What could he do to me?

Some people had their eyes on the supplies in the shops, while others had their eyes on other people's supplies.

When Chen Ye went into the tobacco, liquor, and grocery store to gather supplies.

Someone had already been watching his every move.

It was Jiajia, the woman in yoga pants, and Qiangzi, the fitness trainer.

The two of them had only a bicycle and a backpack.

Even if they worked themselves to death gathering supplies, they couldn't compete with Chen Ye's tricycle.

So they set their sights on Chen Ye's tricycle.

Just after Chen Ye entered the shop, the two quietly shut the door and slipped a wooden stick through its handles.

Chen Ye was frantically sweeping up supplies at the time and hadn't seen anything happening outside.

Otherwise, he would have already given those two bastards a crossbow bolt.

"Jiajia, if we do this, we're going to make an enemy of Chen Ye for good!"

Qiangzi sounded worried.

"You useless idiot. Are you that scared of Chen Ye? What good is being so big?"

Jiajia, the woman in yoga pants, spoke with contempt.

"Isn't this tricycle way better than your bicycle?"

"Besides, he went inside to gather supplies himself. How is it our fault if his bike goes missing?"

"Even if he comes looking for us, we'll just deny it. What can he do to us?"

"Besides, who knows if Chen Ye will even make it out!"

At that, the woman in yoga pants sounded positively cheerful.

"Before the apocalypse, I wouldn't have taken this tricycle even if someone gave it to me!"

Jiajia spoke with a mixture of disdain and delight.

Seeing her reaction, Qiangzi could only come over and examine the tricycle.

The excitement of getting the tricycle had already outweighed his fear of Chen Ye.

Even though Qiangzi knew Chen Ye wasn't someone to mess with.

Stroking the tricycle's handlebars, Qiangzi marveled, "Chen Ye is so lucky. This thing is just as good as a car, and it doesn't need fuel or charging!"

Just then, they heard a counter being knocked over.

Both quickly turned to look and saw a calm, expressionless face behind the glass door.

It was Chen Ye.

Chen Ye was watching the two of them calmly.

But that calm face concealed murderous intent, and both of them shuddered.

Chen Ye stood in the light, while a small figure was barely visible in the darkness behind him. They couldn't make out what it was.

"Qiangzi, go!"

Jiajia cried in panic.

Chen Ye's gaze had frightened her.

His stare sent a chill through Qiangzi, too. He jumped onto the tricycle, stood up to pedal, and found it unexpectedly easy to ride. He sped away.

The reason he was so wary of Chen Ye was that, like Chen Ye, he had escaped from Jiang City.

During their escape, Chen Ye had broken a thug's arms and legs, then thrown him straight to the supernatural creature pursuing them. That was how Chen Ye had escaped with his life.

That thug had been calling him "Brother Chen" so affectionately that anyone who didn't know better might have thought he was Chen Ye's own little brother.

Yet Chen Ye had thrown him to the creature without the slightest hesitation.

Granted, the thug really had been a nasty piece of work.

He had done plenty of awful things during their escape.

But... Qiangzi still felt Chen Ye shouldn't have done that!

Qiangzi knew Chen Ye seemed easygoing, sometimes even joking around.

But if Chen Ye really got violent, Qiangzi was no match for him.

Qiangzi would never forget what he had seen that day.

Behind that rather refined face was anything but a nice guy.

If Jiajia hadn't kept egging him on, Qiangzi would never have provoked Chen Ye.

But Jiajia had told him that as long as he kept her alive, she would consider becoming his girlfriend.

That promise had made Qiangzi think with his dick.

Now, remembering Chen Ye's ruthlessness, Qiangzi was starting to regret it.

I should never have listened to that stupid woman, Jiajia.

Chen Ye simply watched his tricycle disappear into the distance without saying a word.

The supernatural creature lurking in the darkness was the greatest threat right now.

And in front of him was a glass door with a wooden stick jammed through its handles.

Glass doors like this looked flimsy, but sometimes, actually kicking one apart was difficult.

Other times, the slightest touch could shatter them to pieces.

"I want candy, I want candy..."

"Give me candy!"

A childish, babbling voice came from behind Chen Ye.

He could even feel the icy chill at his back.

If he hadn't been standing in the sunlight streaming in from outside, which made the creature wary, he would probably have been dead already.

Against ordinary people, supernatural creatures could kill almost instantly.

But the sun was still sinking westward, and at any moment, he might have nowhere left to stand.

Less than a meter separated the man and the creature.

Before long, there wouldn't be a trace of sunlight left in the shop. The entire place would be shrouded in shadow.

Chen Ye glanced around but found nothing he could use.

Gritting his teeth, he raised his leg and kicked the glass door hard.

Bang!

When Chen Ye had pushed the door open earlier, its hinges had squealed and creaked.

He hadn't paid attention then.

But now...

The glass door shook violently under his kick, on the verge of falling.

Without hesitation, Chen Ye delivered another powerful kick.

The glass door toppled with a crash, hitting the ground and shattering into countless shards.

Chen Ye charged straight out of the tobacco, liquor, and grocery store.

When the late-afternoon sunlight, a little past four, fell on him, it drove away the chill clinging to his body.

For a moment, he felt as though he had returned to the world of the living.

He glanced back at the darkness inside the shop.

A child with deathly pale skin stood there in the dark, two patches of rouge on its cheeks looking horribly unnatural as it stared fixedly at Chen Ye.

Its eyes were filled with venomous hatred.

"Lady Moon shines on the coffin bed, little brother cries for candy till his heart is torn..."

Now that Chen Ye was standing fully in the sunlight, he felt little fear of the creature.

He secured his backpack and, without another glance, headed in the direction the tricycle had gone.

Qiangzi and Jiajia were riding the tricycle toward the big supermarket.

Earlier, Chen Ye had worried that venturing too deep into town would be dangerous.

Now, however, he had no choice but to retrieve his tricycle.

The four o'clock sun continued its slow descent toward the west.

He had to get his tricycle back as soon as possible, before sunset.

Preferably, he could gather some supplies, too.

More and more shadows spread across the streets.

Chen Ye could even sense pairs of eyes hidden in those shadows, watching him.

With the arrival of their group in Apricot Blossom Town, certain things seemed to be awakening, too.

"Jiajia, I think I just saw Chen Ye get out!"

Qiangzi spoke worriedly as he pedaled the tricycle at full speed.

Jiajia glanced back, then slapped the back of his head and snapped, "Seriously, Qiangzi, you're so much bigger than Chen Ye. Why are you such a coward?"

"So what if he got out?"

"What's he going to do, take the tricycle back?"

"If he really comes, just fight him. See which of you wins!"

"There'll be so many people around when we get back. Is he really going to kill you?"

"Even in the apocalypse, you can't just go around killing people."

Qiangzi's face fell. "He... he... hasn't killed anyone!"

"Then what the hell are you scared of?"

"Qiangzi, I'm just saying, how am I supposed to become your girlfriend if you're such a coward?"

In truth, seeing Qiangzi like this had Jiajia questioning him, too.

When she had escaped and joined the convoy, plenty of men had crowded around her, trying to win her favor. Qiangzi, for instance, was strong, reasonably handsome, and not particularly bright.

If Chen Ye hadn't been there, Qiangzi would definitely have been her best target.

After she saw Chen Ye, though, Qiangzi seemed somewhat lacking.

But Chen Ye had never given her so much as a proper look.

She had given him a chance by asking to ride on his tricycle, only for him to refuse without hesitation.

Before the apocalypse, she wouldn't even have glanced at that lousy tricycle.

Now, sensing that Qiangzi seemed deeply afraid of Chen Ye.

Jiajia felt even more contempt for Qiangzi.

And found Chen Ye even more appealing.

If that bastard would just try to please me, I wouldn't mind ditching Qiangzi...

I wouldn't mind giving his tricycle back, either.

It's his own fault for always acting like I don't exist.

I'm very angry.

"Jiajia, where are we going now?"

"Where else? To the supermarket to gather supplies! Do you want me to starve?"