Chapter 38.2

While Li Xinwen was occupied in the studio for the talk show, Sun Xiao was watching the live broadcast on the TV with Li Jinghua and Madam Li. When Madam Li noticed that her son was bullied in the talk show, she was angry. Luckily, Li Jinghua was around to calm her down.

"Mom, don't worry. Look, Ah'Wen dealt with the situation calmly. It will be alright," Li Jinghua gently rubbed her mother's back.

"But that host is clearly targetting Ah'Wen from the start until now. At first, he ignored Ah'Wen, now he's trying to humiliate him!" Mother Li complained. "Ah'Xiao, you're also angry, right?"

Sun Xiao nods his head at his adopted mother's inquiry. "I will remember the host's face and if I meet him in the future, I'll beat him up," Sun Xiao said in a serious tone. Then, he turned to face Madam Li with a warm smile on his face. "So, mom don't have to be too angry. Ah'Xiao will help you vent your anger."

Mother Li thought that her son only said so in order to placate her. Her lips curved up into a smile before she raised her hand to gently pats Sun Xiao on his head. "Good boy. Make sure to teach him a lesson for mom." 

Mother Li never would've thought that in the future, Sun Xiao really would do as he said. So she simply played along, not thinking much about it. 

But Li Jinghua, who was nearby, knew that Sun Xiao would do it. This adopted brother of hers had grown over the past two years. Though he would still appear timid when met with someone new, as long as Li Xinwen is around, he would gain confidence as high as the heaven.

"Ah'Xiao shouldn't resort to violence right away. At the very least, even if you want to teach him a lesson, you mustn't hit him directly," Li Jinghua told her brother. 'In the apocalypse, if you appear ruthless, you'll become the target of the public,' she wanted to tell Sun Xiao but simply kept it to herself since her mother is around.

"Okay. If Hua-jie says so," Sun Xiao replied. 

After the small conversation, the trio returned their attention to the show and saw how Li Xinwen quickly created fire by using the flints from the survival kit provided. He only needed two action to let the paper that the host gave him catch fire. The guest audiences present all awed with his performance. 

"Whoa! I did not expect that you can do it so quickly. Teacher Li, it seems that you really did study for your role," the host complimented Li Xinwen.

Li Xinwen merely let out a small chuckle and shrugged his shoulder. "Of course. If I don't study, then the movie would look bad, no?" he said. In fact, he cheated by using spiritual energy to light up the paper. Of course, this is a secret only known to him.

"Indeed. Indeed! So, what else can Teacher Li do?" the host ask again.

"Hmm… I guess you can say that I can handle a gun?" 

At this statement, An Yunxu inwardly scoffed but his outward appearance didn't change from the gentle and friendly appearance he put on. "Xiao Wen, you should know that a real gun is different from a prop used in a movie. Just because you were taught how to use the prop, doesn't mean you can use a real gun."

"Senior An is indeed correct. Compared to the prop, a real gun is heavier. Not to mention, the recoils from a live bullet is far stronger," as Li Xinwen said this, he turned to look over at An Yunxu. "In the movie, we indeed used a prop. But in order to replicate the realism of the gun, I had the pleasure of practicing with a real gun few months before shooting the movie."

Again, Li Xinwen wasn't lying. He indeed practiced with a real gun before shooting the movie. Not just guns, he was also taught how to handle assault rifles, SMGs, rifles, grenade launcher and even how to throw a grenade. At first, Li Xinwen was excited since it was a new experience for him.

But after only a few days, he mastered everything and grew bored of it. When Li Jinghua was not present, he even told Xue Jun how a pebble he threw would have a more firepower than the bullet. Xue Jun naturally believed him, but also advised him not to show his full strength during the early days of the apocalypse.

Li Xinwen agreed. After all, Li Jinghua had informed them how chaotic early days of the apocalypse were. Trust between human were close to a non-existent and even family would sometimes have no remorse in abandoning their family members. In fact, Li Xinwen saw it himself in Li Jinghua's memories how a mother threw her baby towards a zombie to buy her some time to escape.

The talk show continued and every time the host tried to cause trouble, Li Xinwen would skillfully avoids the mines. In the end, the host can only admit defeat and move to An Yunxu.

"Teacher An—"

The host's sentence were cut off when someone suddenly opened the door with a loud bang. The sound was enough to capture everyone's attention. 

The director's face was livid as he turned to the door and angrily yelled at the newcomer: "What are you doing?! Don't you know that we're shooting a live show here? Whose crew are you under? Let me talk—"

When he saw that the man who opened the door was covered in blood, he paused. Then, he worriedly called out to the person. "Hey, are you alright? Are you… really injured or are you playing a prank?"

The man didn't answer and instead, looked around the studio with a wary eyes. Not long after, he showed a relieved expression before he turned around and shut the door close then proceeds to lock it.

"Barricade, barricade… must block the door…" 

Li Xinwen who are now a mid-stage Xiantian practitioner, could hear the mumble clearly. Not to mention, he could see that gaping wound on the man's shoulder, as if a big chunk of his flesh had been bitten off. 'Also… his wounds reeks with demonic qi…'

A frown appeared on his face and he immediately took out his phone. When the pieces of the meteorite fell he had noticed how the world is slowly being contaminated by demonic qi. It was to the point that even the demonic qi that he had suppressed within himself turns excited, causing him to be distressed for a full month before he could finally subdue them again.

Looking down at his phone, he took note of the time and date stated on the screen. 'It's not yet the time that Hua-jie estimated for the apocalypse to start. According to Hua-jie's calculation, the first incident should happen three months later. Did things deviate again?'

Li Xinwen quickly unlocked his phone and started to send a message to the group chat.

[Li Xinwen: Please be careful. It looks like the first outbreak had happened early.]

[Li Xinwen: Hua-jie, Ah'Xiao, please keep mom safe.]

[Li Jinghua: Ah'Wen, what do you mean?]

[Li Jinghua: Are you saying there's an outbreak at your place now? The live broadcast was cut off. Are you alright?]

Li Xinwen wanted to send a reply but when he did, it ended up with an error instead. Seeing this error message, the frown on his face deepened. Turning his attention back to the person who just came in, he saw that several other staff had already approached him. 

Some had a panicked expression, one person had a phone close to his ear, as if trying to call for ambulance. The ones with low tolerance had already vomited out in the corner.

An Yunxu also noticed that there was something wrong with the situation and he couldn't help but huddle closer to Li Xinwen. "Xiao Wen, ah, what do you think is wrong with them?" he asked. In his tone, Li Xinwen could hear not only the curiosity but also fear.

"Senior An, if I say that the man who just entered will become a zombie, will you believe me?" Li Xinwen asked.

It might be because of Li Xinwen's serious expression so it made An Yunxu fidget nervously. "Xiao Wen knows how to joke. Zombies are not real. You need to hurry and pull yourself out of your role, ah!" 

Li Xinwen only let out a low chuckle as he stared at the entrance of the studio as he tries to recall what Li Jinghua had told him. According to her, depending on the wound, the time for someone to change into a zombie varied. Activating Moyan, Li Xinwen could see the demonic qi floating towards the man's wound, entering it.

Because the man had informed everyone around him of his experience before entering the room because no one tried to open the door to look for help for him. Half an hour later, the man's breathing grew weak and Li Xinwen thought that in order to reduce the casualty as much as he can, he should warn everyone out of good conscience.

He was just about to stand up when An Yunxu grab his arm and pulled at him. "Xiao Wen, what are you doing? Just stay here and let them handle it."

"Senior An, since you said that zombies doesn't exist, why are you looking scared now? Don't worry. I only want to take a look," Li Xinwen told him as he removed the other's hold on his arm. 

After that, he quickly stood up and left An Yunxu alone. As he approached the scene, he heard someone call out to the injured man. But Li Xinwen knew that no matter how much they called him, there will be no response. Because the man's heartbeat has already ceased to beat.

"Hurry and get away from him," Li Xinwen said to the staffs who were close to the dead man. "Did he tell you what happen? Since he has stopped breathing, it might become a homicide and his body can be considered an evidence. If you don't want to get in trouble with the police, get away from him," Li Xinwen said out loud. 

He knew that if he told them that the body will soon become a zombie, no one will believe him. So the best way for him to get everyone away is to bullshit his way by saying how this might be a homicide. Luckily, no one called out his bluff.

"Teacher Li is indeed knowledgeable. Everyone, get away quick. Has someone called the police?" the director asked his staff members. At first, the director didn't want to deal with the matter and simply left it to his staff but when Li Xinwen spoke, he felt that it would not look good if he continued to act as he was.

"We've been trying to call the ambulance and police but it won't go through!" one of them replied followed by several others who shouted their confirmation on the matter.

"Then let's go out. Maybe the signal was interfered in the building," the director said approaching the exit. He was just about to open the door when a staff stopped him. "What?"

"Director… can't you hear it?"

A frown was formed on the director's face and he tried to focus on listening whatever it was he was supposed to hear. Because this studio is used for live broadcasting, the whole room was actually soundproofed. This is so that the noise that happens outside the studio won't get picked up by the live broadcast. As he continued to focus, he could hear several muffled screams and panicked voice. 

"What is going on outside?" the director asked. "Is there some kind of robbery? A terrorist attack?"

"If it was just those, then how good would it be?" Li Xinwen said. All this time, he never deactivate Moyan as he stared at the dead body. He could see how the demonic qi spreads all over the body with most of them settled on the brain or to be precise, the upper dantian. 

By now, Li Xinwen has a suspicion that the so called zombie virus are the doings of the demonic qi. 

"Hey… did you see his finger move?" someone asked.

"Yes! Maybe he's still alive!" another chimed in. 

Following this, someone approached the dead body while calling out to the dead man. "Brother, are you alright? Don't scare us, ah! We thought you died when you didn—"

"Get away from him!" Li Xinwen warned.

"Teacher Li! He's still alive! Look!" the staff said as he gestured to the dead man who has already completely turned into a zombie.

By now, the zombie had already opened his eyes and looked over at the staff who was the closest to him. Then, he raised his hand and grabbed onto the staff's arm. With one strong pull, the staff fell on top of him and opening his mouth, he bit onto the unsuspecting neck.