Since the master had started teaching him, Park Su couldn't help but get more proactive. He immediately began packing, planning to leave as soon as Lǚ Xia woke up.
After all, her fever had broken, and it wouldn't be long before she woke up. They had saved her, so abandoning her now seemed pointless.
He was also curious to see how Xu Nuo would deal with the convoy people. They had tried to trap them with zombies, and it seemed only fitting that they experienced some repercussions.
However, the convoy was now quite far from their current location. If Park Su tried to sneak over to watch, he might end up in trouble with the surrounding zombies. He didn't want to risk Xu Nuo's ire if things went south.
The best option was to ask Xu Nuo to enhance his spiritual power so he could observe from a closer distance. But when he proposed this to Xu Nuo, Xu Nuo simply looked at him and asked, "Are you sure you can handle it if what you see is bloodier than you imagined?"
Park Su, sensing a difference between his assumptions and Xu Nuo's actions, asked, "What exactly is different from what I guessed?"
Xu Nuo, seeing no need to hide anything, explained, "I know you've been guessing that I set up a formation similar to the one you saw before, attracting the zombies to scare them while dealing with the zombies myself.
In reality, I set up a formation to gather and amplify the blood scent and threw in five dismembered zombies to increase the scent, attracting more zombies. But I didn't leave any backup for them, nor did I plan to kill the zombies for them."
Park Su had suspected something like this when Xu Nuo started speaking, but hearing it confirmed still surprised him. He hadn't expected Xu Nuo to go that far. After all, not everyone in the convoy meant them harm, and zombies didn't only attack ability users.
He felt a bit bewildered, thinking their main targets were Zuo Xiong and Zhu Xianhou, as they had tried to kill them. But there were others in the convoy—ordinary people, not just the ability users.
Drawing zombies to them would lead to many deaths, and it made Park Su uncomfortable. It wasn't about being overly compassionate, but causing so many innocent people to die because of them left a sour taste in his mouth. He didn't mind not saving people, but harming them needlessly was something he struggled with, especially when he considered those people innocent.
Seeing Park Su's expression, Xu Nuo knew he couldn't accept it and sneered, "I figured you wouldn't be able to handle it. If it's like this, you shouldn't watch. I don't want you resenting me more and causing friction between us.
I'm no Sun Wukong, and you're not Tang Sanzang. If we have a serious conflict, it won't be easy to resolve, and I won't compromise. I might just leave for good. It's better if we don't argue from the start, and you don't need to know too much."
Surprisingly, Park Su adjusted his emotions quickly and looked at Xu Nuo with determination. "I think many people in that convoy are innocent and don't deserve to die, but I also believe you have your reasons for doing this. Can you explain why?
You know I can be overly considerate, and though you've tried to change that, it's hard for me. But I don't want to argue with you over other people. In this apocalypse, aside from my mother, you're the most important person to me. Even if I think they shouldn't die, I won't let it upset you, because they don't matter to me like you do. But I want your trust, so we can get along better. If I don't understand you, I can't make the right choices and will keep upsetting you. I don't want that. So, at least let me know your reasons, okay?"
Xu Nuo hadn't expected Park Su to adjust so quickly and look at him so firmly, seeking his reasoning without resentment.
Moreover, he said that Xu Nuo was extremely important to him, just like his mother. Such words made Xu Nuo feel a bit pleased. He hadn't expected Park Su to trust him so much and consider him so important.
Despite Xu Nuo's actions being the hardest for Park Su to accept, Park Su didn't get angry. Instead, he asked for the reason behind it, trying to understand and accept it.
Regardless of what motivated Park Su to say such things, it was a comfort to Xu Nuo. So, he explained gently, "You pity those ordinary people who might die from the zombies, but did they pity us when they helped Zuo Xiong direct the zombies towards us?
There are at least five ability users among them, while it's just the two of us here, and Zuo Xiong doesn't even think you're an ability user.
Don't tell me you think we're safe just because you've seen my strength. Remember, they don't know how powerful our abilities are, which means they aimed to trap us inside or have us eaten by zombies.
Since they wanted to eliminate us, why should we show mercy?
Additionally, their blind trust in Zuo Xiong, believing him to be a savior while doing such harmful things, is revolting to me.
If they see Zuo Xiong as a savior, then I'll make them see what their so-called savior truly is in this world.
If Zuo Xiong had even half your mindset, their casualties wouldn't be as severe. But if he treats these people as cannon fodder, it will expose the lie of him and Zhu Xianhou being saviors."
Park Su found Xu Nuo's initial reasoning compelling and had no rebuttal. However, he grew puzzled at the latter part, asking, "You mean Zuo Xiong wouldn't protect them and might use them as human shields against the zombies? But didn't he take their food as protection money? He wouldn't let them die unless absolutely necessary, right?"
Xu Nuo responded to his naive statement with some exasperation, "No one said that ability users have to be the last ones standing, nor that they all feel obligated to save as many people as possible within their power.
From what I know of Zuo Xiong, it's already commendable if he doesn't deliberately push those people to the zombies to buy himself time to escape. Sacrificing himself to save them is far from likely."
Park Su was stunned to hear this from Xu Nuo. In his past life, he had been the kind of ability user Xu Nuo described—always willing to save as many people as he could, as long as his own life wasn't in immediate danger.
Had it not been for his ability eventually failing against the zombies, he would have saved even more people. He believed that the majority of those he saved were good people, outweighing the few who repaid his kindness with betrayal.
Park Su saw no issue with helping people within his capabilities, but he wouldn't save those like Meng Qiang's family, who were ungrateful and turned against him. He wasn't a saint, disliked being used, and detested being betrayed by those he saved.
However, for grateful people like Lǚ Xia, who knew their place, he was willing to help as long as it didn't endanger his life.
He knew not all ability users would risk their lives to save ordinary people. After all, he had been in the apocalypse long enough to interact with many of them.
Many ability users valued their own lives too much to risk them for others. Still, those types usually didn't bother to harm ordinary people since they saw it as beneath them. However, there were those who, empowered by their abilities, bullied ordinary people.
What surprised him was hearing that Zuo Xiong and Zhu Xianhou might be worse, using ordinary people as bait for zombies to save themselves. This stark contrast to their earlier, seemingly sincere words left Park Su in shock.
Although he disliked Zuo Xiong and Zhu Xianhou's schemes, he had thought their efforts to lead ordinary people to the S base showed they had saved many lives. Now, hearing Xu Nuo's perspective, it seemed their true motive might be to use these people as shields during crises, ensuring their own escape.
The thought sent a chill down Park Su's spine.
Seeing Park Su's disbelief, Xu Nuo raised an eyebrow, "You really think they wouldn't do such a thing?"
Park Su hesitated, then reluctantly admitted, "Although they are pretty despicable, I didn't think they would go that far."
Xu Nuo sneered, "Since you don't believe me, how about we make a bet?"
"A bet on what?" Park Su asked, intrigued.