After Raising Monsters, I Was Loved by Everyone in the Wasteland – CH25

Chapter 25

Tang Qi mentioned that he had bought a car some time ago, but later realized that the cost of gas almost matched his grocery bills, so he rarely used it. Now, it was finally going to come in handy.

He added that if Wen Xin was planning to leave, they could go together, making it safer for both of them. And if Wen Xin wanted to go somewhere else afterward, Tang Qi could give him a lift along the way.

In treating Wen Xin as a friend, Tang Qi had already shown great loyalty.

Wen Xin read the message, feeling deeply touched.

But at the same time, he hadn’t lost his basic sense of calm.

Everyone was fleeing the city, making enough noise to be heard several streets away. If those monsters weren’t deaf or blind, they’d definitely be drawn to the commotion.

The roads weren’t that wide, and with so many cars, traffic jams were inevitable. If they couldn’t move forward and the monsters caught up from behind, wouldn’t that be even more dangerous?

Wen Xin shared his concerns with Tang Qi.

After hearing him out, Tang Qi’s previously rushed thoughts began to clear, and he realized Wen Xin had a point.

Even so, Tang Qi had to leave—he was too worried about his elderly parents to stay behind.

Tang Qi: “Everyone’s probably headed for the highway. If I avoid them, it should be fine.”

Tang Qi: “Besides, I’ve driven the road south of the city before—it also leads out of G City.”

Seeing that Tang Qi had a plan, Wen Xin felt a bit more at ease.

However, Wen Xin still wasn’t planning to leave with Tang Qi. His reasoning was similar to Tang Qi’s.

Wen Xin: “My brother said…”

He paused, then deleted the words.

Wen Xin: “My brother said he’d send someone to pick me up. They should be here in the next few days.”

Tang Qi knew that Wen Xin had an older brother, so he didn’t press the issue further.

He quickly packed his things and made a stop at Wen Xin’s place before leaving, handing over a spare key to his apartment.

Tang Qi frowned. “I don’t know what you’ll face while staying here. I’ve still got two barrels of drinking water at home—use them however you need.”

As he spoke, he seemed to be choking back the feeling that he was saying goodbye to a friend for the last time. His eyes turned red with emotion.

Wen Xin lowered his gaze, feeling a pang of sorrow in his heart. “Wait a second.”

He turned and went to the storage room, grabbing several bags of chocolate, sausages, canned meat, bottled water, and compressed biscuits. He wrapped everything tightly in a dark bag until it was impossible to see what was inside.

Then Wen Xin handed the bag to Tang Qi, shoving all the food into his arms.

Tang Qi’s eyes widened in shock as he tried to refuse. “If you give all this to me, what will you eat—”

Wen Xin moved swiftly to cover Tang Qi’s mouth, motioning for him to stay quiet.

Tang Qi immediately understood, glancing around cautiously.

Thankfully, there was no one else on this floor at the moment.

He let out a sigh of relief, but the fact that he felt relieved at all filled him with an indescribable sense of sadness.

Wen Xin understood what Tang Qi was feeling and gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

He said, “Don’t worry, I bought plenty of these supplies before.”

When Tang Qi opened his mouth to refuse again, Wen Xin stopped him with a single sentence: “Even if you don’t eat it, the little one will need it.”

Huanhuan, having been suddenly woken up by Tang Qi, was still in a daze, its little head fuzzy with sleep.

Hearing Wen Xin call out, it let out a soft “meow” from inside the cat carrier.

Its innocent blue eyes were completely unaware of the chaotic journey it and its owner were about to face.

Seeing Huanhuan’s clueless expression, Tang Qi felt a deep ache in his heart.

“I’ll take good care of you, little one,” he whispered to the cat.

After sending Tang Qi off, Wen Xin locked the door.

When he turned around, he saw the little ones staring at him with wide eyes. He smiled gently and reassured them, “It’s okay.”

In truth, when Tang Qi had asked if he wanted to leave with him, Wen Xin had momentarily wavered about what to do with the little ones.

After all, they had stayed here to avoid the dangers of the outside world, but now, this place was no longer safe.

But before he could even bring it up, the little ones seemed to have guessed his thoughts. They pounced on him, clinging tightly to his arms and back, growling and making a fuss.

The canary stared him down and declared, “Wherever you go, we’ll be there, unless you no longer want us around.”

As soon as the canary finished speaking, Wen Xin heard a soft meow from the bedroom door.

The little black one stood there, its usual gentle gaze narrowing slightly in strong disapproval.

Wen Xin paused for a moment, feeling his heart tremble slightly. He didn’t bring up the idea of them leaving again.

.

Now, Wen Xin returned to the living room, picking up the colorful strings and continuing the weaving project he hadn’t finished with Ah Zi, the little purple squirrel.

Outside the window, the constant flow of cars sped down the street.

Aside from the noise of vehicles, the nearby houses had fallen silent.

Not everyone could just pack up and leave. Some people, held back by various concerns, had chosen to stay behind.

These remaining residents collectively kept quiet, hoping the danger would come a little later.

Tonight was bound to be sleepless.

Around two in the morning, while Wen Xin was online checking for updates, he noticed that the webpage wouldn’t load.

Glancing at the top right corner of the screen, he saw that there was no signal.

He quickly switched to another SIM card, only to find that it, too, had no signal.

The power supply to the signal towers must have run out, or something had gone wrong inside.

Either way, it wasn’t a good sign.

In fact, it pointed to an even more severe situation.

Wen Xin steadied himself.

He opened the personnel file that Wen Jinfeng had sent him, memorizing it once more before turning off his phone to conserve power.

Luckily, nothing happened during the rest of the night.

It wasn’t until dawn, when Wen Xin was dozing off, that he suddenly heard a distant, unmistakable sound.

It was a chaotic noise, like the roaring of countless wild beasts.

Wen Xin jolted awake, his entire body tense, and he immediately rushed to the window.

To get a clearer view, he quickly turned his phone back on, opened the camera, and zoomed in with the lens.

He wasn’t the only one doing this.

From several nearby apartment buildings, trembling hands parted the curtains just slightly, as residents quietly peered outside.

Up until now, Wen Xin had only seen vague images of the infected rabies patients in videos.

But reality was far more impactful than any video.

The patients staggered down the street, each step stiff and unnatural, like wind-up dolls.

Their bodies were swollen and bluish, with bulging veins pressing against their skin. Their faces were expressionless, vacant, and large patches of dark, dried blood stained their mouths and bodies.

Some patients were unscathed, some were injured, and some were missing limbs.

With every few steps, a piece of rotten flesh would fall from an open wound, until there was nothing left to shed.

Under normal circumstances, injuries like these would cause unbearable pain, leaving a person immobile.

But the infected on the street seemed completely unaffected, shambling forward without pause.

Seeing this, the last glimmers of hope in everyone’s hearts were crushed. Their bodies shivered uncontrollably.

Humans could really turn into zombie-like monsters. They had truly encountered the apocalypse!

Soon, more and more zombies poured in from the western part of the city, flooding the street in front of their neighborhood.

The half-broken barrier at the entrance did little to block them.

As expected, a few zombies squeezed through the gate one after another.

Up to this point, Wen Xin had kept his emotions in check.

But then, a scream rang out from one of the nearby buildings near the entrance of the neighborhood.

“Ah! Stay away! Don’t come any closer!”

Instantly, all the nearby zombies were alerted. They transformed from stumbling invalids into swift beasts, snarling and charging toward the source of the sound.

Their strength had multiplied beyond what it was in life. With ease, they shattered the metal barrier!

Wen Xin’s breath caught in his throat, and he unconsciously gripped a drying rod he’d grabbed from the balcony.

Behind him, the little ones exchanged glances.

The canary pointed at Wen Xin and gestured: “He doesn’t like to see people die. Should I take care of it?”

The viper rolled its eyes. “He thinks you’re a human baby. There’s no way he’ll let you go out there.”

They all looked at each other, and finally, their gazes converged on the little black one.

The little black one, resting, lifted its eyelids and glanced at Wen Xin’s tense calf muscles.

Then, its golden pupils appeared.

An invisible wave of pressure rippled outward, slamming into the zombie horde like a hammer. In an instant, they collapsed like dominoes, hitting the ground headfirst.

The residents in the building above were stunned, one of them exclaiming, “What the…!”

He quickly covered his mouth.

But the zombies didn’t react to his outburst.

The ones that had fallen remained motionless, and the ones still standing turned into frightened lambs, fleeing as fast as they could, as if they had just encountered a terrifying predator.

In a flash, the area around the neighborhood gate was cleared. The once-chaotic scene now looked almost deserted.

Wen Xin hadn’t expected things to turn out this way, a flicker of confusion crossing his face.

Other residents leaned out of their windows, dumbfounded.

Then they burst into joyous tears.

“They’re gone! They’re really gone!”

“Oh thank God, thank you, Jade Emperor, Queen Mother, and Guanyin for your protection!”

Amid the overwhelming cheers, only a few people seemed puzzled by why the zombies had left so suddenly.

Sensing something, Wen Xin turned around.

Seeing the little ones playfully wrestling with each other now that the crisis had passed, he suddenly understood. A soft smile spread across his face, and his heart filled with warmth.

…

Unfortunately, in the face of survival, zombies weren’t the only problem.

By the third day, the water had been cut off.

Without food, a person could last about seven days. But without water, they’d only survive for three.

The residents had no choice but to leave the neighborhood, banding together to search for supplies outside.

They didn’t dare venture too far, sticking to the area around the neighborhood.

Wen Xin still had some food stored in his utility room, but to avoid drawing attention, he would occasionally join the groups.

Besides gathering supplies, the main goal was to gather information about the outside world.

Another two days passed.

Just as a zombie lunged at Wen Xin, one of his teammates outside the store screamed, “Wen Xin, get out of the way!”

But with shelves blocking him, there was no room to retreat!

In the blink of an eye, Wen Xin grabbed a chair to shield himself.

The zombie’s claws crashed into the chair with a heavy thud, its blackened pupils locking onto Wen Xin, and the swollen veins on its face stood out even more.

At such close range, Wen Xin could even smell the stench of rotting flesh from its mouth, making his stomach churn.

He forced down his disgust and kicked the zombie away, ducking through the narrow gap between the shelves.

The canary, who had rushed over, grabbed Wen Xin’s outstretched hand and pulled him out of the store.

Finally out of danger, Wen Xin gasped for breath, then pulled the canary to run.

But before they could move, a loud engine roared down the street.

Everyone turned to see a car speeding toward them at lightning speed.

With a loud bang, the zombie that had been chasing them was sent flying!

Someone exclaimed, “Whoa! That car is awesome!”

What appeared before them was a rugged off-road vehicle, its dark green paint gleaming. The front was equipped with spikes, and the rear had iron plates, giving it a wild, untamed beauty.

More importantly, whether before or after the disaster, getting hold of such a heavily modified off-road vehicle was no small feat!

The car door swung open, and several people stepped out. One of them pulled out a gun and shot the zombie in the head with deadly precision.

Bang!

The zombie, which had just gotten back up, dropped lifelessly to the ground.

The sound of the gunshot snapped everyone out of their awe for the vehicle.

Wen Xin frowned, unsure of who these people were, instinctively positioning himself in front of the canary.

To his surprise, one of the men, a stocky guy with a crew cut, noticed him, his eyes lighting up. He pulled a photo from his pocket and, after glancing at it, walked toward Wen Xin.

Seeing the man approach, the canary’s eyes darkened, and its hand instantly morphed into a claw.

The man sensed the danger and halted, scanning his surroundings cautiously.

“You’re Wen Xin?”

Wen Xin blinked in surprise, taking a closer look at the man. He realized that the faces of this group looked somewhat familiar.

…If they washed off the dirt on their faces, they would probably look quite similar to the personnel photos that Wen Jinfeng had sent him.

Before he could say anything, the crew-cut man confirmed his identity.

The reason was simple—Wen Xin’s naturally striking appearance made him easy to recognize.

“We were sent by your brother to pick you up. He should’ve told you ahead of time. Now get in the car, quickly.”

“Wait!”

The group of survivors rushed over, wanting to question where they were planning to take Wen Xin.

But seeing how urgent these men seemed, a sense of unease crept in.

They repeatedly asked, “Why are you in such a hurry to leave?”

The crew-cut man’s patience was wearing thin.

Their mission was simple—retrieve Wen Xin. The safety of anyone else wasn’t their concern.

He turned to Wen Xin, meeting his eyes.

Those eyes weren’t hardened by bloodshed. They weren’t sharp or fierce—just calm and serene, exuding a sense of peace.

But a few small details that reminded him of a certain ruthless person with the same surname made the man pause, reining in his impatience.

He sighed, then fixed his gaze on the person questioning him and said slowly and clearly, “Have you ever heard of a zombie tide, friend?”

“Unfortunately, it’s heading this way.”