Settling Accounts

The room was a complete mess, looking like many people had been there.

The place for stocking food was empty, without even a bottle of water left behind.

Wan Qianya was huddled in a corner, sobbing softly as she hugged herself.

This was the scene Xiao Jun saw when he entered the room.

He knew the apocalypse would be chaotic, but did not expect it to fall upon him so soon.

The moment she saw Xiao Jun, it was as if Wan Qianya had seen her father after being wronged like a child, her quiet sobs turning into loud wailing.

Xiao Jun put down the knife in his hand and squatted down in front of Wan Qianya.

Wan Qianya threw her arms around Xiao Jun, burying her head in his chest, as if only this could give her a sense of security.

Xiao Jun did not say a word, only gently patted her back with his hand.

After a while, Wan Qianya finally stopped crying, though her nose still twitched a couple times.

"Cola, do you want to drink some?"

Xiao Jun took out her favorite soda, as well as a box of chocolates.

Wan Qianya really had not eaten all day, and had confronted them for quite a long time, already exhausted and barely standing through willpower alone.

"I want to get stronger... I want to become stronger!!"

Xiao Jun did not ask anything, only took out five Grade 1 Variant Crystals.

Wan Qianya grabbed them without caring that they were taken from zombie brains, swallowing them all in one go.

There would be a brief process during leveling up that could not be disturbed. Xiao Jun sat quietly to the side watching, waiting for her to finish.

A few minutes later, Wan Qianya suddenly opened her eyes. The upgrade was successful, she had become a Grade 1 Variant.

"Don't use the kitchen knife anymore, I'll give you a present."

Two high-tech daggers were placed in front of Wan Qianya. She happily picked them up, unable to resist swinging them a few times. It was evident she really liked them.

Indeed, some people were just born to be strong.

Most women, even during the apocalypse, would be happier given a bag of chips rather than a dagger.

"Let's go, take back what was stolen from us."

...

"I know you can hear me. Those who stole my things today, I'll give you a chance to return everything within five minutes."

Xiao Jun held two steel blades, standing boldly in the middle of the corridor. Wan Qianya followed behind, feeling a little nervous.

Time ticked by second by second, but no one chose to come out. Everyone's doors remained tightly shut, indifferent.

When the five minutes were up, a flash of disappointment crossed Xiao Jun's eyes, though he had already expected this outcome. It was only the first few days of the apocalypse, yet these people had already learned the rules of survival.

He randomly chose a room and slashed down with his blade. The sturdy security door was split open directly.

With six times the strength and sharp steel blades, the destructive power satisfied Xiao Jun.

"What are you doing, why did you break into my room by force? Someone help, he's trying to kill me!"

As soon as they entered, a shrill female voice rang out as a bright light shone towards them. There was only one woman in the room, hugging a three to four year old child.

"They didn't steal anything."

Wan Qianya softly said from behind, but soon her gaze fell upon the food laid out in the living room.

"The house is so small, what use is hiding?"

Under the bright flashlight, every corner of the room could be seen clearly, yet no one else could be found. It seemed they were hiding in the bedrooms.

Xiao Jun did not have time to waste with them. He kicked the woman down, pressing the steel blade against her neck.

"Come out, or else you'll lose your food and lives."

The bedroom door opened and a trembling, bespectacled man came out.

"You can't kill people, the law won't let you get away with this."

"So the law will let robbery slide?"

The man fell silent, staring at Xiao Jun's blade as his legs kept shaking.

"Jump down yourself. I won't kill your wife and daughter, and will leave them three days of food. Whether they can survive depends on their fate."

The man trembled even more violently. He did not want his wife and child to die, nor did he want to die himself.

"Help, murder! You'll be next!"

The heart-wrenching screams in the quiet night carried even further, drawing many zombies below who dumbly looked up towards the source, likely pondering how to jump up.

He shouted three or four times, but unfortunately no one came to help, leaving him in despair.

"Noisy."

Xiao Jun strode over to him in two steps. With a gentle slash, the screams were abruptly silenced.

Xiao Jun then waved his hand and all their stolen food disappeared, stored away in his spatial equipment.

"Ah, murder, murder!"

The man had died too quickly. It took the woman a while to react before she let out an even louder scream mixed with the little girl's cries.

"I don't like killing women, but that doesn't mean I won't."

With that one sentence, the woman immediately shut her mouth.

She even used both hands to tightly cover her daughter's mouth, afraid her cries would anger the killer before them.

"Next."

Regarding Xiao Jun's actions, Wan Qianya did not feel anything wrong.

Wrongdoers had to take responsibility. If not for her knife earlier, she likely would have become that thug's plaything by now. These people were accomplices.

After breaking down the door, not one person even bothered to say anything to ask the group of four thugs to let her off. They had hastily snatched the food before shutting their doors tightly.

Following procedure, Xiao Jun broke open the second door. Two brothers lived here, no women. Xiao Jun decisively killed both men and took back the food that belonged to him.

The third house.

Before Xiao Jun could reach the third house, most of the doors on this floor opened and over a dozen people came out.

"Little brother, you've killed quite a few. Shouldn't you let go of your anger now?"

A middle-aged man with a beer belly bravely spoke up.

"Right, this matter didn't concern most of us. The main culprits are the four in that room. If you want revenge, go find them."

Someone else chimed in.

"Little brother, how about this? We return the food to you and let bygones be bygones. What do you think?"

The beer-bellied man seemed to be the impromptu negotiator for this group.

"Jump down yourselves. I'll leave three days of food for each of your wives and children."

Did they think they could easily gloss over what they did? That would not fly with Xiao Jun.

"Who do you think you are? Just because you have two blades you think you're amazing? There are over a dozen of us here, how many could you kill?" This is coercion!"

A man in his thirties rushed forward, but before he could finish speaking, his body was sliced in half.

So what if he coerced them? The apocalypse over six years had already taught Xiao Jun one thing - no matter how powerful, monsters could always be defeated, but the evil in humans' hearts was indefensible.

"Jump or I'll send you on your way."

For people used to peace, witnessing murder scenes firsthand had a greater impact than they could have imagined.

"Fight him, he only has two blades. Don't be afraid..."

Once again, he only spoke halfway before Xiao Jun's blade accurately found its mark.

"Jump or I'll do it. One minute."

Although both meant death, Xiao Jun did not want them to die painlessly. He wanted to show his ruthlessness so no one would dare provoke him.

When there were only five seconds left in the countdown, the dozen-odd people fell into chaos. Some charged at Xiao Jun, shouting to go down together. Some fled back to their rooms, choosing to jump down. Only one person jumped, likely scared out of his wits by Xiao Jun.

Like chopping melons, Xiao Jun cut down all who had charged at him. Behind him, Wan Qianya could not help but throw up at the sight.

Xiao Jun just stood silently watching, neither helping nor speaking. She would have to get used to all this by herself.