Chapter 88: Eating Raw

Chen Mu could already roughly guess what had happened.

That morning, the three people had originally intended to come and have a proper discussion with them, but it was obvious that at the last moment, the three suddenly fell into mental confusion again.

Lu Shanshan said that after they fell into confusion, they would walk around in circles like zombies, and Chen Mu then understood why, when he saw them then, he had felt a lifeless, expressionless sensation—whether killing or being killed, there was no change in expression.

Moreover, they didn't even speak before striking a deadly blow.

It was obvious that they had originally come with good intentions, but when they suddenly approached strangers, it triggered the painful memory of being attacked before, sending them straight into a frenzy mode where they killed anyone they saw.

The reason Chen Mu didn't think those three were particularly formidable was entirely due to the circumstances at the time.

One could also say that the crack in the door saved his life.

The three people's combined Special Ability, working in unison, was evidently stronger than their simple cooperation; although Chen Mu had already awakened then, his ability usage was far inferior to now, and if they had truly faced each other in combat back then, he would likely have been no match.

But his decisive retreat back into the room greatly reduced the opponent's ability; taking advantage of the situation, he managed to incapacitate one person, and while the opponent, in their frenzy, only knew how to attack indiscriminately, this allowed Chen Mu, after absorbing a blow from a stick, to kill another, ultimately wiping them all out.

That was Chen Mu's first killing.

And now, knowing that everything was a misunderstanding, he felt even worse inside.

Although this wasn't his fault, he found it hard to accept for a while.

……

Lu Shanshan's facial expression remained frozen for a long time, then she seemed to deflate, slumping to the ground; because her hands and feet were bound, her whole body leaned at a twisted angle.

Quite obvious.

She had already anticipated this outcome.

And after Chen Mu said "I'm sorry," she also roughly guessed what had happened.

"They've fallen into confusion again, right?" Lu Shanshan lifted her head and looked at Chen Mu.

Chen Mu nodded.

Then he reached out and retracted the chain on her feet, so she could sit more comfortably.

Lu Shanshan changed her posture, sitting cross-legged on the ground; although her hands were still bound, at least she could now sit upright.

She softly said thanks, then after several attempts to speak that were stopped, she finally sighed: "Those three were actually good people; they never treated others as burdens, and without them, we might have died long ago."

Chen Mu didn't want to continue the topic, so he asked instead: "What happened to you all afterward?"

"We waited left and right for the three but they didn't come, so we guessed they might have met with misfortune; however, at the time we only thought you were all vicious people, so we dared not approach this side. Fortunately, later a few people in our group also gained Special Abilities, allowing us to barely survive.

"But as time went on, obtaining food became increasingly difficult; several people died while out searching for supplies, and others, unwilling to be a burden, abandoned the group and left alone, leaving in the end only the four of us."

Chen Mu suddenly asked: "Where was your original base?"

"It was in a drainage pipe on the first-floor corridor of the teaching building; we put some leaves inside as padding, and it was not bad."

"You said someone attacked you before? Do you know who it was?"

"I don't know."

"Could it be someone from Yi Zhong?"

"Yi Zhong? I don't know." Lu Shanshan looked bewildered.

Chen Mu was taken aback; he had originally thought only that group from Yi Zhong, due to their conflict with Qingbei, would hold hostility toward all students of Ziwei High School.

Otherwise, it would be impossible to explain why they would attack their own kind for no reason; obviously, in this situation, collective cooperation is the way to survive, wariness between strangers is understandable, but to senselessly seek to kill others makes no sense.

Quite obvious.

The outside world is far more complicated than they imagined.

"Have you ever encountered anyone from Qingbei?" Chen Mu asked again.

"Qingbei? What's that?" Lu Shanshan still seemed completely unaware, and it didn't look like she was pretending; besides, there was no great need to hide such a matter.

Chen Mu didn't answer, continuing to ask: "Besides those who attacked you, have you encountered anyone else?"

"Not counting you, there hasn't been anyone else."

Chen Mu frowned; the school isn't huge, nor is it tiny, yet over such a long period, not encountering anyone else seems a bit coincidental.

Of course.

From Lu Shanshan's meaning, she herself rarely went out before, so not having met people isn't strange; perhaps the three who died had encountered Qingbei people, then refused and never mentioned it back.

Or perhaps there simply aren't many people around that teaching building.

Chen Mu pondered for a moment, unable to find a clue, and thought he would discuss it later with Tang Jing and the others.

After thinking, he asked again: "Since you don't dare to approach this place, why did you sneak in tonight?"

"Because we could barely get by; later we could only search the roads for the corpses of dead ants and insects, and if we found something relatively fresh, we would eat some."

"Eat them raw?" Chen Mu was startled.

"We can't make a fire, so we can only eat them raw." Lu Shanshan showed little expression, evidently already accustomed to it.

Chen Mu thought, really admiring them a bit.

Indeed, for survival, people can do many unimaginable things.

Although there are pioneers like Bear Grylls, and everyone knows many insects are not only harmless but actually high-quality protein food, yet when it comes to actually eating insects raw, few dare to try, let alone now, with this body size, the disgust level of insects and ants has likewise increased a hundredfold.

"So, you came in here intending to steal food?"

"Yes, although we don't dare to get close, we occasionally watch you from afar, and sometimes at night we even pluck up the courage to walk to the door to check; we were originally a bit hesitant, but after discovering yesterday that you were sealing the door crack, we feared we'd never get another chance, so we decided to risk coming in tonight, and yet we were still discovered by you."

"To be honest, you really lack the talent for thievery."

Chen Mu was rather speechless; stealing from others' homes, they had several times almost cried out themselves, and with their four's poor performance, being able to survive to now is truly a miracle.

Lu Shanshan's expression was embarrassed.

Chen Mu then asked: "Besides the classmate who can fart, have any of you awakened a Special Ability?"

Lu Shanshan was obviously quite unfamiliar with the term "awakening," she stared blankly for a moment, then nodded and said: "All of us have awakened."

This time it was Chen Mu's turn to be surprised.

All four of them have awakened?

In addition to the earlier questioning, it seems that among this group of people, the proportion of those who have awakened is very high, possibly not inferior to our side.