Chapter 40: Chapter 40: Suspect

The old man staggered in one direction, his clouded eyes looking ahead as he continued to search for his only relative.

Bai Yifan glanced sympathetically at the old man, his fingers tightening slightly.

I must improve my superpower well, for the sake of protecting my family.

“Meeting, meeting! Everyone come to the yard for a meeting!”

The sound of the loudspeaker blared.

Everyone headed towards the yard of the wind turbine factory.

Captain Zhu and five officers stood at the forefront, looking solemn.

Uncle Wang stood sleepily to the side, seemingly having just climbed out of bed.

“Yesterday, monsters attacked us, and we lost more than a dozen people to their claws. To be prepared for next time, we must take turns on duty,” Captain Zhu explained the duty rules with a serious expression.

Seven teams were set up in total to take turns on duty; men aged twenty to fifty must participate.

The crowd had just survived a calamity, and no one objected.

It’s all for survival.

“Does everyone understand?”

Captain Zhu asked the crowd sternly.

“Understood!”

The men responded in a uniquely firm, resonant voice.

“Well, I have a question!”

Uncle Wang timidly raised his hand.

“What’s the question?” Captain Zhu’s expression softened.

They managed to escape S City relying on Uncle Wang’s garbage truck, so while Captain Zhu could be stern with others, he was always friendly to Uncle Wang.

“When did we get attacked by monsters? Why didn’t I know?”

Uncle Wang looked puzzled.

Last night, he slept soundly in the garbage truck driver’s seat, not hearing a single thing!

The crowd: …

Uncle Wang sure has great sleep quality!

Last night, the monster almost ripped the sky apart, yet Uncle Wang’s sleep remained unaffected!

“Has anyone seen my Duoduo?” An old man suddenly ran to the front with a plastic bag containing egg custard, “If you see her, tell her it’s time to eat! Come back quickly!”

The crowd looked at the wrinkle-faced old man and sighed.

It’s been all night; it’s unlikely she’ll be found.

Uncle Wang grabbed the pale-faced old man and urgently asked, “Did your child go missing?”

“She’s gone…” The old man looked filled with self-blame, tears streaming down his cloudy eyes.

“Then let’s hurry and find her! What does your child look like?” Uncle Wang slapped his thigh, instantly deciding to help.

“She’s beautiful…”

The old man mumbled a few words and then continued searching the area for his granddaughter.

“His child was wearing a blue down jacket!”

Bai Zhengxuan rubbed his sore waist and said something to Uncle Wang.

Bai Zhengxuan had been helping with the search since early morning, so much that his waist was about to give out.

“Got it! I’ll help look too!”

Uncle Wang also joined the search party.

Seeing the old man’s plight, some kind-hearted people rejoined the search effort.

They searched until noon but found nothing.

By midday, those searching for the child caught three plump rabbits in the wheat field.

Captain Zhu found something like a large iron pot from the wind turbine factory to use as a pot, set it up in the yard, and began to cook the rabbits.

Without any diverse seasonings, they opened instant noodles and poured in the spice packets.

Steam bubbled from the pot, attracting many children.

The children eagerly watched the rabbit meat in the pot, drooling.

After the apocalypse, with water and power outages, hot meat was a rare treat!

The old man also ran to the yard, repeatedly checking the faces of the kids there.

With dozens of kids, he scrutinized each innocent face carefully.

He hoped his granddaughter would be among them.

His granddaughter also loved meat.

After searching again and again, in the end, his granddaughter was nowhere to be seen.

The old man didn’t leave the yard, believing his granddaughter’s nose was keen, and she’d come over if she smelled the meat.

Just like before, every time he finished stewing meat, his granddaughter would come hurriedly for a bite at the exact moment.

The rabbit meat was quickly cooked, and each child received a big piece, while the adults got a small piece each.

The three plump rabbits, divided among five hundred people, provided tiny pieces of meat, barely enough to fill a gap in the teeth.

At least the broth could warm their stomachs, as everyone clutched their bowls of broth, drinking noisily.

The old man’s eyes were tightly fixed on everyone coming to get the broth, examining even the adults as carefully as the children.

As if his granddaughter could have grown into an adult overnight.

“You, where did you take my Duoduo?”

The old man suddenly widened his eyes and lunged at a middle-aged man, gripping his clothes tightly.

“Who are you? You must be mistaken!”

The middle-aged man extended his hand to push him away, trying to separate himself from the old man.

But the old man’s strength seemed greater than his; no matter how much he pushed, the old man’s grip remained firm on his clothes.

“That… the hairband on your wrist, it’s my Duoduo’s!” The old man’s tear-filled eyes focused on the hairband on the middle-aged man’s wrist, “I bought it for her!”

The hairband was plain black, without any embellishments.

His granddaughter disliked flashy items, much to his frustration.

He always intended to dress his granddaughter like a little princess, yet the little princess disliked anything gaudy.

“What nonsense are you saying? This is my wife’s!”

The middle-aged man’s expression remained unchanged, as he reached out to push the old man away.

“Stop it!” Uncle Wang appeared from nowhere, glaring at the middle-aged man, “Where exactly did you get this thing from?”

Uncle Wang stood beside the middle-aged man, grabbing him as if he were the main suspect.

“Hurry up and talk, and we’ll let you go after you explain!”

Bai Zhengxuan stood on the other side.

“This really is something left by my wife who passed away,” the middle-aged man explained helplessly, raising his hand to show the crowd the hairband, “Everyone, look, these hairbands are everywhere on the streets!”

The crowd glanced at the hairband on the middle-aged man’s wrist before quickly losing interest.

Perhaps the old man was overly worried and mistrusted everyone.

These hairbands, you could buy a whole batch for ten bucks, very common.

“Elderly Sir, he’s the wind turbine factory engineer, He Yunxi. He’s not from our S City, so it’s unlikely he would take your child for no reason,” Captain Zhu glanced at the middle-aged man, recognized him, and stepped forward to speak up.

The middle-aged man slightly lowered his gaze, a slight grin flashing in his eyes, but when he looked at Captain Zhu, he appeared grateful.

“Captain Zhu is right, I’ve never even seen Duoduo, how could I possibly have kidnapped her?”

He Yunxi looked at the old man with an innocent expression.

“Impossible, I bought this for my granddaughter!”

The old man wouldn’t let go of He Yunxi’s clothes, a fierce glint bursting from his clouded eyes.

As if determined to fight if he didn’t bring back his granddaughter.

“Old chap, are you sure you didn’t make a mistake?”

Uncle Wang scratched his head, glancing at the hairband on He Yunxi’s wrist, slightly unsure.

Such items have no distinguishing marks, making it difficult to identify whose it is!

Perhaps, the old man had truly made a mistake?

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep