Through Hu Xiaodong’s explanation, Huo Yuankai subconsciously felt that the recent conflict might have been a misunderstanding.
But regarding personal safety, coupled with the unpredictable nature of people in the post-apocalyptic world, if you ask Huo Yuankai to simply put down his weapon based on Hu Xiaodong’s plain words and reconcile, it would only mean that Huo Yuankai is too innocent.
However, Huo Yuankai is a businessman, and regardless of what he manages, he certainly has basic experience.
Moreover, businesspeople never easily believe others.
Huo Yuankai is no exception!
And just as both sides were at a stalemate with no further progress, an anomaly occurred again.
"Uh... ah! Ah!" The voice was terrified and loud, and just by hearing the call, one could discern the horror encountered by the screamer.
Everyone turned their gaze simultaneously, and in the view ahead, a young man fell onto the snow, the result of Hu Xiaodong’s earlier actions.
But that’s not the main point; the focus is on something evidently wriggling under the young man’s feet!
"Zombies!!" Hu Xiaodong exclaimed in horror. Even though covered by snow, the creature’s crawling movements exposed its identity.
Upon seeing the young man in distress, Huo Yuankai took a step forward to rush in, not expecting that as he took one step, a figure darted out ahead like lightning.
Who was it? Wang Qiang!
This wasn’t because Wang Qiang was exceptionally agile, but mainly due to his position being close to the young man.
Additionally, following Hu Xiaodong’s earlier explanation, he realized that his side had misunderstood Huo Yuankai.
Therefore, as soon as there was a call from the young man’s side, Wang Qiang immediately rushed over without hesitation.
Humans are like this; your temperament may change due to certain reasons; your attitude toward life may change; but the fundamental principles of being a person will not change.
Though Wang Qiang had an explosive and unreasonable disposition earlier, always loving to argue with others, it is undeniable that his nature has always been pure and kind, maintaining his moral baseline since the outbreak of the apocalypse.
The young man was undoubtedly stupefied by the sudden situation in front of him; how could he have expected to fall in a place where a half-buried, mutilated zombie lay underneath?
The creature was initially crawling comfortably under the snow, and upon the above disturbance, it took a look. Oh, fantastic! A plump, delicious meal!
How could such a thing not excite or thrill the creature?
At once, using its remaining arms, it awkwardly crawled toward the young man.
The frightened young man was unarmed and, driven by instinctive fear, rubbed his legs backward to retreat.
As he retreated, he attempted to use his heels to block the advance of the zombie.
Fortunately, the young man was not alone; otherwise, given his current state, being consumed by this mutilated zombie would merely be a matter of time.
Wang Qiang remained as adept as ever; upon reaching the side of the zombie, he gave it no chance to counter and raised his blade, chopping toward the creature’s head.
In an instant, blood splattered, skull shattered, and Wang Qiang’s face inevitably got splattered with some liquid.
To this, Wang Qiang was indifferent, casually sweeping a handful of clean snow-water over his face, then moved over to the young man.
"How are you?" Forcing a smile, Wang Qiang morphed from a killing demeanor to that of a gentle, elder neighbor.
Before Wang Qiang could act further, Huo Yuankai arrived afterward, kneeling halfway on the ground, leaning in front of the young man, and communicating concernedly using sign language.
More than a son, the scene in front of them moved hearts. Whether it be Hu Xiaodong, Wei Dazhuang, or Wang Qiang, Luo Baochun, they all came together from all over the country as survivors.
In the past, they might not have had any interaction in eight lifetimes, let alone become friends, family, as they do now.
Thus, they clearly understood what the young man meant to Huo Yuankai, and the man’s actions at this moment further convinced Hu Xiaodong that the earlier incident was a misunderstanding.
Indeed! How could such a loyal and righteous man ever engage in murder or petty thievery?
But now is not the time to consider these things, since zombies have appeared, then...
"Qiang, Dazhuang, Little Luo, watch both sides! There must be more zombies nearby! Take them out!"
Preventative measures are necessary, as if these threats hidden in the snow curtain are not timely eradicated, once they gather in groups, it will become a huge problem.
"Understood, Hu brother!" responded Wang Qiang, who had just rescued the young man from peril, promptly taking action again.
At the same time, Wei Dazhuang and Luo Baochun also moved into action.
The four split into four directions, cautiously moving forward.
Wei Dazhuang didn’t go far before he stopped, and Hu Xiaodong keenly asked, "What’s up, Dazhuang, is there a problem?"
Wei Dazhuang didn’t hurry to respond but crouched down to feel the snow, then looked forward. Just when Hu Xiaodong intended to inquire again, Wei Dazhuang suddenly stood and swiftly took several steps.
Wei Dazhuang’s strange movements increasingly worried Hu Xiaodong, who dared not delay, hastily following along.
As soon as he stopped, Hu Xiaodong was instantly dumbfounded.
A corpse! A headless corpse!
Although covered by snow water, given the size exposed by the body, this corpse was undoubtedly killed not long ago.
Otherwise, under the current weather situation, they would have noticed it upon arrival.
During his dumbfounded moment, nearby came Wang Qiang’s shout: "Hu brother, there’s a zombie corpse here!!"
Following quickly, Luo Baochun also exclaimed: "Hu brother, there’s one over here too; the corpse has been recently killed!"
How could this be! With a mind full of questions, Hu Xiaodong examined the corpses attentively.
Indeed, as Luo Baochun and Wang Qiang said, the corpses were killed recently.
Undoubtedly, zombies don’t possess the ability to commit suicide, in other words, they must have been slain intentionally.
Considering the four of them were in the car nearby, the only one capable of doing such a thing could only be...
Realizing this, Hu Xiaodong turned his face to focus on Huo Yuankai.
In connecting everything that had occurred recently, Hu Xiaodong instantly concluded that Huo Yuankai was most likely the one who slaughtered those zombies.
"Brother Huo! If I guessed right, the zombie corpses in the snow all died by your blade, right?" With sharp eyes, Hu Xiaodong glanced at Huo Yuankai’s Tang Blade, its blade still stained with blood, further supporting his assertion.
Hearing Hu Xiaodong’s deduction, nearby Wang Qiang, Wei Dazhuang, and the others exchanged looks, nodding in agreement, clearly also concurring with Hu Xiaodong’s statement.
After brushing the snow from the young man’s body, Huo Yuankai slowly stood up and glanced at the four in front of him.
Wei Dazhuang instinctively took a step forward to cover Hu Xiaodong.
No doubt in Hu Xiaodong’s mind about Wei Dazhuang’s intention, he immediately patted Wei Dazhuang’s shoulder, smiled, and shook his head, saying, "Dazhuang, didn’t I just say everything is a misunderstanding. Brother Huo, you killed those zombies, right?"
If there had been any doubt about Hu Xiaodong in Huo Yuankai’s mind, it was dispelled after Wang Qiang’s fearless rescue of the young man.
Thus he didn’t deny it, slammed the blade into the ground heavily, then took out paper and pen to write down what had happened minutes ago.