He Was a Child, but Not an Animal

Smack!

The slap landed hard.

The little brat spun like a top before landing on his backside.

Then he burst into loud sobs.

In the old woman's eyes, her grandson was sweet and adorable. He had only wanted something to eat, only tried to snatch it.

The other man hadn't given him anything anyway, so it was no big deal.

It was no big deal at all.

Besides, this young man was a grown adult. Was he really going to hold something against a little child?

Yet the young man before her had not only held it against her grandson, but slapped him as well.

And so hard, too!

The sight of that red, swollen handprint broke the old woman's heart.

Quite a few people nearby were watching.

Zhou Xiaoxiao watched Chen Ye as though enjoying a show, but spoke to her sister. "Sis, look. Chen Ye really went too far."

"Giving him a can of gasoline was such a waste."

"Good thing I took it back!"

In Zhou Xiaoxiao's mind, Chen Ye really had gone a little too far.

He was only a child, after all.

If Chen Ye didn't want to give him anything, he could have refused. Why slap him?

Zhou Xiaoxiao's opinion of Chen Ye dropped another few notches.

Zhou Lan nervously glanced around. Only after making sure no one was paying attention to the two siblings did she say reproachfully, "Xiao Xiao, what nonsense are you talking about?"

"Clearly, that child was behaving badly!"

"What was Chen Ye, a grown man, supposed to do with such a little child?"

"Whatever else he is, Chen Ye is a Sequence Transcendent. We can't afford to offend him!"

"Hmph. A child is a person too, not an animal!"

As a major celebrity before the apocalypse, Zhou Lan had encountered more people and situations than her younger sister.

Had she been in his position, she might simply have given the child the food.

Just as that famous line went: "He's only a child!"

But deep down, Zhou Lan grew a little more wary of Chen Ye.

She even began to worry that she had made a mistake by not stopping Xiaoxiao when she went to take the gasoline earlier!

He was a Sequence Transcendent!

Zhou Xiaoxiao rolled her pretty, wide eyes at her sister.

"How do you think Chen Ye will handle this?"

Chu Che watched with amusement, a playful look in his eyes.

Iron Lion scratched the back of his head with a guileless look and said in his rumbling voice, "I don't know! But he's still a child, after all. He doesn't know any better!"

Nana snorted. "So what if he's a child? Children are people too. Does being a child mean he can do whatever he wants?"

"Before the apocalypse, some children were every bit as vile as demons."

Iron Lion fell silent, not knowing what to say.

Transcendents of the Titan Sequence always seemed to have a way of struggling with words.

Chen Ye looked indifferently at the grandmother and grandson.

"Grandma! Waaah..."

The child cried and reached out, apparently wanting his grandmother to pick him up.

"My sweet boy, my poor sweet boy!"

The old woman's eyes reddened, and she seemed to want to lift her grandson into her arms.

But the chubby boy was too heavy for her to lift, so she could only take his hand and pull him to his feet.

Once standing, the child hid behind the old woman, still bawling.

As though hiding behind his grandmother had given him courage, he glared viciously at Chen Ye again.

"Young man, how could you do such a thing? Don't you know to respect the elderly and care for the young? What did your parents teach you?"

"What did your school teach you?"

"You dare hit my sweet grandson? I... I'll make you pay!"

"Just you wait..."

Without a second thought, Chen Ye stood up and kicked the child, who had poked his head out to glare at him.

The little boy instantly flew away like a torn sack.

"Zhuangzhuang!"

The old woman cried out and ran over, wailing.

The child slid two or three meters across the ground before coming to a stop.

"Waaah..."

His sobbing rang through the entire camp.

Everyone stared, dumbstruck.

"Zhuangzhuang! How are you?"

"Zhuangzhuang, my sweet boy!"

"Grandma, it hurts... Waaah..."

Chen Ye hadn't held back at all. His kick had bloodied the brat's face and knocked out several front teeth.

When the boy opened his mouth to cry, all his front teeth were gone.

The sight of her precious grandson in such a state shattered the old woman's heart.

Soon, grandmother and grandson were clinging to each other and sobbing.

The old woman glared furiously at Chen Ye.

"Young man, he's still a child!!!"

Chen Ye snorted. "Some children are children. Others are animals!"

The old woman hadn't expected Chen Ye to answer that way, and her face flushed red.

Before the apocalypse, whenever the family's little brat caused trouble, she could always use that line to claim some moral ground.

Some people would flush with anger after hearing it, but swallow their resentment.

Others wanted to argue back, but didn't know how.

She had never expected it to become completely useless after the apocalypse.

Or rather, useless against this young man.

She had seen her grandson go over to beg for food.

Even when he tried to snatch it, she hadn't stopped him!

She had fully expected to take advantage of the young man's kindness to get them dinner.

She had never expected this outcome.

Quite a few people secretly felt pleased when they heard Chen Ye's words.

They had escaped Deer City with this grandmother and grandson.

The pair's outrageous behavior had infuriated them more than once.

The grandmother and grandson had only survived this long because others had looked after them along the way.

Later, once everyone saw what the pair were really like, no one helped them anymore.

If the convoy hadn't appeared, the grandmother and grandson might not have lasted much longer.

"I... I'll fight you!"

Apparently feeling she hadn't gotten the better of him, the old woman stood up to fight Chen Ye.

Chen Ye showed no mercy.

Thump!

He sent the old woman flying with another kick.

The old woman was knocked over by Chen Ye's kick. She staggered three to five meters backward before landing on her backside.

For a long while, she couldn't get up.

"Grandma..."

"Waaah..."

Everyone present was left slack-jawed by Chen Ye's actions.

Some looked at Chen Ye with disdain.

"Sis, did you see that? Chen Ye is a bastard. He won't even spare old people and children!"

Zhou Xiaoxiao hurriedly tugged at her sister's clothes and whispered.

She didn't know why.

Zhou Xiaoxiao had thought Chen Ye was a coward earlier, but after everything that had happened, she was a little afraid of him.

When Chen Ye glanced her way, Zhou Xiaoxiao quickly looked away, her little heart pounding nonstop.

Others, however, wholeheartedly approved of what Chen Ye had done.

"I didn't expect Chen Ye to do that. He's just my kind of guy. A real man!"

The Young Sword Immortal grinned as she spoke, her hand resting on the sword at her lower back.

Iron Lion scratched his head. He wanted to say something, but held his tongue.

Nana glanced at Iron Lion and snorted. "Were you about to say young people should respect the elderly and care for children?"

"Iron Lion, I swear your brain is made of muscle!"

"They say the Titan Sequence's drawback is reduced intelligence. Looks like the rumors are true!"

"When I used to commute to work in the morning, at least half the carriage would be full of those old people rushing to grab free eggs."

"Lin Daiyu when boarding, Lu Zhishen when getting off!"

"Their monthly pensions were several times my salary!"

"And they'd square dance all night long!"

"And then there were those little brats..."

Nana seemed to have suffered greatly from all this. Once she started, her mouth never stopped.

Iron Lion opened his mouth, seemingly at a loss for how to respond to the girl's barrage.

Chu Che clapped his hands, interrupting their conversation. "All right, all right. We're moving out!"

Meanwhile, over by Chen Ye.

The child was still looking at Chen Ye with hatred.

Chen Ye slowly walked over.

Terrified, the child tried to hide behind his grandmother.

The old woman shielded her grandson and glared at him. "What do you want?"

Chen Ye chuckled. "Are you thinking you'll settle the score with me once your son or someone else comes back?"

From the expressions on the grandmother's and grandson's faces, Chen Ye knew he had probably guessed right.

Still chuckling, Chen Ye continued, "It's the apocalypse now. The people who aren't here might never come back."

"Kid, do you understand what I'm saying?"

The old woman's face turned deathly pale!

The child's mouth crumpled, and he burst into tears.

He was utterly heartbroken!!!

The convoy soon began moving.

Chen Ye quickly packed up and started his Motor Tricycle.

After all these days of traveling, there wasn't much gasoline left in it.

If he still couldn't find gasoline tomorrow, he would probably have to switch to human power.

After a bout of shaking, the Motor Tricycle began to move.

The grandmother and grandson were still crying and making a scene.

But not a single person came forward to help them up or speak on their behalf.

Even the woman who had been spouting feminist rhetoric yesterday kept her head down and said nothing.

Apparently realizing there was nothing to gain by carrying on, the grandmother and grandson finally climbed slowly to their feet.

From time to time, the old woman still cast venomous looks at Chen Ye.

Chen Ye noticed and looked back, but the old woman turned her gaze elsewhere as though nothing had happened.

The child, on the other hand, shuddered in fright when Chen Ye looked at him, averting his fearful eyes.