Lower Your Head

Earlier, Wu Hen had drawn a clear line between himself and Old Man Ling.

The other floors of the entire Tropical Pavilion belonged to the Ling family and their relatives, while Wu Hen's family lived in a tightly secured, staggered-floor section.

Wu Yingting understood that human nature was hard to predict, so he had never had any contact with the Ling family.

However, since the third and fourth floors were available for growing vegetables, Wu Hen's family still had to leave their secure room to pick fresh produce whenever they wanted vegetables.

"Mom and Dad haven't left the secure room, right?" Wu Hen asked.

"Don't worry. They're being very careful," Yu Yu assured him.

"Where's the smell coming from?" Wu Hen asked.

"The fourth floor." Yu Yu held up four delicate fingers.

"Go back first. I'll take a look upstairs," Wu Hen said.

"All right." Yu Yu nodded.

Following the stairs, Wu Hen made his way to the third floor.

The strong stench of blood was already coming from the third-floor ventilation area, and Wu Hen grew more alert.

He listened carefully for sounds from the fourth floor. He heard a "rustle, rustle," like rats chewing on wood inside the walls.

Strangely, though, Wu Hen couldn't pinpoint where the sound was coming from. He only knew the thing was somewhere on one side of the fourth floor.

The fourth floor was very spacious, as it had originally been designed as a public exhibition hall.

The display cases held not only an advanced tropical ecosystem but also large artificial landscapes, along with many rare species of butterflies, lizards, colorful snakes, and spiders...

Unfortunately, the fourth floor was now pitch-black, with only the faint glow of emergency lights flickering.

Since the entire Tropical Pavilion could provide food and water, Wu Hen still planned to clear out some of the nearby threats.

"Dad, hold on..."

"You have to hold on!"

The voice of the housekeeper, Ling Shaomei, came from the restroom in the corner.

Wu Hen heard her from a distance and headed toward her.

Inside the restroom's nursing room, Ling Shaomei heard Wu Hen's footsteps drawing closer. Her whole body tensed at once. She raised the only mop in the room as a weapon, as if she were ready to fight whatever was coming to the death.

Her hand wouldn't stop trembling, though, and sweat drenched her chest!

"It's me, your young master," Wu Hen said from the doorway, his voice calm.

Only after speaking did Wu Hen push the door open. He saw Ling Shaomei kneeling on the floor like a drenched rat, staring at him in fear and misery...

"Didn't you listen to what I told you earlier? I said not to open the door to anyone." Wu Hen stared at the housekeeper, Ling Shaomei, his tone unfriendly.

"It was my male coworker. I couldn't just watch him die..." Ling Shaomei tried to explain.

"Right, right, and then your dad ended up like this." Wu Hen was exasperated.

Old Man Ling was covered in blood, as though something had gnawed at him. Several parts of his body were covered in bloody wounds.

He couldn't speak anymore. His eyes were full of pleading, begging Wu Hen to let them into the secure room, considering how many years he had worked for the Wu family.

"'We'll leave each other alone.' Those were your words, weren't they? Now that you're in trouble, you know how to beg us?" Wu Hen said.

Old Man Ling pointed at his daughter, Ling Shaomei, then knocked his head against the floor, indicating that Wu Hen had to take Ling Shaomei in, no matter what, and give her a chance to live.

"I'm not taking you in," Wu Hen refused coldly.

Wu Hen and his family had reached an agreement: in a world like this, only the four of them would ever be allowed into the secure room. They would never let any outsider in!

"My dad's barely hanging on. You have medicine, don't you?" Ling Shaomei asked.

"I do. But why should I give you any? I told you to keep the door secure, and you couldn't even handle something that simple. You put my family and me in danger, and I haven't even thrown you out yet. How dare you expect me to give you medicine?" Wu Hen said.

Ling Shaomei fell silent, staring at Wu Hen with eyes full of resentment and humiliation.

Her delicate silver-rimmed glasses were broken. Her sweat-soaked hair hung messily over her chest, and her face was as pale as paper with fear. Her body trembled slightly...

Even so, there was still a stubborn pride in her eyes.

Wu Hen didn't know where she got that pride. She was a typical do-gooder in the apocalypse. If they hadn't had some history, he would have thrown her and her father out already.

"Enough. Get up off the floor and take me to see what it is." Wu Hen sounded impatient.

"You can't handle it. White worms have grown out of his body. He attacks anyone he sees, and once he knocks them down, he bites them..." Ling Shaomei said.

As she was speaking, another set of footsteps suddenly sounded.

Strangely, they didn't come from the floor. They came from above.

Ling Shaomei looked up and saw something crawling across the ceiling in the emergency light. She was so terrified that she nearly lost her soul!

"Hiss, hiss... Shaomei, why do you keep hiding from me?"

"We said we'd go to the art exhibition together. You should've made time, no matter how busy you were!"

"We've gotten this far in our relationship, yet you still keep your distance. I never thought you'd be so old-fashioned after studying abroad..."

"Hiss, hiss, hiss... It's all right. I'll crush you and make you part of my body!"

On the ceiling, a well-dressed man with a golden-collar job clung to the surface. White fungal filaments had sprouted from his limbs, making him look like a white tropical lizard. His tongue kept darting out of his enormous mouth.

"Y-Your back..." Ling Shaomei stammered, pointing at the ceiling behind Wu Hen.

Wu Hen still stood there without moving.

"Who's this man?"

"Is he that young master you're always complaining to me about?"

"Things are different now. I'll kill him for you, and then we can enjoy the happiest time of our lives together!"

The man on the ceiling, Ling Shaomei's coworker, began drooling heavily. His viscous saliva dripped to the floor, even corroding the marble tiles.

"Die!"

The Insect-Eyed Half-Human sprang down, his head splitting wide open to reveal a terrifying maw that lunged to tear Wu Hen's entire head off.

The instant his head split open, Wu Hen raised his right hand. A golden cold thorn appeared in it, like a scorpion's tail. A flash of icy light streaked past, and it pierced straight through the Insect-Eyed Half-Human's head!

The Insect-Eyed Half-Human stiffened instantly, like a thick human-skin coat hanging from Wu Hen's Golden Cold Thorn!

Wu Hen flicked his hand and tossed the white Insect-Eyed Half-Human into a toilet stall!

A large amount of white steam billowed out. The Insect-Eyed Half-Human quickly vaporized, finally turning into a puddle of murky liquid that smeared the inside of the stall.

Ling Shaomei's eyes widened. She covered her mouth with both hands. The fear she'd felt just a moment ago had now been replaced by disbelief.

Through the entire thing, Wu Hen hadn't even turned around. He'd dealt with the vicious monster as casually as if he were tossing out a bag of garbage!

Was this really the young master she knew?

Could he be the Desolate Dust Pioneer mentioned in that broadcast—the rare human capable of fighting these powerful creatures?

"That guy came from the mall, right?" Wu Hen asked calmly.

Ling Shaomei had lost the ability to speak for a moment and could only nod repeatedly.

She had only let one person in. After all, he had pursued her relentlessly, and Ling Shaomei had been considering whether to accept his advances.

She hadn't expected him to act so strangely as soon as he came in. Then he tried to force her to share a room with him, and after she slapped him hard, white fungal filaments suddenly sprouted from his body...

Once she'd calmed down a little, Ling Shaomei told Wu Hen the whole story.

"He's been infected. Extreme emotions can stir up the eggs inside him. There are still plenty of things like that outside Licheng," Wu Hen explained.

Wu Hen had only dealt with the hidden parasites on campus. There were surely many more outside the campus, and he couldn't take care of them all.

"Wu Hen... I... My dad really isn't going to make it. Please, give us some medicine. I'll do whatever you say from now on." Ling Shaomei glanced at her father and saw that he had passed out. Now she was completely panicked, tears streaming down her face.

"I really do need a housekeeper for this Tropical Pavilion, but your professional skills don't come close to my standards. Did all your brains go somewhere else?" Wu Hen scolded her mercilessly.

This housekeeper had nothing going for her besides her elegant appearance and bearing. On top of that, she was incredibly prideful!

"I'll do better, really. I'll do better, as long as you save my dad." Ling Shaomei immediately began pleading.

"Oh? Then let's see how you do. Lower your head." Wu Hen looked down at the housekeeper, a mocking smile on his face.

Under Wu Hen's predatory gaze, Ling Shaomei felt her whole body tremble.

As an adult, how could she not know what men wanted?

She looked at her half-dead father, then up at Wu Hen, standing above her.

Ling Shaomei bit her lip and finally made up her mind.

She crawled a little closer to Wu Hen, then reached out. Reluctant but trying her best to look eager, she undid his belt with one hand and leaned her cheek toward him.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Wu Hen suddenly looked down at her and demanded.

"I... I..." Ling Shaomei couldn't bring herself to say it.

"I told you to tie my shoelace. Why are you undoing my belt?" Wu Hen said, shaking his shoe.

Ling Shaomei lowered her head even further, then noticed that the shoelace on Wu Hen's right shoe had come undone.

In wealthy circles, housekeepers who went to the extreme sometimes had to tie their employers' shoelaces, even in public!

"I... I'll fix it right away." Ling Shaomei hurriedly moved her hands to Wu Hen's shoelace.

It was just a shoelace, but she retied it more than five times.

Ling Shaomei was completely flustered.

At last, the shoelace was tied, but it was practically knotted shut. Wu Hen, who cared deeply about his appearance, frowned in displeasure.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. It's my first time..." Ling Shaomei said, extremely nervous.

"Honestly, I liked you better when you were so defiant," Wu Hen said.

Recommended: Check out urban fantasy author Lao Shi's new book.