AFTCKCTCKATD - Chapter 67

Chapter 67

I Want To Sleep With You.

----

After the bite, a whisper of sweetness spread from Feng Yimo’s lips, down his throat, and into his heart. It took him a long moment to process what he had just done.

He scrambled to look at Ji Yanqing.

He knows I’m a Corpse King. He hates zombies, he fears them. I knew that, and I still bit him—

In the darkness, Ji Yanqing’s clear, dark eyes were wide with what looked like astonishment, but held no trace of anger or fear.

Feng Yimo’s breath caught. He had braced himself for disgust, for terror, but in that instant, a strange and inexplicable joy surged from the depths of his being.

As the feeling crested, the impulse returned, stronger this time. A desperate, urgent need to do something to Ji Yanqing, though he didn’t know what.

He decided to bite him again.

Not the kind that drew blood, but something soft, gentle…

Feng Yimo slowly leaned toward Ji Yanqing’s face. Under the other man’s wide-eyed gaze, he returned to the spot he had marked and gave a delicate nibble. The brush of his teeth against Ji Yanqing’s soft skin sent a tremor straight to his brain, making his very soul shiver in response.

He held his breath instinctively. His teeth and lips grazed against Ji Yanqing’s cheek, his nibble softening into a tender hold. He was beginning to grasp something, to learn how to express this feeling. He moved to shift his weight, to press Ji Yanqing down beneath him.

But as he moved, so did Ji Yanqing.

In one fluid motion, Ji Yanqing rolled onto his side, turning his back to Feng Yimo just before he could be pinned down.

Lying with his back to Feng Yimo, Ji Yanqing curled into himself. His heart was a frantic drum against his ribs, threatening to beat its way out of his chest. It thundered so loudly that the frantic pounding was all he could hear.

In the darkness, Ji Yanqing closed his eyes, an irrepressible smile curving his lips.

Unable to pin him down, Feng Yimo felt a hollow ache of loss. He shuffled closer, pressing his chest firmly against Ji Yanqing’s back and wrapping his arms around him. He could feel the warmth of Ji Yanqing’s body, could breathe in his scent, and the desperate urge to do something to him intensified, yet it was no longer so unbearable.

Holding Ji Yanqing brought him a sense of peace.

He pulled the blanket up, covering the human who felt the cold so keenly, and carefully tucked in the corners before holding him tightly once more.

Feng Yimo didn’t sleep a wink, his eyes fixed on Ji Yanqing until the sky began to lighten.

Ji Yanqing, however, slept more soundly than he had in ages. A thick mat beneath him, a warm embrace around him, and a soft quilt over him. Even in his dreams, the smile never left his lips.

Thanks to the comfortable night, Ji Yanqing woke early the next day. As the first stirrings of activity began in the camp, he got up and stepped out of the vehicle.

The fleet of vehicles looked magnificent in the dawn light. After a night of heavy snow, the ground, the cars, and the tops of the tents were all blanketed in a layer of immaculate white, making the scene all the more breathtaking.

By the time most of the camp had awakened, Hei Long was just stirring. The first thing he did upon waking was to howl, “Boss!”

Hearing that anxious cry, a muscle in Ji Yanqing’s brow twitched, but he ignored it nonetheless.

“Boss?” Waking to find Ji Yanqing gone, Hei Long was instantly thrown into a panic. Without even stopping to put on his coat or shoes, he leaped out of the vehicle and into the snow below. “Boss?”

“Here,” Ji Yanqing was forced to reply.

“Boss!” Without another word, Hei Long scrambled toward him. He had only just found Ji Yanqing again. If he managed to lose him, Xia Shen Shu and the others would kill him. No, he would kill himself first!

Hei Long trotted eagerly to Ji Yanqing’s side. Confirming that he was real and truly there, he let out a long, relieved breath.

Ji Yanqing gave him a sideways glance before turning and heading for one of the tents. Though they now had vehicles and had slept in them the previous night, the three large tents Bai Haoxuan’s group had erected were still standing. Many of them were resting inside after waking up.

Seeing Ji Yanqing leave, Hei Long moved to follow without a second thought. But he had barely taken a step when three figures—one large, two small—blocked his path. It was Feng Yimo, Ji An, and Ji Le.

Hei Long immediately tried to sidestep them to keep up with Ji Yanqing, but the moment he moved, three pairs of eyes swiveled to fix on him with a baleful glare. We were here first. Get in line.

Faced with three such identical expressions, the corner of Hei Long’s mouth twitched. Feng Yimo and the boys had always been fond of trailing after Ji Yanqing.

“Clingy little tails,” Hei Long muttered.

Feng Yimo ignored him.

His path blocked, the still-barefoot and coatless Hei Long had no choice but to turn back to the vehicle for his clothes and shoes. As he turned, he met a sea of faces staring at him from a distance.

Members of his squad, the fierce Swift Dragon squad of Sunward, were huddled like a brood of chicks, squatting by a vehicle and cooking breakfast. They had been watching Hei Long’s antics from the very beginning. Seeing him without his usual stoic demeanor, scrambling about so eagerly, they were once again struck by the sense of surrealness from the night before.

“What are you looking at?” Hei Long snapped, his face a cold mask. He grabbed his clothes and shoes and immediately scurried after Ji Yanqing into the tent. “Boss!”

Hearing his name, Ji Yanqing, who had just entered, stopped and turned around. He stopped so abruptly that Ji An and Ji Le, who were right behind him, couldn’t stop in time and bumped right into him.

Foreheads smarting from the impact, the two little ones quickly stepped aside.

“Are you alright?” Ji Yanqing asked.

Ji An and Ji Le clutched their foreheads and shook their heads timidly. They wanted to get closer, but didn’t dare.

Seeing their hesitant, fearful eyes, a sour ache spread through Ji Yanqing’s chest. He sighed silently. He no longer knew what to do about Ji An and Ji Le.

Taking a deep breath, Ji Yanqing focused his attention on Bai Haoxuan and the others in the tent. After last night’s events, they had all guessed his identity. A night had passed, and now the entire group looked utterly dejected, the life drained out of them.

As he entered, all eyes in the tent turned to him.

Bai Haoxuan clearly hadn’t slept well; dark circles were stark beneath his eyes. Gu Wenmo looked like he wanted to speak but couldn’t find the words. Gu Ranran managed a smile, but it didn’t reach her eyes, which held a bitter nervousness that was reflected throughout the rest of the tent.

They had long known Ji Yanqing was no ordinary person, and they had speculated about his past, but they had never imagined he would be the lost, legendary captain of Sunward. Everyone knew the stories of how Sunward had gone on a rampage, searching everywhere for their missing leader.

“I’ve decided to return to Sunward,” Ji Yanqing said, getting straight to the point after taking a deep breath.

Though they had steeled themselves for this, Bai Haoxuan’s group still flinched at his words, their faces growing even paler.

Bai Haoxuan’s lips moved, but no sound came out. Sunward was a good team, and Ji Yanqing was a capable man. It was only natural for him to go back. As for them, it was time to part ways. They had been the ones to latch onto him in the first place; he had never wanted to take them along. It was already a great kindness that he had brought them this far.

“Do you want to come with me?” Ji Yanqing asked.

Bai Haoxuan, whose face had been steadily losing all color, snapped his head up. He stared at Ji Yanqing in disbelief. Did he just say…

“Are you willing to join Sunward?” Ji Yanqing asked again.

He had thought it over carefully. He was going back to Sunward. He had previously decided to leave with Feng Yimo because he believed Feng Yimo cared for nothing and was detached from the world. A man like that, once provoked, was capable of anything, because nothing held any value to him.

But things were different now.

There was a world of difference between a Corpse King who cared for nothing, and one who understood what it meant to like someone. The latter was far more trustworthy. Xia Shen Shu and the others might not have been willing to give their lives for Feng Yimo, but in his eyes, they had treated Feng Yimo as a member of their team, as a friend. Feng Yimo might not ‘care’, but as long as he wasn’t completely unfeeling, Ji Yanqing believed it was worth a try.

Ji Yanqing’s gaze fell on Gu Wenmo.

Like a student in class hoping to be called on by the teacher, Gu Wenmo had his hand raised high. “I want to go with you.”

He had wanted to join Sunward from the very beginning. Later, after meeting Ji Yanqing on the road, after the incident with Lou Ye, and as their own team grew stronger, he had actually given up on the idea. He felt that following Ji Yanqing was just as good. Now, two things that should have been mutually exclusive—following Ji Yanqing and joining Sunward—had suddenly become one and the same. For him, this was an unexpected, joyous windfall.

Ji Yanqing looked at Bai Haoxuan and the rest of his group. If they weren’t willing, he wouldn’t force them.

Bai Haoxuan exchanged glances with his teammates. Seeing the flush of excitement rapidly coloring everyone’s faces, he couldn’t help but break into a wide grin.

“We’ll go,” Bai Haoxuan said. With you.

Joining Sunward wasn’t the most important thing to them. What mattered most was that they could continue to follow Ji Yanqing. It wasn’t just because he was strong enough to protect them; it was because of the change he had wrought in them.

Ji Yanqing had shown them that it was possible not just to survive in this apocalypse, but to have hope.

Glancing around, Ji Yanqing saw smiles on every face and no reluctance. He let out a breath. He turned to Hei Long, who had already entered the tent. “We’re going back to Sunward.”

Hei Long, who had overheard everything, grinned foolishly. “Great.” He was already imagining the looks on the faces of Xia Shen Shu, Lan Zi, and Li Pingsen when they realized he had brought Ji Yanqing back.

Then Hei Long remembered. “Boss, why didn’t you come back…?”

“I’ll explain when we get there,” Ji Yanqing said, then paused. “There’s something I need to tell you all then. Together.”

Hei Long gave him a puzzled look, wondering what could have been so important as to make Ji Yanqing abandon them. But he held his tongue. Having found Ji Yanqing, getting him back was the most important thing right now.

“Do we leave now?” Hei Long asked, thinking of Xia Shen Shu and the others. He took a deep breath, impatient to get moving.

“What’s Sunward’s current situation?” Ji Yanqing asked.

“The main force is still in the city where you disappeared,” Hei Long replied. “It’s about a seven-day drive from here.” He added, “Xia Shen Shu and the others are preparing to go to the gathering at Wu City. We’re running low on a lot of things, especially medicine. According to the original plan, I was supposed to take the supplies from the military base and rendezvous with them directly in Wu City.”

More importantly, they had hoped Ji Yanqing might also show up at the gathering.

“There are only twelve or thirteen days left before the gathering. They should be setting out in the next few days. If we hurry back, we might catch them. Or we could go straight to the gathering and wait for them there?”

After a moment’s thought, Ji Yanqing said, “We’ll go back to the base camp first.”

“Alright.”

Ji Yanqing looked from Bai Haoxuan to Hei Long. “First, you two figure out each of your team’s current inventory. We’ll restock everything we need in the nearby city. I don’t want any more delays on the road.”

“That works,” Hei Long nodded immediately.

Bai Haoxuan hurried out of the tent. They had just restocked yesterday, but what they had found would only last their own team for three or four days, not enough for a seven-day journey. “We don’t have enough supplies…”

Hei Long followed him out. “We don’t have much either. See what you’re missing, and we’ll tally it all up together.”

Watching Bai Haoxuan and Hei Long get busy, Ji Yanqing walked toward the tent where Wu Shangyou’s group was being held. After last night’s incident, they had locked Wu Shangyou’s group back in the tent. This time, however, there was no pretense of courtesy. Wu Shangyou and his people were all trussed up securely.

As someone entered, Wu Shangyou and the others looked over. Having been tied up all night, none of them looked pleased.

Ji Yanqing walked right up to Wu Shangyou, ignoring his murderous glare.

Stopping before him, Ji Yanqing got straight to the point. “Hand over the supplies, and I’ll let you go.”

“And why should I believe you?” Wu Shangyou’s face was completely devoid of the innocent, pitiful act he had put on before. His eyes were filled with killing intent. If he weren’t tied up, if he had a gun in his hand, he would have already stepped over Ji Yanqing’s twitching corpse.

Ji Yanqing’s gaze turned cold. “You have no other options. Even if we can’t get them, we won’t let you have them. We have things to do, and we don’t have time to waste on you. At worst, I’ll kill you now, and we’ll go look for the supplies ourselves once we’re done.”

Did Wu Shangyou really think they would just let him go?

Hearing Ji Yanqing’s threat, Wu Shangyou’s lips curled into what was meant to be a sneer of contempt, but under the stare of those dark eyes, the smile died on his face. Ji Yanqing had a clean, handsome face, not that of a killer, but his clear, dark eyes left no doubt that he was not joking.

Ji Yanqing meant what he said.

Wu Shangyou fell silent.

Ji Yanqing waited, counting the seconds. Five seconds passed. Seeing that Wu Shangyou had no intention of talking, he turned and left without another word.

Wu Shangyou would rather be hunted, rather see his entire team torn apart, than return the supplies to Sunward. That alone showed what kind of man he was. A person who put his own interests above all else had no credibility. The more one talked to him, the more one would be led astray.

---

“In a culvert.”

Just as Ji Yanqing was about to step out of the tent, Wu Shangyou’s voice came from behind him.

Ji Yanqing turned back.

“You have to promise to let me go,” Wu Shangyou said, the veins on his forehead bulging.

“If the supplies are found.”

Ji Yanqing left.

By the time he returned to the open space between the vehicles and the tents, Bai Haoxuan’s and Hei Long’s teams were already bustling with activity. They were eating breakfast and discussing how to replenish their supplies. Bai Haoxuan’s group had only found enough for themselves for three or four days. Hei Long’s team had even less, as they had been relentlessly pursuing Wu Shangyou and had little time to restock.

The square-faced man and his unit had been in the city and knew it well; they knew where to find supermarkets that were in better condition.

With a rough plan in place, the group quickly finished their breakfast. They planned to go into the city together and gather everything they needed in one go, allowing them to depart that afternoon. Hei Long and Bai Haoxuan were so experienced with these operations that Ji Yanqing didn’t need to worry. He let them take charge.

Ji Yanqing drew his gaze away from them and looked toward a corner where Ji An and Ji Le were sitting, miserably picking at their food. He had truly hurt the two little ones. Now, whenever they were awake, their eyes were almost constantly fixed on him. They watched him, but they didn’t dare approach, only stealing glances from a distance.

Suppressing the wave of sorrow that welled in his chest, Ji Yanqing walked toward them.

The two boys started in fright when they saw him approaching. Their heads swiveled, instinctively looking for an escape, but the camp was open and filled with people. There was nowhere to run.

Trapped, they could only watch him, their eyes red-rimmed with anxiety.

Ji Yanqing crossed the camp and stood before them. Seeing their eyes, swollen like walnuts, and their cautious, fearful expressions, the words he had prepared died in his throat.

His throat felt dry.

When he didn’t speak, the children grew even more anxious, their small hands clutching bowls of hot breakfast, unsure of what to do with them.

Is he going to send us away again?

“Can we talk?” Ji Yanqing’s voice was hoarse. He couldn’t help but give a bitter smile. He didn’t know how much Ji An and Ji Le could even understand. They were Corpse Kings, possessing power far beyond that of humans, and they were feared by all. But they were still children, three-year-olds, an age where they would have needed someone to chase after them just to get them to eat.

Hearing Ji Yanqing speak, and suggesting they talk, the already anxious faces of Ji An and Ji Le turned pale.

Ji Yanqing started walking toward the woods behind the mountain next to the camp. After a short distance, he noticed the two hadn’t followed. He turned and beckoned. “This way.”

Ji An and Ji Le exchanged a glance, nervously put down their breakfast, and slowly followed.

They followed him to the edge of the woods behind the mountain. When Ji Yanqing stopped ahead of them, their hearts were so full of anxiety they were on the verge of tears. Although they had already decided that even if he sent them away, even if he disowned them, they would still follow him—he would still be their dad—they couldn’t bear to hear those words of dismissal from his lips again.

Hearing them hurt too much.

Ji Yanqing turned back. Looking at their two pairs of red, tear-filled eyes, the knot in his chest tightened. He softened his voice. “…I’m sorry. For leaving you behind, and for what I said before.”

The two little ones exchanged an anxious look but said nothing.

“Some things are already a reality. You’ve become Corpse Kings…”

Before Ji Yanqing could finish, Ji Le burst into tears. “Waaaah…” He had always resisted this fact. If he could, he wouldn’t want to be a Corpse King. Even after what Ji Yanqing had said, he still just wanted to be human.

Ji An sniffled but held back his tears.

Ji Yanqing knelt in front of them and reached out to stroke Ji Le’s head. Perhaps because he had Ji An as an older brother, someone he could be clingy with, Ji Le’s personality was more childlike.

Ji An, on the other hand, was so sensible it was heartbreaking.

Ji Yanqing’s voice was very soft. “You’ll grow up. One day you’ll understand.”

“No!” Ji Le grabbed Ji Yanqing’s hand. “I won’t understand! I just want to be with you…”

Guessing that Ji Yanqing was about to send them away again, Ji An couldn’t hold back either. He took two steps forward and threw himself into Ji Yanqing’s arms, hugging his neck tightly.

Ji An was a Corpse King evolving toward strength. His power far surpassed that of a human. As his chubby little arms tightened around his neck, Ji Yanqing had the fleeting illusion that his neck was about to snap. Feeling that force, feeling the anxious tremor in those small, short arms, Ji Yanqing’s heart ached more than his neck.

“When you grow up, if one day you don’t want to be with Dad anymore, will you tell me beforehand?”

“I won’t want to! I’ll never…”

“Don’t… I’m not leaving… Waaaah…”

“Until then, we can stay together like we used to. I won’t send you away again,” Ji Yanqing said.

“You’re lying!” Ji An cried out. “You must be trying to trick us again! You want to leave us behind again, you want… you want to not want us anymore…” His grief overwhelmed him, and he cried even harder.

“I’m not lying, I promise,” Ji Yanqing said, hugging Ji An back.

“Liar… Waaaah, liar…” Ji An cried so hard he could barely breathe.

“Dad…”

Ji Yanqing reached out and pulled Ji Le into his arms as well. He knelt on one knee, holding them both tightly. “I swear.”

“You’ll… you’ll just disappear again…” Ji An clutched the collar of Ji Yanqing’s shirt. They had already had a promise. He had said he wouldn’t abandon them, but then he had just disappeared. They had searched everywhere, for so long, and when they finally found him, he told them not to follow him and just drove away.

They chased the car for a long time, calling for their dad, but he never stopped. He just left.

When they found him this time, he had patted their heads and held them while they slept. He had thought Ji Yanqing wasn’t afraid of them anymore. He had been so happy.

But the very next day, Ji Yanqing had said he didn’t want them.

“L-liar…” Ji An sobbed out.

“I don’t want… to be a Corpse King… Dad, can you change me back… please…” Ji Le gasped between sobs.

Ji Yanqing held them, listening to their cries. It was a long time before he could finally speak. “…Alright. I’ll find a way.”

“R-really?”

“Really.” A bitter taste filled Ji Yanqing’s throat. There was probably no such method in this world.

Hearing Ji Yanqing’s promise, Ji Le, his face a mess of tears, lowered his head and rubbed his forehead against Ji Yanqing’s cheek. Dad is so amazing. He’ll definitely find a way. Once he was human again, Ji Yanqing wouldn’t send him away.

“So, will you stay with me?” Ji Yanqing asked.

Ji Le nodded. “Yes… waah…”

Ji An looked at Ji Yanqing with tear-filled eyes. “I won’t leave, even when I grow up…”

“Okay.”

Ji Yanqing kissed both their foreheads and held them tightly, feeling their small bodies tremble with racking sobs. His own eyes burned.

He sat down on the ground, cradling the two little ones in his arms, letting them release all their pent up emotions until they cried themselves out. Only when they were exhausted and had no tears left did he carry them back to the camp.

Back at the camp, Hei Long and Bai Haoxuan’s groups had already returned. They had found a substantial amount of supplies, currently piled up like a mountain. It had taken over three hundred people two round trips to bring everything back. They had to get two more vehicles because there was so much.

Bai Haoxuan’s group had never seen so many supplies before; some of them were walking in circles around the pile, marveling at it.

Hei Long and Bai Haoxuan didn’t give them much time to gawk. After inventorying everything, they had the others quickly load the vehicles.

By the time everything was done, it was past ten in the morning. The snow on the ground had long since melted, replaced by a dry heat. Where they were now, the midday heat was no longer as oppressive as it had been before. The temperature, over forty degrees Celsius, felt like the height of summer—hot, but not unbearable.

Once the vehicles were loaded, everyone had lunch. During the meal, Hei Long brought a map over for Ji Yanqing to look at. Their current location, the military base, and Sunward’s main camp were not in a straight line, but they weren’t too far off course either. It would take three days to drive to the city where the military base was located.

After confirming the general route, the group quickly boarded the vehicles. A convoy of fourteen or fifteen large vehicles lined up on the road, driving forward at a steady pace.

The hot wind blowing through the open windows and the drone of the engines soon made everyone in the vehicles drowsy. Ji An and Ji Le, who had cried their hearts out that morning, couldn’t hold on any longer. As soon as they got in the car, they fell asleep, leaning against Ji Yanqing on either side.

Despite wanting to lay them down more comfortably, Ji Yanqing didn’t pry their small, anxious hands from his clothes. He let them rest against him, stroking their heads now and then. The little trust he had managed to build had been shattered when he abandoned them. Now, even if he promised not to leave them again, they wouldn’t believe him. And… why should they? Rebuilding that trust would likely take much more time than before. Trust is given once, but earned back drop by drop.

As Ji Yanqing was lost in thought about Ji An and Ji Le, he looked up and met Feng Yimo’s dark, brooding eyes.

Feng Yimo stared at the two children who had completely monopolized Ji Yanqing’s lap, his expression sullen. Beside him, the large black dog he kept with him was sprawled on the floor, looking just as listless.

Man and dog were a perfect match.

Stifling a snort, Ji Yanqing’s mood instantly brightened.

Feng Yimo, who had been staring blankly at Ji An and Ji Le, was momentarily stunned when he saw the brilliant smile on Ji Yanqing’s face. He didn’t know why Ji Yanqing’s mood had suddenly improved, but seeing him smile, a spark of light returned to his own eyes.

The vehicles drove steadily down the road.

---

Three days later.

In a small city near the military base.

After leaving half their people to guard the convoy, the square-faced man and his unit of Swift Dragon members escorted Wu Shangyou’s group, with Ji Yanqing, Hei Long, and Bai Haoxuan following behind. They stopped under a highway overpass. The city’s traffic had long been paralyzed, and this overpass was a key hub. From its vantage point, abandoned vehicles littered the surrounding area.

Beneath the overpass, more than a dozen vehicles were crammed together—trucks and cars alike. If Wu Shangyou hadn’t led them here, they could have passed by a dozen times and never guessed there was anything inside.

“You sure this is the place?” The square-faced man shot Wu Shangyou a dark look. They had suffered quite a bit chasing him.

“It’s those three vehicles up ahead.” Wu Shangyou pointed to a large truck and two vans. They had switched vehicles and camouflaged them immediately after stealing the supplies.

The square-faced man gestured to two of his men, motioning for them to go and check.

“Let him do it,” Ji Yanqing said.

The square-faced man looked at Ji Yanqing, a flicker of confusion in his eyes.

Ji Yanqing’s gaze remained fixed on Wu Shangyou.

The square-faced man prodded Wu Shangyou with his rifle. “Get going.” He followed close behind, raising his gun. “And be smart about it.” If Wu Shangyou tried any tricks, he would die right where he stood.

Arriving at one of the vans, Wu Shangyou didn’t open the door directly. Instead, he carefully got onto his knees and peered underneath the vehicle. A moment later, he produced a grenade tied with a tripwire.

Seeing the wire and the grenade, the square-faced man immediately understood. His already foul expression darkened, and he couldn’t resist kicking Wu Shangyou. Wu Shangyou hadn’t mentioned that the vehicles were booby-trapped. If Ji Yanqing hadn’t made him open the doors himself, they would have been blown to bits.

Kicked, Wu Shangyou knew he was in the wrong and didn’t dare to protest. He silently went to disarm the traps on the other two vehicles.

“Open the doors,” the square-faced man said, his suspicion heightened.

Wu Shangyou obediently opened the doors of all three vehicles.

The square-faced man signaled his men. They moved in to conduct another thorough search. Only after confirming there were no other traps did they enter the vehicles to inspect the supplies. The process took five or six minutes.

“Boss, um- Captain, it’s all here,” one of the men called out from inside, looking at Ji Yanqing and Hei Long. They were used to following Hei Long and were still getting accustomed to this captain who had appeared out of nowhere.

“Get everything out. Let’s go,” Hei Long ordered.

The group moved quickly.

The square-faced man escorted Wu Shangyou’s group back to Ji Yanqing and Hei Long.

“We had a deal. Let me go,” Wu Shangyou said, looking at Ji Yanqing. He had planned to make a run for it when Ji Yanqing’s men were blown up by the traps, but he hadn’t expected this move.

Ji Yanqing didn’t speak, his eyes fixed on the men moving the supplies.

The Swift Dragon squad rapidly unloaded the vehicles. There were more than a dozen large crates containing at least fifty or sixty thousand rounds of ammunition, grenades, machine guns, sniper rifles, military-grade knives, compressed biscuits, communication equipment, flare guns, and signal flares. Finally, they even pulled out a mounted autocannon.

Even a team like Equator would turn green with envy at this level of equipment.

Seeing the autocannon, Bai Haoxuan and his group gasped. Even if they hadn’t witnessed its power firsthand, they had a general idea. That thing could hold its own even against a Corpse King.

Hei Long was clearly very pleased with the autocannon. “It’s a pity we didn’t find many rounds for it. Only about a hundred in total.”

Hearing there were a hundred rounds, Bai Haoxuan’s group looked even more incredulous.

Ji Yanqing, however, just nodded. It really wasn’t much. Corpse Kings weren’t stupid; despite their size, they wouldn’t just stand there and let you shoot them. And if that was true for them, it was even more so for the thrice-evolved ones, who could be even harder to aim at.

“Alright, you have your things,” Wu Shangyou said again, a note of anxiety creeping into his voice. They had the supplies now. If Ji Yanqing decided to go back on his word and kill him, he would be powerless to resist.

“You bastard 龟孙 (guī sūn): Literally “Son of a turtle.” or “Turtle Grandson” A fairly strong insult implying someone is cowardly, despicable, a bastard, and possibly a cuckold…? https://www.wikiwand.com/en/articles/Chinese_curse_words.” The square-faced man chambered a round. Wu Shangyou had caused them no end of trouble.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Wu Shangyou could no longer maintain his composure. In his panic, he looked at Ji Yanqing. “You can’t go back on your word!”

“Let him go,” Ji Yanqing said.

The Swift Dragon members all froze, looking at Ji Yanqing, but no one moved to release Wu Shangyou.

Ji Yanqing looked at Hei Long.

“Let him go,” Hei Long ordered, his face dark as he glared at Wu Shangyou. Hearing this, the Swift Dragon members exchanged bewildered glances. Had Hei Long been possessed?

Despite their surprise, they quickly released Wu Shangyou. After untying him, they moved to untie the others beside him.

“They don’t need to be released,” Ji Yanqing said.

Wu Shangyou’s group and the Sunward members were all taken aback.

The men from Wu Shangyou’s team immediately panicked, all looking at Ji Yanqing.

Wu Shangyou’s face darkened. “What do you mean by that?”

“I promised to let you go. I never promised to let them go,” Ji Yanqing said coolly. “If you don’t want to leave, you can stay.”

Wu Shangyou glanced at the Sunward members, who clearly had no intention of letting him off so easily. Without another word, he bolted into a nearby alley, running as if he was afraid Ji Yanqing would change his mind. He never once looked back at his teammates. Compared to them, his own life was far more important.

Seeing Wu Shangyou flee, the dozen or so men Ji Yanqing had detained were on the verge of tears. What was he going to do?

“You can get off at the next city,” Ji Yanqing said, turning to head back out of the city, where their vehicles were parked.

Hearing his words, the men who had been on the brink of tears were stunned. The next moment, their faces filled with a mixture of astonishment and complex emotions. In this apocalyptic world, as ordinary members, most of them had no power to resist their own survival teams. Once they joined, there was no easy way out.

No longer struggling, the group exchanged stunned glances and followed Ji Yanqing.

Seeing Ji Yanqing lead the way out of the city, the Sunward team also began to move.

“Boss…” the square-faced man sidled up to Hei Long. “Are we really just letting him go?”

Hei Long’s face was grim as he glanced in the direction Wu Shangyou had fled. “Let’s go.”

In this world, the ruthless often lived longer. But the reason they had survived this long, the reason Sunward had come this far, was not because Ji Yanqing was a heartless killer.

Seeing that Hei Long was actually going to let Wu Shangyou go, the square-faced man and his men exchanged uneasy glances, finding it hard to adjust. In the past, Hei Long would have ordered them to kill Wu Shangyou’s entire group without leaving a single one alive.

The Sunward members couldn’t help but look at Ji Yanqing, finding their new captain more and more incomprehensible. They had joined Sunward later on, and ever since they had joined, Sunward’s engagement policy had been ruthless and brutal. Sunward was good to its own people, never letting them lack for food or clothing, and distributing any good finds down the ranks instead of hoarding them at the top. But the leaders of Sunward all had a palpable air of ferocity about them. Xia Shen Shu and the other four squad leaders, in particular, were so ruthless in their methods that even their own men were afraid of them.

Xia Shen Shu and his cohort were all capable and intelligent individuals. People like them would make a name for themselves even if they left Sunward. Yet, even with Ji Yanqing missing, they had shown no intention of leaving. They had even been willing to fight a Corpse King to find him. This only made the new recruits more curious about Ji Yanqing.

At first, their impression of him was that of a two-meter-tall, burly man with a full beard—only someone like that could command the respect of Xia Shen Shu’s group. Later, when they heard that Ji Yanqing was “good-looking, a good fighter, and had two kids,” the bearded giant in their minds was replaced by a face with bright eyes and pearly teeth, but the image was unsettlingly bizarre.

When they finally met Ji Yanqing and learned he was their captain, their first instinct had been to size him up. He was nothing like the brawny giant they had imagined. He was close to 1.8 meters tall, but definitely not two. He didn’t have a full beard, nor was he built like a bodybuilder. Even his personality was completely different from the ruthless and cruel leader they had pictured.

Faced with this Ji Yanqing, they were a little disappointed.

At the same time, they found it even harder to understand. They couldn’t understand why Xia Shen Shu and the others were so desperate to find him, nor could they understand how he had managed to command their respect. They had all witnessed the ferocity of Xia Shen Shu’s group. A man like Ji Yanqing seemed like a little lamb in front of those mad dogs. They could even picture him trembling in fear before them.

But now, a pack of rabid wolves was being commanded by a little lamb?

When the group returned to the convoy with the supplies, the members of Bai Haoxuan’s team who had been waiting outside saw the autocannon, and their faces mirrored the same shock Bai Haoxuan’s group had shown earlier.

Back at the convoy, Hei Long had his men inventory the supplies again, creating a new list that detailed only the weapons and related equipment. Once it was done, he handed the list to Ji Yanqing.

Ji Yanqing took it and scanned the pages. The contents were delightful. A list like this was something they couldn’t have even dreamed of before.

“Let’s get ready to leave,” Ji Yanqing said, eager to get back and see Xia Shen Shu and the others.

“Hehe,” Hei Long grinned, equally expectant. Xia Shen Shu’s group might just be stunned into silence.

“Did we lose anyone in the fight with Wu Shangyou?” Ji Yanqing asked.

“More than ten of our brothers were injured,” the square-faced man said resentfully.

Ji Yanqing nodded. “Let me borrow your gun.”

“Huh?”

“Give it to him,” Hei Long said, though he looked just as confused.

The square-faced man looked at Ji Yanqing and reluctantly handed over his rifle.

Ji Yanqing took the gun and studied it for a moment before figuring out how to use it. He didn’t use guns often, and his own pistol was out of ammunition.

Seeing this, the expressions on the faces of the square-faced man’s group became contorted. Ji Yanqing doesn’t even know how to use a gun?

Holding the rifle, Ji Yanqing walked toward the distant city.

The square-faced man and his group were baffled. What is he doing?

Bai Haoxuan and his team were equally confused. Is he going back into the city?

Crossing the open ground, Ji Yanqing stopped at the edge of the city. He raised the rifle and fired.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Five. Six. Finally, a total of ten shots rang out, piercing the sky and shattering the tense silence.

The once-dead city, after a moment of quiet, erupted like water dropped into a hot oil pan, sizzling and crackling to life.

Amid the commotion, Ji Yanqing turned and ran back to the convoy.

Returning to the vehicles, he tossed the gun back to the square-faced man. “Let’s go,” he said, climbing aboard.

Hei Long had already figured it out and climbed into the vehicle with a grin.

Taking back his rifle, the square-faced man looked from the gun in his hands to Ji Yanqing, his expression a mixture of emotions. He hadn’t understood what Ji Yanqing was doing at first, not until the zombies in the city were roused by the gunfire.

Wu Shangyou had no supplies and no weapons. The cities now were not as resource-rich as they had been months ago. If the normal zombies, Awakened Zombies, and even the Corpse King within the city were now agitated…

The square-faced man exchanged a look with his men, and then they all looked at Ji Yanqing.

The convoy soon moved on.

At the next city, Ji Yanqing had Wu Shangyou’s former followers get off the vehicles. He rejected their requests to join, and the convoy continued straight toward Sunward’s base.

Once they were back on the road, they only stopped at night to rest, quickly closing the distance to the Sunward camp.

Knowing that the base was just ahead, that he would soon see Xia Shen Shu and the others, Ji Yanqing found himself growing increasingly nervous. He had the strange illusion that the scenery outside the window was becoming familiar, even though he hadn’t left in this direction. The tension grew stronger the closer he got, and on the last night, he found himself unable to sleep, a rare occurrence.

----

Ji Yanqing slipped out of the vehicle silently. He stood under the makeshift shelter fashioned out of curtains stretched between the cars, and stared into the distant darkness. The wind and snow were too heavy; he couldn’t see a thing.

“Dad?” Ji Le, half-asleep, was startled awake when he realized Ji Yanqing was gone. He scrambled to find him. Seeing Ji Yanqing standing by the vehicle, he breathed a sigh of relief. He rubbed his sleepy eyes as he gazed out.

“Dad?” Hearing the commotion, Ji An emerged as well.

The two little ones squatted side-by-side in the doorway of the vehicle, unwilling to go back to sleep.

With a helpless sigh, Ji Yanqing went over, lifted them out of the vehicle, and closed the vehicle door. Not yet chubby, but still rosy-cheeked, Ji An and Ji Le were as warm as little furnaces, and he couldn’t bear to let them freeze. He led them into the nearby tent and found a place to sit. Only a few night-watch guards were inside. They glanced over as he entered, then went back about their own business.

“Dad…” Ji Le sat on Ji Yanqing’s lap and wrapped his arms around his.

“Why aren’t you sleeping?” Ji An leaned against Ji Yanqing’s chest, his voice sleepy and milky. He was so tired, but he still fought to keep his eyes open.

Since Ji Yanqing had promised not to send them away, Ji An and Ji Le had become even clingier than before. They followed him everywhere he went and constantly asked for hugs. It had gotten to the point where Ji Yanqing was tempted to sew two pouches onto his pant legs just to carry them around.

“I can’t sleep,” Ji Yanqing explained.

“Why?” Ji An was so drowsy he could barely keep his eyes open, but he refused to let go of Ji Yanqing, afraid he would disappear if he did.

“I’m … thinking about things.”

“What things?” Ji Le asked curiously.

“About Xia Shen Shu, Lan Zi, and the others, and about the future.”

Ji Le looked at him, his small face a mask of confusion.

“We’ll see them tomorrow. Aren’t you excited?” Ji Yanqing asked.

Ji An was only half-conscious.

Ji Le snuggled against Ji Yanqing’s arm and said in a small, childish voice, “Such a weirdo. He always makes us call him ‘big brother.’ He’s clearly an uncle.”

It took Ji Yanqing a moment to realize he was talking about Xia Shen Shu. Xia Shen Shu was always trying to trick the boys into calling him ‘big brother.’ If Ji An and Ji Le called him that, wouldn’t that make Xia Shen Shu have to call him uncle?

The thought amused Ji Yanqing, and the urge to see Xia Shen Shu and the others grew even stronger. Now he was even less likely to fall asleep.

“Dad,” Ji An mumbled, checking that Ji Yanqing was still there.

“I’m here.”

Hearing his voice, Ji An relaxed and continued to doze against his chest.

Ji Le poked Ji An’s cheek.

Ji Yanqing looked out at the vast convoy and began to think about what lay ahead.

The combined teams of Hei Long and Bai Haoxuan numbered over three hundred people. It wasn’t an exceptionally large group, yet they already needed nearly fifteen vehicles just to carry enough daily supplies. The convoy of more than a dozen vehicles looked like a great dragon coiled in the darkness—an impressive sight, but in reality, it was a logistical nightmare.

The vehicles needed fuel, and gasoline, like ammunition, was something they couldn’t produce. The intense heat caused fuel to evaporate from the tanks, making replenishment a significant problem. If this was the case for three hundred people, it would be even more daunting when combined with the main group.

Sunward, combined with Bai Haoxuan’s team, would have a total of over eight hundred people. At fifty people per vehicle, they would need sixteen vehicles just for personnel, and that didn’t even account for the food, water, and supplies for eight hundred people. All things considered, they would need at least thirty vehicles.

The fuel consumption for thirty vehicles was enough to give Ji Yanqing a headache just thinking about it. And a convoy that large would inevitably cause a commotion the moment it neared a city. They could bypass the cities, but not every road conveniently skirted the urban areas. Sometimes, avoiding a city meant taking a much longer route, which in turn consumed more fuel.

Beyond that, food consumption was another major issue. A team of seven or eight hundred people would go through an incredible amount of food and water every day. Before setting out for Sunward’s base, Hei Long and Bai Haoxuan had needed to raid three or four large supermarkets just to gather seven days’ worth of supplies, and that was with Bai Haoxuan’s group already having a few days’ worth of provisions.

If their group of three hundred was already struggling this much, a team of eight hundred likely couldn’t be sustained even by a large supermarket. Each supply run would require hitting at least four or five supermarkets. This might seem merely inconvenient, but how many untouched supermarkets were even left in the cities?

Ji Yanqing remembered what Wu Shangyou had said about the territorial disputes between survival teams. At the time, he had only half-listened, but now he realized the situation might be more serious than he had thought. The fact that teams were starting to fight over territory was likely a signal—a sign that the larger teams were reaching a point where their resource consumption was outstripping their ability to consistently resupply.

Ji Yanqing rubbed the bridge of his nose. The situation was more dire than he had imagined.

He recalled hearing that Equator was already preparing to build a ‘paradise.’ At the time, he had felt happy, giddy to know he wasn’t the only fool with such a dream. Now, thinking about it, Equator had over seven hundred people. Their preparations for a settlement were likely born out of necessity. He had also heard that Equator was no longer accepting new members and had guessed it was due to supply issues, but only now did he truly grasp how terrifying that was.

They were reaching a point where they could no longer move around with their entire team. Their current survival model—roaming the world with all their belongings—was no longer sustainable.

They had to change their way of life. They had to find a place to settle down, to establish their own means of production.

Ji Yanqing sighed softly. He had always seen building a paradise as a beautiful dream that had to be realized with blood, sweat, and hope. But he never thought the moment would come so quickly, much less that he would be forced onto this path.

He thought of Qin Yue. When he had last seen him, Qin Yue’s team already had over four hundred people. By now, his team was probably as large as Sunward’s, and he might have already started planning his own settlement.

A conflict between Sunward and Qin Yue was inevitable. They were the two largest teams in the area. Even if neither of them wanted to fight, a clash was likely unavoidable. It was a matter of survival for their teams; no one wanted to starve to death. The scarcity of resources meant that only the victor would have the right to establish a foothold in this land.

Ji Yanqing looked out into the deeper darkness.

Once their teams entered this second phase, their war with the Corpse Kings would likely become overt. More and more zombies were Awakening, and more and more of the Awakened were evolving. Even if they didn’t actively go into the cities to confront the Corpse Kings, the Corpse Kings themselves would likely start to move around.

A great war between Corpse Kings was imminent, as was the war between humanity and the Corpse Kings. They had to establish their paradise before that happened, or they would face certain death.

Ji Yanqing took a deep breath, letting the cold air cleanse his lungs, and his mind.

He looked at Ji An and Ji Le in his lap. Ji An was half-asleep, but Ji Le was wide awake.

Ji Le looked up at Ji Yanqing. He didn’t care where they were, as long as he had Ji Yanqing.

“Alright then.”

Ji Yanqing stroked his head.

“There will definitely be Corpse Kings coming for us…” A bitter taste filled Ji Yanqing’s throat. His ideal paradise was a sturdy, reliable fortress, but it seemed the great war would begin long before they could build such a stronghold.

“Brother and I will protect you,” Ji Le said, reaching up to smooth the frown on Ji Yanqing’s brow.

Ji Yanqing was taken aback. He looked at him with a gentle questioning in his eyes.

“We’ll protect Dad. I’ll scare away all the zombies that come. I’m super strong!” Ji Le said excitedly. He and Ji An had already planned it out; they would protect Ji Yanqing.

“I’m super strong too. I can lift really, really heavy things. I’ll grab them and throw them really far away,” Ji An mumbled, his voice thick with sleep. Ji Yanqing had thought he was already asleep.

Ji Yanqing couldn’t help but chuckle.

“It’s true!”

“We really are super strong.”

Seeing him laugh, Ji An and Ji Le thought he didn’t believe them and immediately grew anxious.

“I controlled a lot of zombies before! I can make them help fight the other zombies!” Ji Le insisted.

“My strength is this big!” Ji An puffed out his cheeks, waving the chubby arms that had previously been half wrapped around Ji Yanqing.

“Alright, alright,” Ji Yanqing said helplessly. Even if it came to that, he could never let these two little ones stand on the front lines. But imagining the scene, with Ji An and Ji Le like two little door gods flanking him, he felt a strange sense of security.

“If you don’t believe us, ask Xiao Hei,” Ji Le said, turning his head to look for the black beast.

“Yeah, ask him. He knows,” Ji An added, also looking around.

“Xiao Hei?” Ji Yanqing glanced at the black dog sleeping nearby. It was feigning sleep, but the twitching corner of its mouth gave it away. So, the black dog really wasn’t a dog, but a… Corpse King?

Looking at the black dog, which looked no different from an ordinary dog, Ji Yanqing’s feelings became complicated. He had an urge to go back to the car and grab his axe.

“We’ll let Xiao Hei handle it,” Ji An said.

“Right. Xiao Hei is super strong too. We can make him guard the gate.”

The black beast’s mouth twitched, and it couldn’t help but let out a protest. “Awooo.” You’re the dog! Your whole family are dogs!

Ji Yanqing swallowed. The feeling of knowing he was sitting right next to a Corpse King made the hair on his body stand on end, a feeling he hadn’t even had when he first learned that Ji An and Ji Le were Corpse Kings.

“Good doggy.”

“Awooo,” the dog protested again.

“But you are a doggy.”

“Awoof.”

“You barked before.”

“Brother and I both heard you.”

“Awooo…”

Listening to the black dog bickering with Ji An and Ji Le, the hair-raising fear in Ji Yanqing gradually gave way to a complex mix of feelings. Perhaps Corpse Kings were really different from what he had imagined. After all, he had heard that bark too.

Ji Yanqing tried to imagine putting a collar on a Corpse King and having it guard the gates of their paradise. The image was so bizarre it made his chest tighten.

As he was lost in thought, a deep male voice joined the bickering of the two boys and the dog. “I can help too.”

Ji Yanqing looked over. Feng Yimo had come out at some point.

Seeing his face, his dark, earnest eyes lowered, a faint smile touched Ji Yanqing’s lips. “You? Help? You’d probably disappear the moment I let go of your hand. Then I’d have to search the whole world for you again.”

A faint trace of confusion appeared in the depths of Feng Yimo’s eyes. When had he ever disappeared the moment he was let go? He didn’t argue. He just said seriously, “If I help, can you let me live in your house? I want to sleep with you.”

----

<Prev><TOC><Next>

----