Chapter 101 – Massacre

Chapter 101 – Massacre

Cheng Yang glanced at Liu Xiyue, then turned to the middle-aged woman, and finally sighed, “Alright, I’ll go. Find someone fast to guide me.”

The leading middle-aged man immediately said, “I’ll go. These boots of mine increase my speed by 1 point, making me twice as fast as others.”

Cheng Yang nodded, then looked at Liu Xiyue, “You come with me too.”

“But my speed…” Liu Xiyue hesitated. She wanted to go but knew her speed was no match for these people. If Cheng Yang was in a hurry, wouldn’t she just slow him down?

“I’ll carry you,” Cheng Yang said decisively. “It’s not safe for you to stay here.”

Liu Xiyue was about to refuse, but after hearing Cheng Yang’s words, she nodded gently in agreement.

Cheng Yang crouched down, and after a moment’s hesitation, Liu Xiyue climbed onto his back. The night was the best cover, and no one noticed the blush on her face.

In truth, Cheng Yang’s heart was also stirring. Despite having lived two lives, this was the first time he had been so close to a girl, especially a beauty like Liu Xiyue. After all, he was just an eighteen or nineteen-year-old boy, and the attraction between the opposite sexes was natural.

But having experienced great hardships, he quickly suppressed the stirring in his heart and followed the middle-aged man leading the way.

As they moved, Liu Xiyue bounced on his back, and he could feel the incredible elasticity behind him. The stirring in his heart grew stronger.

*Damn! I’m just making things hard for myself,* Cheng Yang thought wryly, though he had to admit, subconsciously, it felt like a kind of enjoyment. Cheng Yang had thought about finding a woman, both in his previous life and this one.

But before the apocalypse, he was just an ordinary student, and after the apocalypse, his rationality had suppressed this desire. He knew that a passionate love in the apocalypse was a tragedy, as no one knew how long they or their partner would live.

Even now, Cheng Yang couldn’t guarantee he would survive another year, as the world was full of unpredictable variables. So, rationality told him that love had no place in the apocalypse. Perhaps one day, he could find one or several women to bear him many children, to ensure his lineage wouldn’t end.

But these thoughts were too distant. Cheng Yang felt he should cherish the precious year of rebirth he had, to become stronger and ensure a more stable and longer life.

“Hey, what’s your name?” Cheng Yang asked, trying to distract himself.

The middle-aged man leading the way knew Cheng Yang was asking him and replied, “I’m Xiao Zheng, a combatant from Xiangcheng City’s main city. Those people earlier were from our mercenary team, fifty-six in total. Eleven died in that battle.”

Xiao Zheng was quite talkative. Cheng Yang had only asked for a name, but he spilled out a lot of information. However, by the end, he seemed a bit melancholic.

“Are there many mercenary teams like yours in Xiangcheng City’s main city?” Cheng Yang asked, already knowing the answer.

Xiao Zheng’s heart stirred. He sensed something in Cheng Yang’s tone and said, “Not many, but not few either. There are about twenty or thirty, totaling around two thousand people. Our team is on the smaller side. Sir, are you not a combatant from Xiangcheng City’s main city?”

Cheng Yang wasn’t surprised by the question and replied indifferently, “You could say that.”

Xiao Zheng sensed Cheng Yang didn’t want to elaborate and quickly changed the subject, “Actually, the strongest in Xiangcheng City’s main city aren’t the mercenaries, but the military and the four major civilian groups. The military has ten thousand combatants, and each civilian group has over two thousand. Compared to them, we mercenaries are as weak as ants.”

Cheng Yang asked casually, “Why don’t you join the civilian groups or the military?”

Xiao Zheng explained, “The military and civilian groups have too many rules, leaving no room for personal freedom. Many people don’t want to join. But in the apocalypse, individuals have no future, so like-minded people band together to form mercenary teams. Of course, there are bad apples, like the scar-faced man you killed earlier. They were also a mercenary team from Xiangcheng City’s main city, but they set up a base outside, doing all sorts of evil deeds.”

As Cheng Yang and Xiao Zheng conversed, Liu Xiyue got a clear picture of the current situation in Xiangcheng City’s main city. Cheng Yang, already knowing most of it, continued the conversation to distract himself, though it also confirmed some things for him, a small gain.

A few minutes later, they arrived at a ruin. Xiao Zheng pointed to a cave a few meters ahead, “Sir, that’s the basement we mentioned.”

Just as Xiao Zheng spoke, a figure rushed over from the distance. Seeing Cheng Yang and the others at the cave entrance, the man’s face turned pale.

This man was also a subordinate of the scar-faced man, having escaped during the chaos and survived. But now, he had run into them again.

For such a persistent villain, Cheng Yang had no words. He simply sent out an ice ball, ending the man’s life.

Seeing Cheng Yang kill so swiftly, Liu Xiyue’s eyes showed a flicker of unease. After all, it was a life. But looking at the back of Cheng Yang’s head, she said nothing.

“Let’s go in,” Cheng Yang said calmly, showing no sign of having just killed someone.

Xiao Zheng, after a moment’s hesitation, quickly agreed, “Alright, let’s go in.”

Xiao Zheng led the way into the cave, and Cheng Yang set Liu Xiyue down before following closely behind.

“These scum!” Xiao Zheng’s angry shout came from inside, followed by, “Sir, tell your… companion not to come in. It’s not suitable here.”

Though Xiao Zheng didn’t elaborate, Cheng Yang could imagine the scene inside. He turned to Liu Xiyue.

Liu Xiyue looked at Cheng Yang and said stubbornly, “I want to go in.”

After a moment’s hesitation, Cheng Yang nodded, then turned and entered the cave, with Liu Xiyue following closely behind.

“Ah…” Liu Xiyue couldn’t help but scream at the sight before her. It was too shocking. If she had thought Cheng Yang’s earlier killings were too cruel, now she felt those men had died too easily.

What kind of scene was this? Dozens of naked women were in the basement, some tied up, others lying on the ground. Beside some women, men were indulging their bestial desires. Without exception, all the women had vacant eyes and were covered in wounds.

The men, lost in their excitement, didn’t notice Cheng Yang and the others entering. As for the women, even if they noticed, they showed no reaction.

Suddenly, a man who had been tormenting a woman collapsed to the ground, motionless.

Another man beside him laughed, “Old Huang, did you get too excited?”

But after laughing, he realized something was wrong. No matter how excited one got, this shouldn’t happen. Was it a stroke? The man panicked, jumped off the woman, and checked Old Huang’s breathing.

“Dead?” the man exclaimed, his voice filled with fear.

The man looked around frantically, suspecting a powerful demon beast had entered. Otherwise, how could a combatant suddenly die on a woman?

He didn’t see any demon beast, but he did see Cheng Yang and the others. He didn’t think these three had come to watch their performance.

“Stop! We have enemies!” the man shouted, finally waking the other dozen or so men from their excitement. They gathered together like clowns, not even having time to put on clothes.

Cheng Yang knew the man hadn’t died from a stroke but from Liu Xiyue’s anger, becoming the first human to die under her Holy Word skill.

“Don’t act yet, leave it to me,” Cheng Yang whispered.

Liu Xiyue remembered Cheng Yang’s earlier words—her Holy Word skill couldn’t be used in front of others. Though her eyes still burned with hatred, she nodded obediently and turned away, finding the sight of those men repulsive.

“Kill them,” Cheng Yang sighed, passing the final judgment on these men’s fate.

With a wave of his hand, ice spikes shot out, covering the group of men. When the spikes fell, only four men remained standing, utterly shocked.

Not just them, even Xiao Zheng was stunned. He had thought Cheng Yang was strong, capable of instantly killing low-level apprentice combatants. But now, he realized Cheng Yang was far stronger than he had imagined, possessing a group attack skill that could instantly kill over a dozen combatants. How terrifying was that?

Though Xiangcheng City’s main city had nearly twenty thousand combatants, in front of someone as terrifying as Cheng Yang, they would only be cannon fodder. Xiao Zheng had seen Cheng Yang’s defense earlier—their attacks, with only six or seven points of power, couldn’t break through.

In truth, Cheng Yang hadn’t planned to use his ice spike skill, especially in front of Xiao Zheng, a combatant from the main city. To some extent, it was a trump card, and using it suddenly would have a far greater impact than if the enemy knew about it in advance. But now, to save people, Cheng Yang had no choice but to eliminate those scum as quickly as possible.

PS: Seeking recommendations and collections! Thanks to Ci Xin Sui, Kiss Xiao Bai, Qian Li Xun Yu, Book Friend 1412282…, Jun & Ku, and others for their rewards.