Chapter 69: Niceness
Chapter 69: Niceness
The fact that the Dark Element could actually corrupt one's mind is something that I've never encountered. I've been using my Dark Element in the past like an auto-farm in which I tried to fight the horde with the summons that I have. I don't know if they are rabid humans or just mythical beasts that manifest from the eliminated rabid humans, but they help me with killing a horde of raid humans so I don't really have anything to complain about them. And also, I do think that they look rather interesting in their black and purple colors.
Now that I think about it, I still have that baby screecher I recently got. I've never given him a name although the System already prompted me about it. I'll just do it tomorrow, I guess. Man, it's so hard thinking up a name for someone
"You can eat more, there's plenty more where that came from." Shen Rong gladly offered as another whole roasted chicken was placed on the table by one of his subordinates.
"Is it really this abundant here in your shelter?" I indirectly asked whether he was the only one who has access to all this food or not.
"Don't misunderstand, Yong Rui, everyone has access to this abundance and we all work together to attain food supplies like this." Shen Rong explained. "This is also the reason why we don't just let anyone in the shelter. Once they find out that we have plenty of resources, the neighboring shelters might attack us and try to take over. If that were to happen, then I'm afraid that even I wouldn't be able to defend these walls with my strength alone."
"So, in these five years, no neighboring shelters have attacked Red Sea Shelter?" I asked, surprised
"From the looks of it, I think you've stayed oblivious to the ways of this post-apocalyptic world, huh." Shen Rong sighed. "Well, that's how it'd be if you managed to solo the outside without meeting other people."
If I were to tell him that I was a mindless rabid human since more or less two weeks ago, then he'd probably not believe me. Well, let's just remain oblivious of anything so I can ask him all the questions that I want to be answered.
"Attacks on a shelter are pretty common. And without the power of a strong shelter leader, a shelter is a sitting duck, or like a fly in the middle of a frog-infested pond. The only reason why Red Sea Shelter managed to survive until now is by allying ourselves with the Tang Shelter, and also by sending out hunting parties like Liu Zhi's party so they can manually scout the whole area. Every now and then, a horde of high-leveled zombies would try to attack this shelter but each and every time they did, we manage to survive yet another day. It is a hard life, and I know that there will come a time where I won't be able to defend these walls anymore. But needless to say, I do everything that I can now so I won't have to live with regrets later on. If dying meant I could give these people a safe place to live in, then I won't hesitate to jump in the fire and kill myself."
"I think so too. It's nice to see someone with that conviction, shelter leader." I told him, a smile sincerely forming on my face. Without further ado, I grabbed the bottle of wine on the side of the table and refilled our cups. "To Red Sea Shelter, I called, raising a glass.
Clink.
After a few minutes of discussing a few more things with Wu Yan and Shelter Leader, I finally managed to learn the affairs of the present world and all I could say is it's worse than I thought. I thought that those in the shelter already obtained a momentary rest from the rabid humans outside but from what I heard, there are the occasional traitors, bad blood, and inner strife in a shelter. A lot of shelters had already fallen to the hands of rabid humans just because it self-destructed on its own.
Really, even until now, the real monsters are the humans and not the monsters themselves.
In other words, the reality is that every shelter, no matter how formidable they are, could fall just like that if someone were to betray it. And with more people in the shelter, it's more likely that someone would do betray it.
"What are you thinking about, Yong Rui?" Wu Yan interrupted me as she went a little ahead of me to grab my attention.
"Just... shelters are like eggs, I guess. They're hard on the outside but inside, they're really soft and gooey. If one is not careful, then it could fall at any moment." I responded as I strained my head up. There weren't any clouds in the sky so the stars were clearly visible. The Shelter may be 'walled' but it didn't block the view of the starry night.
"That's a weird comparison!" Wu Yan giggled once again. "But you're right. A shelter could just fall at any moment. In the past five years, we've seen countless neighboring shelters get destroyed, and some for the light reasons like someone just wanted all the resources for themselves, or he just wanted to be a hero so he let the zombie in and tried to eliminate them. Of course, those didn't end well. "
"Greed is a bottomless pit that exhausts the person in an endless pursuit of satisfying oneself without ever reaching satisfaction. Red Sea Shelter is a different case, however. I can tell that Shen Rong is one of the best shelter leaders out there with his selflessness." I said.
Wu Yan nodded, her eyes sparkling as if reflecting the stars in the night sky.
The two of us walked each other and on the way, we encountered Lui Zhi, Blade, and Luo Zehn, who were discussing something of importance.
"Oh, Yong Rui, Wu Yan, perfect timing." Lui Zhi said, his face showing clear signs of anger and annoyance.