Chapter 291: Aftermath in the Ruins
by xennovel“Boss! Boss, where are you?”
“Boss! Answer us! We’re here to help…”
“Little Brother Lu! Little Brother Lu, are you okay?”
Panicked shouts echoed from the distance, laced with the roar of motorcycle engines, scattered gunfire, and the beast-like howls of madmen.
At the end of the long street, hazy figures emerged through the thin mist—a group of old drivers on motorcycles, shouting as they searched their way toward the end of the dilapidated street.
When they saw the scene at the street’s end, every single one of them couldn’t help but gasp.
What they saw was a scene of utter carnage and gore.
Unidentifiable chunks of flesh were scattered across dozens of meters of ground, resembling some grotesque, abstract oil painting.
Radiating out from this gruesome centerpiece, the surrounding steel, trees, and plastic pipes showed clear signs of distortion.
Even the ground bore deep gouges, as if scraped by something incredibly sharp and hard.
To one side of the ‘painting’ sat their Boss Gao, looking stunned. Her hands rested on her knees, all ten fingers twisted unnaturally as if someone had viciously broken them. Her expression was a vacant mix of confusion and emptiness.
“Boss, are you alright?”
“Boss! Your hands… what happened?”
The group of old drivers hastily dismounted their bikes, rushing over and shouting in alarm.
Amidst the commotion, Old Zhou called out worriedly, “Where’s Little Brother Lu? Is he okay?”
“I’m fine!”
Lu Xin’s voice drifted from an empty room nearby, though it sounded somewhat downcast.
Old Zhou hurried towards the empty room. It looked like it used to be a shop; the large window facing the street entrance was shattered. Inside, Lu Xin was crouched in front of his motorcycle, meticulously wiping it down with a piece of scavenged rag.
Old Zhou stepped forward anxiously, his voice trembling slightly, “Little Brother Lu, are you really okay?”
“I’m fine…”
Lu Xin’s voice was low, tinged with frustration. “It’s just… my motorcycle got scratched in several places…”
“Uh… this…”
Old Zhou was bewildered, not quite processing the situation.
After a moment, he cautiously asked Lu Xin, who was frowning as he wiped his bike, “What… what happened just now?”
“Nothing much.”
Lu Xin glanced up, clearly unhappy. “Your Boss and I came over here and found a monster that looked like a brain. It was playing a violin, controlling those madmen. So, we dealt with the monster. But I was in a hurry and couldn’t park properly… Look,” he gestured, “it got scratched like this.”
He touched the scratch on the bumper ruefully, his mood sinking further.
“That’s… that’s it?”
Old Zhou felt something wasn’t right.
Lu Xin’s explanation didn’t quite seem proportional to the bloody scene surrounding them…
But he didn’t know where to begin asking.
…
“The problem’s dealt with for now!”
“Quick! Have everyone finish off the remaining madmen, then get the trucks out…”
Just then, Boss Gao seemed to snap back to reality at their shouts, instructing them in a hoarse voice.
But the old drivers didn’t need her instructions. Their reason had returned the moment they decided to come back for her. They quickly helped Boss Gao onto the back seat of a motorcycle and had someone take her out of the town first.
Someone else rushed in, wanting to ride Lu Xin’s motorcycle.
“Don’t…”
Lu Xin quickly refused, indicating he didn’t need the treatment reserved for the injured.
He’d ride his own bike. He swung a leg over the motorcycle, glanced at the bloody scene, and followed behind with a *putt-putt-putt* sound.
…
Heading out of town, Lu Xin observed the chaos within the city.
Corpses lay scattered everywhere, remnants of the earlier madmen attack.
Some had their heads caved in, with blood splattered across nearby buildings or utility poles. Others were locked in grotesque embraces, their bodies gnawed away. Some wandered aimlessly, while others sat blankly by the roadside.
It was hard to say exactly how many madmen were in this city, but a conservative estimate would be over two hundred.
Gathered together, such a number was terrifying.
But once scattered, it didn’t seem like that many.
Seven or eight bolder members of the convoy had already split off, guns in hand. Whenever they spotted a wandering or blankly sitting madman, they’d put a bullet in it, clearing the threat to make way for the trucks.
“Are they killing all the ones still alive too?”
Lu Xin accelerated slightly with a *putt-putt-putt*, asking Old Zhou who was riding ahead, legs straddling the back seat of someone else’s motorcycle.
Old Zhou paused, then nodded quickly. “Yeah. What if they go crazy again later?”
Lu Xin hesitated, unsure if this was the right time to bring it up.
But he asked anyway, “Didn’t you say they were worth over a hundred yuan each?”
Old Zhou’s face scrunched up. “Little… Little Brother Lu, are you really treating this like a business?”
Lu Xin shook his head and didn’t press the issue.
The convoy prioritized safety above all else. It would be unreasonable for him to ask them to capture madmen alive just to sell them…
If anyone was to blame, it was him for not holding back and killing the violinist monster earlier.
…
Old Zhou and the others first escorted Boss Gao and Lu Xin to the outskirts of the ruined city, meeting up with Little Zhou and the other young men sent out earlier. Then, shouting instructions, they organized teams to go back into the city, batch by batch, to retrieve the trucks.
The madmen attack had cost them over twenty people, but the remaining survivors were still enough to drive the trucks.
They found an open space outside the city to set up a temporary camp: pitching tents, boiling water, bandaging wounds, taking headcount, and parking the retrieved trucks.
Watching them bustle about, Lu Xin felt a sense of comfort.
People who traveled the Wasteland truly had more courage and resilience than ordinary folk. If regular people faced such an attack, they might have been traumatized into illness. But these old drivers, despite being terrified and losing over twenty companions, could still calmly salvage goods, set up camp, and assign lookouts. It was quite impressive.
Feeling clumsy and unable to offer much help, Lu Xin sat inside a tent and took out his small notebook.
Eliminated: One Brain-like monster, two mutated madmen…
Madmen: Numerous.
Expended: Three special bullets, three hundred 3mm hardened rounds for robotic dog…
Unconfirmed Income: Half a truckload of scavenged goods…
…
After jotting down a few entries, his hand trembled slightly.
He looked up, saw his motorcycle, and felt another pang of dismay.
“Little Brother Lu, would you like some water?”
“Little Brother Lu, should I get you something to eat?”
“Little Brother Lu, were you injured earlier? Do you need any penicillin?”
Little Zhou hadn’t been assigned to drive trucks out of the city—that task fell to the older, more experienced drivers. So, he remained at the camp, helping to position the vehicles, prepare water and food, set up tents, and tend to the wounded.
He was clearly flustered, running over to ask Lu Xin questions every few minutes.
“No, thanks. I’m really fine. You should focus on taking care of the injured.”
Lu Xin put away his notebook as Little Zhou asked for the last time and looked at him.
“Oh, okay…”
Little Zhou started walking back dejectedly but couldn’t help turning around again. “Little Brother Lu… what exactly happened back there?”
“To be honest, I’m not entirely sure myself right now.”
Many people had already asked this question, but Lu Xin still shook his head.
He was telling the truth. Although he’d dealt with the Brain-like monster, he didn’t fully understand where it came from or what was going on with the madmen. He wasn’t even entirely clear why Mom had hated that monster so intensely, or why Sister had become so upset upon sensing it.
He was waiting for Mom to return; there were many things he needed to ask her.
However, seeing Little Zhou looking lost and anxious, he offered a reassuring smile. “But everything’s definitely alright now.”
“Oh, oh, good.”
Little Zhou trusted Lu Xin completely. Instantly relieved, he ran off to help elsewhere, clearly motivated.
…
Assigning drivers trip after trip, bringing the trucks stuck in the city out one by one, took a significant amount of time. By the time all the trucks were parked near the camp in a neat row, and the wounded and lost personnel were accounted for, night had fallen.
A somber atmosphere gradually settled over the camp.
It was only now that many finally had the energy to grieve.
Lu Xin sat quietly amidst the silent, grieving camp, gradually feeling that his efforts had been worthwhile.
Financially, he had definitely taken a loss, but in other aspects, he had gained immensely.
The joys, sorrows, delights, and angers of life were all incredibly beautiful and real things.
He liked these raw, living experiences.
“Um… thank you!”
As these thoughts drifted through his mind, a tall figure appeared beside Lu Xin.
Lu Xin quickly looked up and saw Boss Gao Ting.
The woman had a bandage on her face, and thin strips of gauze were wrapped around all ten fingers.
She looked somewhat haggard, a clear sign of having been badly frightened.
It was unclear whether this fright stemmed entirely from the madmen and the grotesque Brain-like monster, or perhaps something else. But it was obvious she was desperately trying to control her terror and appear calm and composed.
“Ah, uh… you don’t need to be so formal!”
Lu Xin quickly put away his notebook and pulled over a stool for her. “Sit.”
Gao Ting glanced at the stool, paused for a moment, then sat down.
She seemed to gather her thoughts before looking at Lu Xin. “If it weren’t for you, our entire convoy might have perished in this godforsaken place. You saved all our lives. People who travel the Wasteland understand debts of gratitude and vengeance clearly, so…”
She said earnestly, “The money from this cargo run… aside from some compensation funds… I… I can give it all to you.”
“What?”
Lu Xin was clearly taken aback, looking at Boss Gao in surprise.
Gao Ting looked hesitant, adding apologetically, “We… really don’t have much else to offer as thanks…”
“That… that’s really not necessary.”
Lu Xin composed himself slightly, then smiled. “We’re all just trying to get by in the Wasteland. Helping each other out is only natural.”
Hearing him say this for the second time, Gao Ting felt a strange sensation.
The first time she heard it, it felt somewhat exaggerated, and she wasn’t sure if he was serious or just teasing her.
This time, after witnessing him take down that monster, hearing him say such words with a gentle smile…
…It felt somewhat contradictory, yet it genuinely created a sense of security.
…
“If you really want to thank me, I actually have a question I’d like to ask you.”
Seeing this usually decisive and highly capable Boss now showing such a vulnerable, softer side, Lu Xin felt slightly moved. Looking into Gao Ting’s eyes, he straightened up slightly, adopting a sincere expression.
He once again took out his small notebook and his gold-threaded steel pen, assuming a very professional posture.
During the fight with the Brain Monster, he had already confirmed that this Boss had undergone some kind of mutation in her body.
This indicated she had likely come into contact with a Pollution Source or been influenced by an Ability User.
It wasn’t appropriate to ask before. Now might be the chance.”