Chapter 278: The Decline of the Zhuang Family
His entire body was lifted off the ground. Under everyone’s watchful eyes, he frantically clawed at his throat but caught nothing. As choking sounds escaped him, his legs instinctively flailed wildly at first but gradually weakened, and his eyes seemed about to pop out.
Lu Weiyi appeared to do nothing, simply leaning calmly on the sofa.
“Enough!” The old master Zhuang suddenly spoke.
The force instantly loosened, and Zhuang Mingwu fell to the floor, coughing violently.
“Do you admit it?” Lu Weiyi asked.
The old master Zhuang remained silent, then countered, “Where is Mingxu?”
“Imprisoned,” Lu Weiyi answered casually. “Isn’t this what you suggested he do? Thanks for the reminder—feeling the tables turned is wonderful.”
“It really was your doing,” Captain Sun said incredulously. “You actually turned on your own comrades.”
“This is an experiment on transferring abilities. Others have abilities, but none like your own,” Lu Xiao interrupted.
Every time he reviewed the video, he imagined Lu Xi being tortured and clenched his teeth harder.
“Survival of the fittest—what do you want to do?” The old master Zhuang said nothing and looked at Lu Weiyi.
“The related videos have been sent to all involved squads. Your Zhuang family must be held responsible for this,” Lu Weiyi said, pausing slightly. “I will publicly declare that the Zhuang family line is extinct. From now on, live in hiding.”
This was tantamount to ending the Zhuang family’s glory. Everyone in the living room couldn’t accept it and began murmuring in low voices.
“The younger generation down there doesn’t know anything,” the old master Zhuang said, effectively admitting the family’s involvement.
“But they are surely beneficiaries,” Lu Weiyi added, leaving no room for negotiation. He continued, “On the condition that every single squad member who suffered what mine did must endure it again.”
“What do you mean?” Zhuang Mingwen, who had been silent in the corner and hadn’t even reacted to Zhuang Chengli’s injury, suddenly spoke up.
“I mean all the direct-line ability users of the Zhuang family will experience what my squad went through,” Lu Weiyi said, looking at the old master Zhuang. “Of course, that excludes you—otherwise if you died in there, I’d be accused of disrespecting my elders.”
His words instantly changed the expressions of the few with abilities in the Zhuang family, while those unaware looked confused.
“Hah, and you still care about your reputation?” Zhuang Mingwen sneered.
Lu Weiyi was annoyed and didn’t want to argue. “You choose your people yourselves. If they can’t bear it and die, that’s just bad luck. You captured fourteen ability users from my side, so you must send fourteen from your side.”
Antonio was vindictive, and Dean was his lifeline. If Lu Weiyi took all the blame without retaliation, even with several life-saving debts, Antonio would still harbor resentment.
Better to allow a tit-for-tat revenge, let it serve as an outlet.
No one spoke in the living room for a while; everyone tacitly looked at the old master Zhuang, even Third Master Zhuang, who rarely had the chance to take charge lately.
The old master’s hair had already turned gray, his back straightened stiffly as if Lu Weiyi’s words had enraged him, his chest rising and falling visibly.
After some time, he glanced around and saw the disappointed faces of those in charge downstairs. All the capable people had been subdued by Lu Xiao.
Unnoticed by them, Lu Xiao had already taken control of enough manpower to overturn their positions. He had to admit, attacking the lone squad was really the worst option.
If only…
He didn’t continue the thought and looked at Lu Weiyi, his back seemingly broken, and said, “I want to see Mingxu.”
He was still hoping to target Zhuang Mingxu.
Lu Weiyi finally felt like a bloodsucker was feeding on him.
He didn’t know if Zhuang Mingxu, when facing Ji Heng back then, felt as disgusted and sympathetic as he did now.
Lu Weiyi ignored the old master Zhuang’s words and glanced at the time. “I’ll come with my people in five hours. If you haven’t decided who goes…” He scanned the room. “Then you can leave fourteen lives here.”
Everyone in the living room dared not speak, though they were furious. The old master Zhuang had spent his whole life in high positions and had never suffered such humiliation. He glared at Lu Weiyi as if his eyes could kill—he surely looked like a livid, shaking dice.
“Are you thinking, you should have killed me at all costs back then?” Lu Weiyi finally couldn’t help but ask what he said in the last life.
The old master Zhuang was silent; his expression was an answer.
“What a pity you didn’t seize the chance,” Lu Weiyi thought of the many “accidents” he had as a child. At the time, he didn’t feel much because he was sick, but now that he had recovered, he began to have unyielding emotions.
The old master Zhuang’s chest rose and fell violently with anger; Lu Weiyi suspected that if he weren’t an ability user, he’d have collapsed already.
Seeing this, Lu Weiyi didn’t mean to provoke further. He stood up to leave.
Lu Xiao waved to the arriving people, “Feiying, take my nephew back.”
“Yes, Master Xiao,” Feiying responded.
“Let him see that his uncle is worried,” Lu Xiao wanted to pat Lu Weiyi’s shoulder but, seeing his pale face, worried he might hurt the delicate nephew, so he only lightly touched it.
Lu Weiyi nodded, stood up, and walked toward the door. He paused slightly at the entrance but ultimately did not look back.
Only after watching him leave the courtyard did Lu Xiao turn around. He pulled out a cigarette from his inner pocket, lit it, and took a drag. Then he sat boldly on the sofa and looked at the family opposite him. “Old master, now it’s my turn to talk about our affairs.”
“What do you want to talk about?” The old master Zhuang seemed to have aged significantly in an instant, fatigue showing clearly on his face.
“I have always considered myself loyal to the Zhuang family, so how dare you lay hands on Lu Xi?”
“We never intended to harm him. We wanted to bring him out immediately, but…”
But the disappearance of Lu Weiyi and Xu Yi caused them great panic. This matter was highly secretive; they didn’t dare alert a large number of people and could only send limited personnel to investigate the whereabouts of the two, temporarily neglecting the laboratory.
Zhuang Chengye now felt some regret. If he had known earlier, maybe he should have immediately sent someone to notify Zhuang Mobai, or perhaps they should never have targeted the lone squad from the beginning.
Clearly, they could have left each other alone, and perhaps with Zhuang Mingxu as a mediator, there might have even been some benefit. But because of a moment’s impulse, they reached an irreversible point.
Zhuang Chengye was injured internally from the earlier strike. His speech was like a broken bellows, wheezing heavily.
Zhuang Mingwu, having recovered somewhat, still had a clear bruise on his neck, as if he had been hanged. Supporting Zhuang Chengye to sit properly, his expression was dazed, still unclear about what had happened.
Lu Xiao sneered and did not continue questioning.
At this point, pursuing the matter was pointless. Even without Lu Xi, Lu Weiyi was still his nephew. The Zhuang family had always rejected Lu Weiyi. Although they never said it in front of him, he had heard enough.
Before the apocalypse, the Zhuang family held high positions, and Lu Xiao could do nothing. Fortunately, Zhuang Mingxu protected Lu Weiyi thoroughly, and the Zhuang family’s small schemes never succeeded. Lu Xiao turned a blind eye and let it slide.
But now, in the apocalypse, even knowing Lu Weiyi had abilities, they still dared to act against him. Maybe they were too used to their high positions and couldn’t see the situation clearly — just overly confident.
Lu Xiao didn’t want to say more pointless things and said straightforwardly, “I’ll take my people out of the Zhuang family. All the supplies my people recovered will be taken with us. The rest is up to you to fend for yourselves.”
None of Lu Xiao’s men had been sent for experiments. He strictly controlled them, never allowing anyone to go out alone. When going on missions, he personally verified everything, leaving no chance for harm.
As for the supplies, it was even easier. The Zhuang family was already divided internally; different factions kept supplies in separate warehouses. Now he just needed to take over the warehouse belonging to his faction, without even needing to move it.
Without waiting for the old master’s reply, Lu Xiao looked at Captain Sun and Major Liu and asked, “What about you? Will you stay with me or go independent?”
Neither spoke for a moment. Compared to Lu Xiao, their factions were weaker; going independent would be hard to establish a foothold in the base and could easily provoke other factions. But if attached to Lu Xiao, how willing were they?
They exchanged glances. Captain Sun said, “I’ll think about it.”
The Zhuang family had already acted against them; they could no longer follow. Otherwise, not only would their subordinates lose heart, but they themselves would feel betrayed.
Lu Xiao nodded, then looked at everyone in the living room. “Stay here until the outcome is decided. If you leave this villa…”
He paused, “The consequences won’t be what you want to see.”
Then he looked at a young man standing behind him. “Feiying, take people to guard here.”
“Yes,” Feiying responded.
With things at this point, there was nothing more to say. Lu Xiao took a deep drag of his cigarette, crushed the butt on the table, and strode outside.
Captain Sun and Major Liu glanced at the declining Zhuang family, sighed, and followed him out of the villa.
“Master Xiao, are they still alive?” Major Liu asked.
Although the video showed deaths, some had survived, and he wanted to know their current situation.
“Even if alive, they’re useless now,” Lu Xiao said with a half-smile, waiting for them to continue.
“They’re still soldiers under me, Liu Dalong,” Major Liu said firmly.
Such determination made Lu Xiao’s expression soften somewhat. Seeing he remained silent, Captain Sun quickly offered a cigarette. “Master Xiao, we’ve been comrades for years—brothers. Is there anything we can’t speak about openly?”
“I’m not sure if anyone’s alive. Everyone is in the lone squad’s hands now.”
