Chapter 24 This is a Tactic

There was no response, which plunged Gao Yuan into complete panic.

Gao Yuan looked at Xiang Weiguo, who extended a hand, signaling Gao Yuan not to take any action.

"Show weakness or show strength? Show weakness or show strength! I can't show weakness, I must show strength!"

After muttering to himself, Xiang Weiguo quickly made a decision. Then he reached out and said, "No matter what I say! You just yell out that Xiaoyu is in trouble, everyone hurry back! Keep yelling, understood?"

"Understood!"

Xiang Weiguo took the walkie-talkie and said in a deep voice, "Whoever you are, let go of my child. Take whatever you want, but if you dare to hurt my child, I swear I'll kill you!"

"Xiaoyu is in trouble, everyone hurry back!"

Against the backdrop of Gao Yuan's hoarse shouts, Xiang Weiguo pressed the transmit button on the walkie-talkie again and said, "Answer me!"

There was no response, Xiang Weiguo stretched out his hand, and Gao Yuan immediately fell silent.

"There will be no answer. Xiaoyu has been taken control of, and he doesn't plan to talk to me. The first time Xiaoyu called, I heard someone else's breathing, the kind of breath you take when exerting force. So it must have been someone, not a zombie, who came with malicious intent and took control of Xiaoyu immediately, instead of communicating with her first."

Enraged, Gao Yuan said, "What's the point of talking about this now? Let's go back and save her!"

Xiang Weiguo's face turned stern, and then he slapped Gao Yuan across the face, which after a crisp sound, left Gao Yuan holding his annoyed face.

"Calm down! No matter what happened, calm down first!"

Gao Yuan looked at Xiang Weiguo, both shocked and angry, while Xiang Weiguo spoke with a stern face, "Don't disturb my thoughts now, shut up and calm down immediately!"

Gao Yuan was indeed frightened. He felt utterly helpless, but seeing Xiang Weiguo's stern and equally angry face, he finally bit his lip and said, "Fine, you speak first."

Xiang Weiguo squatted down, then he drew a line on the ground and another one across it, creating a T-shape.

Pointing at the base of the T, Xiang Weiguo said in a deep voice, "Here, is our location."

Moving his finger to the intersection of the horizontal and vertical lines, Xiang Weiguo said gravely, "Here is our home's location. Xiaoyu is right here. So, at this time, what is Xiaoyu doing?"

"What is she doing? Are we considering that right now?"

Xiang Weiguo raised his head and glared at Gao Yuan, "She's doing the laundry!"

"Of course, she's doing laundry. She always washes slowly, and there are many clothes. She definitely hasn't finished yet. Uncle Xiang! What are you getting at with all this nonsense?"

Very angry, Gao Yuan watched as Xiang Weiguo completely lost his temper, sweeping a stick viciously, which landed on Gao Yuan's rear.

"Shut up! You idiot!"

After harshly silencing Gao Yuan, Xiang Weiguo continued speaking gravely, "The stream has frozen over, which means if Xiaoyu was doing laundry, she could only do so at the stone trough. The position of the stone trough allows a view of the path leading up the mountain, but her position doesn't allow her to see people coming down from the mountain. It's a visual dead zone!"

Gao Yuan paused and said, "I never noticed that."

Xiang Weiguo let out a breath and said, "That's right. Xiaoyu is very alert. Even when she's busy with chores, she often watches the path leading up the mountain because if someone does come, they are most likely to come up from the base of the mountain rather than from behind the mountaintop, since the path up is easier to traverse. And that road behind us, that would mean someone crossed through the village occupied by zombies, through the abandoned road."

Gao Yuan paused again and said, "Yes."

Xiang Weiguo pointed to the right end of the T and said, "This is the path down the mountain. Anyone coming over from the mountain pass would go past our village. Their objective might be to enter the village or simply to pass through."

Pointing to the left end of the T, Xiang Weiguo nodded and said, "Which means, regardless of those people's intentions, they would pass through the village, and then they spotted Xiaoyu. But neither he nor they made a sound; instead, they approached quietly and ambushed Xiaoyu. As of now, this is the only logical speculation."

Gao Yuan nodded repeatedly.

Xiang Weiguo thought for a moment, then said, "If only one person came, Xiaoyu might have already been killed."

When Xiang Weiguo uttered the words "been killed," Gao Yuan's heart seemed to stop beating for an instant.

"But if more than one person entered the village, then they would try to take Xiaoyu away and would take all the supplies they could find, because that is the most common and rational choice. There is only one reason: Xiaoyu is a girl, and a very pretty one at that. The possibility that the enemy would ignore using Xiaoyu as a hostage is slim."

The most basic of human nature did not need further explanation; Gao Yuan nodded to indicate he understood.

Xiang Weiguo touched his chin with his hand and then said in a deep voice, "So the question is, those people, will they choose to stay near the village to ambush us, or will they continue moving down the mountain, or will they return the way they came?"

Gao Yuan opened his mouth but couldn't come up with an answer.

Three choices, but only two people; no matter which one they picked, they couldn't be certain it was the right one.

This was Gao Yuan's thought, but Xiang Weiguo confidently said, "You have mentioned, and Xiaoyu has told me, the first thing Xiaoyu said when she met you was that her father was nearby and had a gun, right?"

"Yes!"

"Xiaoyu is smart. Since she used that trick to scare you before, she will still use it now. Plus, considering what we just discussed, as long as those people want to ask her some questions, the enemy will definitely believe we have guns!"

Gao Yuan exclaimed urgently, "Yes, that must be right!"

"Not 'must be'—it's certain! Because the enemy cannot make an accurate judgment, the most reasonable deduction they can make from the clues available is that we have guns."

Xiang Weiguo took a breath and said, "If the enemy has guns, they'll try to stay in the village to ambush us. If the enemy doesn't have guns, they will not choose to resist or attack us; instead, they'll retreat the way they came."

Gao Yuan said anxiously, "But they might also continue going downhill!"

Xiang Weiguo shook his head and replied, "They won't choose to continue going downhill. If the enemy was frightened into making a hasty decision, they will return the way they came. If the enemy thought it through and is still cautious, they will retreat the same way, because instinctively, people choose the known safe route, rather than taking the unknown, high-risk path. And one more thing, the enemy would consider that we might follow them down the road, so their most likely choice would be to return the way they came."

Gao Yuan said urgently, "But what if they plan to stay in the village and wait to ambush us?"

"There's that possibility, but that's my problem to deal with. Your job is to head straight there from here now," Xiang Weiguo directed as he moved his hand from the bottom of the T to the right end. "Don't go back; start moving there now, as fast as you can. You need to be quick! That way, you might catch them if they decide to return. You must run as far ahead as possible and wait at the place where the road is about to enter the village. It's better to wait for the enemy to arrive and then block them than to fall behind and chase after them. Do you understand?"

Gao Yuan was stunned for a second and asked, "What about you?"

Xiang Weiguo stood up, took off his coat, and threw it to the side, saying, "I'll go back. If the enemy chooses to ambush us in the village, then I'll deal with them and rescue Xiaoyu."

They needed to split up now; Xiang Weiguo would go home to find and confront any enemy who might choose to ambush them.

Of course, the enemy might also choose to flee, and as Xiang Weiguo speculated, they might choose to return the way they came. In that case, Gao Yuan would intercept them.

An enemy choosing to ambush in the village would certainly be stronger, whereas an enemy opting to flee would undoubtedly be weaker.

Xiang Weiguo, being older, had less physical strength, but Gao Yuan was younger and fitter. However, Xiang Weiguo's combat capability was definitely stronger.

So, this was not a decision made out of emotion, impulse, or concern—it was the most rational choice.

Gao Yuan didn't hesitate because he knew Xiang Weiguo was right; this wasn't gambling—it was tactics.

Xiang Weiguo took five minutes to analyze and decide, but those five minutes were by no means wasted. Now, Gao Yuan had a very clear goal and judgment in his mind."

Gao Yuan took off his coat and said to Xiang Weiguo, "Uncle Xiang, be quick!"

Xiang Weiguo didn't respond. Instead, he sprinted towards the direction of his home. Gao Yuan didn't say another word either; he just ran diagonally towards the point Xiang Weiguo had indicated.

Now, all they could hope for was that more than one person had come, and the more enemies there were, the better.