Chapter 234: The Phoenix Man Who Soared Before the Apocalypse (39)

After wrapping things up on his end, Shen Xiuyan had just gotten into the car when the walkie-talkie crackled to life.

Su Mingyue’s concerned voice came through.

“Honey, it’s been so long. Are you okay?”

She kept her voice low, as if afraid someone else might overhear and share in her worry.

Shen Xiuyan chuckled softly. “I’m fine. Just making one last round, I’ll be back soon.”

Relieved, Su Mingyue responded gently, “Okay!”

With his wife waiting for him, Shen Xiuyan quickly swept through a dilapidated convenience store by the roadside, then prepared to head back.

Before returning, he didn’t forget to take out the fresh fruit and meat, neatly arranging them in the trunk.

The car slowly rolled toward the gates of Liuan Mansion.

Just as Brother Lei had said, during the time Shen Xiuyan was gone, he hadn’t caused any trouble. On the contrary, he’d been diligently maintaining the safety of Liuan Mansion.

The pile of zombie corpses at the gate made it clear they had just dealt with a group trying to get in.

Shen Xiuyan was very pleased.

These people were still teachable. He thought to himself that going solo wasn’t sustainable. With a group of ready-made ability users right in front of him, it was time to start drawing them in.

If brute force was enough to make them submit, then the rest would be easy.

As long as he maintained absolute strength and balanced kindness with authority, why would they ever disobey?

A sly smile curled on Shen Xiuyan’s lips.

Brother Lei was startled to see that familiar vehicle returning.

He couldn’t help it—he seemed to have developed PTSD from being beaten.

Shen Xiuyan parked in front of the villa and saw the group of people standing at a distance, watching him but not daring to approach.

Shen Xiuyan called out, “Hey, you there. Come here for a sec.”

Brother Lei pointed at his own nose, uncertain.

Shen Xiuyan nodded affirmatively.

Brother Lei’s face twisted into a grimace. Seriously? He hadn’t caused any trouble. Why was he being called over…

Shen Xiuyan watched him with amusement as Brother Lei walked over like a soldier going to his death.

Nervously, Brother Lei said, “W-we didn’t do anything.”

“I know.” Shen Xiuyan almost laughed. With that little bit of courage, he still dared to try acting like a villain…

Truly, ignorance is bliss. Did he not realize there were plenty of people in this world far more ruthless than him?

This guy… was just too kind-hearted.

As he opened the trunk, Shen Xiuyan asked curiously, “By the way, I still don’t know your name.”

Brother Lei immediately introduced himself. “I’m Sun Lei. You can call me Xiao Lei or A Lei.”

Shen Xiuyan nodded. “I’m Shen Xiuyan.”

“Young Master Shen, I know. I heard the others calling you that.”

Shen Xiuyan asked, “Do you guys still have food?”

“We do, but not much. We were planning to go out and scavenge in a few days.” Sun Lei sighed. “We’d wanted to go earlier, but you know how it is. The cars people bought in this villa community look good but are useless. I had the big vehicles taken out first, and what’s left are all these low-chassis cars. They’re completely impractical. They’re a burden no matter where you try to drive them…”

Shen Xiuyan covered his mouth to stifle a laugh.

Honestly, they were pretty unlucky.

Of all the places to loot, they had to choose Liuan Mansion.

Sure, it was safer here because of the low population, but each household only had one business vehicle at most.

The garages were mostly filled with flashy sports cars. In times like these, they were utterly useless—good-looking but going nowhere.

Sun Lei scratched his head sheepishly. “Please don’t laugh. Honestly, we regret coming here. The villas are big, sure, but they’re pretty empty inside. There’s not much in anyone’s car either…”

Shen Xiuyan patted the supplies on the car. “These boxes are all food. Take them. And the water too.”

Sun Lei’s eyes lit up. He hadn’t expected such a windfall to land in their laps.

With this, they wouldn’t need to go out scavenging for quite a while.

The morning’s painful lesson was still fresh in their minds, and now in the afternoon, they were being treated so generously.

It felt like the classic stick-and-carrot approach.

But he was more than happy to accept it.

With someone this generous, following him might actually lead somewhere.

Sun Lei beamed. “Thank you, Young Master Shen. Thank you! If you ever need anything, just say the word.”

After a moment’s thought, he added to show his loyalty, “Like, if you’re ever going out to scavenge, you can take us along.”

Shen Xiuyan said, “Alright, we’ll talk about it later. For now, get your people to move the supplies.”

“Got it! Xiao Huang, Zhang Tianyu, hurry up and get people over here to move the goods!”

“On it!”

The guys watching from nearby all broke into delighted grins.

Sure, they’d been beaten earlier—but they’d deserved it.

Young Master Shen was seriously generous!

Once Sun Lei and the others had moved the supplies, Shen Xiuyan drove back to the villa.

As soon as he returned, Young Master Huo rushed out, staring at him with a look full of grievance.

Shen Xiuyan asked, “What… what’s wrong?”

Young Master Huo didn’t say a word. He just stared at Shen Xiuyan, unmoving.

The intense gaze made Shen Xiuyan feel uneasy. Thankfully, Su Mingyue came out just then.

He quickly waved her over. “Mingyue, what’s up with Young Master Huo? Is he having another episode?”

Su Mingyue covered her mouth, trying not to laugh. “No. After he found out you healed A Cai, he’s been like this.”

Shen Xiuyan smacked Huo on the back. “Geez, you scared me. I thought something serious had happened.”

“This is serious!” Young Master Huo rubbed his back, looking aggrieved. “You have a Healing Ability and didn’t tell me. Do you really trust me that little…”

Shen Xiuyan spread his hands. “I honestly forgot. If you don’t believe me, ask Mingyue.”

Su Mingyue nodded vigorously, helping him smooth things over. “It’s true. No one got hurt along the way, so even I forgot he had that ability. He only remembered today when someone got injured. Makes sense, right?”

Does it?

Do you even hear the nonsense coming out of your mouth?

Young Master Huo: “…”

It all felt a bit too perfunctory.

No, he wouldn’t let them change the subject. They had definitely kept it from him on purpose!

Young Master Huo was ready to throw a little tantrum, just to remind them how important he was.

After everything they’d been through together, their bond should be unbreakable!

How could they keep something so important from him?