Chapter Thirteen: Reunion with an Old Friend

Lu Kai was surrounded by several thugs, the sounds of punches and kicks echoing across the deserted street.

He curled up on the ground, hands protecting his head, groaning in pain.

Xiao Liu no longer breathed; two burly men hoisted him up and tossed him aside like a heap of trash.

“You meddling fool!”

“Caring about the dead, you must be tired of living!”

One of the thugs viciously kicked Lu Kai.

The crowd nearby watched coldly, not a single person stepping forward to help.

Someone murmured, “He brought this on himself. Who cares about others these days?”

“That’s right, barely getting by ourselves, yet he wants to be a hero.”

“Hah, worrying about a dead man—he must have lost his mind!”

Lu Kai lay in agony, tears mingling with blood running down his face.

Inside, he was on the verge of collapse. How had things come to this?

The world had never been perfect, but at least there had been hope and warmth.

Now everything was so cruel and despairing.

People had become so indifferent, as if demons had finally awakened within their hearts.

Suddenly, one of the thugs returned, squatted before Lu Kai, yanked his hair, and forced his face upward.

“Listen up! Tomorrow you must go find food. If you don’t, don’t bother coming back. Got it?”

Lu Kai nodded weakly, knowing he had no choice.

The thug let go, dropping him heavily back onto the ground, then turned and walked away.

The bystanders still watched as if none of this concerned them.

At dawn the next day, Chen Yi and Chu Yunxi finally arrived in the eastern district.

Driving an SUV, they moved slowly through streets that resembled ruins.

Chen Yi relied on memory to find the exact location of the eastern district’s shelter.

“We’re here, should be nearby.”

“You stay in the car, I’ll go check things out,” Chen Yi told Chu Yunxi.

Chu Yunxi nodded, “Be careful.”

Chen Yi got out, just about to move forward, when he suddenly saw a familiar figure running across the street.

That person was desperately dodging the attacks of several zombies.

“It’s Lu Kai!” Chen Yi called out, instantly recognizing him.

Though it had been a long time, and Lu Kai was now much thinner, with wounds on his face, the eyes, the way he ran—the feeling between friends told him he couldn’t be mistaken.

Without hesitation, Chen Yi drew his double-bladed knife and charged forward.

The zombies gave guttural roars, lunging at Lu Kai.

Lu Kai was utterly exhausted; he fell to the ground as the zombies closed in, shutting his eyes in despair.

“Maybe my life ends here,” he thought.

Just then, a sharp blade flashed from the side, severing a zombie’s head.

Chen Yi quickly finished off the remaining zombies and helped the barely conscious Lu Kai up.

“Lu Kai, it’s me, Chen Yi!” Chen Yi called anxiously.

Lu Kai opened his eyes and saw Chen Yi standing before him, thinking he must be dreaming.

How could his childhood friend suddenly appear here in the eastern district?

And so fierce—dispatching zombies as if he were in a movie.

What else could it be but a dream?

He thought, people often dream of something beautiful when they’re near death, or of the best friend in their heart.

“So it’s true, I must be dying,” he murmured. “But to have such a dream at the end, it’s enough.”

“In the next life, let’s be brothers again.”

Lu Kai muttered things Chen Yi couldn’t understand.

“Smack!”

A slap landed on his forehead.

Lu Kai sucked in a few painful breaths.

Now he no longer believed he was dreaming and took a closer look.

“Chen... Chen Yi? Is it really you?”

“It’s me.”

“What nonsense were you saying? I’m not dead—how are we talking about the next life already?”

Chen Yi retorted, annoyed.

“It really is you! Thank goodness!” Lu Kai was so moved he nearly cried.

“Enough, don’t dawdle. We need to get out of here,” Chen Yi gripped Lu Kai’s hand, pulling him up.

Together they returned to the car. When Lu Kai opened the door and saw Chu Yunxi, he was stunned.

So you have a beauty like this with you?

“Who—who is she?” Lu Kai asked curiously.

“I’m Chu Yunxi, now Chen Yi’s woman.”

Before Chen Yi could answer, Chu Yunxi spoke up.

“So you’re my sister-in-law! Hello, sister-in-law…”

Lu Kai was quick-witted, greeting her right away.

Hearing herself called sister-in-law, Chu Yunxi felt a surge of happiness.

“All right, get in!” Chen Yi gave Lu Kai a playful slap.

Lu Kai hurried into the backseat.

Chen Yi moved back as well, immediately checking Lu Kai’s wounds, relieved to find none were from zombie bites.

If Lu Kai had been scratched or bitten, he might turn into a zombie, and Chen Yi wouldn’t hesitate to kick this potential threat out of the car.

Lu Kai’s spirits recovered somewhat; he leaned back, breathing heavily.

He looked at Chen Yi and Chu Yunxi, still barely able to believe his eyes.

“Chen Yi, I thought I’d never see you again.”

“Well, here I am.”

“Tell me, what happened?”

Chen Yi patted his shoulder.

Lu Kai took a deep breath and recounted everything he’d witnessed at the shelter—from how the thugs controlled the place, bullied the weak, to what had happened last night.

“Those bastards!”

“We can’t let this go on,” Chen Yi said, disgusted by such scum.

Letting them remain would only bring more chaos to the world.

And it would greatly affect his own plans for the future.

“But they have weapons and numbers. Not easy to deal with. There are other organizations nearby too, forming several gangs,” Lu Kai explained, worried Chen Yi would act rashly.

Chu Yunxi frowned and thought for a moment, then said, “We should scout first, then make a plan.”

“Exactly.” Chen Yi nodded. “We need a plan, but we must destroy this vile shelter.”

“And we also need to consider establishing a new settlement—a real shelter that can sustain us through the apocalypse.”

This idea came because Lu Kai knew that relying on just the three of them wouldn’t be enough to survive for long.

He also knew something even more important—the Fireseed Project.

The project was planned by those in power, but no one knew about it yet; it might not have even begun.

Once it launched, those chosen to participate would be the leaders of the major shelters in the city.

Therefore, they needed to build influence and reputation first.

To earn trust and gather people truly willing to submit, they needed to make a name for themselves.

Now, destroying this cannibalistic settlement would be their first shot fired.