Shen Feng readily agreed to the scumbag's request, as he was only interested in understanding the situation in the forest. As for punishing evil and promoting good, Shen Feng no longer cared.
Upon hearing the city lord's words, Xu Xing's face immediately showed shock. She believed that Shen Feng, whom she admired, must be a great hero. Since he was a hero, he should always do righteous deeds to be admired by everyone. Otherwise, how could he be called a hero by others?
However, at this moment, Shen Feng directly agreed to the other party's condition to protect this scumbag. This guy actually eats people. Much of the content in the "Diary of a Madman" was mere speculation. This guy truly ate people when he lived in the forest. Why should such a thing be allowed to remain?
Xu Xing had many things she wanted to say, but at this moment, she didn't know where to start. She could only follow Shen Feng's instructions and find a gun to hand to the disheveled man. The man, upon receiving the rifle, immediately felt a surge of power. With a gun, he had the ability to survive in the forest.
Shen Feng then continued to ask, "Tell me, where did the miners and soldiers who went to the forest before, led by Qiu Ming, all go?"
At this moment, Skylaniv no longer concealed anything and directly stated, "They are all dead. They were all killed by monsters. If you want to find them, forget it!"
"What? All dead? How is that possible!" Upon hearing this news, Shen Feng showed disbelief. Xiao Sheng and his group, along with the miners and soldiers, were not to be underestimated in terms of combat power. Yet, they were all killed in the forest, which Shen Feng found hard to believe.
"You must be talking nonsense. How could they all be dead? You must be lying to us. They had elite soldiers and strong miners; they couldn't have died so easily!" Yeromini retorted directly, completely disbelieving what the other party said, finding it too fabricated.
The disheveled man, holding the rifle, grinned and said, "Why would I lie to you? In my home, there are still many military uniforms and boots. I prepared them to wear in the summer. These things were stripped from those soldiers."
Through Yeromini's translation, Shen Feng also understood what the man was saying. Of course, he had seen the military uniforms in the cave. At that time, Shen Feng didn't know where the uniforms came from, but now it seemed that the uniforms found in the cave were the equipment of the previous soldiers.
"What are the monsters you mentioned? And where did they go?" Shen Feng continued to inquire.
At this moment, Shen Feng's greatest concern was the whereabouts of Xiao Sheng and his group. In any case, Shen Feng did not believe that over twenty ability users could be easily killed. Even if they encountered treants, they might not necessarily lose, especially since Xiao Sheng could use fire, which was specifically effective against treants.
"As for the monsters, I don't know what they look like. Every time these monsters appear, the ground shakes violently. And this monster only has one eye, its eye is red, and it glows in the dark. It grabs whatever it sees, not only eating people but also other animals," the man quickly replied.
Shen Feng was puzzled by this description and asked, "Only one eye? What kind of animal is this?"
Shen Feng did not know of any animal with only one eye. Whether humans or other animals, eyes always appeared in pairs, or they had no eyes at all, like earthworms. However, Shen Feng had never heard of an animal with only one eye, so he doubted if the man was telling the truth.
Skylaniv earnestly stated, "I am sure the monsters only have one eye. I have been living in the forest for over a year. I discovered the monsters about half a year ago. I have survived so many times; I couldn't have seen it wrong."
"Couldn't have seen it wrong? Then draw the monster for me, just a rough sketch. Maybe I can guess what this monster is!" Shen Feng directly said.
However, Skylaniv replied, "No, these monsters only appear at night. I can't see clearly at night either. Anyway, these monsters have many tentacles. Once they find prey, they will directly grab it with their tentacles, drag it back to their cave to eat. By the next day, you can see a lot of clothes and other items outside the cave."
Hearing this explanation, Shen Feng understood the habits of the monsters in the forest. They appeared at night. In this case, the frequent beast tides near Qiu Ming were also related to the monsters' activity patterns.
"I think these are treants. They are covered in tentacles and appear at night. This is clearly the way treants move. They are easily affected by ultraviolet rays during the day, so it's fine for them to appear at night," Shen Feng analyzed to those around him.
When Shen Feng's analysis was heard, the others nodded in agreement, all believing that the city lord's guess was accurate.
"Where is that cave? Draw it!" Shen Feng continued to ask.
Shen Feng suspected that the whereabouts of Xiao Sheng and his group were related to this cave. If Shen Feng were to search for it, it would undoubtedly be a difficult task. It would be best to find out the location of the cave from this scumbag, which would save a lot of effort.
However, Skylaniv was not foolish. He knew that once he revealed the location of the cave, he would be killed. So, he directly said, "No, I'm not good at drawing, but I can take you there."
After speaking, Skylaniv cautiously looked at Xu Xing on the side. After living in the forest for a long time, his perception had become very keen. He knew which people present were hostile towards him. In his opinion, the most hostile person present was the beautiful woman beside him. Although she was just a woman, her eyes flashed with cold light, and she would truly act if there was a disagreement.
Xu Xing indeed wanted to act. The reason was simple: she hated scumbags. It was already difficult for humans to survive in the apocalypse, but this guy killed his good brothers for his selfish desires, occupied his good brothers' wives, and it didn't end there. After his actions were exposed, he actually killed the poor woman and ate her flesh to survive. Such behavior was utterly outrageous. If possible, she would have killed him with a single blow.
At this moment, Shen Feng looked out the window. Crows, like black dragons sweeping across the sky, appeared again. The setting sun was in the distance. The daytime here was very short, only about ten hours. It was about to get dark in Qiu Ming, which meant that the beast tide would appear soon.
"Then let's rest for a night. Tomorrow, you lead the way and take us to find the cave where the monsters are hidden. If you can't find it, you prepare to die. If you find it, I will let you go," Shen Feng said indifferently.
However, at this moment, Yeromini quickly asked, "Lord Fengshen, if you leave, we really won't be able to survive. I heard a saying in China, 'Good people do good deeds to the end, sending Buddha to the West.' You have already saved us from the basement, so how can you abandon us now?"
At this moment, Shen Feng was directly subjected to a moral blackmail. After all, Shen Feng and the people of Qiu Ming were not acquainted, nor were they inherently evil people from Siberia. Why should they save these people? Being able to bring them to the relatively safe steel factory was already quite good, but then they expected Shen Feng to do more.
"Uh, don't worry, I won't abandon you. We are setting out tomorrow to search for your Qiu Ming miners and soldiers. Perhaps there are survivors? We will come back later, do you understand?" Shen Feng said seriously.
"Really?" Hope appeared in Yeromini's eyes. She was still looking forward to Shen Feng's promise. In the current situation, she could only believe that Shen Feng would keep his word.
Shen Feng patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, I will keep my word. I never lie, so you can rest assured."
After receiving the assurance, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Being protected by ability users meant they would not be in danger.
As a result, in private, Shen Feng gathered his three subordinates and said, "Tomorrow, bring all the equipment. We are going to the forest. As for this place, we don't care."
Qi Lingshan and Lu Xian did not show any particular attitude, but Xu Xing, after hearing Shen Feng's answer, looked at Shen Feng in disbelief and asked, "City Lord, if we abandon these people, how will they survive?"
To Xu Xing's question, Shen Feng shook his head helplessly and sighed, "You shouldn't ask me about this. You should ask these people. We have our own territory. What will happen to our home if we stay outside for too long? We are not those chivalrous heroes who help others for the sake of it all day long. What we should do now is to confirm the situation here. If there are fewer mutated plants, then we should hurry back. Winter in Yuzhou is also approaching!"
Shen Feng also knew that Xu Xing was a kind woman. If it were in the past, such a kind woman would naturally be sought after by many. But now it was the apocalypse. Kindness was not impossible, but it had to be moderate. It was acceptable to help others when one could, but to help others without considering one's own circumstances was not something a normal person would do.
Hearing Shen Feng's words, Xu Xing felt a little disappointed. In the past, Xu Xing always felt that Shen Feng was a chivalrous hero, as he had always done such things, saving many people. But now, she realized that Shen Feng could also be quite heartless at times.
Lu Xian also comforted Xu Xing at this time, "Xu Xing, you should think carefully about whether you want to kill bandits in the future. If you are so indecisive now, the city lord will not let you do such dangerous things in the future. Not being able to make decisions in a timely manner is a very serious problem."
Hearing Lu Xian's words, Xu Xing suddenly realized that her previous goal was to kill all the bandits in the world. But now, she was being held back by many weak people. How could she achieve her great goal in the future?
"City Lord, I want to go out hunting. If I calculate the time, it's almost time for dinner," Xu Xing said softly to Shen Feng.
Xu Xing really hoped that Shen Feng would help others wholeheartedly, but this idea was moral blackmail. They were clearly people from another country, so why should he help them? It was fine to say it was for all humanity, but if he didn't save his own countrymen, why would he put so much effort into foreigners?
Shen Feng nodded and agreed to Xu Xing's decision, saying, "Yes, go and come back quickly. Tomorrow morning, we will go to find the cave. Don't delay."
Xu Xing then went out, but she did not heed Shen Feng's words to go and come back quickly. Instead, she hunted multiple times, killing many wolves and wild boars. After bringing back the prey, she gave it to the survivors in the steel factory. In one night, she hunted enough food for over a hundred people to eat for a month. It was still winter, and the meat would not spoil easily.