Chapter 104 Unsolvable
Manhattan, New York was indeed a river island, as it depended heavily on a large number of bridges and tunnels in order to communicate with the outer world. However, those tunnels were now blocked by various damaged vehicles. An advantage actually existed in their current situation—it was very troublesome for outsiders to come in. But the downside was that the people from the inside find some difficulty in escaping from the island.
The illegal immigrants from Brooklyn were actually trying their best. They wanted to make a fortune in Manhattan even though they faced a lot of challenges. In contrast, the people from Manhattan were trying their best too, but only to escape out of Manhattan.
Zhou Qingfeng had met quite a few leaders from the Chinese territories. However, after a brief chat with them, Zhou Qingfeng found out that they were only waiting for their savior to descend from heaven and rescue them from their misery.
Zhou Qingfeng asked them if they had an escape plan, but his question was too difficult for them to answer.
How should we escape? Where can we escape to? Should we form a team? How are we going to survive? Should we bring all those canned food along with us? How about our Blackwater? The group of Chinese had been discussing such trifles for the past seven days.
Every Chinese man in the barricaded area was completely terrified. “We’ve already lost two hundred of our men. Do you know how many two hundred men are? Everyone who tried to escape was now dead on the streets, and as a consequence, everyone else became scared.”
Those words were actually spoken by Uncle Zheng, the optimist. It was clear that all Chinese men in the barricaded area felt completely lost, especially after the high number of casualties.
Zhou Qingfeng sighed as well after he understood the whole situation. If he had not watched the movie before, if he did not know about the fact that their coming days would only become harder and harder, if he did not try his best in the early days of the cataclysm, he might be doing what the majority was doing now too.
Everyone in the barricade was in an illusion after having been trapped in the area. They thought that they were safe, but in fact, they were only slowly depleting their resources and they could only wait for the arrival of their deaths.
“You guys can’t stay this way. There are indeed two hundred of your men die, but do you know how many people are dying in the streets of Manhattan? At least twenty million of them had died!
“Just four days ago, I’ve rescued over six hundred people out of the Manhattan subway, but do you guys know how many people have actually died in the subway? More than two thousand people died in the Town Hall Station, and the remaining ones only managed to survive because they were feeding themselves with human flesh. How many of you guys have encountered such difficulties before?
“Feeling uncomfortable? This is actually the pungent smell of corpses. A large number of corpses rot in the Manhattan streets! If you guys want to live, you guys have to be prepared to lose half of your team. You can only survive if you’re willing to run for your life regardless of the costs.”
In the restaurant, everyone’s faces turned pale after hearing what Zhou Qingfeng said. Marco was scared too even though he used to serve in the army. Zhou Qingfeng hoped that his earnest words would be able to awaken his compatriots. He really hoped that they could organize themselves, form a team, and dare to sacrifice to fight for their lives.
However… after Zhou Qingfeng gave his motivational speech, he threw a few glances at his surroundings and found that the people still looked afraid of the current situation.
None of them spoke. None of them expressed their thoughts about his speech. None of them took a step forward to say that they were willing to sacrifice themselves in order to find ways for the others to live.
A heap of loose sand!
Zhou Qingfeng felt sad and helpless when he looked at their soulless eyes. He realized that he could not do anything at all under the current situation. In the end, he lowered his voice to a whisper and said, “People will die in batches during the cataclysm. The people who died are very similar to you guys. They were too used to their city lives, and so they have lost their ability to fight for their lives. They were not only pitiable but also abhorrent.
“Uncle Zheng, we’ll need to pass through your territories and head to Broome Street. I hope that you’ll allow me to do so.” Zhou Qingfeng could only take a step backward as he restated his initial request.
The middle-aged Uncle Zheng obviously worried a lot more than the others, as he dragged Zhou Qingfeng’s arm and said patiently, “Young Zhou, we understand what you’re saying, but even so, what can we actually do? The problem still remains unsolvable!
“The people here have their own families, and they’re usually the backbone of their families. You’re asking them to sacrifice themselves for others, but how about the families they’ll leave behind? Should their families just wait for the arrival of their deaths? Perhaps you can help us in some way.”
Uncle Zheng kept tugging on Zhou Qingfeng’s arm, and his face was already soaked in sweat. All the Chinese men knew that the situation of the world had been deteriorating, and thus they gathered together in order to come up with a solution. However, no decisions had yet been reached after seven days.
Everyone felt regretful as they woke up every day. They regretted not reaching an agreement in their discussion. They should have escaped out of Manhattan long ago. However, they always had different opinions every time they held a meeting.
That being said, Uncle Zheng felt like he had seen a ray of hope after meeting the ruthless, savage Zhou Qingfeng, who exuded a murderous aura. This is without a doubt the characteristics expected from a leader in the midst of a chaotic era! Doing something is at least better than doing nothing!
“I’m afraid I couldn’t help you in any other way.” Zhou Qingfeng threw off Uncle Zheng’s hand without much hesitation. Although they were compatriots, Zhou Qingfeng did not want to leave his own fate into the hands of such people. “I’ll give you guys my last warning: If you guys want to live, you guys have to be prepared to lose half of your team.”
Zhou Qingfeng turned around and left after he finished speaking. He contacted Katrina via his wireless radio. He then contacted the sentries standing on top of the guard post. Together, they walked past the Chinese territories and headed to the territories of another group of people.
“You don’t seem to be very happy,” Katrina prompted Zhou Qingfeng while walking by his side.
“I feel lucky for having you guys as my companions,” said Zhou Qingfeng.
“Really?” Katrina replied, laughing. “Why?”
“You guys are ruthless, savage, and you never care about living with dignity. You guys have seen much of life and are able to face death directly. Most importantly, you guys are always calm no matter who’s dying.” Zhou Qingfeng even felt that Butcher actually possessed a good personality when compared to his compatriots, as Butcher would at least express his opinions straightforwardly, unlike them.
“Ha ha ha!” His words brought a great guffaw from Katrina. “Let me guess… Are they lost now? But you shouldn’t blame them. Those kinds of people have never experienced war. They’re not the same as you as well. Not everyone is born cold-blooded.”
“Come on, I’m cold blooded? I’ve taken such a huge risk and spent four days in order to rescue six hundred people, including you, out of the subway. Can I still be considered cold-blooded despite what I’ve done?”
“Ah, right! The warm-blooded hero…. A hero who tried to avoid his companions’ sight and hide oranges behind his companions’ backs.”
“Hey, I’m just trying to collect some resources. Moreover, you guys have snatched more than half of my oranges.”
“Ha ha ha… so what? I’m even planning to snatch your remaining oranges.”
Zhou Qingfeng finally felt better after joking around with Katrina. He truly felt lucky to have them as his companions. At least he did not have to worry about all those trifles.
However, after Katrina finished laughing, she lowered her voice and asked Zhou Qingfeng, “Are you really not going to help your compatriots?”
“I do want to help them. It’s just that I’m incapable of doing so.”
“You’re not incapable; you just don’t want to be bothered. I’ll definitely help them if they’re a bunch of English men.”
“Why?”
“Because I believe that we’ll be able to survive the tough times, and one day, the order of society will be restored.”
“Miss Riven, it’s good for you to be naive!”
“Victor Hugo, are you being sarcastic?”
“Ouch…. Katrina, stop kicking me with your legs. You’ve been sent off for foul play!”