Chapter 470: The Death of Xu’s Mother
Li Zhuang glanced at her coolly, then turned calmly to the guard.
“She says you’re her husband’s brother, and she’s been waiting here for you,” the guard explained.
“I don’t know her,” Li Zhuang said coldly and flatly. “She’s in the way.”
“Got it.” The guard immediately reached to drag He Mei aside.
“I’m Dong Hongyuan’s wife! He said you were his brother—you went through life-and-death situations together! You can’t just abandon me…”
“We had a child—he said he would take care of me…”
“I want to go back. I miss my daughter…”
Watching the car drive past her without even slowing down, He Mei collapsed on the ground and wailed.
Xu Yi had watched the scene unfold with interest. As they approached the villa gates, he suddenly asked, “Do you think she really had a kid? Maybe she’s infertile or something?”
Li Zhuang’s eyes flickered. After a moment, he said, “Who knows?” He parked the car and glanced at Xu Yi with a smirk. “What, you want kids now?”
“I hate kids the most,” Xu Yi said smugly, chin lifted, then got out of the car with flair.
As soon as he shut the door, Taotao rushed over and hugged his leg. “Uncle, snack time!”
“I don’t have any snacks,” Xu Yi said righteously, prying him off. Then, acting all nonchalant, he added, “But you can try the dessert I didn’t finish.”
Li Zhuang grabbed their things and walked into the villa with a smile.
They hadn’t even unpacked the goods when news of He Mei was delivered to Li Zhuang.
He Mei had returned to the Capital Base with Lu Xiao’s team. Because Dong Hongyuan had paid in crystal cores and supplies, Lu Xiao’s people gave her some special care on the journey—she lived much better than others in the group.
Once safely back in Capital, just the entrance fee to live in the city was enough to block many returnees. But He Mei had already been “arranged for”—she was allowed in and issued a residency status.
But surviving in Capital Base wasn’t something a residency alone could guarantee. She needed food, housing, and also wanted to search for her parents.
During the apocalypse, she had spent years isolated on a secluded island, and later in Crescent Bay, her time had been consumed by pregnancy and childbirth. She’d never truly faced the brutality of the world.
When she ran out of the crystal cores she’d brought, and still had no word about her parents, she was forced to try and find work to survive. But being an ordinary person with no powers made that nearly impossible—especially as a pretty, timid woman. Harassment became routine.
Bosses wouldn’t offend anyone on behalf of someone with no status or power. No matter how hard she worked, she couldn’t guarantee even basic sustenance. It was then she began to realize the “cage” she once scorned had actually been paradise compared to this.
When she couldn’t take it anymore, she considered returning to Crescent Bay. But she had no power to get there on her own, and not even enough money to pay someone to take her.
She had tried to find members of the Blaze Team, but couldn’t reach the higher-ups and the lower ranks didn’t know her. Besides, Dong Hongyuan had made it clear when she left—once gone, they were done.
She had only recently learned that members from Crescent Bay were in Capital, and among them was Li Zhuang. Hoping to use Dong Hongyuan’s name one last time, she threw herself at this chance.
“Thanks,” Li Zhuang said after reading through He Mei’s post-departure record, nodding to Lin Mo, who had delivered the news.
“Squad Leader asked me to give this to you.”
Li Zhuang nodded, thought for a moment, and asked, “Can I contact the base at this hour?”
“You can.”
“Then I’ll send a private message.” Li Zhuang followed Lin Mo to the communication room and messaged Dong Hongyuan about He Mei’s appearance—bluntly mentioning the possibility of her having children.
“You want to bring her back?” Zhuang Mingxu, upon seeing the message, immediately understood his intention.
“Dong really values family. He likes kids. Maybe they could even have more,” Li Zhuang said frankly.
Xu Yi’s earlier comment had made him think—since the apocalypse, their base had only two children born: Qin Nian and Dong Baobao. Yin Jin was working in the base and couldn’t be assigned to childbearing. Besides, Qin Nian was more scientifically valuable, and the base didn’t want to damage relations just to run breeding experiments.
He Mei, who had no background, was the perfect experimental candidate.
As Dong Hongyuan’s brother, Li Zhuang naturally wanted to help his brother out.
Soon, a reply came from Dong Hongyuan. Just a few cold words:
“One child is enough.”
Li Zhuang raised his eyebrows and looked at Zhuang Mingxu.
They exchanged glances and came to an unspoken agreement.
“You go talk to her,” Zhuang Mingxu said.
Li Zhuang nodded and walked out, just as Xu Sa and Liu Rui were hurrying outside. “Done eating—where are they going?”
“…Someone just brought word—Xu Sa’s mother isn’t going to make it,” said Xu Yi softly from the courtyard, watching them leave. “He said I don’t need to come.”
*
After Qin Hu’s death, the power of the Morning Light Team sharply declined. But Qin Zhifei, used to his young master airs, never gave up their symbol of status—the villa.
Xu Sa headed there, familiar with the place. He hadn’t even entered when he heard a child crying and an adult shouting inside. The first thing he saw: Zhang Bijuan lying in the courtyard, covered in blood, being dragged by her hair by another woman who was cursing furiously. A teenage boy was desperately pushing the woman away, shouting, “Let go of my mom!” while a younger girl was just wailing at the top of her lungs.
Compared to other villas, this place was far more crowded. The backyard and flowerbeds had been filled with makeshift buildings, making the once-spacious courtyard feel extremely cramped. Clotheslines were strung across the yard, random garments swaying in the wind. A few women sat in the courtyard hand-washing clothes, occasionally glancing toward the commotion with indifference, as if long accustomed to such scenes.
It was Qin Leyang who first spotted Xu Sa at the gate. As if seeing a savior, the tears he’d been holding back instantly flowed. He stared silently at Xu Sa like a frightened little puppy.
Qin Le’an, on the other hand, wasn’t nearly as composed. The moment she recognized Xu Sa, her thin little body shot toward him like a cannonball, grabbing onto his leg and sobbing, “Brother, they’re hitting Mommy—please save her!”
Xu Sa wasn’t unfamiliar with children. Aside from the pampered ones like Zhuang Aiyi and Taotao at the villa, even Qin Nian had grown up being doted on by the whole team. He thought he didn’t mind kids.
But the instant Qin Le’an latched onto his leg, he felt deeply uncomfortable. Especially when he looked down and saw her face—so much like Qin Hu’s, those tearful, watery eyes nearly identical to Zhang Bijuan’s. It brought him back to the time when Zhang Bijuan had once begged him, delicate and pitiful.
The entire yard fell silent at Xu Sa’s arrival. The woman who had been dragging Zhang Bijuan by her hair let go, crossing her arms as she looked toward Xu Sa.
Xu Sa abruptly stepped back, pulling his leg free from Qin Le’an’s grip, then walked coldly toward Zhang Bijuan.
“Brother?” Qin Le’an looked at him in confusion, still sitting on the ground.
Qin Leyang ran over to pick his sister up and followed Xu Sa while holding her hand.
“I heard you’re dying?” Xu Sa asked in a flat tone, looking down at Zhang Bijuan, who was barely breathing.
The woman who had once been so charming and graceful was now withered and broken. The sight didn’t bring him any satisfaction—just a strange emptiness.
Zhang Bijuan’s lifeless eyes trembled at the sound of his voice. Slowly, she turned her head toward him. Her dry lips moved, hoarse words escaping, “Sa… Sasa…”
Xu Sa stood above her, silent.
“I-I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to trouble you…”
“I… I don’t have much time left. Please, take care of… take care of Yangyang and… An’an…”
“Heh.” Xu Sa gave a mocking smile, eyes full of sarcasm. “They have Qin Hu’s blood. You want to entrust them to me? You’re not afraid I might feed them to the zombies?”
“Sa… Sasa…” Zhang Bijuan reached out to grab his pant leg. But just as she was about to touch him, he took a step back—out of her reach.
Tears streamed from her eyes, mixing with the blood and dirt on her face, making her look utterly pitiful.
For a moment, Xu Sa was dazed. How had the gentle and elegant woman from his memories ended up like this?
“I’m sorry… I’m sorry… I’m sorry…”
Zhang Bijuan couldn’t say anything else, just repeated those words again and again. Her scarred hand reached toward Xu Sa like grasping for her last lifeline.
But that lifeline never reached back.
Eventually, her hand fell limp. Her eyes remained fixed on Xu Sa, even in death.
“Mom… Mama…”
“Mom, wake up, please, Mommy…”
The children shook her body, crying loudly. One of them turned to Xu Sa, tugging at his pants. “Brother, save her! Please save her…”
At 1.8 meters tall, Xu Sa looked like he might topple over from the child’s trembling. His body swayed twice before Liu Rui beside him caught him.
The burden that had weighed on him for so long finally lifted—but instead of relief, all he felt was disorientation.
“Don’t cry,” Liu Rui pulled Xu Sa into his arms, wiping his tear-streaked face on his own shirt.
“Heh… why would I cry?” Xu Sa reached up, surprised to feel moisture on his cheeks.
“She got what she deserved,” Xu Sa murmured. “She finally got her retribution.”
“Yes, she… she deserved it,” Liu Rui echoed.
But Xu Sa didn’t feel any lighter. Even if they had all received the punishment they deserved, the scars left on him would never fade. His ruined life could never be put back on track.
It was justice, but too late—and justice delayed was justice denied.
He composed himself quickly. Within a few breaths, he was calm again. He gave Zhang Bijuan one final glance before turning his cold, emotionless gaze to the woman closest to him.
“Who hurt her?”
The onlookers fell silent. They exchanged uneasy glances but no one answered.
Even though there were new members in Morning Light, those living in the villa were still mostly upper management or their families—many of whom had seen Xu Sa casually crush the original leader back in the day and walk away unscathed.
