangle. It was about fifty to sixty meters wide and over a kilometer long.
Low, dilapidated buildings stood all around, crammed together. The air was filled with the faint, nauseating stench of mixed feces and urine.
In addition, there were some large, white shelters.
They were crooked and slanted, some leaning against dilapidated houses, others standing beside narrow passages.
The plastic sheeting was covered in patches and stains.
Inside, various fungi were cultivated, serving as the gathering place’s food source.
Down the middle of the area, a straight gravel road led into the distance. At its end stood a manor, completely out of place with its surroundings.
Most of the survivors they encountered along the way were thin and gaunt.
When they saw the bloody Long-eared Wolf hind leg in Lu Shan’s hand, malicious gazes shot over from all directions.
However, the crowd seemed to be restraining themselves and made no move.
As a gathering place, it naturally had a set of rules to maintain order.
If there were no rules, it would inevitably descend into chaos—a situation the one in power would least want to see.
Among them, the most critical rule was the strict prohibition against survivors within the gathering place killing each other or robbing others of their property.
Anyone who violated it—both parties involved—would be ruthlessly hanged.
After several who dared to test the law met their deaths, and after witnessing the cruel methods of the Rotten Leaf Gathering Place’s leader, no one dared to break the rules in broad daylight.
Of course, thefts and robberies still occurred at night, provided no one was caught. Such incidents were impossible to completely eliminate.
However, cases of people being openly beaten to death within the gathering place were extremely rare.
This was partly because everyone feared the leader’s authority, and partly because the food supply in the Rotten Leaf Gathering Place hadn’t yet dwindled to the point of starvation.
Otherwise, even with the leader’s powerful suppression, it would likely be impossible to prevent killings from occurring.
Lu Shan, walking in front, was clearly accustomed to such scenes.
She glanced back with an icy gaze. The people obviously knew Lu Shan and understood she was not to be provoked, for they immediately averted their eyes.
Only a few gazes remained fixed in their direction.
Suddenly, just as the two were turning at an intersection, a clamor arose from the gravel road behind them.
Hu Qi looked up and saw seven off-road vehicles approaching from the distance.
The vehicles were layered with rust and covered in patch upon patch, looking utterly dilapidated.
The roofs were long gone, and the cabins were stuffed full of various animal carcasses, emitting a nauseating, rotten stench.
Each vehicle was crammed with five or six people, some standing, some sitting.
These men were a stark contrast to the sallow-faced, malnourished survivors of the gathering place.
They were bare-chested, with defined, powerful muscles.
Their faces were smeared with strange, blood-colored paint, exuding a primitive savagery.
They carried guns on their backs and gripped long sabers in their hands, their expressions fierce and their eyes filled with malice.
The convoy roared past. Like a pack of uncaged beasts, they howled wantonly into the wind, their voices filled with a morbid insanity.
Seeing this, the survivors on the road were terrified. They scrambled to the sides of the road and knelt, trembling, not daring to even breathe loudly.
But what caught Hu Qi’s eye was a figure standing in the lead vehicle, arms crossed over his chest.
He was a man with bulging, knotted muscles, wearing a Black Iron mask that obscured his features.
However, in Hu Qi’s perception, the aura emanating from the man far surpassed that of an ordinary person.
According to Lu Shan, who whispered an explanation beside him, this man was the leader of the Rotten Leaf Gathering Place.
As the leader, he naturally couldn’t be expected to subsist on fungi every day.
To sustain their food consumption, the leader would take his men out to hunt every so often.
Just then, the man in the Black Iron mask on the vehicle seemed to sense something and turned his head to look.
But because the vehicle was moving too fast and had already passed the intersection where Hu Qi stood, he naturally saw nothing.
Hu Qi retracted his gaze and continued to follow Lu Shan.
Soon, the two of them stopped in front of a low-lying building in the furthest corner of the area.
This so-called house was less a building and more a shack cobbled together from several faded, discarded shipping containers.
A dwelling like this was actually considered quite good in this area.
At least it could provide shelter from the wind and rain without leaking.
Aside from the manor in the very center, most of the other dwellings they had passed were little more than wooden huts and grass shacks. Whenever it rained, those simple structures would leak all over, making for extremely harsh living conditions.
Just as they reached the door, someone inside must have heard them, as a thin, pale Young Man emerged from within.
"Sis, you’re back."
As he said this, his eyes fell on Hu Qi, who was standing behind Lu Shan.
