After Finding The Corpse King's Cubs, Trouble Came Knocking At The Door - Chapter 1
Chapter 1
Although He Was Only Three Years Old, He Already Understood Things.
The summer sun blazed fiercely.
The scorching sun beat down on the earth, and the air was filled with steaming heat. The ground temperature was nearly fifty or sixty degrees Celsius, and just standing on it brought a burning sensation to the soles of the feet.
Amid the scorching summer heat, a group of six or seven individuals stood out in stark contrast, clad in heavy windbreakers that seemed utterly incongruous with the season. Their faces were swathed in cloth, leaving only their eyes exposed. With hushed steps, they moved furtively through a labyrinth of unfinished buildings.
At the corner, Xia Shen Shu, who was about two meters tall, craned his head to look. After confirming that there was no one on the road outside other than an abandoned vehicle, he sighed in relief.
He turned back, ready to return and report that he was safe. However, a figure suddenly sprang out from the back of a truck next to him, charging towards him.
Xia Shen Shu had extremely quick reflexes and dodged immediately, but it was already too late. That shadowy figure had already pounced on him.
He was ruthlessly thrown into the wall, his spine protesting with intense pain. Xia Shen Shu's heart skyrocketed to his throat, the terror of imminent death choking him.
"Duck." A calm, gentle, and pleasant voice rang out. At the same time, a gust of wind rushed past.
Xia Shenshu slid down the wall in the nick of time, and the spot where his neck had been was completely cleaved into by an axe.
The walls trembled, cement fragments splashed about, and a stifled boom reverberated.
Shocked, Xia Shen Shu looked up and saw Ji Yanqing pull the axe out of the wall with an indifferent expression. As he moved, a human head rolled into Xia Shen Shu's arms.
Xia Shen immediately looked down, and seeing that face full of green liquid and highly rotten, he shook with fright, and quickly threw the head away from himself.
The head rolled across the roasting ground all the way to the opposite corner of the wall; liquid spilled all over the place; the extremely hot ground sizzled, and the air was filled with the stench of scorching unspeakable substances.
"Let's go." Ji Yanqing cast a cold gaze at his surroundings before speaking.
He had just made a noise, and this place would soon be surrounded by zombies.
“Apologies…” Xia Shen Shu ignored the stench from the liquid on his clothes. He quickly got up from the ground and followed.
They swiftly moved through the alleyway as they entered into a multi-story building whose lower levels were still under construction and filled with building materials and dirt. The other five or six people in the building were on high alert.
Everyone present glanced over at them upon their entrance.
When everyone saw the foul-smelling liquid on Xia Shenshu's body, their brows wrinkled. One of them, a wounded man called Sun Haifeng, took two steps back and pulled away to distance himself.
Xia Shen Shu glanced at him, ignoring him. In between heart palpitations, he quickly removed his outer-wear and tossed it far away.
"What happened?" someone asked.
"I almost didn't make it back..." Xia Shen Shu murmured, fishing out a new jacket from his backpack, his gaze towards Ji Yanqing tangled with complex emotions. Once again, Ji Yanqing had saved him.
Temporarily safe, Ji Yanqing leaned his inseparable axe against the wall and took off the black goggles he always wore on his face to wipe them.
Two days ago, they were attacked, and his goggles were broken at that time.
Xia Shen Shu's gaze followed the path of Ji Yan Qing's hand holding the goggles upwards. In the very moment he saw Ji Yan Qing's face, hidden most times by the mask and goggles, he couldn't help but be momentarily struck breathless.
Soft and fluffy, slightly curly, ash-brown short hair, skin that remained fair even under the fierce sun, long and slightly curled eyelashes that fluttered, distinct black and white clear eyes, Ji Yanqing had an extremely beautiful face.
Despite having such a face, Ji Yanqing's personality was anything but well-behaved and weak. He was incredibly strong and could fell a group of zombies with a single swing of his axe.
In addition to this, there was also his cleanly tailored high-top black combat boots, outdoor tactical windbreaker, and travel bag, causing his team to obey him despite being older than him, respectfully calling him Captain.
Ji Yanqing himself seemed to know that his appearance greatly affected his prestige within the team, which was why most of the time he wore eye-covering goggles and tried to look serious by keeping a cold face.
Putting on his goggles, Ji Yanqing grabbed a cloth from the side and wrapped around his head; under such extremely high temperatures, if sunlight shines directly on exposed skin for a few hours, it’ll evaporate the water in the human body until there’s none left.
“Oh that’s right, come take a look.” Someone in the crowd recalled something and beckoned everyone to follow him.
* * *
They are now on the ground floor of a row of buildings that are still under construction. The building above is covered with a green mesh, the ground is piled up with various building materials. There is a circle of walls around the outside of the building, which is fairly safe, hence why they have chosen it as their resting point.
Ji Yanqing glanced at them, then took the lead in picking up his axe and following them.
The man led his group of men deeper into the construction. They quickly arrived at the first floor of the rear building.
There were no construction materials piled up here. The ground floor was very empty. In the center of the empty space was the ash of a burnt-out campfire, and around the campfire were various food bags.
Everyone's spirits were immediately lifted.
"They rested here before."
"I've checked; the traces are fresh, no more than five days old. This means if we move quickly, we can catch up to them within three days."
"Then what are we waiting for, let's head out!" Sun Haifeng said excitedly, despite his injury.
Ji Yanqing cast a quick glance at him but said nothing.
The Captain remained silent, so naturally no one else moved.
Sun Haifeng felt a sense of urgency. He stared intently at Ji Yanqing, opening and closing his mouth several times as he tried to say something.
Ji Yanqing ignored him. He took the axe and walked around to inspect the surroundings.
Just as Sun Haifeng was about to lose his patience, a sudden rustling sound broke the extreme silence. His nerves tightened at the sound, as did everyone else present in the clearing.
Everyone's pupils suddenly constricted, their hearts beating wildly. Goosebumps rose on their arms, and they gripped their weapons tightly and raised them.
The crowd held their breaths in silence.
The sound came from the pile of sundries in the right corner. As they looked over, there was another movement.
At each other's gazes, their faces turned ghastly white.
Ji Yanqing stepped forward, quietly approaching and slightly turning his head to look towards the bottom of the pile of miscellaneous objects. His brows furrowed when he saw what was there.
"Captain Ji?" Xia Shen Shu inquired while lowering his voice, so low that it was nearly impossible to hear his question.
Ji Yanqing said nothing. He used the axe in his hand to sweep the clutter against the wall, revealing what was beneath.
There were two children, both around three years old, with small hands and feet. They didn't have the soft and cute appearance that children of this age should have, but were instead so thin and dirty, they looked like two kittens who were about to die of starvation at any moment.
The two children were curled up together into a tiny ball. It was hard to say if they had fallen asleep or had passed out from hunger.
Seeing this scene, everyone's feelings were complicated.
A virus outbreak turned countless people into zombies, and everyone desperately fled in a sorry state. They had witnessed similar situations countless times before.
"Heartless! Who would sacrifice their own children to survive..." Sun Haifeng was furious.
"Wu..." One of the larger children heard the sound, let out a low groan like a cat, and seemed to be even more frightened in his sleep. He tried his best to curl up into a tiny bun.
Ji Yanqing felt a sense of disorientation. For a moment, he seemed to see a familiar little face and his heart constricted violently, causing him an intense searing pain that made it difficult to breathe.
Ji Yanqing dropped his axe and stepped forward into the rubble pile, reaching out to hug the two children.
"Captain Ji?"
"Taking them with me," Ji Yan said lightly.
Everyone was taken aback.
“Taking them? Are you nuts?” Sun Haifeng’s previously sympathetic voice suddenly went up a notch, his face full of disbelief.
Under these circumstances, they themselves were barely surviving. To say nothing of the roaming zombies, the food they had wasn't even enough for themselves. Taking on these two burdens was akin to seeking their own deaths.
Ji Yanqing carefully lifted the two children out of the corner and put them down on the floor.
The two children seemed even tinier after being brought out. Their little arms were so emaciated from hunger that they looked like they could snap with the slightest force.
"Even if you don't think about yourself, think about us, we..." Sun Haifeng got anxious.
“We need to think this through more.” Xia Shen Shu’s eyes flashed with surprise before quickly calming again. His tone was cool and aloof. “Don’t just rush to save whoever you come across.”
Sun Haifeng was rescued by Ji Yanqing two days ago.
To be more precise, everyone on this team was saved by Ji Yanqing along the way.
"You--" Sun Haifeng heard that Xia Shen Shu was referring to him and his face quickly turned ashen. He had weakened a lot. "What I mean is, why bother? He is always so soft-hearted, and sooner or later he will suffer a big loss."
Seeing Ji Yanqing persisting, the others rubbed their noses, feeling a headache, but did not say anything.
If Ji Yanqing could just pretend that he hadn’t seen those who needed help, then they would all have died long ago. At the very least, they had no right to preach to Ji Yanqing on this matter.
"Let's camp here." Ji Yan said lightly.
Everyone looked at each other before turning around and walking away, remaining vigilant of their surroundings.
Ji Yanqing put down his backpack and was about to find something to eat when the older of the two children he had carried out slowly opened his eyes.
Confusion first filled his dark eyes, quickly morphing into fear and terror. The boy was horrified to find a stranger before him. His tiny body instantly recoiled, as if fearing a beating.
Earlier, Ji Yanqing had not noticed, but now that the child was sitting up, he could see that his neck and arms were covered in scars.
Ji Yanqing lowered his eyelids slightly and pulled a pack of biscuits from his backpack to pass it to him.
The little baby looked at Ji Yanqing, then at the biscuits he was being passed. His throat moved involuntarily, but he did not take it.
He averted his gaze in fear, then hugged his tiny self up into a ball. Evidently, someone had used this method of pretense to beat him up badly in the past, which had taught him a lesson.
As if recalling something, the little baby immediately lifted his head and scanned his surroundings. Upon noticing that there were only a few strangers in the entire square, he instantly broke down into tears.
He seemed to know he had been abandoned.
He was filled with fear, and his small body trembled uncontrollably. Silent tears rolled down his cheeks, but he cried without a sound. Although he was just three years old, he was already a sensible child.
----
Neither of the two stories I already have up include any cute buns (so far), and I needed my fix.
Plus.. whenever I start reading an mtl'd novel on wattpad and it ends up being unedited and impossible to read, I wanna fix it ahahahaha.... I'm obsessed.
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