Chapter 40: Returning with a Full Haul

Volume 1 “Year of Calamity”

This trip to Huan’an, though fraught with peril throughout, ultimately concluded with the Yushan Fortress search team returning fully loaded. The convoy brought back a large quantity of weapons and ammunition to the fortress, along with rescuing thirteen survivors.

“How is she?” An Sheng entered the room with half a pancake in his mouth. This room served as the fortress’s medical clinic, with medicines and medical equipment neatly arranged throughout. In the center, Xun Lili lay on a camp bed with her eyes closed.

Zhou Xiaoxiao was examining Xun Lili’s condition and complained somewhat irritably upon seeing An Sheng enter: “Do you walk without making a sound? You scared me to death!”

This room was Zhou Xiaoxiao’s territory, and even though An Sheng was a Mutant, she firmly believed she wasn’t afraid of him at all! On the contrary, she rather liked him. However, this man always seemed indifferent to her, wearing a perpetually stern expression all day as if he owned the world. Although she’d heard he acted this way toward most women, Zhou Xiaoxiao remained unconvinced, maintaining some confidence in her own charm.

“Her fever has subsided, but she still shows no signs of waking up. Oh? Are we having pancakes today? Let me try.”

Zhou Xiaoxiao turned and noticed the half pancake in An Sheng’s mouth. She actually stood up and snatched it directly from his mouth, showing no disgust that it had been bitten, and promptly put it in her own mouth. She spoke while chewing indistinctly.

“Mmm, not bad. I can tell right away this is Sister Su’s handiwork.”

After quickly finishing the pancake in three or four bites, Zhou Xiaoxiao still felt unsatisfied. She was about to ask An Sheng for more when she noticed him staring at her with a shocked expression. Then she suddenly realized what she had just done was somewhat… heavens! She had actually taken food from a man’s mouth and eaten it—wasn’t this an indirect kiss!?

“Finished… finished… my ladylike image” Zhou Xiaoxiao now felt like banging her head against the wall. This man was exactly her type, with an excellent physique to boot—completely ideal boyfriend material! But this guy already didn’t seem very interested in her, and now she had exposed her most unattractive side in front of him. What should she do now?

Though Zhou Xiaoxiao’s actions made An Sheng somewhat uncomfortable, as a married man who’d been through relationships, such intimate gestures weren’t entirely unfamiliar—he and his ex-wife used to do similar things frequently. But that woman… he hoped she was still alive. Thinking of this, An Sheng sighed dejectedly.

“I’ll watch over her. You should go eat.”

“Okay.” Zhou Xiaoxiao’s heart was currently racing like a startled deer. Hearing An Sheng’s words, she immediately ran out of the room. If not for the dim lighting in the cave, An Sheng would certainly have noticed that Zhou Xiaoxiao’s pretty face had turned into a thoroughly ripe red apple.

Meanwhile, in the fortress’s largest bunker, nearly all survivors in the Fortress Area had gathered together, enjoying food that, while not particularly abundant, was quite delicious. Seizing the opportunity during the meal, Old Zhang took the chance to convey future plans to everyone.”I’d like to share something while everyone eats. As you all know, we’ve acquired a large quantity of weapons and equipment in Huan’an – this is undoubtedly tremendously encouraging news! However, possessing weapons isn’t enough. The most crucial thing is learning how to use them properly. Only when we’ve mastered these weapons can we survive steadfastly in this monster-infested world. Therefore, I announce that starting tomorrow, everyone in the fortress between ages fifteen and fifty must undergo training under Captain Nie Chong. We must transform ourselves into capable fighters with self-defense abilities. We can’t always rely solely on An Sheng and Nie Chong for protection – we need to become stronger too. What does everyone think!”

Whenever meetings were held, Butcher would always be the first to stand and echo Old Zhang’s words. This time was no exception – he immediately rose with his meal bowl, shouting: “Commander Zhang, you don’t need to motivate us! We’d do this anyway. We can’t let that pretty boy An Sheng always steal the spotlight alone, can we? Hahaha!”

Butcher’s teasing provoked roaring laughter from the crowd. Yet amidst the laughter, a childish voice piped up quite inopportunely.

“Uncle Wang is speaking ill of Uncle An behind his back again! I’m going to tell Uncle An Sheng.”

Everyone turned toward the voice and saw Little Biscuit looking quite indignant. This little girl had always been closest to An Sheng, so naturally she wouldn’t let Butcher’s comments about him slide.

Hearing the child threaten to tattle to An Sheng, Butcher immediately backed down. “Sweetheart, when did I say anything bad about An Sheng?”

“You called Uncle An Sheng a pretty boy! I heard you!” Little Biscuit persisted relentlessly.

“That was me complimenting your Uncle An on his good looks, saying he’s likable! Hehe.”

Seeing Butcher’s retreat, someone immediately taunted: “Look everyone! Even the pig-slaughterer knows when to back down!”

Such words naturally didn’t sit well with Butcher – did they think he had no pride? He immediately retorted: “Who’s backing down? Which of your eyes saw me back down!”

“You’re not backing down? If you’re not, then go challenge An Sheng to a duel! How about it, dare you?” A young woman below continued provoking Butcher – clearly another of An Sheng’s admirers.

“I… I’d better just eat my meal.” This remark completely deflated Butcher’s bravado. He was joking – how could he possibly be a match for An Sheng? Even without transforming, that guy could easily beat him.

Watching Butcher sit back down utterly defeated, the bunker erupted in waves of uproarious laughter. This was Yushan Fortress. The twelve newly arrived survivors watched these kindred spirits who, despite living in the apocalypse, remained positive and soon found themselves infected by the joyful atmosphere. Here, they felt the warmth of family they hadn’t experienced in so long. Although this wasn’t the national rescue force shelter they’d imagined, nor was there protection from large numbers of soldiers, none of the twelve felt regret. Instead, they felt even more eager to integrate into this sweet, joyful community.

Xun Lili slowly opened her eyes amid swirling dizziness. After finally steadying her vertigo, her surroundings gradually came into focus.”Where am I?” Xun Lili murmured instinctively, still somewhat dazed as she found herself in an unfamiliar environment.

“You’re awake. Are you feeling any discomfort?”

An Sheng, who had been leaning against the wall lost in thought, immediately approached her camp bed upon hearing her murmur. The worry he’d been carrying finally eased. He had been concerned this young woman might turn into a Mutant or Purifier, but it seemed his fears were unnecessary.

“It’s you? How did I get here? And where is this place?” Seeing An Sheng in camouflage uniform, Xun Lili immediately recognized him as the soldier who had previously come to their rescue.

“This is Yushan, our own shelter.” An Sheng poured a cup of water from a nearby canteen and handed it to Xun Lili. The girl’s lips were cracked from dehydration. As he offered the water, he answered her question.

Taking the cup, Xun Lili drank greedily, completely disregarding her appearance – she was desperately thirsty. But she suddenly stopped drinking mid-gulp, slowly lowering the cup while watching An Sheng with wary eyes. The reason for her caution was that she suddenly remembered how this very man had transformed into a purple Demon before her eyes. He might not be human!

“Don’t look at me like that. Although I am a Mutant, I won’t harm you for now. Unless you… never mind, we’ll discuss that later. Right now, you need to tell me if you can feel any unusual changes in your body.”

An Sheng was most concerned about whether any mutation had occurred in Xun Lili’s body. After consuming the Purifier’s blood himself, his body had mutated – four metal bone spurs appeared at his joints, and metallic-colored patterns emerged on his skin. Fortunately, despite these physical changes, he felt no discomfort. On the contrary, he discovered his strength and speed had greatly improved. As someone already infected with the Virus and mutated, An Sheng could accept any physical changes. But Xun Lili had previously been an ordinary person who had also, inexplicably, consumed the Purifier’s blood. His greatest fear was that she might become another Purifier. Though he didn’t know much about this unfamiliar group, one thing was clear to him: Purifiers were extremely dangerous and held great hostility toward people like them.

Sensing that An Sheng genuinely meant her no harm, Xun Lili gradually lowered her guard, though she still didn’t answer his question. Instead, she asked one of her own: “Is that freak dead?”

“Yes, you killed him with your saber. I should thank you – if you hadn’t appeared in time, he might have finished me off too.”

It had been incredibly close – if Xun Lili had appeared even half a second later, that Purifier named Chen Mu’s blade would have pierced An Sheng’s skull. Had that happened, An Sheng’s survival would have been uncertain.

“I see. Could you please step out? I’d like to be alone for a while,” Xun Lili requested, her head bowed, voice trembling slightly.An Sheng hesitated for a moment before turning to leave the medical room. He knew the girl before him must have suffered a significant blow. He could clearly sense her sorrow, yet she was desperately restraining herself—though she seemed on the verge of breaking down.

Sure enough, just a few steps after An Sheng left the room, Xun Lili’s heart-wrenching sobs echoed from the medical office. The sound was so mournful it could break the heart of anyone who heard it.