Chapter 228: The Phoenix Man Who Soared Before the Apocalypse (33)

Young Master Huo turned around in disbelief. That voice—it was familiar. So were the faces. His parents!

And they were both completely intact, looking healthy and in good spirits.

He rushed over, throwing his arms around them, his voice breaking into sobs. “Wuwuwu… You scared me to death! I thought something had happened to you. Thank goodness you’re both okay.”

Father Huo patted his shoulder with a sigh. “Luckily, we ran into your Uncle Su. He’s a kind man and took us in. Otherwise…”

Hearing this, Young Master Huo turned and gave Father Su a deep bow. “Thank you. Truly, thank you.”

This entire family had done him a tremendous favor. Uncle Su had saved his parents, and Shen Xiuyan had brought him all the way back home. He swore he’d repay them no matter what!

“Hey hey hey, what are you doing?” Father Su quickly helped him up. “Your dad and I have been friends for decades. No need for all this formality.”

“Come on, let’s get everything inside first. We can talk more once we’re in.”

“Got it!”

Now that he’d seen his parents safe and sound, the gloom clouding Young Master Huo’s heart completely vanished. He was back to his energetic self.

Eagerly, he said, “No need for you to carry anything. I’ve got it all.”

Father Su laughed. “Oh come on, there’s so much stuff. You’ll wear yourself out. Let’s each take a bit and head in.”

Young Master Huo insisted, “No need. Just leave it all to me. I’ve got strength to spare.”

With that, he swiftly stacked the boxes from the car into a tall pile.

Everyone watched in awe as he effortlessly lifted the towering stack. At that moment, Young Master Huo looked to them like a real-life Popeye.

“Good grief, that’s some strength you’ve got there,” Father Su couldn’t help praising to Father Huo. “How come I never noticed your son had this kind of power before?”

“I-I-I didn’t know either…” Father Huo stammered, so shocked he couldn’t even form a full sentence.

Mother Huo stepped forward and cautiously pinched her son’s arm. “Huahua, when did you get this strong?”

Young Master Huo grinned at them. “I’m a Strength-type ability user. Carrying all this is nothing. These days, I’ve got endless strength.”

“What? You’re one of those ability users too?” The four of them were stunned, then quickly broke into smiles. Father Huo hurriedly said, “Good, good! Let’s head inside and catch up. We might need your help with something soon.”

“Help with what?” Young Master Huo followed them in, confused.

Once everyone had settled on the sofa, Father Su began recounting everything that had happened recently.

It turned out that after their last call with Shen Xiuyan, the signal had gone out completely. They couldn’t get in touch again no matter what they tried. Though the couple had been anxious and on edge, they still had enough food, so they just stayed hidden at home.

Two days later, the family’s driver suddenly came down with a high fever. The couple remembered what Shen Xiuyan had said before—that it could be a sign of turning into a zombie.

They told the driver about it.

The driver, a retired soldier known for his honesty and integrity, was afraid he’d become a burden. He decided to leave the villa on his own.

But Father Su wouldn’t allow it. He couldn’t bear to watch such a decent man go off to die alone. Besides, the driver hadn’t turned yet. So he set aside a separate room for him to stay in.

The driver stayed in his room and didn’t come out. Father Su personally delivered three meals a day and checked on him regularly.

A few days later, the fever broke. Miraculously, he hadn’t turned into a zombie. Instead, he awakened an Ice-type ability.

As the saying goes, good deeds bring good fortune.

Thanks to Father Su’s compassion, they’d kept him around. Just a few days after he awakened, a riot broke out in Liuan Mansion.

It started when a group of ability users showed up out of nowhere. They used brute force to drive out the original landlord and took over the place themselves.

There weren’t many residents in Liuan Mansion. Aside from the driver, no one else had been lucky enough to awaken an ability.

They couldn’t fight back, couldn’t even argue. The only option left for the original residents was to leave.

That was when Father Huo got kicked out. Fortunately, he was spotted by Father Su, who took him in immediately.

But when that group tried to take over Father Su’s villa next, they hit a wall. They hadn’t expected there to be an ability user living inside.

At first, Father Su had thought it best to avoid conflict and was ready to pack up and leave.

But the driver stepped forward. He believed Liuan Mansion had few residents and plenty of supplies, making it the safest place to stay.

Besides, none of them were locals. If they left, where would they even go?

To protect the villa, the driver fought a fierce battle against the intruders.

Though outnumbered, he was a trained soldier with excellent physical conditioning. He fought with everything he had and managed to force a draw.

The enemy leader wasn’t satisfied and began gathering more people for a second round.

But the driver had been injured and was now bedridden. Father Su and Father Huo were at their wits’ end—until the others arrived.

That was why Father Su had been so excited when he found out Young Master Huo was an ability user.

He gripped Young Master Huo’s hand tightly and said, “You couldn’t have come at a better time, my dear boy. A Cai is injured now, so we might need to rely on you.”

“Uhhhh…” Young Master Huo made an awkward face, as if he didn’t know how to respond.

Father Su’s heart sank halfway.

Of course. The enemy had numbers on their side. It was too much to ask one person to take them all on. It made sense that the boy would hesitate.

They didn’t have any abilities themselves. Even if they wanted to help, they’d just be dead weight in a fight.

But now, Father Su couldn’t think of any other solution. Were they really going to just leave?

And if they did… where would they even go?

A Cai was still lying injured.

— Translator’s Notes —

• Popeye: A reference to the classic American cartoon character Popeye the Sailor Man, known for gaining superhuman strength after eating spinach.

• good deeds bring good fortune: A Chinese proverb reflecting the belief that virtuous actions lead to positive outcomes, similar to ‘what goes around comes around.’