Chapter 21

Chapter 21

By the light of the lantern, Qi Mo’s paper map was quite detailed. Sure enough, he found this country road.

The road wasn’t wide. When the power went out, there had been cars on it, but as soon as the disaster struck, the vehicles crashed off the road.

So all the way down the road, Qi Mo didn’t see a single car blocking his path.

This four-meter-wide road led straight to Lin County.

Lin County was the only way to Yuncheng.

Good.

As long as he wasn’t caught by those bully villagers.

Qi Mo folded up the map and rubbed his growling stomach—he was starving.

Despite his hunger, he quickly pulled out wet wipes to clean his hands, then removed Baby Yan’s diaper and gently wiped his bottom with baby wipes.

He wanted to let Baby Yan’s little bottom rest for a while, letting it breathe and escape the confinement of the diaper.

A breeze cooled his bare bottom, and the already sleeping Baby Yan began to fidget and fuss.

Seeing the little one about to wake up and sit up suddenly, Qi Mo popped a bottle into Baby Yan’s mouth.

Sure enough, with something in his mouth, Baby Yan—still with his eyes closed—immediately grabbed the bottle and started sucking hungrily…

Qi Mo placed a big cushion behind Baby Yan’s back, watching as the little one leaned against it before finally letting go of his supporting hand.

He set up a small table with a small serving of chicken stewed with mushrooms, steamed fish, a stir-fried plate of shrimp, and a bowl of mushroom, cabbage, and tofu soup.

Alongside a bowl of white rice, the balanced meal made his stomach growl.

Time to eat.

After polishing off everything, Qi Mo patted his full belly—it felt so good to be full.

Baby Yan had finished his milk long ago.

Qi Mo put away the bottle, then held the baby and patted his back before laying him down again, applying some diaper rash cream and putting on a fresh diaper.

Once all that was done, Qi Mo lay down, only to find the ground way too hard.

He took out an air mattress, spread a mat over it, and then lay back down with Baby Yan in his arms.

It was half past ten at night, and the weather had cooled down—not so muggy anymore.

The screen door of the tent allowed better airflow inside.

Placing his backpack by the tent entrance and covering his belly with a small blanket, Qi Mo turned off the lantern. In the darkness, he finally relaxed completely…

Just as Qi Mo settled down, villagers from Wuli Village began returning in small groups from scavenging along the highway.

At the village chief’s house, the chief’s daughter-in-law dumped her haul and looked around nervously. “Dad, have you seen Xiaocheng?”

“No, he’s probably still out scavenging,” the village chief replied.

Hearing this, the chief’s wife worried aloud, “It’s already late. Everyone else is back—why isn’t Xiaocheng? You don’t think something’s wrong?”

"How could that be? Xiao Cheng’s got buddies with him. Who’d mess with my grandson?" The village chief glared at his wife.

The old village chief retorted, "I’m just worried about my grandson. It’s dead dark out now—if something happens, there aren’t even any cameras."

This struck a nerve with the village chief. He turned to his daughter-in-law and said, "Go check if Xiao Cheng’s friends have come back. They oughta be back by now."

"If they haven’t, go holler for ’em on the road. It’s really unsafe in the dark." Even the chief started getting antsy.

Immediately, the village chief’s wife and daughter-in-law went out to call for them.

But none of the kids who had been playing with Xiao Cheng returned. The village chief gathered people to search for his grandson.

After combing the highway, not a single trace of them was found.

Soon, a villager brought news, telling the village chief that they had seen Xiao Cheng leading some traveler off.

Judging by the direction, they must have headed toward the melon fields.

"They probably took him to have some fun. Four or five young men—an hour or two isn’t enough. They’d probably screw around till dawn before coming back," someone chimed in.

Under the torchlight, another villager nodded. "True, young and rowdy, full of piss and vinegar. Chief, I don’t think you need to worry. They’ll come back once they’ve had their fill of fun."

...

Chen Yu watched the villagers chattering and joking, his face expressionless, but inwardly sneering. *Still yapping about fun? Those lowlifes are already worm food.*

Amid the villagers’ banter, the village chief chuckled. "Can’t be too careful. It’s dark out—something could still happen."

"What could possibly happen? Our boys could whip three men apiece, and there were several of them together. I saw the guy they took—scrawny little thing, couldn’t punch his way outta a paper bag. No cameras neither, and so many people die on the roads these days, who’d even notice this one?" a parent laughed.

Another elderly woman spoke up, "I’m just scared they might take it too far and hurt someone. No, I need to call my grandson back."

They were all familiar with the melon shed. The old woman, carrying a torch, quickly reached it.

When she pushed open the shed door, bodies were sprawled every which way, blood squelching under her slippers.

Seeing her grandson’s corpse-white face, his throat slit halfway open, the old woman let loose a bloodcurdling scream and collapsed in a faint. The torch fell onto the straw shed, instantly igniting the walls as flames shot up like hellfire...

The fire lit up the whole damn sky, and soon the villagers of Wuli Village rushed over.

The straw shed was doused with water from the ditch.

Five corpses were quickly dragged out and taken back to the village. They were soon identified—all dead, every last one of those fun-seeking bastards.

Spotting the baby stroller, someone shouted, "The guy they took was pushing this stroller! He’s gotta be the killer!"

"My grandson, my grandson... A-Cheng, A-Cheng, open your eyes and look at your grandma... Oh heavens, how could you leave me like this? Forcing a grandma to bury her baby boy... Old man, avenge him, avenge our grandson! He died so horribly..." The old woman clutched her grandson’s hand, wailing hysterically.

From the village chief’s family, a member of the Zhang clan said, "His throat was slit halfway—downright savage."

"Chief, the cars can’t move now, but that guy can’t have gone far. Hunt him down, drag him back, and make that bastard pay with his blood!" one of the dead troublemakers’ fathers shouted angrily.

Immediately, over a dozen people stepped forward—all relatives of the five dead men.

All from the Zhang clan.

"What did that guy look like? Which direction did he come from, which way did he go...?" the village chief asked the villagers, his voice like gravel.

"He came from the north, heading toward Lin County. He was pushing a baby stroller—it was too dark to see if there was a child inside, might’ve just been gear," someone provided information.

Another villager added, "I heard Ah Cheng say he was good-looking—probably a pretty boy."

Someone else spoke up, "Chen Yu, Chen Yu talked to that guy earlier."

Hearing this, Chen Yu, who had been standing at the back, pushed through the crowd and said, "I only bought a lantern from him and exchanged a few words. After that, Ah Cheng came and took him away."

"That's right, I witnessed it," someone confirmed.

The village chief turned to Chen Yu, his face grim. "You saw him—what did he look like?"

Chen Yu explained, "Just Ah Cheng’s type—pointy chin, big eyes, fair skin, real pretty. With long hair he could pass for a girl."

After listening, the village chief scanned the crowd. "Our village has never seen such a horrific crime—five children murdered. We will have our vengeance. Move out! He can’t have gotten far. He’s not from around here, unfamiliar with the area. Either he fled along the highway or hid in a nearby village. Find him, capture him—the village is offering 100,000 yuan as reward!"

At his words, scores of villagers mobilized, brandishing torches. Some set off along the highway to chase, while others took shortcuts to nearby villages, searching along the paths...

Chen Yu, as the one who’d seen the killer, led the pursuit on the highway.

That night, every village near Wuli Village knew they were hunting a child-killer who’d murdered five and burned the bodies.

Some joined the hunt for justice, but many were in it for the cash reward.

They fanned out across highways and backroads.

Wayfarers sheltering in villages were roused and questioned.

Worn out, Qi Mo fell into dreamless sleep—until heat and pressure woke him.

His chubby little Yan-baby was crawling over his chest.

Too engrossed in something ahead, the toddler didn’t notice his daddy was awake.

Following his son’s gaze, Qi Mo nearly had a heart attack—

He snatched Yan-baby back just as the toddler’s plump finger reached toward the tent’s insect netting.

Right outside the tent door, a brilliantly patterned king cobra coiled, its golden head raised, as thick as a man’s arm, tongue flicking, eyes locked on them.

Qi Mo thought, *What did I do to deserve this? Why are you guarding my door?*

"Go away! Shoo! We’d make terrible eating—or I’ll curse you!" Qi Mo growled at the swaying cobra.

But the snake had no interest in the pampered young master—or the even tinier one.

It kept its deadly focus on its prey.

Panicking, Qi Mo remembered his past life—safe in his villa, well-fed, with ice to keep cool.

Now, from yesterday till today, how many dangers had he faced?

Would he even survive seven months into the apocalypse? Had he angered heaven by revealing fate’s secrets?

He had stocked all kinds of medicine—but snakebite serum wasn’t among his supplies.

Moreover, even if he had cobra antivenom, he was pregnant with twins. One shot could endanger his unborn babies.

In his previous life, circumstances had kept Baby Yan from seeing the world. This time, he was determined to let his baby be born safely.

Pulling out a frying pan, he figured that even if the cobra got agitated and charged at the tent door, the mesh tent door would hold with the pan as a barrier.

Outside, the sun was blazing. Qi Mo checked the time—8:30 a.m.

He had actually slept for ten hours.

So hot.

So thirsty…

Qi Mo quickly grabbed a bottle of water, took a few swigs, then gave Baby Yan a sippy cup of water.

After Baby Yan drank about 50 milliliters, he took the bottle back, screwed the cap on, and returned it to his storage space.

Once Baby Yan started breakfast, Qi Mo’s stomach rumbled.

Glancing at the cobra, he decided to eat first. Maybe if he ignored it, the snake would eventually leave.

He set up a small table from his space, setting out a bowl of pumpkin porridge, a portion of black rice cake, a steamed garoupa, a sunny-side-up egg, a vegetable bun, and two pork dumplings…

Baby Yan, still drinking his milk, finished most of the bottle before crawling over to his daddy and opening his mouth: "Aaah…"

Qi Mo sighed. "Done with your bottle already?"

He picked up the half-finished bottle, sealed it, and stored it away.

Then, he scooped a spoonful of porridge into Baby Yan’s mouth before using chopsticks to feed him bite-sized pieces of fish.

Taking turns—one for him, one for the baby…

After breakfast, Qi Mo turned his attention back to the tent entrance—the cobra, thicker than his arm, remained coiled, refusing to leave.

"What to do? A direct confrontation is too risky. It's so hot," he muttered, tossing down ice packs to cool the tent.

He washed his face, wiped his hands, changed Baby Yan’s diaper, and gave him a quick wipe-down.

Only then did Qi Mo finally have time to deal with the cobra blocking his tent.

He reached for his gun but held back—it was too close, and without a silencer (which Third Master Bai hadn’t provided), the noise might scare his three little ones. He’d only resort to that in absolute desperation.

Instead, he gave Baby Yan a pacifier—a sure way to keep him calm.

Then, he grabbed a trekking pole and started taunting the snake.

Making circular motions in the air, he swayed the pole left, right, up, and down.

The cobra’s head followed the movements, growing increasingly agitated until, with a hood flared and a furious hiss, it lunged—

Qi Mo blocked it with the frying pan.

He was determined to wear the damn snake out!

Meanwhile, at the entrance of Lin County, over a dozen villagers from Wuli Village had camped out since daybreak, having biked overnight taking backroads.

Among them was Chen Yu.

"Damn it! We've turned every stone all night. Could he have gone another route?" The Wuli Village chief snapped as the heat intensified.