Chapter 527: Fear and Trust
Meng Chao was shocked by Su Mulian’s actions.
Then, he felt really confused.
‘Even if I don’t look especially handsome and cool, I don’t look like some kind of demon, right? Is there a need for this girl to be so scared?
‘Besides, quite a number of Leprosy Village villagers look strange and fierce. Su Mulian should already be used to it.’
Also, the explosion had made severed limbs and b.l.o.o.d.y corpses fly all over the place. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the ruins were surrounded by mountains of corpses. The former Reaper Squad had also been slaughtering the villagers.
Su Mulian had retained her merciful and aloof expression in that h.e.l.l. It showed that her heart was stronger than that of the normal people.
So why did she look like she saw a ghost when she saw his real face?
“I-I’m sorry.” Su Mulian realized that she had overreacted, and her face turned a little red. “I mistook you for someone else.”
She was not a good liar.
She groped around with her right hand and instinctively grabbed a broken rebar, as if Meng Chao was just too terrifying and she had to get something to protect herself before she could gather the courage to speak to him.
Her lips, arms, and legs trembled, which showed that she was terrified of Meng Chao.
“Mistook me for someone else?” Meng Chao felt really puzzled. “Um... might I ask just who do you think I am?”
He was very curious. Just what sort of fearsome existence could terrify Ms. Mulian, who was a living Buddha willing to endure countless deformed villagers’ pain without flinching.
And that fearsome existence seemed to look very similar to him...
“No... It’s no one.” Ms. Mulian sucked in a deep breath and bit her lip while she forced herself to let go of the broken rebar. She sucked in another breath and gradually calmed down, but she still did not dare to look at Meng Chao’s face. With her head bowed, she said, “I’m sorry, I should be thanking you for saving me and so many villagers.”
“You saved me, and I saved you. We don’t need to thank each other and be so polite.” Since they were in a hurry, Meng Chao did not have the time to wonder about Su Mulian’s strange att.i.tude. He went straight to the point and asked, “Ms. Mulian, you know who I am?”
Regardless of whether she really mistook him for someone else or not, since her reaction was so great, she should know who he was.
Just as he expected, Su Mulian nodded and whispered, “I do. You’re Meng Chao.”
“That’s right! Meng Chao, you’re Meng Chao of Monster University, the boss of Superstar, club leader of Broken Star Club, and the youngest Heaven Realm superhuman in Dragon City!”
A’Ji jumped up by the side, and his eyes shone while he flailed his arms. “So, it’s you, Big Brother Chao? You’re the most famous super newbie in the superhuman circle! I’ve watched quite a few of your fighting videos, and I even follow you on social media!”
“Do you?” Meng Chao scratched his head, and a strange feeling rose in his chest.
He thought that Leprosy Village was isolated from the world, but by the looks of it now, they were not that cut off.
Su Mulian saw Meng Chao’s puzzlement and explained, “During the past few decades, the spirit energy magnetic fields around Dragon City have gotten really complicated, and interference became really bad. There are plenty of areas in the main city area where signals are not stable. The underground cables are also often bitten through by pests, and it’s even worse in Leprosy Village. No one comes here to set up cables and build a signal station. So, the older generation doesn’t know the situation outside.
“But recently, especially after Dragon City won in the northern offense, the spirit energy magnetic field in the city slowly stabilized. Some signal stations were also set up around Leprosy Village and the lair, so the villagers were able to see the world around us through the internet.
“It’s not that we’re ignorant of the outside world. It’s just that... due to various reasons, we don’t want to attract attention, and we seldom come into direct contact with the outside world.”
“Since you know who I am, that makes things easier.”
Meng Chao spent ten minutes giving a simple account of the entire matter and told them about his speculations.
In the end, he said, “Ms. Mulian, please believe me. I admit that Dragon City has been unable to treat everyone equally during its development over the past half a century, and its treatment toward special groups like Leprosy Village is especially unfair, but this is a problem left by the zombie crisis era. It’s not that Dragon City didn’t choose not to solve the problem, but that we lack resources and don’t have the ability to solve it for the time being.
“We wouldn’t overlook other people’s lives just to capture criminals and abnormal beasts, and it’s impossible for us to deliberately use large-scale, destructive weapons to level the entire Leprosy Village to the ground.
“As long as you calm down and think carefully, you will immediately find that the words of those ‘captors’ are full of loopholes. Those ‘law enforcers’ are fake. They’re wanted criminals and former Reaper Squad members pretending to be law enforcers. They’re the claws of the abnormal beasts, and their goal is to intensify the conflict between Leprosy Village and the outside world so that you will fight against each other.
“I think that the enemy is creating a situation to force Wild Wolf to lead the best fighters in Leprosy Village in an all-out charge. Then, they will end up fighting against the gangs trying to prevent them from going out.
“Once this large conflict happens, the abnormal beasts who have been hiding in the dark will definitely use the chaos to benefit themselves. They will do even more terrifying things to the gangs and completely destroy the order in the lair. Then, they will bring the chaos in the lair into the heart of Dragon City—the places which are the most prosperous and have the densest population.
“This is like an avalanche. The initial scheme is just a small pebble, but the chain reactions will cause its destructive nature to increase several times, and in the end, all of Dragon City will be swallowed by the chaos.
“And you’re that pebble. You’re the key to stopping this avalanche!
“Why did the abnormal beasts cut off all communications indiscriminately? It’s to stop Leprosy Village and the lair from communicating with each other, and it’s also to stop the lair from communicating with the outside world. With the advantage of not being able to sync information, the enemy can make us dance on its palm.
“So, the key is communication.
“As long as you can convince Wild Wolf to calm down and think of a way to communicate with the master of the gangs, he will definitely discover the truth and expose the scheme.
“Right now, Dragon City is engaged in a pitched battle that will decide its fate. For the time being, it can’t mobilize any forces to provide reinforcements for the lair, but I believe that as long as you maintain order in Leprosy Village and the lair for a few days, we will be able to suppress the monsters, and reinforcements will come in waves. At that time, Leprosy Village, the lair, and all of Dragon City will be saved!”
Su Mulian listened to him seriously, and at almost the same moment Meng Chao said the last word, she nodded and replied, “Got it. I trust you.”
“You do?” Meng Chao felt as if he had just collected 120% of his power into a punch, but before he hit his enemy, the enemy capitulated.
Based on how much Su Mulian feared him, he thought that she had great distrust toward him and the outside world, so he prepared a long speech to convince her!
He did not expect that she would agree so readily.
In fact, Meng Chao had a strange feeling that before he even said anything, Su Mulian already believed him.
What was that? His imagination?
Since Su Mulian was able to recognize him immediately and could even trust him wholeheartedly, what was with that extreme fear?
Also, the moment he saw her, he had a strange reaction. It was as if there was some sort of relationship between them in his previous life, but when he searched through his memory fragments, he could not find her at all.
Su Mulian was shrouded in a huge ball of mystery.
But right now, Meng Chao did not have the time to make guesses.
For some unknown reason, Su Mulian chose to believe him unconditionally, and it solved the most crucial problem.
“Ms. Mulian, could you bring me to Wild Wolf and help me convince him to help us?” Meng Chao asked with great expectation.
Su Mulian thought about this carefully for a while before she nodded. Then, she shook her head and said, “Of course I can bring you to Uncle Wolf, but I’m not confident that I can convince him to calm down.
“Uncle Wolf is a very stubborn man. He represents the most extreme group of people among the zombie infectees’ descendants. He believes that everything beyond Leprosy Village harbors ill-will toward the village, and that includes the gangs in the lair, Dragon Citizens, the Supernatural Tower, the Survival Committee, and the monsters. He thinks that Leprosy Village doesn’t need to ask for help from anyone in the outside world nor that it’s possible for us to ask for help. We can only rely on ourselves to survive.
“He always believed that Grandpa was too weak-willed toward the outside world. Even if his act of groveling to the outside world and even betraying the interests of Leprosy Village was the only reason why we were able to get food, drinkable water, and other resources necessary for us to survive.
“Of course, he knows that Grandpa was forced to do it, which was why he still reluctantly listened to Grandpa’s instructions in the past.
“But one year ago, for some unknown reason, he got into a major argument with Grandpa in private, and they argued really fiercely. I seldom saw them with such terrifying expressions.
“From then on, Uncle Wolf rarely came to see Grandpa. Wild Wolves grew stronger and bigger, and they slowly took over Grandpa’s authority.
“As for me, Uncle Wolf still takes care of me, but he treats me as a girl who’s ignorant of worldly affairs. He once said that my kindness can save the villagers, but I can’t save all of them.
“I admit that he’s right. I don’t have the power nor the interest to save all of Leprosy Village. The only thing I can do is save as many villagers as I can.
“Now, Grandpa is dead. There’s no longer any force that can stop Uncle Wolf from using his method to defend Leprosy Village’s rights.
“In such a chaotic situation, even if I bring you to him, I don’t think you will be able to convince him of everything you said.
“He’ll probably even suspect that you’re using my naivety and kindness. So, in order for me to not be deceived by you anymore, he will use even more extreme methods on you and... s.n.a.t.c.h me back from you.”
“No way.” Meng Chao was stunned. He cleared his throat and said, “I have a bit of fame in the superhuman circle in Dragon City, you know? I might not have a lot of achievements under my belt, but at least I’ve fought in a few solid battles and everyone knows that I’m a good person! How could I lie to you, to him, and all of Leprosy Village?!”
“Uncle Wolf hates superhumans from the outside. I don’t know why,” Su Mulian said. “He wasn’t like this in the past. A few years ago, while he was a little averse to the outside world, he mainly hated the gangs that traded with Leprosy Village, because they often took advantage of us.
“But ever since his argument with Grandpa a year ago, he seems to harbor a great hatred toward the whole world.
“It’s especially so toward the superhumans outside, and it’s absolutely prominent toward people like you, who have a huge company as a family business. You even built the Broken Star Club and are an important person who stands above everyone else.”