Volume One: The Apocalypse Begins Chapter 26: Gaining Two Young Admirers
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Seeing Xiang Xiaoxiao’s flushed, embarrassed expression, Xiang Chenguang, who had already guessed what was going on, turned to ask, “Someone on this street has been killing monsters?”
He Jie pointed at his own mouth, then looked toward Xiang Xiaoxiao.
Only after Xiang Chenguang’s gaze shifted toward her did Xiang Xiaoxiao give a soft snort and lower the steel-ball crossbow she was holding.
He Jie visibly let out a long breath of relief. With some pride, he said, “That would be us. After discovering that these monsters couldn’t break through the security grilles, we deliberately made noises to lure them to the windows, then attacked them from behind the grilles.
“I was the first to come up with this method. I’ll be reaching Level Two very soon. Of course, I can’t compare with the mighty Boss Xiang.”
Xiang Chenguang shook his head. This kid wasn’t merely a delusional adolescent—he was also a shameless flatterer.
Looking at the street, which was littered with yellowing, rotting fruits and vegetables, all kinds of miscellaneous debris, and insect corpses, he asked, “Since you live around here, you should know where we can get various kinds of seeds, right?”
He Jie suddenly understood. “Oh, Boss Xiang came to the market looking for vegetable and grain seeds so you can leave the city and start farming?
“Given the current situation, staying in the city really isn’t suitable. Once the water and electricity are cut off, life here will become extremely difficult.
“Boss Xiang, can you take us with you? Don’t worry. Fatty Wei and I both dare to kill monsters. We won’t cause you any trouble.
“You’ve met Fatty Wei before. He’s the other person you rescued yesterday. His family lives just a short distance ahead.”
Xiang Chenguang said, “We’re only here to gather supplies for now. We’re not leaving the city immediately. But if you’re willing to come with us, start making preparations.
“If nothing unexpected happens, we should leave the day after tomorrow. If something special occurs, however, we may have to depart at any time.
“Our route out of the city will take us past the newly built main road. If you’re willing, you can leave with us then.
“But let me make one thing clear: within the limits of what I can do, I can provide you with a certain degree of protection. For the most part, though, you’ll have to rely on yourselves.”
He Jie said excitedly, “Don’t worry, Boss Xiang. We both dare to kill monsters. Once we reach the outskirts, we’ll build an apocalypse base together. Fatty Wei and I will assist you, and together we’ll carve out a vast kingdom in this new world!”
There it was again—this kid’s adolescent delusions had flared up.
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Still lost in his fantasies, He Jie continued, “The shop next door to Fatty Wei’s family specializes in agricultural seeds. I’ll take you there, and we can have Fatty Wei come meet you too.”
At that moment, a middle-aged couple appeared in the open doorway of the breakfast shop. They looked anxiously at He Jie, then at Xiang Chenguang’s heavily armed family, but in the end they did not try to stop him.
Only then did the overly excited He Jie notice that his parents had also come downstairs. He hurriedly introduced them. “Dad, Mom, this is Boss Xiang—the great man I told you about yesterday, the one who saved Fatty Wei and me from the monsters.”
When they learned that he was their son’s savior, the tension on the couple’s faces finally eased. They gratefully said to Xiang Chenguang, “Thank you for saving our He Jie. You indirectly saved our entire family as well.”
Impatient with his parents’ polite small talk, He Jie said, “I’m taking Boss Xiang to collect some agricultural seeds, and I’m also going to let Fatty Wei meet him. Don’t worry. Boss Xiang has already killed all the monsters outside.”
Led by He Jie, Xiang Chenguang and his family arrived outside an agricultural seed shop in the middle of the street.
Pointing at the shop’s open entrance, He Jie said, “The owner of this place was pretty unlucky. During the chaos when the apocalypse first descended, both he and his wife were eaten by monsters. We can take whatever seeds are inside.”
He then shouted toward the second floor of the fresh-meat shop next door, “Fatty Wei, get down here! Come see who’s here!”
He turned to Xiang Chenguang and explained, “Fatty Wei’s father used to be a butcher. Later, he opened this fresh-meat shop in the market.
“Everyone in their family is huge and fat, but they’re incredibly strong and quite brave. They’ve killed plenty of monsters over the past two days.”
As they spoke, the shop’s rolling shutter door was raised to about half a person’s height. A plump, round face poked out from beneath it.
“Hey, Monkey He, what’s going on? Could you stop shouting like that? Do you know the ferocious guy who was killing monsters in the street just now?”
He Jie said, “Not only do I know him—you do too.”
The round, fleshy face struggled to turn toward the figure standing beside He Jie. Then the man abruptly raised the rolling shutter and exclaimed in delight, “No way! Big Brother, it’s you! Thank you for saving my life!”
He Jie said from the side, “Why call him Big Brother? Call him Boss Xiang.” He then winked and gestured toward Xiang Xiaoxiao, signaling the chubby boy to look at her.
Xiang Xiaoxiao immediately understood that the chubby boy was probably also from County No. 1 High School and had heard the rumors about her at school. She quickly turned and entered the seed shop, joining her parents in gathering vegetable and grain seeds.
The chubby boy readily followed suit and immediately changed his address. “Boss Xiang, my name is Wei Wei. You’ve come to collect agricultural seeds—are you planning to leave the city? Can you take us with you?”
No wonder this fat boy and skinny boy got along so well. Even their thoughts were astonishingly alike.
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He Jie said, “I’ve already made arrangements with Boss Xiang. When the time comes, we’ll leave the city together and build an apocalypse base. The two of us will assist Boss Xiang and make a name for ourselves in this new world!”
Wei Wei nodded repeatedly, the flesh on his round face wobbling up and down with every movement.
Xiang Dongliang could be considered a country boy. Although he had not farmed since joining the military, his childhood experiences had left him thoroughly familiar with all kinds of work in the fields.
Xiang Chenguang was not completely ignorant of basic crops, but he truly knew little about agriculture. So rather than crowding into the seed shop, he asked the two boys, “How did you get back here afterward?”
“We waded straight across the river,” He Jie replied.
Riverside Avenue and the market stood on opposite banks of the Li River.
After Xiang Chenguang left the previous day, the two boys saw that there were monsters on the Li River Bridge as well. They climbed over the railing along Riverside Avenue, entered the riverbed, and waded across to return to the market.
Most of the buildings along Market Street were three stories tall, with shops on the first floor and residences on the second and third.
Nearly all the buildings along the riverbank had rear doors leading directly to the water’s edge.
He Jie and Wei Wei had played by the Li River since childhood and knew the river that ran through the city extremely well. Even at its deepest, the water usually reached only their waists.
As a result, they crossed swiftly, wading through the river and returning home through the back door.
They happened to arrive just as several monsters had thrown the market into chaos. Having witnessed Xiang Chenguang kill the monsters with ease, they were no longer quite so terrified of them.
Amid the confusion, they helped their families seal the doors and windows, surviving the initial upheaval.
Afterward, He Jie discovered that the monsters could not break through the doors and windows at all. The urge to farm monsters and level up became impossible to suppress.
Both families had computers, and they also discovered that the wired internet connection had not been interrupted. Thus, although the two boys were trapped at home, they remained in contact and worked together, taking advantage of the terrain to kill monsters and level up.
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