The Max-Level Boss Just Wants to Be a Slacker [Apocalypse] – CH42

Chapter 42: Making a Move

Mo Xiu wasn’t surprised that Xiong Mingyuan had found a way to get Xu Liang included in this supply-gathering mission. After all, the two of them had been rivals for a long time and understood each other very well.

What troubled Mo Xiu now was that Mo Qi had insisted on coming with him.

Although Mo Xiu had strongly opposed it at first and didn’t want Mo Qi to risk himself, for some reason the man had been unusually stubborn this time. He insisted on going along, as if he had already guessed what Mo Xiu intended to do.

Thinking about the teleportation talismans Mo Qi had used before, if Mo Xiu refused, the man might simply find an opportunity to teleport to his side halfway through the trip. That would make ensuring his safety even harder.

Therefore, Mo Xiu had no choice but to compromise and bring him along.

Mo Qi was the person Mo Xiu trusted most in this world. Although Mo Xiu had always killed people behind his back before, it wasn’t because he was afraid Mo Qi would find out—it was simply because he didn’t want him to be involved.

So when it came to dealing with Xu Liang, Mo Qi’s presence wouldn’t affect Mo Xiu’s plan to strike. Of course, Mo Qi’s safety still had to come first.

Thinking of this, Mo Xiu turned to the man beside him and said, “No matter what happens, stay close to me. Always make sure you’re safe. Understand?”

Mo Qi nodded and discreetly glanced toward Xu Liang.

He had long sensed the faint hostility Mo Xiu held toward that man. As for how the two people beside Xu Liang had died before—Mo Qi had already seen everything clearly with his spiritual sense.

It seemed that today would be Xu Liang’s day to die.

However, the reason Mo Qi insisted on coming wasn’t to witness someone’s death. It was because when Mo Xiu woke up that morning, he had suddenly felt a bad premonition.

Cultivators always trusted their instincts. Mo Qi feared something might happen to Mo Xiu, which was why he had decided to follow.

The two of them walked shoulder to shoulder toward the team.

But halfway there, an extremely tall figure suddenly blocked their path.

The man stood like a small mountain, completely blocking their view.

Mo Xiu and Mo Qi weren’t particularly bulky, but they were both over 1.8 meters tall—certainly not short. For someone to block them like that was surprising even to Mo Qi.

Mo Xiu quickly came back to his senses. Looking at the bald, muscular giant in front of him—whose height was definitely over two meters, with a long scar across his face—he raised an eyebrow.

From the familiar resemblance, he immediately recognized him.

Wasn’t this Xiong Gangyong, Xiong Mingyuan’s younger brother?

Xiong Gangyong was also an ability user, and his power was somewhat rare—a metal-type ability.

But his metal ability wasn’t the kind that allowed him to control various metals. Instead, he could partially turn parts of his body into metal to resist external attacks.

To be honest, it sounded a bit useless.

The man was already huge and built like an ox, looking extremely intimidating at first glance.

But Mo Xiu knew that was only superficial. Unlike Xiong Mingyuan—who liked scheming but wasn’t very good at it—Xiong Gangyong was genuinely not very bright and relied entirely on brute force.

Between the two brothers, neither was particularly clever. The fact that they had reached their current position early on could only be attributed to good luck.

Moreover, in Mo Xiu’s previous life, Xiong Gangyong hadn’t lived very long.

Before his older brother Xiong Mingyuan was overthrown, Xiong Gangyong had died during an external mission.

That was the official story. But Mo Xiu vaguely remembered later hearing that the truth was different—Xiong Gangyong had actually been set up and killed by people from Xu Liang’s faction.

Xiong Gangyong was Xiong Mingyuan’s only remaining family in the world. Perhaps because of this incident, Xiong Mingyuan lost his composure and began acting more aggressively than before.

Xu Liang then found an opportunity to exploit the chaos and eventually eliminated Xiong Mingyuan, completely stripping him of control over the base.

Mo Xiu glanced at the burly man before him.

Why was Xiong Gangyong here?

Mo Xiu clearly remembered that in his previous life, Xiong Gangyong had not joined this supply mission.

While he was thinking about it, the big man leaned closer and whispered,

“Hey, you’re Mo Xiu, right? My name’s Xiong Gangyong. Xiong Mingyuan is my older brother—just call me Dayong.

Let me tell you something—I was sent by my brother. I’m keeping an eye on you, so don’t try any tricks!”

As he spoke, Xiong Gangyong’s gaze shifted toward Mo Qi, his eyes filled with obvious disdain.

He hated pretty boys who lived off others the most.

Clearly healthy and capable, not some frail old man who couldn’t lift anything—yet relying on a pretty face to survive under another man.

Rolling his eyes subtly, Xiong Gangyong also began doubting Mo Xiu.

Knowing that today’s mission location was dangerous, yet still bringing along a pretty boy—wasn’t that simply being blinded by lust?

His brother always said he was the stupid one, but in his opinion, it was his brother who had lost his mind. Why value someone like this so much?

Mo Qi and Mo Xiu didn’t know how many thoughts were running through the other man’s head. But that contemptuous look made Mo Xiu extremely displeased.

Mo Qi, on the other hand, didn’t care at all.

Along the way to Shanhe Base, he had been mistaken for a pretty boy plenty of times. He didn’t mind. Thinking about it carefully, he even felt pleased.

He really was living off someone through his own strength—who could say otherwise?

Being able to find such a caring, thoughtful, nearly perfect dao companion only proved how capable he himself was.

Because of Xiong Gangyong’s attitude toward Mo Qi, Mo Xiu didn’t feel like dealing with him.

His gaze swept toward Xu Liang, who was already sitting in the vehicle. Seeing that Xu Liang was about to turn around, Mo Xiu simply walked past Xiong Gangyong and pulled Mo Qi toward the vehicle.

When Xu Liang saw Mo Xiu, he immediately revealed a bright smile, as if he were genuinely happy to see him, and even waved at them.

The day after Mo Xiu had leveled up, Xu Liang had rushed over as soon as he heard that Mo Xiu had returned to the base.

Seeing the mutated gray wolf meat and hide at Mo Xiu’s place, he naturally believed the story that Mo Xiu had been delayed because he encountered a powerful mutated beast.

He even pretended to scold his subordinates who had been sent out with Mo Xiu, saying they should have stayed and continued searching instead of returning on their own.

Xu Liang said many grand, hypocritical words. The two insincere men exchanged polite nonsense, maintaining a seemingly harmonious atmosphere.

This time, Xu Liang had been forced to come along because Xiong Mingyuan had pressured him with many excuses, which left him in a bad mood.

But when he saw Mo Xiu also appear in the supply team, his mood immediately improved.

He assumed that his previous attempts to curry favor had worked and believed Mo Xiu had joined the mission because he knew Xu Liang would be there. If they acted together, it would make others think Mo Xiu’s group belonged to his side.

In a sense, Xu Liang wasn’t entirely wrong.

After Mo Xiu and Mo Qi boarded the vehicle, they sat beside Xu Liang.

Xu Liang was a little surprised to see Mo Qi accompanying them, but Mo Xiu brushed it off with a few casual words.

The vehicle slowly headed toward a somewhat remote food processing factory.

Along the road they occasionally encountered a few zombies, but the numbers were small and there were no large groups, so the journey went relatively smoothly.

When they reached the approximate location, the vehicles stopped.

Several combat-type ability users got out first and cleared the surrounding zombies. Only then did the others step out of the vehicles.

Everyone was assigned a specific area to search.

Xu Liang planned to inspect the eastern side of the factory, and Mo Xiu followed behind him.

Together with Mo Qi—and the stubborn Xiong Gangyong, who insisted on tagging along—the four of them heading in the same direction was already more than enough, so the others chose different routes.

With Mo Qi there, Mo Xiu wasn’t worried.

But adding Xiong Gangyong made things inconvenient.

If Mo Xiu attacked rashly and exposed his level-four ability, wouldn’t Xiong Mingyuan find out in advance?

Thinking of this, Mo Xiu gave Mo Qi a look. He was only testing their tacit understanding after spending so much time together.

Unexpectedly, Mo Qi immediately caught on.

As soon as he noticed the look, he stopped walking, grabbed Xiong Gangyong beside him, and said,

“There are several areas here. The four of us sticking together is pointless. Why don’t we split into pairs? Let’s go over there.”

As he spoke, Mo Qi pointed toward the right.

Xiong Gangyong felt reluctant, but what Mo Qi said made sense. Moreover, Mo Xiu also spoke up in agreement.

Before he left, his older brother had warned him not to offend Mo Xiu, since Xiong Mingyuan hoped to recruit him.

So in the end, Xiong Gangyong could only follow Mo Qi.

Only after the two of them had walked far away did Mo Xiu finally relax.

In the past, he would never have felt comfortable letting Mo Qi go alone. But now he understood the man’s capabilities.

Mo Qi even carried life-saving talismans with him, so letting him leave temporarily wouldn’t be a problem.

Soon, Mo Xiu followed Xu Liang into a warehouse filled with miscellaneous supplies.

The entire space contained only the two of them.

Xu Liang searched through the warehouse for useful materials, completely unaware that the man behind him had his eyes fixed on his exposed neck.

The lightning ball would be too obvious in the dim warehouse and unsuitable for a sneak attack.

So this time, what gathered in Mo Xiu’s palm was a sharp wind blade.

He seized his opportunity.

The moment Xu Liang turned his head slightly, Mo Xiu hurled the wind blade toward the man’s neck, intending to slice open his throat in one strike.

But Xu Liang was clearly far harder to deal with than the two subordinates Mo Xiu had killed earlier.

Although he trusted Mo Xiu to some degree, he had never completely let his guard down.

When the wind blade flew toward him, Xu Liang reacted a moment late—but still managed to tilt his head and avoid the vital point. He even blocked with the backpack in his hand.

The blade left only a bloody cut along the side of his neck.

It didn’t hit anything fatal.

Coming back to his senses, Xu Liang turned around, about to question Mo Xiu why he had done this—

When suddenly, another lightning ball was hurled straight at him.

Wasn’t it getting a little too ambiguous?

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