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The two returned to the Presidential Suite. Chen Yafei slipped next door and came back with Liu Chengjun's punishment for that thug—no food for a day!

Chen Yafei was furious, and An Yang was deeply shaken as well.

Between justice and survival, Liu Chengjun chose survival; between balance and power, he chose power.

Chen Yafei thought for a moment, then said, "I reckon their team won't last long. The rift between the two groups is growing wider, especially with those bastards. Liu Chengjun won't be able to hold them down. Sigh, I'm really worried about those pretty girls."

An Yang shot him a glance and said, "Liu Chengjun can't do anything about it. When the cost of crime drops, restraint drops too. This kind of thing should never have started in the first place."

Chen Yafei's mood inexplicably grew heavy. "Right now, the women over there are terrified, afraid that someone might lose control and do something to them at any moment. I went to take a look—the look in those bastards' eyes has already changed."

An Yang patted him on the shoulder. "When you're well-off, help the world; when you're poor, take care of yourself. We can't manage that much. In this apocalypse, just surviving is good enough. What are your plans?"

Chen Yafei glanced at him. "I'd like to go back to Pingnan City to check on my parents, but there's no way I can make it there on foot. Let alone me, even Liu Chengjun and his group couldn't get there. Now that I'm following Brother An, wherever you go, I go. As long as you can spare me a meal, I'll follow you and conquer the world."

"Conquer what world, you little..." An Yang chuckled, then his expression hardened. "The place I'm heading is even farther than Pingnan City. It's not safe for you to follow me."

"Who says it's not safe? The two of us are a much smaller target than them, and we don't have all that dead weight. The zombie hordes on the streets are gone now. As long as we don't get cornered by zombies, we can always outrun them. Brother An, you don't seem to be from Xuechuan. Tell me where you want to go—maybe I can even point the way."

An Yang thought for a moment and asked, "Do you know where Huaibei City is?"

"Huaibei City? You mean Huaibei County. I've only heard of Huaibei County."

"Then it's Huaibei County. I only know it as Huaibei—not sure if it's a city or a county."

"That's it. I've been to Huaibei County once. It's far from here, but it's an ethnic minority autonomous region, so there should be few people and few zombies. Wait, no—Brother An, you don't even know the situation there. Why are you going?"

An Yang was silent for a moment, then said, "I have some business there. Picking up something."

Chen Yafei nodded and wisely didn't ask further. But anything worth An Yang traveling hundreds of kilometers through the apocalypse to retrieve had to be extraordinary.

"Huaibei County is far, but there's a highway. As long as we can reach the highway entrance, we'll be safe."

An Yang nodded. He had studied the map many times and had a certain understanding of Chen Yafei by now.

Actually, Chen Yafei wasn't a coward—it was just that the apocalypse and zombies were terrifying. And Chen Yafei had never faltered at critical moments. Though he liked to ogle the pretty girls in Liu Chengjun's team, he never entertained any crooked thoughts. Instead, he had a strong sense of justice. All in all, he was trustworthy.

Bringing him along wouldn't be a burden; on the contrary, he'd be a great help. And to be fair, crossing over seven hundred kilometers alone was just too difficult.

Just then, a sudden, urgent knock on the door startled both of them.

An Yang instinctively gripped his combat knife, and Chen Yafei opened his folding knife. Without needing a word, he moved toward the door in sync. He first peered through the peephole, then turned back with a surprised expression. "Brother An, it's Yang Zi and that female college student."

An Yang was taken aback. "What are they here for? Trying to seek shelter with us? Open the door and see."

The door clicked open, revealing two very beautiful women—one stylish and poised, the other youthful and fresh—though their clothes were dirty from not being changed in a while.

Chen Yafei didn't put away his folding knife, nor was he dazzled by the minor celebrity and the college student's looks. He remained alert, looking at the two women and asking, "What are you here for?"

The two women stood outside, nervously glancing left and right. When they spotted the folding knife in his hand, they flinched and said cautiously, "We... we don't have any weapons. Can we come in? If they see us, it'll be really bad."

Chen Yafei turned to look at An Yang, and only stepped aside when An Yang nodded.

The two women walked into the room with trepidation, swallowing hard at the pile of food on the sofa. They introduced themselves first, as if they had rehearsed it.

"I'm Yang Zi. You might know me—I'm a singer."

"I'm Liu Qing. I study at Southern Normal College."

An Yang nodded, leaned his combat knife against the wall, and said, "Get straight to the point. What are you here for?"

Yang Zi pulled herself together from her panic, smoothing her long hair.

This somewhat famous singer had first been terrified by the apocalypse and zombies, and then, just as she was coming to her senses, nearly got assaulted by survivors twisted by the end of the world. Her usual composure was long gone.

"Well... I came to Jianghai City for a charity gala, but I got trapped in the hotel. My agent went out and hasn't come back—I'm afraid she's in trouble. I hope you can help me."

An Yang let out a light laugh. "If you need help, go to the police. Why come to me?"

Yang Zi took a deep breath and said, "You saw it today. They're not reliable. I promise you, if you can take me to Pingnan City, I'll reward you handsomely."

An Yang's gaze suddenly turned cold as he looked at her. "A woman with a big chest and no brains. Are you insulting my intelligence?"

Yang Zi froze. The momentum she had barely mustered crumbled instantly, her face filled with helplessness and bitterness, along with a trace of resignation.

"I'm sorry. I have no other choice. You saw it too—if I stay in Liu Chengjun's team, my fate will be miserable. Not just me, all the women. But we can't leave the team. Please, help us!"

"When seduction fails, you go for the pity act?"

Liu Qing's face was also full of sorrow.

"Brother An Yang, I... I heard your name is An Yang. Please save us. I can see what they're thinking. Not just those people—even my classmates are the same. One of the male students tried to get handsy with me today. Officer Liu can't do anything about it. I don't dare stay in the team anymore. As long as you protect us, you... you can make us do anything."

A flicker of reluctance passed through An Yang's eyes. Such a beautiful girl, not much older than Xiao Xue'er, in the prime of her youth—in the real world, she'd be a campus belle fawned over by many. She might have been that before, but after the Great Calamity, her fate would be utterly tragic.

But what could he do? He was a time-space traveler, but he had no ability to build a sanctuary in this chaotic world, nor could he afford to take in two burdens out of kindness. He had to be hard-hearted.

"I think you've come to the wrong person. I'm heading to Huaibei County, over seven hundred kilometers away. There's no way I can take you along. And I don't have the ability to protect you. You'll have to find another way."

Yang Zi was stunned, then quickly said, "No, I'm not a burden. I've been dancing since I was little—I can run fast. I can cook and sew. I can even sing to cheer you up. As long as you take me to Pingnan City, I... I'll do anything for you!"

Liu Qing immediately burst into tears. "Brother An Yang, please! I'm only a sophomore. I've never even been in a relationship. If I go back to the team, I'm finished."

An Yang was silent for a moment, then said, "I told you, I'm not going to Pingnan City. And if I take you along, I won't even make it to Huaibei County. So..."

Yang Zi's eyes filled with despair as she murmured, "Then what am I supposed to do..."

Liu Qing crouched down and sobbed outright. Though she hadn't entered society yet, as a psychology major, she could sense those evil intentions even more keenly—the twisted impulses that erupted in a repressed, lawless world.

In the end, An Yang gave them a bit of food as consolation.

Chen Yafei saw them out. The moment he opened the door, he found two young men with dyed hair and tattoos standing at the entrance, about to knock, one of them carrying a steel pipe in his hand. He immediately reached for the folding knife at his back and glared at them with disgust.

"What are you here for?"

The young men ignored him and looked past him at Yang Zi and Liu Qing. They paused only when they noticed the food in their hands, cold sneers spreading across their faces.

"You two sluts, no wonder we couldn't find you—you ran over here. What, you wouldn't keep us company, but you'll spread your legs for a bite to eat?"

Yang Zi's face flushed red. "Don't you dare slander people!"

"Heh, who do you think you are to talk back to me? Just a little starlet who slept her way up. Since you're already a whore, don't bother putting on airs. Get back here and serve us properly, or we'll toss you into a zombie horde and no one will ever know!"

Yang Zi said, "You... is there no law anymore?"

The young man snorted. "You, go back and wait. I'm here for An Yang."

Chen Yafei quietly flicked open the folding knife. This morning's string of skull-splitting had already taught him just how sharp this blade was, and dealing with zombies all day had made him unafraid of these two thugs.

"Just say what you're here for, and put that weapon down first!"

The young man fell silent. His tattoos looked especially menacing in the dim light. "Liu Chengjun punished me with no food for a day. Those women refused to give me anything. Damn it, we're already starving, and now I have to go hungry. I couldn't take it anymore, so I came to see if you had any extra."

Chen Yafei already loathed them, and the fact that they'd come carrying sharpened steel pipes meant there was no way he'd hand over food. In the apocalypse, food and water were lifelines.

"No. We barely have enough for ourselves."

The tattooed young man's face darkened instantly.

"Don't think I don't know. There's only two of you, but you cleared three floors of supplies. There's no way you don't have enough. And I came for An Yang. What right does a lackey like you have to make that call?"

Chen Yafei's eyes went cold, and a faint, savage aura seeped from him as he stared the young man down. "I said no means no. I didn't birth you, so what makes you think you can just show up and demand food?"

The young man squinted, about to lash out, then held back. "I said, I'm here for An Yang!"

Chen Yafei gripped his folding knife and didn't budge an inch.