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Chapter 119 - Ch 119 : It's none of our business

"Then how can I get a chance?"

"Only if Arhat Zheng allows it will you have the chance to enter the Sanctuary. And only by entering the Sanctuary can you have the chance to refine your cultivation."

"The Sanctuary? What kind of place is that?"

Hearing this, the old woman glanced at me and shook her head, saying, "Only Arhat Zheng can personally lead you to the location of the Sanctuary."

"Who is Arhat Zheng?"

Actually, I already had a pretty good guess who the old woman was talking about — it was almost certainly that strange old man Zheng at the entrance.

But the more I thought about it, the more I felt the word "Arhat" didn't quite match the scene when I first met him.

So I went ahead and asked.

The old woman didn't answer me.

Instead, she slightly furrowed her brows, stood up, walked to the windowsill, and muttered to herself, "The mutants seem to have been out for quite a while today."

What she said reminded me of something, and I hurriedly asked, "Have these walk— I mean, these mutants — ever come out in such large numbers before?"

"Of course. They need to move around too."

Seeing the look of envy on her face as she talked about the walkers, I couldn't help but feel some disgust.

I sarcastically asked, "Since you all want to become like them so badly, why don't you just go out when they're out and soak up their aura? Maybe you'll evolve faster. And that so-called Arhat— if he's so powerful, why doesn't he evolve himself?"

The old woman gave me a reproachful look and said, "Arhat Zheng broke away from us long ago. Why would he still need to evolve? He once said that those mutants are different from us. We're not allowed to approach them and taint their purity."

I could barely stop myself from rolling my eyes.

I think I've more or less figured out the situation here — everyone in this place seems to have been brainwashed and shackled by some strange and absurd ideology.

They've been indoctrinated to believe that turning into walkers is some form of evolution, and now everyone looks forward to becoming one with hopeful anticipation.

It's reminiscent of that once-popular cult, Fal*n Gong, from many years ago that brainwashed countless people.

If people could be this ignorant even during times of peace, then what more could be expected in a world like this — one where even the heavens and earth no longer respond to one's cries for help?

In such a desperate environment, someone coming up with a "holy" explanation like this is undoubtedly seen as the Noah's Ark that will save them from this terrifying hell.

So they scramble aboard this ideological ark, foolishly praying that this delusional method might somehow spare them from their suffering.

"Evolution"? Hah... And to think they actually believe in something so ridiculous — the kind of nonsense you'd only find in anime.

Humans, who pride themselves on being intelligent, can be utterly hopeless once they fall into ignorance.

If it weren't for the fact that I'm trying to gather information, I wouldn't want to speak another word to this ignorant old woman.

That seemingly gentle and kind expression of hers is probably nothing more than a calculated disguise — something she wears to make it easier for the so-called Arhat and gods to witness her "virtue."

No wonder I felt such a strange atmosphere when I first arrived here.

Beneath all that fake kindness everyone displays lies a rotting, decaying core — utterly unnatural and repulsive.

I can't believe I didn't notice it at the time.

Outside, something seemed to have changed.

The gunfire wasn't as intense as before — just a few scattered shots now and then.

I tried hard not to think about Yangyang and Rongrong, not to let my mind spiral out of control.

In a situation like this, staying calm is the most important thing of all.

"You said those wal—mutants had been released before. So how do you get them back to wherever they were kept afterward?"

"That's an extremely sacred task, and also the moment when we have a chance to evolve," the old woman replied, having already turned back and sat down on the sofa.

"How so?"

"Those chosen by the Arhat have the honor of leading the evolved ones back to their paradise."

"The paradise you're talking about… do you mean Building One?"

Though she didn't entirely approve of the way I phrased it, the old woman still nodded, then continued, "There, the mutants will assist in our evolution."

I suddenly hugged Yiyi tighter in my arms, feeling the warmth drain from my blood.

I understood exactly what she meant.

All that talk about leading them to paradise, about helping with evolution — it was all complete bullshit.

To put it plainly, once the walkers are released, they use living people among them to lure the walkers back inside.

I didn't want to spend even one more minute in this deranged old woman's house.

Just imagining that there could be more people like her in the surrounding rooms — already gone insane — made my skin crawl with waves of goosebumps.

Just as I was about to grab the iron shovel and leave, a sudden thought struck me.

I forced myself to suppress the nausea in my heart and asked, "Why did you let those things out today?"

I couldn't bring myself to keep calling them mutants — using that word would make me feel like I was just as insane as this old woman.

Hearing this, the old woman also showed a puzzled expression and said, "I'm not sure either. Today's situation really came on quite suddenly. This is the second time something like this has happened. The last time, those people who didn't understand what was going on made a huge fuss — just like you outsiders, shooting their guns all over the place. They angered the mutants, and in the end, they had no choice but to run away in shame."

With that explanation, I understood almost instantly.

I finally realized why the government personnel had suddenly withdrawn from here.

In a place overrun by walkers that they couldn't control, they wouldn't waste resources trying to suppress the situation.

After all, there were plenty of other places in the outside world that needed their manpower and energy.

"What about Captain Niu?" I thought of the chubby guy.

"Captain Niu and those soldiers are enlightened people," she replied.

The old woman didn't continue, but I already got the idea.

Captain Niu and those who stayed behind must all be believers in this ridiculous ideology of theirs.

I couldn't help but sneer inwardly.

It's one thing for ordinary civilians to be ignorant and naive, but even trained soldiers had fallen for this?

Now I truly understood how things had spiraled into the current state.

Suddenly, the sound of familiar footsteps echoed from the hallway, snapping me out of my thoughts.

Realizing what it was, I quickly picked up the iron shovel from the floor and stood up from the sofa.

Without waiting for the old woman to say another word, I turned and ran to the door.

Without hesitation, I flung it open — and immediately saw Suo Tian, who had just rushed up to the corridor outside.

Grabbing my arm, Suo Tian said, "We're leaving."

Without waiting for my response, he pulled me into motion.

Since carrying Yiyi in my arms was quite cumbersome, Suo Tian simply took her from me and tucked her into his coat pocket.

As for the old woman back in the room, she probably figured that since she had already "taken me in" and done her good deed, she had no further obligation — so she didn't say anything when she saw me leave.

As Suo Tian pulled me downstairs, I quickly told him the gist of what I had just heard from the old woman.

But he only gave a simple "Mm" and said nothing more.

"You don't have any thoughts on this?"

Hearing that, Suo Tian didn't slow his pace at all.

He just replied flatly, "It's none of our business, so there's no need to have any thoughts."

I was stunned for a moment, then it hit me — he was right.

This place was only a temporary shelter for us.

If it hadn't been for Zheng Rongrong's condition not improving, and Shen Feng's poor mental state over the past two days, we would've left yesterday.

I'd been too stubborn, wanting to figure everything out, not realizing I'd just driven myself into a dead end.

No matter how things turned out here, no matter how foolish or ignorant the people were, it had absolutely nothing to do with us — we were just passing through.

How they chose to live was their own doing.

If I insisted on getting involved, that was on me.

Honestly… after hearing that old woman speak, I even started to wonder if it was because I noticed something strange about the old man Zheng at noon that things ended up spiraling the way they did.

When we rushed out of Building 4, there still weren't many walkers in the yard, but they were scattered around here and there.

This time, Suo Tian didn't bother trying to avoid them — any that got in our way were taken down by the two of us without hesitation.

As we rounded Building 4, I was just about to ask him if it was really a good idea to head straight for Building 6, since it was packed with walkers, but the moment I looked up, I swallowed all my words.

From the top floor of Building 6, three ropes hung down, about the same thickness as the short length Suo Tian had used earlier—thin enough that you had to look closely to even notice them.

At that moment, two figures dressed in black were swiftly descending on each rope.

Their feet would occasionally push off the wall, allowing their bodies to slide smoothly downward several meters at a time.

In just a short moment, the ones already close to the ground landed one after another.

After quickly unfastening their harnesses, they all dashed toward a few vehicles parked nearby.

I noticed they each carried large black backpacks — they must have come fully prepared, with all their gear on them.

Seeing this, Suo Tian pulled me toward one of the vehicles.

By the time we got there, the engines of several cars had already roared to life, their sounds drawing quite a commotion.

The walkers in the courtyard began turning and shambling in our direction, clearly drawn by the noise.

Just before Suo Tian shoved me into one of the cars, I pointed toward the oncoming walkers and said, "Should I stay outside to hold them off? What if more of them gather and block the vehicles?"

Suo Tian didn't answer.

Instead, he took a walkie-talkie handed to him by one of the black-clad figures, pressed the talk button, tilted his head upward, and spoke toward the rooftop, "Speed it up. We're pulling out."

The reply came quickly, with a series of calm, firm voices: "Copy that!"

The mechanical stiffness of the audio, overlaid with that commanding tone, reminded me of soldiers in war films.

In that moment, a surge of passion and resolve welled up in my chest.

After that, Suo Tian glanced at me, then spoke into the walkie-talkie again: "Did you bring the little girl?"

Someone responded almost immediately, "Gave her a sedative. She's with us."

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