Ch84-Help! Big Brother and Big Sister, Save Me!
Heavy snow now fell relentlessly, piling up thickly.
The floodwaters had long since submerged the greenery along the neighborhood and highway, now completely blanketed in ice and snow.
The five could only head north.
The higher ground there held a grove of trees-perhaps they could try their luck.
It took them nearly an hour to reach their destination.
By then, over twenty people were already chopping down trees.
Their eyes were vacant, faces worn with exhaustion. Like robots, they cut down the trees mechanically.
Even when they caught sight of Meng Ci and his group, they merely gave them a fleeting glance before resuming their mechanical chopping.
Meng Ci understood their state.
Having barely survived the torrential downpours and acid rain, these people had believed they'd made it to the end, that normal life might finally be within reach.
Yet now, the temperatures are plummeting once more.
Those still alive had likely accepted the existence of this apocalyptic world. With no certainty about what the future held-perhaps death could come at any moment-they embraced the mindset of living day by day.
Meng Ci and his group chose a spot and began cutting down trees.
The terrain here was elevated, so it hadn't flooded during the previous downpour. However, the snow had piled up over a meter deep, meaning they could only cut down half the trees.
Cutting more than they could carry was pointless. Meng Ci and Shen Que teamed up to fell one tree.
After felling the tree, they sawed it into sections over a meter long.
They then bound the sections together with rope, each person grabbing one end and pulling toward home.
Once back home, they would slowly chop the logs into usable lengths with an axe.
Although Cheng Yu's group had three members, Mao Xinyu was still a girl. Even after days of training, her strength couldn't match that of the men, so they too only felled one tree.
However, they later gathered the branches and scraps others had left behind, bundled them together, and had Mao Xinyu pull them.
Once everything was ready, the five began their return journey.
"Help! Help!"
From a distance, Meng Ci and the others heard a little girl's voice calling out ahead.
After walking a short distance further, they spotted a seven or eight-year-old girl. Her lower body was buried in the snow, and she was struggling desperately with her hands.
When she spotted Meng Ci and the others, it was as if she'd seen a ray of light in the darkness. She cried out urgently, her voice filled with desperate longing, like a frightened little bird seeking shelter.
"Brother, sisters, please save me, save me."
Her cheeks were frozen bright red, and snot streamed down her nose.
Mao Xinyu dropped the firewood she was carrying and started to rush forward to help.
Meng Ci quickly stopped her.
"Teacher Mao, look at that little girl. She's well-dressed, and her face has some meat on it. Her parents must have taken good care of her." "With this downpour, they wouldn't just leave her out here alone."
"Maybe they've run out of food at home and sent her out as bait."
"Her parents dug this pit and are now lurking nearby, waiting for you to take the bait."
Mao Xinyu paused, convinced by Meng Ci's reasoning. She decided against meddling.
Standing just twenty meters away, the little girl had overheard their conversation.
Tears welled in her eyes, teetering on the brink of falling, making her appearance even more heartbreaking.
"Brother, I'm not a liar. I got lost."
"Waaah, waaah... Dad and Mom went out to cut wood. They didn't want me to come."
"But I was so bored at home alone, I snuck out after them."
"Then, while walking, I just... got lost."
"Brother, Sister, I really am not a liar."
"Please, please save me."
Seeing the little girl like this, Mao Xinyu's eyes flickered with hesitation.
"Mr. Meng, she doesn't seem like a liar to me."
Mao Xinyu thought to herself: How could a mere child of a few years old possess such masterful acting skills?
Novels had warned him-in the apocalypse, many exploited children to gain sympathy and profit.
That's why Meng Ci didn't believe the little girl's story.
Besides, the snow was frozen solid-how could she possibly have fallen through?
"Shen Que, what do you think?" Meng Ci asked.
Shen Que replied, "If this truly is the apocalypse, kindness won't be praised. It will only invite trouble."
"Self-preservation is the optimal solution."
Clearly, Shen Que shared Meng Ci's perspective.
Mao Xinyu heeded their advice, returned to gather firewood, and prepared to follow them away.
"Oh no!"
The little girl, who had been whimpering all along, suddenly let out a startled cry as her body seemed to slide down a bit.
"Help me! Waaah, help me!"
Once again, Mao Xinyu couldn't bear to watch. She dropped the firewood she was holding.
"What if she's not a fraud? What if she's telling the truth?"
"If she really is a fraud, then so be it. When trouble comes, you just go. Don't worry about me."
With that resolve, Mao Xinyu embraced her fate and walked resolutely toward the little girl.
"Waaah, Sister, save me!"
The girl looked up at Mao Xinyu through tear-filled eyes, reaching out her hand.
"Don't be afraid. I'm coming to save you." Mao Xinyu extended her hand, attempting to pull the girl out.
Cheng Yu and Duan Yan saw that Mao Xinyu had been gone for so long without any sign of danger, so they assumed the little girl was truly in trouble. The two of them were about to go up and help.
"Thud!"
"Xinyu!"
Cheng Yu and Duan Yan took a couple of steps forward and saw Mao Xinyu suddenly fall from where she was standing.
Soon after, five figures emerged from the snow nearby-three men and two women, clad in white padded jackets and wielding gleaming long blades.
Two men and one woman swiftly aimed their blades at Mao Xinyu in the pit, while the other two worked together to pull the little girl out.
"Trying to save her?" a man nearly six feet tall with a sharp, cropped haircut demanded, staring at them.
Cheng Yu's face darkened. "What do you want?"
Mao Xinyu in the pit felt her ankle twisted. Though the pit was only about three feet deep, given the current situation, she couldn't get out on her own.
Besides, several long knives were pointed at her.
Recalling Meng Ci's earlier words, Mao Xinyu could only blame her own soft-heartedness for disobeying him.
"Don't worry about me. Leave quickly."
"I've lived long enough anyway."
Mao Xinyu thought to herself that after so many years outside, Meng Ci and the others might not be their match. She had brought this upon herself and couldn't drag them down with her.
Though Mao Xinyu said this, Cheng Yu and the others couldn't just abandon her.
Meng Ci and Shen Que dropped the firewood they were carrying. Judging by the situation, they wouldn't be able to escape easily unless they killed their attackers.
The little girl crouched beside the
pit, cupping her face in her hands. Gone was her earlier pitiful demeanor; now she beamed as she said, "Sister, thank you for saving me just now."
"Since you've come to save me, you might as well see it through."
"I haven't eaten in days. Sister, could you tell me where you live?"
Mao Xinyu rubbed her foot, her eyes narrowing menacingly at
" Don't even think about it"