Chapter 43: Li Dazhu's Past

"So, what do you want me to do?"

"Nothing much, I just want to know about the situation here, as detailed as possible."

"Ah, that's it?" Li Dazhu was stunned by Wang Bin's words. He hadn't expected the request to be so simple; he thought it would be excessive and had even prepared himself for sacrifice.

"What did you think it would be? Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Wang Bin, and these are my companions, Guan Xiaoyue and Miao Ruyun. She used to be a police officer, so you can call her Officer Miao." Wang Bin smiled at Dazhu's reaction.

"That's simple. I'll tell you everything I know. By the way, I'm Li Dazhu, and this is my sister, Li Xiaolu."

"Have a sip of water first." Wang Bin said, handing a bottle of cola from his backpack to Li Dazhu.

"Wow, you actually have cola!" Li Dazhu exclaimed in surprise upon seeing the cola.

Wang Bin quickly made a shushing gesture, and Li Dazhu realized he had been a bit too loud, blushing slightly.

Li Dazhu took the cola but didn't drink it, instead placing it beside his still-sleeping sister.

Wang Bin didn't press him and admired Li Dazhu's care for his sister even in the apocalypse, a rare quality.

"What did you do before the apocalypse?"

"I was in the military. I had just been discharged when..."

"You weren't just an ordinary soldier, were you?"

"Well, I had a chance to become a special forces soldier, but I got injured during the exams and ended up as a reconnaissance soldier."

"Reconnaissance soldiers are impressive too!"

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

"You seem to have an aura about you. Were you in the special forces?"

"No, I'm just a college student, but I learned some martial arts."

"Oh!"

"Can you tell us more about the situation here?"

Li Dazhu agreed and began to explain the situation.

The leader of this city, Boss Jin, used to be in real estate. After the apocalypse, he quickly gathered his company's security and some idle people to form this place. Boss Jin currently has two hundred men and seventy to eighty guns. Besides Boss Jin's people, there are over seven hundred others here, who trade labor for food from Boss Jin.

"You said there are only seven hundred people here?" Wang Bin frowned, questioning the number Li Dazhu mentioned.

"That's right, only over seven hundred are still alive."

"But when registering, I secretly counted the names in the book. Each page had about sixty names, and there were at least seventy to eighty pages. There should be four thousand people. Even with some losses, it shouldn't be this few."

"I didn't expect you to notice this detail so quickly. You're impressive!" Li Dazhu exclaimed at Wang Bin's analysis.

Guan Xiaoyue and Officer Miao then realized why Wang Bin had them register first. He was counting the people. They admired his attention to detail and reminded themselves to be more observant in the future.

"Brother Li, can you tell us the secret behind this?"

"At first, I didn't notice, but when some people who went out with Boss Jin's men to find food never returned, I became suspicious. After observing, I found that people mysteriously disappear here from time to time. My investigation revealed that those missing people were killed by Boss Jin's men and secretly brought back here. Some of the food we eat is actually the meat of those dead people."

"What! You knew this and stayed?" Wang Bin and the others were shocked.

"I wanted to leave, but my sister is weak and often sick. I wanted to wait until she was better. Also, Boss Jin tried to recruit me because of my military background, but knowing their deeds, I couldn't join them. I asked them to help my sister, which was simple, but they made it difficult to force me to join!" Li Dazhu lowered his head in helplessness, tears in his eyes.

Even knowing the food was human flesh, he had to pretend not to know for his sister's sake. His heart was heavy.

"Brother, don't be sad. I'll get better soon!"

At that moment, Li Xiaolu woke up, reaching out her frail hand to hold Li Dazhu's.

"Ah, Xiaolu, you're awake. Are you hungry? I'll find something for you to eat." Li Dazhu was overjoyed to see his sister awake, wiping his tears and asking her.

"I'm not hungry," Li Xiaolu smiled faintly.

"It's my fault!" Seeing Li Xiaolu's pale face and frail body, Li Dazhu couldn't help but blame himself.

"No, you're the best brother!" Li Xiaolu smiled.

Seeing this, Wang Bin couldn't stand it anymore. He took a small bag of millet from his backpack and handed it to Officer Miao, saying, "Officer Miao, please make some millet porridge for them."

"Okay." Officer Miao took the millet and left the room to cook.

"Wow, you even have millet?" Li Dazhu and his sister were surprised to see Wang Bin take out the millet.

"We found it in another city," Wang Bin explained with a smile.

"Thank you. My life is yours from now on!" Li Dazhu hadn't expected anyone to offer them millet porridge without asking for anything in return, especially after saving his sister's life. Overwhelmed, he knelt before Wang Bin.

"Ah, Brother Li, what are you doing? Please get up!" Wang Bin and Guan Xiaoyue were startled by Li Dazhu's action and quickly helped him up.

"I'm a person who repays kindness. You saved my sister and gave us millet. From now on, my life is yours. I'll do whatever you ask!"

"Really, anything?"

"Of course, but I'd rather die than do something as despicable as Boss Jin's deeds!"

"Haha, good. That's what I wanted to hear. By saying that, it shows you haven't lost your humanity. If you had said you'd do anything, I might not have accepted you!"

"Thank you!"

Li Dazhu was so moved that he almost cried again. When Wang Bin asked if he'd do anything, he almost said yes.

He didn't expect his goodness to save him at the last moment, giving him a chance to join Wang Bin's team.

Years later, when Li Dazhu recalled this day, he always said he was lucky and never regretted his choice. But that's a story for another time.