This made him somewhat astonished. After all, he had been by Xu Nuo's side the whole time and hadn't paid attention to how Xu Nuo knew the situation in these households.
However, it was probably because today Xu Nuo had already given him too many surprises. Now, he found himself less shocked, as if anything this man did was just par for the course, and Park Su was perhaps overreacting.
As he followed Xu Nuo to deal with the zombies in those households, Park Su found that he had little opportunity to take action, so he watched as Xu Nuo collected the crystal nuclei. Instead of continuing to follow Xu Nuo, which seemed somewhat pointless, Park Su stopped when he saw Meng Shan and his group fighting off zombies below, joining their battle to collect crystal nuclei and also to find a sense of presence for himself.
After helping Meng Shan's group dispatch the zombies attacking them, Park Su turned around and indeed saw Meng Shan looking at him with an expression of envy. Park Su couldn't help but feel a bit proud in his heart; it wasn't that he wasn't impressive, but Xu Nuo was just too overpowering.
Seeing Park Su finish off the zombies, Meng Shan recalled Xu Nuo's earlier words and felt quite awkward as he addressed Park Su, "Thank you for your help, but we probably don't have extra grain to give you, as we're preparing to leave here." Mainly because you inserted yourself into the situation.
Park Su had come to make his presence felt and hadn't expected any grain from them. However, hearing Meng Shan's last sentence, his eyebrows raised. He remembered that this man had been the first to speak up in his defense when Meng Hu had challenged him. He was clearly someone with good judgment.
Now, this man was telling him he wanted to leave, which piqued Park Su's interest, and he wanted to hear more about his thoughts, so he asked tentatively, "Why leave? Isn't it good here? You've organized a team, and you can collect quite a bit of supplies every day. At least staying here allows for a decent life."
Meng Shan, not seeing through Park Su's probing, and given the respect he had for Park Su after witnessing his strength, felt even more cautious around the young man who lived with Park Su. That man, whether it was his ruthless handling of Meng Hu's wife last night or his display of power this morning, was enough to make Meng Shan wary, yet secretly wish to be their companion.
If he could convince Park Su and that young man to leave with them, wouldn't that mean they had a better chance of survival on the road?
To Meng Shan, Park Su's question seemed normal. Although everyone knew this place was becoming increasingly dangerous, it was still where they had lived for a long time. Unless they were at a dead end, people generally preferred to stay. After all, once on the road, no one knew what dangers awaited.
So, when Park Su asked such a question, Meng Shan didn't think much and shared his thoughts, "Even though this place is considered the outskirts of S City, the population flow isn't small, just relatively less compared to the urban areas. We're not too far from the city center.
From the incident at your place yesterday, it's clear that many people are starting to flee S City for other places. Those who can escape from there must be quite strong. Yesterday, they tried to rob you, but since you and your friend are strong, they were forced to leave after losing half their number.
But if they had chosen us to rob, I doubt any of us could keep our family's grain safe, and we might have lost our lives too. Without grain, who can stay here? And we can't always rely on you two to protect us, can we?
From last night to today, I've barely had time to rest, with zombies continuously surrounding us. Although you had that corpse outside to lure them. I'm not blaming you for that; I just want to point out that this place isn't the same as before. At least when you killed Meng Hu and left his bloody body at your doorstep, it didn't attract as many zombies as now.
All this can only mean one thing: there are more and more zombies around our village. Staying here is just waiting for death. And a few days ago, when I went out to fight zombies, I heard that the government has started to establish evacuation bases."
He paused after this, glancing at Park Su, who seemed deep in thought, and continued, "I heard the base isn't too far from our S City, part of the surrounding smaller cities. In normal times, it would take us about three or four hours by car on the highway, but given the current state of the world, the highways might not be safe.
So, I've organized a group of people willing to leave with me. We plan to head there in the next few days. If we're lucky and make it there, even if the base isn't fully established, we can at least contribute and be more likely to be accepted. If the government doesn't need our help, at least we can wait nearby, and once the base is built, we can move in as quickly as possible. I believe being one of the first to move in will be the easiest. Otherwise, once the base is completed, and more people try to get in, the rules will likely become stricter."
Park Su hadn't expected that his casual probing would lead Meng Shan to reveal all his thoughts and the location of the base. He hadn't asked about the base because he had memories from his past life, so he knew roughly where the government-established bases were and when they would be completed.
So when Meng Shan mentioned these things, Park Su was aware that the information he provided was entirely accurate. What surprised him was Meng Shan's analysis. Park Su had been planning to head to the S base in about a month because that's when it would be considered initially completed.
And the smaller bases between S base and B base would also be established after the success of the S base. Since he didn't intend to stay in these bases, he naturally needed to wait until they were built before setting out, ensuring he had places to rest and replenish supplies along the way.
However, recently, he too felt that this place was becoming less suitable for continued stay, just as Meng Shan had said. Zombies were becoming more numerous around them, and incidents like the one from last night were likely to increase. Although he had a master at home, he couldn't rely on Xu Nuo for everything.
Since yesterday, Park Su had been contemplating whether he should set out earlier, especially since his goal was the B City base, which was relatively far and potentially dangerous. He had been focusing on ensuring supplies for the journey but had forgotten that the zombies now were easier to deal with than those he would encounter later.
Meng Shan's words had jolted him into realization. Park Su knew very well that if he went straight to the B base, the Park family would only look down on him, considering him just another dependent.
After all, B base was the largest in the entire apocalypse, with countless ability users, including thousands of wood-based users like himself. Unless he had the ability to crush other wood-based users, he wouldn't receive much attention, let alone provide his mother with a comfortable life.
Rather than continue to rely on the Park family's influence in B base, living humbly and being looked down upon by not only them but others, he would rather curry favor with Xu Nuo, persuade him to teach some real skills, and then find a place like the S base to make a name for himself.
As Meng Shan had said, these newly established or just-forming bases were in dire need of talent. If he became one of the first ability users to settle in a base, he would naturally benefit from more favorable policies. Of course, with Xu Nuo's strength, he would be a sought-after figure by any base, regardless of the stage of the apocalypse.
Even if Park Su couldn't achieve such heights, he at least needed to become somewhat famous, so the Park family would respect him. This way, he could ensure his mother could leave the Park family and live a comfortable life. After all, the supplies he had accumulated, even if he could take them all, might not be safe in B City with his current strength, leading to a life of sneaking around to improve their lives, which wasn't the reason he had been reborn.
Of course, if he could persuade Xu Nuo to vie for power and establish their own force or base, that would be even better! Xu Nuo's capabilities were something he had already witnessed, and he knew from his past life how powerful Xu Nuo would become. As Xu Nuo's number one follower, he shouldn't live too poorly.
Yes, perhaps he should find ways to make Xu Nuo owe him more favors in the days to come, ensuring he was firmly attached to Xu Nuo's "big thigh."
He truly didn't want to live as miserably as he did in his past life. Though he had the enhancement of energy stones, he was still just a second-tier wood ability user. While not common at the beginning of the apocalypse, his wood-based ability ultimately meant he was better suited for logistical support, which was fine early on, but as zombies grew stronger in the third year of the apocalypse, the limitations of his ability would become more apparent, namely, his lack of combat strength!