Rotting Land: Survive

Lei Tong’s uncompromising stance fit perfectly with his image as a soldier.

"What about you, Qiangzi? Any opinion?"

Wang Qiang hadn’t said a word since coming into the room. Hearing Old Xu call him, he took a step forward: "I’ll go with you. Whatever you say, that’s what we’ll do."

With things having come to this point, only Hu Xiaodong was left. He looked at Lei Tong, then at Old Xu, and sighed inwardly.

By common sense he didn’t agree with going over to tear into the remaining Scoundrels. After all, they’d already taken everything they needed; it wasn’t worth taking extra risks.

Besides, this outing was directly tied to the survival of everyone back at the base. If something went wrong, the whole group would suffer for it.

But now Old Xu and Lei Tong had spoken, and Wang Qiang was siding with Old Xu. In a five‑man team, that meant three votes in favor.

Even if he objected now, under the principle of majority rule, the proposal would still pass.

So after weighing it, to avoid any misunderstandings within the group, Hu Xiaodong finally nodded: "What I suggest is we go over and take a look first. If the situation is suitable, we move in and take care of them. If it’s not, we pull out."

Four to one. Old Xu didn’t even need to announce the result.

But he couldn’t simply ignore Tang Xiaoquan’s dissent. After a few seconds of pondering, Old Xu spoke: "Xiao Tang, your concerns are valid, I get it. But you’ve seen it too—WH City is the closest city to our base. When we settle in long‑term, we’ll have to come into the city to scrounge supplies. If we let those Scoundrels off today, they’re very likely to become an obstacle to our future operations. So since we may have to fight them sooner or later, why not exercise our right to wipe them out ahead of time?"

Of course Tang Xiaoquan understood the logic in that, but in his heart he still felt Old Xu’s decision wasn’t all that reliable.

Bluntly put, Tang Xiaoquan felt Old Xu’s decision this time was more about giving himself some psychological comfort.

Because, being someone who liked to read psychology books, Tang Xiaoquan knew that soldiers—especially those who had been through brutal wars—usually developed this or that kind of war syndrome.

This syndrome showed up mostly in their mental state. After being steeped in the cruelty of battlefields, soldiers had a very hard time adapting to normal life.

Of course, Tang Xiaoquan didn’t think Old Xu wanted to kill purely for the sake of killing.

But it was undeniable that the Yuhuan Gymnasium incident and everything the team had gone through afterwards had been weighing on Old Xu’s mood the whole time.

He’d never really gotten over the grudges from back then. Back at the gas station, he’d already brought up what had happened before.

That only made it more certain that taking out the Scoundrels was not purely about paving the way for future operations, but just as much about venting his hatred toward that kind of person.

That was a dangerous thing, because Old Xu was the team’s commander; too much emotional entanglement would inevitably lead him to make bad calls.

It was a pity Tang Xiaoquan couldn’t voice what he was thinking. He knew that if he said it now, first it would make Old Xu lose face, and second, it would affect the flow of the mission to come.

Taking everything into account, for the sake of the bigger picture, Tang Xiaoquan could only swallow his misgivings and back down: "Mm, you’ve got a point too. Taking care of them early would at least remove a worry from our minds. Let’s do it your way, Old Xu."

Unity of purpose—that’s something a team needs in order to grow.

In the end, people are complicated creatures. Having a brain means having different thoughts. Otherwise why say that a thousand Hamlets have a thousand different readings?

But different ideas tend to breed conflict. Saying a team can have all its members share the exact same views is absolutely impossible.

No matter how deep the friendship between teammates, clashes and conflicts are inevitable.

And when that happens, team members have to restrain themselves and learn to yield. Only by sticking to the principle of majority rule can the team endure over the long term.

Just like with Tang Xiaoquan and Hu Xiaodong right now—their hearts clearly didn’t agree with Old Xu’s proposal.

But they compromised in the end. Maybe that really would expose them to danger, but compared to them flat‑out refusing and Old Xu forcing them to go anyway, this way certainly reduced the risk.

"Alright, since nobody has any more objections, let’s move out!"

With that, Old Xu called everyone to get going.

But they’d barely taken a few steps when Lei Tong suddenly called out from behind: "Commander, what about those two women upstairs?"

Closing his eyes, slapping his forehead, Old Xu shook his head: "Look at my memory—how did I forget that? Okay, you guys stay here and keep an eye on this Scoundrel. I’ll go up and see what’s going on."

Seeing Old Xu about to leave, Tang Xiaoquan hurried after him: "I’ll go with you."

Old Xu glanced at Tang Xiaoquan, the corners of his mouth lifting in a smile, and nodded: "Alright, we’ll go together."

They stepped out the door and went upstairs. Once they were far enough from the others, Old Xu stopped and pulled Tang Xiaoquan aside.

"What is it? Something on your mind, Old Xu?"

"Heh, Xiao Tang, that’s what I should be asking you. You insisting on coming up with me means you’ve got something to say, right? Go on, you’re still troubled by my plan just now, aren’t you?"

Tang Xiaoquan paused for a moment. He did have something to say, but not about Old Xu’s proposal from earlier.

After all, the decision had already been made; bringing it up again now would be pointless. So...

"Uh, no. I’m fine with us going after the Scoundrels. It’s just those two girls inside—Old Xu, what’s your plan for them?"

Hearing what the younger man was asking, Old Xu immediately understood what was on his mind.

"You’re worried they’ll drag us down, aren’t you?"

Tang Xiaoquan didn’t want to deny it, but he also didn’t say yes outright. Instead he answered obliquely: "You should already know what happened at the school last time, Old Xu. After going through that kind of tragedy, these women’s moods become extremely unstable. On top of that, they’ve been shut indoors for a long time, with no real understanding of what’s going on outside. If we drag them out without preparation and something happens on the road, they could easily lose control. And back at the base, Ya Li and Sister He are already giving Wei Yang enough headaches. If we bring more people back, I’m afraid..."

He didn’t finish the sentence. He didn’t want Old Xu thinking he was trying to block the rescue just because he was worried about the women he liked.

Understanding what was on Tang Xiaoquan’s mind, Old Xu nodded to himself, then replied, "Xiao Tang, I get what you’re saying. But there’s one thing I want to tell you: in the end times, we can’t lose our humanity. Think about it—if you were the one trapped in the same danger, wouldn’t you hope someone would reach out a hand? If everyone just looked out for themselves and lived that way, would humanity ever have a chance to reclaim the world? Now, I’m not saying you’re heartless; what you’re bringing up makes a lot of sense. Don’t worry, I know where to draw the line with those two women. I’ll respect their wishes. Before we leave, I’ll tell them what they need to know. Whether they go or stay will depend on their state. If they’re like the two from the school, then I’ll take your advice and leave them here."

Tang Xiaoquan wasn’t entirely convinced by Old Xu’s answer. He felt the man would still choose to bring the two women along.

But regardless, he’d already said everything he needed to say, and Old Xu had made his so‑called promise.

As for how it would finally turn out, that would depend on Old Xu’s ultimate decision. (To be continued. If you enjoyed this work, you’re welcome to visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com.)