Xiao Han leaned against the car door, seemingly relaxed but actually extremely alert. His right hand rested on his waist, and his left hand gently tapped the car body, maintaining a steady rhythm.
"Do you really think I was asleep?" Xiao Han's lips curled slightly upward, but his eyes turned cold. He had noticed the commotion over there a long time ago; he was just too lazy to make the first move.
Hong Jie and her group drew closer, their steel pipes and daggers gleaming coldly in the moonlight.
"Move!" Hong Jie whispered.
Almost simultaneously, Xiao Han straightened up abruptly, a dagger appearing in his hand as if from nowhere.
"Perfect timing, I was just bored." Xiao Han's voice was not loud, but it clearly reached everyone's ears.
Hong Jie and the others paused, clearly not expecting to be discovered. But they were numerous, and soon they mustered their courage and continued to approach.
"Kid, don't play tough. Hand over the supplies obediently, and I'll spare your life!" Hong Jie sneered.
Xiao Han clicked his tongue, a hint of disdain flashing in his eyes: "I say, not sleeping in the middle of the night, coming to seek death?"
Before he finished speaking, Lu Shiyan inside the car had silently opened the car door on the other side, blue electric arcs flickering in his palm.
A Hao, next to Hong Jie, saw this, tightened his grip on the steel pipe, and charged towards Xiao Han.
"Bang!"
With a muffled thud, before the man could get close to Xiao Han, he was struck by a blue electric light, his entire body convulsing as he fell to the ground, emitting painful whimpers.
Lu Shiyan stood in front of the car, his expression stern, the electric arcs in his palm particularly dazzling in the darkness.
"I told you, don't stir up trouble." His voice was calm, yet carried an undeniable authority.
Hong Jie's face changed drastically, and she instinctively took a step back. The tall man also panicked, exchanging glances with each other, preparing to retreat.
"Stop!"
An angry shout came from Li Xinhu's direction. Li Xinhu hurried over with a few team members, his face ashen.
"What are you doing?!" Li Xinhu's sharp gaze swept over Hong Jie and the others, his voice filled with suppressed anger.
Hong Jie stiffened her neck, refusing to admit fault: "Xinhu, don't get angry. We just wanted to... wanted to ask for some food. They have so many supplies, what's wrong with sharing a bit?"
Li Xinhu took a deep breath, clearly suppressing his rage: "I told you to behave yourselves and not cause trouble!"
He turned to Lu Shiyan, his expression becoming complex: "I am very sorry, they don't understand the rules."
Lu Shiyan looked at him coldly, saying nothing.
At this moment, the electrocuted man struggled to get up, still twitching slightly, his eyes filled with resentment. He suddenly pulled a dagger from his lower back and lunged at Lu Shiyan.
"Be careful!" Su Wan exclaimed. She had appeared by the car door at some point.
Lu Shiyan's eyes turned cold, he dodged sideways, and at the same time, with a wave of his right hand, a stronger electric arc directly struck the man's chest.
"Ah!" A piercing scream echoed through the night sky, and the man fell heavily to the ground, his body convulsing a few times before becoming still.
The scene instantly froze.
Li Xinhu's face was pale, staring fixedly at the man on the ground. It took him a few seconds to react: "A Hao!"
He rushed over to check, but the man had already stopped breathing, his eyes wide open, unwilling to close even in death.
Hong Jie and the others were terrified, their faces drained of color.
Li Xinhu knelt on the ground, his trembling fingers closing A Hao's eyes, then slowly stood up, turning to Hong Jie, his eyes filled with pain and anger: "Satisfied? A Hao is dead, are you satisfied?"
Hong Jie opened her mouth, but no words came out.
"I warned you a long time ago not to stir up trouble!" Li Xinhu's voice was hoarse, "Now look, A Hao is dead, and his wife is pregnant!"
Hong Jie trembled all over, fear and regret finally showing in her eyes: "I... I didn't think it would be like this..."
Lu Shiyan watched all this expressionlessly, the electric arcs on his hand had disappeared, but the oppressive atmosphere around him was still terrifyingly low.
"Take your people and leave." His voice was as cold as ice, "Before dawn, I don't want to see you again."
Li Xinhu took a deep breath, barely steadying his emotions, then turned to face Lu Shiyan: "This is our fault, we will leave immediately."
He paused, gritting his teeth: "Can we... can we take A Hao's body with us?"
Lu Shiyan glanced at him and nodded.
Li Xinhu bent down and picked up A Hao's body, then silently turned and walked away. Hong Jie and the others followed dejectedly, not daring to look back.
Xiao Han put away his dagger and walked to Lu Shiyan's side, whispering: "It seems we worried too much, this group doesn't have the guts."
Lu Shiyan didn't respond, only glanced at Su Wan: "Go back and rest."
Su Wan nodded, but her gaze complexly followed Li Xinhu's desolate retreating figure. He carried A Hao's body, his steps heavy. Her heart tightened; although Li Xinhu in the original novel also went through hardships, he had never faced such a heavy blow and crisis of trust so early on as he did now.
'Could it be that because of our appearance, his and the team's fate has completely changed?' This thought brought an indescribable complex feeling to her.
She suddenly had a strong premonition—the fate of Li Xinhu in this world might be completely different from the original novel.
Just as dawn was breaking, a heart-wrenching cry came from a distance, waking Su Wan who was resting.
"A Hao! No—" The voice was so shrill it made one tremble, carrying disbelief and unbearable pain.
Su Wan's eyes snapped open, and the man Lu Shiyan had electrocuted to death last night immediately flashed through her mind. She propped herself up and looked out the window.
Li Xinhu's camp was in chaos. A woman with a slightly noticeable pregnant belly knelt on the ground, holding the body of the man who died last night, crying hysterically.
"What happened? Tell me! How could A Hao die?" The woman's voice was already hoarse from crying. She looked at the people around her blankly, her eyes filled with unbelievable grief.
"That must be the deceased's wife."
Su Wan nodded, her throat tight. Survival in the apocalypse meant every life hung by a thread, but witnessing such a tragedy still weighed heavily on her heart.
Li Xinhu squatted beside the woman, his face filled with sorrow: "Xiao Mei, please accept my condolences. A Hao, he..."
"What about him? What exactly happened?" Xiao Mei raised her tear-blurred eyes, staring fixedly at Li Xinhu.
Li Xinhu opened his mouth, seemingly unsure how to speak.
Hong Jie's face was pale, her eyes darting around, but her survival instinct made her want to immediately distance herself. She looked at Xiao Mei, her lips moved, and she spoke first in a dry voice: "Xiao Mei, calm down... A Hao, he... he was killed by those people opposite... those people!" She pointed in the direction of Lu Shiyan and his group, her voice sounding a bit sharp due to her guilt.
Xiao Mei's eyes instantly became frenzied. She suddenly stood up, staggering a few steps as she looked towards Lu Shiyan and their camp.
"That's not the whole truth." Li Xinhu grabbed Xiao Mei's arm, stopping her, his voice low and heavy, "A Hao, he... went with Hong Jie and the others last night to ambush them, and they were discovered."
Xiao Mei froze in place, the sorrow on her face gradually turning into confusion and incomprehension: "Ambush... what?"
"They wanted to steal their supplies." Li Xinhu closed his eyes, speaking the truth with difficulty.
Xiao Mei's face instantly turned pale, and her body swayed a few times. She looked at Hong Jie in disbelief: "You took A Hao to ambush others?"