Expendables

Only after Wang Feng and the others had gone far away did Green Radish continue, "You don't need to worry about Wang Hu's threats. We don't care whether the people who come are good or bad. In the end, they're all just expendables to keep us alive."

Lin Qi thought it over and soon understood what Green Radish meant.

The Transcendent Squad had never cared much about ordinary survivors. At most, their charity amounted to keeping them from starving and giving them a job that could earn them a few supplies.

During their earlier escape through the downpour, the Extraordinary had abandoned the ordinary survivors almost without hesitation.

In the eyes of the Extraordinary, ordinary survivors were little more than dispensable bait.

If he hadn't made a connection with Green Radish, she probably would never have had anything to do with him, even by the time he died.

Lin Qi ignored Green Radish's complaints. Instead, he looked at her calmly. "You didn't come to see me just to help me, did you?"

To his surprise, Green Radish blinked her big eyes in confusion. "I already told you, you're under my protection. What else would I be here for if not to help you?"

Lin Qi didn't believe anyone could really be that kindhearted in the apocalypse. Since she couldn't be bothered to explain, he couldn't be bothered to keep asking.

Lin Qi stood up, put the little folding stool back in his vehicle, and took out his machete.

Seeing this, Green Radish looked surprised. "You're not going to pick a fight, are you? Hehe, make sure you come to me if you get hurt!"

Lin Qi rolled his eyes. "If I get beaten up in a bit, will you help?"

"Beaten up?" Green Radish's eyes lit up. "Of course I'll help! I told you, you're under my protection."

"All right."

Lin Qi got up and walked straight toward the bus.

Thump, thump, thump.

Heavy knocks sounded beneath his hand.

Lin Qi had already realized that something must have happened inside the bus. Otherwise, Yi Xue wouldn't have gone this long without coming out to hang his clothes up to dry.

That was his only change of clothes. He had to get it back.

Repaying grudges and returning favors had always been Lin Qi's rule, even in the apocalypse. He wouldn't owe anyone, nor would he let anyone owe him.

"Who is it?"

Almost as soon as he knocked on the door, a wary voice came from inside.

"I'm here to get my clothes back."

Lin Qi kept it simple and clear, but a puzzled voice came from behind the door. "Your clothes? Why would your clothes be on our bus?"

"Yi Xue washed my clothes for me yesterday."

Lin Qi's eyes slowly narrowed.

Normally, even if they had questions, they wouldn't refuse to so much as open the door. Their behavior only confirmed his suspicions.

"Yi Xue?"

The voice sounded puzzled at first, then understanding dawned, with even a hint of mockery. "Oh, I get it."

As his words fell, the door slowly opened a crack.

As the gap opened, a strong smell of photinia blossoms mingled with blood wafted out.

Even Green Radish, who had been enjoying the show, frowned instinctively.

The bus door didn't open all the way. Through that narrow crack, Lin Qi's clothes were shoved out.

Lin Qi caught them, his expression beginning to darken. There were actually bloodstains on his clothes that hadn't been washed out.

Clack.

Lin Qi thrust his machete into the bus door as it was about to close, his voice irritated. "Have Yi Xue come out. My clothes aren't clean."

The other person sounded clearly impatient. "Are you sick in the head?"

He was about to say more when Li Xiang's voice replaced his. "Yi Xue can't come out right now. If you want to question him, come up yourself."

"Oh."

Lin Qi answered indifferently. Watching the bus door open again, he darted inside without another word.

Green Radish didn't go in. She had no real combat ability, and once she sensed something was wrong inside the bus, she immediately headed off to the Transcendent Squad for reinforcements.

The moment Lin Qi stepped onto the bus, the smell of blood grew stronger.

Before him, Li Xiang and several students held baseball bats, staring with ill intent at Lin Qi below the steps.

Li Xiang sneered. "I was going to deal with you later, but you came right to us. Since you're here, you might as well stay."

Lin Qi didn't respond to Li Xiang.

The bus was cramped. At most, he would only have to deal with one or two people at a time. That was also why he had the confidence to step inside.

His gaze swept past the figures crowding the aisle and landed at the very back.

Beside the seats at the back of the aisle, women sat on the floor in disheveled clothing. They were their former female classmates and Teacher Gu.

As for Yi Xue, her lower body was soaked in blood, and she too lay unconscious in a corner.

Every one of them was tightly bound and gagged. Making a sound was completely impossible.

Beside them, several male students were also tightly bound. The boys looked to have suffered even more miserably. Every one of them was covered in bruises and wounds; clearly, they had endured a night that had been anything but pleasant.

"Oh? What's wrong? Feeling sorry for them?"

Li Xiang's taunting voice echoed from above. Lin Qi withdrew his gaze and looked at him without any emotion in his eyes. "I don't want to get involved in your mess. Hand Yi Xue over. My clothes still aren't clean."

"Hahahaha! Hahahaha!"

Li Xiang seemed to have heard the funniest joke in the world. His gaze abruptly changed. "You think you can leave now that you're here? Get him, boys!"

By the time Green Radish arrived with a group of her subordinates, the bus door was already slowly opening.

She looked up and saw Lin Qi limping out of the bus, carrying a female student whose lower body was covered in blood over his shoulder.

In the bus aisle lay more than a dozen corpses in pools of blood.

Blood dripped down the steps.

Whether they were working nearby or chatting in the distance, the survivors all turned their eyes toward the bus door at once.

They stared at Lin Qi's figure, which was by no means scrawny, their eyes filled with shock!

Green Radish also froze for a moment before reacting. She covered her red lips in surprise and pointed at the dozen or so bodies. "You did that?"

"Yeah." Lin Qi set Yi Xue down against the off-road vehicle.

He hadn't left a single one alive, so naturally, he wasn't afraid of his secret getting out.

He hadn't done it only because of Yi Xue's unfulfilled promise, but also to intimidate the newly arrived survivors. Otherwise, if they all came looking for trouble with him, he would be worn out.

"Hiss."

Yi Xue had actually already suspected it, but hearing Lin Qi confirm it still made her suck in a sharp breath.

He had taken on ten by himself, with no obvious external injuries.

"Could you be a Soldier King hiding in the city?"

Green Radish found the man before her increasingly mysterious. Before, she might have tried to recruit Lin Qi because she found him agreeable, but now she truly wanted to bring him over to her side.