Solo Cultivation in The Apocalypse

He never woke up after that fight in the ring the noon, and when he did, he was greeted by his father.

Onogi had been lying on the bed for the past twelve hours. If you are wondering about the message– he had set a timer for it, in case Hitori does not come to his fort.

But Hitori did and knocked him pretty good. So Onogi never got a chance to delete the message. It was sent to Hitori, but Onogi was unaware of it.

He grunted in his bed and when he tried to get up, his neck gave up and he shrieked. They reported his neck broken.

"Shut your trap," said his father standing by his side. He had black hair and green eyes– unlike his son. And he was far more muscular than his son.

Onogi closed his eyes the moment he heard his father. He knew shit was going to happen. And now that he was on the bed, the shit was going to hurt more than normal.

Although he closed his eyes, he could not move them to the other side due to the pain in his neck. How long could he keep his eyes closed after all?

"So bastard," his father, Onogi Kamino, said, "before we begin talking about the main topic, you must know your neck is broken and you have an injury in your shoulder. So make sure you don't try to bring another girl to the party– or her boyfriend will kill you for sure."

"Yeah, yeah," Onogi muttered under his breath.

Kamino gave him a pissed look. He pulled his brows together and took his hands out of his pants pockets. "Now getting to the main topic…" he said as he walked towards Onogi's feet, then went to the other side, "who was she?"

He did not want to answer, so he kept quiet and pulled his undamaged arm over his forehead. Kamino went to his legs and sat down by the bed's corner.

"And her boyfriend– Saibai Hitori."

Onogi removed his arm and opened his eyes. "You already found out about—" Then he grunted in pain when his father crushed his shin bone with his elbow.

"Of course. The first thing I need to do as soon as I come from a long expedition is clear your shit." He applied even more pressure on Onogi's shin.

Onogi stretched his arms– his right shoulder cracked– he could not reach Kamino's elbow. And he knew better than trying to move his leg.

"I see you have not got over with your dirty party. I tell you, son," he said, "the next time you bring a girl into my house, I am sure I will torture you before you can torture her– or her boyfriend– or her relatives."

Onogi broke out into a scream. The guards outside his room shuddered, they closed their eyes and tried to ignore their master's screams.

Just when his shin was on the verge of snapping into two, Kamino lifted his elbow and jumped to his feet.

He pulled down his coat and adjusted his tie. Then looked down at Onogi struggling with pain.

"I am sorry for Erabu's loss. But in a way, it was his fault. And he got what he fucking deserved. Bringing girls, killing innocents, then using money to hide the truths… of course, you will die a miserable death like that with so many sins."

"Don't…" Onogi muttered, still trying to reach his shin, "talk about him like that… show some—"

Kamino walked close to him and stood right beside his ear, staring down at him. "What?"

"Show some fucking respect, you old man."

Kamino grabbed Onogi's neck– he could not even scream– he only struggled to get out. "If hearing brutal facts hurts your fragile heart, you should have thought about it before committing the sins. No wonder even God didn't show misery on you two."

He felt something crack in his hands, it was a bone from Onogi's throat, so he released his grip. Onogi coughed as he grabbed his throat with his left hand.

Kamino glared at him and walked to the door. Then he glared at Onogi for the last time. "If it is about respect, then you know, give and take," he said and left the room.

Onogi threw his head into the pillow and stared at the ceiling. The ceiling lights, the AC duct's cold air, and the cream-colored ceiling. Nothing new.

The next moment he heard a knock on the door. He sighed and pulled his head down. He saw the door after looking past the cover over his stomach.

"Come in," he said and intended it to be loud enough to be heard by whoever was outside– surely not his father, he would have charged inside without a knock– but it came like a rat's squeak.

How was he supposed to gather the energy required to shout? Thanks to his abusive father even his throat hurt now, no way he could shout. He looked on his side and saw a glass of water– damn he missed his drink.

The problem was that the glass was on his right side and if he dared to move his right hand to the glass– oh, dear god.

The person outside knocked again. Onogi clicked his tongue– it hurt– and he said, "Come in, damn it!" His voice came deeper than before, but still like an early teenager.

Onogi looked around for something he could use to give them a sign. He saw tables on the side of his bed. One had a clock and the other had a glass of water.

He could kick the clock, but it was the last memory of his mother. She gifted him the clock for his birthday the same day she became food to the monsters.

He loved her. More than his abusive, shitty old man did. He was a teen back then– somewhere around thirteen or early fourteen– he could not remember

That was the time when he became friends with Kuzu and then pulled that orphan into the business.

He moved his head to the center. No way I am pushing that clock down the table, it would not even make enough noise.

He thought that the person would enter the room if he stays quiet for a while, but when the next knock came way too late, he feared the person might leave.

He has been arrogant to his men, they would not dare to enter his room without his permission, especially if he was sleeping.

"Come on, I am not sleeping, just burst inside like that old bastard!"

Onogi bit his lip. Now he was sure the person had left, but he needed meds, painkillers, and other drugs to calm his pain.

He took a deep breath in, he knew this would hurt, he knew it was going to hurt, and then he shouted, "Come in!"

His throat vibrated like a string cord and he felt the pain. He grabbed his throat and started coughing.

Thankfully, the door opened and a doctor carrying a suitcase rushed to Onogi. He laid the suitcase on the table and took some meds out.

He grabbed the water glass and brought it to Onogi's mouth. But he raised his hand and told Doc to wait.

When he was finished coughing, he looked into Doc's eyes, and said, "Doc… the next time you knock three times and I don't answer… barge in. I don't care, just come in. Do you understand?"

Doc had understood what he had said in his high-pitched voice.