Chapter 007: Meddling

Seeing his disheveled appearance, Cheng Bin truly could not muster the interest to reprimand them, and waved his hand saying: "Why didn't you come out just now?"

Hearing his words, Cheng Bin couldn't help but glance down at Xing Zhixin's leg. Noticing this action, Xing Zhixin instinctively shrank back, as Cheng Bin said: "It's bleeding"

There was no response, and Cheng Bin called out again. Zhuo Anni leaned against the car window and shouted to him: "Perhaps they have left; I didn't see anyone in the car when we passed by just now"

He glanced at Xing Zhixin standing before him, then looked at Hou Jia, who was still standing by the car, wrapped in a blanket. Snowflakes fell on the blanket and her head, almost blending her into the surroundings.

Cheng Bin hesitated for a moment, then noticed that Zhuo Anni was also looking at him. He hesitantly spoke up, "Do you find this car familiar?"

He has been navigating society for about twenty years, and even if he is not very scheming, he would not be too rigid in his dealings with others. Naturally, he would not honestly say, "Boss, your demeanor while killing yesterday frightened us, so we originally planned to keep our distance." Instead, he forced a smile and said, "I didn't see it was you."

To be honest, Cheng Bin does not really believe in conspiracy theories. There has never been a shortage of coincidences in this world, and one cannot immediately go into a state of alert every time something strange occurs. If one should be cautious when encountering a car on the road, should one also be wary when a flock of birds suddenly flies by? What about when the wind blows? If that were the case, Cheng Bin might as well give up on life altogether and simply commit suicide.

Cheng Bin does not quite believe his words, but this can be considered a reason. He knows that they do not believe him. If the situation were reversed, he would not believe them either. The only difference is that he is alone, without a companion by his side to be a burden, and he does not have to consider too many issues. If faced with such a situation, he would rather choose to endure alone, as at least his fate would still be in his own hands

As he approached the side of the car, due to the slippery road surface, Cheng Bin, although unprepared to stop, still dared not accelerate too much. He shifted to first gear, intending to slowly glide past the vehicle. He had already made up his mind that if someone suddenly rushed out from behind that car, he would not hesitate to collide with them, regardless of what that person intended to do, as it was not a reason for him to take risks.

Snowflakes continued to fall endlessly from the sky, and Cheng Bin saw that a thick layer of snow had already settled on the roof of the SUV. He gripped the gun in his hand and shouted loudly: "Xing Zhixin, is that you? I am Cheng Bin"

Cheng Bin let out a sound, appearing to have had a poor night's sleep. Coupled with the various side effects brought on by the snowfall, such as visual fatigue, slippery roads, and increased braking distances, this ultimately led to him being stuck here. He pointed to the pickup truck and said, "Get in the car."

"We cannot leave them here," Cheng Bin said. "Especially after your companions did that to them yesterday"

"Hmm," Xing Zhixin said honestly, "I got pinched a bit during the car accident, but I estimate that my bones are fine"

His voice quickly dissipated in the vast expanse of the highway, sounding thin and hollow, yet Cheng Bin believed that if Xing Zhixin were by the car, he would surely be able to hear it

"Can I bring something along?" Xing Zhixin had anticipated this outcome, so he timidly put forward another request. Cheng Bin had saved them once yesterday, but he merely expressed his gratitude verbally before slipping away. Unfortunately, today he was saved by him once again. Xing Zhixin felt much more embarrassed than the fat on his belly.

The pickup truck smoothly passed by the car, at which point Cheng Bin could clearly see that it was a black SUV. In fact, it was not parked on the road at all; it only appeared that way because this stretch of road formed a small S-curve, and the road was quite flat. After being covered with snow, the road and the surrounding area blended together, making it easy to misjudge. The car's position there did not seem coincidental, as its front wheel had collided with a tree beside the road. A small tree, about the thickness of a bowl, had been knocked down, so from the rear of the vehicle, the broken tree in front was not visible. This was due to the small S-curve of the road and its flatness, which, when covered in snow, made it easy to misinterpret the situation. The SUV was not parked there by chance, as its front wheel had struck a tree beside the road, causing the small tree to fall over, thus obscuring the view of the broken tree from behind the vehicle. In front of the small tree, the hood of the SUV was open, and a faint wisp of warm air was rising from inside, indicating that the accident had not occurred long ago

To be honest, he was indeed somewhat hesitant, uncertain whether he should heed Zhuo Anni's advice. The proximity to the car in front left him little time to think, and he genuinely believed that Zhuo Anni's concerns were quite reasonable. It was like the period before a disaster when there were too many con artists and not enough fools to go around. After such a long time following the disaster, good people had nearly all perished, and if misfortune struck again, it would be the turn of the occasional amateur who dabbled in being a good person. Cheng Bin questioned his ability to consistently be a good person for a lifetime; he had played the role of a good person as a hobby last night, and today he found himself entangled in two complications. This indicated that being a good person required both a background and capital; without these two supports, engaging in the high-risk hobby of doing good deeds should be approached with caution.

"How's the car? Can it still run?" Cheng Bin asked as he disengaged the safety on his handgun, yet did not eject the bullet, for he too did not trust the two individuals before him. He then tucked the handgun into his jacket and walked over. The hood of the SUV was propped open, but the interior was in disarray. Xing Zhixin followed him with hope: "Can you fix the car?"

"I thought you would," Cheng Bin said. He took just one glance and knew that this was a malfunction that could not be fixed with his mediocre skills. If it were before the disaster, he would have certainly suggested that Xing Zhixin call for a tow truck, but now that was clearly impossible. So he asked Xing Zhixin, "What do you plan to do?"

Xing Zhixin clearly did not expect Cheng Bin to say that. He was taken aback for a moment before he苦笑着 walked out from behind the car, followed by Hou Jia, who looked at them with concern. It seemed they had just been crouching behind the car. In fact, it was Hou Jia who first noticed the approaching pickup truck. However, this was not a good time to hitch a ride, especially after the terrible experience they had yesterday. Therefore, the two of them skipped any discussion and directly hid. If Cheng Bin had not stopped the car voluntarily, they might have quickly regretted missing an opportunity to escape their predicament. But at least when the pickup truck passed by, their first thought was to avoid danger. It was only when Cheng Bin stopped the car to greet them that Xing Zhixin realized that if Cheng Bin left, they would have to walk in the heavy snow. Which was more dangerous, the weather or Cheng Bin? This was indeed a question worth considering. Generally speaking, men tend to be more decisive than women, so Xing Zhixin did not take long to decide on the former. Of course, it now seemed that Hou Jia's choice was quite different from his.

I understand. Xiang Zhixin's voice came through, possibly worried that Cheng Bin would hear, so he spoke in a hushed tone, saying: "Let us not meddle in others' affairs"

Cheng Bin was taken aback, thinking to himself, "You can't be trying to pin this on me so soon, can you?" Although it is for the country and the people, and one should be a great hero, I wonder if a scapegoat like me even holds such a position. It seems that Old Jin's fourteen books only arranged for one person to take on this task, and in the end, it turned out to be a eunuch. I don't even know which is worse, a botched ending or this. He forced a smile, did not respond to Zhuo Anni's words, and pushed open the car door to step out.

Speaking of this, Xing Zhixin felt somewhat embarrassed. He cleared his throat and directed his gaze towards the unfortunate little tree: "I am feeling a bit drowsy." He explained, "The reflection from the snow is too intense."

To be honest, Cheng Bin has never considered himself a noble person. However, having been born under the red flag and raised in the new China, the teachings of the Party and the state, although sometimes causing confusion in his worldview, at least prevent him from quickly sliding into the abyss. He generally acts when it comes to inconsequential matters like giving up his seat to an elderly lady or helping an old man push a cart. Of course, since a certain incident, our comrade Cheng has stopped helping fallen elderly ladies.

Cheng Bin turned his head to look at him, feeling truly disinclined to speak, and simply waved his hand: "Don't load too much, I can see that the carriage can't hold much more."

Cheng Bin cleared his throat, not wanting to continue the topic. Xing Zhixin's mind turned, and he immediately understood, quickly pulling over Hou Jia and saying, "Let's go move some things." Cheng Bin watched as they turned to the other side of the SUV, hearing Hou Jia lower her voice and say, "It's that woman."

Xing Zhixin shrugged and said, "If I had not met you, I would have been prepared to move forward."

However, it seems that they are not very appreciative, and he is unwilling to wait any longer. After calling out once more, he prepares to get into the car and leave. At that moment, he hears someone calling from behind the SUV, and then Xing Zhixin appears at the back of the SUV, supporting himself against the vehicle and saying, "It is us"

Seeing Xing Zhixin limping, Cheng Bin was taken aback, thinking that this time he might have suffered a loss. He did not expect that Xing Zhixin had actually been injured

Having roughly guessed Cheng Bin's thoughts, Xing Zhixin shrugged and said, "It was just a minor bump, nothing serious."

Cheng Bin couldn't help but sigh again, beginning to regret for the Nth time his decision to be with this woman. Of course, he also understood what she was worried about; it was not easy to find someone to take over, and no one would easily let go. So he turned to Zhuo Anni and said, "You all stay in the car. If anything seems off, just drive away." He thought for a moment, looking seriously into Zhuo Anni's terrified big eyes: "Don't drive the car down under the highway again." So he turned to Zhuo Anni and said, "You all stay in the car. If anything seems off, just drive away." He thought for a moment, looking seriously into Zhuo Anni's terrified big eyes: "Don't drive the car down under the highway again"

While they were speaking, Zhuo Anni had already jumped out of the car and was standing by the side of the vehicle, looking at them. Therefore, Xing Zhixin and Hou Jia both saw her. Xing Zhixin did not have the habit of staring at women, so he merely thought that this woman had a good figure. However, Hou Jia turned to Cheng Bin and asked, "Is it them?"

It is precisely based on the above facts that Cheng Bin decided to bring along Zhuo Anni and Le Tao. Although he could easily deduce with his toes that these two individuals were closely related to the person he had killed yesterday, having them by his side was undoubtedly a threat. Nevertheless, he still could not bear to watch them fend for themselves. The same applies to Xing Zhixin and Hou Jia; at the very least, he must be true to his own conscience

Cheng Bin sighed, feeling quite unfortunate. He then released the accelerator and slowly applied the brakes to come to a stop. Zhuo Anni looked at him nervously and said, "What do you want to do?"

Of course, not believing that one is always facing traps does not mean one should jump into a pit whenever there is one. Therefore, Cheng Bin quickly made up his mind, gently pressed the accelerator with his right foot, and reached into his trench coat with his right hand to draw out a Type 92 pistol. He rubbed it against his thigh to chamber a round, then held the gun in his hand, ready to respond to any sudden situation. Fortunately, the road was slippery with snow, and he kept the car in second gear, allowing him to drive slowly without worrying about the gun getting in the way while shifting gears. Next to him, Zhuo Anni saw the gun in his hand, and her expression became somewhat unnatural, but she remained silent, only anxiously staring ahead.

"How did you end up crashing into a tree?" Cheng Bin asked in surprise. He had observed Xing Zhixin's maneuver of turning the car around on the road and could tell that Xing Zhixin was quite skilled at driving, suggesting that such a basic mistake should not have occurred.

Cheng Bin still possesses a sense of justice, but that does not mean he has a good temper. After waiting for such a long time, Xing Zhixin finally appeared, and naturally, he was not in a good mood. He said fiercely, "It's nothing, I'm just here to say hello"

"Then you should not be with us either," Zhuo Anni said, and then she realized she had misspoken, closing her mouth in panic as she looked at him

Zhuo Anni was somewhat unaccustomed to his attitude. After blinking her eyes, she finally understood that Cheng Bin meant for her to drive away if she saw something wrong, without concerning herself with him. She did not respond to Cheng Bin's words, but insisted, "Don't go."

Xing Zhixin awkwardly smiled for a moment. They saw a car approaching from behind and, in a panic, hurried to hide, having no time to sneak a glance at who was driving. Moreover, neither of them was in the habit of looking at license plates, so they lacked the confidence to confirm whether this car was the same one they had seen yesterday. In fact, when Cheng Bin first called out after getting out of the car, he heard it, but Hou Jia pulled him back, not allowing him to come out. She was truly frightened by yesterday's experience and did not dare to trust strangers again. Xing Zhixin did not have a good impression of Cheng Bin either, so he did not move at first. It was only when he realized that Cheng Bin was about to leave that he suddenly understood this might be their only way to escape their current predicament.

"Killing leads to death, saving leads to life," Cheng Bin said helplessly. "After all, we have known each other for a while; I must go see if these two people are dead or not"

Zhuo Anni did not speak, but Cheng Bin understood her meaning. She also recognized that this was the car driven by Xing Zhixin and another person when they left last night. It seemed they had not gone far, and then on this special day, they had an accident and crashed into a tree.

Zhuo Anni looked at him with concern and blurted out, "What should we do if it's a trap?"

Cheng Bin glanced back at her, feeling quite unconvinced. Unless Xing Zhixin and the other person had lost their minds, they would not simply abandon their vehicle. Most importantly, he noticed footprints in the snow beside the car. Although they were partially obscured by the falling snow, it was evident that they had not been there for long—likely only a matter of minutes. Apart from the area around the car, he did not see any footprints extending in other directions, so they must still be here.

It seemed that they were not prepared to believe in themselves, Cheng Bin thought. He stopped not wanting to see Xing Zhixin and the other person fall into a predicament, which was a manifestation of his lingering sense of morality. More importantly, he knew that these two individuals posed no danger to him. After all, he had already taken on two people; adding two more would not make much difference. As the saying goes, whether it is two sheep or four sheep, they can all be released, right

Cheng Bin looked at Zhuo Anni in surprise, sensing that she was genuinely nervous. It seemed that she had adapted well to the survival rules of the apocalypse, showing neither curiosity nor compassion. Ironically, however, her own desire to survive still depended on the kindness of others