Chapter 25

The man who spoke was hunched over with a pair of narrow, triangular eyes and a slimy appearance. When Cheng Zhiyu looked over, he trembled slightly but still forced a fierce expression. "What are you looking at? I'm telling the truth! Everyone, this mother and daughter dared to steal supplies. I say they should be kicked out of the team!"

Seeing that Cheng Zhiyu didn’t seem easy to mess with, and that his friend appeared to be a Superhuman, the man didn’t dare provoke Cheng Zhiyu and instead targeted Sister Hong and Yan Yan.

Though Yan Yan was young, children in the apocalypse couldn’t possibly remain as naive as before, especially when faced with such obvious malice from the narrow-eyed man.

Yan Yan’s eyes instantly reddened, and she looked lost and frightened.

Sister Hong was also badly shaken and hurriedly tried to stand up to speak, but Cheng Zhiyu spoke first: "They didn’t steal the team’s supplies. The bread was from me—my own belongings."

"Hey, listen to this hot temper! What do you mean 'your own'? Once you join us, everything belongs to everyone!" a Superhuman shot back, spouting his thuggish reasoning as he stormed over, cursing. "Today, I’ll teach you a lesson and show you who’s boss."

Sister Hong looked at Cheng Zhiyu with concern. "Xiao Cheng…"

Cheng Zhiyu didn’t respond, only stared coldly at the other man. The cursing Superhuman was a wind-type Superhuman, but unfortunately, he didn’t seem very strong. He formed a small wind blade and sent it flying toward Cheng Zhiyu.

Narrowing his eyes, Cheng Zhiyu held back Little Black, who was trying to burst out from his clothing, and effortlessly blocked the wind blade with his Little Iron Cleaver.

Then, an ice blade shot toward the Superhuman who had attacked Cheng Zhiyu. Tian Qiao shouted angrily, "You jerk, how dare you bully Cheng Zhiyu!"

The wind-type Superhuman couldn’t dodge in time, and his arm was instantly gashed open by the ice blade.

Seeing this, Sister Hong breathed a sigh of relief and gently patted Yan Yan in her arms. "It’s okay, Yan Yan, it’s okay."

Li Renyi seemed to have just noticed the conflict and hurried over, patting the furious Tian Qiao to calm him down. "Tian, don’t be impulsive. Let’s talk this through. I’ll figure out what happened and get this sorted out fairly."

After saying this, Li Renyi frowned and scowled at the wind-type Superhuman with clear anger. "What’s going on?"

The wind-type Superhuman felt he had done nothing wrong but, knowing he was no match for Tian Qiao, had to suppress his rage.

Moreover, he couldn’t believe that Cheng Zhiyu, an ordinary person, had so easily blocked his wind blade. It must have been luck—it had to be!

Trying to reassure himself, the wind-type Superhuman defiantly recounted what had just happened.

Listening to him, Cheng Zhiyu scoffed. "Mr. Li, I had no idea the team had such highway robbery rules. If I’d known, I wouldn’t have joined. I’d be better off on my own."

Tian Qiao raised both hands and feet in support. "If you leave, Cheng Zhiyu, I won’t stick around with this crappy team either."

Hearing Tian Qiao say this, Li Renyi shook his head helplessly. "You two, why be in such a hurry? Our team doesn’t have rules like that. Truth be told, it’s my fault for not keeping better control. Don’t worry, I’ll deal with this bully properly later!"

He then appealed to them emotionally: "Both of you, I know you’re capable young men, but you also know how hard it is to survive alone in this world. Isn’t it much safer when we stick together?"

Cheng Zhiyu seemed slightly swayed, and Li Renyi continued, "Don’t worry, I promise nothing like this will happen again. Will you give me some face, young man?"

Cheng Zhiyu gave in. "Alright, since Mr. Li has said so, we’ll let it go this time."

Tian Qiao followed Cheng Zhiyu’s lead, agreeing with whatever he said.

Li Renyi smiled and said a few more words before turning to the wind-type Superhuman with a stern expression. "Go and take your punishment."

Cheng Zhiyu expected the wind-type Superhuman to show at least some reluctance, but to his surprise, the man complied without complaint, as if Li Renyi’s word was law.

Cheng Zhiyu raised an eyebrow. It seemed Li Renyi had far more control over these people than he had imagined. But why were they so obedient to him?

The narrow-eyed man who had tattled clearly hadn’t expected the matter to be resolved so easily. When Cheng Zhiyu glanced his way, he shrank back, trying to make himself invisible.

Sister Hong looked at Cheng Zhiyu as if she wanted to say something but held back. Pretending not to notice, Cheng Zhiyu crouched down and smiled at Yan Yan. "Go ahead and eat."

Yan Yan looked up at him admiringly and whispered, "Big brother, you’re amazing!"

Then, very considerately, she carefully offered the bread to Cheng Zhiyu for him to eat. He shook his head. "No need, I’ve already eaten plenty and I’m not hungry. Share it with your mom."

Yan Yan broke the bread in half and gave part to Sister Hong, urging her to eat, while she nibbled on her own share, occasionally closing her eyes with a blissful expression.

Sister Hong’s nose stung with emotion. Instead of eating right away, she worriedly said, "Xiao Cheng, you just offended Liu Qiang. I’m afraid he might make trouble for you later."

Cheng Zhiyu didn’t care in the slightest. With Liu Qiang’s level of ability, what was there to worry about?

Unsure how Liu Qiang’s abilities ranked within the team, he asked Sister Hong. She replied, "Liu Qiang is considered quite skilled and is in Mr. Li's good graces. That’s why I was so shocked earlier—I didn’t expect Mr. Li to punish him."

Cheng Zhiyu: "..." This was considered skilled?

He was puzzled. Logically, these Superhumans had been active outdoors, so their abilities should have improved with practice. How could they be at such a low level?

No wonder Tian Qiao wanted to leave and Li Renyi was so eager to keep him. If Liu Qiang’s level was considered skilled, then Tian Qiao probably had no match in the entire team.

What Cheng Zhiyu found strange, though, was that Li Renyi had seemed surprised when he blocked the wind blade. But after the surprise, a flicker of pity had flashed in his eyes.

What was he regretting? And if Li Renyi was so eager to recruit strong members, why did he still seem indifferent toward Cheng Zhiyu?

Cheng Zhiyu didn’t expect special treatment—in fact, he’d find it uncomfortable—but Li Renyi’s actions just didn’t make sense. Did strength only depend on whether someone had superpowers?

For now, he couldn’t figure it out, so he decided to set it aside. He’d find out eventually.

Soon, the Superhumans finished gathering the supplies and led everyone back to their temporary camp. They were relatively lucky, encountering only scattered zombies along the way.

Cheng Zhiyu noticed that Li Renyi never once lifted a finger, whether because he was used to giving orders or for some other reason.

He didn’t find it particularly odd—it was normal for a leader to avoid taking action unless necessary.

The Superhumans used their abilities to deal with the zombies, and Cheng Zhiyu saw that Sister Hong hadn’t been exaggerating. Though they had powers, their skills were mediocre, and they clearly feared the zombies even as they forced themselves to fight. And these were just ordinary zombies.

They could handle scattered zombies, but what would they do if they encountered a horde? With their capabilities, it was unlikely they’d escape unscathed.

Tian Qiao also took action when he saw the zombies, sending out three ice blades that took down three zombies in one go.

Li Renyi’s eyes gleamed with even more enthusiasm, and he praised Tian Qiao to the skies, who found it almost ridiculous. Was this really impressive? Cheng Zhiyu was far more skilled—heck, even the dog by Cheng Zhiyu’s side was more capable. This Li Renyi really had no eye for talent.

But since Cheng Zhiyu seemed intent on hiding his strength, Tian Qiao didn’t say anything.

Little Black had been curled up inside Cheng Zhiyu’s clothes, feeling stifled, and now poked his head out for some air.

Several people were surprised to see him. After the apocalypse, they hadn’t seen such a fragile creature, and yet Cheng Zhiyu was keeping one as a pet.

Moreover, the little black dog looked plump and well-fed, as if he’d never gone hungry.

Little Black twitched his ears, growing annoyed by all the attention. Cheng Zhiyu reached out and soothingly stroked his ears. "Do you want to go back in?"

He meant inside his jacket.

Little Black: "No. You were the one who shoved me in earlier."

Cheng Zhiyu found it amusing. So he was holding a grudge? He murmured softly, "It’s not convenient right now."

It wasn’t convenient for Little Black to show what he can do—Cheng Zhiyu was deeply wary of this group.

Little Black naturally understood. He’d only said it in passing and wasn’t actually resentful.

Cheng Zhiyu lowered his head and kissed his ear, whispered, "Be good."

Little Black: "..." He shook his burning ear, still wasn't used to Cheng Zhiyu occasionally kissing him.

"Brother, your puppy is so cute," Yan Yan said with wide eyes, staring eagerly at Little Black's head poking out.

Cheng Zhiyu smiled and said, "His name is Little Black."

Yan Yan nodded and asked cautiously, "Can I pet him?"

Little Black warned Cheng Zhiyu, "If you dare let anyone else touch me, I... I'm done with you!"

Cheng Zhiyu held back a laugh; Little Black's way of making threats was just too adorable. He regretfully told Yan Yan, "No, sorry. Little Black doesn’t like being touched by others."

Yan Yan nodded understandingly and didn’t say anything else. Sister Hong gently pinched her little cheek.

The group arrived relatively smoothly at the place they were staying—a two-story villa. Upon entering, Cheng Zhiyu noticed it was really clean, practically spotless.

However, the superhumans ahead walked in without a care. Having been outside, their shoes were obviously dirty, leaving black footprints on the floor. A woman in her thirties, who was mopping, looked like she was used to it. She waited silently for the superhumans to go upstairs before mopping the floor.

Li Renyi invited Tian Qiao upstairs. Tian Qiao waved and said, "Orange, come on up!"

A nearby superhuman said, "No, we’re going upstairs to discuss important things. Ordinary people can’t come up."

Tian Qiao was displeased and annoyed by the other’s condescending attitude. So what if he’s a superhuman? Orange could kick your ass!

Cheng Zhiyu said, "Tian Qiao, you go ahead. I’ll stay downstairs."

Tian Qiao glanced at Cheng Zhiyu and reluctantly agreed, "Alright. Orange, holler if you need me."

Cheng Zhiyu nodded.

Sister Hong remarked nearby, "Your friend is really good. Ah, it reminds me of two brothers before—they were actual brothers, joined the team together, but within a few days, they had a falling out. The older brother was an ordinary person. Once, when he went out with the team, he didn’t come back. His younger brother didn’t even ask about him. Really... that’s how it is these days."

Sister Hong sighed, "And when those two brothers first came, they seemed to have a good relationship."

After hearing Sister Hong’s words, Cheng Zhiyu frowned and asked, "Do people die in the team?"

Sister Hong nodded, "Some ordinary people go out with the team and don’t come back. The superhumans say they were too weak and got bitten to death by zombies."

Cheng Zhiyu asked again, "What about the superhumans? Are there any who don’t return?"

Sister Hong said, "Yes, but it’s rare. Since I joined the team, I’ve only encountered two or three cases."

Sister Hong had been with the team the longest, so two or three was indeed very few.

Cheng Zhiyu thought it was weird that given the superhumans’ strength, the mortality rate was so low.

Sister Hong went on, "This place was chosen by Li Xiansheng. He said it’s easier to keep track of everyone if everyone lives together."

The villa was larger than other houses and could accommodate more people.

So far, Cheng Zhiyu had seen fifteen superhumans in the team, with some he hadn’t met yet. He estimated there were twenty or so altogether.

There were more ordinary people—fifty-plus. Although the villa was spacious, it only had about ten rooms, so there was no way for everyone to have their own room.

Most ordinary people slept outside—in the living room or corridors. Some had a blanket, but most didn’t even have that and slept directly on the floor.

During the day, it was fine; the weather was hot, and sleeping on the floor was cooler. But at night, the cold wind was bitter, and sleeping on the floor could freeze someone to death.

So they slept during the day and were up at night. Even if they wanted to sleep at night, they couldn’t.

Tian Qiao came downstairs and told Cheng Zhiyu that Li Renyi had assigned him a room and invited Cheng Zhiyu to share it with him.

Cheng Zhiyu shook his head and declined, "I’ll sleep outside. The team has its rules."

Tian Qiao scratched his head and whispered, "I feel like Li Renyi isn’t very good to ordinary people. Although in these times, taking in ordinary people is already commendable, something feels off to me."

Cheng Zhiyu looked at Tian Qiao in surprise. His childhood friend was usually pretty oblivious; if he sensed something strange...

"What did they say upstairs just now?" Cheng Zhiyu asked.

Tian Qiao said, "Not much. Some other teams out scavenging returned and said five ordinary people died..."

Li Renyi frowned and looked at the team leader, "What went wrong? How’d we lose so many?"

The leader had his reasons, "Today was bad luck. We ran into a zombie that could even breathe fire. The guys couldn’t deal with it, so..."

Li Renyi glanced at him, and the leader fell silent. Li Renyi slowly took a drag off his cigarette, "Zombies are evolving too. You’re getting sloppy. If this continues, it won’t work."

The leader listened but clearly didn’t take it seriously, "What’s to worry about? It’s not like we don’t have ways..."

"Enough!" Li Renyi frowned, "Dismissed. Count up the supplies and hand out today’s rations."

Tian Qiao listened the whole time but couldn’t put his finger on what was wrong, though he felt something was strange.

"Even though Li Renyi was asking about those ordinary people, it seemed like he was concerned, but in reality, he didn’t really care about their lives, right?" Cheng Zhiyu put into words Tian Qiao’s unease.

Tian Qiao nodded, "Yeah, exactly. It’s really strange. I actually liked Li Renyi okay before."

Cheng Zhiyu said, "Not every leader can empathize with those beneath them. His behavior is normal."

Though Tian Qiao understood, he could no longer fully trust Li Renyi and was on his guard now.

Seeing this, Cheng Zhiyu felt slightly relieved. Li Renyi had managed to keep his superhumans in line; he always felt there was something off about the man. It was good that Tian Qiao was being cautious.

"By the way, where will you sleep tonight?" Tian Qiao asked.

Cheng Zhiyu said, "On the floor downstairs. Maybe find a corridor with fewer people."

Tian Qiao frowned, "I’m really fed up. This arrangement is so unreasonable. The superhumans either get their own room or share with one other person. If they squeezed in a bit, ordinary people wouldn’t have to sleep on the floor. I’m going to talk to Li Renyi about this."

Cheng Zhiyu tried to stop him, but Tian Qiao ran off too quickly, so he let it go.

He tried to find a corridor, but it was already occupied. The person sleeping there gave him a wary look as he approached, so Cheng Zhiyu had to find another spot.

In the end, Sister Hong noticed he couldn’t find a place and offered, "I was lucky to get the elevator room. The elevator doesn’t work anymore, so barely anyone comes through. It’s quite spacious and relatively quiet. If you don’t mind, you can sleep here."

Cheng Zhiyu hesitated, mainly because Sister Hong and her daughter were there, and it might be inconvenient.

Sister Hong smiled, "It’s fine. I’m in my forties, and besides, no one treats this place as their own room. We sleep with our clothes on, so what’s there to worry about? Some people have been trying to kick me and my daughter out anyway."

Hearing this, Cheng Zhiyu finally nodded, "Thank you, Sister Hong."

Sister Hong smiled and shook her head, "It’s nothing."

The elevator room was indeed quite spacious. Sister Hong and Yan Yan slept on the left side, while Cheng Zhiyu cuddled Little Black and slept on the other side, with some empty space between them.

Suddenly, a commotion broke out outside. Red Face hurriedly got up and said to Cheng Zhiyu, "They’re handing out supplies. Better go grab yours."

Cheng Zhiyu had plenty of food in his space, but under the current circumstances, he definitely couldn’t take it out. Besides, not collecting supplies would seem too strange and would inevitably arouse suspicion. So he got up and went out with Little Black.

Hearing that supplies were being distributed, Little Black immediately perched on Cheng Zhiyu’s shoulder to get a look. But after glancing outside, he quickly lost all interest and dug into Cheng Zhiyu’s clothes.

Cheng Zhiyu patted him and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Little Black replied, “I don’t want to eat that.”

Cheng Zhiyu looked over and saw two Superhumans distributing supplies—a small bag of crackers and a cup of water, with only a few sips’ worth of water in the cup.

He had guessed that the supplies given to ordinary people wouldn’t be much, but he hadn’t expected it to be this meager.

Clearly, there had been quite a few things in the small supermarket earlier—at least enough that they shouldn’t be handing out so little.

Cheng Zhiyu frowned slightly when someone shoved him: “What are you standing around for? Stop blocking the line.”

Little Black popped his head out and glared at the person who had pushed Cheng Zhiyu.

Cheng Zhiyu calmly petted Little Black and said, “It’s fine. He’s just starving.”

With such meager rations each time, no wonder people were getting desperate.

Cheng Zhiyu let out a soft sigh but still went over to collect the crackers. As for the water, since he didn’t have a cup, he wasn’t given any.

After he left, the two Superhumans muttered among themselves: “I saw he still had stuff in his bag—things he took from the small supermarket today. The boss didn’t let us confiscate it. Tsk… let’s see how long he can hold out!”

Tian Qiao came downstairs glumly and said to Cheng Zhiyu, “Li Xiansheng said that Superhumans have it tough on every mission. Besides, Superhumans have keener senses than ordinary people and can’t sleep well around others. It could easily affect their performance the next day during ‘reclamation’.”

Reclamation meant going to a new area to search for supplies.

Cheng Zhiyu wasn’t surprised by this outcome. How could Li Renyi easily change the usual setup?

People in charge care more about balance than making everyone happy.

What could ordinary people do even if they were dissatisfied? Here, though they couldn’t even get a room to sleep in and had to survive on scraps, at least they wouldn’t be driven out. On their own outside, they’d only end up dead.

“Hey, Tian Qiao, come upstairs to eat,” a Superhuman called out to him.

Tian Qiao answered and, after finishing his conversation with Cheng Zhiyu, went upstairs.

Seeing that ordinary people had only been given crackers and water, he thought supplies were scarce. But then he saw several large boxes upstairs. Li Renyi said, “There aren’t many supplies this time—each person gets half a box.”

Tian Qiao frowned. Although Superhumans had bigger appetites than ordinary people, this disparity was far too large. Remembering the small packet of crackers in Cheng Zhiyu’s hand earlier, he felt really uneasy.

But this time, he’d wised up. He knew questioning Li Renyi was pointless—the man always had countless reasons ready to shut him up. It was better to take the supplies and share them with Cheng Zhiyu later.

Li Renyi noticed how quickly Tian Qiao took the supplies, a knowing look in his eyes. No doubt he’d seen what the ordinary people downstairs received.… When there’s a class divide, especially for those of higher status, people unconsciously defend their own class. Such was human nature.

Li Renyi walked over to Tian Qiao and gave him a friendly smile. “Xiao Tian, you just joined the team today. How are you settling in? Come, let’s chat.”

Tian Qiao thought to himself that he still wanted to share some food with Cheng Zhiyu, but at Li Renyi’s words, he found himself wanting to hear what the man had to say. He nodded.

Downstairs, seeing that Little Black firmly refused to eat the crackers, Cheng Zhiyu had to eat them himself.

The meals in his space weren’t easy to take out—even if he found a private spot, the aroma would be too strong. After some thought, he remembered he had stored some jerky. Jerky didn’t smell much, so he took it out when no one was around and gave it to Little Black.

Sister Hong’s elevator area was convenient for bringing out food to eat. She and Yan Yan weren’t always there, and when they were away, Cheng Zhiyu would bring out jerky for Little Black. “Eat up. You’ve hardly eaten all day. Let me feel… your belly’s totally flat.”

Little Black tried to dodge but failed. Angrily, he said, “I don’t have a little belly!”

“Alright, alright, you don’t. Now eat quickly,” Cheng Zhiyu urged him.

Seeing that Cheng Zhiyu was also eating jerky, Little Black joined in. His bite force wasn’t as weak as before—now it was strong enough to chew through the jerky.

After eating a large piece of jerky and drinking some water, Little Black swished his tail and said, “I want potato chips.”

Cheng Zhiyu replied, “No. Chips smell too strong. We’d be discovered.”

Little Black: Fine. He hadn’t insisted on having them anyway.

As night began to fall, Cheng Zhiyu took out some red cabbage, sharing it with Little Black. Their bodies warmed up quickly.

Cheng Zhiyu glanced at the ground, then couldn’t help but get up and wipe it down before laying out a blanket near the doorway and lying down.

Little Black frowned, his face showing an almost human expression. Seeing this, Cheng Zhiyu pinched his ear and said, “It’s fine. You can snuggle up against me.”

But instead of snuggling against him, Little Black lay down beside Cheng Zhiyu.

Cheng Zhiyu raised a brow slightly, smiled, and closed his eyes.

The night was cold, and the ordinary people sleeping outside weren’t sleeping yet. There were always small noises outside, but they didn’t dare make loud sounds for fear of disturbing the Superhumans sleeping in the rooms.

Cheng Zhiyu wasn’t asleep either—he was just resting with his eyes closed. Right then, the door was pushed open quietly.

It wasn’t Sister Hong. He opened his eyes and met a pair of startled ones. The person tried to run, but Cheng Zhiyu was faster. He immediately grabbed the intruder’s arm, pinned them against the wall, and said coldly, “What are you doing?”

It was the triangular-eyed man who had snitched earlier that day. Cheng Zhiyu couldn’t help but squeeze his grip harder.

The triangular-eyed man grimaced in pain but didn’t dare cry out loudly, afraid of waking the sleeping Superhumans. His expression was both comical and pitiable. “I… I got the wrong room!”

Cheng Zhiyu said lowly, “If your eyes are useless, how about I dig them out for you?”

The triangular-eyed man trembled and hurriedly said, “No… don’t! Li Xiansheng set a rule—no hurting people!”

Cheng Zhiyu laughed. “Do you think I’m afraid?”

Remembering how easily Cheng Zhiyu had blocked Liu Qiang’s wind blade earlier that day, the triangular-eyed man grew fearful. He felt Cheng Zhiyu wasn’t just bluffing and quickly begged for mercy, “I was wrong, Grandpa! I was wrong!”

Disgusted, Cheng Zhiyu released him.

Not daring to run, the triangular-eyed man knelt before Cheng Zhiyu, kowtowing repeatedly. “Grandpa! I really didn’t mean any harm. I’m just too hungry and thought I’d check if that woman—no, Sister Hong—had any food. The mother and daughter aren’t here, and I didn’t expect you to be here. I really didn’t mean any harm. I’m just too hungry!”

If this had been his first time meeting the triangular-eyed man, Cheng Zhiyu might have believed him. But after what he’d seen earlier that day, he knew this man was no good. While he might truly be hungry, it certainly wasn’t out of desperation that he’d come to steal.

“No harm? If you take someone else’s food, they go hungry or even starve to death. Isn’t that doing evil?” Cheng Zhiyu said.

The triangular-eyed man was thoroughly cowed. He was someone who could bend when necessary, and now he cried and sniffled, “I was wrong, I was wrong. Dad, what will it take for you to let me go?”

Before Cheng Zhiyu could respond, the triangular-eyed man quickly added, “I… I know something. If I tell you, will you let me go?”

Cheng Zhiyu didn’t agree outright. “That depends on what you have to say.”

The triangular-eyed man glanced around, then lowered his voice. “I suck up to those Superhumans just to survive. You think I’m naturally the type to flatter those above and crush those below?”

Cheng Zhiyu’s eyes seemed to ask: Aren’t you?

He said, “Survive? Can’t you survive without sucking up to them?”

The triangular-eyed man seemed frightened and trembled. “I’ve noticed that anyone who offends the Superhumans gets taken on a mission before long. And when the Superhumans return, that person… doesn’t come back with them. I suspect they’re taken out and…”

Slanted Eyes made a literal throat-slitting gesture as he spoke.

Cheng Zhiyu frowned slightly. Slanted Eyes said, "You offended Liu Qiang earlier; he's definitely going to get back at you. You'd better be careful."

Cheng Zhiyu didn't respond. Retaliation? He thought he was more worried that Liu Qiang wouldn't do anything at all.

He asked Slanted Eyes, "Where is Sister Hong now?"

Slanted Eyes answered honestly, "I saw her cleaning the stairwell."

Cheng Zhiyu said, "Oh, then go clean for her."

Slanted Eyes was reluctant. He was naturally lazy and always tried to push his own work onto others, so he certainly didn't want to do someone else's work.

Cheng Zhiyu gave a cold look at his hands.

Slanted Eyes felt a chill run down his wrists, shivered, and quickly said, "I'll go right now, I'll go right now."

Slanted Eyes stumbled away, and Cheng Zhiyu closed the elevator lobby door.

Suddenly feeling his hand was cold, he looked down and saw Little Black carefully washing it off with water. Cheng Zhiyu smiled and said, "Wow, Little Black, you're so thoughtful."

Little Black said disdainfully, "You're disgusting."

From a distance, he had already could smell the stench coming from Slanted Eyes.

To be fair, it was understandable. Water was scarce, and the days were extremely hot, making it inevitable that people would sweat. Without the ability to bathe, people would stink.

It wasn't just the ordinary people—even the Superhumans didn't smell much nicer.

A moment later, Sister Hong returned, holding Yan Yan’s hand, looking surprised. "Xiao Cheng, just now Shunzi insisted on doing my work for me. It really startled me, but then I realized it must be because of you, right?"

Cheng Zhiyu realized that Slanted Eyes must be Shunzi.

He explained what had happened earlier. After listening, Sister Hong didn't react much, as if she was already used to it. "That's just how Shunzi is. He loves to steal and slack off. Several times before, he was beaten badly for taking other people's things. If it weren't for the rules set by Li Xiansheng preventing people from beating him too severely, he probably would've been killed long ago."

"Shunzi also likes to suck up to the Superhumans." Of course, most ordinary people here tried to suck up to the Superhumans to improve their own lives, but Shunzi’s method was to pick on other regular people, as he had done today. As a result, no ordinary person wanted anything to do with him; some even hated him deeply.

People like Shunzi were bullies who preyed on the weak. He didn't dare steal from others for fear of being beaten, but he thought he could target Sister Hong because she was a widow with a child.

Sister Hong said, "I'm not stupid. Why would I leave things lying around here? Besides, we get so little that we can hardly save any."

As she spoke, Sister Hong looked at Yan Yan, who was skin and bones, her expression sorrowful. She whispered, "Do you blame me?"

Yan Yan shook her head gently and snuggled against her affectionately.

Sister Hong turned her head to hide the tears in her eyes.

Cheng Zhiyu watched, feeling a twinge of pity, but his system had to remain secret. He could only sigh softly.

Little Black, seeing his expression, knew exactly what he was thinking. He reached out a paw and gently patted Cheng Zhiyu’s hand.

Cheng Zhiyu smiled, composed himself, and took out a thick coat from his bag. He had brought it just in case, but since he had the red cabbage, he had never needed to wear it. He handed the coat to Sister Hong. "Sister Hong, it's cold at night. Let Yan Yan wear this."

Sister Hong glanced at Cheng Zhiyu’s thin jacket and quickly refused, "No, you're not wearing much yourself. I can't take it."

"I don't feel the cold much. Yan Yan is still young; we shouldn't let her get cold." Cheng Zhiyu said, putting on a mock-stern voice, "If you refuse again, I'll be upset. Besides, if it weren't for you, I'd be sleeping in the main hall. The stench out there is awful."

As he spoke, Cheng Zhiyu wrinkled his nose.

Sister Hong was amused by his expression. "You... I really don't know what to say."

Since the apocalypse began, she had encountered so much malice while raising Yan Yan, but she rarely met anyone like Cheng Zhiyu, who still had a kind heart.

In the end, she didn't refuse again and tried to put the coat on Yan Yan. Yan Yan shook her head. "Mom, you wear it. I'll cuddle in your arms. That way, we'll both be warm!"

Sister Hong praised, "Wow, Yan Yan, you're so clever."

Yan Yan giggled and snuggled into Sister Hong’s arms. "Mom's arms are so warm!"

Cheng Zhiyu watched the mother and child, a smile spreading across his face before he knew it.

Early the next morning, Tian Qiao brought some food downstairs and said to Cheng Zhiyu, "I meant to come find you yesterday, but the Boss talked to me for a long time. After that, I went back to my room to sleep and somehow forgot all about it."

Cheng Zhiyu raised an eyebrow. "The Boss?"

Tian Qiao scratched his head. "Huh? Maybe I've heard others call him that so much that I started doing it without thinking."

Cheng Zhiyu looked at Tian Qiao, feeling that something was off.

"Hey, why are you zoning out? Hurry up and eat. I have plenty of stuff here. The Boss is really good to us; he gave out a lot of supplies." Tian Qiao was singing praises of Li Renyi.

Cheng Zhiyu frowned, realizing what felt strange. Yesterday, Tian Qiao had been saying that Li Renyi was hypocritical, treating ordinary people and Superhumans by completely different standards. But today, he accepted it easily, without finding anything wrong.

He said, "Is that so? Yesterday, I only got a small bag of biscuits."

"Really? Then you should eat more." Tian Qiao quickly opened a pack of ramen and urged Cheng Zhiyu to have some.

Cheng Zhiyu took it but didn't eat. "They gave you so much, but only gave me a bag of biscuits. Is it just because you're a Superhuman?"

"Supers have bigger appetites," Tian Qiao said, though he also felt something was odd. But something in his mind told him it was fine. He looked conflicted. "Maybe it was an oversight. I'll talk to him later."

Cheng Zhiyu: "..."

"Cheng, why are you making that face? You're giving me the creeps." Tian Qiao rubbed his arms.

Cheng Zhiyu asked, "Do you remember where we're supposed to go?"

"Of course, we're going home. I still want to go back and find my parents." After saying this, Tian Qiao added, "But for some reason, I feel a bit reluctant to leave here, reluctant to leave the Boss."

When Cheng Zhiyu heard the first part, he thought it wasn't too unreasonable, but the second half left him speechless.

If Tian Qiao stayed any longer, he might even forget where he came from.

Little Black, watching from the side, said, "That guy surnamed Li can mess with people's heads, making them unconsciously admire and remain loyal to him."

Cheng Zhiyu frowned. "Is that Li Renyi's ability? What should we do about Tian Qiao's condition now?"

Little Black said, "It's fine. Just knock some sense into him."

Then, Little Black jumped onto Tian Qiao’s shoulder and swatted him on the head. Tian Qiao yelped, "Brother Black! Why did you hit me?"

Little Black had already jumped back into Cheng Zhiyu’s arms and calmly gave a little yawn.

"Ouch... that hurt! Cheng, you have to have my back!" Tian Qiao rubbed his head, looking very wronged.

Cheng Zhiyu petted Little Black and said, "You can ask your Boss to have your back."

Tian Qiao asked confusedly, "? What Boss?"

Cheng Zhiyu: "Li Renyi—you were just calling him 'boss' over and over, happy as can be, so content you didn't even want to go home to find your parents."

Tian Qiao widened his eyes: "Cheng Zhiyu, are you joking?"

Cheng Zhiyu didn’t speak. Seeing his expression, Tian Qiao knew he wasn’t joking and felt a chill run down his spine. He hugged himself tightly: "Could it be that I’ll become one of Li Renyi’s lackeys too? No way, no way, Cheng Zhiyu, let’s get out of here."

Cheng Zhiyu shook his head: "Do you think Li Renyi will let us leave so easily?"

Although they could certainly just leave, these ordinary people who follow Li Renyi and his group would likely end up dead.

"What do we do then? Li Renyi’s ability is seriously creepy!" Tian Qiao rubbed the goosebumps on his arm.

Little Black said: "Don't worry. Every time he sees Li Renyi, just bring him to me, and I’ll slap him awake."

Cheng Zhiyu cleared his throat lightly and passed on what Little Black said to Tian Qiao.

Tian Qiao rubbed his still-sore head, looking pitiful: "Is there really no other way?"

Cheng Zhiyu: "No."

Tian Qiao was utterly disgusted with Li Renyi now.

Cheng Zhiyu reminded him: "Don’t let Li Renyi catch on. Didn’t you acknowledge him as your boss? Keep pretending."

Tian Qiao made a face like he'd eaten something gross and said weakly: "Alright…"

He grumbled: "By the way, why didn’t he brainwash you? Is it because you’re strong-willed?"

Cheng Zhiyu also found it strange. The superhumans were convinced by Li Renyi and obeyed unconditionally, but the ordinary people weren’t like that—they feared the superhumans, were grateful for their shelter, and respected Li Renyi, but not to the same extent as the superhumans.

It hit him in a flash, and he exchanged a look with Little Black: "Because Li Renyi’s ability only works on superhumans."

No wonder Li Renyi looked regretful upon realizing that even without abilities, Cheng Zhiyu’s strength was not to be underestimated.

He was regretful that Cheng Zhiyu wasn’t a superhuman and couldn’t be influenced by his ability.

"Whoa, that explains everything!" Tian Qiao clapped his hands. No wonder the division between ordinary people and superhumans here was so clear. Before, he thought it was based on strength, since superhumans were indeed more powerful than ordinary people, but now it seemed that wasn’t the case.

"Superhumans can be his loyal followers, but ordinary people in this team are just expendable resources," Cheng Zhiyu stated a cruel fact.

Tian Qiao felt a chill down his spine: "What do you mean?"

"Every time they go out, they bring ordinary people, saying they can also contribute, but they don’t let them near the supplies at all." Based on the information he’d gathered over the past day, Cheng Zhiyu guessed a fact: "According to Sister Hong, she’s been in this team for over a month. In just over a month, these superhumans must have participated in dozens of battles, yet their strength is so weak—it’s totally suspicious."

Tian Qiao: "Huh? Are they making ordinary people fight zombies? No wonder so many people die every time they go out!"

Cheng Zhiyu closed his eyes: "Pretty much. Except, they’re using ordinary people as zombie bait."

As zombie bait? Hearing this, Tian Qiao couldn't help but shudder.