Chapter 500: The Harsh Reality of the Apocalypse

Xu Beibei looked at Li Kaile and said, “I’ve found someone better for me. If I leave with him, I’ll have a better life. He’s stronger than you, he can protect me, and he can provide me with everything I need.”

“If you were in my position, you would make the same choice.”

She was not even twenty years old, but after everything she had been through in the apocalypse, she had grown up fast.

For most people, the most basic need was survival.

Love? That was just a little seasoning in this harsh world.

Nice to have, but it couldn’t fill an empty stomach.

But Li Kaile couldn’t accept that.

Tears streamed down his face as he cried, “No! I wouldn’t! Beibei, I love you! Can he possibly love you more than I do?”

Xu Beibei looked at his childish expression and sighed, shaking her head.

“Let me be honest with you. The only reason I approached you in the first place was because your father was a priest.”

“You were interesting, sure. I even liked you a little. But that alone was never enough for me to choose a boy younger than me, someone who couldn’t even protect me.”

“Talking about love in times like these… don’t you think it’s just self-deception?”

The officer standing behind Xu Beibei was growing impatient.

He coldly said, “Enough. It’s time to go. This farewell has dragged on long enough.”

Xu Beibei immediately turned back to him, her demeanor shifting—now she was once again the sweet, delicate girl.

“Sorry, big brother! I didn’t mean to waste your time. Let’s go!”

With that, she turned around and walked away without a second glance.

Li Kaile’s eyes widened with fear.

Xu Beibei was all he had left!

Without her, how was he supposed to survive?

Instinctively, he reached out to grab her arm.

“Beibei, don’t leave me! If… if you dare to go, I’ll kill myself right here!”

Xu Beibei’s patience snapped.

She shoved him away forcefully, her face twisting into an ugly expression.

“Li Kaile, enough already! You’re a damn eunuch now, and you still have the nerve to dream about that kind of life?!”

Silence.

A suffocating stillness spread through the air.

“Eunuch?”

Zhang Yi raised an eyebrow in curiosity, confused by her words.

Did this kid get frozen so badly that he lost his ‘equipment’?

Li Kaile’s face instantly aged ten years, his spirit completely crushed—he looked like a wilted eggplant left out in the cold.

Even Xu Beibei realized she had gone too far.

She lowered her head and muttered, “I’m sorry.”

Then, without another word, she turned away and climbed onto the military truck with the officer.

She just wanted to survive.

That wasn’t a crime.

Li Kaile stood there in a daze, watching as the truck drove away.

But he didn’t have the courage to chase after it anymore.

Then, suddenly—he let out a guttural cry, like a wounded animal, and sprinted off into the distance.

Zhang Yi recognized Li Kaile.

But he wasn’t particularly close to Li Jian’s family, so he simply stood by and watched.

Xiao Honglian, on the other hand, grinned as she finished enjoying the drama.

“That kid has never been beaten by reality before, huh? So naive.”

“But this is good for him. Without pain, how can you grow?”

Zhang Yi didn’t laugh at Li Kaile.

Who didn’t yearn for love at some point while growing up?

But waking up from that dream—that was the hard part.

Some people woke up and grew stronger.

Some never woke up at all. And they were the ones who ended up broken.

After bidding farewell to Xiao Honglian, Zhang Yi soon saw Li Jian and Zhang Jianfang rushing out, anxiously searching for Li Kaile.

They must have heard about their son and were terrified that something had happened to him.

Both of them looked frantic.

They knew their son too well.

Li Kaile had been sheltered since childhood, never having suffered any real hardship.

That was why he had always been so bright and carefree, though also a bit naive.

But recently, he had suffered a devastating blow, leaving his mind on the verge of collapse.

Now, with Xu Beibei abandoning him too, his last emotional support was gone.

Of course, Li Jian and Zhang Jianfang were terrified he would do something reckless.

Frantically, they asked around about where he had gone.

Someone told them that Li Kaile had run northwest, outside the camp.

Without hesitation, they rushed after him.

But they were gone for a long time.

It wasn’t until nightfall that someone finally spotted them again.

By then, Li Jian and Zhang Jianfang looked like empty husks, as if their very souls had been ripped away.

It didn’t take much guessing—Li Kaile was dead.

But no one really talked about it.

Too many people had died already.

People had grown numb.

It didn’t matter who died—tomorrow would still come, and life would go on.

Two days passed.

Zhang Yi had gathered all the useful intel he could from the Followers of the Snow God.

Meanwhile, Xiao Honglian had sent over the information he requested.

There was no reason to stay any longer.

So, Zhang Yi said his goodbyes to Bian Junwu and the others, preparing to return to the Shelter.

After exchanging a few polite words, no one made an effort to convince him to stay.

But before leaving, Zhang Yi sought out Bian Junwu.

“Captain Bian, can we talk privately for a moment?”

Bian Junwu studied him and chuckled. “Changed your mind?”

Zhang Yi knew he was referring to joining the Jiangnan District.

He smiled faintly. “No, not about that. I just have some concerns I’d like to discuss with you.”

Bian Junwu glanced at his team.

They all gave Zhang Yi curious and amused looks, while Wu Di, as expected, glared at him with open hostility.

No one knew what Zhang Yi was up to this time.

Still, Bian Junwu nodded. “Alright, let’s talk.”

The two of them walked away from the camp, stepping into the deserted ruins outside the Followers of the Snow God’s base.

Once they were alone, Bian Junwu spoke calmly, his usual indifference unchanged.

“No one else is here. Say what’s on your mind.”

Zhang Yi glanced at him.

Compared to their first meeting, Bian Junwu looked even paler now.

His skin was so white it was almost translucent, even paler than the snow on the ground.

His lips had turned a bluish-purple, making Zhang Yi worry about his condition.

But he knew Bian Junwu didn’t like wasting time, so he got straight to the point.

“Captain Bian, I think you should stay in Tianhai City a little longer.”

Bian Junwu stared at him, waiting for him to elaborate.

Zhang Yi continued, “This mission… ended too easily.”

“From the beginning, we assumed the Zombie Kings had high intelligence.”

“If that’s the case, then wouldn’t they have realized we were setting up a trap for them? Why would they still gather in one place and let us wipe them out?” ℟ἈℕＯ𝔟Ęs̩

Bian Junwu responded calmly, “We considered that possibility. But in the end, mutated zombies still aren’t humans. Their intelligence has limits.”

“Besides, since that battle, there hasn’t been another large-scale zombie horde sighting.”

Author's Note