Chapter 568.2: How Did I Run Into Someone I Know In This Deserted Place?

The beer merchant glared. “Really? How is that possible! The Qi tribe never attacked settlements. They only grabbed those who wandered around on the wasteland!”

“Just because they didn’t before doesn’t mean they won’t in the future. Maybe they suddenly changed their minds on a whim.”

“But that doesn’t make sense! Aren’t they allies of the Torch Church? We have already joined the Torch Church. There is even a Prophet from the Church in our town!”

A dozen pairs of eyes turned toward the pastor at the table. Under the weight of those stares, the middle-aged man couldn’t help wiping his sweat and said nervously, “I don’t know... I haven’t been able to reach him since a few days ago. Ah, could it have something to do with this?”

“Out west... there seems to be a little place called Dust Town,” the blacksmith said, rubbing his chin.

The pastor nodded hastily. “That’s the name! I remember the Prophet said before he disappeared that he would take the faithful there to preach!”

Just then, the owner of the tannery spoke up. “Could it be those mutants went to Dust Town to look for the Prophet’s whereabouts, couldn’t find him... and then those green-skinned baboons went mad and started killing everywhere?”

That seemed the most reasonable explanation.

Even though it was the one everyone least wanted to face.

Ma Hechang slammed his fist hard on the table and yelled, “Enough. None of that matters. What matters is what we should do now. Do we stay and fight them, or do we relocate somewhere else for now?!”

Before he finished, the beer merchant cried out, “Relocate somewhere else? Are you joking? Where can we go? There’s nowhere nearby that can take in this many people!”

Other folks could just pat their backsides and leave, but his brewery could not be moved!

If those Mutant Humans didn’t kill anyone, they would certainly set a fire and burn this place to the ground! By then, all his property here would be finished!

Most of the others were in the same position.

Those present were the town’s most reputable big households. Their homes and property were here. Hope Town was not just a town to them, it was their foundation.

No one wanted to face those green-skinned monsters, but no one wanted to flee either.

“If we don’t leave, then we can only fight them,” Ma Hechang said darkly. “Honestly, I’m not confident we can stand against those things.”

A mutant tribe numbering over 10,000...

Even the Pinecone Ranch to the southeast, that great lord who housed nearly 50,000 people, would not be a match for that Mutant Human tribe.

The two sides simply weren’t in the same weight class.

At that moment, the head of the guard station suddenly rose from the table and walked toward the door.

Ma Hechang looked over. “Where are you going?”

The captain stopped. “To mobilize the townsfolk and hand out guns. If we keep debating like this, we won’t be able to run, and we won’t have time to fight. We’ll only be sitting here waiting to die.”

No sooner had he finished than the beer merchant stood up not far away.

“Wait, you can’t do that! If you hand out guns now, everyone will know something’s about to happen!”

The captain of the guard station frowned. “At a time like this, what good is keeping the lid on?”

The beer merchant lowered his voice, “There are some wastelanders in town. They fight better than we do. At worst we pay them! But if they get wind ahead of time that the enemy is Mutant Humans... I bet they’ll run faster than rabbits!”

The guard captain stared at him for a moment, then mulled it over. It did seem to make some sense.

However tough those wastelanders were, they were still better than the town militia. Mobilizing them was better than sending a bunch of men who had never fought to die.

Those at the table exchanged looks; most eyes held approval. Ma Hechang pondered for a long time, then slowly nodded. “I was thinking the same... but we can’t pin all our hopes on those outsiders. We need a backup plan.”

He turned to the captain of the guard station.

“Bring the weapons from storage to the walls. Block the main gates to the east, south, west, north with obstacles, and dig some fortifications... As for the wastelanders, we’ll tell them we’ve received word that a band of marauders is roaming the area. The town needs to reinforce its defenses. Vehicles and goods are temporarily barred from passing. Three days from now, if the alarm is lifted, we’ll dismantle the defenses, and they can come and go freely.”

“During this period, Hope Town will provide free lodging and food for its guests.”

If they kept the goods, they kept the traveling merchants. And if they kept the traveling merchants, they kept their private guards.

If it was only a delay of three days, those merchants likely wouldn’t do anything too outlandish to offend the town.

Though this might harm Hope Town’s reputation, surviving was clearly the more urgent crisis now.

As for the mercenaries, it would be hard to detain them by force, but they could be hired under the pretext of dealing with marauders roaming the area.

After a brief pause, Ma Hechang said with a trace of hopeful luck, “Actually... It might not be as bad as we think.”

“The sentries haven’t brought back news yet. At least that means the mutants haven’t reached our vicinity. Perhaps, as Mr. Xiao said, this is just a ploy to scare us off.”

Those present looked at one another.

If only it were that simple...

...

In a forest dozens of kilometers away.

After finishing their feast, the Mutant Humans smeared the prey’s blood and grease on their faces, snorting as they roared and sang crude songs, setting out toward the next banquet.

Oge had lost more than 200 brothers, including a captain and a super fighter.

𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

He needed to hack off at least 400 heads to vent his anger.

As for whether the Torch Church would be angry, what did that have to do with Oge?

Those meddling priests in the tribe annoyed him enough, and he liked those mumbling humans even less...

At this moment, the vast majority of Hope Town’s residents still hadn’t realized that danger had crept silently over their heads.

The few who knew anything were still hoping it wasn’t that bad, that the arrow with the hide tied to it was only a crude hoax.

Elsewhere, after lunch at the inn, Falling Feather learned from the caravan leader Wu Wenzhou that marauders were roaming nearby and that the town had gone into lockdown.

“Marauders?!” After hearing the news, surprise flashed over Falling Feather’s face, and he quickly thought of the group they had encountered near the provincial border earlier.

“... Could it be those people we ran into?”

On the way here, they had run into a band of highway marauders and seized a Maxim from them. If it was those people, he couldn’t for the life of him see any need to build fortifications.

“I don’t know,” Wu Wenzhou said with a wry shake of his head. “Anyway, the town’s exits are all blocked now. People can come and go, but goods can’t get through. We can’t exactly make them tear down their barricades and cover.”

Though they were in a safe zone, it was still out in the wasteland. He didn’t dare abandon his goods here while the people left.

If the cargo went missing, there would be nowhere to lodge a complaint.

In truth, there was no need to leave.

Unless it was an exception like the Bonechewer Clan, most marauders were hammered down by settlements. Only small villages were likely to meet misfortune.

With so many mercenaries and caravans present, there was no need to worry about security.

“Are we just going to sit here and wait?” Thinking of the advice from that guy called White Shark, Falling Feather couldn’t help frowning.

Every extra day on the road added a day of risk to his 100,000 silver coins going up in smoke.

They were nearly at their destination, and he truly hated dropping the ball at this critical moment.

Wu Wenzhou sighed helplessly, “As things stand, there’s no better way... It’s only three days. We’ll wait.”

After a pause, he continued, “Of course, even if their reasons sound plausible, we can’t just let them do whatever they want for no reason. I’ll go talk to the other merchants later. They owe us an explanation.”

If the barricades still weren’t taken down after three days, they could band together to pressure the locals and the town hall.

That would be the last resort, of course.

If possible, he really didn’t want conflict with the locals. Hope Town was one of the few relatively safe and reliable settlements along their trade route.

In smaller settlements, he usually slept with a pistol under the pillow. There, he could just lock the door and sleep soundly.

“... I’ll go take a look around. Maybe I’ll find some clues.” Falling Feather pushed back his chair and stood up.

The thought of wasting three days in this little town made his skin crawl. Better to go out now and see if there were any side quests to pass the time.

Wu Wenzhou nodded. “Go on, but be back before dark.”

Falling Feather stepped out of the inn and onto the street, glanced left and right, and found the town surprisingly large, completely different from his first impression last night, likely home to no fewer than 1,000 people.

Quite a few merchants and mercenaries were stranded here like them, gathering near the inn to trade the news they had heard.

Chatting them up might be a good idea.

But just as Falling Feather was about to walk over, he awkwardly realized he wasn’t particularly good at socializing.

Never mind NPCs, he interacted with a few players, too.

He had been playing the game for some time, but he was only close with Mosquito and his teammates in the Goblin Corps, plus a few of Mosquito’s acquaintances.

Before raising Little Feather, he often soloed the game.

As he was wondering how to casually ease into their conversation and pry intel from those old hands, a familiar voice came from the side.

“Falling Feather?!”

He hadn’t expected to run into someone he knew in this dump.

Hearing someone call his name in Mandarin, Falling Feather reflexively turned his head, and saw a familiar face, eyes widening in surprise. “What the...? How are you here too?!”