Chapter 55

Mom Cheng divided the meat Cheng Zhiyan brought back in half. One portion was stored away, while the other was cut into small pieces and simmered in porridge.

She cooked a large pot of porridge, with the meat chunks almost invisible, but the savory aroma made it far more appealing than plain congee.

In truth, anyone who could afford plain congee was considered to be living comfortably—at least they could eat their fill.

Uncle and Aunt Tian also joined them for the meal. Long ago, the two families had merged households. Uncle and Aunt Tian felt a pang of shame, believing they were burdens on Cheng Zhiyan.

Zhiyan had just become an adult. In earlier times, a child her age would still be in school, yet now she bore the weight of the entire family.

At the dinner table, everyone tried to steer the conversation towards cheerful topics, but such subjects were scarce, and soon they ran out of things to say.

The attitude of the superhumans in the village towards ordinary people was worsening. Hunger fueled their resentment, as they believed their food was being siphoned off by the non-superhumans.

Today, Tian’s father narrowly escaped a beating from a superhuman. The superhuman backed off only after learning that Tian’s family included a superhuman member.

However, verbal humiliation was unavoidable.

Tian’s father endured it silently, choosing not to inform Cheng Zhiyan, as he wished to avoid any conflict between her and other superhumans.

There was no point in discussing it anyway.

Noticing the somber mood, Cheng’s father racked his brain for a topic: "Today, I heard some superhumans saying they want to elect Yang Kai as the leader. Ah… Wasn’t Lin Kang doing a pretty good job?"

Catching sight of Cheng Zhiyan’s displeased expression, Mom Cheng nudged her husband with her elbow: "Can’t you just eat your food? Why do you have so much to say?"

Realizing he might have misspoken, Cheng’s father offered an awkward laugh and fell silent.

"Mom, Dad, Uncle, Aunt, if Yang Kai becomes the leader, ordinary people probably won’t have a way to survive," Cheng Zhiyan stated. As a superhuman, she possessed more information than the average person.

She had previously refrained from speaking, but now, with new plans, she no longer intended to keep it hidden.

The adults exchanged glances, and Mom Cheng spoke up: "Yan Yan, if you’re saying this, you must have something else in mind."

Cheng Zhiyan nodded: "Since we can’t stay in the village any longer, why don’t we go find my brother and Tian’s brother?"

Cheng Zhiyan knew her decision was impulsive. Although she was a superhuman and relatively strong among the village’s superhumans, she wasn’t certain she could protect the other four outside.

However, if Yang Kai truly took control of the village, she wouldn’t be able to protect her family there either.

Moreover, she had an unsettling intuition about Yang Kai’s intentions. Staying in the village felt just as perilous as venturing outside, so they might as well leave.

She missed her brother.

"This…"

For a moment, the others were at a loss for words. They, too, yearned to find their sons, but as ordinary people, what good would they be? They would only be a burden to Cheng Zhiyan.

They felt a deep sadness, lamenting their inability to help as mere ordinary people.

"Don’t overthink it. The village hasn’t changed leaders yet. Let’s talk about it if it really happens," Cheng Zhiyan said, forcing a smile. Though her words were meant to comfort, she knew deep down that Lin Kang couldn’t hold on much longer.

She needed to prepare more thoroughly.

Lost in their own thoughts, they finished the meal without truly savoring it.

The next day, Cheng Zhiyan decided to undertake a mission. Someone in the village had discovered a small herd of wild boars about ten kilometers away.

If they could take down the wild boar herd, everyone who contributed to the task would receive one wild boar.

The reason for such a generous distribution was that the leader of the wild boar herd was a Level 3 mutated beast, and there were also several Level 2 mutated beasts within the group.

This mission carried a certain degree of danger, but because the rewards were undoubtedly substantial, some were willing to take the risk.

In the end, a total of fourteen people set out on the mission together.

Yang Kai led the team.

Regardless of Yang Kai’s character, he was indeed the strongest superhuman in the village. With him present, at least the wild boar leader could be dealt with.

Cheng Zhiyan had anticipated Yang Kai’s presence and, upon seeing him, maintained a respectful distance.

However, along the way, Yang Kai approached her: "Xiao Yan, why are you ignoring me?"

Cheng Zhiyan remained silent, offering no response.

Yang Kai remained unfazed. He knew he would eventually replace Lin Kang, and then...

He flashed a confident smile and sighed, "I feel for you. Such a beautiful young girl, having to care for four ordinary people in your family. It’s too much. Instead of bearing the burden alone, why not find someone to share it with you?"

Cheng Zhiyan frowned: "No need. My family doesn’t need me to take care of them."

She truly detested Yang Kai. In his eyes, ordinary people were useless, no different from the disabled.

After speaking, she moved further away from Yang Kai. He attempted to approach her again, but Aunt Wang, a woman in her fifties, stepped between them and said with a smile, "Captain Yang, we should pay more attention to our surroundings. It’s quite dangerous out here. What if we encounter zombies or mutated creatures?"

Yang Kai glared at Aunt Wang: "I’d advise you to mind your own business."

Aunt Wang looked puzzled: "How is ensuring the safety of everyone in the team considered meddling?"

Yang Kai sneered and fell silent. He’d deal with such tactless people later.

He strode to the front of the group, and Cheng Zhiyan breathed a sigh of relief, thanking Aunt Wang.

Aunt Wang sighed: "Child, I’ve watched you grow up. That scoundrel Yang Kai, truly..."

Yang Kai was already in his thirties. He used to idle around the village, and his parents constantly worried he’d never find a wife. Now, believing himself powerful, he had set his sights on Cheng Zhiyan, a young girl who had just turned eighteen.

How utterly shameless.

Cheng Zhiyan felt a pang of sadness: "If only my brother were here."

Her brother was so capable—he would definitely put Yang Kai in his place.

One of Yang Kai’s sycophants nearby scoffed mockingly: "Your brother’s probably dead out there."

Cheng Zhiyan’s expression darkened. How dare he curse her brother? She was about to teach him a lesson when someone up ahead shouted in alarm: "Mutated wild boars!"

Cheng Zhiyan had to temporarily set aside punishing the sycophant as the group joined forces to hunt the mutated wild boars.

The wild boar leader was left to Yang Kai, while the others split into pairs to deal with the Level 2 mutated wild boars. At first, Yang Kai handled the wild boar leader with ease. As a dual-ability user, he had almost no equal at his level.

However, when the mutated wild boar let out a cry, Yang Kai suddenly felt a splitting headache, and his face paled. Damn it, whose intel was this? He had thought the wild boar leader was just an ordinary Level 3 mutated beast, but it turned out to be a psychic type.

Its cries made his head throb, rendering him unable to even use his abilities.

His vision blurred, and then the wild boar leader cried out again. Yang Kai completely lost his footing, his eyes rolled back, and he collapsed instantly.

"Oh no, what do we do? Yang Kai passed out!" Someone noticed Yang Kai had fainted and immediately panicked—after all, he was the strongest superhuman among them.

Aunt Wang, having more life experience, quickly said, "Let's retreat first!"

They were clearly no match for the mutated wild boars and had no choice but to flee.

However, as they tried to escape, the enraged mutated wild boars had no intention of letting them go. The wild boar leader commanded the other boars to surround them tightly.

Cheng Zhiyan frantically used her fire ability to block the boars' attacks. The wild boar leader's sonic attack made her dizzy and disoriented, but she fought hard to stay conscious—if she passed out, it would truly be over.

She still had her family, and she hadn't found her brother yet...

Just as Cheng Zhiyan was drifting into unconsciousness, the wild boar leader suddenly collapsed with a loud thud. Then she heard a familiar voice: "Yan Yan!"

Her brother's voice—was she dreaming?

Cheng Zhiyan truly believed she was dreaming; she had hallucinated this many times before and been disappointed just as often.

But then, one by one, the boars around her fell, and a familiar figure appeared before her, reaching out to steady her as she swayed unsteadily.

Cheng Zhiyan’s eyes widened, and she murmured, "Brother? Am I dreaming?"

Cheng Zhiyu looked at his sister's condition, his heart aching. He smiled and wiped the sweat from her forehead. "Silly Yan Yan, it's not a dream. I'm back."

Cheng Zhiyan instantly burst into tears, all the longing, frustration, and anxiety of the past days erupting. She fiercely hugged the person she had missed day and night, releasing her emotions: "Brother, you’re finally back!"

Seeing his sister like this, Cheng Zhiyu felt a pang of worry. "What about Mom and Dad..."

Cheng Zhiyan quickly reassured him, "Mom and Dad are fine, and Uncle Tian and Auntie Tian are okay too."

Hearing this, Cheng Zhiyu breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yan Yan, I’m here too, Yan Yan." Tian Qiao, having finished off the boars, hurried over. "I’m back as well."

Cheng Zhiyan saw Tian Qiao’s goofy look and couldn’t help but laugh through her tears. She let go of Cheng Zhiyu, a bit embarrassed as she wiped her eyes. "Brother, Tian-ge, Mom and Dad will be so happy to know you’re back."

Cheng Zhiyu ruffled his sister's hair and sighed. "You've grown taller..." and thinner.

"Haha, I just turned eighteen, of course I’m still growing." Cheng Zhiyan was delighted. After the apocalypse, who had time to worry about whether they’d grown taller? Hearing her brother say this suddenly made her feel much lighter.

Right, Yan Yan was only eighteen. Cheng Zhiyu looked at the exhaustion in her eyes and said, "From now on, your big brother is here for you."

Cheng Zhiyan’s smile faltered, and her nose tingled with emotion again. "Aww, brother, don’t make me cry."

"Come on, come on, let me introduce you to some friends," Tian Qiao chimed in. "This is Tian Manman, this is Zhou Min, this is Sun Yu, and this one..."

"Man-ge, Brother Zhou, Sun-jie." Cheng Zhiyan greeted each one in turn. When she got to Cheng Mo, she paused. Wow, this guy is ridiculously handsome—where did he get that perfect face?

Cheng Zhiyan usually liked fair-skinned handsome guys, but seeing Cheng Mo, she had to admit that tanned skin could also be incredibly handsome!

Cheng Mo cut off Tian Qiao: "I'm your brother's—"

Before he could finish, Cheng Zhiyu quickly interjected, "Friend, ahem... this is also a friend of mine, Cheng Mo."

Cheng Zhiyan blinked. "Brother Mo."

But inwardly, she wondered, *Huh? If they’re all friends, why introduce him separately?*

Cheng Zhiyu shot a glare at Cheng Mo, who looked puzzled and grabbed his hand. "Zhi Yu, I was just going to say friend. Did you think I was going to say something else? Like what?"

Cheng Zhiyu: "..."

He was so used to Cheng Mo holding his hand that he didn't think anything of it at the moment.

Cheng Zhiyan saw this and thought: "!!!"

*Is this normal? Huh?*

It’s not that she was overthinking it, but two grown men holding hands was a bit... *kinda gay.*

Plus, her brother, though kind, had strong boundaries and didn't like being too physically close with others. Yet here he was, letting someone hold his hand so compliantly...

And Brother Tian and the others didn't seem surprised at all—it was like they were used to it.

*OMG, is my brother gay?*

Cheng Zhiyan’s mind raced, her eyes widening slightly. When Cheng Zhiyu asked her what was wrong, she coughed lightly and tried to act casual. "Nothing, brother, I'm just so happy you're back."

Cheng Zhiyu smiled.

Meanwhile, the other superhumans who had come out with them were all shocked. They hadn't expected Cheng Zhiyan's brother to return. If they remembered correctly, he had been attending university in City A and later working there.

City A was quite far from here—how had he managed to return safely all this way?

Everyone felt complicated, especially those close to Yang Kai. They thought about how easily Cheng Zhiyu and the others had taken care of the wild boar herd without much effort, while Yang Kai, who always boasted about how powerful he was, had done nothing and just passed out.

Suddenly, everyone became very enthusiastic toward Cheng Zhiyu and his group, even those who had been on good terms with Yang Kai. Ahem... whatever, they'd just suck it up and buddy up for now.

Aunt Wang, straightforward and unimpressed by some people's actions, said cheerfully, "Zhi Yu, Xiao Qiao, we owe today's wild boar hunt to you. We didn't really help much, so how should we divide up these wild boars?"

"Auntie Wang." Cheng Zhiyu's family lived near hers, and they were fairly familiar. He addressed her politely and said, "You did help..."

Aunt Wang waved her hand. "Not at all, we didn't help at all. We'd feel bad taking any of the boars—you should decide."

Cheng Zhiyu looked at his sister. "Yan Yan, I just got back and don't know the rules here. What do you think we should do?"

The other village superhumans turned to Cheng Zhiyan. They really hadn't contributed much, but still, hadn't they put in some effort? They hoped to get a share of the spoils.

Cheng Zhiyan glanced at her brother, understanding that he was giving her a chance to establish authority. She didn't refuse. After thinking, she felt that, honestly, these people hadn't helped much.

But she couldn't handle it that way.

She tentatively suggested, "According to village rules, half of any resources obtained outside are handed over, and the other half is divided equally. Brother, each of you can take one boar, which leaves three. Since we didn't help much, let's split those three equally among us. As for the cores... there are only three, so we can't divide them. Let's hand them over, and Brother Lin Kang will record credit points for us."

The other village superhumans breathed a sigh of relief. They were lucky to have survived—daring to hope for one boar each was out of the question. Getting this much already felt like a win.

Three boars might not sound like a lot, but these were mutated wild boars—the leader weighed around 500 pounds, and the others were about 300 pounds each. That meant each person could get 70-80 pounds of meat.

After speaking, Cheng Zhiyan glanced at Yang Kai lying on the ground. "I think we should exclude the squad leader—he really didn't help at all. If we give him a share, I'm afraid people will complain."

Those who knew the situation stayed silent, not daring to speak up. Even those usually friendly with Yang Kai didn't object.

For one, Cheng Zhiyan's status had changed—her brother was back and had brought so many powerful superhumans with him. They didn't dare say much.

For another, ahem... not giving Yang Kai a share meant more for them.

Forget about friendship—when it came to benefits, that didn't matter. Their friendship with Yang Kai was based on his power, not genuine affection.

After hearing his sister's arrangement, Cheng Zhiyu had no objections. However, he made a mental note of Yang Kai and planned to check him out later.

"How do we get these boars back?" Tian Qiao said.

The superhumans immediately volunteered eagerly, "We'll handle it, we'll handle it."

After all, they were superhumans, capable of moving wild boars weighing hundreds of pounds. They cleaned the blood off to keep from attracting other wild beasts and dragged the boars by their hooves.

"Um... what about Kai?" asked Superhuman A, who was friends with Yang Kai, hesitating.

No matter what, they couldn't just leave him here.

"You carry him," said Superhuman B beside him, dragging two wild boars with one hand, indicating he couldn't take on anyone else.

Superhuman A was already dragging one wild boar, but seeing that no one was paying attention to Yang Kai, he reluctantly slung him over his shoulder and dragged the wild boar with his other hand.

Tsk, this was worse than dragging two wild boars—at least he wouldn’t have to babysit the boar.

No way, when Yang Kai woke up, he’d have to give him shit. None of these people cared about him; only he, Superhuman A, was looking out for him...

Just as he was thinking this, he accidentally lost his footing, and with a thud, Yang Kai fell from his back, instantly bumping his head. If he weren’t a superhuman, his head would probably be bleeding profusely.

Superhuman A scratched his nose, and seeing that no one had noticed, quickly and guiltily put Yang Kai back on his back, not caring that Yang Kai’s feet were dragging on the ground.

Ahem... anyway, superhumans were durable and tough-skinned. No big deal.

Meanwhile, Cheng Zhiyan didn’t have to drag any wild boars. She climbed into the vehicle and, seeing there was still room in the Jeep, asked her brother and then waved over Aunt Wang, "Aunt Wang, hop in, there’s still space in the car."

Aunt Wang glanced at the wild boar in her hand. "But this boar..."

She couldn’t just have the other superhumans drag her boar back while she rode in the car, could she?

Unexpectedly, two vines suddenly shot out from the Jeep, flung the wild boar onto the roof, and secured it with the vines.

Aunt Wang’s eyes widened in amazement. She had been wondering why the car was covered in vines—turns out it wasn’t ordinary grass but something alive!

This was great. With Cheng Zhiyu back to watch over her, nobody in the village would dare mess with Zhi Yan anymore.

On the way back, Tian Qiao drove. Familiar with the roads, he knew the way and soon arrived at the village.

Only then did they notice that part of the village had already built walls, and there were guards at the entrance.

The guards at the gate snapped to attention when they saw a vehicle approaching. It clearly wasn’t something their village owned, so they got suspicious.

But then Aunt Wang got out of the car. She announced cheerfully, "It’s Zhi Yan’s brother and Xiao Qiao, back with their friends."

"Zhi Yan’s brother? Back from where?" The guards knew Cheng Zhiyan, but not everyone knew Cheng Zhiyu.

Although it was the same village, Xiaohe Village was quite large, and not everyone was familiar with each other. Those who knew each other well usually belonged to the same team.

"Wasn’t Zhi Yan’s brother in City A? How could he come back from so far away?" Someone who knew Cheng Zhiyu was skeptical, thinking Aunt Wang was seeing things.

Cheng Zhiyan got out of the car, followed by Cheng Zhiyu and Tian Qiao, and a few unfamiliar faces behind them.

Those who recognized Cheng Zhiyu were shocked. One slapped his knee and exclaimed, "Wow, it really is Zhi Yu! And Xiao Qiao too! How'd you get back from so far away?"

Tian Qiao joked, "How else? Drove. Walking would’ve killed us."

"Haha, that’s not what I meant!"

Since they were returning from outside, they had to go through quarantine first—a two-hour quarantine. If they were still fine, they could enter. The same applied to Aunt Wang and Cheng Zhiyan.

They sat in the isolation shed and chatted from a distance with the guards.

The guard asked, "You even killed two mutant wild boars?" referring to the two on the car roof.

Aunt Wang, a talker, jumped at the chance to talk and immediately started rambling: "More than that! We went to hunt a herd of mutant wild boars, didn’t we? Turns out the wild boar leader was a psychic type. Oh my, we almost bought it there. Luckily, Zhi Yu and the others showed up just in time and wiped out the mutant wild boars in a flash. It’s not just these two—the others are dragging more mutant wild boars back."

The guards, bored stiff from guarding, didn’t find Aunt Wang’s chatter annoying. Instead, they were totally into it.

However, they thought Aunt Wang was exaggerating. That was a herd of mutant wild boars—how could they be dealt with so quickly? Even if Cheng Zhiyu and the others were strong after making it back all this way, it couldn’t have been that simple, right?

"Wait, where’s Yang Kai? Wasn’t he with you?" someone pointed out.

"Ugh, don’t even mention him. They say he’s the strongest superhuman in the village, and I thought I’d feel safer with him around. Who knew he’d pass out after just a couple of cries from the mutant wild boars? He was completely useless," Aunt Wang rolled her eyes. She had never thought highly of Yang Kai and wasn’t about to say anything good about him. "Him? He still hasn’t woken up. Someone’s carrying him on their back."

"How is that possible? I’ve seen Yang Kai’s abilities. He’s really strong," said some of Yang Kai’s supporters, unconvinced.

In reality, Yang Kai wasn’t that weak. Any of the superhumans who went to hunt the mutant wild boars would’ve been unable to withstand the wild boar leader.

But Aunt Wang deliberately didn’t clarify it was the wild boar leader, only referring to it as a mutant wild boar.

Aunt Wang chuckled. "Don’t believe me? Suit yourself. You’ll see when they get here."

The person still didn’t believe it until the superhumans dragging the wild boars returned one after another. Sure enough, Superhuman A was carrying Yang Kai on his back, a large bump visible on Yang Kai’s forehead, making him look quite pitiful.

"Uh... I thought Yang Kai was supposed to be strong? This is it?" was the reaction from those who had heard of Yang Kai’s reputation.

"Kai shouldn’t be like this," said Yang Kai’s supporters, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

"Wait, how can someone like this be a leader?" Those who hadn’t heard of Yang Kai thought he was too weak. This guy seemed pretty well-known in the village—was he all hype?

Superhuman A, seeing Yang Kai’s reputation take a nosedive, looked around helplessly, wanting to explain on Yang Kai’s behalf but only managing to say weakly, "That mutant wild boar leader was just too powerful."

"Tsk, I’m so unlucky. You guys, making me drag this fat pig!" complained an unlucky fellow who had just dragged back the mutant wild boar leader, plopping down on the ground.

"Whoa, this boar is huge!" someone exclaimed.

The unlucky one panted, "You bet. This one’s the mutant wild boar leader—really fat."

"I don’t think the mutant wild boar leader was that tough. It just looks bigger, that’s all," said someone speaking without lifting a finger. "This Yang Kai... tsk tsk."

Superhuman A, trying to salvage Yang Kai’s dignity: "..." Fine, he’d done his best. He just hoped Yang Kai wouldn’t go crazy when he woke up.