Chapter 1076 - 164: Troubling Heavy Snow (4)

Chapter 1076: Chapter 164: Troubling Heavy Snow (4)

"Hey, I’m sure the kids are fine, don’t worry."

Mu turned his head, and Huo Yuankai quickly walked towards Qiangzi.

Without waiting for Qiangzi to react, he grabbed his arm and rambled on incoherently, "Uh uh ah ah."

But other than feeling more pain in his upper arm, Wang Qiang had no idea what Huo Yuankai was trying to say.

"Huo, calm down. Talking like this won’t clarify anything." Tang Xiaoquan intervened, pulling Huo Yuankai’s hand away from Wang Qiang’s arm and handed over a notepad, their only means of communication. Huo Yuankai looked at it, expressionless, and quickly wrote down a line of text.

"Why are you so sure the kids are okay? What’s your basis?"

Seeing the words on the paper, Wang Qiang understood what he meant. He didn’t reply, but handed over another piece of paper crumpled in his hand to Huo Yuankai, saying, "I found this in the room earlier. Look at what’s written on it yourself."

Huo Yuankai glanced at Wang Qiang, suspicion flashing in his eyes.

Not delay for long, he quickly spread out the crumpled paper and scanned the contents.

"Uncle Huo, we’re back. Yesterday, we went out for supplies and didn’t return, which must have worried you. We’re sorry, but don’t worry, we’re safe. We met some Liberation Army soldiers who rescued us from danger, killed the zombies surrounding us, and gave us food and drinks. We wanted to wait at home for you, but the soldiers had other tasks so they left us this note to inform you that they’re taking us to a sanctuary. It’s safe there with ample supplies. Here’s the address. If you see this upon returning, please come find us."

Huo Yuankai didn’t read further into the address part.

As the saying goes, when you’re emotionally involved, you tend to panic. At this moment, Huo Yuankai’s emotions were extremely disrupted, his brain somewhat stalled, unsure of what to think.

Tang Xiaoquan stayed beside Huo Yuankai and noticed his odd reaction, cautiously taking the paper from Huo Yuankai’s hand.

"Xiaotang, what’s written there?" Hu Xiaodong unknowingly approached, closely followed by Hua Biao.

After scanning through the paper, Tang Xiaoquan understood the reason behind Huo Yuankai’s astonishment. He handed the paper to Hua Biao and Hu Xiaodong, then pondered a bit before stepping up to pat Huo Yuankai’s shoulder and ask, "Huo, I know what you’re worried about. So tell me, is this writing from the kids?"

Indisputably, there’s no issue with the content, but it’s precisely the thoroughness of the message that raises suspicion.

Because the kids emphasized their safety multiple times in the message, while hinting at the supposed safety of the sanctuary.

Keep in mind, although the teenagers aren’t very old, being around 14 or 15, Tang Xiaoquan doesn’t believe they would care that much about others’ feelings, nor would they write so much emphasizing trivialities.

So, in Tang Xiaoquan’s eyes, the content seems more like concocted writing with a specific purpose.

That’s why Tang Xiaoquan asked Huo Yuankai if the writing was genuinely from the kids.

Nodding, Huo Yuankai woodenly confirmed it.

Seeing this, Tang Xiaoquan felt puzzled.

How can it be? It’s really from the kids!

Tang Xiaoquan didn’t doubt Huo Yuankai’s judgment; after all, the latter was mute, not blind.

He had survived with the kids for so long; he must know their handwriting.

Moreover, Tang Xiaoquan believed that Huo Yuankai wouldn’t deceive, because if he intended to set a trap, there was no need to act so "lost" at this moment.

So the question remains, since Huo Yuankai isn’t lying, and the writing is truly from the kids, why did they leave?

If these children genuinely feel safe and have made a sincere effort to reassure Huo Yuankai and specifically advise him to come to the sanctuary,

it clearly indicates a good relationship between them and Huo Yuankai.

Given this, would the kids follow some vague "promise of safety" and a few ’treats’ given by the ’Liberation Army’ uncle?

Kids can’t be so heartless! Were they coerced?

It’s not impossible, but what would the coercers gain?

To recruit them? No need, at least Tang Xiaoquan wouldn’t do something so foolish.

Instead of recruiting two kids with no combat ability, he’d prefer to use limited resources to feed himself.

To make them servants? Survival is already tough enough in this apocalypse; having kids as servants would be nonsense.

Unless the captors have peculiar habits, like child abuse or a collecting fetish.

Tang Xiaoquan’s thoughts drifted far as he analyzed the situation, meanwhile, Hu Xiaodong calmly offered a consolation, "Huo, no matter what, if you’re sure the writing is from the kids, it at least means they’re alive, right?"

"Exactly, that’s better than having no information at all." Hua Biao chimed in.

But the truth is, everyone knows the situation now is far from optimistic.

Until the so-called sanctuary is confirmed, nobody can guarantee the kids haven’t ended up in a den of evil.

"It’s all my fault. If I hadn’t left, none of this would have happened!" Perhaps overwhelmed by frustration, Huo Yuankai scribbled down his self-blaming thoughts.

"Huo, sit down!" This is a fragile moment, and Tang Xiaoquan promptly pulled over a chair to support Huo Yuankai.

The primary task is to calm Huo Yuankai’s emotions. Tang Xiaoquan doesn’t want him to stir up trouble right before the storm breaks.

"Xiao Luo, bring some water."

"Oh," Luo Baochun quickly set down his supply backpack and swiftly took out a bottle of Nongfu Spring, then walked over to hand it to him.

"Huo, have some water first." Tang Xiaoquan opened the bottle and handed it to Huo Yuankai.

But at this moment, Huo Yuankai clearly had no intention of drinking. He raised a hand to block it, frowning and shaking his head.

The atmosphere in the room turned heavy, Huo Yuankai’s low mood and anxiety mirrored the sudden change in weather outside, unsettling the Survivor Team.

"Huo, we still have to think through this situation carefully. At the very least, we have an address. Worst-case scenario, we can go check it out. No need to be like this." Hua Biao spoke candidly, though to Tang Xiaoquan...

Going to the sanctuary? Perhaps the team might go one day, but definitely not for the two kids.

After all, if this is a trap and the kids are indeed caught in it, are you going to help or not?

Obviously, neither option aligns with the required interests.

But simply investigating is different. If it is a trap, it’s straightforward not to get involved once realizing the situation is wrong. Conversely, if the note’s message is genuine, the team can consider joining a larger group for sanctuary.

Yet since Hua Biao has already voiced the idea, if Tang Xiaoquan object now...