Chapter 7: The Fierce Brother Li

“Tch! A fledgling is just a fledgling!”
Li cursed, sneering as he watched Wang Ji struggling to rise. Gritting his teeth, Li lifted his recurve bow, nocking an arrow, ready to shoot once more.

“Aaaah!”
A desperate, hysterical scream echoed, startling Li. He turned sharply, seeing the trembling figure of Mouse, who had been cowering on the ground moments before.

Now, Mouse’s eyes were resolute, gripping a dagger as he lunged at Li, plunging the blade into Li’s abdomen.
Li hurriedly grabbed Mouse’s hand, but the pain in his belly only fueled his rage. He twisted, pinning the frail Mouse beneath him, raining down heavy punches.

Within seconds, Mouse’s nose and mouth bled, and the dagger slipped from his hand.
Li delivered a forceful punch, knocking out two of Mouse’s teeth. Picking up the dagger from the side, Li glared at Mouse, his face twisted in ferocity.

“Filthy little rat! Die, you vermin!”
Mouse lay on the ground, surrendering to fate, awaiting his final moments in unexpected calm.

“Yu… I…”
Thud, thud—

Li’s figure, dagger raised, trembled, then slowly collapsed onto Mouse, the knife falling aside.
On the other side, Wang Ji, having caught his breath, crouched, smoke curling from the pistol in his hand.

“Damn it. Almost got caught in the gutter!”
Wang Ji spat out bloody phlegm, limped over to Li, confirmed he was dead from a gunshot, then walked to the remaining thugs, firing a shot into each of their heads.

A lesson learned; Wang Ji finally understood the deadly peril of the apocalypse’s chaos.

He gathered his weapons, sat on the tea table, and reached behind to pull out the arrow, but couldn’t quite reach.

“Damn! Hey, you lying over there, are you dead or not? If you’re alive, help me pull this arrow out!”

Mouse waited, realizing with surprise he hadn’t died, and when he heard Wang Ji’s voice, he painstakingly pushed Li’s corpse aside and crawled up.

“Ow… brother…”

“Cut the chatter, if you can move, pull this arrow out!” Wang Ji’s face was cold, his mood still dark.

Mouse shivered at Wang Ji’s intimidating tone, quickly stepped forward, and gripped the arrow shaft behind Wang Ji.

“Brother… brace yourself!”

“Just pull it—ah!”

“Damn! You—” Wang Ji slapped Mouse’s head, seeing his bruised, panic-stricken face, and snapped irritably.

“Bandage and stop the bleeding.” He took out a hemostatic agent and a tourniquet from his backpack.

Several chaotic minutes later, Wang Ji was finally bandaged, though clumsily, by Mouse. Looking at the torn chest guard of his protective suit, Wang Ji didn’t bother to put it back on, planning to find a chance to materialize a new bulletproof vest.

“Alright, you can use some of this medicine. Now, tell me what happened here.”

Wang Ji handed the last bit of hemostatic agent to Mouse, picked up Li’s recurve bow and quiver, and sat on the sofa.

“Yes, brother, please sit…” After Li’s death, Mouse seemed to become a different person, eagerly recounting everything that had transpired.

They discovered Lin Li and his gang had committed atrocities, killing five people in half a day. This left Wang Ji with no guilt for having killed these heartless fugitives.

When Mouse spoke of his crushed secret love, his grief plain, Wang Ji patted his shoulder.

“She’s gone now, and the world has changed. You must keep living, stay strong. I believe it’s what she would want for you.”

Mouse’s eyes brimmed with tears as he clutched the necklace, nodding vigorously.

“Let’s go free the others.”

Wang Ji led the way to the inner room and opened the door. With Mouse’s help and explanations, the survivors finally stumbled out, tears streaming.

Some men and women vented their rage on Lin Li’s corpses, beating them until the bodies were barely recognizable. Wang Ji quickly stopped them.

“You’re free now. Though outside is still dangerous, if you want to leave, pack up and go quickly.”

In the supermarket’s lobby, Wang Ji faced the remaining twenty-something survivors, who had endured a nightmare, and spoke helplessly.

“Brother… can you keep protecting us?”

“Yeah…”

“You’re so strong… sob… why didn’t you come earlier…”

A chorus of cries erupted among the crowd.

Wang Ji, seeing this, shouted angrily.

“What are you doing?! Want to bring the monsters inside? Keep your voices down!”

The terrified survivors quieted somewhat, though unrest simmered.

Mouse came over, sympathy on his face.

“Brother Wang…”

Wang Ji waved him off. “I really can’t lead so many people, even if you saved my life.”

“Uh… Brother Wang, just help them a bit more. There’s a safe area set up at the town’s elementary school by the police and government. Leading them there would be a final kindness.”

Upon hearing this, Wang Ji pondered, then nodded.

“While there’s still daylight, we leave in half an hour.”

Mouse, overjoyed, explained the plan to the crowd and organized them to gather useful supplies from the supermarket, preparing to move to safety.

Half an hour later, outside the supermarket, the group was ready with bags and bundles.

Wang Ji surveyed them and said, “The road won’t be peaceful. Two rules: One, keep absolutely quiet, or I’ll shoot the troublemaker myself! Two, stay with the group—I can’t watch everyone all the time.”

Some, overloaded with supplies, hurriedly discarded excess at Wang Ji’s words.

A man pulled a little girl, their faces smudged and weary, and approached Wang Ji.

“Thank you, brother, this is for you.” The man handed over a bag of water and food.

Wang Ji looked at him in surprise, smiled, and accepted.

“No need for thanks.”

The man bowed slightly. “You saved us, it must be repaid. Xiaoyin, thank your big brother.”

The little girl, carrying a tiny backpack, looked up. Her tear-stained, soot-covered face showed a shy expression.

“Thank you, uncle.” Her voice was barely audible.

Seeing her adorable face and tragic experience, Wang Ji felt a surge of tenderness. He put the food and water in his backpack and handed over a chocolate bean.

The girl hesitated, hiding behind the man. The man smiled awkwardly, took the candy, and popped it in her mouth, urging, “Say thank you to big brother, Xiaoyin.”

Wang Ji waved his hand, reminded them to be careful on the road, then turned and led the group into the street, bathed in the setting sun.

Host: Wang Ji
Strength: 12
Mental: 15
Agility: 10
Stamina: 78/100

Status: Good; back injury: estimated recovery time 10 hours.
Energy Points: 82

Wang Ji closed the status screen, leading the group of twenty-plus down the desolate lane. He carried Li’s recurve bow in hand, quiver slung over his shoulder, with his automatic rifle strapped to his back.

In this world full of unknown dangers, the bow was more useful than a rifle unless the rifle had a silencer.

“Nice! At least eighty pounds draw weight. Lin Li wasn’t simple—this is a customized bow with titanium steel arrowheads. No wonder it pierced my armor.”

Wang Ji admired the recurve bow. Familiar with all personal weapons, he naturally knew how to use it; the bow was quiet and, in mid-range, more deadly than a handgun.

“Brother Wang… let me see the gun, just look, I swear I won’t fire it.”

Mouse walked beside Wang Ji, drooling at his fully armed appearance.

After dealing with Li and his gang, Wang Ji had searched around and found two handguns—typical domestic copies of the Type 67—and several daggers.

He handed daggers to Mouse and a few men for self-defense, but the handguns were stowed in his backpack, fearing someone might misuse them, hurt others, or accidentally attract monsters.

“In your current state, if you fired two shots, your wrist would be swollen and red.”

“Brother Wang, I just want to look, really! Besides, I can learn.”

Mouse wouldn’t give up, perfectly demonstrating a man’s innate fascination with firearms.

“Keep it down. We’ll talk at the school.” Wang Ji scanned the group, frowning.

They traversed the town’s farmer’s market and took a rarely used alley behind, which was the quickest route to the elementary school. As they walked, Wang Ji sensed something was off.

“Yes, Brother Wang, remember, at the school…” Mouse grinned excitedly.

“Quiet!”

Wang Ji, at the front, suddenly halted, raising a clenched fist to signal the group to stop.

The journey had been uneventful, save Wang Ji silently dispatching two mutant beasts with arrows. Now, the abrupt change in atmosphere made the group tense.

“What’s wrong? Is it monsters?”

“Leader…”

“Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid…”

Panic began to spread through the group. Such a makeshift team was like a military camp—if discipline broke, chaos would ensue, and that was what all leaders dreaded.

“Everyone quiet! Listen to me—slowly retreat!”

Wang Ji’s tone brooked no argument. His face was cold as he nocked a titanium steel arrow.

About a hundred meters ahead, at a butcher’s stall in the market, a calf-sized mutant wolf was tearing at a wailing mutant beast.

The mutant wolf’s eyes seemed to carry a mocking glint, toying with its prey. Suddenly it sensed something, looked up, and instantly spotted Wang Ji and the group.

With a wild, excited howl, the mutant wolf swung its sharp claws, a flash of cold light slicing through the air. The beast beneath its paw had its skull split open in an instant.

The mutant wolf then lowered its head, biting off a glowing, red-tinted crystal the size of a fingertip. After swallowing it, its eyes shone with satisfaction, its fur bristling, faint red energy flickering around its body.

Witnessing this strange scene, Wang Ji’s heart skipped. He turned and hissed, “Scatter! Move out, now!”

No sooner had he spoken than the mutant wolf sprang forward, covering over ten meters in a blink.

Wang Ji’s pupils contracted. He could no longer worry about the cries and panic behind him. He raised his bow, nocked an arrow, and focused his aim on the charging beast.