CH 155

Chapter 155 - Who was "it" ? (2)

Taking Bei Nuan and the others onto the island with them, the conmen cautiously proceeded forward with their guns raised.

The skinny man said in a trembling voice, "The thing from the river must still be following us…"

Bei Nuan mentally gave him a thumbs up. Yup, that's right. He's following you guys. He's so big, wearing a white shirt, and so handsome. How can none of you notice him?

Jiang Fei saw the bent lamppost and immediately knew who was playing tricks. He smiled and didn't say anything.

When the conmen weren't paying attention to them, Du Ruo surreptitiously asked Lu Xingchi, "Why are you messing with them?"

"For fun." His eyebrows didn't even twitch, but he gave such a naïve answer.

Bei Nuan discovered that this island was really quite big after reaching this side. Not only were there the large houses she had seen on the other pier, this island also had a large mountain that was full of trees.

The lake was comparable to a moat. It was a natural barrier that kept out the zombies, who couldn't swim. A fence had been built around the island for extra safety. Sections of the wooden fence had been taken down and replaced by a sturdy stone wall. It looked like a work in progress.

The conmen were terribly frightened by Lu Xingchi's trick. They cautiously edged forward and took forever to reach the strongly fortified main gate.

The gate was closed.

The head conman knocked a few times.

A small window on the gate opened. The guard on the inside looked out the window before opening the gate.

The guards seemed very familiar with the head conman.

Seeing the head conman bringing over Lu Xingchi and the others, one of the guards joked, "You picked up a few more people again? Business has been pretty good for you lately."

The head conman vaguely responded. He didn't want to say too much.

After everyone was checked over for injuries, the head conman took Lu Xingchi and the others inside.

There were single-story homes everywhere. Most of the homes were built with lime plaster, stones, and straw without any central planning.

It was midnight, but the island was still very lively with many people on the narrow streets. There were street stalls and groups of people out to shop. It looked like a night market, and there were various things for sale. Most of the items were shabby daily necessities as well as unidentifiable strange foods.

Most of the stalls were using pine oil torches for lighting. There were also simple solar lamps that emitted a faint light. Those lamps did a poor job illuminating the items for sale

The head conman led them through the night market and further into the island towards the mountain. The path there was rugged. They stopped in front of a giant cave entrance.

This cave was probably their last line of defense. The bottom half of the entrance was blocked off by a metal gate, and there were people guarding it. If zombies broke through the two lines of defenses - the lake and the high wall, these people could still hide in this cave.

The cave seemed deep with a complicated topography. From the light of the torches in the cave, Bei Nuan could see hatchet marks on the cave walls. It looked like this cave was man-made.

There were many people living in the cave. In the cave's rooms and passages, there were people sleeping in blankets.

Like someone returning home, the head conman led them through the complicated interior of the cave without any problems, and they finally reached his intended destination.

It was a relatively empty spot, and there were a few people playing cards and calling out numbers around a table.

The head conman went over and patted a man on the back. "Old Hu, I brought people over for you again."

Old Hu turned to look. He was hunched over and very thin. His unhealthy complexion gave off the impression that he was suffering from a serious illness.

He tossed the cards on the table and looked over Lu Xingchi and the others with his turbid and dull eyes.

"New arrivals? I'll tell you upfront that we can definitely guarantee your safety, but if you want to stay here, you have to work for your food."

As he went over the gist of the island, Bei Nuan half-heartedly listened. She already knew from the novel that they would have to work if they wanted to stay here. A local armed force used to be stationed here. Due to disputes with the local government, they became a gang of bandits.

It was a mess outside after the zombie outbreak. Although this place was safe for now, they had to figure out a way to become self-sufficient.

The armed men on the island had become accustomed to their leisurely life and didn't want to work. Thus, they went out to collect survivors to work as laborers. The jobs of the laborers were primarily to dig deeper into the mountain, cut down trees, grow food, and replace the wooden fence with a stone wall. The scope of their duties even extended to going out to search for supplies.

Although it was the end of the world, the population on the island had grown, and it was quite lively. Although they had brought these people to be their laborers, they didn't restrict their freedom on the island.

The island was only so big, and there was no way out unless they had a boat. Besides, there were zombies everywhere outside. No one wanted to escape from here.

They didn't physically force anyone to work either. If the laborers didn't work, they wouldn't get paid. If they didn't have money, they couldn't buy food and would starve to death. Thus, the laborers worked very hard in order to have a safe place to live and a bite to eat. Their lives were difficult; their work was hard and their remuneration was meager. They were only paid enough to survive.

As for the head conman and his group, they specially went out to bring people back. They were paid each month for the people they brought back. If they brought back younger and stronger people, they would get a bonus. In other words, they were traffickers.