Chapter 450: Seeing Madam Xu Again
When Lu Weiyi returned to the villa, before he could ask, Zhuang Mingxu said on his own, “I don’t recommend our base taking on the responsibility of leading the ability-user army. So I let the Capital Base handle it, but we’ll provide them with purified crystal cores. We negotiated an exchange rate of two to one.”
“Isn’t that too low?” Lu Weiyi frowned.
“It’s not high, true. But without enough profit, people won’t be motivated to join,” Zhuang Mingxu exhaled heavily.
Lu Weiyi then told him about what was happening on Lu Xiao’s end. “I can understand when it happens to others, but it’s hard to accept when it happens right in front of me.”
“Building a base isn’t something done overnight. Capital was the center of the world before the apocalypse—some of its infrastructure and facilities can’t be replicated elsewhere. No one wants to give up until there’s no choice left. As for your uncle’s decision…”
Zhuang Mingxu, being a soldier himself, understood and didn’t criticize. Instead, he changed the subject. “Everyone here still hasn’t given up. Your uncle would never abandon his post and leave with you. Our base does have space, but even combined, we couldn’t take in all the people from Capital. If he left, it’d mean one less chance for those people to survive.”
He turned to look at Lu Weiyi. “Honestly, you were the one pushed forward today, but if it had been me or someone else, I wouldn’t have stopped it. If zombies really can organize a zombie army, Zheng Yi’s plan is coming at the right moment. That’s also why I was willing to lower the exchange rate to help.”
“Humanity must unite—only then will there be a sliver of hope.”
*
The next day, Li Zhuang represented Lu Weiyi and attended the Ability User Conference with Zhuang Mingxu. “Surveying the environment” Lu Weiyi sent the two off with a serious face, only to immediately sprawl lazily across the sofa once they were gone.
The rest of the squad had been busy these past few days interacting with teams from other bases, gathering intel while looking for new opportunities. Now, in small groups, they were finishing up preparations to head out.
Seeing Lu Weiyi like this, Xu Sa asked, “Weren’t you going out? Want me to come with you?”
“Who said I was going out?” Lu Weiyi yawned, glanced at the group-based pairs, and waved, “Be careful out there.”
“But didn’t you tell Brother Zhuang you were going to scout the area?”
“I checked last night.” With his current mental abilities, surveying the environment was a breeze—no need to go out physically.
“You didn’t just send Li Zhuang away on purpose, did you?” Xu Yi sized Lu Weiyi up and down.
“I’m just efficient,” Lu Weiyi replied, eyeing Xu Yi’s neatly dressed appearance. “Where are you planning to go?”
“Shopping,” Xu Yi said, chin held high.
“You do realize you’re basically a walking target, right?” As the only high-level, non-combat support ability user, who knew how many people were eyeing him? Even at Half Moon Bay, Xu Yi always had a bodyguard with him—now even more so.
Also… “Didn’t you tell Li Zhuang you were staying in today?”
Xu Yi choked on that, instantly regretting opening his mouth.
“Then you stay here and rest. Liu Rui and I need to go buy a few things. Xu Yi can come with us,” Xu Sa offered, knowing Lu Weiyi hadn’t been sleeping well lately because of the kids. Seeing Xu Yi fully dressed, he couldn’t just let him mope at home.
Lu Weiyi gave them an “OK” sign and waved them off.
The Capital base hadn’t changed much in the past few years. The various territories had long been divided, and since the three top powers were aligned externally, there were no major internal conflicts—just minor bickering or scuffles among the lower ranks.
This area was much more bustling than Half Moon Bay. The scattered pedestrians moving about with a leisurely pace made it hard to believe it was the apocalypse.
Liu Rui was full of wonder. When he saw the characters on a nearby large screen, he asked excitedly, “Mo… movie?”
“Yep,” Xu Yi replied casually. He’d lived here before and was used to this kind of thing—it just felt like coming back to the city after living in the countryside. “They’re all pre-apocalypse films, played from old DVDs.”
“C-can we… watch… watch one?” Liu Rui looked at Xu Sa, full of hope.
Before the apocalypse, Liu Rui had gone to prison as a teenager and had grown up in a rural area—he’d never been to a movie theater. And afterward, he never had the chance.
Xu Sa understood immediately but hesitated.
Xu Yi didn’t mind—he was just here to soak up the atmosphere anyway. He walked up and bought three tickets without hesitation.
“I’ll pay. How can I let you spend your crystal cores?” Xu Sa made a show of being polite.
“Then go ahead and pay,” Xu Yi shot him a look of disdain.
Xu Sa just laughed and kept his crystal cores to himself.
They did have cores at the base, but as ability users, most of theirs were converted into purified crystal cores to upgrade their abilities. Xu Sa and Liu Rui, being lightning and fire users respectively, needed even more. They were basically broke.
“Broke-ass,” Xu Yi muttered.
“Not like we’re support types like you. You guys just pick up side jobs and rake in the cores.” Xu Sa sighed. “Antonio brags about it in front of us all the time—shameless.”
“Sounds like someone’s jealous.” Xu Yi glanced at Liu Rui, who was staring around like a wide-eyed child. “You’re good-looking enough—want me to introduce you to a healer girlfriend?”
Before Xu Sa could reply, Liu Rui suddenly grabbed his arm and looked warily at Xu Yi, frowning as he said seriously, “No… no way. You… you better not…”
“Better not what?” Xu Yi teased. But Xu Sa smacked him on the back of the head. “Stop messing with him. Go get some popcorn and soda.”
“You’re so demanding,” Xu Yi grumbled but still went off obediently.
The theater was filled with people waiting for the show to start—mostly couples. Xu Sa pulled Liu Rui to some seats, keeping a constant eye on Xu Yi about ten steps away.
But just then, something else caught his eye.
An older woman. Thin, pale, dressed in rags. Her once-shiny hair now dry and frizzy. She was hunched over, picking up trash from the ground. A timid little girl around five or six followed her, nervously watching everything around her.
“What are you staring at?” Xu Yi handed him a soda and took a sip from his own. “Not bad.”
Liu Rui also took a sip, smiling with restrained delight, like a college kid seeing a movie for the first time.
Xu Sa shook his head, turned back, and took a fry from Xu Yi’s snack box.
“Freshly fried,” Xu Yi said, then handed the rest to Liu Rui, who looked like he’d never had real snacks before.
They hadn’t been sitting long when it was time for the movie. They got up and headed toward the screening room.
Xu Sa stayed at the back, and as he entered, he looked over his shoulder and saw the theater staff yelling at that woman, spitting with rage as she kept bowing and apologizing.
For a moment, their eyes met through the crowd—just a flash of recognition—then she was lost in the flow of people.
Xu Sa didn’t take in a single scene of the film. His mind was clouded—something kept surfacing, but he couldn’t grasp it. Even after they left the theater, Liu Rui was still excitedly chatting with Xu Yi about the movie.
“If you liked it, you can ask Lu Weiyi for some DVDs. He’s probably got a ton of them, right, Xu Sa?” Xu Yi asked, giving Xu Sa a pat.
“Huh? What did you just say?” Xu Sa snapped back to reality.
“What’s wrong with you? You seem distracted.”
“It’s nothing. Where else do you want to go?”
Xu Sa led the two of them outside, but just as they reached the entrance, a woman suddenly rushed up and blocked their path.
“Sa Sa, Sa Sa.”
Liu Rui was about to act, but when he heard the voice, he looked up at Xu Sa.
“Please, please save your sister. She’s not going to make it. Mom is begging you.” After years of hardship, Zhang Bijuan no longer cared about her dignity. She cried as she knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Xu Sa. “I was wrong. I’ve let you down.”
“But your sister is innocent. Please save her.”
Xu Sa stepped aside and looked toward the direction the woman had come from. The girl who had been following her around just hours ago now lay weak and barely breathing on top of a fertilizer sack used to collect trash.
“I really have no other way left. Please, she’s still just a child.” Zhang Bijuan wept bitterly. Her cries drew the attention of the people around them, who slowly gathered to watch.
Four years into the apocalypse, no one speaks up without reason anymore. People just silently watched, occasionally murmuring to their companions.
Xu Sa looked at the woman on her knees, collapsed in despair. Years flashed before his eyes—she had once basked in glory, only to fall like a spent firework.
“Sister? Sister, what’s wrong?” a young voice called out. A little boy panicked and hugged the girl on the ground, glancing around and calling out, “Mom?”
His eyes met Xu Sa’s. He seemed to recognize him, but maybe didn’t quite remember. Then he turned back to the woman on the ground. “Mom, what’s wrong with sister?”
Zhang Bijuan just kept shaking her head, crying and pleading with Xu Sa.
This mother who once abandoned him was now bowing down for the sake of another child. Xu Sa didn’t want to help her at all. But if he hadn’t taken revenge back then, they would still be living with Qin Hu, enjoying a privileged life, not reduced to this state.
He didn’t even know who was truly at fault. For a moment, he didn’t know what to do.
“Xu… Xu…” Liu Rui’s panicked voice suddenly rang out. Xu Sa turned around and saw Liu Rui looking everywhere in distress, reaching out to grab Xu Sa.
“Xu… Xu…”
The more anxious he was, the harder it became to speak. His eyes turned red, and finally, he just pointed to the ground—at the empty popcorn bucket.
“Xu Yi! Xu Yi?” Xu Sa shouted, looking around. “Has anyone seen the young man who was with us?”
“He was just here—short hair, slanted eyes, always looking at people with a bit of disdain.”
“No… didn’t see him.”
“I think he was here just a moment ago.”
“Yeah, where did he go while we were talking?”
People murmured all around. Xu Sa was about to go looking when someone grabbed onto his thigh. It was Zhang Bijuan, holding on tightly and pleading, “Sa Sa.”
