It had been a long time since she had encountered such an awkward situation — the people she had just scammed had appeared at her doorstep the very next moment.
“How many people?” Lin Mo asked in a deep voice while walking quickly toward the entrance of the safe zone.
The young man who came to deliver the news replied while panting, “Four. There are three men and one woman, and they’re also carrying a child. They look like they’re fleeing, so they’re in a mess, but… that woman is carrying a very strange box!”
‘A woman, a child, and a strange box…’ Lu Dongnuan’s heart sank.
Several characteristics of this description matched, though there were fewer people than before.
“Let’s go take a look,” Lin Mo said briefly, quickening his pace.
Lu Dongnuan pursed her lips and suppressed the churning emotions in her heart as she followed him.
What was meant to come would eventually come, she just hadn’t expected it to happen so coincidentally, so… awkwardly.
At the entrance of the safe zone, several people responsible for guard duty had already gathered behind the crude wooden barricades and barbed wire.
They held simple weapons and stared nervously outside.
The last rays of the sunset had grown dim, leaving only a few streaks of dark red clouds in the sky.
Inside the safe zone, the light from the lit torches flickered, stretching shadows and sketching out the silhouettes of the newcomers more clearly.
There were indeed four people.
Of the three men, one was younger, with a fierce, exhausted look in his eyes as if he were still reeling from a shock.
Another was middle-aged, with a weathered face and a look of forced composure.
A bloody rag was wrapped around his arm, and his face was pale.
The person they were partially shielding in the middle was a young woman wearing a dusty and stained research coat.
It was Lin Sui.
She was carrying a silver-white metal box firmly on her back, which looked somewhat out of place even in the dim light.
She held a little girl, who appeared to be about 3 or 4 years old, in her arms.
The child seemed to be asleep, her face buried in the woman’s shoulder.
They looked even more miserable than when Lu Dongnuan had encountered them in the Dead Mall.
Their clothes were severely torn and stained with blood and dust.
Every face was written with extreme exhaustion and deep-seated fear after a long journey.
Lin Sui, in particular, was trying her best to keep her back straight, but the panic and lingering fear in her eyes could not be entirely hidden.
Lu Dongnuan stood slightly behind and to the side of Lin Mo.
Taking advantage of the deepening twilight and the cover of the crowd, she lowered her eyelids and adjusted her breathing and expression.
She tried her best to shed the aura of the “mysterious person” who controlled the Zombies back at the mall.
Lin Mo’s sharp gaze swept over the four people, lingering for a moment on Lin Sui and the box on her back.
He then spoke, his voice steady but carrying an unquestionable authority, “Who are you? Where did you come from?”
Old Zhao, looking the oldest and most stable, took a step forward and answered in a raspy voice, “This… Leader, we escaped from the city center. My name is Zhao Hongbo, and these are Li Xin, Wang Qiuli, and Dr. Lin. This child’s mother is dead.”
He pointed to the little girl in Lin Sui’s arms and said, “We encountered something terrifying over there… Several people died, and we barely managed to escape.”
“We saw the firelight and signs of human life here, so we thought we’d come to seek a way to survive. We mean no harm. As long as we have a place to rest and some food, we’re willing to do anything!”
His tone carried the humility and urgency common among low-level survivors, and he sounded sincere.
Xiao Li also nodded along, but his eyes couldn’t help but peek toward the interior of the safe zone.
Lin Sui held the child, her arms trembling slightly from prolonged tension and the weight.
She raised her pale face and looked at Lin Mo, trying to make her voice sound clear and calm, “My name is Lin Sui. I was once… a researcher at a Biotechnology Agency.”
She cautiously chose a relatively neutral description, “This box contains some research materials and basic samples from before the disaster. They might be of some reference value for understanding the current situation. We are willing to exchange everything we know for a temporary place to stay and basic security.”
She did not mention Black Shield, nor did she overemphasize the box.
Lin Mo’s gaze shifted back and forth between Lin Sui’s face and the box on her back, as if he were assessing the risk level of a dangerous item.
He didn’t immediately respond to Old Zhao’s plea or Lin Sui’s conditions.
Instead, he threw the question back at them.
“The city center? What did you encounter? Being able to walk from there to here alive isn’t something that can be done with just luck.”
Li Xin’s emotions seemed to ignite instantly.
He took half a step forward, his voice becoming sharp with excitement and fear, “It’s the zombies! Zombies that crawled out from underground! They looked… looked like a Spider-Scorpion Monster! It was huge, possessed immense strength, and had a shell so hard bullets couldn’t pierce it. We… several of our people were…”
He choked up, his eyes red as he clenched his fists.
Lin Mo looked back toward Lu Dongnuan and saw her nod.
He understood in his heart that this was indeed the group she had encountered.
Silence fell over the scene once more.
The torchlight flickered, reflecting the complex expressions on everyone’s faces.
“Li Xin and I used to be Police. We can help,” Zhao Hongbo said.
“Police?”
Lin Mo’s voice betrayed no emotion.
He simply repeated the word, an identity that represented order and protection before the Apocalypse but now held an ambiguous meaning.
Li Xin puffed out his chest.
Despite his disheveled appearance, the identity of “Police” seemed to help him regain a sliver of confidence.
“Yes! I was in the Criminal Investigation Detachment. We have experience in investigation, guarding, and maintaining order. We can be of help!”
Lin Mo seemed to deliberate for a long time before finally speaking, his voice lower than before.
“The gate can be opened,” he said.
Hope instantly lit up the faces of Old Zhao and the others.
“But there must be rules.”
“First, a 48-hour observation period in solitary quarantine. We will provide food and water, but during this period, you are not allowed to contact anyone else in the zone and must undergo our medical examination.”
“Second, after the quarantine period ends, you may stay if there are no suspicions. However, you must obey all assigned work and follow all regulations of the safe zone. We don’t support idle people, nor do we tolerate those who destroy unity and order.”
“Third,” his gaze fell heavily on the box on Lin Sui’s back, “all personal belongings, especially this box, must be handed over immediately. We will inspect, evaluate, and keep them temporarily. No one is allowed to touch it until its nature and safety are determined, and its ownership and usage rights are clarified.”
The last rule hit Lin Sui like a bucket of cold water.
Her face turned even paler, and she tightened her grip on the child, her fingertips turning white from the force.
“We understand! We will definitely follow the rules and work hard!” Zhao Hongbo immediately stated his position, and Li Xin nodded vigorously as well.
Lin Mo said nothing more and nodded to the guard beside him, “Take them to the quarantine rooms.”
The wooden barricade was completely moved aside.