Chapter 219: The Phoenix Man Who Soared Before the Apocalypse (24)

“Wuwuwu, Boss, I bow to no one but you.” Young Master Huo slid to his knees and clung to Shen Xiuyan’s leg with practiced ease. “Seriously, some people die of drought, others drown in floods. Why can’t I just get a useful supernatural ability like that?”

Su Mingyue nodded vigorously like she’d finally found her people. “Exactly, exactly!”

She wanted a supernatural ability too!

“Stop causing trouble,” Shen Xiuyan said with a wry smile, poking Su Mingyue on the forehead. “And you, Young Master Huo, hugging my leg once is enough. Don’t overdo it. Two grown men clinging to each other like this—disgusting. Besides, you already have a strength-type ability. What are you complaining about?”

Su Mingyue turned and glared at Young Master Huo. So he’d been lying to her all along?

She thought she’d found a kindred spirit, but turns out the clown was her all along.

Clenching her fists, she debated whether to beat him up. Complaining even with a supernatural ability? He clearly needed a good thrashing.

Young Master Huo was quick to catch on and immediately noticed Su Mingyue’s hostile glare.

He said pitifully, “Sis-in-law, don’t look at me like that. I’m just a bit stronger than average, but this ability is really not that great. Zombies are terrifying, and I have to fight them hand-to-hand with this power!”

Su Mingyue: “…”

Hmm…

Now that he mentioned it, he did have a point. That kind of scene wasn’t exactly pleasant.

Maybe she shouldn’t envy that ability after all.

“You sure know how to talk. You’ve used up all the excuses. Just eat already,” Shen Xiuyan said, pulling his leg out of Young Master Huo’s grasp and handing him a bowl and chopsticks.

With food in hand, Young Master Huo stopped fooling around. He quickly took the bowl and headed over to fish out some instant noodles from the pot.

As he ate, he suddenly realized something was off. “Hey, when did you guys get this gas stove? I never saw it before.”

Shen Xiuyan stuffed a sausage into his mouth. “Even food can’t shut you up. There’s a lot you haven’t seen.”

“@￥#￥%#…” Whatever question Young Master Huo had was swallowed along with the sausage.

Halfway through the meal, someone knocked on their door.

“Hello? Anyone there?”

Young Master Huo and Shen Xiuyan exchanged a glance. Finally, someone had come.

Looks like they couldn’t hold back after watching all night and came early to test the waters.

Shen Xiuyan stood up and walked over. He opened the door and asked, “Who is it?”

“We’re from the village. We saw a car at the entrance and came to check.”

Outside the door stood three men and one woman. They looked like the typical street thug types.

Shen Xiuyan nodded. “We passed through last night and saw the place was empty, so we stayed over. What’s the matter?”

“Oh, nothing, nothing. Just wanted to see if you needed any help.”

“Nope.” Shen Xiuyan moved to close the door.

But before he could shut it, a foot slid in to block it.

“Hey hey hey, no need to be in such a rush. I just wanted to ask, was all that noise last night caused by you guys?”

Shen Xiuyan tilted his chin toward the three zombie corpses at the entrance. “Yeah. Isn’t it obvious?”

The man pressed further. “You’re a supernatural ability user?”

“Yeah.”

The man’s eyes lit up. “So are we. Want to join us? Let’s rule the world together!”

Shen Xiuyan: “…”

These people had to be crazy. Them? Rule the world?

Was he the one who’d lost it, or was it them? What a wild fantasy.

He didn’t bother sugarcoating his rejection. “No thanks. We’re leaving soon.”

He moved to shut the door again.

“Hey, why won’t you even let us finish? At least hear what we’re about before deciding.”

“Yeah, big brother,” the woman on their side tossed her hair and gave him a flirtatious look.

Shen Xiuyan acted like he didn’t see it. “Not interested. Don’t want to know either.”

“You—” One of the hotheads couldn’t take his attitude anymore and pointed at his nose, ready to curse him out.

“What, you want to fight? Let’s go. I’m game.” Shen Xiuyan wasn’t about to back down.

The one who seemed to be their leader noticed Shen Xiuyan wasn’t someone to mess with. With an awkward laugh, he said, “He’s just like that. If you’re not interested, that’s fine. We’ll leave.”

He motioned for the guy to pull his foot back so Shen Xiuyan could close the door.

Once the door was shut, the hothead spat angrily on the ground. “What’s he so smug about!”

“Let’s go talk somewhere else,” the leader said with a meaningful glance.

After they walked away, the woman twirled her hair and said, “I saw only three people. Shouldn’t be hard to handle.”

“They’ve got quite a bit of supplies too. They’re cooking instant noodles with eggs and sausages.”

“That SUV probably has a lot of stuff in it. Worth a shot.”

They each shared their thoughts, then turned to the leader.

With a dark, vicious expression, the leader said, “I was going to invite him to join us since he’s a supernatural ability user. But since he gave us no face, we won’t be polite either. Once they try to leave, we’ll follow the usual plan.”

“Yes, sir!”

Inside the house.

Young Master Huo struggled to swallow a mouthful of noodles. “Those people definitely aren’t friendly.”

“Yeah.” Shen Xiuyan nodded. “Finish eating and we’ll head out. I want to see what they’re planning.”

“Alright.” Young Master Huo still looked uneasy. “We’ve got a car, so worst case we just drive off. I don’t believe they can chase us all the way.”

“That would be ideal. I really hope they don’t push me.” Shen Xiuyan let out a cold laugh. “If they make the first move, then they can’t blame me for being ruthless.”

The moment those domineering words left his mouth, the only two others present didn’t feel fear—instead, they looked at him with admiration.

“This damn sense of security… Sis-in-law, you’re so lucky.”

“Totally. And you’re not bad either. At least you can keep up with us.”

With just a few lines, the tense atmosphere was completely defused by these two clowns.

Once they packed up their things, they opened the door.

Shen Xiuyan circled the car for a quick inspection. Everything was intact. They hadn’t tampered with it?

Young Master Huo had already loaded the supplies and called out, “Let’s go, Young Master Shen. I’ll drive, you stay on alert.”

“Got it.”

But they had barely driven ten meters when Young Master Huo hit the brakes. A few children stood in the middle of the narrow road, arms outstretched to block their way.

Young Master Huo was stunned. “There are still people in this village? What are they trying to do?”

Shen Xiuyan leaned out the window. “Kids, move aside.”

The oldest-looking child flinched but seemed to recall something even scarier. He mustered up the courage and said, “Please, kind sirs, we haven’t eaten in days. Could you spare us some food?”

Young Master Huo was confused. “What’s going on? Aren’t they all part of the same group?”

Shen Xiuyan pulled his head back in and sneered. “No, they’re definitely together. These kids are probably being controlled. Just wait. Let’s see what trick they’re trying to pull.”

He motioned for Su Mingyue in the backseat to hand him a few pieces of bread.

Shen Xiuyan tossed the bread over. “Take these and get out of the way.”

The children’s eyes lit up at the sight of the bread, but they still didn’t move. Instead, they subtly glanced toward a corner.

— Translator’s Notes —

• some people die of drought, others drown in floods: A Chinese idiom (旱的旱死，涝的涝死) describing an unfair situation where some have too much of something while others have too little.

• give us no face: A Chinese cultural concept meaning to disrespect someone or refuse to acknowledge their dignity/social standing.