The back entrance led to the kitchen, so Xiaolang didn't realize that Lu Xing was inside the house. Since she was in the kitchen, Yiran blushed feeling embarra.s.sed for having a dumb brother like this... On the other hand, Lu Xing who was seating in the living room couldn't help but chuckle.

'So this is the foolish brother..Xiaolang.' Lu Xing thought with smile.

"Xiaolang!" Yiran in a scolding tone as she gestured toward the living room.

Xiaolang quickly turned red faced from his embarra.s.sing comment. He was about to turn around to make a quick escape when a crash was heard outside. The twins instantly pinpointed the sound.

'The barn!' Yiran and Xiaolang thought in union.

Lu Xing had also heard it, and felt it rather unsettling.

"It's way to early...' Lu Xing thought discreetly grabbing his handgun, as he got up and walked to the kitchen, the twin were just then in the process of going to the door.

Seeing the gun in the man's hands, their eyes widened, and Xiaolang stood before his sister in a protective stance. Lu Xing gave a shus.h.i.+ng motion as he pointed to the door... He mouthed the word 'stay' as he turned and walked out, his gun ready for any given attack.

'This is far to different from any scenarios I could've imagined.' Lu Xing thought as he walked to the barn, 'How many of the others managed to come back..? If any of Yiran's prior enemies had managed to return...'

Lu Xing reached the barn...

The stench hit him before anything else.

'Zombies..? Or mutated..?' Gritting his teeth, Lu Xing ran into the barn.

He expected Peng Xiong to be injured...maybe even...

What he found instead shocked him.

"GRHAAAAHAHRHAHHAAAA!" the thing was writhing as it was being wrestled to the ground...

By Peng Xiong.

Lu Xing instantly walked over, Peng Xiong was avoiding the razor sharp teeth attempting to take a bite of his flesh.

Seeing the struggling beast being held under the man, Lu Xing walked up behind him gun lifted towards his back.

"Quickly let go and ROLL!" Lu Xing ordered, his eyes on the creature.

Peng Xiong heard the man behind him and though he had his doubts, he pushed against the thing, breaking away and rolled. An instant after rolling out of the way, he heard a gun shot...followed by two more rounds. Holding his ears from the ringing, Peng Xiong glanced at the thing...which had stopped moving.

Dark blood had splattered onto the ground.

Lu Xing knelt next to Peng Xiong and placed his hands on either side of the man's shoulders... Then he started patting him down. The ringing had subsided some, and Peng Xiong slapped away Lu Xing's wandering hands. On the inside, Peng Xiong had been freaking out from the sudden a.s.sault from the thing lying dead on the floor... And now this.

"What is wrong with you?!" Peng Xiong exclaimed rather angrily, then gestured widely at the thing on the ground next to him, "What is that?!"

Lu Xing sighed.

'Great...I really am starting to hate this illogical world.' Lu Xing ran his hand through his hair in a frustrated motion.

"I can explain, but first you need to trust me." Lu Xing said, his eyes looked over Peng Xiong's body, "Tell me, were you bitten?"

It took Peng Xiong a moment to process the question before he himself did a quick glance down at his body.

"No...no." Peng Xiong answered, he knit his brows together as he looked up.

"Good...but from now on, if you ever get bitten or injured," Lu Xing said placing a hand out to help Peng Xiong up, "never hide it from me."

Peng Xiong didn't quite understand but he nodded.

"Thank you.." Peng Xiong said in a low voice, he felt odd after his earlier reaction.

'This man still saved me.' Peng Xiong thought, 'And he knows something...I need to know what he knows.'

"Let's return you to your children's side." Lu Xing said, again a sense of frustration...or could be impatience...came from his words, "They need to know your safe...and I need to check and see if the place is safe."

Lu Xing led the way, he c.o.c.ked his gun and walked out of the barn, swept his gaze over the surrounding. Peng Xiong followed him, and Lu Xing sent him into the house first, then entered the house behind him. Inside, Xiaolang had been holding a cleaver, and Yiran a kitchen knife, now Peng Xiong was taking away their so called weapons and laying them down on the counter.

"Glad you managed to listen to me." Lu Xing said relieved, his gun was c.o.c.ked down in an non-intimidating manner.

"Why'd you shoot your gun?" Xiaolang asked, his blue eyes flickering back and forth from his father to the stranger.

"Don't worry son..." Peng Xiong started, then glanced at Lu Xing, "thanks to him...I'm still safe."

"Dad!" Yiran flung herself at her dad, Peng Xiong hugged his daughter and looked at Lu Xing.

"Now will you tell me what that thing was?" Peng Xiong asked as he soothed his daughter.

"That thing?" Xiaolang questioned.

Lu Xing took a deep breath.

"That thing that attacked you...was actually a level two mutation." Lu Xing explained, "In other words..it was a cat. It was a mutated cat."

The others faces turned to disbelief...though Peng Xiong's face carried more of a confused expression.

"That thing was a mutated...cat..?" Peng Xiong said having a hard time digesting it.

"Yeah." Lu Xing suddenly remembered something...something the Yiran from then had mentioned.

Lu Xing gave Peng Xiong another glance, "We'll need to head out, my place makes a better shelter than this place, it'll be awhile before the government announces an emergency evacuation. By then it may be too late to leave the Y City."

"Leave with you?! Why should we trust you?" Xiaolang asked, his chin up as he glowered at Lu Xing.

"Son...we should go." Peng Xiong said, he was unsettled by the earlier event but still... "As long as you can help me keep my children safe. We will follow you."

Peng Xiong was looking at Lu Xing as he had said that, and Yiran was now staring at the man, her eyes glistening.

"I...can promise you, as long as you follow me... I will keep you safe." Lu Xing said in an attempt to soothe the frightened girls nerves.

Sixteen may be considered old enough, but when one had lived through a frightening situation...one didn't instantly become brave. The girl had been afraid for her father's sake, and now she was hearing frightening information. Lu Xing knew that this Yiran before him was much more fragile than the Yiran he had watched reach legendary heights.

Xiaolang who was about to open his mouth, held his tongue, after receiving a scowl from his father.

"I'll scout the area before I have you three get to the vehicles..." Lu Xing said, as Peng Xiong nodded, he turned and left out the door.