170: Human Captivity

It seemed to be a high-level Ability User, and everyone retreated a few steps, not daring to get too close.

Such hostility made Tian Ming a little puzzled. He opened his mouth and asked, "Why do you have such great hostility towards me?"

"You are from the Xuan Long Gang, aren't you?" the old man asked.

Tian Ming was even more puzzled. He had never heard of any Xuan Long Gang. It was the Apocalypse, and such gangs still existed?

The old man saw the confused look on Tian Ming's face and knew that this young man had no relation to the Xuan Long Gang. Everyone's tense expressions relaxed.

The old man stepped forward and said, "I'm sorry, young man. Please leave here. This factory area is ours."

Tian Ming, however, asked with interest, "What's the deal with that gang you mentioned? Could you tell me in detail?"

The old man's face sank, and he said, "Young man, you can't possibly not know who the Xuan Long Gang is, can you? They have occupied the underground civil defense facilities in Donghai City and are looking for survivors everywhere. Currently, they have a scale of several thousand people!"

Tian Ming raised an eyebrow and said, "From what you're saying, this Xuan Long Gang is doing a good deed, at least saving lives."

As soon as this was mentioned, the old man's eyes were filled with rage: "Nonsense! They capture survivors to be slaves. Moreover, the zombies in Donghai City have evolved into Corpse Kings. These Corpse Kings can speak human language, and the Xuan Long Gang are the ones who raise food for these zombies. Otherwise, no one could establish this gang in a pile of zombies."

The old man seemed to know many things, which meant that these thousands of people were the food raised by the Corpse Kings.

"According to you, there isn't enough food to eat. Thousands of people, but there are so many zombies in the city!"

The old man snorted coldly and said, "Ordinary zombies don't get any food at all; only those who have evolved intelligence need to eat people. It is said that humans can increase their intelligence. However, the Xuan Long Gang's transaction with the zombies is a blood trade. Once captured, they are drawn 100 milliliters of blood every 20 days."

"Why don't these survivors escape?" Tian Ming asked, somewhat puzzled.

The old man shook his head: "They can't escape. The Xuan Long Gang has a complete management system. From low-level subordinates to high-level management, everyone has their own tasks. Moreover, all their strongholds are underground, making it very difficult to escape."

Tian Ming pressed, "What about you? How did you escape?"

"I wasn't captured, but my daughter and my wife were. Because I gained an ability, I snuck in to try and rescue them, but the underground is complex. All these people you see are the ones I rescued."

After listening to the old man's narration, Tian Ming glanced at Qiu Qian beside him.

"When that Corpse King attacked us a few days ago, it also demanded that we hand over 500 people. It seems that intelligent zombies also understand the concept of a steady supply."

Qiu Qian nodded slightly and said, "Boss, do we need to get involved in this? It's been more than half a year since the zombie outbreak, and when my brother and I collected food, we found that many places in the city were empty, possibly because these zombies have gathered."

Tian Ming frowned. He could completely stay out of it. However, if zombies were allowed to farm humans like this, the evolved Corpse Kings might pose a great threat to his Shelter.

He definitely had to get involved, but Tian Ming still planned to return to the Shelter first, let Meng Xian be vigilant, and as for the Xuan Long Gang, he wanted to first figure out exactly how they were cooperating with the zombies.

Tian Ming said to the old man, "If your daughter is still alive, I can help you save her, but you have to lead the way for me."

Upon hearing that Tian Ming could save his daughter, the old man's face showed a hint of doubt.

"I know you have an ability, but the leader of the Xuan Long Gang, Brother Long, also has one, and his ability might be even stronger than yours," the old man said.

"How so?"

The old man said coldly, "He can synthesize food out of thin air, as if he can manipulate certain elements. According to them, the more types of elements one can manipulate, the stronger their ability is."

Tian Ming said with a hint of disdain, "Most foods are composed of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen. What's so strange about being able to synthesize food? I can do it too!"

Tian Ming smiled, reached out, and box after box of small biscuits appeared out of thin air.

"You, you can actually do that too?" The old man looked at Tian Ming with a shocked expression.

Tian Ming said indifferently, "I said I can save your family, and I will definitely save your family. As long as your family is still alive, I have 100% confidence in rescuing them."

The old man continued, "But that Corpse King is very powerful. The Xuan Long Gang, in the end, is just the zombies' food manager. If you touch the Corpse King's granary, you will suffer the retaliation of the entire horde."

Tian Ming was unwilling to explain further and directly asked, "Old man, are you getting old? Why do you always like to argue with me? One word, are you coming with me or not? Come with me, lead the way for me, and I can save everyone."

The old man hesitated slightly, then nodded: "Okay, I'll go with you. I can't control the others, but my family must be saved first."

Tian Ming nodded: "Don't worry, my word is my bond. As long as they are alive, I will save your family first."

The old man nodded slightly and said, "I'll trust you this once!"

"Then you all come with me!" Tian Ming finished speaking and walked to a large 3D metal printer. With a gentle wave of his hand, the entire printer slowly floated up.

The old man's face showed a shocked expression. This young man's ability was truly terrifying. Although everyone was inwardly astonished, they only marveled silently in their hearts.

The group arrived at the square where the flying car was parked. Tian Ming had those people enter the cargo container behind him, while the giant metal printer floated directly above the flying car. It followed the flying car and flew directly back to the Shelter.

The giant printer was directly transported into the factory building of the Shelter. Only one of these things was needed. Once his subordinates understood how to use it, they could produce various types of equipment in small batches. The Shelter didn't need a large output. If they needed more in the future, they could replicate it.

Tian Ming arranged for Meng Xian to deal with the newcomers, then took the old man and left the Shelter in an ordinary car. During this time, Qiu Qian also wanted to follow, but Tian Ming refused. The specific situation of the Xuan Long Gang was not yet clear, so he would let the old man be the guide, and the two of them would go to investigate the situation first.

The old man gained his ability in a similar way to Qiu Qian, but he did not have a second consciousness within him. In terms of combat power, he was only equivalent to an ordinary Five-level Ability User.

The old man's name was Zou Ping, and his actual age was only 45. The reason for his white hair was due to the worry after his daughter and wife were captured. He looked old, so much so that even Tian Ming doubted he had heard correctly when Zou Ping reported his age.