Chapter 273: Finding Ai Yi
Antonio was still overthinking Lu Weiyi’s sudden disappearance; Lu Xi, after being injected again, cursed weakly in a daze. Several soldiers tried to stay awake—Xu Sa, Liu Rui, and the Gu brothers were still unconscious. The first to react was Li Zhuang.
The sudden change in surroundings stunned him. He turned his head with difficulty and hoarsely shouted, “Lu Weiyi!”
“I’m here,” Lu Weiyi replied.
“David—!” Dean suddenly appeared full of energy, tossing his gun aside. Among all the naked, wounded people, he spotted Antonio at a glance and ran toward him.
“Baby…” Antonio’s voice was weak. Dean, like an angry little leopard, wiped his tears and cursed in English.
Lu Xiao and Qi Lin were stunned by Dean’s sudden shout and finally took in the horrifying sight of all the tortured victims.
Lu Xiao dashed forward to Lu Xi’s side, eyes red. His hand reached out but didn’t dare touch. He choked, “…Xiaoxi.”
“Dad… Daddy… sob…” Lu Xi began crying, then saw the child in Lu Xiao’s arms and wept harder. “You have a new child… They tortured me… and you didn’t come save me.”
“That’s not true,” Lu Xiao said, reaching to wipe away his tears.
“They gave me injections… It hurts, Daddy. I’m dying from the pain…” Lu Xi sobbed uncontrollably.
The others, slowly waking, struggled to move but could only weakly call out the names of those they longed to see—answering each other’s cries.
“Quiet!” Lu Weiyi said coldly, detached. He sat alone on a chair far away and tossed out some bedsheets.
Qi Lin, eyes red, picked them up and covered each of the victims.
“Dean, treat everyone,” Lu Weiyi commanded. He had forcibly broken through his own limits, and the resulting headache felt like his skull was going to explode. The noise of everyone speaking buzzed in his ears, making him wish they’d all disappear. Holding his forehead, he forced himself to stay conscious. “Uncle, get your men to work.”
As he finished speaking, several computer screens appeared in the room, still frozen on various surveillance images.
Lu Xiao wiped the tears from Lu Xi’s face and said coldly, “Daddy’s going to avenge you.”
“Mm!” Lu Xi choked and nodded fiercely.
At that moment, everyone was wounded. Dean, usually a cheerful and kind child who couldn’t even harm a chicken, now rose to the task—pulling deep tubes from the others’ bodies without hesitation.
“Hold on,” Dean said, first addressing Antonio.
Antonio smiled at him gently, still with his usual tenderness, though now tinged with weakness—no longer the strong figure he used to be.
Dean’s eyes welled up again. He wiped his eyes, then swiftly pulled out the tube with one hand while activating his healing ability with the other. In just moments, the wound vanished.
He leaned down and kissed him. “You… rest. I’ll check on the others.”
Antonio gave a slight nod, but his gaze followed Dean wherever he went.
Meanwhile, Lu Xiao had moved all the computers into the courtyard and called in people he trusted, instructing them to retrieve all the useful surveillance footage.
He himself returned to the villa. “Xiao Yi, the villa nearby collapsed.”
“…The Zhuang family should’ve fallen long ago,” Lu Weiyi murmured, pinching the bridge of his nose. Forcing his level up had indeed caused some damage.
Taotao lay on him, her tiny hands massaging him. “I’ll give Father a massage.”
Lu Xiao looked at the small child and thought of the missing older boy. “Xu Yi took Ai Yi away. I haven’t found out where they went.”
Lu Weiyi’s closed eyes suddenly snapped open. He let out a cold laugh and a severed arm appeared in his hand. He muttered, “Xu… Yi.”
Countless threads of spiritual power spread from his body in all directions. He said to Lu Xiao, “This was a conspiracy between the Zhuang family and Luo Qi. Send the videos of the harmed members of the Hunters’ Guild to their teammates—let them stir up trouble with Luo Qi and the Zhuang family.”
“Also, check if there are any soldiers among them. Show them the footage too. Completely dismantle the Zhuang family’s forces. If we have enough manpower, seal off the base to prevent anyone from escaping.”
Lu Weiyi’s attention turned to the space.
Once the backup generator kicked in, the research institute resumed operations. Zhuang Mobai, upon discovering the group’s disappearance, went from fear to excitement to mania. In the end, he led some guards toward Zhuang Mingxu’s floor.
As for Zhuang Mingxu…
He wandered leisurely in the hallway.
Completely fine. Calm. Aimless.
Seeing the armed group, Lu Weiyi couldn’t help but transfer Zhuang Mingxu out of the research institute.
Suddenly appearing in the space, Zhuang Mingxu instantly drew his weapon. His eyes scanned the area and quickly landed on the conspicuous peach tree.
The well under the tree, the bathtub, and familiar clothes…
“Xiao Yi? Xiao Yi!” Zhuang Mingxu guessed where he was and shouted around him.
Lu Weiyi ignored him. He hadn’t decided what to say yet.
Interrogate him?
Lu Weiyi thought that was a bit childish.
Besides, he didn’t fully trust what they had said. For now, the priority was to deal with the pressing matters.
Soon, his spiritual threads returned with feedback. He told Lu Xiao, “Xu Yi is with Ai Yi at the back door of the villa.”
Without alerting anyone, Lu Xiao quietly made his way over.
With the basement now gone, the Zhuang family had no time to worry about Lu Xiao. Meanwhile, the surrounding factions were observing from afar but didn’t dare approach.
Lu Xiao, with his powerful ability, moved unhindered. Even when curious onlookers tried to approach, his dark expression scared them off.
About ten minutes later, he found Xu Yi near the location Lu Weiyi had described, carrying Zhuang Ai Yi as he tried to escape.
“Stop right there!” Lu Xiao roared. Having nowhere to vent after seeing what had happened to his son, he summoned a dragon of fire that spiraled around Xu Yi, blocking his escape.
Xu Yi’s usually perfect hair had been ravaged over the past few days—now it was singed and curled against his scalp. The dirt on his face was no longer deliberately smudged for disguise, but real grime mixed with bruises, cuts, and swelling.
He looked ghostly pale, indistinguishable from the refugees outside the city. His hands were cut and filthy, streaked with blood, as he shielded Zhuang Ai Yi underneath him. The child trembled, and Xu Yi looked up warily.
It was hard to believe this was the same proud man who once looked down on everyone.
“Lu Xiao!” Xu Yi’s voice was hoarse, like sand scraping together, but his eyes still shone.
“Master Xiao, what brings you here?” A middle-aged man greeted Lu Xiao obsequiously, stepping in to block his path.
Lu Xiao glanced at him—unfamiliar. He sidestepped the man and moved forward, only to see several others rushing toward Xu Yi. Then it clicked—Xu Yi had been hiding from someone.
He rolled his neck, the joints cracking loudly. As his hands clenched, a series of sharp crackles followed. “Get lost—before I lose my temper.”
“…Master Xiao, we’re all with the Zhuang family—on the same side,” the man said with a forced smile. “Xu Yi abducted the old master’s great-grandson. We’re just following orders to retrieve him—”
Lu Xiao didn’t let him finish. He strode forward. As the man tried to block him again, Lu Xiao slammed a punch into his gut.
Bang! The man flew back a few steps and collapsed to the ground, his once-ingratiating face now twisted in pain.
The people surrounding Xu Yi turned their wary gazes on Lu Xiao. Without another word, Lu Xiao summoned another fire dragon. The men were instantly rendered defenseless, and he stepped beside Xu Yi.
Zhuang Ai Yi, who hadn’t dared look up, now peeked cautiously. The moment he saw the brightest star—Lu Xiao—he cried out in joy, “Great-Uncle!”
Once cared for like a little prince by Lu Weiyi, Zhuang Ai Yi now looked pitiful—his little dress was so dirty its original pattern couldn’t be discerned, and he even bore wounds. Thankfully, his voice was strong, suggesting he wasn’t seriously hurt.
Lu Xiao scooped him up and examined him closely. “Your little daddy is waiting for you.”
“Did my little daddy beat the bad guys? Did he come to save us?” Zhuang Ai Yi asked excitedly, wrapping one arm around Lu Xiao’s neck.
“…Yes,” Lu Xiao wasn’t sure what he meant, but it didn’t affect his answer. He turned back to Xu Yi, eyes full of icy coldness, reminding himself repeatedly: This man is a healer. “Let’s go—Xu the healer.”
Xu Yi glanced at the circle of people eyeing him like prey and hurried to stand up, closely following behind Lu Xiao.
“Master Xiao…” the middle-aged man tried to stop him again, but Lu Xiao, walking past, stepped hard on his hand. Before the man could cry out, Lu Xiao covered Zhuang Ai Yi’s ears. “Tell your master this — the person is with me, Lu Xiao. If he’s got the guts, he can come take him back himself.”
At this point, Lu Xiao no longer cared whose man this person was. From the moment Lu Weiyi said, “The Zhuang family should fall,” he had understood who was behind everything.
He believed he had done right by the Zhuang family — before the apocalypse, they were in the same faction, sharing honor and disgrace. After the apocalypse, he had fought to build their territory. And now, they dared treat his son — his only son — like this?
There would be no peaceful resolution.
As he stepped into the courtyard carrying the child, Cong Qing quickly approached. Normally calm and composed, his face now barely concealed his fury. Around him, several brothers watching surveillance footage also wore expressions of indignation.
It seemed they had uncovered something unexpected.
Lu Xiao raised a hand to stop Cong Qing from speaking and carried Zhuang Ai Yi into the villa. After watching Xu Yi follow inside, he turned and walked over to Cong Qing and the others.
Inside the living room, Dean had already exhausted his powers. In order to heal everyone quickly, he continued absorbing crystal nuclei and prioritized treating the most severely injured.
After treating a dozen people, he fainted from exhaustion and collapsed into Antonio’s arms, looking like a small bundle.
Qi Lin had asked Lu Weiyi for a bed and was transferring the first few stabilized but weakened individuals into the available rooms on the first floor.
They had been injected with unknown drugs, now barely able to move or speak. Even so, they refused to close their eyes, watching over the people beside them, which moved Qi Lin — a grown man — nearly to tears.
“Little Daddy!” came Zhuang Ai Yi’s joyful, childish voice, followed by the sound of messy little feet running across the floor. The dirty child had zero self-awareness.
