Chapter 69 – Hero Saves the Beauty?
The first to return to the residential complex were those who had driven back, followed by others who came back on foot one after another, heading slowly toward their respective buildings.
But when these people—who had spent the entire night terrified and finally made it home—discovered that their doors had been pried open, their houses ransacked, and all their belongings gone without a trace, the shock and devastation they felt could easily be imagined.
Luo Xun stood there with an indifferent expression, watching the people below scuffling and wrestling. Most of those who returned early were task-takers from the base—many of them ability users, and even those without abilities were physically strong and combat-capable. To find their homes broken into and the thieves still around? Once caught, those thieves were going to be beaten within an inch of their lives.
Beside him, Yan Fei had his arm around Luo Xun’s shoulders, watching the commotion as well. There were quite a few onlookers like them—some were people who had resisted temptation and hadn’t joined the shameless few who’d broken into their neighbors’ homes. Others were those who had moved fast, snatching what they could in the first round and escaping unnoticed.
Suddenly, a commotion echoed from the stairwell—a mix of angry male shouts and sharp female screams. Luo Xun and Yan Fei exchanged glances and got up to head for the door.
The noise came from the stairwell, followed by several loud booms reverberating from below.
“Using abilities inside the building? Aren’t they afraid they’ll bring the whole place down?”
Completely forgetting that both his own neighbor, Zhang Su, and his partner Yan Fei had also used their powers flamboyantly several times inside the same building, Luo Xun grew tense and hurried a few steps toward the stairs.
The sounds of fighting and ability use continued below, but it didn’t last long before a few men cried out in pain and another began begging for mercy. The victors cursed a few times before seemingly dragging the others into a room; then came the sound of a door slamming shut.
The two exchanged another look—seems it was over. Hearing that no one below was still using powers, they shrugged and went back to their own apartment.
—
“That scared the life out of me! Who would’ve thought we’d have a zombie incident even inside the base?” Li Tie said nervously, staring at the toppled gate of the residential compound nearby. On the ground were dried smears of black-red and dark green fluids—nobody had cleaned them up, and nobody seemed to want to.
Han Li patted his shoulder, his own expression uneasy. “Good thing we were all staying in the military camp. If we’d been out there on the way home, who knows what could’ve happened.”
“Brother Luo and Brother Yan went home around noon yesterday, right? Don’t tell me they ran into this mess?” He Qiankun suddenly remembered.
“Could be. That was just around the time they left…” Wu Xin nodded, looking worried.
Zhang Su smiled faintly. “Relax. Anyone else might be in danger, but those two? Not a chance.” With that freak Yan Fei around, who could even touch a hair on Luo Xun’s head?
“Exactly! They’ll be fine for sure!” Wang Duo chimed in eagerly—whatever Zhang Su said, he agreed without question. Even if Zhang Su insulted him, he’d first agree, then twist the words into some sort of compliment later.
Zhang Su didn’t even bother to roll his eyes at him and walked further inside.
“What happened here…” When the group entered the complex, the first thing they saw was several people fighting. Well, that wasn’t unusual these days—since the apocalypse began, tempers had grown shorter, and it wasn’t uncommon for an argument to escalate into a brawl. They’d already passed a few such scuffles on the way here, though none this fierce.
Then they noticed shards of glass scattered under several buildings—also not surprising, considering there’d been a zombie attack yesterday. With large zombies involved, broken windows were to be expected.
But then—suddenly—a massive fireball came hurtling straight toward them. That was definitely not normal! Fortunately, Zhang Su raised a wind barrier just in time to block it—otherwise, someone’s head would’ve been on fire!
What kind of fight had gotten so bad they were using abilities now?!
Not far ahead, two groups were going at it fiercely. One side’s leader was a fire ability user; the other’s was a lightning user. Both sides were too worked up to even notice bystanders—hence the stray fireball.
But Zhang Su’s wind barrier, clearly much stronger than that of an average wind-type, finally made them pause. The fire user shot Zhang Su a cold glare, snorted, and turned away with his men. The lightning user, on the other hand, adjusted his glasses with a push of his hand, a faint smile playing on his lips as he strolled toward them with apparent interest.
Li Tie and the others immediately grew wary of the approaching group, instinctively edging closer to Zhang Su’s position—not because they were afraid of being attacked and wanted his protection, but because they were worried… ahem… that the newcomers might try to flirt with Zhang Su.
That’s right. With such an eye-catching “sister-in-law” around, it wasn’t uncommon for a few hotheaded idiots to try their luck and strike up a conversation. Back when Wang Duo and Zhang Su didn’t have a confirmed relationship, it was fine—helping a brother swat away flies was natural. Besides, Zhang Su’s appearance easily stirred everyone’s protective instincts, even though they all knew how powerful his ability was. But after Wang Duo and Zhang Su officially got together, the group’s protectiveness toward their “sister-in-law” skyrocketed. Now, whenever someone so much as gave Zhang Su a bold look, they’d immediately form a wall of flesh and blood to block those lecherous eyes!
However, since the people approaching were clearly a team made up mostly of ability users, Li Tie and the others didn’t dare to stand directly in their way—well… mainly because they couldn’t win.
Wu Changkun adjusted his glasses again, his eyes carrying a shadowy, oppressive air that didn’t match the polite smile on his face. “Hello,” he greeted pleasantly, addressing Zhang Su. “I’m the captain of the Chaos Squad. Our team is currently recruiting skilled allies to go outside the base together for supply runs. Would you be interested in joining?”
Without waiting for a reply, he continued smoothly, “Your power is impressive—one of the strongest wind-type abilities I’ve seen. We have methods to help ability users grow stronger. If you’re willing to join us, your strength is more than enough for a vice-captain position. We offer excellent benefits for high-level ability users. What do you say?”
Zhang Su raised an eyebrow, amusement flickering in his eyes. At his side, Wang Duo’s face immediately darkened. He stepped forward to block Zhang Su. “We already have a team! Zhang Su isn’t going anywhere with you!”
Wu Changkun barely spared him a glance—just one cool look at the boy’s still-youthful face—before turning back to Zhang Su. “We’re staying in Building 5, Apartment 3-403. If you’re interested, you’re welcome to drop by.”
With that, he ignored the indignant glares of Li Tie and the others and led his subordinates away toward Building 5.
Wang Duo’s lips trembled slightly, furious at being dismissed so casually. He knew how powerful Zhang Su was—but after they got together, he’d never considered how unbalanced their abilities truly were. Their so-called “team” was something Li Tie and the others had thrown together on a whim during their last trip outside the base. It wasn’t a real squad, nor did it offer Zhang Su any real reason to stay. If Zhang Su really wanted to leave…
“Team? Since when did you join a team?” came that familiar, lazy drawl.
The first to recover, Li Tie hastily explained, “Oh! It’s from last time we went outside the base—there’s five of us and Brother Yan and his wife. We called it… uh… the ‘Otaku Squad.’” Even as he said it, Li Tie, a self-proclaimed homebody, couldn’t help but blush. Just listen to the difference—Chaos Squad sounded so cool and intimidating, while Otaku Squad… reeked of nerdy mediocrity.
Zhang Su stroked his chin, and under the group’s nervous gazes, nodded lightly. “‘Otaku,’ huh? Not bad—simple and low-maintenance.”
Then he simply continued walking ahead.
The five men froze for a moment, exchanging wide-eyed looks before realizing—he actually liked the name? And he didn’t seem opposed to joining either?! That was fantastic! Sure, Otaku Squad didn’t sound impressive, but they already had two powerful ability users and Luo Xun, the sharpshooter. Right—once they got home, they should start training daily. Their physical strength was still too low; if danger struck, they’d just end up hiding again like last time. Life inside the base had made them forget the fear and instinct for battle they once had. It was time to fix that.
The group climbed the stairs floor by floor. The chaos in the residential complex was even worse than before—they saw people brawling and shouting insults on their way up. After listening in briefly, they finally understood what had happened after the zombie cleanup that morning, once the military had finished their inspection.
Why were people fighting now, after things had finally become safe again? Why, after surviving disaster, did their first thought turn to looting empty houses instead of securing their own homes and rebuilding a bit of peace?
Thinking of their own apartment—the one that Yan Fei had sealed tightly with layers of metal—the five men shuddered, then sighed in relief. If their home had been broken into while they were out risking their lives, and all their things stolen, they probably would’ve gone just as mad as those people downstairs.
Only Zhang Su looked unmoved. He’d seen far worse outside the base. Upon hearing what had happened, he didn’t even bother to sneer. In times like these, if you didn’t secure your own belongings in advance—if you didn’t think ahead—then losing them was your own fault. Who could you blame if you didn’t even have the ability to protect what was yours?
They quickened their pace. Even if nothing had happened at home, the thought of returning to that peaceful little haven gave them comfort.
They hurried up the flights of stairs—by the time they reached the tenth floor, people who heard their footsteps quickly slammed their doors shut with loud bangs. The sound startled Han Li at the front, who flinched and turned back to his companions in confusion.
Li Tie and the others exchanged puzzled looks. Down below, they’d still heard shouting and occasional scuffles in the hallways, but now? Everyone seemed to be hiding. Why did people slam their doors shut the moment they appeared? Could something have happened upstairs?
That thought made their hearts skip. They quickened their pace, climbing faster. But as they neared the fourteenth floor, the sounds ahead suddenly changed…
“Wha—what is that…” He Qiankun stammered, pointing upward, speechless.
The faces of Li Tie and the others turned red, then green. Having once secretly watched imported “educational” films from overseas, the sounds weren’t exactly unfamiliar—but hearing them this loud in the stairwell was… ahem… another matter entirely.
Zhang Su raised an eyebrow, intrigued, and started up the stairs. Wang Duo, blushing furiously, reached out to stop him—but then remembered that they couldn’t get home without passing the fifteenth floor. Better hurry and make sure his “Queen” didn’t see something he shouldn’t!
Li Tie and the others quickly followed—come on, they’d seen enough “detailed” films before, why should they be embarrassed now? It was probably just noise anyway.
That illusion shattered completely the moment they reached the fifteenth floor.
Right across from the stairwell, the door to apartment 1502 was wide open. Several half-naked men stood in the entryway, surrounding a woman. Two of them were moving rhythmically against her—one from the front, one from behind—while the others laughed, jeered, and groped at her body, reaching out to touch and fondle as if it were some kind of grotesque show.
From the neighboring apartment 1503 came the high-pitched moans of a woman, mixed with the loud laughter and jeering voices of several men, along with the sound of slaps echoing through the walls.
Laughter rang out from inside 1503.
“Haha, this chick’s wild—look at that waist move!”
“No kidding, hurry up, man, we can’t hold back much longer…”
“Isn’t there another one over there? Take turns!”
“I like this one better…”
From behind another apartment door across the hall came a man’s voice, loud and cruel, reverberating in the corridor: “Run? You dare run, you bitch? Be a good girl and serve Grandpa properly, or Grandpa will throw you outside naked and let everyone take turns on you!”
Inside 1502, one of the men surrounding a woman squeezed her chest hard and laughed. “Run? You think you can run? You think being a fire-type ability user makes you so great? Your man already traded you to us, didn’t you know?”
Li Tie and the others were first stunned, then so enraged their hands began to tremble. The woman’s mouth was gagged with something obscene, preventing her from crying for help—but her muffled sobs and whimpers of pain could still be clearly heard.
On the fifteenth floor lived a female fire-ability user and a few pretty college girls. Li Tie and his friends had known about them before, though they never really interacted. After the apocalypse, everyone’s guard was up, and even neighbors rarely greeted one another.
Who would have thought that after society collapsed, something like this would happen—right below their own apartment, in their own building?!
A few of the young college boys’ faces flushed with anger, their eyes reddened. They charged up the stairs without thinking. Wu Xin, at the front, kicked open the door with one hard strike. Since they’d been wary of danger on their way back, they had already taken out the metal pipes they kept in their backpacks for self-defense—and now all of them raised the pipes, faces full of fury.
“Let her go!!” He Qiankun bellowed, his voice booming louder than usual, startling the men inside so badly that they nearly froze mid-act.
At first, the group of men were shocked. But when they saw it was just a few young college-looking boys, they relaxed and sneered. They were residents of the same floor—Li Tie’s group sometimes ran into them. They knew the boys lived upstairs on the sixteenth floor and that those residents had some abilities—but tonight, they felt they had the upper hand. And if it came down to a fight? So be it. They weren’t pushovers either. They had ability users of their own.
“What the hell are you brats meddling for, huh?! You don’t even know what’s going on and you come yelling like that?” one of the men barked, swaggering out with nothing but his lower half bare, a feral grin on his face and tattoos crawling up his arm.
“No matter what happened, you can’t treat a woman like this!” Li Tie said through clenched teeth, gripping the iron pipe tightly.
“Heh.” Another man, still holding a half-burned cigarette between his lips, flicked it away and walked over with a smirk. “We just came back from a mission and found this bitch and her people breaking into our place—stealing our stuff. She was carrying our things herself. If it were you, kid, could you just let that go?” He draped an arm casually over the tattooed man’s shoulder, squinting at Li Tie’s group with mocking amusement.
Li Tie and the others froze for a second—they hadn’t expected that explanation. But still—
“Even so, you can’t treat her like that! Just take your things back! Isn’t that enough?” At most, they could’ve beaten the thief up like others did—but this kind of humiliation, to a woman? How could they stomach it?
The man still by the woman laughed while groping her. “Her man gave her to us as compensation for emotional damage. That’s none of your business.”
“Yeah, what’s the problem? Haven’t seen a woman for too long? Trying to play hero and save the damsel so you can have her for yourself?”
Their mocking laughter filled the room again, making Li Tie and the others flush red with rage and shame.
“What gives you the right to take a woman as payment because her man stole from you?! She’s not an object!” Li Tie shouted, his voice trembling with anger and confusion.
“Heh, they agreed to it. What’s it to you?” another man jeered. “If you’re so eager, bring us some food—five kilos of flour, and we’ll let you have a turn. How’s that for a deal?”
“Yeah, she’s hot—way better than those sluts next door. If we sent her out to sell herself, we wouldn’t even need to risk our necks looking for supplies anymore.”
“Yeah, yeah! Great idea!”
Li Tie and the others trembled with rage — they had never seen people so shameless. As filthy as their actions were, these men actually had a “reasonable” excuse: the woman’s group had stolen from them, and they were merely “collecting emotional damages.” And this woman, apparently, was the compensation.
But why should she pay for what her companions did?! Even if she had once been their lover or teammate — after being betrayed and abandoned by her boyfriend — how could she still be the one to bear the consequences?
Li Tie’s group didn’t know exactly what her stance had been when her boyfriend broke into the neighbors’ apartment. But judging by the fact that he had thrown her aside and escaped alone, she was clearly the victim, not the culprit.
Seeing Li Tie and his friends gripping their metal pipes, ready to strike, the tattooed man in front tensed, his bulging muscles rippling as he suddenly lifted his hand and fired a water bullet straight into Wu Xin and Wang Duo’s faces. “Get lost! Who the hell do you think you are—”
“Whoosh!”
A fierce wind suddenly howled through the corridor. Zhang Su, who had been leaning casually against the stair railing with his arms crossed, watching coldly, now had pale blue light gleaming in his eyes. A swirling mini–tornado formed beside him, roaring to life and blasting the two men backward several steps, almost knocking them off their feet.
Li Tie and the others froze, instinctively stepping aside to clear a path for the “Queen.”
“Get out of this building,” Zhang Su said coldly, his gaze sweeping over the half-naked men. A chilling smile curved his lips. “If I see any of your filthy junk again…” His eyes narrowed. “I’ll slice it off for you myself.”
For a moment, the men were stunned — then a few, regaining their wits, rolled up their sleeves. They weren’t scared; they’d seen plenty of ability users before, and some of them were ability users. Why should they be threatened by some wind-type punk with no real offensive power?
From the neighboring 1503 apartment, several disheveled, sneering young men came out. The one in front crackled with purple electricity in his hand. “Well, well, who’s this with the big mouth? Think you’re some kind of big shot—”
Before he could finish, the small whirlwind exploded outward. The air solidified into blades — countless sharp wind edges spinning through the narrow hall, slicing through everything in an instant.
Blood sprayed everywhere.
“Ahhh!!”
“Stop—stop, please!”
“Help! Please!!”
“Boss, I was wrong! I was wrong—!”
Their screams and pleas overlapped in chaos. The ones still hiding in their rooms didn’t dare step out.
The sight of blood only deepened the killing intent in Zhang Su’s eyes. His beautiful face twisted into a manic smile, excitement and bloodlust mingling in his expression. His self-control broke — and one after another, he carved through their flesh, stripping them down to bone, sinew, and veins—
Suddenly, smack — a hand fell on his shoulder. Zhang Su turned sharply, murderous energy flaring. Who dared stop him now?!
With a metallic clang, a sheet of metal slammed between him and his targets, blocking the storm.
It was Yan Fei.
Thank you for reading 🙂 I hope you all liked my translations. If you enjoyed my work, please consider buying me a Ko-Fi 😉
