Chapter 40.1

Li Xinwen stood atop of a building, staring down at the chaotic scene below him. Though they did prepare for the worse and even took the initiative to hint at the mass on what to do in such situation, it was still far from enough. He watched as some humans descend into madness, sacrificing other lives for their own survival. He could not blame them. Back in Long Xing, this was a natural occurrences. The strong survive and the weak can only blame themselves. Even so, it still leave a bad taste in his mouth. "Maybe I've grown soft after living in peace the past few years," he murmured to himself. "Time to go home and make sure everyone is safe…"While Li Xinwen prepared to leave, back at his home, the same chaotic scene unfolded. Inside their house, Madam Li was in a panicked state when she saw the appearance of a zombie before the TV signal was cut off. She had almost broken down were it not for Li Jinghua calming her down."Hua-er! We have to go! Ah'Wen is in danger," Madam Li said as she begged Li Jinghua.Li Jinghua could only wipe her mother's tear as she continued to ease her worry. "Mom, don't worry. Ah'Wen is not that weak.""But…""Mom, I understand your worry. It'll be okay. First, we have to make sure of our safety. Ah'Wen will come home so what we have to do is make sure he has a home to return to," Li Jinghua said in a calm tone.Just then, the door to the main house opened and Sun Xiao entered the living room. When Sun Xiao saw the two, he could only shook his head before he began to recount on what he saw outside. While he usually didn't show his emotion much, as he told Li Jinghua about the chaos outside, his eyes were filled with unease."With how it is outside, it is almost impossible to even leave the neighbourhood," Sun Xiao told them. "And some people have already started to loot. Hua-jie, maybe we should also be prepared?"Li Jinghua took in Sun Xiao's words, her expression growing more serious. "It's barely three hours and they already started looting? I was hoping it wouldn't escalate this quickly," she muttered. In her last life, she wasn't prepared so she was stuck in her office for several days before they were rescued. He did not expect that the looting happened this quickly. "Alright. Ah'Xiao, you go and grab a weapon. Remember what I told you before?"Sun Xiao did not answer and only nods his head. When Li Jinghua was about to speak out again, they heard a loud voice coming from the front of their house."If you don't want to die, come out!"Hearing the sonorous voice from the front of their house, all three of them froze. Li Jinghua glanced at Sun Xiao, her brow scrunched together into a frown. "Ah'Xiao, a slight change in plan," Li Jinghua said to the young boy. "Bring mom upstairs then cover me from upstairs. I will go out and handle it."Sun Xiao stared at Li Jinghua, concern flickering across his face. "Hua-jie, are you sure?"Li Jinghua nodded firmly before placing her hand on Sun Xiao's shoulder reassuringly. "Yes. If they show any sign of hostility, I will be counting on you," she said. "If we're weak, they will definitely push. But if we show them how dangerous we are, maybe they will reconsider."While the two siblings were discussing, Madam Li was riddled with confusion. She was about to ask what they were talking about when she was suddenly being picked up by Sun Xiao. She couldn't help but let out a surprised yelp before she held onto the young boy. 'When did this boy grew this strong?' Madam Li could not help but wonder. She still remembered when she first picked Sun Xiao up and placed him in her foster care like it was just yesterday. But now, that small boy had grown up strong enough to even pick her up with ease. Before she realized it, she was placed on top of a bed and Sun Xiao rummaged under the bed."Ah'Xia—" her word were cut off when she saw Sun Xiao taking out an assault rifle from under the bed. "Wait! Where did you get that dangerous thing?!" she asked in a panicked tone."Umm…" Sun Xiao didn't know what to tell her so in the end, he could only lay the blame on his older sister. "Hua-jie bought it…" he said. "Mom, stay put here, okay? Don't move. Don't worry. Everything will be over soon," he said before he went over to his window. He quietly took aim at the gate of their house, counting on the number of people gathering just beyond the gate.Li Jinghua on the other hand, took out her hand gun from her space. She holstered the gun behind her in order to hide it from their unwanted visitor's sight. She remained calm as the voice outside kept on booming, asking her to come out or they would suffer the consequences. The people from the other side even made it clear that they won't be leaving and resistance wasn't an option."Heh, the one who would suffer the consequences… would be you," Li Jinghua murmured as her eyes glints with killing intent.When Li Jinghua came out, she could see several people just behind the gate. They are made up of mainly men and some of them even had weapons visible in their hand. "So, to what do I owe this visit?" Li Jinghua asked even though she knew that they are here to loot.The leader of the group, a fat bald man stepped forward. His expression which was originally impatient, changed to that of a leer when he saw Li Jinghua. His eyes couldn't hide the lust as he sized Li Jinghua from top to bottom, clearly assessing whether she was an easy target. The others behind him also didn't hide their lust and one of them even whistled out loud. Some of them were holding crude weapons such as kitchen knives, rusty pipes and even a baseball bat. The rest were only armed with their fists.After a while, the leader cracked a smile, though Li Jinghua could sense how fake it was. "We're here for what's ours, sweetheart," the bald man said. "We heard from your neighbour that this place has supplies. They said that you are practically a gold mine! If you know what I mean," he gestured at the house behind Li Jinghua. "Don't make it harder on yourself. Come out and hand over what we want. In fact, if you follow and serve me, I'll make sure you live comfortably in this trying time," he added with a small laugh.His men behind him also started to laugh and even joked: "Boss, do you think you could also let us have a taste?""Once I am done, I will naturally share it all to you," the bald man replied, as he continued to eye Li Jinghua in a lecherous manner.Li Jinghua could feel the weight of the gun hidden on her but she kept her posture relaxed, showing no sign of fear despite being outnumbered. Her eyes remained calm, calculating. She had been in a situation such as these before. The only difference is that now, the stake was higher. Her family was inside and though she has no worry that Sun Xiao can take care of himself, her mother is on a different situation."I'm afraid that I will have to disappoint you," Li Jinghua said in a steady, calm tone. Her eyes were firm as she stared at the group of people before her. "You see, I've already made a decision and it's not what you are going to like.""What was that?! Did you think that this flimsy gate can protect you?!" the bald man asked in a slightly raised tone. "I'll give you another chance before I ask my men to—''"If you continue acting this way, I cannot guarantee your life," Li Jinghua cut off the bald man's sentence. As she said this, her eyes flicked toward the window, just barely visible to where the group stood. She saw that Sun Xiao was already poised, the rifle's barrel resting lightly against the edge, ready for her signal.When the opposing group heard what Li Jinghua said, they couldn't help but laugh. Even the bald man was laughing as if he had just heard the best joke of the centuries. "Alright, alright. It looks like someone still couldn't understand their situation. Men, do it! You think you can scare us? We've been through worse than you! I'll make sure you regret your choice as I make an example of you!"As the men moved to dismantle the gate, Li Jinghua reached for her gun behind her. She moved in one quick motion. It only took her less than three seconds as she aimed the gun, released the safety and fatally shot one of the men at the head.At the resounding sound of the gunshot, everyone froze. Their eyes widened in shock, the silence that followed was heavy and it was only broken by the echoing thud of the body hitting the ground. They all glanced at the lifeless body of their comrade, fear slowly gripping their heart. Even the bald man's expression faltered, disbelief flashing across his face before his rage surged back, his face turning red."You bitch!" he shouted, his voice trembling. He motioned for his men to charge but none of them moved. "What are you doing?! There so many of you and there's only one of her! Her hand gun can only have so many bullets! If you use that dead body to cov—"Before he could finish, another resounding shot could be heard and Li Jinghua stood unfazed as she killed another person. The end of the barrel of her gun was still smoking from the last discharge of the recent bullet. "That was your first mistake," Li Jinghua said, her voice low, cold and deadly calm. "If you think I will back down just because you have more people, you are gravely mistaken," Li Jinghua added. Her eyes gleamed with a quiet, dangerous confidence which is a stark difference to the panic and fear from the intruders."Secondly, who said I was alone?" As she said this, she signalled for Sun Xiao and soon after, several more shot rang out from the window above. The loud, continues sharp sound echoes through the neighbourhood and as the bullet rains through the intruders, they could only regret their decision to mess with Li Jinghua.Sun Xiao was calm as he continued to pull the trigger. Though he was mostly trained in martial arts by Li Xinwen, due to Li Jinghua's insistence, he was also trained in guns by Xue Jun. The last few years was enough for Sun Xiao to hone his marksmanship. With each pull of the trigger, dead bodies would fall down to the ground. Before long, the front gate was littered with dead bodies and the only one left alive on purpose was the fat, bald man.Li Jinghua aimed her gun at him, eyes cold and filled with killing intent. "I warned you," she said, her voice filled with icy certainty. "And now you can only regret your choice in the afterlife," as soon as the word left her lips, she pulled her trigger and the bald man fell to the ground, eyes were still wide open as if refusing to accept his fate.Li Jinghua then glanced over at Sun Xiao and gave him a thumb up. Sun Xiao in return, gave her a nod before turning to look at Madam Li who is currently looking at Sun Xiao with disbelief. "You… You and Hua-er…" she pointed at Sun Xiao. "You two better give me a good explanation! Or else, I… I…" "Mom," Sun Xiao said in a soft tone. "Hua-jie will explain it to you," he said, giving the pot to Li Jinghua once again. "So please don't be mad at me," he added, giving Madam Li a puppy look.Madam Li who were in the verge of anger felt her heart soft. "Very well. I will ask Hua-er to explain. But Ah'Xiao… does Ah'Wen have those.. Guns too?" she asked. From her expression, it was clear that she was still worried about her son. Sun Xiao only nods his head and Madam Li let out a sigh of relief. "Then at least, Ah'Wen can defend himself from those monster. It's already over outside, right? Let's go down and meet with your sister?" "Okay," Sun Xiao said as he carefully placed the rifle after making sure the safety lock is on. Then, he helped Madam Li down the stair and waited for Li Jinghua.