At a makeshift camp beside an abandoned highway, dusty wind swept over broken gravel. Several battered SUVs were parked haphazardly along the roadside.
More than a dozen thugs lounged around, some squatting, others standing. Steel pipes and machetes hung from their hands, their expressions numb yet vicious. The brutality of the apocalypse had been carved into every one of them.
Zhao Hongbin sat on an overturned concrete barrier. Blood continued to seep through the crude bandages wrapped around his wounded arm. Every slight movement sent a stabbing pain through the injury.
His face was as dark as thunder as he glared at Long Juanli, who stood before him with her head lowered. The fury boiling inside him was barely contained.
“I’m asking you one last time,” he growled. “What the hell happened with that knife last night?”
He suddenly lashed out, kicking an empty oil drum so hard that it crashed into the wall with a deafening clang, sending dust raining down.
Long Juanli flinched and instinctively stepped back. Covering her swollen cheek, tears instantly welled up in her eyes.
“Brother Zhao, I swear I didn’t do it on purpose!” she cried, her voice trembling uncontrollably. “My head suddenly went blank, everything went black, and my hand wouldn’t listen to me. How could I possibly dare stab you?”
Several of the thugs who had escaped with them hurried to back her up, their faces still haunted by last night’s events.
“Brother Bin, something really weird happened. You suddenly ordered us to retreat. Your eyes were glazed over, like you’d lost your soul.”
“Yeah. We all thought you’d changed your mind. None of us expected things to end up like this.”
Zhao Hongbin clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white.
He replayed the battle in his mind.
They had completely surrounded the villa. Victory had been within reach. They were moments away from capturing Lin Qingtang.
Then, without warning, it had felt as though someone smashed his skull with a sledgehammer. His vision spun, his mind went blank, and before he realized it, he’d shouted the order to retreat.
As for Long Juanli, she normally obeyed him without question. Even if she had a hundred times more courage, she would never intentionally slash him with a knife.
“It was Rong Yuxuan.”
Long Juanli bit her lip, hatred churning in her eyes as she deliberately planted suspicion.
“That man isn’t normal! He can shoot lightning, and he has all kinds of bizarre supernatural tricks! He must’ve controlled me last night, and he controlled you too!”
“Otherwise, we had the upper hand. Why would we suddenly retreat and end up attracting a zombie horde? It’s all because of him!”
Zhao Hongbin narrowed his eyes.
He had fought Rong Yuxuan personally. Blue-white lightning really did leap from the man’s fingertips, and anyone struck by it collapsed convulsing on the spot.
He was already far from ordinary.
Now, hearing Long Juanli’s explanation, Zhao Hongbin became almost completely convinced.
“You’re certain it was him?” he asked grimly, grimacing as another wave of pain shot through his injured arm.
“I’m absolutely sure!” Long Juanli nodded frantically. “No one else could do something like that! Brother Zhao, we can’t just let this go! We still haven’t captured Lin Qingtang, and we can’t swallow this humiliation!”
Zhao Hongbin spat a mouthful of bloody saliva onto the ground, his eyes filled with murderous intent.
Of course he intended to settle the score.
Not only would he capture that pampered rich girl, Lin Qingtang, but he would also tear Rong Yuxuan apart piece by piece and teach him exactly what happened to anyone who crossed him.
Just then, the roar of engines echoed in the distance.
The sound rapidly grew louder as tires crushed over loose gravel.
Everyone in the camp immediately tensed.
Weapons were raised as every pair of eyes turned toward the approaching vehicles.
A black SUV sped into the camp before screeching to a halt. Behind it came two vans.
Their doors slid open.
More than a dozen burly men climbed out, every one of them carrying weapons. Their fierce presence far surpassed Zhao Hongbin’s ragtag gang.
The leader stepped out of the driver’s seat.
He was powerfully built, with a long scar stretching from the corner of his eye down to his jaw.
Every step he took radiated the savage aura of a hardened criminal.
The moment his cold gaze swept over the camp, even Zhao Hongbin’s men instinctively lowered their heads, barely daring to breathe.
The instant Zhao Hongbin recognized him, all the arrogance vanished from his face.
He hurried over with an obsequious smile.
“Big Brother! What brings you here?”
The man’s name was Jiang Bing.
Before Zhao Hongbin had gone to prison, Jiang Bing had been the boss he pledged loyalty to.
He was infamous in the underworld for his ruthlessness.
Even inside prison, Zhao Hongbin had survived largely because Jiang Bing had protected him.
Jiang Bing glanced at him indifferently before his eyes settled on the blood-soaked bandages around Zhao Hongbin’s arm.
“I heard you’ve been doing pretty well around here.”
“So how did you end up suffering such an embarrassing defeat?”
Embarrassment flashed across Zhao Hongbin’s face.
He quickly lowered his head.
“Just a small setback. I didn’t handle it well enough.”
“The apocalypse isn’t exactly an easy place to survive. We ran into a tough opponent and lost a few men.”
Jiang Bing ignored the explanation.
His gaze slowly swept across the camp before stopping on Long Junlong, who leaned weakly against a wall.
Long Junlong’s face was deathly pale.
His injured leg hadn’t healed, making him look frail and youthful, completely out of place among the vicious gangsters surrounding him.
Feeling the man’s unsettling stare, he looked up.
The moment his eyes met Jiang Bing’s, his heart skipped a beat.
He instinctively shrank backward.
Jiang Bing’s gaze was shamelessly appraising.
It was the look of someone inspecting merchandise before making a purchase.
The blatant desire and amusement in those eyes made Long Junlong’s skin crawl.
His stomach churned with disgust.
Standing nearby, Long Juanli noticed both Jiang Bing’s arrival and Zhao Hongbin’s submissive attitude.
A calculating gleam flashed through her eyes.
Jiang Bing slowly walked toward Long Junlong.
Each step increased the pressure in the air.
Rubbing the stubble on his chin, he curled his lips into a crooked smile.
“What’s the kid’s name?”
The question was directed at Zhao Hongbin, but his eyes never once left Long Junlong’s face.
Zhao Hongbin froze briefly before instantly understanding what Jiang Bing meant.
He immediately smiled and signaled desperately at Long Juanli.
“What are you standing there for? Brother Bing asked you a question. Answer him.”
Long Juanli’s heart tightened.
Pulling her brother forward, she forced a flattering smile and bowed respectfully.
“Brother Bing, this is my younger brother, Long Junlong. He’s still young and doesn’t know any better. Please forgive him if he’s offended you in any way.”
Jiang Bing barely spared her a glance before returning his attention to Long Junlong.
He stepped even closer.
“How old are you?”
Long Junlong pressed his lips tightly together.
His face remained pale.
He refused to answer.
Being looked at this way by another man filled him with humiliation and revulsion.
“Brother Bing is talking to you!” Zhao Hongbin barked. “Cat got your tongue? Answer him!”
Long Juanli also grew anxious.
She pinched her brother’s arm hard and whispered through clenched teeth.
“Stop being stubborn. Say something.”
Long Junlong winced from the pain but still kept his mouth shut.
Rather than becoming angry, Jiang Bing chuckled.
The laugh carried an unmistakably sinister edge.
“Got quite the fiery personality.”
“I like that.”
He slowly raised his right hand.
A tiny flame flickered to life on his fingertip.
It was barely large enough to burn a sheet of paper, yet in the dim light it stood out brilliantly.
Gasps immediately erupted from the surrounding thugs.
Everyone looked at Jiang Bing with newfound reverence.
In the apocalypse, those who awakened supernatural abilities were exceedingly rare.
Even a flame this small was enough to make ordinary people bow their heads.
Long Juanli’s pupils contracted violently.
A storm surged through her heart.
The Scar-faced Man…
He was an awakened ability user.
Seeing Jiang Bing reveal his power, Zhao Hongbin became even more eager to flatter him.
“Big Brother really is incredible! With abilities like yours, who wouldn’t respect you in this new world?”
Jiang Bing ignored the compliment.
The tiny flame danced across his fingertip as his eyes remained fixed on Long Junlong.
His voice carried unquestionable authority.
“Come with me.”
“You’ll never run out of canned food or rice.”
“And no one will ever dare lay another finger on you.”
The camp fell completely silent.
Everyone understood exactly what he meant.
Curious looks bounced between Jiang Bing and Long Junlong.
Long Junlong’s face turned as white as paper.
He looked up abruptly, his body trembling with humiliation and fury.
“No!”
He nearly shouted the word.
“I won’t!”
He was a man.
How could he possibly accept such disgrace?
The smile disappeared from Jiang Bing’s face.
His eyes grew noticeably colder.
The oppressive pressure surrounding him intensified.
Long Juanli’s heart skipped a beat.
She knew better than anyone what an awakened ability user represented in the apocalypse.
Jiang Bing was Zhao Hongbin’s boss.
He had men.
He had guns.
He possessed supernatural abilities.
If they could attach themselves to someone like him, she and her brother would finally secure their place in the camp.
They would no longer have to fear Zhao Hongbin or worry about being thrown out to feed zombies.
If sacrificing Long Junlong ensured their survival…
Then what was his dignity worth?
Nothing.
She hurriedly grabbed her furious brother and smiled apologetically at Jiang Bing.
“Please don’t be angry, Brother Bing.”
“He’s still young. He just hasn’t thought it through.”
“I’ll talk some sense into him. I promise he’ll come around.”
Jiang Bing merely raised an eyebrow.
He said nothing, silently granting her permission.
Long Juanli dragged Long Junlong into a nearby corner.
Keeping her voice low, she spoke with cold ruthlessness.
“Have you lost your mind?”
“How dare you speak to Brother Bing like that?”
“He’s an awakened ability user! Even Zhao Hongbin answers to him!”
“If you offend him, both of us will be thrown out to feed the zombies!”
Long Junlong stared at his sister in disbelief.
His voice shook.
“Do you even hear what he’s asking me to do?”
“He wants me to sleep with him!”
“I’m a man!”
“You expect me to do something like that?”
“A man?”
Long Juanli’s expression turned icy.
Every word she spoke cut into his heart like a blade.
“Are you still one?”
“Rong Yuxuan already crippled you.”
“You’re nothing but damaged goods.”
“The fact that Brother Bing even wants you is your good fortune.”
“If you hadn’t insisted on setting me up with Lin Qingtang…”
“If you hadn’t provoked them in the first place…”
“Would Rong Yuxuan have crippled me?”
“Would I have ended up like this?”
Long Junlong roared, his eyes bloodshot.
Months of fear, resentment, and humiliation finally exploded all at once.
The siblings’ argument grew louder and louder.
The surrounding thugs watched the drama unfold with amused expressions.
Not far away, Jiang Bing folded his arms and observed everything with obvious interest, making no move to interfere.
Humiliated by her brother’s outburst, Long Juanli raised her hand to slap him.
This time, Long Junlong caught her wrist before it landed.
“You still want to hit me?”
“If it weren’t for you, none of this would’ve happened!”
Long Juanli met the hatred burning in her brother’s eyes.
Her temper flared.
But when she glanced at Jiang Bing in the distance, she forced herself to suppress it.
Jerking her hand free, she lowered her voice into a threatening whisper.
“I don’t care whether you want this or not.”
“Today, you’re going to agree.”
“Either you go with Brother Bing, and both of us live comfortably.”
“Or you keep your pride, and we both get thrown out to feed the zombies.”
“The choice is yours.”
Long Junlong stared at the sister who now felt like a complete stranger.
His entire body turned cold.
Tears streamed uncontrollably down his face.
Jiang Bing watched the deadlocked siblings from across the camp.
His patience finally wore out.
He strode toward them once more.
The tiny flame flared again on his fingertip.
“So?”
“Have you made your decision?”
“My patience…”
“is running out.”
Long Junlong trembled violently.
He looked at Jiang Bing’s cold, predatory face.
Then he looked at his own sister, whose eyes held nothing but indifference.
Little by little…
The light in his eyes faded away.