When the iron door opened, the yellow-haired young man and another man behind the middle-aged man deliberately, though seemingly casually, blocked the stairway entrance from either side.
Quan Xiaoyu stepped into the hallway. The corner of his eye did not miss their movements. He still pretended not to notice anything and calmly said, “Thank you.” Then he made a gesture as though he intended to go upstairs.
“Wait.”
Sure enough, the man immediately stopped him.
“For the safety of this building, we can’t just let anyone in. What’s more…” He paused and pointed at the water pipe in Quan Xiaoyu’s hand. “You’re carrying a weapon.”
Quan Xiaoyu’s brows furrowed slightly, so subtly that it was almost imperceptible. He still remained calm and said, “But I really did come here to look for Uncle Li.”
“How about this? Looking at you, you don’t seem like a bad person. Come to our place first. We’ll ask you a few questions. Once we’ve confirmed your identity, we’ll let you go upstairs. What do you think?”
Although he phrased it as a question, the three people blocking the stairway showed no intention of moving at all, and the man’s tone clearly left no room for refusal. The two behind him were also showing faint signs of impatience, as though the moment Quan Xiaoyu refused, they would immediately pounce on him and seize him.
Quan Xiaoyu pretended to think for a few seconds before putting on a reluctant expression.
“I guess there’s no other choice. We’ll have to do it that way.”
The man looked extremely pleased. He extended a hand, gesturing for Quan Xiaoyu to go in first.
The two people behind him, however, looked slightly disappointed. They seemed to have hoped even more that Quan Xiaoyu would resist.
Under the three men’s intense surveillance, Quan Xiaoyu entered the apartment first.
The smell inside the house had not completely dissipated. The living room looked as though it had been hastily tidied up. At first glance, it appeared fairly clean, but there was always a strange, uncomfortable feeling lingering in the air.
Quan Xiaoyu stopped by the doorway for a moment, but the man behind him pushed him forward, forcing him farther into the room. The yellow-haired young man quickly closed the door and locked it.
Finally can’t hold back anymore, huh?
Quan Xiaoyu sneered inwardly.
At that moment, one of the bedroom doors opened, and a girl walked out. She was wearing home clothes and coldly sized Quan Xiaoyu up with an impatient and disdainful expression.
“Another one? Cousin, you’ve got quite an appetite. You’ve been making so much noise that I can’t even sleep.”
“If you can’t sleep, you can sleep with your big brother.” The yellow-haired young man grinned and teased her.
The girl clicked her tongue and rolled her eyes. She turned around and went back into the room. A moment later, she pushed someone out of the room and slammed the door shut with a bang.
“Keep it down! Don’t disturb me!”
The yellow-haired young man smacked his lips and made a bored expression.
He failed to notice that the instant the girl closed the door, a cold glint flashed through the middle-aged man’s eyes.
The person who had been pushed out, however, turned toward the middle-aged man with an ingratiating smile.
“Weiguang, Nan Nan doesn’t know any better. You’re her cousin, so don’t hold it against her.”
This was the same old woman Quan Xiaoyu had seen earlier, the one who had been using indirect insults to criticize others. She was apparently also the owner of this apartment.
Quan Xiaoyu was genuinely surprised when he saw the old woman.
He had originally assumed that the middle-aged man had simply taken over the apartment by force, and that the old woman had probably…
He never expected that they really were relatives.
Moreover, after the apocalypse had arrived, the old woman had neither mutated nor died. This was indeed beyond Quan Xiaoyu’s expectations.
The middle-aged man known as Weiguang smiled.
“It’s fine, Great-Aunt. Nan Nan is still the same as she was before. I’ve always indulged her. Don’t worry.”
His words sounded like ordinary family conversation, yet they caused the old woman to tremble slightly.
She lowered her head, not daring to meet the middle-aged man’s eyes, and only murmured, “Then… I’ll go make some food for you.”
“Okay.”
The man smiled and nodded.
The old woman looked as though she had just been granted a pardon. For someone her age, she suddenly displayed an agility that she should not have possessed, scurrying into the kitchen and disappearing from sight.
“Sit.”
The man called Weiguang pointed at the sofa and said to Quan Xiaoyu.
At this moment, his face was completely relaxed, and his manner of speaking had also become much more carefree.
The yellow-haired young man became bolder as well. He shed his friendly disguise and began grinning in a lecherous manner.
“I’m not sitting. I still have to go to Uncle Li’s place later.”
“Uncle Li?”
A strange smile appeared on Weiguang’s face.
“You don’t need to look for him anymore. He turned into a monster that eats people.”
Quan Xiaoyu’s heart sank.
Although he wasn’t sure how much truth there was in Weiguang’s words, becoming a zombie was the worst possible outcome.
Quan Xiaoyu suddenly lost his patience. He no longer wanted to play along with them.
“If that’s the case, then I’m leaving.”
He turned around and saw the sturdy man blocking the doorway.
Quan Xiaoyu considered how much force he should use so that he wouldn’t smash the man’s head apart in a single blow.
After all, a living person was different from a zombie. He couldn’t bring himself to smash a living person’s head without feeling any psychological burden.
“You came all the way here. Did you really think you’re still getting out?”
The yellow-haired young man disdainfully looked over Quan Xiaoyu’s slender frame.
“Stop making trouble. Just obediently listen to the boss. It won’t do you any harm. There are monsters outside that eat people. We can protect you.”
Actually, he didn’t understand why the boss happened to be into this type.
What was wrong with delicate women?
Unfortunately, the boss wouldn’t even spare them a glance. Instead, he was particularly interested in those young boys.
There weren’t many boys in this building. Li Nan was about the only one who looked reasonably decent.
And now, they had only just brought that kid here and hadn’t even gotten around to making a move on him when a top-quality specimen had delivered himself right to their doorstep.
I was the one who discovered him.
In front of the boss, that’s practically a great achievement.
The yellow-haired young man thought happily to himself.
Quan Xiaoyu didn’t want to waste any more words on them.
He tightened his grip on the water pipe and shifted it slightly.
Before he could make a move, another bedroom door behind him suddenly flew open with a loud bang.
“Brother Xiaoyu, don’t believe them! Run! Hurry and run!”
Li Nan?
Quan Xiaoyu whipped around.
The instant he saw Li Nan, his pupils contracted sharply.
Weiguang reached out and grabbed Li Nan, who had rushed out of the room, lifting him up as easily as if he were a chick.
His casual tone carried a hint of surprise.
“Oh? Little thing, you’re awake already? Don’t be in such a hurry. Your big brother will come keep you company soon. We’ll all have fun together. Be good, okay?”
As he spoke, he pulled Li Nan into his arms.
Li Nan screamed and desperately kicked and struggled.
Quan Xiaoyu attacked without the slightest hesitation.
The water pipe in his hand swung straight toward Weiguang’s head.
“Oh? Didn’t expect that. You’re quite the little firecracker! I misjudged you.”
Weiguang showed no concern whatsoever about Quan Xiaoyu’s attack.
As soon as his words fell, the water pipe in Quan Xiaoyu’s hand suddenly softened, then collapsed like a strand of noodles.
The weapon that had previously smashed through zombie skulls with ease instantly became nothing more than a lump of soft metal.
Weiguang chuckled smugly, his face full of satisfaction.
He carefully watched Quan Xiaoyu’s expression, anticipating the familiar shock and fear appearing on that beautiful face.
So he’s a Metal-type ability user!
Metal-type ability users possessed the ability to manipulate metal. They could freely reshape metal, causing it to combine, separate, and be molded into entirely new forms.
An exceptionally powerful Metal-type ability user could even directly use metal to create things such as airplanes and tanks.
Weiguang didn’t get the frightened reaction he was expecting.
Instead, he discovered that Quan Xiaoyu’s speed had suddenly increased.
The hand that had previously been wielding the water pipe had turned into a fist, striking directly toward Weiguang’s face.
Weiguang was horrified.
After obtaining his ability, this was the first time he had encountered someone who could still resist in the face of his ability.
Quan Xiaoyu was too fast.
Weiguang had nowhere left to dodge. In desperation, he grabbed Li Nan from his arms and placed him in front of himself.
Quan Xiaoyu’s fist reached Li Nan.
But at the last moment, his fist suddenly opened.
With a gentle grab, he caught Li Nan and pulled him straight into his own arms.
Seeing that something had gone wrong, the first person to react was the strong man at the doorway.
He immediately lunged at Quan Xiaoyu from behind, who had his back turned toward him. His enormous fist struck directly at the back of Quan Xiaoyu’s head.
Quan Xiaoyu reacted swiftly.
He turned around and met the attack with a heavy punch of his own, while simultaneously hoisting Li Nan onto his shoulder.
The two fists collided.
There was a sharp crack.
Bones shattered.
The strong man was sent flying and slammed heavily into the door with a loud bang. A crack immediately appeared across the door.
When the strong man landed, his head struck the floor first. His neck was forced into a strange angle, and then he stopped moving.
Everything had happened within only a few seconds.
The situation seemed to have completely turned around.
The instant the strong man fell, the yellow-haired young man saw everything clearly.
He was so shocked that his mouth fell wide open, and his entire body froze.
Quan Xiaoyu paid him no attention.
He turned around and attacked Weiguang again.
After taking a moment to catch his breath, Weiguang had already completely recovered.
He raised his right hand.
All the metal objects inside the room suddenly flew into the air.
This was the precursor to a Metal-type ability user launching an attack with metal.
Quan Xiaoyu increased his speed and charged toward Weiguang, throwing a punch straight at his face.
Weiguang made a dodging motion while simultaneously leaning his entire body backward.
Using the momentum of Quan Xiaoyu’s charge, the sofa was knocked backward and flipped over.
Weiguang also used the momentum to avoid Quan Xiaoyu’s punch.
At the same time, all the metal objects inside the room gathered together and rapidly flew toward Quan Xiaoyu.
Quan Xiaoyu held Li Nan tightly in his arms.
He rolled across the floor and casually grabbed a chair from inside the room to use as a shield.
Afterward, Quan Xiaoyu realized that he had overestimated Weiguang.
The metal being manipulated by Weiguang wasn’t nearly as agile or lethal as he had imagined.
Only then did Quan Xiaoyu realize that this was still the very beginning of the apocalypse.
Most ability users were still at the beginner stage of their abilities, and many people had not even learned the correct way to use their abilities.
Therefore, with his suddenly enhanced speed, tremendous strength, and understanding of Metal-type abilities, he really didn’t need to treat Weiguang as such a formidable opponent.
Quan Xiaoyu easily dodged Weiguang’s first wave of attacks.
But someone else suddenly screamed.
It was the yellow-haired young man.
Because everything had happened too quickly, his brain hadn’t been able to keep up with the situation. Without making any attempt to dodge, he had been accidentally struck by the metal.
At this moment, a sharp pair of scissors was stuck in his buttocks, while the blade of an electric razor had landed squarely on his ear.
There were also several other minor cuts and injuries, but none of them were serious.
After all, he had merely been accidentally injured. He wasn’t the intended target.
Quan Xiaoyu no longer hesitated.
For the second time, he lunged toward Weiguang.