Chapter 26

Chapter 26

"Holy shit, these people are brutal!" Tian Qiao felt a chill rising from the soles of his feet and shuddered. "Why would they feed regular people to the zombies? What, are the zombies their fucking parents?"

Cheng Zhiyu had nothing to say. Tian Qiao scratched his head and said, "I get it. When they take ordinary people out with them and encounter danger, they push the ordinary people out first. The zombies are attracted by the scent of their flesh and blood, so they stop chasing the superhumans."

Cheng Zhiyu nodded. "That's also why, despite their low combat power, so few superhumans have died."

Tian Qiao found it terrifying. Ordinary people and superhumans are all human beings. How long has it been since the apocalypse started? At most, a few months. Yet it has already changed some people so much you wouldn't recognize them.

Seeing his expression, Cheng Zhiyu comforted him, "Don't overthink it. Someone like Li Renyi probably wasn't a good person even before the apocalypse. It's just that without the constraints of the law, his true nature has been completely exposed."

"Exactly! He must have been a cunning villain even before the apocalypse!" Saying this made Tian Qiao feel a little better, and he started trash-talking Li Renyi with Cheng Zhiyu.

It was easier to accept that Li Renyi was a bad person before the apocalypse than to believe the apocalypse had completely twisted human nature.

Although they both knew deep down that the apocalypse could indeed warp humanity.

"So what do we do now? Should we tell the ordinary people what Li Renyi has been doing and convince them to come with us?" Tian Qiao asked.

Cheng Zhiyu shook his head. "To be honest, all of this is just our speculation. Why would they believe us? Here, at least, they can guarantee their safety."

Tian Qiao felt disheartened by this. It was true—ordinary people struggled to survive in the apocalypse. They couldn't easily distinguish truth from falsehood and could only live cautiously.

Even if they knew the truth, they might have to convince themselves to numbingly believe that the superhumans wouldn’t be so cruel. What other choice did they have?

"Then what should we do? We can’t just stand by and watch them commit evil, can we?" Tian Qiao felt upset.

Cheng Zhiyu narrowed his eyes. "There's always a way. Worst case, we take out Li Renyi."

Tian Qiao’s eyes lit up, and he gave a thumbs-up. "Cheng, you’re the best. Straight to the heart of the problem."

Cheng Zhiyu patted his shoulder. "Alright, stop overthinking it. Hurry back before Li Renyi notices something’s off."

Tian Qiao nodded. "I’ll go undercover near Li Renyi. If I find anything, I’ll come find you!"

Perhaps Li Renyi was confident enough in his superhuman abilities that he didn’t send anyone to monitor Tian Qiao. No one paid attention when Tian Qiao came to find Cheng Zhiyu.

"Wait, go out and sell it," Cheng Zhiyu reminded him, still uneasy.

Tian Qiao gave an OK sign, feeling a bit excited. He loved playing the ungrateful villain. Heh.

Soon, people saw Tian Qiao storm out, slamming the door as he left, his face filled with anger. "I’m done! I was nice enough to bring you food. If it weren’t for the fact that we grew up together, I wouldn’t even bother with you!"

Liu Qiang walked over and threw an arm around Tian Qiao’s shoulder like they were buddies. "Bro, what’s going on? Why so angry?"

Tian Qiao pretended to be mad and shook off Liu Qiang’s arm. "Don’t even mention it. I’m so damn pissed!... He went on and on, asking how I got so many supplies. I’m a superhuman—of course I would! We’re out there fighting zombies! Not like him!"

Liu Qiang laughed. "Yeah, no kidding. I mean, why bother with someone so ungrateful?"

Tian Qiao didn’t say anything. Liu Qiang continued, "Want me to teach him a lesson for you?"

Tian Qiao scoffed. "Forget it. You couldn't take him anyway."

Liu Qiang’s expression instantly darkened. Was there any difference between that and saying he was useless? "I’m a superhuman, after all. He’s just an ordinary person..."

"Enough with the bullshit," Tian Qiao snapped. "Let me tell you, we might argue, but he’s still my childhood friend. If anyone’s going to teach him a lesson, it’ll be me. It’s not your place!"

With that, Tian Qiao turned and walked away.

Liu Qiang’s face instantly turned ugly. He glared viciously at Tian Qiao, then glanced toward the elevator room and smiled. It’s fine—it won’t be long now.

The news of Tian Qiao and Cheng Zhiyu’s falling out quickly reached Li Renyi’s ears. He wasn’t surprised—even brothers could turn against each other, let alone them.

—

Sister Hong looked at Cheng Zhiyu with concern. "Xiao Cheng, you and your friend..."

Cheng Zhiyu frowned, looking annoyed. "Don’t mention him. I never thought he’d be like this. In just half a day, he’s been turned by those people and acts all high and mighty..."

He spoke with a tone of light mockery.

Sister Hong sighed. "Xiao Cheng, maybe you can’t blame your friend."

Cheng Zhiyu looked at Sister Hong, his eyes flickering. It seemed Sister Hong knew something.

"Anyway, you should stop arguing with him. Ah..." Sister Hong sounded somewhat helpless and added, "Lately, when the superhumans go on missions, it’s best if you don’t follow."

Cheng Zhiyu’s expression softened. "Thank you, Sister Hong. I understand."

Sister Hong didn’t say anything else. She lowered her head and gently patted Yan Yan’s head, her face full of worry. Yan Yan looked up, met Sister Hong’s eyes, and whispered, "Mom..."

Sister Hong shook her head. "Mom’s fine."

If it were anyone else, she might have turned a blind eye. After all, her heart had hardened enough since the apocalypse. But how could a sincere young man like Xiao Cheng end up who knows how...?

Yet, what could she do? How could she put her daughter at risk...?

Sister Hong closed her eyes, held Yan Yan, and fell silent.

A commotion broke out outside. Cheng Zhiyu stood up and opened the door to the elevator room. He saw Red Face, whom he had seen before, chasing a girl in her twenties. Her hair was messy, and her face was so dirty her features were hard to make out.

"I told you, stop bothering me!" the girl cried out frantically.

Though curious, the people around didn’t dare look too closely. After all, Red Face was a superhuman and notoriously vicious.

Red Face said, "I’ve already told you... if you don’t come with me, sooner or later..."

He lowered his voice. "Do you really think you can make it to the Bread Base safely? Don’t be so naive."

The girl shuddered, glared at Red Face, and repeated, "I said, stop bothering me!"

Red Face gritted his teeth, the skin on his cheeks twitching, making him look particularly frightening.

The girl lowered her head and hurried away. He didn’t chase after her but instead glared viciously at the onlookers. "What are you looking at? I’ll gouge your eyes out if you keep staring!"

Everyone shuddered and quickly averted their eyes.

Red Face walked away. Old Scar, who had witnessed the scene, mocked him, "Back already, lovesick fool? If you ask me, we’re superhumans now. What are you afraid of? If being nice doesn't work, just take her by force."

Red Face glared at Old Scar. "I’m warning you, don’t do anything to her, or else... you’ll regret it."

Old Scar raised his hands. "Alright, alright, I was just talking. Look at you."

Red Face said, "I want her to come willingly. In the past, everyone avoided me, and some even insulted me. Only she was different..."

Old Scar didn’t get it. Was it really that serious? She's just some woman. Even if Red Face had known her before, it was just an acquaintance. It wasn’t like she was actually his wife.

Old Scar suddenly smiled and patted Red Face’s shoulder. "Don’t worry, buddy. I’ll help you. Making her come willingly is a piece of cake..."

Red Face shot Old Scar a dirty look. Old Scar chuckled, "Don't worry, I won't do anything crazy. Just wait, you’ll thank me later."

Red Face wanted to say more, but Old Scar had already walked away humming a tune. Frowning, he kept quiet. After a moment, he thought to himself—since he was introverted and Old Scar was the superhuman he got along with best, and he knew Old Scar well—he figured the other wouldn’t dare do anything reckless, so he let it go.

Seeing that nothing was happening, Cheng Zhiyu withdrew his gaze and gently flicked Little Black’s ears as they twitched—they were quite Q-elastic.

Little Black, annoyed, turned his head and glared angrily. Cheng Zhiyu laughed and withdrew his hand, "I’m so bored. Who told you to ignore me?"

Wrong but confident.

Little Black, melted by his laughter, pressed a paw onto Cheng Zhiyu’s hand: Fine, I'll acknowledge you, okay?

Cheng Zhiyu’s heart softened at his behavior. He leaned down and kissed Little Black’s ear, "Little Black's the best."

Little Black: Here we go again... whatever.

After teasing Little Black for a while, Cheng Zhiyu felt much better. He closed his eyes and thought about what to do next.

This group probably wouldn’t stay quiet for long.

——

Upstairs, Tian Qiao was about to return to his room when he ran into Li Renyi.

Disgusted inwardly, Tian Qiao put on a respectful expression, "Boss."

Li Renyi, who had heard about what happened downstairs, was in a good mood, "Xiao Tian, I heard about your argument with your friend. Well, you can’t blame yourself. That’s just how superhumans are. The day you became a superhuman, you were already set apart from regular people... even friends can’t help but feel unbalanced."

Tian Qiao resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Afraid of revealing his true feelings, he lowered his head to hide his expression, "I didn’t expect him to be like this too. We used to be so close."

"Ah, that’s just how people are," Li Renyi said, patting Tian Qiao’s shoulder with an air of someone who understood people well. "Blame the twists of fate for making one of you a superhuman and the other an ordinary person."

Tian Qiao couldn’t take it anymore, "Boss, I want to go back to my room and have some quiet time."

Li Renyi nodded understandingly, "Go ahead. If you have any questions, you can come find me."

After Tian Qiao returned to his room, Li Renyi frowned slightly. Something felt off, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. He shook his head—his superhuman ability had never failed him before, so what could be wrong? He figured he was probably overthinking it.

Besides, no matter what, Cheng Zhiyu couldn’t stay. The guy seemed restless, and even though he had no superpowers, he was pretty capable.

What a shame he didn’t have any superpowers.

——

Cheng Zhiyu was resting with his eyes closed when suddenly a commotion broke out outside, "Come on, everyone, come out here. We have an announcement."

Cheng Zhiyu opened his eyes. Sister Hong, who was nearby, quickly got up with Yan Yan and reminded him, "Let’s hurry over, or we’ll get scolded."

Cheng Zhiyu nodded, tucked Little Black into his jacket, zipped it up, and followed.

Several superhumans were standing at the top of the stairs, Li Renyi among them. They stood high up, so the ordinary people had to look up to see them.

"Everyone’s here, right?" one of the superhumans said after a quick glance. "Listen up. We’ve had a couple of peaceful days lately, but this temporary peace hides endless dangers. The zombies outside haven’t been dealt with—they’ll keep gathering and eventually threaten everyone’s safety."

"So, the Boss will lead us out to clear the zombies. We need to select a few people to come along and help with cleanup afterwards."

After the announcement, the ordinary people downstairs exchanged nervous glances, their eyes filled with fear. They all knew that every time people were taken out, some never returned. They were terrified, praying silently not to be chosen.

No names were announced on the spot—they were told that superhumans would come to select people individually. The ordinary people dispersed anxiously. The superhumans had repeatedly emphasized the horrors of zombies to make them willingly dependent. Now that people were being chosen to go out, how could they not be afraid?

Cheng Zhiyu looked like he understood. Sure enough, soon a superhuman came over and said to him, "Get your stuff and wait at the entrance."

Since Cheng Zhiyu had little patience left anyway, he nodded, "Okay."

As the superhuman turned to leave, Sister Hong suddenly spoke up, "Wait, I... we want to go too."

Cheng Zhiyu frowned, "Sister Hong..."

Ignoring him, Sister Hong looked at the superhuman and said, "Can we come along? We want to go."

It was the first time the superhuman had seen someone make such a request. He shrugged indifferently, "Sure, come with him later."

After the superhuman left, Cheng Zhiyu looked at Sister Hong, puzzled, "Sister Hong, it’s dangerous outside. You..."

Sister Hong sighed and gently touched Yan Yan’s braids, "Yan Yan really likes you. She wants to go with you. Besides... is it really safe to stay here?"

Cheng Zhiyu fell silent. Given Li Renyi’s track record, there was no such thing as safety for ordinary people left behind.

He thought for a moment, then pretended to rummage through his backpack and took out two Little Yellow fruits from his space. Handing them to Sister Hong, he whispered, "If you’re in danger, eat these and just run. For five minutes, zombies won't detect you."

"This..." Sister Hong’s eyes widened, and she quickly tried to refuse, "Such precious things—how can we take them? You should keep them."

"Nothing is more precious than human lives," Cheng Zhiyu said. "Just take them, Sister Hong. Consider it a gift for Yan Yan."

Sister Hong opened her mouth but couldn’t bring herself to refuse. If it were just her, she would have declined, but when it came to Yan Yan, she couldn’t say no.

She carefully stored the fruits and whispered, "Thank you, Xiao Cheng."

Cheng Zhiyu smiled. He didn’t think much of it—life-saving items were meant to be used, not hoarded.

Hearing that Cheng Zhiyu was going out, Tian Qiao rushed over anxiously. Cheng Zhiyu gave him a look, and Tian Qiao quickly composed himself, turning to Li Renyi, "Boss, let me come along on the mission too? I’ve been stuck here for two days—I’m going stir-crazy."

Li Renyi, of course, had no intention of letting him go. He smiled and said, "You just joined the team—take it easy. Besides, we need superhumans to stay behind. You sit this one out, and I’ll take you next time."

Tian Qiao wanted to say more, but seeing Cheng Zhiyu’s glance, he waved it off, "Fine, I’ll stay."

Pleased with his obedience, Li Renyi turned to another superhuman, "Alright, gather the team. Let’s go."

Cheng Zhiyu noticed about a dozen ordinary people were coming along. Besides him, Sister Hong, and Yan Yan, there was also the girl Red Face had been chasing the other day, as well as Shunzi. The others he didn’t know well. They all looked terrified, especially Shunzi, who was even unsteady on his feet.

Li Renyi frowned at his unsteady posture. A superhuman nearby kicked Shunzi, "Stand straight, you coward! Stop wobbling!"

Shunzi didn’t seem to feel humiliated at all. He cried and pleaded, "You guys, I’m cowardly and useless. I’ll just hold everyone back... Besides, I already went last time. Can’t you let me skip this one?"

Last time, he’d been lucky and encountered few zombies. This time, he felt sure he wouldn’t make it back.

"Enough nonsense! If everyone were like you, we superhumans would do all the work while you lot just enjoy the benefits!" The superhuman, a Fire Power user, summoned a ball of fire impatiently, "If you waste any more time, and you’ll regret it!"

Shunzi was instantly terrified into silence.

Li Renyi pretended to be sympathetic, "Be civil with him. You’re too hot-tempered."

Seeing no hope of staying behind, the ordinary people followed the superhumans with numb expressions. Their faces were sallow, their eyes vacant—they looked no different from refugees.

They barely had the strength to walk, let alone complete a mission.

After walking some distance, when they were a good distance from the villa, a superhuman nearby said to Li Renyi, "Boss, it’s just ahead."

Li Renyi said, "Let’s go, move out."

The Superhuman said, "...boss, we can just let them go through. Why follow them?"

Li Renyi shot a look, and the speaker immediately shut up.

If it were other ordinary people, he might not worry, but Cheng Zhiyu seemed quite capable. He wouldn't feel at ease until he saw Cheng Zhiyu bitten to death by zombies himself.

After walking a bit further, Cheng Zhiyu, with his sharp senses, clearly heard the growls of zombies. Sure enough, before long, a horde of zombies came into view in the distance.

There were nearly a hundred of them by rough estimate. Not only were the normies terrified, but even the Superhumans swallowed hard and cautiously asked, "boss, should we keep going?"

Li Renyi was also scared. His power wasn't combat-oriented—facing zombies, he'd be nothing more than cannon fodder.

He exchanged glances with a few Superhumans, who instantly understood. They turned to the dozen or so ordinary people and said, "You, go check ahead."

"S-sirs, there are zombies up ahead. W-we’d just be walking into a death trap!"

"Yeah, sirs, aren’t we here to provide backup?"

"Please, sir! Spare me, I don’t want to die!"

"Please, I beg you, let me go."

Trembling with fear, they fell to their knees. Li Renyi’s expression didn’t change at all. From the day he became a Superhuman, ordinary people were no longer his equals in his eyes.

Who would show mercy to livestock destined for the slaughter? The apocalypse had turned them into Superhumans, while these ordinary people, who needed their protection, were nothing but flawed products destined to be eliminated.

He wasn’t doing anything wrong—just speeding up the process of elimination.

Making way for a Superhuman like me, their deaths would serve a purpose.

Cheng Zhiyu snorted derisively. "Finally dropping the act? So this is why you took in ordinary people—to use them as cannon fodder when zombies show up."

Li Renyi slowly took a drag of his cigarette and exhaled smoke. "Don't make it sound so bad. You’re helping build a future for Superhumans. You could say your deaths serve a purpose."

Hearing these cold words, the ordinary people were first stunned in disbelief, then erupted in frenzied protests. "We’re human too! What makes you better than animals?!"

"We may not have powers, but we break our backs every day doing all the shit jobs. You doled out scraps, and we kept our mouths shut. We just want to survive—why is it so hard? How can you be so cruel?!"

"You’ll get yours!... I don’t want to die, I don’t want to die!"

Li Renyi frowned and glanced at a Superhuman nearby. The latter, taking the signal, made to shove these people toward the zombie horde.

The zombies had already caught the scent of fresh blood and were inching closer. Any longer, and they wouldn’t be able to escape either.

But before the other could act, Cheng Zhiyu was quicker, grabbing the Superhuman’s arm. The Superhuman tried to struggle but was shocked to find that, though Cheng Zhiyu looked much slimmer, his strength was immense. His entire arm ached from the grip, his face instantly turning purple.

Enraged and humiliated, the Superhuman immediately raised his other hand, a ball of fire about to slam into Cheng Zhiyu. The fur on Little Black, nestled in Cheng Zhiyu’s arms, bristled. Before the fire could even get close to Cheng Zhiyu, it was doused by water, leaving only a wisp of smoke.

The Fire Power Superhuman was stunned by this and exclaimed, "I thought you were powerless?"

Cheng Zhiyu didn’t respond. He didn’t—Little Black had just acted.

"What the—? You..." The Fire Power Superhuman glanced back at Li Renyi, who was frowning deeply. Seeing his displeasure, the Superhuman wanted to prove himself and attacked again.

But this time, what met him wasn’t a ball of water but a bolt of lightning. The Fire Power Superhuman let out a piercing shriek, his face charred black, his hair instantly fried to a crisp.

This time, not only were the others shocked, but even Cheng Zhiyu was surprised. He knew Little Black had done it again, but wasn’t Little Black a Water Power Superhuman? How did he have lightning powers too?

But now wasn’t the time to ask. Calmly, Cheng Zhiyu watched as the surrounding Superhumans were staring at him, terrified, clearly thinking he was the one who had acted.

"How... how could you? You're clearly an ordinary person!" Li Renyi's facade of kindness completely shattered, his expression turning vicious. "Impossible, absolutely impossible. Aren't you just an ordinary person?"

After saying this, he suddenly seemed as if he had a split personality, once again putting on a kind expression as he looked into Cheng Zhiyu's eyes. "Xiao Cheng, everything just now was a misunderstanding. How could I possibly let you face the zombies alone?"

As he spoke, Li Renyi looked at Cheng Zhiyu with an expectant expression, waiting for his reaction. Then he saw the other man offer a gentle smile.

Cheng Zhiyu was good-looking, and his warm smile easily made people let their guard down. Seeing him like this, Li Renyi thought his ability had taken effect and was about to breathe a sigh of relief when he saw the other's expression suddenly turn cold. Cheng Zhiyu lifted his foot and kicked him square in the chest.

Li Renyi clearly hadn't expected him to make a sudden move. Caught off guard, he was kicked to the ground. Ever since the apocalypse started, he had never been treated this way. He had gotten used to being worshipped, and now he couldn't control the anger that instantly flared on his face.

At the same time, he felt a sense of panic. What's going on? Had his ability stopped working? He had just used his power—Cheng Zhiyu should have shown him goodwill, so why had he kicked him without hesitation?

As soon as this thought crossed his mind, Li Renyi instinctively denied it. Impossible. His ability couldn't be failing. Not only was it impossible, it was unacceptable. If his ability really had problems, he couldn't imagine the consequences.

Before he could think further, he immediately yelled at the surrounding Superhumans, "What are you all standing around for? Attack!"

The other Superhumans all prepared to make their move, but the Fire Power Superhuman who had just been electrocuted subconsciously said, "Why should I listen to you?"

This time, not only was Li Renyi shocked, even Cheng Zhiyu was surprised. A Superhuman had actually refused Li Renyi's order.

He glanced at the electrocuted, frizzled hair of the Fire Power Superhuman and had an idea.

Was it because of Little Black?

The Fire Power Superhuman's words made Li Renyi panic again. What was going on? This had never happened before. Could his ability really be failing?

Seeing the strange looks from the others, the Fire Power Superhuman scratched his head. "Am I wrong? Why should I listen to him?"

As he spoke, he frowned, perhaps remembering what he had done earlier, and immediately looked incredulous. "Was I out of my mind? How could I have done such things with you all?"

Though he never considered himself a good person, he wouldn’t go so far as to treat ordinary people as zombie bait.

Cheng Zhiyu cut in, "Li Renyi's ability allows him to control Superhumans. You were under his control."

Hearing this, the Fire Power Superhuman immediately turned to look at Li Renyi, the anger in his eyes impossible to hide.

Li Renyi forced himself to stay calm and said to the other stunned Superhumans, "What are you all waiting for? Hurry up and attack!"

Cheng Zhiyu raised an eyebrow and gently patted Little Black.

Little Black didn’t need any reminder. One by one, he delivered electric shocks. In an instant, the Superhumans all froze in place, slowly coming to their senses, followed by a chorus of curses.

Cheng Zhiyu glanced at the approaching zombies and took out his little black cleaver. "Stop cursing. Handle the zombies first."

The Superhumans exchanged glances. Though their previous actions had been under Li Renyi's control, that didn’t mean they were good people.

But now, aside from teaming up to fight the zombies, they had no other choice. After cursing Li Renyi one last time, they charged forward.

Though these Superhumans were individually weak, there was strength in numbers. Cheng Zhiyu had no intention of wearing himself out fighting zombies solo.

He glanced at the ordinary people standing there frozen and frowned slightly. "What are you all waiting for? Pitch in."

Even if these ordinary people joined the fight, they wouldn't be much help. But all along, they had imagined zombies to be too terrifying, to the point where even mentioning zombies made them as scared as birds.

In this apocalypse, such an attitude was clearly not gonna cut it. No matter what, they needed to have some ability to protect themselves. Otherwise, even if Li Renyi was dealt with this time, there would be another Li Renyi type.

"But... but we’re just ordinary people. How are we supposed to have powers?" someone said fearfully.

"Yeah, isn't that what the Supers are for?" another muttered.

Cheng Zhiyu said calmly, "If you think you can always encounter kind-hearted Superhumans willing to protect you, you can keep going and see how long you last."

Little Black: Cheng Zhiyu is just too kind-hearted. Saying this is all for these regular folks.

He wasn’t trying to be difficult—just telling the truth.

Some ordinary people felt displeased; his words were too harsh. At the same time, they were afraid because they knew Cheng Zhiyu was speaking the truth.

Of course, there were also those who, upon hearing Cheng Zhiyu’s words, mustered their courage, picked up whatever sharp objects they could find to use as weapons, and went after the zombies.

Sister Hong was one of them. Despite looking skinny and malnourished from long-term minimal eating, she unleashed surprising strength, fiercely hacking at the zombies.

Cheng Zhiyu reminded her, "Go for the head."

Sister Hong’s arms were giving out from exhaustion. Nearby, Yan Yan shouted, "Mom, I’ll help you!"

The next moment, Yan Yan picked up a stone larger than her own head and slammed it into a zombie’s head. No matter how hard the zombie’s head was, it couldn’t withstand the impact—it busted open instantly.

Cheng Zhiyu arched a brow. How could a little girl have such strength?

Little Black swished his tail: "A strength-based Superhuman."

Cheng Zhiyu understood. No wonder Sister Hong and Yan Yan, being among the earliest to join the team, had managed to survive safely until now.

As for Sister Hong deliberately hiding the fact that Yan Yan was a Superhuman, it was clear she had picked up on something sketchy about Li Renyi.

"Hell, they’re just zombies! I’ve had enough—if a woman isn’t afraid, why should I be? I’m taking these freakin’ things down!"

"I’ve had enough too! Let’s fight, even if it kills us!"

Maybe spurred on by Sister Hong, some ordinary people began jumping into the fight with the zombies.

These ordinary zombies moved slowly and, aside from being tough to take down, weren’t particularly scary. With Superhumans around, Cheng Zhiyu had let them have at it.

Only by getting past their fear could they stop cowering. At the very least, they needed to be capable of self-defense against ordinary zombies instead of freezing up in terror, waiting to die.

Cheng Zhiyu didn’t want to rescue them from Li Renyi only for them to inexplicably get bitten to death by zombies.

Of course, there were still those too afraid to step forward. Cheng Zhiyu wasn’t about to fuss over them—they could do as they pleased. He couldn’t help everyone.

Speaking of Li Renyi...

"Making a run for it?" Before Cheng Zhiyu could do anything, a voice rang out from nearby. Sure enough, Li Renyi had tried to slip away unnoticed while no one was looking.

Unfortunately, he’d barely moved when a Superhuman who’d been watching noticed. This Superhuman, who harbored intense hatred for Li Renyi, wasn’t letting him get away.

He used his ability to hit Li Renyi’s leg. Li Renyi screamed, his face pale and soaked in sweat as he curled up on the ground.

The Superhuman sneered. As soon as he shook off the control, he remembered joining the team with his brother. And Li Renyi—who had controlled him—had fed his brother to the zombies.

He couldn’t imagine how desperate his brother must have felt the moment a zombie pierced his skin. All of it was because of Li Renyi.

Li Renyi never intended to take them to any bread base. Why would he, when it was far more satisfying to control Superhumans here and lord it over everyone?

But he wasn’t getting away with it. If no one else intervened, this Superhuman certainly wouldn’t let Li Renyi slide.

These were just ordinary zombies, and they were taken care of fast. Some people stared at the motionless zombies and then at their own hands, the improvised "weapons" dropping to the ground. "I... I actually killed a zombie! I killed a zombie!... Haha, these zombies aren’t that hard to kill after all!"

"Right, so what if they’re zombies? We ordinary people can kill them too!"

"Exactly! Look at Mr. Cheng—I wish I had his skills."

"He’s a Superhuman."

"Mr. Cheng is impressive even without using his powers."

In the crowd, a girl stared at a zombie lying on the ground, her fingers trembling slightly. She... she had really killed a zombie...

Tears streamed from her eyes. Ever since joining the team, Red Face had recognized her—they’d met a few times before the apocalypse. As a Superhuman, Red Face had had her back, and while she was grateful, she also felt uneasy.

Sure enough, it wasn’t long before Red Face confessed his feelings. She couldn’t accept and refused him. Red Face continued to look out for her, but she didn’t dare accept, knowing what it meant.

She thought she could survive in the team on her own, even if the food shares were meager. As long as she stayed alive until they reached the bread base, she could slowly make a living through her own labor.

The bread base recruited ordinary people because there were many tasks Superhumans couldn’t be bothered with—jobs only ordinary people could do.

But soon, she lost hope. Red Face told her Li Renyi never planned to take them to the bread base. He even said, "Do you know how those ordinary people died? Did you really think it was just accidents during missions? I might as well tell you—those taken out were used as cannon fodder to delay zombie attacks. Whenever the Superhumans encountered too many zombies to handle, they’d push ordinary people out. The zombies would be too busy biting them to chase the Superhumans."

These facts were kept quiet from ordinary people. Even with guessing all they wanted, no one truly knew the truth.

Not only ordinary people—even newly joined Superhumans might not know, like Old Scar, who complained early on about why Li Renyi bothered taking in ordinary people.

They thought Li Renyi was kind-hearted, but the reality was a lot crueler.

After hearing Red Face’s words, her first reaction was disbelief. But she began observing unconsciously and realized it was exactly as he said—almost every mission, the Superhumans deliberately selected a few ordinary people, and most of the time, those ordinary people never returned.

Upon learning the truth, she was initially terrified, but she soon calmed down. Red Face thought this would make her agree to be with him.

Unexpectedly, she didn’t want to live without dignity. She thought of her parents, who had been bitten by zombies one after another after the apocalypse, and suddenly felt less afraid. Perhaps reuniting with them wouldn’t be so bad.

But just moments ago, as a zombie was about to bite her, she saw the ordinary people around her rising up to fight back. For some reason, she instinctively resisted. When she came to her senses, the zombie she had always believed was terrifying and unbeatable lay dead by her hand—truly dead.

Tears poured from her eyes as she broke down sobbing. No one laughed at her—everyone felt the same.

Just then, Cheng Zhiyu’s smile froze. He heard something off.

Little Black: "Level One Zombie!"

Cheng Zhiyu’s eyes narrowed. He watched as a fallen zombie suddenly stood up without warning and made a grab for the nearest girl.

Before he could warn her, an unexpected person appeared. Red Face quickly stepped in front of the girl, attempting to use his power. But this wasn’t an ordinary zombie—it was much faster. Before Red Face could react, he felt a sharp pain and looked down to see a huge chunk torn out of his side by the Power Zombie.

"Chen Wen!" The girl turned at the noise and saw the scene, screaming out Red Face’s name.

Red Face’s real name was Chen Wen, but because of the birthmark on his face, that was his nickname. So many people called him that, he’d almost forgotten his original name.

"Lin Jing, kill me," Chen Wen said calmly, without resentment, even with a sense of relief.

The zombie behind him withdrew its hand, preparing to attack again.

Cheng Zhiyu materialized a crossbow and shot at the zombie, but it was exceptionally fast and dodged the shot.

He frowned. "It’s speed-type."

The zombie moved swiftly, almost instantly lunging again to bite Lin Jing.

Already partially zombified, Chen Wen shoved Lin Jing out of the way and shouted, "Everyone, get back!"

Instinctively, everyone retreated. The next moment, a massive explosion echoed. By the time everyone realized what had happened, they understood—Chen Wen had blew himself up.

The higher the level of a Superhuman, the greater the power of their self-destruct ability. Chen Wen had already zombified and knew he would eventually become one, so he chose to self-destruct, taking the Power Zombie down with him.

Lin Jing stood frozen in place, stunned. She never expected Chen Wen to make such a decision at the last moment.

As the smoke from the explosion cleared, everyone was reeling from the shock. But Cheng Zhiyu spotted a shadow, and his eyes narrowed. "Be careful! That zombie isn’t dead!"

It was a Speed-type Power Zombie—even after Chen Wen had grabbed hold of it, it managed to evade the explosion.

Speed-type Power Zombies don't have the same offensive power as other Power Zombies, but their speed makes them incredibly difficult to deal with.

Xiao Hei: "Do you need my help?"

Cheng Zhiyu tightened his grip on his kitchen knife, closed his eyes, and said, "Not for now."

He silently recited the mental technique Xiao Hei had given him and soon entered a heightened state of awareness. In his eyes, the movements of the Speed-type Power Zombie suddenly slowed down significantly.

Then, those who were frantically trying to deal with the Speed-type Power Zombie noticed that Cheng Zhiyu’s speed had also increased dramatically. He moved almost as fast as the zombie, leaving behind nothing but blurred afterimages in everyone’s vision.

"Wait, isn’t he a Lightning-type Superhuman? How is he so fast?"

"No, he’s a Water Superhuman!"

"Holy shit! Who said he was an ordinary person in the first place?"

"He said it himself, and… even without using his powers, we’re no match for him."

The Superhumans couldn’t help but reflect: were they… just too weak?

Xiao Hei: Isn’t it obvious? You’re only realizing it now?

Though they kept muttering among themselves, everyone kept their eyes fixed on the two shadows, watching for sneak attacks from the Speed-type Power Zombie while anxiously praying that Cheng Zhiyu could take it down.

If even Cheng Zhiyu couldn’t handle it, then the rest of them were as good as dead.

Just as everyone held their breath, the two figures suddenly stopped. The next moment, they saw Cheng Zhiyu, forehead slightly sweaty, calmly putting away his kitchen knife.

The Speed-type Power Zombie slowly slumped to the ground, motionless.