Chapter 42

Chapter 42: Leave Me a Whole Corpse!

The group was exhausted—Hu Yifei and Chen Yuze had completely run out of strength, leaving Fatty and the others to carry them as they fled. Fear gripped everyone; their situation was far from ideal.

They hadn’t run more than a few steps when the giant serpent snapped out of its daze and lunged at them. Old Hu was carrying Chen Yuze over his shoulder when the latter suddenly raised his head, revealing a pair of crimson, emotionless vertical pupils. The sight sent a chill down Old Hu’s spine, and even the serpent froze mid-strike.

Boom—

At that moment, the grenade inside the serpent’s belly finally exploded. Blood and flesh sprayed in all directions as the snake’s midsection burst open. The shockwave sent Old Hu and Fatty flying, slamming them face-first into the ground. Fortunately, they remembered the people on their backs at the last second and shielded Hu Yifei and Chen Yuze, who ended up crashing onto them.

“Oof—Yifei, you okay? Not hurt, are you?” Fatty groaned, feeling like he might vomit, but his concern for Hu Yifei won out. The explosion had been massive, and they’d been dangerously close. If it hadn’t gone off inside the serpent’s belly, they’d have been severely injured.

Hu Yifei finally regained some strength and slowly sat up. “Thanks, Fatty. Never thought you’d be so useful in a pinch. You took the full brunt of that blast—nice work.”

“Yeah, yeah, my honor,” Fatty wheezed. “But, Yifei, mind getting off my waist first? Feels like it’s about to snap.” He craned his neck to glare at her. Was she treating him like a couch?

“Oh? Forgot.” Hu Yifei stood and pulled him up. “Drama queen. It was just for a second.”

“Yifei, time to lose some weight,” Fatty muttered before instantly regretting it. The air around them turned icy. Desperate to deflect, he turned to Chen Yuze and Old Hu. “Hey, kid, Old Hu, you alive? If you’re dead, leave a will or something.”

Chen Yuze, sprawled over Old Hu’s back, weakly rolled onto his side and collapsed onto the ground. He looked up at Fatty with half-lidded eyes, his voice barely a whisper. “Fatty…”

“Yeah, kid, what is it?”

“Fatty… I can’t hold on. My ribs are broken… punctured my lungs… internal bleeding… I need to say a few things.” He coughed up blood, his hand trembling as he raised it. Fatty immediately grabbed it, his own hands shaking.

“Kid, stop talking! We’ll get you to a hospital—just hang in there!” Tears welled in Fatty’s eyes. Hu Yifei frowned, sensing something off, but with Chen Yuze like this, she didn’t know what to do except watch, her eyes glistening.

Chen Yuze weakly shook his head. “No use… Listen carefully. I have… last requests.”

“Kid, say the word. Fatty’ll make sure it’s done right.”

“First… Yifei, could you get your foot off my hand? It hurts.”

Hu Yifei and Fatty looked down—sure enough, her boot was crushing Chen Yuze’s other hand, now purple and swollen.

“Shit! Sorry, didn’t notice!” She jumped back. The ground was littered with snake bones and debris, so she’d assumed it was just serpent remains. Grabbing his hand, she tried to rub it better—only to make it worse. Since when did Hu Yifei know how to give gentle massages?

“Yifei, stop. Let the kid die in peace. Leave him a whole corpse,” Fatty cut in, rescuing Chen Yuze’s hand before she could dislocate it entirely.

Hu Yifei awkwardly glanced at Fatty, who turned back to Chen Yuze. “Kid, what’s the second request? Spit it out before you croak. How do you want your inheritance divided?”

Chen Yuze nearly choked. He wasn’t even dead yet, and Fatty was already eyeing his assets—not that Fatty could inherit anything anyway. But he lacked the energy to argue.

“Cough… second thing…” His voice faded, forcing Fatty and Hu Yifei to lean in.

“After I die… no grand funeral. Just one condition.”

“Name it, kid. Where should I scatter your ashes? Fatty’ll take you there.”

“No need. Just one thing—you damn Fatty, die with me!” Chen Yuze suddenly roared, making Fatty jump.

Hu Yifei studied Chen Yuze and realized he wasn’t actually dying—just exhausted and pissed off at Fatty’s nonsense.

Fatty blinked, finally catching on. “You little—you faked it? Played me like a fiddle!” He turned to Hu Yifei, silently begging for help.

She smirked. “Great idea. Yuze, die right now, and I’ll stuff Fatty into that coffin for you. We’ll seal the tomb and save on burial costs.”

“Agreed,” Old Hu chimed in—still facedown on the ground.

“Whoa, you’re alive too, Old Hu?” Fatty laughed, relieved everyone was okay. “Not cool, man. This ain’t the feudal era—no human sacrifices! What happened to class solidarity?”

“Gone. All I know is, if you don’t get up now, I’m shoving you into that coffin myself.” Old Hu’s eyes flicked toward Fatty’s feet.

Confused, Fatty looked down—his foot was crushing Old Hu’s hand. No wonder the man hadn’t moved.

“Damn, you two really know where to step!”