Making a Move

When An Yang reached the door, he immediately spotted Chen Yafei confronting two tattooed young men. His expression instantly darkened.

"What are you doing? Coming here to cause trouble?"

The young man shuddered and immediately lowered his steel pipe. With a fawning smile, he said, "Brother An, you're here. I'm Liu Jie, one of Director Liu's men. Um... I came to talk to you about something."

An Yang looked at him coldly. There was no doubt he would side with Chen Yafei—otherwise, how could he win this underling's loyalty? Like Chen Yafei, he was also furious that the two had come armed, carrying an unmistakable air of threat.

"You came to see me about something? You brought weapons, pointed them at my people, and now you say you came to see me. I doubt it's anything good!"

Liu Jie grinned. He didn't think much of Chen Yafei, but he didn't dare argue with An Yang. Never mind An Yang's own strength or the fact that he had saved them before—even that single gun was enough to make their entire group tremble in fear.

"Brother An, what are you saying? Director Liu left us hungry for a whole day. We really couldn't stand it anymore, so we came to beg you for a little food."

An Yang sneered. "Do you take this place for a relief station? What did Yafei just tell you?"

Liu Jie smiled awkwardly. "Brother An, don't be so absolute. If you give us a bite to eat today, then if you run into any trouble tomorrow, my brothers and I can lend a hand. Isn't that right?"

An Yang narrowed his eyes at him. Whether Liu Jie had simply come for food or had some other agenda, he had no desire to deal with people like this.

"Yafei speaks for me. Since Yafei said there isn't any, then there isn't any. You should go back."

Liu Jie froze for a moment, then clutched the doorframe and put on a shameless grin. "Brother An, please give us something to eat. I know you aren't short on supplies. If you don't give us any, we won't leave."

An Yang's eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at him. "There's nothing to gain by staying here. Are you sure you won't leave?"

Liu Jie shuddered, but he did not let go. Shaking his head, he said, "I'm not leaving."

He had always been a street thug, and now he was starving. He firmly believed in being ruthless toward small fry and shameless toward important people. But he had forgotten that this was the apocalypse. Truly ruthless people would not back down just because they found him disgusting. Killing him would bring no trouble at all—and it would be much easier.

"Good. Very good. Then I'll make you leave."

An Yang chuckled softly, suddenly stepping forward and kicking before either of them could react.

Bang!

A living man weighing over a hundred and fifty pounds was kicked clean off the ground despite clinging to the doorframe. He flew across the corridor, slammed into the wall opposite, then bounced back onto the thick carpet in the middle of the hallway.

Yang Zi and Liu Qing instantly covered their mouths.

"Hiss..."

Liu Jie clutched his stomach and rolled about on the floor. His twisted face had turned liver-purple and was covered in sweat, as though he were in excruciating pain.

His companion stood frozen, utterly unsure what to do. His eyes were filled with fear as he looked at An Yang.

"B-Brother An, what are you doing? Liu Jie only came to ask for a little food. Even if you wouldn't give him any, you didn't have to do this, did you?"

An Yang took a deep breath and suppressed the killing intent in his eyes. Even in the apocalypse, he ultimately still could not kill a living person for no reason. It seemed he still had a long way to go before he could compare to those cold-blooded protagonists in apocalypse novels who killed without hesitation.

"What are you still standing here for? Aren't you going to take him away?"

"Uh... right!"

The remaining man hurriedly helped Liu Jie up, practically carrying him toward a room at the end of the corridor.

Only after watching them disappear down the hallway did An Yang withdraw his gaze and say to Yang Zi and Liu Qing, "All right, go back. This is the only thing I can do to help you."

He knew exactly how powerful that kick had been. Liu Jie's ribs were definitely broken. Whether his internal organs had been damaged or displaced, or whether his ribs had punctured them, would depend on his luck. But even if the injury was minor, Liu Jie would be unable to get out of bed for at least several days.

Yang Zi and Liu Qing hurriedly thanked him.

After the two women left, Chen Yafei finally looked at him excitedly. "Brother An, you're amazing! Those bastards were complete pushovers!"

An Yang glanced at him. "Fight more zombies, and you'll see them as pushovers too."

"No, that's not it. Brother An, you're an assassin. You must have been trained from childhood or learned martial arts. Can you teach me?"

An Yang looked at him speechlessly and could only say, "I wasn't trained from childhood, and I never learned martial arts. These skills were developed gradually through training and experience. As long as you dare to try, you can do it too."

Chen Yafei was intrigued. "How do I try?"

An Yang pointed out the window. "There. There are so many zombies outside. Grab a knife and go at them."

Chen Yafei shrank his neck. He knew that leaving the hotel alone right now would be no different from committing suicide. "Ahem, you can't rush these things. I'd better tag along with you first, Brother An, and slowly hone my killing skills."

An Yang smiled, picked up his saber, and headed out the door.

"Time to get to work."

Another half day passed, and they did not encounter a single survivor.

Below the eighth floor were no longer suites, but standard rooms and single rooms. Not only were they denser than the suites, but their occupancy rate had also far exceeded that of the expensive suites. Naturally, there were more zombies, making the clearing work more troublesome—but they also gained more crystals.

It was already dusk on the fifth day since the apocalypse began. A rare streak of sunset glow appeared on the horizon, and blue skies and white clouds could be seen. The weather was excellent.

The figure on the phone had now become 117/5000. The progress was undeniably fast. At this rate, completing the system's mission within a year would be easy. Of course, the harder part was surviving for a year in the apocalypse.

Besides food and drinking water, Chen Yafei also found an exceptionally antique radio. Its design was beautiful, seemingly a collectible, but once batteries were installed, it worked perfectly well.

"Bzzzt, bzzzt..."

Harsh static filled the empty, silent room.

After eight days without electricity, when nearly all electronic devices had become unusable, the sound moved Chen Yafei immensely.

An Yang also pricked up his ears.

"Bzzzt... June 2015... bzzzt... evening, the RT virus, which had previously been spreading on a small scale, completely erupted, bringing an unprecedented disaster to all humanity... bzzzt... It is reported that the RT virus originated from ancient biological cells from three hundred million years ago... bzzzt... affected by radiation from the 'Star Commemoration No. 3' meteorite brought back by the Alpha Space Research Team of the Anxi Empire, it mutated, affecting the genetic chain of all humanity..."

"Our nation's parliament has collapsed. His Majesty the Emperor has passed away. At present, no political department remains fully functional, and even military forces across the country have suffered devastating losses... bzzt... If any survivors receive this broadcast, you may seek refuge at major military bases... bzzt... Victory still belongs to all humanity..."

An Yang frowned at Chen Yafei. "The RT virus broke out at night?"

Chen Yafei nodded. "Yeah, around ten o'clock, I think. Brother An, didn't you know?"

An Yang narrowed his eyes. "Ten o'clock... the military had already stopped training by then, right?"

Chen Yafei said instinctively, "Of course. What army would still be training after ten? Maybe special forces and the Royal Guard."

An Yang turned and asked, "Say you were sleeping soundly in your dormitory when the comrades beside you suddenly turned into zombies. You were completely unprepared and had no gun in your hands. How many people in one dorm room would survive?"

Chen Yafei froze, then said with a bitter smile, "Brother An, you really think far ahead. But it does make sense. Since the virus broke out at night, it would've been hard for our country's military to survive intact."

Before he had even finished speaking, and before An Yang could respond, a rhythmic knocking sounded from outside.

Knock, knock, knock. Knock, knock, knock.

Chen Yafei's heart tightened, afraid Liu Jie had sent people to retaliate. He immediately drew his Folding Knife and walked to the door. After looking through the peephole, he turned back and said, "Brother An, it's Liu Chengjun and Chang Hui."

After a brief moment of thought, An Yang took out a black handgun and placed it on the glass coffee table. "Let them in."

The door clicked open. Chen Yafei stepped aside, and Liu Chengjun gave him a slight nod before walking in, with Chang Hui following behind him.

"Haha, Brother An Yang, we meet again."

Liu Chengjun was still wearing that police uniform. He walked over with a smile on his face, but the moment he stepped into the living room and saw the handgun on the coffee table, his expression briefly stiffened before quickly returning to normal.

An Yang focused on loading bright yellow bullets into the magazine as he said, "Director Liu's status must be too exalted. Otherwise, how could we live on the same floor and never once see each other?"

Liu Chengjun said, "You're too kind, Brother An Yang. I'm only borrowing the authority of this uniform. I have nothing else—not even a gun. I left mine at the police station."

An Yang shoved the magazine into the handgun in one motion. The series of movements was clearly meant as a warning. "What brings Director Liu here today? Is it about what happened at noon?"

Liu Chengjun glanced at the handgun in his hand, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and said, "What happened at noon? In the apocalypse, food is life. Liu Jie brought it upon himself. Brother An Yang and Brother Yafei can't be blamed!"

"Oh? Then why are you here today, Director Liu?"

"We found a power bank today. After charging a phone, we received a broadcast saying that the Pingnan Military Region has established a military base in Pingnan City. So this old brother shamelessly came to ask again—Brother An Yang, are you really not planning to go to Pingnan City?"

An Yang chuckled. "I'm going to Huaibei County. I don't plan on going to Pingnan City. If you want to go, Director Liu, then you should go."

"Let this old brother say something. Whether it's Pingnan City or Huaibei County, the roads are full of zombies and danger at every turn. This old brother thinks the strength of an organization will always surpass that of an individual, wouldn't you agree? The Pingnan Military Region is our best choice. If Brother An Yang comes with us, the dangers along the way will surely be greatly reduced. Why insist on going to Huaibei County?"

Unmoved, An Yang said, "My mind is made up. Director Liu, don't waste your breath. I'm going to Huaibei County no matter what."

"Brother An Yang, this old brother is doing this for your own good. Tell me, what are you going to Huaibei County for? What could possibly be worth risking your life for?"

An Yang glanced at him and immediately saw through his intentions. He smiled. "Director Liu, take care of your own people. You don't need to worry about me. Yafei, see them out."

Liu Chengjun's expression turned somewhat ugly. Though he was only the director of a neighborhood police station, he was still a man in his thirties or forties, and few people had ever embarrassed him so bluntly. Yet he did not dare lose his temper with An Yang, so he could only nod with an awkward smile and leave.