Upon hearing the news, the crowd erupted in commotion.
"Eating human flesh?!"
"Is this true or false?!"
"No way!"
"......"
Everyone began whispering to each other, their eyes filled with disbelief.
In their minds, eating human flesh was simply unimaginable.
They found it hard to believe that someone would actually consume human flesh.
It would shatter their worldview!
"You're slandering us! We didn't eat human flesh!"
The remaining four quickly protested.
"You say we ate human flesh, do you have any evidence?"
"Exactly, the police need evidence to make a case. You have nothing but empty words to accuse us, and we refuse to accept this!"
Yun Xiaoxiao sneered and retorted, "Then why have all your eyeballs turned red, and your teeth and gums stained with blood?"
She knew these people had eaten human flesh, partly due to her past experiences and partly because when she asked them earlier, although they denied it verbally, their mental activities betrayed them.
That's why she didn't allow them to join her.
"We... we..."
The group exchanged glances, visibly flustered as they struggled to find an excuse.
"Actually, finding out if you ate human flesh is quite simple.
Would you dare to take others to your factory to see?
I'm sure the human bones there will tell us the truth."
When they saw those human bones, they were shocked.
The quantity was truly alarming.
The entire factory area had no zombies, but human bones were piled up like mountains.
And the only ones left were these five people.
Yun Xiaoxiao's words caused the five to turn pale.
Their shifting expressions made it clear to others that they were feeling guilty.
Why the guilt?
Because they had indeed done that unspeakable act!
"How could you still be human? Eating human flesh!"
"Just thinking about it makes me sick!"
"Beasts! Animals!"
"Those who were eaten must have been so wronged, escaping monsters only to encounter even more terrifying fellow humans!"
The crowd continued to condemn them.
"You think we wanted to do this!"
The man bound by Yun Xiaoxiao, his eyes red with tears, shouted angrily.
"The entire industrial park, only our factory produced plastic, and you all had stored food for emergencies, but what about us?
We had nothing!
When the virus outbreak occurred, our factory was relatively lucky, with not many people mutating.
But this also became our disaster.
Because more people survived, it meant a larger consumption of food.
So with so little food to begin with, our supplies were quickly exhausted."
"But you had many people, you could have gone out together to find food. There are many food factories around here."
Someone questioned.
The man laughed coldly, "Do you think we didn't?
At first, we did organize people to go out and find food.
But the first time, twenty people went out and only ten returned.
Everyone fled in panic, bringing back nothing.
At that moment, half of everyone's heart turned cold.
But seeing the dwindling food, we decided to try again.
After making many plans, the second group of twenty people went out.
This time, they did bring back some things.
But out of twenty, only five returned.
Those five could come back because others sacrificed themselves to block the zombies!
Do you know how painful it is to hear your companions screaming, knowing they died to save you?
I was one of those in the second group, protected by my companions to return."
As he spoke, tears silently streamed down his face.
His painful expression didn't seem fake.
"From what you're saying, you felt so much pain hearing your companions scream, so why did you still cruelly kill other companions and eat them?"
Someone voiced the crowd's confusion.
The man sniffed, giving a bitter smile.
"We didn't kill others, we only ate their flesh."
Others were even more puzzled, what did that mean?
"You didn't kill them, so did they kill themselves?"
"Exactly."
The man's answer shocked everyone.
Really?
"I know you won't believe it, but that's the truth.
Because after two attempts, the results were minimal, and many companions died.
So no one wanted to go out anymore.
Rather than dying in fear and panic from being bitten by zombies, everyone chose a more peaceful way to die.
We drew lots, and the person who drew the designated number went to a small room and died in their preferred way.
After they passed away, others would take their body, turn it into food, and share it among the group.
Some were cooked directly, others dried before eating."
Hearing his words, some couldn't help but retch.
Those who didn't retch didn't look much better.
"Even if that's the case, eating human flesh is... I just can't accept it."
"How could you bring yourself to do that? No matter what, you can't eat your own companions, those you lived with day and night."
"If it were me, I'd rather die first. Whether it's being eaten by zombies or my companions, I'd choose to be eaten by my companions, but I wouldn't eat them myself."
"Ah, it's all because of this damn apocalypse!"
Yun Xiaoxiao looked at the five.
She knew they weren't lying.
But...
"Actually, if all of you had been willing to take a chance together and break out.
Although there would have been deaths, at least some could have found a chance to survive.
But you didn't.
Even though it was a collective decision, I still wouldn't bring those who ate human flesh to our base."
Yun Xiaoxiao released the bound man and took some food from the supply truck, placing it on the ground.
"This is for you. Before, you had no choice, but I hope you can live with a clear conscience in the future.
If we ever find out you've eaten human flesh again, we will kill you."
The five exchanged glances, nodding repeatedly.
"Thank you."
It was understandable that they weren't taken along.
If they were in the same situation, they wouldn't want someone who ate human flesh near them either.
The others sighed and boarded the large truck.
The vehicle slowly departed, and the five picked up the supplies, heading in the opposite direction.
"They really left!"
The people from the rice factory watched in surprise as the distant vehicles disappeared.
Shortly after the vehicles left, several more cars approached the industrial park.
Directly heading towards the rice factory.
"Oh no, that group is back again!"
"Didn't they just leave?"
"It's not them, it's that group that robbed us before!"
"What?!"
