Chapter 84
Wen Xin moved quickly, parking the car midway and hiding it behind a rock. He then led his companions on foot, running swiftly through the terrain.
When the armed men gave chase, Wen Xin had already maneuvered along a side path, quietly concealing himself in a nearby thicket.
He didn’t know the full story—who the children were or what connection they had to these armed men.
Crouched low behind a tree, Wen Xin held his breath, waiting silently.
It wasn’t until the burly man caught the frail girl, his face radiating undisguised murderous intent, that Wen Xin acted. A single gunshot rang out.
The sound threw the armed men into chaos. They raised their guns and fired wildly in the direction of the shot.
“Who’s there? Show yourself!”
Bullets rained down like a torrential storm, striking tree trunks, soil, and rocks. Leaves were shredded, dirt flew into the air, and tree bark splintered.
Wen Xin quickly pulled his head back, holding two of his companions close to prevent them from peeking out and getting hit.
His heart pounded violently, each thud echoing in his chest, overlapping with the gunfire.
Yet, despite the physical stress of the situation, his mind remained extraordinarily calm as he patiently counted the shots.
For better mobility in combat, most assault rifles had a magazine capacity of 30 rounds.
Twenty-eight, twenty-nine… thirty.
The sound of the guns paused—an unmistakable moment of reloading.
Like a predator lying in wait, Wen Xin swiftly raised his gun and aimed at one of the armed men’s heads, pulling the trigger without hesitation.
Bang!
Blood sprayed from the man’s forehead, and he crumpled to the ground without ever seeing his attacker.
The other man, shot in the shoulder, froze in terror as his comrade fell. Before he could cry out, Wen Xin fired again, ending his life.
But these two weren’t the only ones chasing the children. Soon, more noise came from further ahead—reinforcements were on the way.
The younger girl was paralyzed with fear, her face blank with shock. The boy wasn’t much better. Trembling violently, he pushed himself up, stumbled a few steps, and fell again. He got back up, staggered toward his sister, and pulled her tightly into his arms, his face ashen.
Should he grab the two children and flee immediately?
Wen Xin reviewed the situation in a split second. He recalled that there were likely other children still in the truck where these two had been held.
“Ah Lü, San San, help me stage a mutant attack.”
From deep within the jungle came a deafening roar, shaking the air. The approaching armed men halted abruptly.
A mutant?!
How could there be a mutant here?!
The terror of mutants was deeply ingrained in human bones—far worse than the fear of zombies.
Ah Lü, an S-class mutant, could manifest a tangible aura of intimidation.
This overwhelming pressure crashed down upon the pursuers like a massive hammer. A metallic taste filled their mouths, and indescribable fear spread across their faces.
Through the dense undergrowth and vines, they glimpsed a towering shadow approaching beneath the tree canopy. Fresh blood trickled down, signaling the grim fate of their two fallen comrades.
Terror surged to its peak in their hearts.
“Run, damn it! That pressure has to be from at least an A-class mutant!”
The armed men scrambled back, tripping over themselves in panic.
One of the men Wen Xin had killed happened to be the truck driver. The remaining pursuers, desperate to save time, bolted toward the lead truck without a backward glance.
The truck roared to life, speeding down the road and leaving behind a trail of panic and exhaust fumes.
San San, who had puffed itself up as part of the act, deflated back into its small, fluffy form once the men were gone.
Wen Xin approached the two children, crouching down to meet their fearful, numb gazes. He softened his tone, asking gently, “Are you alright?”
The children clenched their jaws tightly, refusing to speak.
Wen Xin guessed they were still in shock and hadn’t recovered their senses yet. Turning to his companions, he said, “You two, keep an eye on them for a bit. I’ll go check the truck.”
Ah Lü slithered up to Wen Xin’s shoulder. “I’m coming with you.”
San San hesitated, nibbling nervously on its paw. Lacking experience with children, it said pitifully, “Come back soon, okay?”
“We’ll be quick,” Wen Xin reassured, pulling a few pieces of fruit candy from his pocket. He handed one to San San, ruffling its fur, and placed the other two candies in front of the children.
San San immediately brightened up, unwrapping the candy and eating it happily. “It’s orange-flavored!”
The boy glanced up briefly, first at Wen Xin’s retreating back and then at San San. Realizing there was no escape, his seemingly dull eyes flickered with resignation. Without even looking at the candy, he buried his head again.
As Wen Xin climbed the slope, Ah Lü asked, “Those men didn’t seem like good people. Why didn’t you kill them all?”
“If I did, who would go back and report to their leaders?” Wen Xin replied calmly.
Ah Lü tilted its head, half-understanding.
When Wen Xin reached the truck, he pulled back the tarpaulin. As expected, inside were four more unconscious children, along with various scattered items.
The children were all emaciated and filthy. The oldest looked barely ten years old.
Wen Xin could lift two of the smaller ones with one arm. From his vantage point, he could see their ribs clearly outlined beneath thin, malnourished skin. It was as if only a fragile layer of flesh covered their bones.
Even though this level of hardship had become the norm in the post-apocalyptic world, Wen Xin couldn’t suppress a frown and let out a heavy sigh.
“You can’t save everyone,” Ah Lü remarked, sensing his thoughts.
Wen Xin shook his head, saying nothing, and nudged the oldest child awake.
The child stirred and, upon seeing the unfamiliar young man, shrank into a corner of the truck like a frightened bird. His body trembled, and he couldn’t muster a single word.
“Listen to me, child,” Wen Xin said, his voice steady and soothing, each word carrying warmth and assurance. “The people who took you have fled. But they’ll be back in half a day at most. If you want to escape, you’ll need to follow my instructions.”
The child’s panicked eyes stayed locked on Wen Xin, filled with distrust.
Wen Xin held the gaze steadily, calm and gentle, one second, two seconds, three seconds…
The young man’s eyes were impossibly clear, like a spring-fed pool of water, radiating warmth and comfort. It was a gaze that calmed and reassured, wrapping the child in a cocoon of safety.
After two or three minutes, the child’s terror gradually subsided. Though still hesitant, she nodded slightly and rasped, “Okay…”
Meanwhile, the boy left waiting with his sister couldn’t fathom why Wen Xin had shown up.
He didn’t believe Wen Xin had come specifically to save them. It was far more likely that the young man had spotted the truck’s cargo and wanted to hijack it, rescuing them as an afterthought.
That meant once Wen Xin finished looting, they’d likely be abandoned—or worse, killed as liabilities.
The boy clutched his sister tightly, bracing himself for whatever grim fate awaited them.
But what he saw next stunned him.
Wen Xin returned—”dragging along” the other children.
The boy couldn’t hide his surprise. His eyes widened briefly before returning to their guarded state.
It seemed the rescued children had been drugged. The two smallest were still unconscious, even as Wen Xin carried them all the way back.
Wen Xin carefully set the children down beside the boy and his sister, removing their shoes. Then, he addressed all of them, “Follow me.”
Confused and uneasy, the children hesitated, but Wen Xin was the only authority present. With a gun slung across his shoulder, they had no choice but to obey.
Wen Xin led them to the bodies of the two dead armed men. There, he instructed them to remove their shoes and smear their hands, clothes, and shoes with the men’s blood.
The children exchanged frightened glances, their eyes wide with alarm. Despite their fear, they complied, dipping their hands into the bloodied shoes and clothing.
Wen Xin then guided them back to the truck, where he had them create signs of a chaotic escape, as if they had fled in panic and been dragged away by a mutant.
Ah Lü grumbled, “Isn’t this a bit much?”
Wen Xin shook his head. “The truck’s cargo is significant. It’s worth enough for at least a medium-sized faction to take notice. There’s no guarantee they won’t pursue this to the end.”
He turned to the children, asking, “Were any of you kidnapped? Do you have family left?”
The children were too weak to move quickly. The armed men hadn’t given them much food or water, leaving them feeble. But Wen Xin’s question seemed to ignite something in them. Their dry, listless eyes suddenly filled with emotion, turning red with suppressed grief.
One child hesitated before murmuring, “I don’t really… have anyone left at home.”
The eldest child spoke up urgently, “Me! I still have my father and grandmother. They took me from my home—please, can you take me back? I’m begging you!”
The boy remained silent, clutching his sister tightly, but the same desperate hope shone in both their eyes.
“I will take you home,” Wen Xin reassured them gently. “But you need to put more effort into this. If they notice something’s off, they might trace it back to your families.”
Hearing this, the eldest child shuddered and immediately began smearing blood across the ground and dragging bloody handprints along the truck.
The siblings followed suit without a word, hastening their movements.
When they were done, Wen Xin led the children back to safety. He pulled out a dagger, extracted the bullets from the corpses, and sprinkled them with bait.
With spring awakening the wilderness, it wouldn’t take long—no more than two hours—for the beasts and wandering zombies to destroy the evidence.
After inspecting the chaotic scene he had carefully staged, Wen Xin determined it was far from foolproof. He quickly gathered the children and left.
The children’s clothes, stained with blood, smelled terrible and carried the risk of attracting zombies. Wen Xin took out spare clothes, courtesy of Xiao Qi’s foresight in packing extras, and gave them to the children to change into.
Though the clothes were oversized, fitting more like sheets draped over them, the children rolled up their sleeves and squeezed awkwardly into the back seat of the car. Space was tight, forcing the children to squeeze up against each other.
The eldest child hesitated before asking, “Who are you?”
Wen Xin, checking a paper map, noticed their unease but replied calmly, “Just a stranger.”
“Why did you save us? We don’t even know you,” the child pressed.
“Just happened to see you and decided to help. No grand reason,” Wen Xin said with a small smile. “And hey, I don’t know you either. Maybe we’ll become friends by chance.”
Another child muttered, “You’re really weird.”
Wen Xin chuckled lightly.
The boy stayed silent, still holding his sister protectively. But just then, the girl’s stomach let out a loud growl.
“Brother,” she whispered weakly, “I’m so hungry.”
Before she could say more, a few bags of bread were tossed from the driver’s seat to the back—exactly six, no more, no less.
The starving children’s eyes lit up green, and they nearly lunged at the bread like a pack of hungry wolves.
“Everyone gets one,” Wen Xin warned, his tone calm but firm. “No snatching from others. If anyone does, I’ll throw them out of the car.”
Though his voice was steady, the children were reminded of the corpses they had seen earlier. They immediately froze, a chill running down their spines.
The eldest child pursed her lips and carefully distributed the bread, one piece for each person.
“Excuse me, do you have any water?” she asked timidly. “We haven’t had anything to drink for a whole day. Could we…?”
Before she finished, a bottle of water was passed back as though Wen Xin had anticipated the request.
She hesitated, then whispered, “Thank you.”
Fed and hydrated, the children began to relax, their initial terror ebbing away. One by one, they drifted off into a cautious, uneasy sleep.
When they woke, the car had stopped. Wen Xin had driven them to a small shelter.
The eldest girl looked out the window, recognizing the familiar surroundings. Her eyes widened in disbelief as she turned to Wen Xin. “You… brought me home? You really brought me home!”
She spoke, her heart finally steadying after so much fear, but her voice cracked with emotion. She repeated in amazement, “How could you really bring me back and not sell me? How is this possible…?”
Wen Xin understood that trust wouldn’t come easily to children who had suffered so much. He said little, leaving his two companions in the car while he escorted the children out.
The eldest girl’s family had been searching desperately for her. When they saw her again, they burst into tears, overwhelmed with gratitude. They grabbed Wen Xin’s hands, thanking him profusely.
“Thank you, thank you so much! Her mother is already gone. If anything happened to my little girl, I—I wouldn’t have been able to bear it!”
They tried to offer him food, pressing handmade buns into his hands. Wen Xin gently declined, then brought forward another child. “This one was taken with your daughter. He has no family left and nowhere to go. Could you take him in and share your food?”
Wen Xin handed them a box of medicine. “Sell this. The money you get from it should buy enough food to last you a year. By then, he should be able to take care of himself.”
The boy, caught off guard, stood dazed as Wen Xin gently pushed him forward. The hand on his back felt especially broad and steady.
With a strong desire to survive, the boy quickly spoke up, pleading, “Please, let me stay with you for a while. I won’t cause trouble—I can cook, chop wood, and do laundry. I used to do all the chores at home!”
The girl’s family, already deeply grateful to Wen Xin, was moved further by the offer of medicine. Their hearts pounded as they accepted.
Anyone who had survived this long knew how precious medicine was in these times.
They had no reason to refuse.
Of the six children Wen Xin had rescued, only the eldest girl had a clear home to return to.
The two youngest could barely speak, their dark eyes filled with despair. They stammered, “Mama… didn’t want us…”
Wen Xin ran a hand over their matted hair, rough and uneven like chewed grass. He closed his eyes briefly to steady himself.
Turning to the girl’s father, he asked, “Do you know anyone nearby who’s lost a child—decent people with good character?”
The man thought for a moment before naming a few families.
He glanced at the two small children, as though considering taking them in himself, but in the end, he looked away.
Wen Xin understood, and so did the girl’s father: this family could take in one child at most. More than that would be a significant burden.
With zombies rampant, no one could guarantee survival, nor could they promise any long-term security.
The best Wen Xin could do was to place the children in the safest hands possible.
He didn’t send the two youngest children away immediately but stayed for a day to observe and ensure the armed men didn’t come looking for trouble.
Fortunately, the families recommended by the girl’s father were neither particularly virtuous nor particularly bad. They were decent enough, given the circumstances.
As for the armed men, they had vanished without a trace, apparently never imagining the children might actually return home. In any case, no one came back to make trouble.
Now only the two siblings, the quiet and reserved boy and his little sister, remained with Wen Xin.
It wasn’t until the middle of the night that they finally seemed to let down their guard. Speaking hesitantly, they provided a vague indication of where they needed to go.
The next morning, the four children Wen Xin had rescued came to see him off.
The eldest girl, her voice full of urgency, asked, “Who are you? I haven’t even thanked you properly for bringing me home. How will I find you again?”
“Why thank me? Just take good care of your family,” Wen Xin replied with a smile, waving as he prepared to leave. “Fate will bring us together again.”
But the girl had overheard the two little ones calling his name.
Wen Xin.
As the rising red sun illuminated his figure, she watched his retreating back and softly repeated the name, “Wen Xin.”
Her father had taught her to always remember and repay kindness.
She would hold onto that name until the day they met again.
The two siblings curled up in the car. The little sister moved her lips and whispered to her brother, “Are we really going to let him take us home?”
The boy’s voice was hoarse but firm. “He seems like a good person. We can trust him. Besides, he’s the only one willing to help us get back.”
“But Grandpa said we must never bring outsiders home…” The girl murmured anxiously, her unease evident.
The boy’s understanding of right and wrong was clear. “He saved us. He’s not an outsider—he’s our benefactor.”
“Besides, the Sea God chose us to be its followers because of our pure hearts. If we can’t even repay kindness, we’ll surely incur the Sea God’s wrath.”
The girl blinked, hesitant. “Are you thinking of giving him the blue pearl?”
The boy nodded.
“Each of us only has one. It makes you stronger, your skin healthier, and your body more resilient… Well, I’ll give him mine too. He really is nice.”
The girl grew worried again. “But the Sea God’s guardians will destroy anyone with bad intentions.”
The boy understood.
When his sister had been captured, his fury and desperation had made him consider revealing the Sea God’s location, hoping the guardians would tear the armed men to shreds.
But Wen Xin was different.
The boy paused before saying, “When the time comes, we’ll keep him from getting too close. Once we’re home, we can gather pearls and give them to him… As long as he doesn’t have any ill intentions or try to force his way into the forbidden area, there won’t be any danger.”
Little kids warm my heart. When he builds a base he should put a reward for any kids who are brought back.