Chapter 36: Hunting Ground

When Yingzhou said these words, the expressions of the three people around him changed, becoming very fearful.

Yingzhou looked at their appearance and felt very puzzled, but before he could ask his own question, he heard Charlie say to Yingzhou in a low voice: "Yingzhou, I know you mean well, but it is better if you do not say these things in the Hunting Ground. Because the Zerg will check the movements of the prey in the Hunting Ground; if we have thoughts of escaping, they will send out Swift Zergs to kill all the escapees."

"That's right, this idea is too dangerous," Geerman chimed in, nodding.

Yingzhou did not expect the three people's reaction to be like this, and he could not help but feel very surprised and confused. He frowned and asked, "Have you ever seen anyone try to escape from here?"

The three fell into a brief silence, and no one spoke. After a while, Geerman finally broke the silence and replied in a low voice: "We once saw a group of people who wanted to escape from here. In the end, their corpses were torn to pieces by Swift Zergs, and their heads were thrown back to the place where they used to live. The expressions they had before they died remained unchanged even after death; I still cannot forget that scene to this day."

Geerman's words made Yingzhou feel the difficulty of this matter. He looked grave and slowly said, "Hmm, it is indeed somewhat difficult."

Geerman nodded, a bitter smile appearing on his face: "Yes, the leader of that group was a powerful hunter. He led a group of brave people to try to escape from here, but in the end, they all failed. Since then, we have never tried to run away again, because we know deep down that the price of running away is simply too high."

After listening, Yingzhou was silent for a moment. He realized that his understanding of the Zerg Hunting Ground was far from enough. At the same time, he also understood why the three were so fearful of his suggestion.

Geerman patted Yingzhou on the shoulder and comforted him: "Yingzhou, we understand your thoughts, but here, we must learn to adapt to the environment and protect ourselves."

Yingzhou nodded to show his understanding. Although he still hoped to find a way out, he also understood that now was not the time to act impulsively.

He had not expected that these Zerg would keep such strict watch over the humans, causing them to not even dare to harbor thoughts of escaping now.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know it would be like this before," Yingzhou apologized sincerely. "I just wanted to find a way to help everyone leave here."

Charlie shook his head, signaling Yingzhou not to blame himself. "Yingzhou, we know you mean well. But for now, we have to survive the hunt in three months."

Yingzhou nodded; he knew Charlie made sense. "Hmm, I understand. However, I will not give up hope. Is there anything I can help with tomorrow?"

"We are planning to take the scrap we've collected over the past few days to find that guy Ba'er and trade it for some food tomorrow," Charlie said, sitting to one side.

"Ba'er?" Yingzhou looked at Charlie in confusion.

"Right, you don't know him," Charlie grinned and said. "He is the leader of a nearby motorcycle gang. Although we cannot escape the Hunting Ground, those Zerg drop a batch of supplies in this hunting zone every day to ensure we don't starve to death before the hunt arrives."

"Ba'er and his subordinates control a few vehicles in the hunting zone. Every time, they are able to seize all the dropped supplies first, and then they make us find some scrap in the city to trade with him. Those scraps are made into simple weapons by them to deter people who want to snatch the supplies."

Yingzhou nodded and asked again: "Does every Zerg hunt result in everyone in the hunting zone being killed?"

Geerman shook his head and said: "No, Marie and I have already experienced one hunt. The Zerg seem to have certain rules for their hunting. In any case, quite a few people survived that time; there should be a time limit. We hid from the Zerg hunt for about two and a half days that time. After the two and a half days passed, those Zerg left."

Yingzhou nodded and asked again: "Then have you ever met anyone else?"

Geerman replied: "Of course, we met a man named Kenny at that time. He told us that as long as we hide and don't get discovered by the Zerg, we can survive. However, in the end, some people were still caught by the Zerg."

Yingzhou frowned, thinking about how to deal with this Zerg hunt. He suddenly remembered a question and asked: "Has anyone ever killed the Zerg in return?"

Geerman and Charlie looked at each other, both showing surprised expressions. Geerman hesitated for a moment and replied: "I don't know, but I think no one could do it. After all, the Zerg's strength is too powerful; it is very difficult for us humans to contend with them."

Charlie also chimed in: "That's right, we had better not try to challenge the Zerg, otherwise we will only be throwing our lives away for nothing."

Yingzhou was silent. These people were all ordinary people who just wanted to survive. For these people, as long as they held out for two and a half days, they could survive. Resistance? How could that be possible?

Yingzhou realized that he could not force anyone to take unnecessary risks. Everyone had the right to choose their own way of survival, even if that meant they had to endure the rule and exploitation of the Zerg.

"I understand," Yingzhou finally said. "You are right; I cannot make you take risks because of my own ideas. We should focus our energy on ensuring that we can all safely make it through until the next hunt arrives."

Charlie and Geerman both breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing Yingzhou's words. They knew that although Yingzhou had a strong sense of justice, he was also a rational person. He would not let everyone fall into danger because of a momentary impulse.

"Thank you, Yingzhou," Charlie patted Yingzhou on the shoulder. "We know you mean well, but we must also be realistic. We will do our best to protect ourselves and protect you as well."

Yingzhou nodded and said nothing more.

Yingzhou returned the wooden bed to Charlie, and although Charlie still wanted Yingzhou to continue lying on it, he could not withstand Yingzhou's insistence. Finally, Yingzhou sat cross-legged on the canvas Charlie had used yesterday, preparing for Gathering Spiritual Power.

"Big Brother Yingzhou, I've always been curious, what are you doing sitting there cross-legged?" Marie looked at Yingzhou curiously and asked.

"Gathering Spiritual Power, don't you know about this?" Yingzhou sat cross-legged on the canvas and asked Marie in return.

"I've heard of this; Marie was still young at the time and didn't know about this. I remember it should be a preparation made to awaken some kind of power, but under normal circumstances, one cannot awaken it." Geerman hung the flashlight on the shack and continued, "You are also preparing to awaken that kind of power, right? It's a pity you were caught here by the Zerg."

Yingzhou did not deny it; at the very least, before he left the Lingnengzhe Xuexiao, he was still a student.