Back to the Apocalypse

translator: xiin

editors: apricot & juurensha

On the sixth day, news came from the base closest to them that another base had been attacked by zombies 50 kilometers away from K City. The refugees who had escaped said that the day had been normal at first. When the zombies suddenly besieged the city at night, they were organized and had completely blocked the base. The survivors had escaped death simply because they’d been out on missions. Strangely, the zombies seemed to pop up suddenly, and there had been no trace of them before the siege.

Several nearby bases fell into a state of panic. They sent telegrams to the K City Base, indicating that they wanted to work together to deal with the zombies. On the same day, Huang Mao, the head of K City Base, came to Xiao Sa and asked him if he had any plans.

Huang Mao, nicknamed Mayor Huang, was originally the owner of a food factory in K City. After the outbreak of the apocalypse, he had developed earth powers. He also had food in his factory, and after the government abandoned K City, he led people in and took over. Since then, he has styled himself as mayor. Despite their characters being mediocre, his sons had their own strengths, having built up the largest mercenary corps in K City Base.

Bai Jing and Xiao Sa were very clear that Huang Mao had come over to feel out the situation. Although his questions were pleasant, in fact, he was trying to probe out the exact time of their departure.

Ever since Wu Guoan brought Li Xun to join him, Xiao Sa had handed over the matter of recruiting and integrating the team to him, with Xu Feng assisting from the side. The two of them had spent a long time in K City Base and knew who could be used and who couldn’t be. Their planning was comprehensive, but with this move, they would inevitably touch on various people’s interests. As the head of the base, Huang Mao naturally bore the brunt of it.

If they were bringing everyone along with them, all parties would be satisfied, and everyone would obviously be happy, but Xiao Sa and Bai Jing were clearly only bringing useful people. These people were the leading powers and strength of the base, and there was no way they would be allowed to leave smoothly. Now, at a time when everyone was stirred up into a panic, Bai Jing was certain that if he said they were leaving now, not only would they end up facing zombies, but all the forces in K City Base would also burst out in protest.

“We plan to go via Yuxian.” There was no need to discuss it at all. Xiao Sa directly made the decision.

Huang Mao looked at him suspiciously. He had had so much to say before, but after listening to Xiao Sa’s words, he was left speechless. Yuxian was the place where the zombie wave had broken out the night before yesterday, and it had taken an entire day and night for news to reach K City. Was Xiao Sa a fool? Sending themselves to death in Yuxian? Huang Mao’s expression turned cold, “Mister Xiao, don’t joke around. Young Master Bai’s safety shouldn’t be taken lightly."

Xiao Sa said solemnly, “I’m not joking around. I really intend to go to Yuxian. That place has just encountered a zombie siege, and I want to go and take a look at the situation so that we can prepare for the future. We can also look for any survivors while we’re there. It’s good if we can save even one more person."

Huang Mao didn’t believe a word of his polished and grand speech, choking on his anger. He merely thought that it was Xiao Sa’s excuse so that they could leave smoothly and stared at him for a while before threatening, "Mister Xiao, please don’t talk big. Yuxian isn’t somewhere for people to visit. If you want to leave, I have no way to stop you, but if you’re willing to bring a few of my children along, I can take care of the rest."

To put it politely, Huang Mao’s children were disappointing. They had a mercenary group in their hands and ran rampant through K City Base, but nobody could control them. Xiao Sa sighed and didn’t directly refuse. Huang Mao had already spoken so bluntly, and at the end of the day, he was still the leader of K City Base. If they really openly disagreed, it would make things difficult for both sides. He just hesitated for a while, then said rather awkwardly, "Mayor Huang, if you feel assured leaving them to us, we have no problem with it. However, this trip to Yuxian will be dangerous, and your sons need to be psychologically prepared."

Huang Mao’s expression sank, and he clearly looked very unhappy. “Is Mister Xiao really going to Yuxian?”

Xiao Sa nodded, “Of course, as a member of this country, we have an obligation to help the country where possible. It is worth exploring why the zombies would suddenly appear and where they usually hide. Not to mention, there are also so many bases nearby; how can I only care about myself? I believe Little Jing’s thoughts are certainly the same as mine."

Bai Jing was laughing madly in his heart, but it wasn’t obvious on his face at all. He merely nodded his head cautiously and looked righteous.

Huang Mao’s expression turned extremely ugly, and a fierce light flashed through his eyes. He stared at Xiao Sa grimly for a moment, then turned his head to look at Bai Jing, "Does Young Master Bai agree? Yuxian is now a city of zombies. If you aren’t careful when you go, you’ll only be able to enter but not depart. If you want to go to the Capital, I can send escorts. There’s no need to chase after danger."

Bai Jing raised his eyebrows and acted as though he hadn’t heard the promise in his words. He waved his hand indifferently, “What is there to be afraid of? With so many followers, why should we be worried about a few zombies? How useless. If I were you, I’d organize the people from the base and go over to beat them up."

Huang Mao was stunned. At this moment, he really didn’t know what to say. He had told Bai Jing that the zombies were dangerous, but looking at his confident expression and his contemptuous attitude, Huang Mao was certain that he was simply moving his lips and tongue in vain.

Bai Jing became more and more vigorous as he spoke, as though he had discovered a new continent. His eyes were bright and shining, and the gaze he used to look at Huang Mao was filled with trust. “Mayor Huang, K City Base will be left to you. I think this method is feasible. We can organize everyone together. With more people, we’ll be more powerful. Yuxian is such a small place, and even if it’s become a city of zombies, they’re probably almost dispersed by now. We can sweep our way over from K City, and it shouldn’t be a problem to find the place where the zombies are hiding. After that, we can wipe it all out in one stroke. Then, not only will we have made great achievements, K City Base will be safe. My father will definitely praise us."

Huang Mao was gloomy and depressed. He really suspected that Bai Jing was pretending, but when he linked Bai Jing’s words with his recent deeds and attitude in K City Base over the past few days, he couldn’t help but come to the conclusion that Bai Jing was a young man who knew nothing about the world, found everything to be beneath him, and had been spoilt rotten by his family! He could even say such ridiculous remarks, it was as though he really believed that the zombies were as good as dead...

When Bai Jing saw that his expression wasn’t good, he tried even harder to persuade him and looked at him with a disapproving gaze. "Mayor Huang, as the leader of the base, how could you be so indecisive and timid? The residents of K City are waiting for you to rescue them. You should call on the people of this city, and we can fight our way over together. With your help, we’ll have an even better chance of winning..."

Huang Mao didn’t even say goodbye and simply got up and left in a hurry without waiting for Bai Jing to finish his speech. He was afraid that if he continued to listen, he might really cough up blood!

Following the sound of the door closing, and Huang Mao running away as though his butt was on fire, Bai Jing laughed loudly inside the room, turning almost breathless with his laughter, "Look at him, I’m dying of laughter. It was so fun watching his expression..."

Xiao Sa gave Bai Jing an amused glance and shook his head helplessly, “You’re just being mischievous!"

Bai Jing raised his chin arrogantly, "In that case, were you happy while watching the show?"

Xiao Sa only laughed and said nothing. He didn’t continue the topic and asked instead, "Do you have any opinions about my decision to go to Yuxian at this time?"

Bai Jing harrumphed and rolled his eyes at him, "If you want to go, we’ll go. Although the road going through Yuxian to reach the Capital is a bit longer, it allows us to circumvent the area around K City Base and avoid the stares from those flies and mosquitoes."

Xiao Sa sighed and found that his Little Jing hadn’t heard the key points at all. He cautioned seriously, “Yuxian is dangerous. If you decide that we shouldn’t go, we can think of another way to depart."

Bai Jing shook his head and said, “No need. I believe that you decided on this after careful consideration. Besides, going to Yuxian has its own advantages. I don’t believe that you have nothing planned after reading Zhou Ji’s telegram."

Xiao Sa embraced Bai Jing and sat him down on his lap before letting out a sigh of satisfaction, burying his head against Bai Jing’s neck and smelling his faint fragrance. He chuckled quietly, "Little Jing still knows me best."

Bai Jing did not speak and only sent Xiao Sa a look that clearly said ’of course’. That afternoon, Xiao Sa announced to the team that they would be leaving for Yuxian early tomorrow morning.

The people at the bottom rung of the group immediately started to kick up a fuss. What kind of place was Yuxian? It was somewhere that had just been through a zombie siege...

Wu Guoan was anxious and soon came up to find them. Although he didn’t understand why Brother Sa chose to go to Yuxian, he couldn’t help but be worried when he saw how the newly formed group’s morale was scattering.

Xiao Sa looked at him deeply and didn’t explain any further. He only spoke a single, indifferent sentence, “If you don’t want to go to Yuxian, you can stay.”

Wu Guoan was in a trance for a moment and felt a little heartbroken. He was the one who had pulled together the team, and although it had only been established for a short time, every bit of it was due to his painstaking efforts. How could Brother Sa give it up just like that? What about his hard work these past few days?

Wu Guoan’s head drooped, and he left as though he’d lost his soul. However, his sadness was one thing, and he didn’t neglect any of his duties. That night, he registered everything that needed to be registered, packed up what needed to be packed up. He watched as people left one by one, and his face was so filled with sadness and distress that he was just one step short of genuinely crying.

Compared to Wu Guoan’s sadness, Xu Feng fared much better. He had always been coarse and unfazed. Whatever Brother Sa said was law, and he didn’t feel any pressure at all. Li Ran was the same, and although he was rather pale, he looked calm as he blindly believed that Brother Sa would never lead them into impossibly dangerous situations. He even tirelessly tried to comfort his teammates.

“Don’t be afraid. Since Brother Sa said that he wants to go to Yuxian, he must have some plan. Last year, before the apocalypse, Brother Sa told us to build apartments, and when he left N City, he also told us to choose. Back then, I was worried for my parents and wasn’t able to follow Brother Sa and leave together. This time, I won’t miss the opportunity again." Xu Feng was nostalgic as he spoke.

Li Ran also nodded his head. “Exactly. Uncle Liu, Sister Min, and Brother Wei, you guys shouldn’t worry about it. Brother Sa is really powerful, and Bai Jing is also really strong. Absolutely nothing will happen to us if we follow them."

Faced with these two blind believers in Xiao Sa, what could the others say? Just a few words, go all out...

Huang Mao was really angry when he left Xiao Sa’s place. He was nursing a stomach full of anger and had originally wanted to publicize it everywhere. Since Xiao Sa had now said that they were going to Yuxian, regardless of whether it was true or not, he planned to make sure it became fact. As a result, even before he could act, the base began to bubble with activity. Not only had Xiao Sa began to mobilise the entire group, he also planned to start their journey tomorrow.

Huang Mao began to feel uncertain and felt as though he had punched cotton. Was Xiao Sa really going to take Young Master Bai to Yuxian? That was now the land of death! In Huang Mao’s mind, Bai Jing was already on the level of a fool, and Xiao Sa was the bad man who had abducted an ignorant young man.

All the factions of K City Base gathered together with their individual doubts and suspicions. There were those who believed, and those who didn’t. After all, they had heard that many people had withdrawn from Xiao Sa’s group....

This night was doomed to be a sleepless one!

i love troll-Bai Jing

also, in reference to you guys calling Bai Jing a Queen (with the capital Q) in the comments, juu and i had this conversation:

juu: QUEEN BAI JING! XS will get him a crown and a fluffy white cape

xiin: omgggg i can totally see that, he’s gonna do the boa hancock thing where he tilts super far back just to look down his nose at someone

juu: yesssssssss!