But he didn't want to risk his life for those people, so he had to put on a show of righteousness in front of the ability users. "Although it's dangerous out there, we still have to go save people. That was our original purpose when we formed this convoy.
Those who are willing to come with us to save people, let's go together. Those who aren't, take the cars to the back and wait to provide support."
While he said this, he hoped that most of the ability users wouldn't join them, so they could perform well in front of fewer people and keep up the pretense.
If only he and Zhu Xianhou went, they knew each other well; Zhu Xianhou might be slightly more compassionate than him, but he was also self-serving and wouldn't act recklessly for the sake of others.
More importantly, if fewer people went, they wouldn't need to save many before they could leave. But with outsiders present, things would be complicated.
Unfortunately, as soon as he finished speaking, some ability users couldn't bear to see ordinary people being slaughtered by zombies, so they decided to go and help save them.
Only two ability users volunteered to drive the cars to provide support, so Zhu Xianhou and Zuo Xiong had no choice but to take the other eight ability users to rescue people.
Seeing them willing to save people, Park Su felt slightly relieved, but soon he realized he was being too naive; his relief came too soon.
Because once Zuo Xiong entered the fray, he mostly saved the strong men, ignoring the children and elderly who were defenseless against the zombies.
Even more shamelessly, after saving a few strong men, Zuo Xiong claimed they needed to drive cars to the convoy for evacuation preparation, and he didn't return for ten minutes after that.
They might not know what Zuo Xiong was doing inside, assuming he was giving instructions for the evacuation, but Park Su had been watching. After giving instructions to those men, Zuo Xiong stayed in the room for quite some time before reluctantly going back out to save more people.
Compared to Zuo Xiong, Zhu Xianhou seemed somewhat better, saving a few children and women, not as blatantly self-serving as Zuo Xiong. As for the other ability users, two were like Zuo Xiong, while the rest saved whoever was nearest or easiest to reach, not particularly caring whether they were saving old people, children, or men.
After rescuing people, instead of escorting them to the cars, they had them run to the prepared vehicles at the back. Seeing hope, the survivors naturally rushed in that direction.
At first, the situation seemed to improve, but it soon changed, and Park Su saw why Xu Nuo had advised against him going to save people.
Because those powerless survivors, upon seeing the ability users come to rescue them, didn't help fight the zombies but instinctively hid behind them, drawing all the zombies towards them.
Soon enough, they were surrounded by zombies, and the ability users had to deal with a relentless circle of zombies while also managing the ordinary people who were stumbling into them in panic.
With such a dangerous situation, there were hardly any who took the initiative to help; they just screamed and ran around chaotically. Even Park Su couldn't help but curse, let alone Zuo Xiong, who was directly affected.
Had he known it would be like this, he would never have agreed to Zhu Xianhou to save anyone. Now, he had no intention of continuing to save people and was looking for an opportunity to break through the zombie encirclement and leave, but he needed a reasonable excuse to do so.
So, while fighting, he maneuvered towards Zhu Xianhou, subtly conveying his message: you wanted me to save these people, but at this rate, not only will the ordinary people not be saved, but even our lives might be in danger. So, think of an excuse, and let's all break out together. As for the others, he didn't want to care anymore, nor could he.
Besides, he didn't believe that ability users were foolish enough to stay and save people when their own lives were at stake.
If there really were such people, Zuo Xiong would only say, "You stay by yourself then; I won't accompany you!"
Facing this situation, Park Su completely understood what Xu Nuo had said before; these people had already put all their hopes on Zuo Xiong and Zhu Xianhou, with no thought of fighting for themselves.
Moreover, their panicked behavior without helping only increased the burden on Zhu Xianhou and his team, and in the end, Zuo Xiong would probably find a way to break out and abandon them.
By that time, the other ability users, frustrated by being dragged down, wouldn't blame Zuo Xiong for making such a decision. Look, wasn't Zuo Xiong already preparing to leave? Seeing this scene, Park Su felt uncomfortable, thinking that if he had acted impulsively earlier and rushed in, he would likely be dragged down by these people, surrounded by zombies.
Zuo Xiong and his group at least had ten people who could, in desperation, think about breaking out, but if he were alone with all these liabilities, he might really get trapped inside.
Suddenly, he felt that Xu Nuo was truly formidable, able to foresee such a scenario. He was becoming more and more in awe of him; what should he do about that?
Seeing Park Su looking at him with admiration, Xu Nuo reached out to pat his head, "Actually, with a little guidance, these people could see the situation clearly.
In this apocalyptic world, relying entirely on others is less effective than finding ways to enhance one's own abilities, like you do. Only then can you ensure your survival to the greatest extent and live well. This is probably one of the reasons I appreciate you."
Seeing Park Su's expression, Xu Nuo added the last sentence after some thought. Sure enough, when Park Su heard the praise, his previous admiration turned into embarrassment. He looked up at him, "Don't praise me; I'll feel embarrassed."
Then he sighed, "I just feel sorry for these people. If they hadn't put all their hopes on others from the start, they might have resisted a bit, given that everyone has a survival instinct.
Instead, having been with the convoy for so long, with someone always handling the dangers, they've lost their fighting spirit and mindset, becoming a burden, ultimately abandoned."
He had deep personal experience with this from his past life.
He remembered how, at first, with his abilities, he was unwilling to give up easily, desperately seeking ways to break through and find attack methods for his wood-type ability.
But as zombies became more powerful and his combat strength couldn't keep up, he gradually withdrew from the battlefield.
Higher-level ability users took his place, and he only had to focus on support roles in the logistics. Over time, he became more dependent on others for fighting, thinking there were always stronger people to deal with dangers, which dulled his fighting spirit. So, when he was pushed into a group of zombies, he was killed so easily.
Looking back, even as a sixth-tier ability user, especially with wood abilities, surrounded by only about a hundred zombies, with just five high-tier ones, most of which he could handle, if he had fought, he might have died but not so disgracefully. Perhaps he could have even taken down Sun Muyang and avenged himself.
Maybe it was because he died so disgracefully in his last life that he got this second chance. This time, he met Xu Nuo and slowly became more reliant on him.
However, knowing Xu Nuo would leave one day, he always tried to improve his cultivation. But if Xu Nuo stayed by his side, would he become lax again like in his past life?
Xu Nuo's words today woke him up, making him resolve never to give up on himself no matter what happens.
But as he glanced at Xu Nuo, he couldn't help asking, "If one day I become a burden to you, would you abandon me too?"
He had always wanted to ask this question. After all, he met Xu Nuo not long after the apocalypse began, and at that time, he didn't know he was meeting the famous Xu Nuo.
He always hoped to go to Base B with Xu Nuo, not for any other reason, just to have someone by his side. But this time, he wouldn't be so naive as to open his heart completely.
However, plans never keep up with changes. Xu Nuo was such a strong person, and he was becoming more and more dependent on him, occasionally feeling something more. If it weren't for the profound lessons from his past life, he might have already begun a path of silent affection.
He always thought Xu Nuo would leave him eventually, so he prepared for that while relying on him. But now, with a real master-disciple relationship, his dependency on Xu Nuo seemed to deepen. The thought of Xu Nuo leaving filled him with an indescribable sense of loneliness.
Seeing this scene today, he wasn't worried about those people's lives as he would have been before; instead, he feared that one day, due to the widening gap in strength between him and Xu Nuo, he might also become a burden to Xu Nuo and be abandoned like these people.
In the past, he wouldn't have thought this way because he knew Master Xu Nuo was always solitary, not fond of getting close to others. He thought that as long as he clung to Xu Nuo's coattails, he could live well even after Xu Nuo left him.