“Useless trash!”
Several men suddenly emerged from behind the woman.
The one in front even kicked the woman lying on the ground.
The sight made Ye Xihe and the others frown.
Ye Huizhou fixed his gaze on the leading man.
The man was heavily built, covered in layers of fat, with eyes so small they looked like thin slits.
Under Ye Huizhou’s stare, he froze for a moment.
When he realized he had been intimidated by nothing more than a look from the man in front of him, irritation immediately rose in his chest.
He slammed the iron rod in his hand against the ground with a loud thud.
“Leave your supplies and your women behind, then get lost!”
The short, scrawny man standing behind him narrowed his eyes, his lecherous gaze landing on Ye Xihe.
“Brother Hu, that little beauty in the back looks untouched. Can I be first this time?”
He rubbed his hands together impatiently, already looking eager.
“This little beauty is just too perfe—”
Before he could finish speaking, a hole appeared in the center of his forehead.
It was Ye Huizhou.
Electric sparks danced across his fingertips, his expression cold and detached, as though he were looking at a group of corpses.
Feeling completely secure, Ye Xihe wrapped both arms around her brother’s arm.
The man who had spoken about her did not even manage a cry before collapsing to the ground with a thud, instantly reduced to a corpse.
Brother Hu jumped in shock.
He had not expected these people to attack without the slightest hesitation.
His face twisted briefly.
These people were not easy to deal with.
“Try saying it again.”
Ye Huizhou spoke indifferently.
The men behind Brother Hu unconsciously took a step backward and exchanged nervous glances.
What a joke. If this man could blow off Liuzi’s head with a casual gesture, how many lives did they have to challenge him?
Seeing this, Brother Hu’s face darkened.
Wangji Village was located in a remote area. Even before the Apocalypse, it had been a forgotten place in the middle of nowhere. The village had only a little over twenty households, with a total population of fifty-eight people when the Apocalypse began.
When disaster struck, one-third of the villagers turned directly into zombies. Amid the chaos, more than half the population was killed or injured.
A few Ability Users had awakened in the village, and Brother Hu was one of them.
He was the village chief’s son.
Relying on his status, he had bullied others in the village since childhood.
Now that he possessed an ability, the villagers feared him even more.
Every household in the village had a cellar stocked with grain and vegetables, enough to sustain them for quite a long time.
But they also knew they could not survive forever by consuming stored supplies, so they turned their attention to travelers passing through.
Because the village was so remote, very few outsiders ever came by. Since the Apocalypse began, they had only encountered two groups.
Unfortunately, Ye Huizhou’s group happened to be tough opponents.
Damn it!
Brother Hu’s slit-like eyes shifted, and a plan formed in his mind.
“Brother, don’t you think it’s a bit unreasonable to kill one of our people the moment you arrive?”
Ye Xihe laughed in anger.
“You’re robbing people, and you’re talking about being reasonable?”
Brother Hu chuckled, the fat on his face bunching together.
“We were just saying hello. You can’t just kill someone like that, can you?”
“We killed him. Do we need your permission?”
Flames appeared at Gu Zhuoye’s fingertips.
“What are you supposed to be?”
Brother Hu’s face twitched.
“Everyone, they killed Liuzi! We have to avenge him!”
Of the dozen or so people behind him, only a few responded.
What a joke. There were only five people on the other side, but those two men with lightning and fire abilities clearly weren’t opponents they could handle.
Grinding his teeth, Brother Hu raised a hand.
A cluster of water droplets formed in his palm.
“Avenge Liuzi!”
The villagers looked at the water in his hand, fear evident in their eyes.
After several seconds of silence, they rushed toward the group all at once, wielding every kind of weapon imaginable.
Wooden clubs, shovels, hoes…
There was even someone carrying a toilet plunger.
Xu Wen watched in horror as the plunger flew straight toward him.
“Why is the thing I’m fighting using this thing?!”
Despite their numbers, they had all been ordinary villagers before the Apocalypse and possessed little combat skill. Ye Huizhou and Gu Zhuoye did not even need to use their abilities before knocking down a large portion of them.
“Ow… ow…”
Watching his people groan across the ground, Brother Hu’s expression grew even uglier.
He slightly raised a hand.
Several Ability Users behind him stepped forward.
Ye Xihe quickly assessed them. There was one wood-type, two earth-types, one wind-type, and one strength-type.
There were quite a few of them, but perhaps because they had experienced very little combat, their abilities were all low rank.
“Big Brother, Brother Zhuoye.”
She spoke up. “Draw your weapons.”
Lightning gathered together.
A long blade forged from thunder appeared in Ye Huizhou’s hand.
Gu Zhuoye opened his palm, and a flaming spear landed within it.
Holding the weapon casually, he pointed the spearhead toward Brother Hu, the corner of his mouth curling into an amused smile.
“Want to give it a try?”
Brother Hu gritted his teeth.
“San Gou! Get up there!”
The Ability User who had been called stepped forward two paces stiffly. Then, as if gathering all his courage, he roared and slammed both hands against the ground.
Two tiny mounds of dirt popped out of the earth.
Ye Huizhou and the others: …
Brother Hu: …
Brother Hu exploded.
“What the hell are you doing? Attack them!”
“Oh! Oh!”
The man slapped the ground again.
Two trembling earth spikes slowly emerged between the dirt mounds.
“…”
“Useless!”
Brother Hu was so angry he looked ready to burst into flames. He gathered a water column as thick as a forearm between his hands and hurled it toward Ye Huizhou and Gu Zhuoye.
Gu Zhuoye casually swept his flaming spear through the air.
The water column instantly evaporated.
With a dark expression, Brother Hu shoved the person beside him forward.
“You go!”
“My son!”
Just as Ye Huizhou was about to act, the woman who had been crying for help earlier threw herself forward.
She had realized by now that those few people were far stronger than anyone in the village.
She grabbed hold of Brother Hu.
“Son, if we can’t win, then let’s not fight. Be good and listen!”
Then she turned around and dropped to her knees before Ye Huizhou’s group.
“My child didn’t mean it! Please spare him! I’ll cook for all of you!”
Perhaps feeling humiliated, Brother Hu completely lost control. He kicked his mother away.
“What good are you for anyway?!”
Click! The sound of a gun being cocked.
Brother Hu froze. He slowly lifted his head and found himself staring down the barrel of a gun.
Then he gradually raised both hands.
Nothing calmed a carbon-based lifeform quite like a gun.
Ye Xihe sighed inwardly.
Then she patted Xu Wen on the shoulder and gave him a thumbs-up.
Su Nian quickly moved in and restrained Brother Hu.
The woman flailed beside them.
“What are you doing? Why are you tying him up?!”
But no one paid her any attention.
Ye Xihe walked over and asked, “Is this everyone in the village?”
Brother Hu’s hands were twisted behind his back. He clenched his teeth and remained silent.
Xu Wen smacked the back of his head.
“My sister asked you a question!”
Humiliation flashed across Brother Hu’s face.
“Yes.”
Ye Xihe continued. “Why didn’t you go to the safe zone?”
Brother Hu’s eyes flickered evasively.
“What safe zone? We don’t know anything about that.”
Ye Xihe smiled.
“I suppose that makes sense. Being the emperor of a village is a lot more comfortable than going to a safe zone, isn’t it?”
Then she asked,
“What’s inside that convenience store?”
“There are homemade traps inside. Anyone who takes something gets restrained.”
“Besides us, has anyone else come through before?”
Brother Hu hesitated briefly.
“No.”
Xu Wen immediately smacked the back of his head again.
“Tell the truth!”
“Three people came before! They’re all dead already!”