"Brother Hao!"

The others panicked instantly. Several women rushed over to help the man up while the remaining men snatched up steel pipes and glared at Yang Bin.

"Fuck your mother! You dare hit Brother Hao!? You got a death wish!?"

"What-you want to go?" Yang Bin raised the blood-stained iron pipe and leveled it at the group, his voice flat and cold.

The group flinched. Something in Yang Bin's presence pinned them in place. They gripped their pipes but nobody stepped forward.

Meanwhile, the man who'd been hit struggled upright with help, his face twisted with venom as he stared at Yang Bin.

"You dare hit me? You're fucking dead! Get him! Kill him!"

Just as both sides were about to clash, a woman's voice cut through the tension.

"Chen Hao!?"

Beside the man stood a woman in a green dress, delicate-featured, staring at Chen Hao with wide eyes.

No need to guess. This was Chen Hao's ex-girlfriend, Liu Shiya.

Hearing her voice, Chen Hao's body went rigid. Even though he'd already decided to let go, the pain still hit him like a blade. Three years. Three years of loving her. That wasn't something you just switched off.

"Oh, so it's Shiya's old loser boyfriend. What's the matter? Last time's humiliation wasn't enough? Back for more?" The man's eyes gleamed with mockery the moment he recognized Chen Hao.

This was Wang Yuehao. The one Liu Shiya had cheated with.

"Chen Hao, just leave. There's nothing between us anymore." Liu Shiya's voice was cold, clearly assuming Chen Hao had come looking for her.

Chen Hao let out a bitter laugh and murmured, "I really am a fool. Still imagining you'd come back."

"What, still hung up on my Shiya? Haha. She's not someone a broke loser like you deserves." Wang Yuehao grinned smugly, his hand sliding around Liu Shiya's waist.

"Wearing second-hand shoes and acting like you won the lottery. Impressive." Yang Bin smirked.

Then he clapped Chen Hao on the shoulder. "Forget that woman. She's used goods. But hey-if it'll make you feel better, go confiscate the Crime Tool. I got your back."

"Yeah, Haozi, I got your back too!" Hu Wenliang added.

Chen Hao shook his head. "Forget it. We're strangers now. No point stirring up more trouble."

"Let's go, Brother Bin. Let's grab the food."

"Alright." Yang Bin shrugged.

But while they were willing to walk away, some people just couldn't help begging for it.

"Haha! Losers are losers-all they know is how to tuck tail and run. You think trash like you gets to touch the food in here!?"

"Break their legs! You hit me? I'll make sure you leave this place on a stretcher!"

At Wang Yuehao's words, the hesitant men finally gritted their teeth, raised their pipes, and charged.

"Bring destruction upon oneself."

Yang Bin shook his head. One casual swing of the iron pipe and the lead attacker crumpled to the floor, unable to get up.

The pipe swept again. It caught two more men square in the chest. Blood sprayed from their mouths as they flew backward.

Chen Hao and Hu Wenliang moved at the same time, steel pipes cracking into bodies. Anyone they connected with went down and stayed down.

Within seconds, over a dozen men lay groaning on the floor.

The remaining onlookers stared in stunned silence.

A dozen people dropped in a handful of swings. What the hell were these guys?

Chen Hao stepped over the bodies and walked toward Wang Yuehao.

"What do you want!? I'm the young master of the Wang Group! If you touch me, you're dead!" Wang Yuehao's voice cracked as he stumbled backward.

"Chen Hao, don't be rash-" Liu Shiya blurted.

"You care about him that much?" Chen Hao turned to look at her.

"I... he's my boyfriend. Don't hurt him."

"Boyfriend." Chen Hao laughed-a short, ugly sound. "That word sounds fucking disgusting coming out of your mouth.

You picked him for his money, right? Well, it's the apocalypse now. His money's worth less than toilet paper. Right now, he's nothing but dead weight."

His gaze shifted to Wang Yuehao.

"I wasn't going to bother with you. But you just had to push it. Fine. Let's settle up."

Chen Hao's foot shot forward-straight between Wang Yuehao's legs.

"AAAGH-!"

The scream that tore out of him made everyone in the room flinch.

"Remember this. Next life, keep that thing on a leash. Don't let it wander where it doesn't belong."

Wang Yuehao couldn't respond. He was curled on the ground, writhing, his pants darkening with blood.

"Chen Hao, you-!" Liu Shiya's eyes went wide, her face pale with shock.

"What? You want one too?" Chen Hao's cold stare landed on her.

She shut her mouth.

Chen Hao smiled. The weight that had been crushing his chest for weeks-gone. Just like that. He turned and walked back toward Yang Bin.

Everyone else shrank away from him, too terrified to move.

"Well done, Haozi." Yang Bin clapped him on the shoulder.

Chen Hao shook his head. "Let's go get the food."

"Mm."

The three of them headed deeper into the supermarket, leaving behind a cluster of terrified people.

Wang Yuehao was still screaming. Liu Shiya moved toward him but had no idea what to do.

Then-chaotic footsteps from outside. Shuffling, scraping, converging. Wang Yuehao's shrieks had drawn the nearby zombies straight to them.

The color drained from every face in the room.

"Quick-block the door!" a woman shrieked.

"Shut him up first!" someone else hissed.

Liu Shiya clamped her hand over Wang Yuehao's mouth. Three other women threw their weight against a nearby shelf, shoving it behind the entrance.

Wang Yuehao glared at Liu Shiya, eyes bulging with fury.

I've been kicked half to death and you won't even let me scream!?

But then the rolling shutter door shuddered under a violent impact, and he went silent on his own.

The shelf rattled and swayed. A few of the less-injured men dragged themselves up and pushed a second shelf into place.

Yang Bin and the others saw all of this from deeper inside the store. They didn't care. In a supermarket like this, even if zombies broke through, they couldn't do a thing to the three of them.

They kept stuffing their backpacks-bread, bottled water, biscuits, anything with calories-until the bags were bursting at the seams.

They still had crystals to hunt. No point camping here. Better to load up now.

Yang Bin cracked open a bottle of cola, took a long swig, and said, "Bunch of zombies piling up outside now. Getting out's going to be annoying. Should've shut him up right away."

"It was just stealing his girl, not worth killing him over," Chen Hao said with a dry laugh.

"When it's time to be ruthless, be ruthless. That's how you last longer in this world." Yang Bin paused, then waved it off. "Forget it. That kind of switch doesn't flip overnight. You'll get there."