Just as he took care of his inner wolf, Lin Wenbo knocked on the door.

"Come in." Song Haoran opened the door and grinned very brightly.

Lin Wenbo's gaze paused for a few seconds as he observed his friend uncannily donning a wide smile, his heart immediately growing suspicious. He raised his brows and asked. "What are you doing in this room?"

"I was teaching Big Brother Song how to direct his internal energy through his meridians to better release his abilities. Big Brother Lin, you have to learn, too. As you learn, you'll grow stronger and be able to fight against zombies, too. It doesn't take much effort."

Although Gong Lixin was straightforward, he also knew he couldn't reveal others' private affairs. Therefore, he only revealed half of the truth. Song Haoran, who was trying to think of a way to answer the question, let out a sigh in relief.

However, when he heard that the teenager would use the same method to teach his friend, his face became dark. He said, "Lixin, you already taught it to me. How about I teach it to Wenbo?"

"No, you're only a disciple, how are you supposed to teach me? I will follow the little master's teaching." Lin Wenbo said without waiting for the teenager to answer. It was hard enough to get a chance to be close to the small teenager. Either way, he couldn't let go of this opportunity.

"That's true. If the method of operating the meridians is not mastered correctly, it will lead to ignorance. You must not be lazy about it, or you can just ask me advice for more insurance." Gong Lixin made his decision, rejecting Song Haoran's suggestion.

Lin Wenbo thoughtfully looked at his apparently reluctant friend and quickly explained his intentions for coming here. "Uncle Gong has just sent a helicopter to check the situation in Dingtai District. He found that the collapse of the buildings has stopped the fire. The warehouses of Green Garden Market were not affected. We're being sent out to carry goods back while the zombies in the other areas have not yet flocked to it yet. You should be ready to leave in ten minutes."

"Okay." The two immediately replied that they would. They loaded their weapons and rushed to the tarmac.

While running, Gong Lixin touched the satellite communicator at his waist and faintly thought that he hadn't had any news from Big Brother He ever since he reached Kyoto that night and made a phone call saying he arrived safely. When this mission was over, he must call back and ask.

***

Ring Tsui Wan near Kyoto was a vast, uninhabitable desert. Only travelers would temporarily stop before the apocalypse. After the start of the apocalypse, they became the largest base of survivors in C city because they were so far away from zombies.

The Song family relied on the large number of troops and weapons for it to become the real power of the base. They occupied the largest oasis and turned it into the headquarters of his army.

There were several small resorts around the desert. The area wasn't vast, but the living environment wasn't bad. The zombies from Kyoto were not far from the base, but they weren't close either. As long as they properly prepared and defended against them, they were safe. All the people defending the base were people sent by the Song family, the va.s.sals of his Majesty.

Zhao An was one of those va.s.sals. Before the apocalypse, he was just a little known man and was overshadowed by He Jin's radiance. After the apocalypse, he became the leader of the party. He had two or three hundred people under his control. He couldn't say that he had the world at his feet, but he could do whatever he wanted in this small area.

This feeling of being looked up to was so wonderful that he had no regrets. But as soon as He Jin came back, it only took a moment after waking from his dream for his darker and inflated desires to take over. His greed quickly eclipsed everything else, and what remained of his conscience was completely gone.

After three days of hesitation, Zhao An finally made up his mind. He grew up with He Jin and went through life and death situations with him. He was his brother, and he wanted to kill him.

Currently, they were seated around two tables in the most luxurious villa in the resort. Zhao An, He Jin, Lu Yun, Wu Ming, and 22 brothers who had been through life and death situations with them for more than a decade were all gathered together and were having a drink.

The atmosphere at the banquet was very warm. Some people were toasting each other. Some were joking and laughing as they talked loudly. There was always someone next to a person or another and none of them felt sorrow or panic from the apocalypse.

Zhao An's smile was still so hearty and he often urged He Jin to drink. The left big brother and the right big brother were very intimate. Yet, He Jin showed no expression, only a cold face. There was not much talking between him and his neighbors, but he didn't refuse any drinks offered by visitors.

Lu Yun sat next to He Jin, holding onto a s.e.xy, barely-dressed, mature woman in his arms and laughing and, occasionally, issuing s.l.u.tty comments.

Wu Ming was next to him, his expression somewhat cautious as he concentrated on eating.

"Brother He, you've been our big brother for so many years, is it not enough? Isn't it time to let one of our younger brothers become the leader?" Seeing He Jin drinking a gla.s.s of wine, Zhao An's eyes became chaotic and he suddenly smiled as he asked aloud.

Silence filled the living room as everyone looked at Zhao An, staring at his cold expression with their eyes as they speculated the true intentions behind his words.

"You?" He Jin put down his wine gla.s.s and stared at Zhao An without any expression, fl.u.s.tering Zhao An's heart. He straightened and coldly asked, "Why?"

"You need a reason?" Zhao An clapped his hands and the living room door opened wide. More than a dozen people rushed in carrying sub-machine guns and surrounded the two tables. All gun barrels were directed at He Jin and the others.

Zhao An was afraid of being caught up by him. After saying his words, he immediately retired from the table and walked behind the big men, the smile spreading across his face.

"Brother He, the world is different now. Don't you dare think that you are still the invincible 'Poisonous Wolf'. I'll tell you, you are all only c.o.c.kroaches in front of me. I can easily pinch you to death. Look at this." He said and spread his palms and released a flame.

Seeing this strange scene, the members of He Jin's team were stunned and stared unbelievably at Zhao An.

"You see this? You, mortals, are no longer at my level! I am an ability user. I was blessed with powers!" Zhao An madly laughed. The fire created shadows showing off the full state of his mind.

He Jin leaned back on the chair and looked at Zhao An quietly. His dark eyes were filled with endless coldness. Among those emotions, there was a mixture of pity for Zhao An's ignorance and compa.s.sion from the memory of their friends.h.i.+p.

Seeing He Jin's unmoved expression, huge frustration impacted Zhao An's nerves. What was the purpose of showing off his strength in such a large banquet if not just to see He Jin's change in his expression and let He Jin beg him? However, He Jin didn't cooperate with him at all and it made him feel like a jumping cloud, making him feel ridiculous.

Setting aside his sneer, Zhao An snorted, "Today, if anyone wants to come with me, I will let you go. Those who don't will be burnt to ashes." With those words, the flame in his palm grew bigger and issued a roar, shocking the people present.

Everyone was silent and looked at He Jin.

He Jin was cold and quiet for a moment before he opened up. "Whoever wants to follow him, I have no opinion. Just don't regret it later."

"Haha, if they follow you, they'll fall to their deaths without a funeral. If they follow you, they're the ones who will regret!" Zhao An sneered once again. The big men raised their guns and were ready to start fire.

"Wait, Brother Zhao, I'll come with you!" A member of their team saw this and quickly got up and shouted. Once the dam broke, soon, another member stood up and expressed their willingness to join Zhao An's side.

The two stood in the corner of the hall under Zhao An's instruction and withdrew from the shooting range.

"Is there anyone else who still wants to follow him?" He Jin asked with a deep voice, seeing that the hall has fallen silent.

"Brother He, we went through life and death together for more than ten years. I called you big brother for more than ten years. How can I change my allegiance now? We'll die together!" A member of the team firmly said and the others echoed his thoughts.

"Good. I promise you will never regret this choice today." He Jin sat up straight. His mouth opened wide and the corners strangely rose as he slowly spread open his palm.

Seeing his posture, Zhao An blinked and became scared. He quickly shouted, "He's an ability user, shoot! Shoot now!"

Alas, his shout was too late. A mere second later, dozens of invisible wind blades shot out from He Jin's palm and accurately cut the carotid arteries of more than a dozen big men. Blood suddenly spilled all over the place, painting the site with red mist, creating quite the spectacular scene.

Lu Yun pushed away the beautiful woman in his arms right when He Jin raised his hand. He took hold of the barrel of the big man behind him and kicked him where it hurts.

The big man screamed, letting go of the gun. His knees went soft and he fell to the ground. Lu Yun didn't stop there as he lifted his elbow and slammed it into the other's abdomen and landed a punch onto his temple.

The screams of the big man stopped abruptly and he fell to the ground with his limbs convulsing and foaming at the mouth, dead. Lu Yun licked his lips and straightened up before opening with disdain.

"F***tard, this young master hates others pointing a gun on this young master's head!" He said, picking up a paper towel on the table and wiping his face. He had wanted to punch and kick the big man, but it already took him a great deal to beat up this big man. Then again, who could tell him that his strength was not enough? Right now, he could only concentrate on studying a few sinister tricks. This doesn't come in handy all the time.

At the same time, Wu Ming also quickly captured the barrel of the big man behind him and when the big man's mouth opened to yell, he was shocked as a fireball was shot into his mouth. The big man clutched his throat, his eyes bulged wide and his face turned blue before he slowly fell down.

Three people shot out attacks and, in just two seconds, the room full of big men turned into a living room filled with corpses, blood being splashed all over the place. The strong smell made Zhao An tremble.

"How– how come? Are you not an ordinary person? How do you have an ability?" Zhao An trembled, unable to believe what was happening.

"Who told you that we were not ability users?" Lu Yun snorted, stepped aside to reveal a busty older woman screaming at his feet, tears rolling down her eyes. He scornfully said, "Was she the one who told you so? Hey! Can such a thing turn this Lu Yun's head? I'm too self-sufficient!"

Looking at the beauty near Lu Yun's feet, before looking at him then looking at the big man lying dead nearby, Wu Ming's mouth surrept.i.tiously twitched. He wondered what kind of spell Young Master Gong cast on him. What happens when put together with Young Master Gong who's ignorant of the world? That thing is what happens, that's what!

"Brother He..you, you already knew? So you started to guard against me as soon as you entered the base?" Zhao An stared at He Jin who was approaching him step by step. His legs trembled and he almost wanted to kneel and beg.

"Yeah, I knew from the beginning." He said with a smile on his face, but his eyes contained a cold killing intent. The people on his side were already impressed by his powerful move and watched Zhao An's end. The two others who chose to betray him and who were standing in the corner, regretted their choice and wanted to escape, but was blocked by Lu Yun and Wu Ming.

"Brother He, please spare me this time! I must have lost my mind for a second there! As long as you are willing to let me go, I'll go far away and no longer appear before you!" Zhao An cried.

"If this ability weren't in your hands, I may have spared you but unfortunately…" He Jin's voice fell and his fingers waved a wind blade in his direction, cutting off Zhao An's right hand, spilling red blood.

"Ah!" Zhao An held his handless wrist that kept spilling blood.  His horrified screams echoed throughout the living room.

"Didn't you say that you can pinch me to death like an ant?" He Jin said as he calmly stepped towards him.

Zhao An's body was stiff. He didn't dare speak again. In front of him, strong murderous intention emitted from He Jin's body making his pale face turn blue and purple from being unable to scream.

"I will kill you like how you wanted to kill me like an ant today. You should be lucky that you are my former brother, otherwise, I would throw you into a h.o.a.rd of zombies and let them turn you into a pile of bones." He Jin said as his hand covered Zhao An's neck and slowly applied pressure.

Zhao An's face gradually turned red as his eyes showed his panic. His mouth opened and closed as he tried to say something, trying to beg for mercy. The more he tried, the tighter the hand on his throat became and the more he couldn't spit out a single word.

He Jin's face was dark as he stared at the other's dying expression for a long time. Eventually, he exerted the final amount of force against Zhao An's throat, one last tiny breath leaving the dying man's throat as unseeing eyes stared at He Jin.

He Jin threw away the cold body in his grasp and looked at the two traitors who stood stiff in a corner. His dark eyes didn't have a trace of warmth nor sympathy, as if he had climbed out from the abyss of h.e.l.l.

Not only the two traitors, but even the other mercenaries began to tremble. They had never seen this side of He Jin and people had no courage to face him head on.

The boundless chill spread across the room and the two traitors finally couldn't stand the torture of fear and screamed in front of him. Right then, the communicator on He Jin's waist rang.

He took out the communicator and saw the name of the person on the screen. As if afraid of disturbing the child at the other end of the phone, He Jin quickly suppressed the killing intent emitting from his body and his voice became very gentle. He smiled and called out, "Lixin!" The two words flowed out of his mouth, bringing with it sweetness that could not be described.

As soon as the youth's crisp's voice was heard, the heart of 'Big Brother He' who was filled with thoughts of the other, overflowed with joy and became soft.

The temperature in the room quickly rose. The brothers-in-arms looked at the infamous He Jin with a horrified look. From the evil spirit a second ago, he had transformed into a gentle and kind man. It was a scene more shocking than the killing intent freezing a dozen people.

Lu Yun and Wu Ming didn't find it strange and whispered amongst each other that it was definitely Young Master Gong calling.

In the end, He Jin told the child that his private affairs were already settled and he should be going back soon, making the child laugh with joy. Right then, Wu Ming saw a hundred people with military uniform through the huge floor-to-ceiling window. The troops had surrounded the villa.

Wu Ming stepped forward and pulled the arm of He Jin, who still looked ecstatic, and pointed at the window. Looking outside of the villa, he saw Song Haoxuan raising his hand and waiting to give his orders. He Jin sighed and helplessly said into the phone. "Lixin, Big Brother He may not be able to return for a while longer. You have to wait for me."

Getting an affirmative answer, He Jin smiled softly and reluctantly hung up the phone.

"Leave. Don't appear in my sight in the future." The two men on the floor looked at him when He Jin faintly ordered them. The gentleness that had overtook his heart hadn't quite left yet and he suddenly had no desire to kill.

"Thank you! Thank you, brother!" The two of them had a second chance in life and were grateful. They regretted their choice but still left.

The army outside the door didn't stop them and allowed them to leave. The deputy gave a smile in greeting across the window and made an inviting gesture. They gestured back before Lu Yun and the others cleaned up the villa and drove towards the oasis deep in the desert.

He Jin wanted to get rid of Song Haoxuan who had a strong desire for control. Although to do so, he needed to be cautious and act slowly.