Chapter 40.3

Outside, the air was thick with tension and the rusty smell of fresh blood. It hasn't even been a day and some people in his community has adapted to the life of the apocalypse. To his surprise, the dead thugs' weapons that was left in front of their gate were nowhere to be seen. He assumed that other survivors might've taken it to use as a weapon. Not that it mattered to him but he does have a slight worry for the safety of his family. What if someone were to sneak in? While he knew he could trust Sun Xiao's sense, he still need to take in some unknown variables.In the end, Li Xinwen stepped into his space and called out the jade spirit. "Lan Yu!""Yes, master?" the reply came almost immediately and the small spirit appeared before him."Where is Jintao?" Li Xinwen asked."JinJin? He's currently at the back, napping. What's wrong?""Bring him over. I need for him to act as a guardian outside," Li Xinwen said to Lan Yu. "You did train him as I instructed, right?""Of course, Master! And JinJin is a very intelligent cat!" Lan Yu said happily as he left to call the cat and it didn't take long for him to return. The cat that followed Lan Yu was nothing short of magnificent. Originally, Jintao was just a domesticated Maine Coon cat. But after being exposed by the spiritual spring for years, it had grown several times bigger. It's long, flowing fur shimmered with ethereal sheen, the silver-gray and black stripes ripples like the shadow of a stormy cloud. It's tail, thick and bushy, swayed with each step it took. As it got closer, one can see that it's height had reached Li Xinwen's waist.Jintao sat down before Li Xinwen, his golden eyes, true to its name, staring at his master. Using Moyan, Li Xinwen could see the faintly glowing energy surrounding the cat and he nods his head in satisfaction. "Lan Yu, I'll be taking him for house guarding. I'll return him after I got home," Li Xinwen said before he disappeared from the space along with the cat.Once outside, Li Xinwen gave the cat several orders but its main task is to simply keep an intruder out. After reminding the cat not to enter the house several times, Li Xinwen finally felt he was ready to leave. He watched as the majestic Maine Coon took up his position as the guardian cat and a sense of reassurance washed over Li Xinwen. "Good. I'll be sure to give you a lavish treat when I return," Li Xinwen said to the cat.The moment Li Xinwen stepped into the streets, he couldn't help but sigh. The once familiar street is now riddled with bloods. Dead bodies sprawled on the ground, while some were fortunate enough to still be intact, the same could not be said with others. There were also abandoned vehicle with a still alive zombie strapped onto the driver seat. Li Xinwen didn't bother with it, knowing that someone will take care of it.Li Xinwen continued to walk. Though it appears like he was taking a relaxing stroll, his sense were actually spread out around him, scanning every corner, every shadow for any hidden danger. It may be due to the fact that Li Jinghua had made an example of the thugs from earlier, but none of the people from their community dared to move on him despite the amount of eyes staring at him.He reached the main streets and continued to walk towards his destination, Qingyun District Hospital. He knows that Xue Jun told him to hurry but the several tails behind him made it impossible for him to rush over. When the people following him didn't show any sign of stopping, Li Xinwen finally halted his step. His hand went over to the gun holstered on his side and turned around, facing the group that has been trailing him. "Well? What do you want?" Li Xinwen asked, his voice steady with a hint of coldness. "I am in a hurry and is in no mood to play games."The group that followed him exchanged glance, eyes shifting between each other until one of them stepped forward, acting as their leader, albeit, temporarily. The man looked warily at Li Xinwen, as if afraid of provoking him. "We… we don't want any trouble," he said in a fearful tone. "We just saw that you came out of the house that did those things to those thugs," he added.Li Xinwen raised an eyebrow and thought for a while before deducing that they were referring to the dead bodies in front of his house. "And? What of it?" he asked."We thought that maybe… since you're going out to get supplies, maybe you'd let us come with you. It'll be safer with more people after all," the man replied, his head bowed down nervously not wanting to lock eyes with Li Xinwen."And what makes you think I'd want a crowd slowing me down?" Li Xinwen asked. "In the first place, I am not even going to get supplies so how about you all go your own way and leave me alone?"The man, hearing this, shifted uncomfortably. He didn't know what else to say. While he was struggling to think of a response, another man from the group seems to have ran out of patience and roared at Li Xinwen."You think you're so high and mighty, don't you?!" he pointed at Li Xinwen, eyes glaring angrily. "Just because you got a good weapon doesn't mean you can leave the rest of us for dead! If you don't help us now, I'm going to report you to the police for the possession of firearms! Then you and your family will be done for!" when the man said this, his eyes landed on Li Xinwen's gun that was holstered to his side.At the threat, Li Xinwen couldn't help but chuckle. The man's gaze also did not escape his sharp eyes. After transmigrating to this used to be peaceful, modern world, he had never been threatened like this. He had almost forgotten how human tend to act in the face of survival. Li Xinwen took out his gun from the safety of the holster and he could see the angry man's gaze is following it."So, this is what you want, isn't it?" Li Xinwen's voice, though sounded calm have a hint of amusement within them. He held up the gun higher and watched as the man's eyes kept on following the gun wherever Li Xinwen moved it. The rest of the group noticed that Li Xinwen was playing the man. They also knew that if they were to continue associate themselves with the stupid man, they would also suffer whatever repercussion that would come. So instinctively, the group had moved away from the man, isolating him.Unfortunately, this movement was not noticed by the person who was still too consumed with his own anger and greed. But Li Xinwen noticed it. "Well? Do you want it?" Li Xinwen asked with a smile. But the smile was cold, lacking any hints of warmth."Yes! Yes! If you give that to me, I won't report you to the police!""Alright. Then, take it."When the man heard this, a smile formed on his face but it soon contorted into a disbelief when he watched Li Xinwen threw the gun away. "No! What are you doing?!" the man screamed before sprinting towards where the gun was thrown. His movement was wild, eyes panicking. It appears that he truly believed that the gun is his life saving grace.When he finally reached the gun, he was elated. The feeling of cold metal in his hand calmed his nerve. He was just about to return to his group when he heard a groan to his right. He froze in fear for a second before slowly turning his head only to come face to face with a zombie. His breath hitched, hands tightening around the gun. His excitement from earlier gone, replaced with terror.The zombie had a few missing flesh, one of its arm dangling by a thin thread of tissues. It stumbled closer towards the man, having already caught the scent of a living flesh.For the man, there was no time to think. He could only act. In a rush, he lifted the gun. His hands shook as he tried to aim at the zombie. Seeing how the zombie is moving slowly and how he has a gun, he felt calmness wash over him. Once he was confident enough with his aim, he pulled the trigger.CLICK!"W-what..?" the man was confused when the expected sound of a gunshot was absent. He tried to pull the trigger again only to be met with the same outcome. A cold dread rise in his heart as he thought of the possibility that Li Xinwen had taken out the bullets before tossing the gun away. In a panic, he inspected the gun, hands fumbling around it. It was then that he realized the horrible truth — the gun wasn't even a real firearm.It was a replica, a fake, nothing more than a very well designed prop. The icy fear has now fully settled in his chest. He looked back towards Li Xinwen, who remained still, watching him from a distance. Due to the mask on his face, he was unable to read Li Xinwen's expression but inwardly, he knew that Li Xinwen is mocking him."N-no… No… Please sa—aaaahhhhh!" his plea turned into a pained scream as the zombie bit into his arm, turning his attention back towards the zombie. To his horror, the zombie's teeth sank deeper into his arm until it took off a chunk of his flesh. The zombie continued to advance and the man realized that it was too late for him to even run. In a last ditch attempt at survival, he tried to use the replica gun as a blunt weapon and hit the zombie's head. It was only unfortunate that it did not work as he had hoped. The zombie latched onto him and he fell backwards due to the shift in weight. He struggled wildly but it was futile. The zombie's jaw closed around his shoulder, tearing into the muscle and ripping away a blood-soaked flesh. His screams filled the air as pain surged through him. Blood streamed down to the ground, pooling around him as the zombie continued to chew on him, driven by its unyielding, insatiable hunger. To make the situation worse for the man, more zombies crawled out as if drawn by his scream or maybe it was the smell of fresh 'meal.' As the zombie surrounded him, his cries of pain slowly grew weaker until finally, only the sound of chewing flesh was left.Li Xinwen watched the event unfold in a calm demeanour but the same cannot be said for the group that followed him. "You… You killed him…" the one who acted as the group leader said in a shaky voice. "You really k-killed him…""Killed him?" Li Xinwen's eyes met the group leader's gaze. "I didn't kill him. The zombies did and it was his greed that led him there," Li Xinwen said in a cold tone.The group leader swallowed hard, glancing at his companions. They all looked like they were beginning to understand that Li Xinwen is not someone they can manipulate. They can't afford to provoke him. The man's death was a hard lesson that etched itself into their mind."Here is my warning to all of you," Li Xinwen said after a while. "If you do not wish to share the same fate as him, stop following me. I do not have the time to play babysitter. In fact, you would do well to just go pick up random items and use them as a weapon if you truly need to get supplies. But remember, this is no longer the peaceful era. This is now the apocalypse, not a playground. If you still wish to take a gamble, then be ready to lose your life," Li Xinwen reminded them before he walked away. The group no longer have the wish to follow him so Li Xinwen finally resumed his walk towards Qingyun District Hospital.The rest of his journey was uneventful save for several zombies that would come his way. The newly turned zombies were of no danger to Li Xinwen and he could kill them with a small stick that he found on the ground with ease. Of course, he wrapped the stick with spiritual energy or else, what can a flimsy stick do?By the time he reached Qingyun District Hospital, he saw that the military was busy dismantling tents and securing their supplies. Some were tasked to guide the civilians to their respective vehicle so that they can be escorted to a safe zone.Li Xinwen walked through the chaos of the military's operation, observing the well-coordinated movements of the soldiers. As he made his way closer to the entrance of the hospital, he was greeted by a familiar face. The oldest of the Xue triplets, Xue Jun."You're here. You are ten minutes early," Xue Jun said as he glanced over at his watch. "Did you not encounter any problem?""No problem at all. Even if there was, do you think I can't handle it?" Li Xinwen replied in a relaxed, playful tone.Xue Jun was about to open his mouth to scold Li Xinwen but stopped when he remembered that the man before him is stronger than himself. So he could only swallow the rebuke back and pretended to clear his throat. "Well, since you are here. Follow me. I will brief the mission to you alongside the rest of the team," Xue Jun said as he gestured for Li Xinwen to follow him.