Chapter Seventeen: While My Neighbors Stockpile Grain, I Stockpile Guns

From above, the land within a kilometer stretched out like a chessboard, each enormous creature a vivid red piece clustered in vast formations. Amid the spaces between these pieces, a single black dot moved slowly—it was Sade, pushing him, weaving back and forth through the gaps.

“Forward!” Mu Chen commanded, even though the way ahead, fifty meters or so, was clearly blocked.

Sade harbored no thoughts of his own; he obeyed Mu Chen in everything.

On the wheelchair, Mu Chen gripped a stone.

Bang!

“Just keep moving forward.”

From the left, a tumorous flesh-mountain surged in from afar, pouncing upon the spot where master and servant had just been. As Sade pushed him closer into the attack range of another flesh-mountain, Mu Chen issued another order.

“Turn left!”

Beneath Mu Chen’s placid exterior, a trace of madness flickered. It was as if the region around him was a chessboard on the verge of checkmate, and he alone was the desperate player seeking survival.

Only when the swarm of flesh-mountains receded into the distance did a slight smile curl upon his lips—the predicament was broken.

He fixed his black, colorless eyes upon the nearest flesh-mountain, brimming with unspoken provocation.

For now, he intended to play with his prey.

Bang!

“Sade, keep moving!”

…

With master and servant in the lead and a solitary flesh-mountain in pursuit, five minutes of chase finally put them far from the main cluster. Sade was drenched in sweat.

“As a servant, you are truly excellent—you deserve a reward.”

Sade bowed respectfully behind the wheelchair.

Mu Chen checked his personal skills once more.

[Eyeball of ??? (Activated)]
[Special Effect 1: Consumes 2 points of mental energy. For five minutes, any target under your gaze loses 2% sanity per second.]
[Special Effect 2: ???]
[Special Effect 3: ???]
[Passive Effect: Sees through all illusions, immune to any hallucinogenic effects.]

“My turn now!”

Lifting his gaze, his hollow, lifeless eyes locked onto the isolated flesh-mountain. Fearing a desperate counterattack from the beast, he instructed Sade to be ready to retreat at any moment.

After more than ten seconds, the mass of flesh before him did not attack. Instead, it quivered in place, the colossal mound wobbling like an enormous gelatinous blob.

“Lowly creatures are just that—low. Not even the most basic instinct to retaliate. Intelligent species are the true masters of all things.”

After fifty seconds, the straggling flesh-mountain fell completely still, limp and sprawling across the ground.

[You have slain the Abyssal Lesser Species “Flesh-Mountain”]

Once the ethereal notification faded, Sade wheeled him back to the massive corpse.

“Obtained [Flesh-Mountain’s Meat] x15, transferred to backpack.”
“Obtained [Sinister Meat Sprout] x1, transferred to backpack.”
“Obtained [Murk Source] x5, transferred to backpack.”

Mu Chen paid no mind to the contents of his pack. Instead, he scrutinized his own body.

The internet-bred mediocrity insisted that stockpiling food was the first rule of the apocalypse. But did the hints from the system truly point him to the food storage facility? The fertilizer plant five kilometers from the depot was already marked on the map!

Let the neighbors hoard food—I hoard guns. The neighbors become my granary. To think I let such pedestrian logic push me to hoard food first—utter foolishness.

Cultural output is the true path. Even if high-level weapons are out of reach, with saltpeter, sulfur, charcoal, and a touch of sugar, you can make a Tsar Bomba. Is this basic knowledge really so rare?

“Hahaha… It always comes down to me… hic—”

But since the places aren’t far apart, why not take them all? Hoard both food and guns. Let the neighbors fret over their own fate.

As he plotted, his mind was interrupted by an inquiry from Mu Jiu’er through the family channel. He replied without hesitation:

“My beloved little sister, don’t worry. Your brother is better now than ever.”

Elsewhere—

Mu Jiu’er exhaled deeply upon seeing the reply, but the message’s tone sent a tremor through her heart.

“Has he become like before again…”

Lowering her head, her hands nervously twisted the hem of her shirt.

Mu Chen never spoke to her this way—except in those times, only then did he call her “beloved little sister.”

Mu Chen’s eyes remained hollow and unfathomable. Ignoring the red mist’s obstruction, he saw that, stripped of its crimson veil, the vast city was nothing but gloom.

…

The swarm of flesh-mountains had reassembled off the main route. Not long after, he and Sade managed to regroup with Mu Jiu’er and the others.

Upon reunion, Mu Jiu’er eyed Mu Chen warily.

“Why stare at me like that? Aren’t you happy your brother returned safe and sound?”

Mu Jiu’er said nothing.

Mu Chen turned to Yang Zhiying.

“You’ve stayed with us—what is it you seek?”

The abrupt question unsettled Yang Zhiying, but before she could respond, Mu Chen’s words pressed on.

“You joined us, yet never took the initiative to help. The ‘we’ you mentioned earlier made your intentions clear; I simply chose not to expose you. And everyone on Earth knows how to use the channel feature, yet you’ve never added us—that too is a signal.”

“So.”

“What are you plotting? Or, what do you hope to gain from staying with us?”

“My family is on their way here as well. I hope you can help us.”

“What’s going on? These three before me radiate such a cold, indifferent aura…” Mu Chen found it all the more perplexing.

“Hah—!”

Suddenly, a weak and painful gasp sounded.

“Jiu’er, check the map—how far is it now?”

Mu Chen’s face had gone pale, his bloodshot eyes warily watching the path ahead.

“Brother, have you come back to yourself? For a moment just now, it felt as if we were back in the orphanage…”

“Just now?” Mu Chen was briefly stunned, then replied, “I’m not sure what happened. It’s been years since I last relapsed, yet just now it happened again.

In the flesh-mountain swarm, I gained something, but my sanity dropped to a single point. When I finally found a way out, I realized I was back here.”

Recalling the preceding events, he was startled to find just how bold his actions had been—bolder than ever before.

The memories remained, but as he remembered the sequence of decisions he’d made, it was as if he were watching a film: the plot and scenes were there, but when the choices were made, his mind had been utterly blank.