Chapter 486: The Elderly Man
The journey was painfully slow, but no one was in a hurry. So, they didn’t care too much about the pace.
After some distance, they began encountering zombies, though not in large numbers.
The zombies were quickly dispatched using the array of abilities possessed by the people in those two cars.
Leng Pan and Lu Zhen didn’t even need to lift a finger.
Moreover, everyone had learned how to collect the crystal cores while on the move.
Just as Lu Tao was happily driving, an elderly man suddenly limped into the middle of the road and spread his arms with his eyes closed.
If not for his excellent driving skills, he would have run him over.
He stepped on the emergency break and the car skidded to a stop a mere few centimeters from the old man.
"Damn! How dangerous." Lu Tao nearly shouted.
"No cursing." Lu Zhen didn’t forget to educate his younger brother even at this moment.
"He came out of nowhere. I could have run him over." Lu Tao complained. Changing the topic smoothly.
"You should have run him over. Such people are always trouble." Leng Pan said without the slightest indication that she wanted to get out of the car.
Seeing her like this, Lu Zhen opened the car door and stepped outside.
The elderly man was sitting on the middle of the road looking as if he had lost his soul.
"What do you want?" Lu Zhen asked coldly.
Was this a scam? Do people do that even in the apocalypse?
Who would fall for it?
The elderly man slowly raised his dirty face and looked at Lu Zhen.
To say he was dirty was an understatement. His face was caked with dirt, one could say he rolled in mud and never washed it off.
Some parts of his face were black while others were grey, but there was definitely not a clean spot.
His lips were obviously very chapped and his thin arms peeking out of the ill-fitting shirt spoke for his ailing health.
However, his eyes were exceptionally bright. The kind seen in someone who had walked in the desert for days and finally found and oasis.
Lu Zhen wondered what kind of Oasis he might be.
"So...sorry sir. I didn’t mean to startle you. It’s just that I didn’t know how else to stop you." The elderly man said as he tried to rise from the ground.
It took him several attempts before he succeeded, at which he watched Lu Zhen from the corner of his eyes to see if he would offer to help.
Yet, his hopes were dashed by the cold expression on his face.
Once he stood up straight, he tried to peek inside the cars behind Lu Zhen, but unfortunately, they were all fitted with blind film and nothing could be seen from the outside.
Lu Zhen watched all his little actions but remained quiet. He wanted to see why this man had stopped them.
What plot was at play.
"What do you want?" Lu Zhen lost his patience and asked again.
"Oh.. oh..sir, I don’t mean anything. I just wanted to warn you that the road ahead is impassable. Your cars won’t be able to go through. It is wasteful to use gasoline only to find the road blocked. So, I decided to warn you so that you wouldn’t suffer a loss." The old man suddenly replied with a smile that didn’t seem very pleasing. Yet, he seemed to think it was a kind smile.
Lu Zhen furrowed his brows when he heard that.
"What do you mean the road is blocked?" He asked coldly.
"Just that. Several months ago, some rats dug through the road and a whole chunk fell off. Now, driving through is impossible." The elderly man said.
Lu Zhen didn’t think that this elderly man with shifty eyes was kind enough to warn them.
Something must be amiss.
"Can’t we just drive at the side of the road?" Lu Tao, who had left the car at some point stood a few steps behind his brother and asked curiously.
When the elderly man saw Lu Tao, his eyes shone even brighter.
Lu Zhen would never believe there was no ulterior motive behind this elderly stopping them.
The way he looked at the two of them was very disturbing. Yet, he wasn’t afraid.
"Little sir, you don’t know, but those rats didn’t just dig through the road. They also dug through the fields surrounding it. Those used to be rice fields filled with plump rice ears, but now, only large and small holes are left. If you don’t believe me, you can go and see for yourself. I just wanted to save you some time and gasoline." The elderly man said with a righteous attitude.
If not for his suspicious behavior, anyone would have felt guilty for doubting him.
"Thank you for the trouble. But, if the road is impassable, then how do we get ahead? We are heading to the next city." Lu Zhen still wanted to figure out what this person was up to. So, he asked.
The elder’s eyes were similar to touches at this point.
"You just need to follow this road and you will connect with the main road a few kilometers further." The elder pointed at a dirt road that didn’t seem like it had been there before the apocalypse.
"Who built this road?" Lu Zhen asked further.
The elder was quiet for a moment before replying.
"After the rats ruined the main road a few months ago, more and more people passing by found themselves stuck. Thus, our village chief felt compassionate for them. After all, it’s not easy to survive in the apocalypse. So, he asked the villagers to build this road to connect with the part of the road that is still intact a distance away." He explained quickly.
Lu Zhen could tell that most of what he said were lies.
Yet, it didn’t matter.