Pursuit, Counterattack, Ambush

Beyond seven paces, a gun was fast. Within seven, it was fast and accurate.

Turn the tables?

Impossible.

In Brother Biao's eyes, Yu Yuan was a lamb waiting for slaughter. Nothing could change the outcome.

That confidence came from the dozen or so lives he had taken with his gun.

It was why Brother Biao stayed on Yu Yuan's heels. When he saw Yu Yuan panic and duck into the fourth floor, he grew even more certain.

Run. Let's see where you can go!

The thought of that backpack full of supplies made Brother Biao impatient.

He rushed after Yu Yuan, who had ducked into a room.

Without hesitation, Brother Biao followed. Yu Yuan dove onto the balcony, scrambled behind the wall, then curled up with his arms over his head and ears.

Brother Biao had just sensed something was wrong when he heard a faint sound beneath his feet.

Click—

A spring releasing. He looked toward the sound and saw a fist-sized object in the corner. His pupils widened in horror.

"No..." But before he could react—

Boom!

Flames erupted through the room. The shock wave shattered everything inside. Brother Biao's charred body lay on the floor, both legs blown off. He was dead beyond any doubt.

Thick smoke and flames engulfed the room, a glaring beacon in the pitch-black district.

Refugees, Scavengers, and Survivors searching the surrounding blocks for supplies all turned toward the sudden explosion.

They stared at the roaring flames and billowing smoke.

Some watched. Some moved away. Some weighed their options. Some were greedy but afraid. Others... vanished into the darkness.

"Cough, cough!"

Yu Yuan shook the dust off himself and tried to clear his head.

His ears were ringing!

Fortunately, the balcony was open to the sky, so he had escaped the worst of it.

The wreckage inside the room sent a chill through him.

If a low wall had not separated the apartment from the balcony, he would have been done for too.

Yu Yuan looked at the flames. He could not stay here; he had to leave at once.

The gunshots and explosion had been far too loud. They were bound to draw attention.

He picked up his Hand Crossbow, loaded a bolt, and took his Kukri in hand.

Stepping past the burning wood chips and curtains, he spotted Brother Biao's charred corpse.

The handgun lay nearby. Without stopping to inspect it, Yu Yuan tucked it into his waistband and quickly searched Brother Biao, not even checking what he found.

Whatever his fingers touched went into his pockets. The smoke was growing thicker.

Last was the backpack on Brother Biao's back. It was only half full, and its contents clinked together. Probably nothing good, but Yu Yuan took it anyway.

He wasted no more time. He retrieved his bolt, secured his haul, and ran downstairs.

With the Kukri strapped to the outside of his thigh, the backpack in his left hand, and the loaded Hand Crossbow in his right, he reached the apartment building's ground floor.

Just as he was about to leave the stairwell, the hairs on his body stood up. He felt the air shift faster ahead and to his right.

With no time to think, he drove his heel into the floor, stopped short, leaned back, tipped his head away, and tucked in his chin.

At that instant, a cold glint flashed toward him...

The blade skimmed his scalp by a hair's breadth, slicing off several strands.

His attacker reacted just as quickly. The first slash had missed, but he had no intention of giving up the opening.

He twisted his wrist and drew the blade back toward Yu Yuan's neck, striking as fast as lightning. If it landed, Yu Yuan would be badly wounded or dead.

But Yu Yuan was already moving. He hurled the backpack at the attacker's face, knocking the strike off course.

His right hand had raised the Hand Crossbow, ready to fire.

But the attacker was cautious. The moment his strike missed, he retreated without hesitation and melted back into the darkness.

He gave Yu Yuan no chance to retaliate.

"Trouble." Cold sweat beaded on Yu Yuan's forehead. He was trapped in the ground-floor passage.

An enemy this cautious was harder to deal with than Brother Biao.

He would not put himself in danger easily, and Yu Yuan's bolt was unlikely to kill him in one shot.

Worse, more people were probably heading this way, hoping to pick over what was left.

This was the Wasteland!

There were plenty of people willing to risk their lives for supplies.

The longer he remained trapped here, the worse his situation would become.

At least the attacker seemed to be alone. Otherwise, he would not have been so careful.

I don't need a fight. I need to get out of here as fast as I can... Yu Yuan knew what mattered most.

Click...

Light filled the corridor, revealing half a face behind the wall at the stairwell turn.

Yu Yuan took a deep breath. The man was cautious indeed. He had caught the backpack Yu Yuan had thrown and now held it over the lower half of his face.

The rest of his body stayed completely behind the wall.

Careful bastard.

And what kind of look is that?

Only one eye was visible, but it reminded Yu Yuan of a wolf.

Calm, wild, cautious, and utterly confident in its own ability to attack.

The man's gaze locked onto the Hand Crossbow first, then swept over Yu Yuan, lingering on his waist and the outside of his thigh.

Yu Yuan noticed where he was looking.

What's he searching for? Hmm... the handgun? No wonder he's so cautious. Realization struck Yu Yuan.

But there was no time to dwell on it. He spoke in a low voice.

"Friend, neither of us gains anything by standing here. I can't carry all these supplies anyway. Take what's in that backpack as a meeting gift. How about it?"

"Of course..." Yu Yuan did not expect a few words to make the man leave.

This was a negotiation.

He had to offer something worth taking and show he could fight, too.

Might made right. That held true here as much as anywhere.

He gave the Hand Crossbow a slight shake.

"Of course, if you want to fight, I'm ready. At this distance, the bolt probably won't kill you, but I smeared the tip with feces. If it hits you, even antibiotics won't make the infection pleasant. And if you can't find any, you're dead."

Sure enough, the man's eye narrowed sharply. It soon returned to normal, but Yu Yuan had seen it. Despite his growing urgency, he met the man's gaze calmly, showing that he was ready to fight to the death.

This was a battle of nerve.

"So what do you think?"

"Take the supplies and leave, or risk infection fighting me, only to hand everything to someone else?"

Silence fell over the stairwell.

Yu Yuan lowered his center of gravity, ready for a desperate fight.

The man would probably take the supplies and leave, but there was always a chance he would not. Preparing for the worst was never a mistake.

Fortunately, it did not come to that.

"All right," the man said.