Chapter 220: The Phoenix Man Who Soared Before the Apocalypse (25)

Shen Xiuyan was already running out of patience. If they didn’t move aside soon, he was prepared to treat even children with the same ruthlessness.

“Well, well, what are you all doing here?”

Just as Shen Xiuyan’s patience reached its limit, a woman’s voice rang out from a distance, perfectly timed.

She came running over in a hurry. Shen Xiuyan looked closely and saw it was the same woman from the morning.

The woman held a child in her arms and gave Shen Xiuyan an embarrassed smile. “Sorry about this. They’re all starving, so they ran out looking for food.”

“Enough. I don’t want to hear your excuses. Take your stuff and get out of here with the kids.”

The woman licked her lips greedily and said, “There are more kids than just these few. The bread you gave won’t be enough to fill their bellies. Please, be kind and give us a bit more food.”

“Move!”

They were pushing their luck. Shen Xiuyan barked the words sharply.

At his shout, a man’s voice immediately followed. “What’s going on? Why are you yelling over here?”

The woman called out pitifully, “Second Brother, I just wanted to ask for a little more food for the kids, but he refused and even yelled at us…”

The man walked over. “That’s not right of you. We’re doing a good deed here. These kids are pitiful. If we don’t help them, they’ll be doomed. Since you’re already passing through, why not lend a hand?”

Shen Xiuyan frowned. “And what exactly do you mean by that?”

The man laughed. “Leave everything in your vehicle, and then you can go.”

Shen Xiuyan snorted coldly. “And if I don’t?”

The man dropped the act and said viciously, “Then none of you are leaving.”

Shen Xiuyan chuckled. “What a coincidence. I don’t respond well to threats or flattery.”

With that, he jumped out of the car and shut the door in one smooth motion.

“Xiuyan,” Su Mingyue called out worriedly from inside the car.

Shen Xiuyan turned back to reassure her. “It’s fine.”

“Well, well, looks like we’ve got a tough one here.” The group that had knocked on their door that morning now emerged, slowly closing in on Shen Xiuyan.

The man in the lead smiled and said, “I know you’re a supernatural ability user. So are we. But you’re alone, and we’ve got a third person. I suggest you be smart and hand over the supplies. That way, at least you and your people can leave safely.”

“Exactly,” the woman chimed in. “Besides, you’re doing a good deed. It’s not for us—it’s for the kids.”

Everyone here had supernatural abilities. If they could avoid a fight, they would. The woman was trying to play mediator for that very reason.

Sure, fighting people was better than fighting zombies, but getting injured here wouldn’t be easy to recover from either.

Shen Xiuyan sighed. “A good deed? I think these kids are just your puppets. Where are their parents? Did you kill them, or are they the zombies in those houses?”

Second Brother’s eyes flashed with menace. “What are you talking about? Why would you say that?”

“Look at how skinny these kids are, then look at yourselves. If they had food, would they look like this?”

Second Brother was losing patience. He turned to the man called Big Brother. “No point talking anymore. If he won’t hand it over, we’ll beat it out of him!”

“Fine,” Big Brother replied, still pretending he didn’t want to resort to violence.

He gave one last attempt. “Brother, is there really no room for negotiation?”

“None!” Shen Xiuyan had barely finished speaking when several vines lashed out toward him.

Inside the car, Young Master Huo shouted in alarm, “Young Master Shen, watch out!”

Shen Xiuyan dodged with a swift sidestep and called back to the car, “Drive forward. Don’t worry about me.”

“No way—” Two voices shouted from inside the car.

“Do as I say. You staying here will only make things harder for me.”

“…Alright.”

Young Master Huo gritted his teeth, slammed the gas pedal, and tried to drive away. But the sharp-eyed woman spotted them and shouted, “They’re trying to escape!”

Seeing this, Big Brother crouched and slapped the ground. A one-meter-high dirt mound rose from the earth, blocking the only road out of the village.

Young Master Huo’s heart raced. Thank goodness he braked in time, or they would’ve crashed.

Left with no choice, he turned the car around and parked it under a tree by the roadside.

Shen Xiuyan saw this and immediately understood. No wonder they hadn’t sabotaged the car earlier—they had an earth-type ability user. This village had only one main road. Block it, and there was nowhere to run.

So they never intended to let them go after handing over the supplies. They wanted the car too.

Tsk, tsk, tsk.

Big Brother wiped the sweat from his brow, a result of overusing his ability, and asked again, “So, are you ready to talk now?”

In the early days of the apocalypse, no one had figured out how to level up their abilities. Even those with powers weren’t very strong.

Creating that little dirt mound had already drained most of his energy. He really did want to settle things peacefully.

“No room for discussion.” Shen Xiuyan still showed no mercy in his refusal.

Now Big Brother was truly angry. He shouted, “Second and Third, go get him. Wear him down if you have to!”

Second and Third immediately launched their attacks.

The plant-type user’s vines couldn’t land a hit on the agile Shen Xiuyan, and the water-type user’s few water bullets were easily dodged. Shen Xiuyan handled them with ease. Before long, both attackers had nearly exhausted their powers.

Big Brother realized something was wrong. Why did it feel like the tables had turned?

He quickly shouted, “Third, stay here and keep him occupied. Second, go grab the two in the car. I don’t believe he’ll keep acting tough with hostages in our hands!”

“But the car—”

“Forget it!!!”

“Yes!” Second Brother charged forward, eyes gleaming with bloodlust. He was going to make that brat kneel and beg for forgiveness!

Seeing this, Shen Xiuyan knew things were going south. He was about to throw a lightning orb when Young Master Huo suddenly jumped out of the car.

Even in this dangerous moment, he couldn’t help but shout, “Sister-in-law, lock the door!”

As he spoke, vines whipped past his face. Young Master Huo flinched in fright but instinctively grabbed the two vines.

He glanced at the charging enemy, then at his hands. With a little force, he yanked hard, catching Second Brother off guard and flinging him into the air.

Without giving him a moment to react, Young Master Huo kept swinging the vines left and right. The dazed Second Brother was slammed into the ground again and again—left side, a crater; right side, another crater.

The sight stunned everyone. The three attackers stood frozen, completely dumbfounded.