One week later, a black compact SUV drove slowly along a sparsely populated rural road, followed closely by a black off-road vehicle. It was Xiao Yan and his traveling party. Ten days had already passed since the apocalypse began, and a full week had elapsed since they set out. Although Xiao Yan and his group were heading in the direction of Beijing, they were in no particular hurry to rush their journey. Instead, they gathered supplies along the way, taking advantage of the period while resources were still relatively abundant to stockpile everything usable. After all, the longer they waited, the scarcer provisions would become, forcing people out into the open to hunt zombies just to find food.
Because the main focus along the way was scavenging for supplies, and Xiao Yan deliberately steered clear of major zombie hordes, they had covered less than half the total distance after a full week on the road.
“Hah, how much longer is left?” Mu Li let out a sleepy yawn, crawling up from the back seat looking as though he had just woken up. Gazing forward through bleary eyes, he saw only a wide concrete road flanked by sprawling agricultural fields visible through the windshield.
“It should be soon,” Xiao Yan replied softly. Glancing sideways at Mu Li and noticing he was only wearing a single layer of clothing, he instructed immediately, “Put on a jacket.”
“Oh.” The moment the words left his mouth, Little Green extended a vine to pass Mu Li his jacket from the back seat. Turning his head, Mu Li poked the plant’s leaves with a slender, fair fingertip and smiled. “Thank you, Little Green.”
Little Green gave its stalk a nod, retracting shyly.
Turning back around to press his face against the side window, Mu Li stared out at the landscape and sighed. “The scenery is so beautiful. What a pity!”
“Indeed.” Xiao Yan agreed. Such a peaceful, serene view would likely become a rarity before long.
The reason Xiao Yan and his group had taken this particular rural route was that Zhao Xin’s family home belonged to a prominent local farming household with massive grain reserves stored in their warehouses. As everyone knew, food was the most precious commodity in the apocalypse, and since Xiao Yan happened to possess a spatial realm, he naturally had no intention of letting those food supplies slip away. Therefore, the moment Zhao Xin mentioned it, Xiao Yan grew immediately interested. Meanwhile, driven by worry for her parents and eldest brother, Zhao Xin hoped to leverage Xiao Yan’s strength to rescue them. The two parties thus found their goals perfectly aligned. The village where Zhao Xin’s family lived was called Zhaogang Village, and reaching it required traveling along this exact country road.
Ten minutes later, the vehicles finally negotiated a turn, entering a much narrower concrete lane. Driving forward for a few minutes revealed clusters of rural residential homes built by local villagers. Most of the front gates were tightly shut, though the few left open revealed zombies lurking in the gloomy shadows within. Since it was dead noon, these creatures harbored a degree of aversion to direct sunlight and moved sluggishly, meaning none of them were wandering about the road. Consequently, the vehicles smoothly navigated into the village and parked directly in front of a small, custom-built villa.
None of them stepped out immediately, choosing instead to observe through the car windows. The front courtyard gate of the villa stood wide open, enclosed by a perimeter of iron railings that provided a clear view of the interior. The front door of the villa was firmly shut, and right before the threshold lay a pool of dark, coagulated blood, suggesting some time had elapsed since the incident occurred.
Wang Hao promptly climbed out of his vehicle, and Xiao Yan hopped out right behind him, though he blocked Mu Li from following. “Be a good boy and wait for me here.”
“Be careful.” Mu Li nodded obediently. He knew that staying inside the vehicle at the moment was the safest option, ensuring he would not become a burden or distraction to Xiao Yan.
Zhao Xin likewise remained inside the car with her child. Accompanied by Wang Hao, Xiao Yan cautiously approached the main entrance, pressing their ears against the door to listen closely for any movement inside. Gesturing for Wang Hao to fall back, Xiao Yan delivered a swift kick that burst the door open. The interior was utterly chaotic yet dead quiet; not only were there no zombies, but not a single living person was in sight.
Wang Hao called out, “Dad? Mom? Big brother?”
Silence answered him. Waiting a moment before raising his voice further, he met with the same lack of response. Exchanging a heavy glance with Xiao Yan, his expression darkened. “Boss, there is no one here. My father-in-law and the others must have already left.”
The situation certainly pointed to that conclusion. After all, whether it was humans or zombies inside, such loud shouting would inevitably have drawn a reaction.
“Go upstairs and check. Be careful. I am going to bring them inside, as waiting out here is too dangerous,” Xiao Yan instructed Wang Hao. He could leave Mu Li alone in the car within his line of sight, but once out of view, he would never feel comfortable.
“Understood.” Gripping his dagger tightly, Wang Hao nodded at Xiao Yan. Through the guidance Xiao Yan had provided over the past few days, he was now fully capable of independently handling zombies, which deepened his submission to Xiao Yan all the more.
As Wang Hao strode into the house, Xiao Yan turned back toward his little darling. Moments later, he led Mu Li into the villa, followed closely by Zhao Xin and her child. Scarcely had they stepped across the threshold when the sounds of a struggle echoed down from the upstairs floor. Zhao Xin clutched her child and prepared to rush upward, but Xiao Yan intercepted her, taking Mu Li by the hand to lead the way up the stairs with Zhao Xin trailing right behind them.
The scene awaiting them on the second floor left everyone dumbfounded. Even Xiao Yan, accustomed to horrors far more revolting than this, felt his face darken. Instantly covering Mu Li’s eyes with one hand, he swept his other hand outward to strike down several individuals standing nearby. At the same time, Zhao Xin let out a piercing shriek; regaining her composure, she turned her child’s face inward against her chest as hot tears streamed down her cheeks.
The entryway of the second-floor stairs opened into a spacious parlor clearly intended for entertaining guests. The interior was more lavishly decorated than the ground floor, complete with genuine leather sofas. Curled up tightly on one of the sofas right now was a completely naked woman. Long hair obscured her face, and her body was covered in bruises and purplish marks. On the opposite sofa lay another woman in a similar state, though her hands were bound tightly behind her and her lower body was stained with a horrific expanse of fresh blood.
A sweeping glance from Xiao Yan revealed eight men inside the room. Four had been waiting near the entrance to ambush intruders and had already been taken down by him; two had been actively subduing Wang Hao; and the remaining two were Wang Hao himself along with another man tied up tightly with ropes on the floor.
The final two thugs posed no threat to Xiao Yan whatsoever. After dispatching them, Xiao Yan took Wang Pundit into his arms to hold the child while taking Mu Li by the hand to lead them outside. Turning to Wang Hao and the other freed man, he said, “Call me when you are finished.”
“Yes.” With reddened eyes, Wang Hao delivered a vicious kick to the unconscious man sprawled on the floor before pulling out a knife to slice the ropes binding the other captive. The moment he gained his freedom, the man lunged forward to snatch the knife from Wang Hao’s grip. Red-eyed with fury, he roared, “Animals! I am going to kill them!”
Weeping silently, Zhao Xin walked into the bedroom, emerged with clothing and blankets, and wrapped them around the two women on the sofa. Both victims, however, remained trapped in a state of utter dissociation, completely unresponsive to their surroundings.