"Help! Help!"
The voice sounded like a young child.
Shen Xue and I exchanged a glance and quickly got out of the car, drawing our daggers.
Suo Tian and Xu Shu, who had been playing with Rongrong in the courtyard, also rushed out.
Suo Tian signaled for everyone to be quiet and ran towards the front.
We were currently on a road near the outskirts of the village, and the sound was coming from a nearby alleyway that led deeper into the village.
As Suo Tian turned the corner, he suddenly stopped and pulled out his dagger, rushing into the alley.
We followed cautiously, and the young boy, who had run out of the alley, stood frozen in place, crying hysterically and shouting for help.
Suo Tian had pulled the boy to safety behind him.
As we turned the corner, I was taken aback by the scene.
Suo Tian stood with his back to us, facing a group of about 20-30 people armed with hoes and knives.
They were staring warily at Suo Tian, who was standing over several walker corpses.
The group quickly noticed us standing at the entrance of the alley.
They seemed even more cautious, instinctively raising their weapons.
I noticed the assortment of arms they were carrying and thought to myself that they must be joking if they thought they could take on our modern firearms with those crude tools.
"Who are you?" a young man with glasses, probably in his late 20s, asked sternly.
Suo Tian remained silent, but the Big Beard behind him spoke up loudly, "What business is it of yours who we are?"
The bespectacled man ignored the Big Beard and scanned our group before focusing on Suo Tian.
"Who are you?" he repeated.
After a moment of silence, Suo Tian replied slowly, "We're just passing through. We're staying here for two days."
The bespectacled man nodded, still wary. "You arrived yesterday? And you searched the village?"
Suo Tian nodded, his eyes fixed on the man. "We had to make sure it was safe."
Before the bespectacled man could say another word, the crowd behind him erupted into a demands for us to leave.
They seemed to view us as outsiders who were oblivious to the dangers of the world, recklessly driving into their village and potentially causing trouble.
They were worried that our presence would attract walkers.
Judging by their weapons, clean clothes, and fearful expressions when looking at the dead walkers, it was clear that these people had been avoiding direct confrontations with the undead, opting to hide instead.
I noticed a middle-aged woman standing next to the bespectacled man, looking frantically worried.
Her gaze kept darting towards the back of our group.
I followed her line of sight and saw the young boy still standing there, his expression frozen in fear.
I realized that she must be his mother, although she looked a bit older than I expected.
After glancing back and forth, I noticed the resemblance between the woman, the boy, and the bespectacled man.
It clicked - they were a family.
As I turned to walk towards the boy, the Big Beard's loud voice echoed behind me, "We ain't leaving! You can't do anything about it. Shut up and stop yapping, or I'll bash your skull in!"
I didn't look back, but I could hear the clanging of weapons and the anger in the bespectacled man's group.
"Old Chang, can you please calm down? The leader hasn't even spoken yet. You're the only one yelling!" a middle-aged man's voice intervened.
I walked over to the boy and crouched down beside him.
Although he was clearly traumatized, he reacted to my presence.
His vacant stare shifted to my face as he turned his head.
I forced a friendly smile and asked, "What's your name, little friend?"
The boy looked at me timidly, his eyes darting towards the group in the distance.
After a moment, he whispered, "I'm Zhang Jiale."
"Jia Le?" I smiled and tried to pat his head.
At first, he flinched, but then seemed to sense that I meant no harm.
He stood still, looking down without saying a word.
Children are like that - unlike adults, they're less guarded and more trusting.
A kind face can easily win them over, and they'll believe you're a good person without question.
I pointed to the woman in the distance and asked him, "Jia Le, tell me, is that person your mom?"
After saying it, I felt something off about the sentence.
Then I realized, laughing at myself, that I wasn't used to calling myself "sister" since Rongrong always called me "auntie."
Zhang Jiale looked over and nodded.
He seemed to want to go to his mom, but he was hesitant because our people were facing off against her group at the entrance of the alley.
He didn't understand the situation, but he knew he shouldn't go forward.
I followed his gaze and smiled. "Why were you being chased by walkers today, Jia Le?"
At my words, Zhang Jiale's body trembled, and he glanced at the corpses on the ground.
He awkwardly looked away. "I opened the door to Grandpa Wang's house, and Grandpa Wang came out. He wanted to bite me. My mom and the others saw it and told me to run."
Zhang Jiale's words were disjointed, probably because he was still in shock.
I patted his head and said, "You did the right thing. Remember, if anyone tries to bite you, run as fast as you can, okay?"
Zhang Jiale didn't respond.
His eyes had already wandered past the crowd, searching for his mom.
I sighed and stood up, taking his hand. "Come on, sister will take you to your mom."
Whenever there are children involved, establishing a good rapport with them can naturally reduce the wariness and hostility from the adults.
It's like visiting someone's home - complimenting the house or food might not elicit a strong response, but praising their child can lead to a warm conversation that lasts all evening, and they'll likely invite you to meet again.
I approached Zhang Jiale to use him to simplify the situation.
The villagers didn't want outsiders disturbing their home, while we needed to stay.
One party would have to yield, and it wouldn't be us.
Not only was the snow still falling, making travel unsafe, but our superior combat strength gave us the upper hand.
However, we preferred to resolve the situation peacefully, as we were seeking survival, not looking to cause trouble.
I led Zhang Jiale through the crowd of black-clad individuals and stopped beside Suo Tian, who was standing at the front.
The situation between the two groups hadn't improved much.
The Big Beard was still cursing, and the villagers were restless.
Suo Tian remained silent, his face expressionless.
The bespectacled man was occasionally pulled aside by someone in the crowd, whispering something to him.
However, when they saw me leading Zhang Jiale over, their expressions changed dramatically.
The woman's face tensed up, and the commotion began to die down.
Everyone's eyes darted between me and Zhang Jiale, seemingly wary of something.
I knew they were concerned that I might use Zhang Jiale to threaten them.
Although I did intend to use the child, my purpose was different from what they imagined.
I scanned the crowd, smiled at the people in the front, and took Zhang Jiale a couple of steps forward.
"The child is scared. In these uncertain times, we need to take good care of our kids. Look at him, he's crying so hard. It's heartbreaking."
The woman wanted to rush over and hug her son, but she hesitated, glancing back at the bespectacled man.
Only after he nodded, after scrutinizing me, did she hurry over and hug Zhang Jiale tightly.
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