The roughly made wooden door of Wen Yuâs room let out a CREAKING sound, startling him awake.
Wen Yu squinted and saw Sun Ruixing.
"Youâre back?"
Stretching leisurely, Wen Yu propped himself up and surveyed the battered figure before him.
Sun Ruixing had obviously endured a tough battle; his protective suit was torn to shreds, and a large chunk of flesh had been clawed off his face by a zombie.
Sun Ruixing nodded at Wen Yu. "I just got back. I went to Li Dalongâs place, but no one was there. I asked a random person and found out your location."
The events of the afternoon were common knowledge. Besides the death of Er Gangâthat beast of a Level 2 professionistâthe most eye-catching development was the arrival of a powerful expert, Wen Yu, at the camp.
"I guess Iâm somewhat of a celebrity here now!" Wen Yu remarked with a self-deprecating sigh and lay down on the bed again.
Sun Ruixing looked at Wen Yu, then asked hesitantly, "Um, where is Bai Xiaoâan?"
I knew it. Itâs definitely about this troublesome matter,
Wen Yu thought. He replied directly, "Sun Aotian took him. Oh, by the way, Sun Aotian is a Level 2 professionist in this camp. Bai Xiaoâanâs sister hooked up with a powerful expert, so you donât have to worry about Bai Xiaoâanâs injuries."
"Did Bai Feifei go willingly?"
"Of course!"
"Thatâs good, thatâs good."
Seeing Sun Ruixing nod in satisfaction, Wen Yu was taken aback.
"You came back nearly dead, and you didnât even get Bai Feifei. Donât you feel it wasnât worth it? You didnât go to save her purely out of sympathy, did you?"
Sun Ruixing looked at Wen Yu strangely and asked, "How could I have done it for Bai Feifei? Iâm old enough to be her dad, okay?"
Wen Yu rolled his eyes. "Li Quanâan is old enough to be her dad too. Werenât they just as lovey-dovey in Hualin Town?"
"People are different. I didnât really think that much about it!"
Sun Ruixing sighed and sat down next to Wen Yuâs bed.
"When I saw Bai Feifei, I thought of my daughter; theyâre about the same age. My daughter is all alone in Yanjing City. I originally thought there wouldnât be any problems, but seeing the situation in Chaihe Town... I donât dare to imagine anymore."
Hearing Sun Ruixingâs words, Wen Yu silently took out two cigarettes. He gave one to Sun Ruixing, and they began to smoke.
"Girls really have it rough in this shitty world!" Wen Yu sighed unexpectedly. Sun Ruixingâs words had touched him.
A fatherâs love is like a mountain. Wen Yu could feel the depth of Sun Ruixingâs love for his daughter in his words.
Itâs an emotion I havenât felt for over ten years...
"So, for people like her, I help when I can. Iâm terrified that if Yanjing City is also like this, and if no one reaches out to help... I dread to think what kind of treatment my daughter would face," Sun Ruixing admitted.
After hearing Sun Ruixing out, Wen Yu, uncharacteristically, refrained from any sarcastic mockery.
Wen Yu pursued absolute power. People like him were the sky for humanity, the bedrock of its survival in a disaster, and the means by which humanity could eventually counterattack.
However, the continuation of humanity never relied on such individuals. It depended on the countless ordinary peopleâthose Wen Yu often dismissed as weaklings, ants, and cannon fodder.
The reason these people could survive was due to the countless sacrifices made by their own kind, by the many âsaintsâ like Sun Ruixing.
Wen Yu wouldnât become such a person himself, but that didnât stop him from admiring them.
Good people shouldnât be despised, no matter the occasion, time, or place.
"Did you get into the town today?"
Seeing the distant look in Sun Ruixingâs eyes, Wen Yu knew the man was thinking about his daughter again and deliberately broke his reverie.
"I only glanced from a distance. The situation is pretty much as Li Dalong describedâitâs very bad."
"Weâll go check the specifics tomorrow. By the way, you donât have a place to stay, do you? You can make do on the floor here tonight."
When did Wen Yu become so approachable?
Sun Ruixing wondered, looking at him in surprise.
"Alright."
Sun Ruixing was decisive. He lay down directly on the floor and, a short while later, his snores filled the room.
Wen Yu looked at Sun Ruixingâs wounds, then gazed up at the ceiling, slowly losing himself in his thoughts.
In my past life, Iâd met people like this too. I even benefited from their kindness. But their fates all had one thing in common: they died quickly. Good people can be trusted. Just like how I dare to let Sun Ruixing sleep on my floor. I know that as long as there isnât an extreme conflict of interest, Sun Ruixing would never harm anyone. But in the apocalypse, being a good person isnât easy, and they really donât live long. This is a lesson learned from the experiences of countless people. With my past lifeâs experience, I naturally wouldnât fall into that trap. However, I wonât actively harm people like Sun Ruixing. They are reliable comrades-in-arms, people you can trust your back to. But not good teammates. Thereâs a fundamental difference between a comrade-in-arms and a teammate.
Pushing these messy thoughts aside, Wen Yu deactivated his combat state and then summoned Cyclops.
The little Soul Beast was in high spirits, still bouncing with energy.
It seems that from now on, the combat state can be considered my default mode,
Wen Yu mused.
Still, without the little Soul Beast on my shoulder, I always feel like somethingâs missing.
"Cyclops, go guard the door."
Cyclops whimpered pitifully.
Iâve been hungry all day,
he seemed to complain,
and now, late at night, I still have to stand guard!
Ignoring Cyclopsâs complaints, Wen Yu lay down and fell asleep.
ăThe night was deep.ă
Within Chaihe Town, three ragged figures moved stealthily, hunched over as they navigated the silent clusters of buildings.
A voice suddenly broke the silence.
"Brother Li, what do we do?"
After a moment, the man called Brother Li replied, "Thereâs nothing we can do. This afternoon, we all got battered trying to force our way into town. Xiao Fang was even eaten by a zombie. Now weâre trapped here and canât get out for the time being."
"If you ask me, we should never have left the camp," a complaining voice chimed inâit was the third man.
The atmosphere instantly grew awkward.
These three were none other than Li Quanâan and his men, who had fled Zang Pengfeiâs settlement.
Under the cover of darkness, Li Quanâanâs face was ashen.
The human heart is truly unfathomable!
Li Quanâan thought bitterly.
I went to such lengths to bring my most trusted subordinates out of Hualin Town, yet barely half a day after leaving the camp, theyâre already complaining. Everyone has their own agendas, and human nature has always been inscrutable. Thatâs why thereâs no such thing as an absolutely loyal subordinate! Not a single one!!
"Brother Li, look! Thereâs a light up ahead!"