Back to the Apocalypse

translator: xiin

editors: apricot & juurensha

Bai Jing and Xiao Sa left silently without drawing any attention to themselves. It wasn’t that they didn’t want to help or felt no sympathy when faced with this group of miserable soldiers, but they knew better. In the current world, it was pointless to discuss whether or not people were still alive in their hometown. Based solely on the current situation, even if they had the heart to care, they were afraid that it would be useless. They might miss their hometown or yearn for their relatives, but everything that had been lost would never return.

Men didn’t cry lightly, but they had reached the point of broken-hearted despair!

Not far away, the sounds of shouting and killing shook the sky. The crows seemed to be everywhere as they spread gradually through the sky. Bai Jing could easily tell that these mutant birds were different from zombie birds; they were more aware, flew faster, and their sharp teeth glinted with a cold light that was even more obvious when contrasted against their inky black feathers.

“Don’t think about it too much.” Xiao Sa spoke indifferently. His tone was not meant to be comforting. It was an expressionless, flat statement.

Bai Jing laughed at himself. He understood very clearly what Xiao Sa meant. In fact, he was really making a fuss about nothing. If he didn’t have his space or his powers, he would probably have been the same as in his previous life, where he didn’t even have enough to eat. At that time, he probably wouldn’t be in the mood to concern himself over the lives or deaths of other people. Still, he couldn’t understand; in his past life, mass mutant animal attacks had only taken place two years from now. How had this event moved ahead by so much in this life? Could it be due to the butterfly effect from his rebirth?

When his thoughts reached this point, he couldn’t help but think about the meteorite in his space, as well as all sorts of other changes that had occurred after his rebirth, trying to find any clues that might explain these unreasonable changes.

He didn’t have time to think too much. Yan Gang had already brought his people with him and retreated to the Falling Wind Canyon. Bai Jing looked on from far away, and there was no sadness or joy in his heart. Should he call it a comedy of errors, or should he ridicule Yan Gang for suffering from a small oversight after putting in the most careful consideration? There was a road for him that led up to heaven, but he just had to break his way into hell; the place that Yan Gang had retreated to was precisely where Zhang Qiucheng had laid his traps.

Xiao Sa’s face was expressionless as he brought out a black device from his chest. His finger rested on it, then accurately moved to the red button. His finger moved gently, pressing down…

At that moment, Bai Jing closed his eyes and listened to the explosion in the distance. He was very clear on how many innocent lives had been sacrificed. In fact, he really wasn’t ruthless enough. He had originally thought that after going through his previous life, his heart had already frozen and become as cold as steel, but it still hurt unbearably when he saw this scene of wailing and despair. Compared to human beings, zombies were still their biggest enemy. Perhaps, this was the real human grief; wherever there were people, there would be conflict. He could be wise and unemotional when it came to making decisions for small matters, but when it came to large scale affairs that involved thousands of people, Bai Jing discovered that his awareness was still not deep enough.

Upon hearing the noise and screams in the distance, Xiao Sa pulled Bai Jing with him as they quickly departed. This was the law of the jungle where only the fittest survived. He didn’t feel any pity that the people who had followed Yan Gang were dead. Perhaps this army would be able to survive much longer now that they had lost their leader. At the very least, they would not be sacrificed in vain just to shield certain people in power.

People would soon begin to issue orders as they all tried to fight for power and profit and assume command over this now leaderless army. However, this was none of their business. Nobody discovered that the army had once had an extra two people, nor did anyone discover how they disappeared. Even if they had some impression of those two, they would only think that they had been attacked by the mutant animals and died early on in the battle – it was all very logical.

Bai Jing was dazed and found it hard to recover. He had originally thought that it would be difficult to accomplish their task, but unexpectedly, it had been completed so easily. They did not go forth to check whether or not Yan Gang had died – the explosion had covered a large area, rubble from the Falling Wind Canyon had collapsed downwards, and the ground below had been smashed flat. Even if anyone was left alive, they were probably on their last breath. The crow attack was still ongoing, and Bai Jing believed that many people would be willing to step on a burdensome leader who had no one to protect him in order to rise up and take over their position. Even if Yan Gang was still breathing, he wouldn’t remain that way for long.

The army fled in all directions and disrupted the crows’ attack path. The only people still struggling to fight were the vanguard troops at the front. It wasn’t that they didn’t want to leave, but that it was already too late. The cries of the crows echoed throughout the canyon like the wailing of hungry ghosts as they fiercely devoured the lives around them. Looking at the countless dead and wounded, Bai Jing only later realized that this mutant animal attack had damaged half of the army. The crows had indeed acted premeditatedly. Zhang Qiucheng’s luck lay in the fact that his group was relatively small. Little shrimp didn’t taste as good as big fish, and the mutant animals had also learned how to beat the grass to frighten the snakes. Fortunately, they weren’t zombies.

As they walked through the mountains, Bai Jing desperately refused to let himself think about the situation they had left behind. After he was reborn, he had decided that other than Xiao Sa, nothing else was important. In two years, the population of the country would decrease to 200 million. After three years, it would be even less, and who knew if human beings as a species would be able to survive or not after five or ten years? In any case, they were all going to die, and there was really no need for him to feel bad about it. Only, personally witnessing the deaths of human beings had a much greater impact than simply hearing the data.

“Be careful.” Xiao Sa rushed towards Bai Jing. They rolled on the ground several times to avoid the mutant plants in the woods that shot dense branches towards them from all directions.

Bai Jing climbed up quickly and brought out his machete, ruthlessly cutting at a sugarcane branch. The branch seemed able to think as it dodged flexibly. Xiao Sa’s face was pale as he erected a metal barrier, unhesitatingly protecting Bai Jing behind him.

The dense branches formed a net that covered the skies and the earth as innumerable tentacles attacked from below, hitting at them from all directions and making it impossible to resist. This was the biggest crisis the two of them had faced ever since the start of the apocalypse, and for the first time, Xiao Sa discovered how insignificant, how powerless human beings were in front of nature.

Bai Jing had already received several scratches on his body.Seeing that the situation was not good, he was just debating on waiting for the best opportunity to bring Xiao Sa with him into the space when suddenly, a chill ran up his spine. Bai Jing’s body stiffened, and the hand that was brandishing the machete stilled. His body seemed to be locked in place by something, and he felt as though he would face extinction as long as he made the slightest movement.

It was just for a moment, but during the time that Bai Jing froze, several branches had come up to attack Bai Jing from behind. Xiao Sa was both anxious and angry as he turned around to protect Bai Jing and chopped down the branches with the axe in his hand. But in doing so, Xiao Sa had temporarily stopped defending his own back.

“No—” Bai Jing screamed as a branch suddenly attacked Xiao Sa and stabbed through his chest from behind. Blood poured out and dripped onto the ground, soaking the soil and vanishing in the blink of an eye.

“Pooh!” Xiao Sa grunted and spat out a mouthful of blood. His face remained unchanged and firm as his movements continued, “I’m fine, don’t go into a daze.”

Bai Jing calmed down and pointed to a spot not far from them. “Let’s head there.” Wherever they entered the space would be where they emerged when they left. If they escaped into the space here, they would still be faced with the mutated sugarcane. They would only gain a chance at life if they went to an open area.

Xiao Sa nodded and did not ask why. Just as they were about to retreat, a sense of foreboding suddenly rose up from the bottom of their hearts. Their body tensed unconsciously as a bloodcurdling feeling rose up, and a huge sense of crisis enveloped them…

“Hisssss!” A thick, giant snake smashed through the trees, hissing from its vermillion red mouth as it locked its narrow pupils on its prey. Upon seeing that Xiao Sa had noticed it, it didn’t even hesitate for a moment before flashing close as quick as lightning and sweeping its tail over.

Caught off guard, Xiao Sa was knocked down by the snake’s tail. Bai Jing hurriedly brandished his blade and slashed viciously at the huge snake’s tail.

“Ding!” A crisp noise rang out as the steel blade collided with the snake’s scales and produced sparks.

Although it wasn’t harmed, the giant snake seemed to have been irritated by Bai Jing. The snake’s head turned as it switched targets, its mouth stretching open wide as it instantly dove in to attack Bai Jing.

There was the snake up ahead, and the mutant sugarcane behind them. Xiao Sa’s heart was tense as dozens of flying knives flew out towards the giant snake’s eyes while Bai Jing replaced his blade with a submachine gun.

“Ding! Ding! Ding!” A flying knife struck true and was followed by a splash of red. Regardless of what it was, the eyes were always the most vulnerable part of the body. The giant snake felt pain, and its body coiled up in anger.

Bai Jing’s thoughts raced as he recalled how he had dealt with mutant snakes in his previous life. He looked at the huge snake’s strong body, and his eyes suddenly lit up. “The white scales seven inches down are its fatal point.”

As soon as he spoke, Xiao Sa launched a sudden attack when he saw the chance for victory. Without any warning, the snake twisted its body, spraying black liquid from its mouth as it twitched twice and finally toppled over.

Bai Jing was in a panic as he hurriedly looked over at Xiao Sa, only to see that his skin was gradually darkening, and his face was twisted from pain. Even so, he continued fighting against the incoming branches, his voice weak and his breathing harsh as though gasping out his last words, “Little Jing, hurry up and flee… I can’t hold on for long…”

“We’ll be alright!” Bai Jing snarled. His once clear and melodious voice had turned sharp and harsh. He hugged Xiao Sa to him tightly and flashed into his space. He had never regretted anything as much as he did now. He had forgotten that the snake would also have a final trump card; the poison had been the huge snake’s life, and he had forgotten that the snake could also use it to ensure that they perished together.

Xiao Sa’s gaze was blurred, and his thoughts were vague and dim. Bai Jing didn’t know when it had started, but his eyes had already been filled with tears for a while now. He could only beg for the heavens to look favourably upon them and pray that the spring water would be able to help Xiao Sa. If something were to happen to Xiao Sa… Bai Jing only realized at this moment that Xiao Sa was his whole world. His compassion and conscience were all based on the premise of Xiao Sa’s safety. If this world no longer had Xiao Sa, he might even choose to destroy the world. So what if he dragged the entire planet to hell along with him?

He had countless regrets and blamed himself for worrying too much. Why did he have to insist on choosing a safe place to enter the space? If they had just come in earlier, Xiao Sa would not have been injured trying to save him, let alone encounter the giant snake’s attack.

Pressing down on the anger in his heart, Bai Jing carefully lowered Xiao Sa into the spring water. When he saw that Xiao Sa’s breathing gradually smoothed out, his heart finally relaxed a little. Just now, his thoughts had also been confused by his worries.

He fiercely wiped away his tears as endless amounts of rage exuded from his body. He, Bai Jing, had always been someone who sought revenge for the smallest grievance. They had suffered such a big loss today, and Xiao Sa had even gotten hurt. That damned forest, damned giant snake. No matter what, he couldn’t take this lying down.

Bai Jing didn’t even bother dressing his own wounds before going out of his space. The giant snake’s body was still lying on the ground, and the sugarcane in the forest foolishly began to move again when it noticed his arrival.

Bai Jing sneered, his cold gaze carrying traces of destructive intent. He first yanked out the giant snake’s crystal nucleus, then, before the sugarcane could even act, Bai Jing brought out several barrels of gasoline from his space and opened them up, kicking them in all directions and letting them roll into the woods, spilling out gasoline as they went.

After casually lighting a fire, Bai Jing flashed back into his space. He had always believed that if others did not offend him, he would not go and make trouble for others. But if they offended him, then he would destroy their entire family! Even if it was a forest, he would still do the same. Since they touched his reverse scale, then he would make sure to eradicate even their roots! The giant snake that was already dead had gotten off easy!

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