paranoianovel Chapter 252 Decision
Chapter 252 Decision
At this moment, Qiu Biao had already gathered with several people and ordinary members of the Changsheng caravan to eat, chatting and laughing, and seemed quite pleased with himself.
Tashan ate in silence for a while, but finally couldn't resist. He put the bowl on the ground and slammed his rock-hard fist into his knee.
"I still don't get it! Are they even mentally sound? Is it possible for a place not to be eerie? Why do they want to stay? What for? To become eerie snacks?"
His voice wasn't quiet; it drifted clearly to the side on the wind.
Among the people reclaiming the land, some froze, but most stubbornly stuck to their ideas.
Fu Xiaojian understood Ta Shan's feelings. He took a sip of water and said calmly, "Everyone has their own ambitions. If they think this is paradise, then let them stay."
"But..." Tashan stared wide-eyed.
He didn't understand what his sincerity had earned him.
He hadn't expected Fu Xiaojian to have this attitude.
In the afternoon, Qiu Biao was still leading a few people to turn the soil. They did have some seeds, but it certainly wasn't enough.
As for food, the shortage was even greater.
If they want to stay here, they need at least six months' worth of food, and the only way they can get that food is through the supply train.
They had seen the convoy produce several tons of grain a day.
Qiu Biao squatted beside the freshly turned soil, the clods of earth in his hands making a cracking sound as he squeezed them.
He could feel the gazes coming from the direction of the convoy behind him, like needles pricking his back.
But he didn't turn around; he just dug even harder at the soil in front of him, even though he was already exhausted.
"Brother Biao..."
A tall, thin man approached, his voice weak.
"They sent me to ask if we can really get the food we need."
"Shut up," Qiu Biao squeezed out through gritted teeth.
He straightened up, turned around, and stared at everyone in the salary train team.
"They will give it to us," he said confidently.
The pole shrank back after being scolded, and dared not say another word.
The other men who followed Qiu Biao also lowered their heads and continued with their work, but the unease in their eyes was undeniable.
The people on the Changsheng convoy were quieter, only occasionally glancing at Qiu Biao with an almost numb expectation in their eyes.
They had no choice but to either eke out a living here or follow the convoy and die someday.
They had witnessed so much death that they had lost all courage.
Qiu Biao spat. He wasn't sure himself, but he knew he had no way out.
In the team, he will always be an outsider.
Without awakening, he is nothing.
But here, on this seemingly unclaimed grassland, he might become the "leader".
He needs food, lots of food.
The piles of dried sweet potatoes from the delivery team were as high as mountains; they had seen it with their own eyes.
Why should those people be allowed to monopolize it?
These ordinary people, fleeing in fear all the way, ultimately didn't even have the right to choose to stay and live a comfortable life.
Fu Xiaojian and those other extraordinary individuals keep saying they will never abandon or give up on anyone, but what have these ordinary people ever received?
It was just a small amount of food given away as charity. They had clearly contributed as well, and he had taken a lot from each supply depot. Why did they get nothing?
This is not fair!
A sinister smile crept across Qiu Biao's lips. He had done it, and now he had nothing to fear.
As the blood-red sun began to set in the west, it cast long, slanted shadows of the settlers onto the newly turned, damp earth, their shadows twisting as if they had become one with the soil.
The scent of grass mixed with the earthy smell of turned soil in the air created a strange sense of vitality.
Tashan finally couldn't hold back.
As evening fell, he strode toward the "reclaimed area," like a moving rocky mountain, blocking Qiu Biao and his companions' path.
"Brother Shan." Qiu Biao stood up, forcing a dry laugh.
"Qiu Biao," Ta Shan's voice boomed like thunder.
"I just want to ask, are you really planning to settle down here?"
Qiu Biao composed himself and glanced at the group of extraordinary individuals standing or sitting not far behind Ta Shan, who seemed casual but were actually paying close attention to the convoy.
He took a deep breath and deliberately raised his voice so that everyone around him could hear him:
"Brother Shan, we...we just think this place is pretty good. There's nothing weird here, there's water, there's land. Didn't Captain Fu say he wanted to build a safe zone? This place is perfect!"
"We've run for so long, so many people have died, all to find a place where we can survive. Isn't this the place?"
"Why doesn't the convoy stop? With so much land, if we cultivate it and have more children, we can quickly build a kingdom."
His voice was full of reverence for beauty, and the ordinary people behind him also yearned for it.
The four members of the Changsheng convoy all crossed their arms and looked over with great interest.
Fu Xiaojian was whispering something to Xu Si, seemingly not caring at all.
Tashan's brows furrowed even more: "You think I'm stupid? This place isn't eerie? That's what's truly terrifying! Who knows what's lurking beneath this hellish grassland? If you stay here, you're just waiting to die!"
"That's still better than being swallowed alive by some monster on the way!" Qiu Biao suddenly became excited, his voice rising sharply with a desperate, hoarse tone.
"Brother Shan! You guys are extraordinary! You're amazing! You're fearless! But what about us? We're just ordinary people!"
"What's wrong with just wanting to live? If we encounter something bigger than the sky again, are we just supposed to be abandoned? Since we can survive here, why should we leave?"
Tashan realized he couldn't explain it!
These words were like a knife, stabbing deeply into the hearts of many ordinary people in the convoy.
The two women remaining on the bus had their eyes darting around nervously.
The people on the Changsheng convoy stopped what they were doing and looked over in silence, their silence filled with the same fear and resentment.
Anger doesn't arise in a day.
Tashan opened his mouth, but for a moment he didn't know how to refute it.
He wanted to say that the team would find a solution, and that everyone should stick together, but he knew that was just wishful thinking...
What Qiu Biao said is, to some extent, the truth, and the reality of the end times.
If there is no hope of saving them, then the first group to be abandoned will definitely be ordinary people.
Even extraordinary individuals cannot protect themselves in the face of absolute danger.
"So you've made your decision?" A cold, hard voice interrupted; it was Fu Xiaojian.
"Yes, we're staying here."
"Perhaps, we will be the last spark of humanity!" Qiu Biao declared with righteous indignation.
"Is that what you all think too?" Fu Xiaojian looked at the others behind him. Many of them had a struggle in their eyes, but in the end they all lowered their heads.
"Very good!" Fu Xiaojian showed no dissatisfaction whatsoever, and even a hint of relief.
"Alright, leave now, and you'll have nothing to do with our Xinhuo team!" Fu Xiaojian immediately made the separation clear.
"I...I didn't mean that!" Qiu Biao panicked instantly.
He understood the meaning behind Fu Xiaojian's words: "It doesn't matter" meant that they would no longer provide them with protection, let alone food.