Luo Xiaole and Tiger were each held by four people, dragged inside from either side.
On the surface, she appeared as an ignorant little girl, untouched by the harsh apocalypse, her lips pursed, as if terrified.
She gazed around fearfully.
Observing the situation inside.
She felt that throughout their journey in the apocalypse, if nothing else, her acting skills had steadily improved. She gave herself full marks for this performance!
Inside the barrier, a small haven resembling a cave had been constructed. Although the outside was a vast, desolate grassland, within, it was like another world. Luo Xiaole marveled at this.
She felt that this wasn't a newly created world, but rather another place connected to this cave-like haven through the barrier entrance.
In other words, the barrier was merely an entrance. If it were removed, the path to this cave would be severed.
Fortunately, they hadn't alerted the enemy. If they had removed the entrance, it would have been difficult for Luo Xiaole to later find the location where the elite team had gone missing, let alone rescue them.
"Tsk tsk tsk, look at this bean sprout, scared stiff! Hahaha!" The group dragged them to the front of one of the cave entrances. Seeing Luo Xiaole's expression, they burst into mocking laughter.
Simultaneously, they relaxed their vigilance towards Luo Xiaole.
"Which village did you run away from? With your scrawny frame, you dared to venture out?" Several people surrounded them, looking down at Luo Xiaole.
Luo Xiaole bared her teeth, rubbing her painfully pulled wrist. "We... ran out of food at home, so I had to come out and look... got lost..." Her voice held a hint of helplessness.
The others raised their eyebrows. Her words were quite believable. There were indeed several villages nearby, and with their presence, the number of zombies was low. It was plausible that some people would occasionally venture out to find food.
One of them took out the machine he had earlier and operated it on Luo Xiaole. He observed her closely, finding no reaction.
He then nodded reassuringly to the others, "Truly no special abilities."
"Look at you, why did we bring back a useless one for nothing! Wasting food!"
"As soon as I used the machine, she popped out, I thought she had abilities..."
Hearing this, Luo Xiaole turned and glared fiercely at Tiger beside her. She would settle accounts with him later!
"Can you cook?" The group didn't want to throw her out and expose the barrier's location. They happened to be short of a cook.
Luo Xiaole felt utterly speechless internally. Cooking was her forte.
But on the surface, she timidly nodded, "I... I can cook a little..."
The group pushed her away disdainfully, "Scram and go cook in the back. We have everything here – firewood, rice, oil, and salt. Don't come out unless necessary!"
"Okay..." Luo Xiaole said, taking a step back, glancing over her shoulder, and ducking her head as she left.
She had considered making a move earlier.
But just as Tiger was about to act, one of the men unleashed a spatial ability, directly devouring Tiger's power!
Then he zapped Tiger with the machine again! Tiger completely lost consciousness this time...
Only then did Luo Xiaole refrain from acting rashly. These men not only excelled in spatial abilities but also preferred to operate as a group. If she acted rashly now, she would be the one at a disadvantage.
It was not too late to take some time to understand the situation inside this cave before making a move.
After Tiger was dragged away like a dead pig.
Luo Xiaole took a turn around the corner. Seeing that the men were no longer paying attention to her, she bent down and followed them.
Her small frame, at this moment, proved particularly advantageous.
The group, familiar with the path, dragged Tiger into a seemingly deep cave. After a while, a somewhat mournful howl echoed from within.
Only then did the men emerge, looking quite satisfied.
They headed towards another passage.
Seeing that no one was around, Luo Xiaole quickly ran towards that cave.
She strained to look inside, but could only see what appeared to be many people in the dark cave, all stripped of their freedom, seemingly bound to individual racks.
The scene felt somewhat familiar. When she had rescued Ah Ling in the villa, in the room where the girls were held, someone had also been hung on a cross.
This style of operation...
Luo Xiaole's expression turned cold. It was the Azure Dragon Gang!
She immediately took out a dagger, reinforced by the World-Shattering Blade, and gripped it in her hand, intending to rush into the cave to investigate.
"Thump!" She felt as if she had hit a solid wall. She then realized that the seemingly empty space in front of her was also protected by a barrier.
This was vexing.
Luo Xiaole thought that her current weapon couldn't break through abilities.
Within two seconds, hurried footsteps could be heard approaching from the side.
Luo Xiaole frowned, instantly retracting her dagger into her pocket, and then slumped to the ground, feigning a wronged expression.
"Why are you here?" The newcomer, seeing that Luo Xiaole had triggered the protective shield, lowered his weapon halfway.
"Didn't I tell you to go to the kitchen? What are you doing here!" The person sounded exasperated, thinking an intruder had arrived.
"I... your place is full of caves, I walked around and got lost again..." Luo Xiaole's eyes were filled with grievance, tears on the verge of falling.
I'll give myself an Oscar when I get out of here! Luo Xiaole mused internally.
"How can your sense of direction be so poor!" The person was helpless, but then he thought that if this bean sprout could get lost coming out of her home, then getting lost here... was indeed quite normal...
"You're just in the way! Don't stand here looking like a nuisance, come with me!" The person was impatient.
"Okay... okay..." Luo Xiaole, looking somewhat scared, got up from the ground, lowered her head, and followed him.
They passed several forks in the road, finally reaching the kitchen. Luo Xiaole had been memorizing the route along the way.
There were also two or three villagers who appeared to have been captured.
"This bean sprout is new! You guys figure out what to do with her!" The person also shouted at the villagers.
"Ay... okay..." The villagers seemed to be quite fearful of the guards here.
After the guard left, the male villagers surrounded her.
They looked fierce and menacing.
"You... what do you want..." Luo Xiaole looked up at them.
A man in the kitchen suddenly reached out his hand towards Luo Xiaole!
Luo Xiaole narrowed her eyes. Her hand in her pocket gripped the dagger, ready to strike instantly!
But the man's hand gently landed on her shoulder, patting it as if offering comfort. "Don't be afraid, it's okay. Although they are cruel, they usually don't harm people in the kitchen. We will protect you in the future."
Luo Xiaole finally breathed a sigh of relief and looked at the man with a weathered face.
She then noticed that his deeply furrowed brow wasn't due to intentional fierceness, but rather the marks left by harsh years.
"Which village did you run away from?" Perhaps it was because they were all oppressed and lived at the bottom, they didn't want to see anyone else suffer.
Seeing Luo Xiaole's small stature, they assumed she usually didn't even get enough to eat. They then had her sit down to rest, working and chatting among themselves.
Luo Xiaole felt a sense of warmth.
"From Puzhe Village nearby... Uncle, where are you guys from?" She had seen the village road sign when passing by.
"We were all captured from different villages... We've been working here for a month... We men can barely endure this work... We have to cook for hundreds of people!"
Luo Xiaole was shocked. Were there hundreds of guards in this cave!