Chapter 24

Old Scar cast a disdainful glance at the ordinary people behind him. Then, turning to the man in front, his eyes filled with reverence and fawning.

"Boss, the small supermarket I found is just ahead." In truth, most of the items in the supermarket had already found their way into his stomach. He felt he had taken enough, leaving only a few scraps before bringing the boss over.

The man he called "boss" appeared to be in his early twenties, slightly overweight, with a slick and cunning demeanor. Even in the apocalypse, he had somehow managed to get his hands on hair gel, sporting a perfectly slicked-back hairstyle.

Before the apocalypse, he was merely a low-level office clerk with a stable job but no prospects for advancement. Who would have thought that he'd wake up one day to find the world plunged into an apocalypse?

Initially, he was panicked. But after awakening his powers and realizing that the old rules no longer applied, he grew excited.

The apocalypse—what better opportunity could there be?

He took a drag from his cigarette and nodded, clearly pleased with Old Scar. Just as he was about to enter, he sensed something, frowned, tossed his cigarette aside, and his eyes sharpened. "Brothers inside, no need to hide anymore."

Cheng Zhiyu raised an eyebrow slightly. While he hadn't planned on hiding, it was clear this boss had what it took to lead—far more vigilant than the others.

He exchanged a glance with Tian Qiao, tucked Little Black into his clothing, and the two emerged from the supermarket together.

When Old Scar saw people actually come out, a fierce expression crossed his face. His hostility intensified, especially after spotting Cheng Zhiyu and Tian Qiao—two "pretty boys." "You two blind fools, don’t you know I was here first? This is my territory!"

Beside Old Scar were several other superhumans, all glaring at the pair.

Resources were already scarce in the apocalypse. Even a piece of bread could drive people to fight desperately for it, let alone the fact that Old Scar claimed there was plenty of food here.

Seeing Cheng Zhiyu and Tian Qiao’s bulging backpacks, their expressions turned ugly. "Leave your stuff behind, and we’ll let you go!"

Tian Qiao, hot-tempered himself, retorted, "What, does this place have your name on it? How is this your territory? I might as well claim the things in your hands are mine—would you give them to me?"

"You!" One of the superhumans was about to strike, but the boss, his eyes flickering as he looked at Tian Qiao, raised a hand. "Stop. This young man makes a fair point. We're all struggling to get by in these times, especially these two, alone in the apocalypse. It’s even tougher for them. What kind of example are you setting, talking about killing right off the bat?"

The scolded superhuman could only reluctantly withdraw his hand.

The boss walked up to Tian Qiao with a smile and extended his hand. "I’m Li Renyi. Among these people, I have some say. Their attitude was poor just now—let me apologize on their behalf."

Seeing his friendly demeanor, Tian Qiao relaxed slightly and shook his hand.

Li Renyi then turned to Cheng Zhiyu but didn’t offer his hand. "You two, meeting here is fate. Our group is heading to the Bread Base for shelter. Since you’re on your own, why not join us?"

Tian Qiao found himself oddly drawn to Li Renyi and was about to agree but held back, turning to Cheng Zhiyu instead. "Cheng? What do you think?"

Cheng Zhiyu apologetically said, "I'm not a superhuman. I’d probably just hold everyone back. Let’s forget it."

Tian Qiao didn’t say anything in response. He could tell Cheng Zhiyu didn’t trust Li Renyi much, and though he had initially felt some goodwill toward him, he quickly grew wary again.

Cheng had always been clever—he must have his reasons.

Tian Qiao had always been a bit naive, but he understood one thing: listening to Cheng was never wrong.

Before Li Renyi could speak, a lanky superhuman nearby smiled and said, "Hey, what’s the big deal? Our team has plenty of ordinary people."

Cheng Zhiyu put on a surprised expression. "Really?"

He then adopted a sorrowful look. "I’ve run into some superhumans before, and they all looked down on ordinary people like me. But I can fight zombies too! It’s just…!"

He feigned anger for a moment, then looked at Li Renyi with grateful admiration. "Mr. Li, you’re the first superhuman I’ve met who doesn’t look down on ordinary people."

The lanky superhuman said, "That’s right. Our boss welcomes everyone, superhuman or ordinary, to join our team. He says we’re all survivors in this chaotic world and should help each other."

Cheng Zhiyu instantly looked at Li Renyi with admiration. "Mr. Li, you truly live up to your name 'Benevolent and Righteous'!"

Tian Qiao, standing nearby, almost couldn’t hold back a laugh.

Li Renyi, however, remained calm. Ordinary people always acted this grateful whenever he allowed them to join the team. Cheng Zhiyu wasn’t even exaggerating—some had even knelt before him.

Li Renyi took the praise in stride with a smile. "Our group's camp is nearby. You can come back with us in a bit."

Cheng Zhiyu nodded. "As long as you don’t mind having me."

Li Renyi turned to Tian Qiao. "I assume you’re a superhuman, right? Want to join us?"

Tian Qiao wasn’t sure how he could tell but, without any signal from Cheng Zhiyu, replied casually, "Sure, if Cheng goes, I go."

Li Renyi glanced at Cheng Zhiyu. "You two are close?"

Tian Qiao: "Yeah, we’re brothers who’ve shared everything since we were kids."

Li Renyi smiled without comment. It didn’t matter if they were close.

Little Black asked Cheng Zhiyu, "Why were you sharing pants with him? If you need pants, I’ll give you some."

Cheng Zhiyu: "…"

He shot Tian Qiao a meaningful look, and the latter made his way toward the superhumans around Li Renyi while Cheng Zhiyu approached the ordinary people behind them.

The ordinary people were easy to distinguish. Compared to the well-nourished superhumans, they were much thinner, with lingering despair on their faces and little strength in their steps, as if they hadn’t eaten well in a long time.

This was the first time Cheng Zhiyu had seen ordinary people like this since the apocalypse began, and he was deeply affected. He sighed inwardly.

A few people eyed Cheng Zhiyu warily, clearly unhappy about his joining. After all, one more person meant their rations would be further divided.

Though Cheng Zhiyu wasn’t particularly strong, he at least looked like an able-bodied young man. Despite their dissatisfaction, nobody confronted him.

Of course, some were friendlier. One woman holding a child by the hand gave him a tentative smile. "Young man, following Mr. Li at least means you won’t have to live in fear anymore."

Cheng Zhiyu glanced at the little girl the woman was holding—thin, with unusually large eyes, gazing at him with timid curiosity.

He smiled at her, and after a brief moment of hesitation, she smiled back.

"My Nannan likes you. She usually ignores other people when they talk to her." (Nannan is a term of endearment for little girls.) The woman patted the girl’s braids. Though thin, the little girl’s hair was neatly combed, and her clothes were comparatively neat and clean. Clearly, the woman was doing everything she could to maintain her daughter.

"Big brother is pretty," the little girl said softly.

The woman shook her head with a smile. "Please don't mock her. Nannan has always liked good-looking people. She would stare without blinking."

Cheng Zhiyu smiled. How could he mock her? The little girl was adorable.

He walked alongside the mother and daughter and learned that the woman was called Sister Hong and the little girl was Yan Yan.

Cheng Zhiyu was momentarily stunned—his younger sister was also named "Yanyan"—and he felt an immediate connection to the little girl.

They entered the small supermarket. The superhumans were bagging all the edible goods, while the ordinary people stood by idly. Even though they could’ve easily grabbed the crackers nearby, no one moved, though their faces were filled with longing.

Cheng Zhiyu frowned and asked Sister Hong, "Why aren’t you taking anything?"

Sister Hong replied, "Those are the group's rules. The superhumans bring the supplies back and distribute them to us."

But even with ordinary people helping, they could’ve gathered everything much quicker.

Sister Hong explained, "Hey, don’t blame the superhumans. There was once an ordinary person who, using the excuse of gathering supplies, ate half the supplies right then and there. That’s why the team later established this rule."

Some superhumans even yelled at them at the time, saying they were no better than animals, only cared about eating, and had no conscience.

But what could these ordinary people do after being scolded? They had no choice but to endure it. After all, someone among them had made a mistake. If they left the team, they couldn’t protect themselves. They were lucky that these superhumans were willing to take them in.

"What happened to the person who stole and ate the supplies?" Cheng Zhiyu asked.

Sister Hong said, "He was kicked out of the group. I haven't seen him since."

She glanced around and, seeing no one paying attention to them, whispered, "Actually, you can’t really blame him. He was just too hungry."

Cheng Zhiyu looked at the superhumans. Some were already stuffing food into their mouths, while the ordinary people were too scared to even budge.

These superhumans brought the ordinary people along but didn't allow them to touch the supplies. So, what was the purpose of bringing them?

Cheng Zhiyu asked Sister Hong, "Do they take you along every time they go out?"

Sister Hong nodded, "They always take a few people. The rest stay at the temporary shelter to clean and do other chores."

Little Black sneered, "These superhumans aren't as kind as they appear on the surface."

Cheng Zhiyu gave Little Black a pat on the back through his clothes, indicating that he understood.

He glanced at the skinny Yan Yan, and his heart went out to her. He took a piece of bread from his backpack and handed it to her.

Yan Yan looked at Cheng Zhiyu in disbelief, hesitating to reach out and take it.

Cheng Zhiyu smiled, "Go ahead, eat it."

Sister Hong quickly waved her hands, "This... we can’t take this."

Cheng Zhiyu said, "Let Yan Yan eat. She's hungry."

Sister Hong couldn’t say another word at his words. She turned her head away and wiped her tears.

Once Yan Yan was sure Cheng Zhiyu was really giving it to her, she carefully unwrapped the bread, swallowed hard, and held it up to Sister Hong's mouth. "Mom, you eat it. It smells so good."

Sister Hong instinctively swallowed but shook her head and moved away. "Yan Yan, you eat it."

Yan Yan insisted on feeding Sister Hong, but just then, an ordinary person nearby suddenly shouted, "Superhumans! This little brat is secretly eating bread!"

Cheng Zhiyu's smile vanished, and he shot a cold glare at the person who spoke.

No wonder these ordinary people didn't dare to touch the supplies at all, even when no one was watching.