Chapter Nineteen: Tao Tao

The place where Li Cheng and the others lived was a district of single-story houses. Four adjoining courtyards had been joined together, making the space quite expansive. Two of these courtyards belonged to members of the squad, while the previous owners of the other two had perished in past conflicts. Since the beginning of the apocalypse, people had been dying constantly, and housing had shifted from being in short supply to standing empty in large swathes. There was no longer any fighting over places to live.

Shen Lie followed Li Cheng and his group into the courtyard. To his surprise, upon their return, more than a dozen elderly people and children poured out of the houses, hope shining in their eyes. But when they saw that everyone had come back empty-handed, their expressions instantly dimmed.

"Chengzi, how are things outside?" An elderly man, about sixty, approached unsteadily, glanced at Shen Lie, and asked Li Cheng.

"It's alright, Uncle. Nothing has changed. It’s just that food is getting harder to find," Li Cheng replied, shaking his head with a sigh.

"Ah, what a damned world. There’s no hope left," the old man lamented. He looked far older than his years, like an octogenarian, his gait wobbly. Shen Lie could tell at a glance it was from hunger.

"Dad, I'm hungry!"

"Uncle, I'm hungry too!"

"Auntie, I'm hungry as well!"

Several children, likely driven to desperation by hunger, rushed over before the adults could even finish their conversation. Each clung to their relatives, begging for food. Just three months ago, these children would have been the little treasures of their families, enjoying all sorts of delicious meals and still pouting with picky appetites. But in less than a hundred days, they had fallen from paradise into hell, their minds and bodies tormented without cease.

Shen Lie noticed that every child's face was sallow, and their steps were weak and unsteady. Two of them even bore injuries. One little girl with large eyes had her entire left arm broken; a white cloth was wrapped around the stump, and fresh blood had seeped through—it was a new wound.

In the past, such an injury would have meant a trip to the capital for treatment, but now there was nothing to do but tie it with a scrap of cloth. The sight filled Shen Lie with compassion. He squatted before the big-eyed little girl and asked gently, "What’s your name?"

The girl was timid, shrinking from Shen Lie and not daring to speak. After a long moment, she whispered in a voice as soft as a mosquito, "My name is Tao Tao."

"Does your arm hurt?" Shen Lie reached out to touch her broken limb, then hesitated and withdrew his hand.

"It hurt at first, but not anymore." Seeing Shen Lie’s gentle demeanor, the girl grew a little braver.

"Not anymore?" Shen Lie frowned. If it didn’t hurt, it likely meant infection had set in. Without proper treatment, such wounds would inevitably become infected. It was a miracle the little girl was still standing.

He touched her forehead—she was burning with fever. Shen Lie patted her head and stood up. "I have some medicine left. Let’s treat her injuries as best we can," he said to Li Cheng.

Li Cheng looked at Shen Lie with a deep, searching gaze. He had experienced Shen Lie’s ruthlessness firsthand—when the black spear was driven through his palm, Shen Lie hadn’t even blinked. Yet now he was showing such care for a child who had nothing to do with him. Li Cheng couldn’t tell which was the real Shen Lie.

"I still have some food left. Let’s give it to the children," Shen Lie added, taking off his backpack and placing some food on the cement counter, signaling for Li Cheng to distribute it.

"Thank Uncle Shen, quickly. From now on, Uncle Shen is our leader, and you all must listen to him," Li Cheng told the children, swallowing hard as he eyed the instant noodles and sausages. But as Shen Lie had made it clear the food was for the children, he dared not touch it himself. He hurried the kids to thank Shen Lie.

The children took this in stride, but the older people were visibly shaken, all turning their eyes to Li Cheng for an explanation.

"Ahem, let’s all go back inside. Bring out the last of our rice and make some porridge. With Boss Shen leading us, things will only get better," Li Cheng said vaguely, as Shen Lie had instructed him not to reveal his awakened status. But the people here had been dulled by hardship and apocalypse; no one asked further, and each returned to their rooms.

With survival uncertain from one day to the next, leadership mattered little to these people.

Shen Lie occupied a room for himself, and Li Cheng arranged for a young woman to look after him—the owner of Jingjing Salon, named Zhang Jing.

Shen Lie said nothing about it. He had no interest in women for now; his mind was seized by an urgent desire to grow stronger. Only by increasing his strength could he hope to leave the Red Mist Zone outside.

"Oh, where’s that little girl—Tao Tao? Bring her here so I can tend her wound. And fetch a basin of hot water," Shen Lie said, having tidied up a bit. For some reason, he felt a natural affinity for the girl with the large eyes—her gaze was unforgettable.

Zhang Jing silently left and soon returned with the child and a basin of hot water. Shen Lie unwrapped the dirty bandages. The wound was already festering, but fortunately, he had some medicine on hand. He cleaned the wound and dressed it with gauze, gave the girl some antibiotics, and sent her away. Whether she survived would depend on fate—he was no doctor, and this was all he could do.

"Have you eaten? I have some instant noodles left. Cook them and call Li Cheng over—we have things to discuss," Shen Lie said, taking out a few packs of instant noodles and a can of fish, placing them on the table.

Zhang Jing swallowed, eyes lingering on the food. She fought hard to resist snatching it up, nodded, and quickly went to prepare boiling water and utensils.

After she left, Shen Lie sat in a chair, deep in thought. He took out the Phantom Mushroom from his pocket. By now, he no longer doubted Li Cheng’s words—there was no benefit in deceiving him. Shen Lie had made it clear he had no intention to seize power, and with so few people left here, there was little worth fighting over.

The fact that this mushroom could enhance the abilities of the awakened was significant. Upon learning this, Shen Lie’s first thought was not how to obtain more for himself, but to wonder how powerful the four awakened in town had become. These mushrooms had been around for a while; they must have consumed quite a few, and their powers would have grown far beyond the initial awakening.

This was why he had told Li Cheng and the others not to reveal his status as an awakened. If his identity was exposed, the others might come after him—and if he couldn't defeat them, his fate would be grim.

Still, although he had never consumed a Phantom Mushroom, he had used several spider monster crystals, which had also increased his power. He might not be without means to contend with the town’s other awakened.

But first, he needed to test the efficacy of the Phantom Mushroom and learn the backgrounds of the four awakened. Only by knowing the enemy and himself could he win without disaster.

Zhang Jing returned quickly with a kettle of boiling water, followed by Li Cheng. Both wore expressions of barely restrained anticipation.

Each received two packs of noodles in a small basin. Even before the noodles had fully softened, Zhang Jing and Li Cheng were slurping them down greedily, barely pausing even as the hot broth burned their mouths—they were truly starving.

Yet the can of fish on the table remained untouched. Shen Lie nodded inwardly. Whether they were faking it or not, at least these two showed restraint and didn’t overstep.

"Tell me in detail about the other four awakened in town—everything you know about their personalities and abilities," Shen Lie said, stopping Zhang Jing from clearing the dishes.

"Which one is the most powerful?" he pressed before they could answer.

Zhang Jing looked at Li Cheng, who answered without hesitation, "The most powerful is, of course, Du Tianwang, who occupies the Yin Hao Supermarket. Her Dragonfire Art is immensely destructive—she can even melt metal. The other fire-type, Ma Zhanlin, who controls Dacheng Grain Store, is far weaker. But Ma Zhanlin was already a ‘big name’ in town before all this, and his influence is not something Du Tianwang can match."