Opening the door, Yang Shuo saw two middle-aged men with gloomy expressions standing outside. The former was bald, had a moustache, and a big belly. To be able to maintain this kind of body in the apocalypse, he could clearly be considered a successful person. The latter was bald, had a fierce face, and the most eye-catching thing was his height. He was 1.9 meters tall, with fierce muscles, and looked like a fierce tiger. He swept his gaze over Yang Shuo.
Big and Small King.
The neighborhood's famous hoodlums. The slums were divided into many factions, and the Big and Small King belonged to one of them. The former was good at scheming and plotting, and the latter was good at fighting. It was said that in peacetime, he was a real boxer. One of them was good at martial arts, and the other was good at martial arts. They could be considered extraordinary people.
Wang Hao, Wang Ming.
The two brothers ran amok. Relying on Wang Ming's fierce body, they had done many evil things in the past. In addition, within the area under their jurisdiction, they had to offer some food every two weeks. Rather than calling it rent, it was better to call it a tribute.
For Wang Hao and Wang Ming, collecting rent every week was one of the few joys in their boring lives.
"Big Brother Wang, Second Brother Wang, this is this week's rent." Yang Shuo smiled as he opened a cloth bag. Inside it was an unopened bread, a can of food, and a bottle of milk.
Originally, the ingredients didn't need to be so extravagant, but last month, Yang Shuo's income was too poor, and he was beaten up by the other party. Thus, the other party reduced his rent for a month. If he still couldn't think of something this month, the other party might turn hostile on the spot.
It was very expensive food.
In order to find this food, Yang Shuo had spent a lot of effort. The most tragic thing was that they clearly had food that could satisfy their hunger, but because of the rent, they were forced to continue searching for ingredients.
They couldn't touch this food!
This was rent, and also a tribute for self-protection!
Nono was very sensible, and would never ask for these tributes that had already been prepared. On the contrary, this time, it was precisely because it wanted to share Yang Shuo's burden that it took the risk to search outside. As a result, it encountered zombies and suffered heavy injuries!
Otherwise, Nono wouldn't have had to take the risk to search outside in order to share his burden.
"Heh, you little vermin are quite capable. You actually managed to get a bottle of milk. Alright, I'll forget about the matter of you offending me last time." King Wang Hao shook the food in his hand and revealed his yellow teeth.
Yang Shuo didn't mind the other party calling him a vermin. After living in the slums for three years, he had heard worse names. At this time, he just wanted to send these two gods of plague away.
"Oh, your little sister's all grown up?" Holding the milk, Wang Ming glanced casually at Nono behind Yang Shuo.
On the other hand, Nono looked like it was being targeted by a wolf. It hid behind Yang Shuo timidly, both of its hands grabbing onto Yang Shuo's clothes. It looked extremely nervous.
"You don't even have anything to eat, and you're bringing along a burden? If I were you, I would have sold her for food long ago. "Wang Ming curled his lip and said mockingly.
Yang Shuo's smile froze. He raised his head and said, "Brother Wang, you must be joking. In this world, only my sister and I depend on each other. It's impossible."
"Bah!" Wang Ming directly spat a mouthful of phlegm onto Nono's blanket. He sneered, "In this world, you still play with sentiments? A few years ago, that Old Wu next door was famous for being an affectionate person. But now? Didn't he break his back for the sake of living? "
Human nature was twisted.
Hunger and despair could sometimes make people lose their humanity.
"Come, let's go to the next house." Wang Ming took the bribe, waved his hand, and led Wang Hao out of the narrow room. From beginning to end, the muscular man didn't say a word.
"Second Wang, that little girl looks pretty fresh, don't you think so?"
"Brother is right."
"Dong dong dong!"
"Open the door, Old Wu. What's wrong? You don't have anything to pay the rent today? "
The noise had already left, but Yang Shuo's smile was still on his face. He looked like a clown with oil paint on his face. Behind his smile, no one could see his true thoughts.
Yang Shuo wasn't a child. Naturally, he wouldn't want to kill the local tyrant just because of one or two insults. However, the other party's seemingly joking words caused Yang Shuo to have other thoughts.
Nono was still young.
The other party might have just been joking. Yes, it was just two adults. It was just some harmless dirty jokes. But as an older brother, as a [Knight] who had sworn to protect his last family member.
Yang Shuo had sworn that no one could bully Nono, because this was his only family member in this world.
In everyone's heart, there was always a bottom line that couldn't be crossed.
There was a standard for that bottom line. No matter who it was, they couldn't cross that fatal bottom line. If they crossed it, they wouldn't rest until they were dead!
Nono was like a treasure in Yang Shuo's hands. Usually, it was placed in a safe because he was afraid that it would be damaged. But now, someone suddenly told you that they were curious about your treasure. One day in the future, they would pry open the safe, take away the treasure, and then smash it on the ground, turning it into a pile of trash.
Yang Shuo's smile slowly faded. He looked at the half-closed door, and his expression gradually became gloomy. He knew that perhaps he should do something.
For example … kill the other party?
Fighting was the most common way of communication in this world. If Yang Shuo took off his clothes, he would reveal his skin full of scars. He needed to raise Nono, so he naturally needed more food. Under such circumstances, fighting and snatching food had become a part of his life. For a steamed bun, he had killed a robber with his own hands.
At that time, Yang Shuo and Nono had been hungry for a day and night. They needed food. Therefore, when someone also had their eyes on the steamed bun, Yang Shuo raised a stone and threw it at the other party's head.
In this world, there was no need for a reason to kill.
Just like the Big and Little King, did they need a reason to be bad? As long as they liked, they could bully and humiliate anyone. On the other hand, if Yang Shuo felt comfortable killing the other party, then in this world, no one or so-called morality could stop him from doing so.
If it was before, Yang Shuo might have patiently waited for a while. But now, he had a trump card that belonged to him. Healing? A special ability that could restore one's vitality.
Becoming a professional did not mean that one didn't need food.
The Big and Little Kings had run amok here for a while. If he could defeat them, just the resources he obtained might be able to resolve his and Nono's current predicament.
After thinking about it, perhaps making an enemy of the other party had become the most correct and most appropriate thing to do!
Yang Shuo clenched his fists and felt the warmth in his palms. He smiled again and sighed, "You guys … are really courting death!"
At this time, Yang Shuo did not realize that when he spoke, an inexplicable blood-red light flashed in his eyes. That blood-red light lingered like a terrifying murderer, causing fear in people's hearts.
Unknowingly, some changes had happened to Yang Shuo's body.
Yang Shuo and Nono enjoyed a simple breakfast. Ironically, they had just given away a bottle of milk a few days ago, but today, they drank tasteless plain water.
However, Nono did not show any dissatisfaction. She was a sensible child. She knew how difficult it was for her brother to search for food. She did not care what the food in her mouth tasted like or whether it had expired. She only hoped that her brother would return home on time.
In this gloomy environment, compared to material life, loneliness was more unbearable.
Nono's body recovered very well. It had been three days since he became a professional. In these few days, Yang Shuo had used the Healing Technique on Nono twice.
He did not faint like before. However, after using the Healing Technique, Yang Shuo would fall into a state of extreme weakness. It was as if he had stayed up all night and his whole body was limp and in urgent need of sleep.
After using the Healing Technique three times, Yang Shuo found some patterns. The first time he used the Healing Technique, because Nono's injuries were serious, he directly lost consciousness after using the Healing Technique. After sleeping for twelve hours, he slowly woke up. After the next few times, Nono's injuries were alleviated. After using the Healing Technique, he did not faint, but his body was a little tired and accompanied by a slight headache. Although he would not faint, he still needed three to five hours of sleep to relieve the headache.
"It seems that the Healing Technique is linked to injuries. If it's too serious, it will cause mental strength to dry up, and if it's a minor injury, it will cause fatigue."
"The consciousness in my head said that if the Healing Technique is used to the extreme, it can even regenerate limbs. However, just healing the wounds on Nono's body already made me feel exhausted. If I forcibly heal more serious injuries, it may have a certain impact on my body."
After eating breakfast, Yang Shuo sat on a chair and began to think about the changes in his body, while Nono was cleaning up the house.
Her small body lingered in the dilapidated house, holding a rag in her hand. Even if this was only a basement and did not even belong to her, Nono still treated it as a warm little house. Her expression was very serious, perhaps because she was in a good mood, there was even a faint smile on her face.
She was still a child.
She did not have much concept of life. For her, it was enough that she was still alive and could still accompany her brother.
It has to be said that the Healing Technique was indeed magical. Three days ago, Nono was still miserable and on the verge of death, but now, she could already clean up the room. This, perhaps, was the power of a psychic.
A power that mortals could not touch at all.
Looking at the scene in front of him, Yang Shuo's mind fell into tranquility. A place with people was a home, and a place without people was only a room.
Even if life gave Yang Shuo endless pain, he still thanked the heavens for leaving him a little angel. It was because of Nono that he did not truly fall into darkness and become a beast in human skin.
Nono was the only light in Yang Shuo's darkness that stretched for thousands of miles. It was the last ray of hope that supported him to get out of this predicament. If someone wanted to extinguish this light, no matter who it was, Yang Shuo would choose to end them!
Good times were always short. When the sun set and the first ray of darkness shrouded the ground, Yang Shuo was already dressed and stood at the door.
He was a scavenger.
Compared to the hustle and bustle of the day, the night was undoubtedly more suitable for scavenging.
"Don't go out again. Be good, don't open the door if anyone knocks, okay?" Yang Shuo squatted on the ground and patted Nono's head.
"I will be good, brother. You have to come back safely." Nono nodded. There was a hint of reluctance in her eyes, but she did not stubbornly keep Yang Shuo by her side. She knew that the two of them needed to live. They needed food and other supplies to get through the coming winter.
Nono went forward and hugged Yang Shuo, then retreated to the side.
"Creak …"
The door closed.
At the same time, the gentleness on Yang Shuo's face a few minutes ago had already been replaced by coldness. From the moment he stepped out of the house, the so-called gentleness should've been put away. This was because he was stepping into a land of blood, danger, and morality.
Anyone could betray you.
Anyone could kill you.
Anyone could become a demon.
Yang Shuo was like a strange cult member. He silently recited all of this in his heart. The three years of experience in the apocalypse made him understand that caution was always better than recklessness.
Pushing open the door to the basement, a cold wind blew in, causing Yang Shuo to shrink his neck. Autumn had come, and the night was already cold enough to make people feel a trace of coldness.
Night shrouded the earth, and everywhere was a scene of desolation and dilapidation.
Buildings collapsed, and huge cracks appeared on the ground. Earthquakes were extremely frequent in the apocalypse, especially in the first few years. Basically, a few houses would collapse every month. The original office buildings, residential buildings, and shops that sold goods were no longer the same as before. Instead, they had become piles of stones, scattered on the ground.
Under the moonlight, one could vaguely see human figures flashing in some of the dilapidated houses. They were also residents of the apocalypse, but no one would choose to light up the houses.
First, because there was no electricity maintenance in the slums, there was no light at all. Second, because light would attract too many people's attention. Candles were considered a luxury. In a dark world, a room with light would become the target of everyone's attention.
Yang Shuo walked quickly on the street. He did not go to the tenth district that scavengers would choose. Instead, he went in the opposite direction, toward the eighth district.
The eighth district was the only place to pass time in the slums. There was a colosseum, a casino, and a tavern that was open until midnight.
No matter where one went, there were different classes. The people who could enjoy themselves in the eighth district were the rich of the slums. They were also the thugs in the eyes of the honest people who knew their place.
These people used the materials they got from extorting the slums to enjoy themselves and spend. Like the Big and Little Wang, 90% of the customers who could spend money in the slums were involved in extortion and bullying.
The remaining 10% were the real rulers of the slums. In the eyes of the big shots in the city, they were lackeys, but in the eyes of the thugs, they were terrifying characters.
The big fish ate the small fish, and the small fish ate the shrimps.
Just like how the tenth district, which was used to store the city's garbage, was a paradise for the slums, the eighth district was a utopia for the villains.
Today, as a slum whose clothes were cleaner than his face, Yang Shuo did not come here to pass time. He came here to … kill!
Yang Shuo wanted to kill the Big and Little Wang. Ever since they had spoken rudely, there had been a voice in Yang Shuo's head, a voice that tempted him to kill the two thugs.
Today, Yang Shuo was finally ready. He only had one goal: the Big and Little Wang!
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