Chapter 46: New Residents of Xuanwu City

The ruins after the battle always carried an eerie tranquility.

The late wind swept through the wreckage of the "New World Shopping Center", kicking up choking dust that echoed with a mournful wail.

Gui Ying and his "Night Blade" team members stared blankly at the flattened rubble, then at the beast-like huge monster crouched like a small hill not far away, feeling a chill run up their spines to the crown of their heads.

The shock in their hearts could no longer be put into words.

But on the city wall of Xuanwu City, tens of meters high, the atmosphere was completely different.

The taut nerves finally relaxed, and the sense of relief after surviving a disaster spread, letting everyone let out a long breath.

However, this calm did not last long.

As the female medic Xiao Xie and Han Ya placed the survivors rescued from the silk cocoons one by one, new problems also arose.

"Ugh… cough cough…"

"Where… where is this…?"

Weak groans and coughs rose and fell in the makeshift rest area.

The dozens of rescued survivors gradually woke from their coma.

Their bodies were extremely weak; many were skin and bone, with sunken eye sockets and a sickly pallor from never seeing daylight.

When they opened their eyes, they saw a completely unfamiliar environment, each person's eyes filled with bewilderment, fear, and vigilance.

"We… we weren't underground, were we?"

"What place is this? Have we been saved?"

These people instinctively huddled together, whispering.

They eyed Lin Yue and the others nearby with wary gazes.

In the apocalypse, human hearts are scarier than monsters.

Having endured too much betrayal and despair, they simply could not believe anyone would rescue them for no reason.

"Don't be afraid! Don't be afraid!"

Seeing this, Wang Gongtou hurried forward, raised both hands, and squeezed out as gentle a smile as he could.

"We're not bad people! It's Mr. Lin, that young man, who pulled you out of the nest of the Corpse‑Rot Spider!"

He pointed at Lin Yue standing not far away, then stomped his foot on the ground, explaining in as steady a tone as he could:

"This is Xuanwu City, a mobile fortress built on the back of the giant beast 'Black Tortoise'! You are absolutely safe now!"

A mobile fortress? Built on the back of a giant beast?

These words not only failed to calm them, but made them even more frightened.

"A… a giant beast? We're on a monster's back?!"

"Hurry… let us go! I'd rather die in the ruins than be eaten as a snack by a monster!"

Panic erupted in the crowd; a few agitated youths even tried to rush to the edge of the wall.

"Stand still!"

A cold, sharp shout silenced the scene instantly.

Han Ya flashed forward with her short blade, blocking those few youths.

Her eyes, honed between life and death, now swept over everyone like a blade.

"Your lives were snatched from the monster's jaws by Mr. Lin. Black Tortoise is not a monster; it's our partner. If anyone wants to die, I won't hesitate to send them on their way right now!"

Her voice was not loud, but it carried an undeniable killing intent.

The few youths who had just been agitated were struck by her palpable killing intent, their legs went weak, they kept retreating, and dared not move an inch.

Lin Yue stood aside, saying nothing, just calmly watching it all.

After all, they had just escaped from death, even from the nest of the Corpse‑Rot Spider; to them, Black Tortoise was also a mutant beast, a mutant beast even more terrifying than the Corpse‑Rot Spider.

Therefore, any explanation now sounded rather pale.

But that's fine; once they live in Xuanwu City for a while, they'll realize how fortunate they are.

Seeing the situation under control, Wang Gongtou breathed a sigh of relief, wiped the sweat from his forehead, walked over to Lin Yue, lowered his voice, his face full of worry:

"Lin kid, we've saved the people, but now we have to face a real problem."

"Oh? A real problem?"

Lin Yue looked a bit confused—what do you mean by having to face a real problem?

"Food!" Wang Gongtou wrung his hands anxiously,

"Adding these dozens of people, we now have nearly sixty mouths to feed! Relying only on the canned food and biscuits we previously gathered, even at most we'd last only three or five days! Those five‑thousand‑square‑meter potato fields are still far from harvest!"

The issue of drinking water, humanity's biggest survival problem in the apocalypse, is not a problem for them thanks to Black Tortoise's 【Purification】 ability.

But the food problem is not so easily solved.

One person's consumption may be negligible, but the consumption of dozens is absolutely an astronomical figure.

"Just this matter?"

After hearing it, Lin Yue's face showed no worry; instead he gave a light chuckle,

"Old Wang, don't fret over this little thing. Even a huge matter needs a full stomach first."

"Han Ya, A Qiang, Xiao Hui, bring out all our food! Today we hold a welcome feast!"

"What?!"

Wang Gongtou froze on the spot, almost thinking he had misheard.

"Lin kid, are you muddle‑headed? With food so scarce now, you still want to take out all the food? This… this is just nonsense!"

He stomped his feet anxiously, feeling Lin Yue's decision was reckless to the extreme.

Han Ya also frowned tightly; though she said nothing, the doubt in her eyes said it all.

In her view, at such a time they should enforce strict rations, make the supplies last as long as possible.

Only A Qiang and Xiao Hui, although they also felt it was somewhat improper, but out of reverence for Lin Yue, they still immediately ran to the warehouse and moved all the few boxes of biscuits and luncheon meat cans out.

"Mr. Lin, this is all of our supplies..."

A Qiang looked at the pitifully few boxes of food, his voice sounding somewhat hollow.

Lin Yue ignored everyone's reaction, simply walked to the campfire, skillfully pried open a luncheon meat can with Han Ya's sharp dagger, sliced the whole block of meat into thick slices, and placed them on the fire to roast.

"Sizzle—"

The meat slices, upon contact with the high heat, instantly emitted an enticing sound.

The fat was forced out, dripping onto the charcoal and bursting into sparks, while also giving off a rich meat aroma.

"Gurgle..."

Those around, smelling this tempting aroma, kept swallowing their saliva.

They stared fixedly at the few slices of meat rolling in the firelight, their eyes revealing undisguised longing—a craving for food.

When the first slice of meat, grilled golden on both sides with slightly charred edges, was handed to a gaunt young man, his whole body froze.

He stared at the steaming piece of meat, then at Lin Yue who had given him the food, his eyes still filled with disbelief.