Chapter 394 - 384: Separate
Chapter 394: Chapter 384: Separate
Zhao Huan was thrilled at the prospect of going to the Yang Family Base right away, but one worry plagued him: if he left, what would happen to this group of people?
"Qiao Jin, can you take so many people to the Yang Family Base all at once?" Zhao Huan asked.
"I can’t. I can only take my family and you and your brothers." Tang Mo understood what Zhao Huan meant; he couldn’t bring himself to abandon the fifty-odd people in their group.
Tang Mo hadn’t expected that even at a time like this, Zhao Huan would still be thinking about the future of these fifty-odd people. After all, their agreement was fulfilled the moment they reached the food factory, and the Zhao brothers had made no promises to them about what came next.
Of course, Tang Mo wasn’t going to take them all to the Yang Family Base. Even if she could, she had no reason to do so, did she?
These people wouldn’t be grateful, and besides, having a hundred-odd people flying through the sky would draw far too much attention. Tang Mo had no desire to become that famous.
"Their original destination was never the Yang Family Base; they were just following you. How much farther did you expect them to follow? Have you considered what you’ll do if they get to the Yang Family Base and insist on staying with you?" ’In the end, people can only be responsible for themselves.’ This was the point Tang Mo wanted to make.
Zhao Huan lowered his head and thought for a moment. No matter how he looked at it, what Tang Mo said was right. "Okay, wait for me. I’ll go talk to them." Even though he wasn’t taking them in the end, he felt he owed them an explanation. That was a matter of principle for Zhao Huan.
Zhao Huan first explained the situation to his two brothers, Zhao Tian and Zhao Yu. Naturally, the two of them had no objections. It had always been this way since they were children; whatever Zhao Huan said, they would do.
But when he told the group, he was met with a reaction that Tang Mo had expected, but Zhao Huan had not.
"Why are you abandoning us? Are you just going to watch us die? You were pretending to be such great saviors, such good people, and now you’re talking about splitting up before we’ve even gotten far! What an act! You’re no different from those people at the food factory—all cut from the same cloth! In the end, you’re just sending ordinary people like us to our deaths! You have food, don’t you? You have bait! You have abilities! What’s wrong with protecting us? How can you all be so heartless?"
When the people in the group heard Zhao Huan’s news, they were first shocked, then they began to beg, and then they started crying and pleading. When they saw that their tears were useless, a torrent of abuse followed.
Zhao Huan was stunned. He never imagined that the same people who had been kneeling and begging him yesterday, calling him their great benefactor, would be cursing him with such venomous words today. ’What did I do wrong?’
He had taken their food and safely escorted them to the food factory. He had also clearly explained the pros and cons of the factory, and the choice to enter or not was their own. ’Are they expecting to follow me for the rest of their lives?’
Zhao Huan still didn’t quite understand what those people were thinking. But while he was confused, Tang Mo understood them perfectly. They just wanted to be parasites.
A parasite is someone who wants to latch onto a host, do nothing, and reap rewards without any effort. But is anything ever that easy?
Nothing in this world is easy, not even being a parasite. It was utterly ridiculous. Although Zhao Huan was very smart and capable, he had spent his life studying martial arts since childhood and became a bodyguard as an adult, always staying with his brothers. He was rather naive when it came to the ways of the world.
He had genuinely given his all to this group, and their reaction chilled him to the bone.
But perhaps this was for the best. The guilt he had felt before was now gone, and instead, he felt no lingering attachment to these people at all.
Those people probably didn’t know that Zhao Huan and his group had originally planned to leave all their bait and food for them. After all, they would reach the Yang Family Base tonight and wouldn’t be short on supplies after collecting their reward. Zhao Huan had wanted to leave them a final path to survival, but they hadn’t bothered to leave themselves a final shred of dignity.
With that said, Zhao Huan let go of his final reservations. Without waiting for nightfall, he immediately moved to another building with Tang Mo and the others.
Some people in the group still tried to follow them. Even though such ugly words had been exchanged, they still felt that Zhao Huan was a soft-hearted person.
But this time, Zhao Huan didn’t indulge them. He didn’t feed the Meat Dragons any bait. Instead, he relied on his experience and martial skill to lead Tang Mo and the others, swiftly traversing to another building. This way, the people following behind couldn’t keep up.
They knew in their hearts then that Zhao Huan was resolute this time and would absolutely not save them again. Tang Mo nodded to herself. ’A little soft-heartedness is kindness. Too much is a weakness.’
It was too risky to move during the day; it would be far too conspicuous, and Tang Mo didn’t want to draw that kind of attention. So, once darkness fell, she had everyone board her spiritual power flying carpet.
It was originally a flying carpet, but Tang Mo found the shape of a ship to be a bit too fantastical...
But because Yang Jiabao and Yiyi were scared, Tang Mo ended up making it into the shape of a flying ship, soaring high in the sky. ’Oh well,’ she thought. ’Ugly or not, what’s important is that it’s practical.’
The apocalypse had been going on for a long time now, and by this point, everyone knew about the existence of superpowers. They all just assumed Tang Mo possessed some kind of incredible skill, so it wasn’t considered particularly unbelievable.
Seeing Tang Mo leading everyone with such confidence, George Lin and Mrs. Qiao felt a deep sense of gratification. It seemed they were beginning to understand the reason behind the change in their daughter’s personality.
The Yang Family Base was actually a long way from the food factory by road, but the distance was much shorter when measured as the crow flies.
In forty minutes, Tang Mo had brought everyone to the gates of the Yang Family Base. In truth, if she hadn’t been afraid of scaring them by going too fast, she could have been even quicker.
Because the matter at hand was more urgent, the plan to take Qi Jiaming home first was temporarily shelved. In any case, they had brought him with them. Things should be resolved quickly, and it wouldn’t be too late to take him to the Qi Family afterward.
Finally arriving at the main gate of the Yang Family Base, Yang Jiabao was visibly excited. After spending so long on the outside and enduring so much hardship, he was finally home.
Aunt Hua was extremely anxious and uneasy. She hadn’t faced her father in a very long time and had no idea how to talk to him. But as his daughter, she had come to understand her father’s difficult but well-meaning choices over the years. Moreover, with her husband now trapped, she knew she had no choice but to see her father.