Chapter 84 Save Me, Big Brother and Big Sister, Save Me

Chapter 84 Save Me, Big Brother and Big Sister, Save Me

Now the snow was falling heavily, and the accumulated snow was quite thick.

Previously, floods had ravaged the area, and the greenery along the residential areas and roadsides was already covered in ice and snow.

The five of them could only proceed northward.

There, the terrain was higher, with a forest where they might try their luck.

It took nearly an hour for everyone to reach their destination.

By then, there were already more than twenty people chopping trees.

These people had hollow eyes and weary faces, working like robots, mechanically chopping down trees.

Even when they saw Meng Ci and his group, they merely glanced briefly before continuing their mechanical work.

Meng Ci could actually understand.

After barely surviving the heavy rains and acid rain, these people thought they had made it to the end and could live a normal life again.

But unexpectedly, the temperature began dropping once more.

Those still alive had probably accepted the existence of the apocalypse, not knowing what the future held or if they would die any day, so they lived one day at a time.

Meng Ci's group chose a spot and started chopping trees.

The terrain here was high, and during the previous heavy rains, no water had accumulated, but the snow was over a meter deep, allowing them to chop only halfway through the trees.

Chopping too much would make it impossible to carry back. Meng Ci and Shen Que worked together to chop down one tree.

After felling the tree, they cut it into sections about a meter long.

Then they tied the sections together with ropes, each person pulling one end as they headed home.

Once back, they would slowly split the wood into usable lengths with an axe.

Although Cheng Yu's group consisted of three people, Mao Xinyu was a woman and, despite her training, did not have the strength of a man, so they also chopped down only one tree.

However, they gathered some branches that others had chopped and discarded, tying them together for Mao Xinyu to pull.

After preparing, the five of them started heading back.

"Help! Help!"

From a distance, Meng Ci and the others heard a little girl's voice calling out ahead.

As they moved closer, they saw a seven- or eight-year-old girl whose lower half was buried in the snow, struggling desperately with her hands.

When she saw Meng Ci and the others, it was as if she had seen a glimmer of hope in the darkness. She called out urgently, her voice filled with desperation, like a frightened bird seeking shelter.

"Big brother, big sister, save me, save me."

Her face was frozen red, and snot streamed down her nose.

Mao Xinyu dropped the firewood in her hands and rushed forward to help.

Meng Ci quickly stopped her.

"Teacher Mao, look at that little girl. She's dressed well and has a healthy complexion. Her parents must have taken good care of her."

"Now, during the heavy rains, they wouldn't let her be outside alone."

"Maybe now there's no food left at home, and they're using her as bait."

"And her parents might have dug a trap nearby, waiting for someone to fall for it."

Mao Xinyu paused, finding Meng Ci's reasoning compelling, so she decided not to get involved.

The group was only about twenty meters from the little girl, and she naturally heard their conversation.

Tears welled up in her eyes, threatening to spill, making her even more pitiful.

"Big brother, I'm not lying; I got lost."

"Wah, wah, my parents went out to chop trees and didn't let me go out."

"But I was bored at home alone, so I sneaked out."

"And then, I just kept walking and got lost."

"Big brother, big sister, I'm really not lying."

"Please, please save me."

Seeing the little girl like this, Mao Xinyu hesitated.

"Meng classmate, I don't think she's lying."

Mao Xinyu thought that a little girl of only a few years old couldn't possibly have such skilled acting.

The novel mentioned that many people in the apocalypse used children to gain sympathy and then exploit others.

Therefore, Meng Ci, seeing the little girl, did not believe her words.

Besides, the snow was very hard-frozen; how could she have fallen in?

"Shen Que, what do you think?" Meng Ci asked.

Shen Que said, "If it truly is the end of the world, kindness won't be praised; instead, it will bring disaster."

"Self-preservation is the best solution."

It was clear that Shen Que and Meng Ci shared the same view.

Mao Xinyu heeded their advice and went back to gather firewood, preparing to leave with them.

"Ah!"

The little girl, who had been crying all along, suddenly screamed and seemed to slip down a bit.

"Help, sob, help."

Mao Xinyu couldn't bear it and threw down the wood in her hands.

"What if she's not lying and what she said is true?"

"If she is a liar, then so be it. If something happens, just go without me."

After saying this, Mao Xinyu walked resolutely to the little girl, ready to face whatever might come.

"Sob, sob, Sister, save me!"

The little girl looked at Mao Xinyu with teary eyes and reached out her hand.

"Don't be afraid, Sister is here to save you." Mao Xinyu extended her hand to the little girl, trying to pull her out.

Seeing that Mao Xinyu had been there for a while without any danger appearing, Cheng Yu and Duan Yan thought the little girl must be genuinely in trouble and decided to go up to help.

"Bang!"

"Xinyu!"

Cheng Yu and Duan Yan took a few steps when they saw Mao Xinyu suddenly fall into the spot where she had been standing.

Soon after, five people, three men and two women, wearing white down jackets and holding shiny long knives, appeared from the nearby snow.

Two men and one woman quickly aimed their long knives at Mao Xinyu in the pit, while the other two pulled the little girl out of the pit.

"Wanted to save her?" asked a man with short, neat hair, standing nearly 1.9 meters tall, staring at the group.

Cheng Yu, with a dark expression, asked, "What do you want?"

Mao Xinyu, in the pit, felt her ankle twist. Although the pit was only a meter deep, given the current situation, she couldn't get out on her own.

Moreover, several long knives were pointed at her.

Thinking back to Meng Ci's words, Mao Xinyu could only blame herself for being too soft-hearted and not listening to him.

"You don't have to worry about me; just leave quickly."

"Anyway, I've lived long enough."

Mao Xinyu thought that after all these years, Meng Ci and the others might not be a match for the people outside, and she had brought this upon herself. She couldn't drag them into it.

Although Mao Xinyu said this, Cheng Yu and the others could not possibly ignore her.

Meng Ci and Shen Que also put down the firewood they were holding. Given the situation, they would likely not be able to leave easily unless they dealt with their attackers.

The little girl squatted beside the pit, no longer looking pitiful as before. She cupped her face and smiled, "Sister, thank you for coming to save me earlier."

"Since you've come to save me, why don't you see it through?"

"I haven't eaten anything for days, Sister. Could you tell me where you live?"

Mao Xinyu rubbed her foot and glared fiercely at the little girl.

"Forget it."