Rotting Land: Survive

Chapter 710 - 697: A Father’s Difficult Choice (Part 1)

"Mr. Liu, this..." He Lei stood bewildered, not knowing what to do. Before he could finish his sentence, he felt a strong gust pass by. The handheld radio in his hand had already been snatched away by Liu Fugui.

"Yunpeng? Is that you?" Having heard nothing from Liu Yunpeng for a long time, Liu Fugui was thrown into a deeper turmoil by this sudden cry for help. Perhaps he was too agitated, for he forgot to press the talk button after taking the radio from He Lei.

Thus, Liu Yunpeng naturally did not hear his father’s reply, leading him to persist in his initial plea:

"Dad, it’s Yunpeng, please answer! Over!" Liu Yunpeng’s voice was nearly crying.

"Mr. Liu, you...you forgot to press the switch on the radio!" He Lei, seeing everything clearly from the sideline, quietly reminded him. Realizing this, Liu Fugui hurriedly pressed the button and shouted, "Son, Dad hears you. I hear you. Where are you now? How did you get out there?"

"Dad, please come and save me!"

"Don’t panic, son. Quickly tell Dad where you are right now. I’ll send someone over immediately..."

"Cough, cough!" Instead of waiting for his son’s reply, a light cough came through the other end of the microphone, followed by a heavy male voice laughing, "Hehe, Mr. Liu, there’s no need to worry. Your son is very safe with us, he..."

"Who are you? How is my son with you?"

"Mr. Liu, please calm down. We would like..."

"Who the hell are you?" Liu Fugui’s repeated interruptions showed impoliteness, which annoyed the person on the other end, causing them to abruptly cut off the communication. This left Liu Fugui speechless, "Hello, hello, say something..."

"Bang!" Liu Fugui forcefully threw the handheld radio against the door, causing it to shatter into pieces from the impact.

He Lei hadn’t seen Liu Fugui get so angry in a long time. Although He Lei prided himself on being bold, he couldn’t help but feel a bit apprehensive inside.

He knows Liu Fugui’s temper too well; in such situations, it’s best to keep quiet, as any slight disagreement could provoke a disaster.

Time ticked by rapidly, mirrored by Liu Fugui’s heaving chest. His intense emotional turbulence left him panting heavily.

However, he relieved some of his pent-up frustration with his earlier actions. As time passed, he calmed down a bit: "He Lei, go get the handheld radio from my drawer and tune it to your frequency."

Regardless of everything, this radio was now the only means of finding out his son’s whereabouts. Liu Fugui somewhat regretted his rash actions. He only hoped that the person contacting him wouldn’t cut off due to the unreturned contact over the last few minutes.

He Lei quickly carried out Liu Fugui’s instructions and handed the radio to him.

Such waiting truly tested one’s willpower. Feeling uneasy, Liu Fugui took out a cigar from an exquisite gold case and lit it for himself. With each draw and exhale, the room quickly filled with a layer of smoke.

The other party seemed adept at grasping a person’s mentality. Just as Liu Fugui was about to lose hope, they contacted him again, though with a slightly mocking tone: "Hello, Mr. Liu, have you calmed down now? Over!"

Calm? Easier said than done. Even someone with a heart like Liu Fugui’s had difficulty remaining composed under the current circumstances.

However, having braved many storms, he was undeniably better at controlling himself than the average person.

This time, he didn’t rush to reply. Instead, he poured a cup of tea, gulped it down, and then slowly spoke, "I am Liu Fugui. Apologies for earlier, my emotions were a bit unstable. I hope this brother can forgive me! Over!"

"Hehe, it’s understandable, Mr. Liu. You were just anxious as a parent earlier. It’s good to see you calmed down now! Over!"

"Could this brother kindly tell me your name, also, how is my son? Can I speak with him? Over!"

The other side took about a minute to respond: "Who I am doesn’t matter. What matters is that your son is with me. Rest assured, he is very safe now. As for speaking, there’s no harm. Come on, Yunpeng, say a few words to your dad!"

"Dad, dad, save..." Once again, the connection was cut. A minute later, Liu Fugui’s radio chimed once more: "Alright, Mr. Liu, you heard your son’s voice, so now you can be at ease. Hehe! Over!"

The other party had Liu Fugui utterly in their grasp, and he knew it was psychological warfare on their part. Yet knowing this, he had no good way to respond. Controlling his emotions was already quite a challenge for him, much less making the right decision.

Suppressing his urge to curse, he calmly said, "Thank you, brother, for taking care of my son all this time. To avoid troubling you further, I hope you can provide your exact location so I can send someone to pick him up. Over!"

"Haha, that’s certainly not a problem. But Mr. Liu, you may not know, your son was surrounded by zombies at the time. To save him, I lost two brothers. Now I have to look after their families and kids. But in this damned world, getting food and drinks isn’t easy, not to mention I’m short-handed. So how about Mr. Liu, you should take some responsibility! Over!"

The man spoke softly, all in the name of brotherhood, seeming reasonable enough. But Liu Fugui was no fool; he could hear the veiled threat in the other’s words. So he pretended, "Don’t worry, brother, I will do my best to compensate these two fallen brothers. What exactly do you need, brother? Over!"

"Not much, just food and drink. Just bring over two truckloads of supplies. Over!"

"Two truckloads?" Liu Fugui’s tone was full of difficulty: "Brother, I’m afraid I can’t manage that. Half a truckload I could barely scrape together. Over!"

"Hahahahaha!" A piercing laugh forced Liu Fugui to pull the microphone away from his ear: "Mr. Liu, are you joking with me? Who doesn’t know your name, Liu Fugui? The food king struggling with grain? Your son told me your factory is full of food. Could it be your son is lying? Kids lying isn’t a good thing. I think I should help Mr. Liu discipline him then."

"No, no, no! Brother, two truckloads, just two truckloads. Please tell me your address, and I will have it delivered to you right away! Over!" At this critical moment, Liu Fugui had no other choice. Though he disliked being led by the nose, he could only comply for his son’s sake. (To be continued. If you like this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)