Doomsday Traveler

Chapter 317 The Village and the Dog

This is obviously Binghao Village.

Lu the Rat's prestige in Binghao Village was also obvious.

He flew into a rage, and with a roar, everyone in Binghao Village immediately fell silent, and the woods suddenly became quiet.

However, Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei could still tell that the villagers of Binghao Village felt awe rather than fear towards Lu the Rat.

There is a clear difference between the two.

Fear inevitably leads to shrinking back, with every move made cautious, for fear of offending the person who makes them fearful.

The villagers of Binghao Village, out of awe for Lu the Rat, dared to look at each other but none of them dared to speak.

Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei were sitting in the car when they saw familiar faces in the crowd through the windshield.

The young dog and the person he later met were among them.

"Big guy, come here!"

Lu the Rat roared again.

The person Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei later met walked out with trepidation.

It turns out he called Lu the "Big Guy" to Lu the Rat.

But for both Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei, as well as for Lu Laoshu, his size wasn't actually that big.

"host."

After the big guy stepped out of the crowd, he called out in a stammering voice.

Lu the Rat said, "Didn't I tell you to chase them all away and leave only you here? What's going on?"

The big guy, with a mournful face, said, "Master, I chased them away, but they wouldn't leave. They left, but then they all came back. It's no use chasing them away!"

Lu Laoshu's face was gloomy as he looked at another person: "Old Stinky, come here."

The person he was looking at had a full head of white hair, a hunched back, bowed legs, and a face full of wrinkles, but he still looked quite energetic.

He was probably the oldest among them.

After Lu the Rat finished speaking, he came out and, like Big Guy, called out, "Master."

Lu Laoshu closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then opened them, saying, "You are the oldest among these people, and you have been with me the longest."

“Everyone usually listens to you. Didn’t I specifically tell you to take everyone away and not come back? I told you that coming back would mean death, no way out. Why didn’t you understand and bring everyone back to their deaths?”

Old Stinky cowered for a long time, but seeing that Lu the Rat was staring at him with a murderous look on his face, he knew he couldn't escape, so he said:

“Lord, we were all about to leave, but after we left, we all felt that this was not a good thing.”

"If we leave here now, we'll either die or suffer a fate worse than death, so we might as well come back. Having had a Lord like you, we don't want to find any other Lord."

“You’ve always been very good to us, you don’t eat us, and you require us not to eat ourselves. You treat us like human beings, so whether we live or die, we are willing to follow you.”

The phrase "eating oneself" likely refers to how these ordinary people, after death, become food for others. Ordinary people belong to themselves, much like the cannibalistic behavior of the new humans in Northern County.

Lu Xi'an understood what he was hearing, and at the same time, he noticed that the old man was speaking more and more fluently.

Old Stinky continued, "Now that you're in trouble, we'd rather come back and die with you than leave."

"This is what we all want. We're leaving, that's the decision everyone's made, and I can't stop them. Besides, I don't want to stop them, and that's what I think too."

He said, as if he were going all out, "Well, that's how it is now, Master. If you're not happy, just kill us, or we'll go with you, no matter what."

Lu Laoshu had his back to Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei's RV. Lu Xi'an couldn't see his expression, but sitting in the RV, he could see Lu Laoshu shudder.

Is this guy's eye tingling?
As Lu Xi'an was thinking, he saw the people in front of him start talking one after another again, and their meaning was roughly the same as Lao Chou's, expressing that they would follow Lu Laoshu even if it meant death.

Lu Laoshu's body trembled more than once; he couldn't help but tremble. After holding it in for a long time, he finally managed to utter, "Get out, get out of here! Go do what you were doing!"

When everyone heard what Lu Laoshu said, they understood that Lu Laoshu no longer intended to drive them away. They all smiled and dispersed.

Some of these people said they were going to clean up the village, while others said they were going to find food. They were busy in twos and threes, and it seemed that this was how they usually worked. They had a clear division of labor and were never idle, but the place was full of vitality, unlike other places where there was a lot of hostility and pressure.

They seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the moment, even though Lu Laoshu had told them that people from Northern County would come later, and that would be their death day. They still wanted to savor this moment of being alive.

When the young dog and the old stinky saw Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei, they came over to the RV and greeted them.

However, when they faced Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei, they were not as reserved and afraid as they were when they faced Lu Laoshu.

It seems that in their eyes, Lu Laoshu is indeed more of a good person than Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei.

Lu Xi'an felt as if he had returned to Institute 923, as if he had seen the scene when he first met Liu Hua and Tang Er, and gradually confirmed where Lu Laoshu's transformation came from.

Humans are complex creatures after all. This new human, who stole the fungus stone for his own selfish desires, escaped from the Northern County, and hid here, killed many ordinary people in order to create human flesh that was useful to him. In the end, he slowly became a guardian of a group of ordinary people.

Lu Xi'an couldn't judge Lu Laoshu's good or evil deeds, nor did he have the inclination to do so. It wasn't his job, and it didn't matter to him.

He was just thinking that it was time to talk to Luo Ping, to tell him what he knew so far, and then to gather supplies, build a sailboat, and set sail.

Lu Laoshu walked to the RV. Lu Xi'an opened the car door and took a look. He confirmed that the guy's eyes were indeed red, but there were no tear stains on his face. He must have been holding back his tears for a long time.

Ah, she's quite a sentimental person.

Lu Xi'an jumped out of the car and said, "So, you're planning to take all these people and wait to die?"

Lu Laoshu sighed and said, "What else can I do? What they said makes sense. They've gotten used to living here. If they went elsewhere, it would really be worse than death for them."
"Moreover, those who followed me might not survive in the end. When the people from the Northern County arrive, they will probably kill me and then find them and kill and eat them as well."

"Let them die. I'll protect them until the very end, and let them die after me."

He paused for a moment, then asked, "Gentlemen, would you like to come into my village and have a look? My village must be the best place in the world."

Lu Xi'an didn't mention Luo Ping, and there was no point in mentioning Luo Ping to Lu the Rat at this point.

He tried to get the dog to connect to Institute 923, but the connection failed. Since he had nothing else to do for the time being, he agreed to Lu Laoshu's request. So Yao Wei got out of the car and picked up the dog.

They locked the car and followed Lu the Rat into the village.

This is a very simple village. All the houses are built haphazardly, taking advantage of the growth of the trees in the forest, giving it a rugged and primitive feel.

The people here live like savages and dress like savages, but they do look more human than the people Lu Xi'an has met in other villages and towns.

As Lu the Rat led them, they received respectful greetings from the people who had begun their busy work, and they responded in kind. Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei also responded.

While speaking and responding, Lu Laoshu introduced every place and every person to Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei.

This is Old Stinky's house, and that's Old Chou's house. The new dog is settled here, and so is Old Stinky, who's next to the dog. They both went out with the others to find food.

With a large population in Binghao Village, the demand for food was high, so many people had to be sent out to find food every day. Fortunately, the coast was not far to the east, and there was plenty of food by the sea than on land, so they could always find something to eat.

Of course, there are times when they can't get anything, or there's very little. But no matter what, they won't eat their own food.

Lu Laoshu said that this was a rule he set himself, and everyone in the village agreed to it.

People are always arriving here, and people are always dying. In this era of food and nutrition shortages and extreme weather changes, the lifespan of ordinary people is always very short, and even diluted fungal stone water can't save them.

There are sometimes more people here, sometimes fewer, but Lu Laoshu always remembers everyone's name, even those who are already dead. When they pass through the village, he can introduce them to Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei one by one.

He could even recognize and distinguish one or two dogs in the village.

He had hunted those dogs before, intending to eat them, but it was freezing cold at the time, and they couldn't go out to forage for food. So they left the two dogs behind, planning to kill and eat them when food became extremely scarce.

Unexpectedly, the two dogs didn't eat in the end, but instead became the village's hunting dogs, and went hunting with the people.

Lu the Rat said that the two dogs, one named Big Dog and the other Little Dog, were both fine.

He also said that the puppy was about the same size as Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei's dog, but probably not as big as Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei's dog.

He certainly didn't know what Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei's dog was capable of, but after just one glance, he felt that the dog was extraordinary and far superior to his own.

Just kidding, what dog has a metal shell covering its body and glowing eyes?

Lu Laoshu had poured too much emotion into this village. Now, when he talked about everything with Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei, his tone was full of nostalgia, as if a month and a half had passed and everything here had been destroyed with the arrival of the people from the northern county.

The village wasn't big. After walking around, I saw some people starting to cook. It was seafood they had collected from the beach, which the villagers had grilled over a fire and were eating with the shells.

After they finished baking their food, they made sure Lu the rat ate first, and only then would they eat.

This is the class consciousness inherent in this world, and even though Lu Laoshu is no longer the same as most of the new humans in this world, he still doesn't see anything wrong with it.

He was already full this time, so he didn't accept the food offered by the villagers. Instead, he said, "I've already eaten outside. You can give it to the two of them first."

The villagers quickly brought food to Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei.

Yao Wei put the dog down beside her and said, "Thank you," before taking the food. Lu Xi'an also thanked her.

The villager paused for a moment, then suddenly laughed: "You are good people too."

Lu Xi'an couldn't help but chuckle; he had finally received another "friend card."

The dog's eyes didn't light up, and Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei could confirm that there was nothing wrong with the food, so they both started eating.

The villagers then went to cook again, and people returned in twos and threes. Some brought grass leaves—which are edible—some brought fruit, and some brought seafood from the seaside.

These things, more or less, are just enough to keep people eating today.

The two dogs returned, and Lu Xi'an finally saw real dogs in this world. One looked like a husky, and the other looked like a corgi. No wonder Lu Laohu said that the smaller one was about the same size as a dog.

The two dogs came running over, panting, and circled around Lu the Rat, who was sticking out his tongue and wagging his tail, as if trying to curry favor.

Lu the Rat sighed and said, "If I had known they hadn't left, I would have brought back the tiger and rat carcasses from under the poplar tree. That would have been enough for us to eat for a while. These two dogs could have gotten some meat too."

However, the two dogs dared not consider what Lu the rat had said and had already gone to find their kind.

—They seemed to regard the dog as one of their own and became interested in it.

Lu Xi'an said, "We can just drive over there again. It's not too late to go now."

"Too."

Lu the Rat nodded and said, "Do you think I should bring the fungus stone over and try it?"

Lu Xi'an said, "I think you'd better not try it. Out of so many people in Northern County, only two people survived after eating the fungus stone. The chances are too low. What will happen to them if you die?"

Lu the Rat thought for a moment and asked, "How about... if I die, you eat me?"

"roll!"

Lu Xi'an angrily retorted.

Does this guy think he and Yao Wei look like cannibals?

Yao Wei's expression was also somewhat unfriendly.

Lu the Rat realized what was going on, quickly shrank his neck, and said, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I misspoke." Only then did he give up the idea.

Lu Xi'an thought for a moment and said, "Now that you've eaten the meat under the poplar tree, just digest it properly. As for other things, if you want to improve further, I can teach you some methods. I know some..."

He paused here, then looked down at Yao Wei's side.

Beside Yao Wei, the dog had already been put down by her. The two dogs circled the dog, sniffing it curiously for a long time. The smaller one, which looked like a corgi, suddenly seemed to have a mind of its own and went behind the dog, lying down on it and wriggling.

Another large dog, which looked like a husky, jumped around a couple of times nearby, seemingly eager to try as well.

Yao Wei was furious and was about to slap him when Lu Laoshu's expression changed drastically. He quickly reached out and shouted, "Have mercy!"

(End of this chapter)