Chapter Fifty-Eight: Fu Gaobin

Chengbi Lake lay in the southern region, situated in a city neighboring both Tiannan and NC. A wide river divided the two. Most of NC had already fallen, with only a handful of people surviving under military protection. Now, Yang Fan could guess that, in the end, no more than five hundred thousand would survive in NC.

One must know, the entire city of NC once boasted a population of four million, and only half a million would make it through in the end. What’s more, the future would bring even more devastating blows. In the blink of an eye, nine out of ten people on Earth would perish. It was more terrifying than any plague, more dreadful than the black blood disease.

It wasn’t the disasters of the apocalypse that were the most terrifying, nor the encroachment of the undead—which could, over time, be resisted. No, the most frightening thing was the darkness in human nature. On a narrow path leading to Chengbi Lake, snow still fell, piling up to Yang Fan’s ankles. Fortunately, he wore heavy clothing, and his strength was thirty times that of an ordinary person, so the cold did not touch him. Otherwise, in this harsh weather, he wouldn’t even know how to move.

As he trudged forward, suddenly a bus approached from behind. Its speed was neither fast nor slow, but the vehicle was built to handle icy roads, and the moderate pace helped it stay in motion. Through the windows of the red bus, Yang Fan could see seven or eight passengers without even needing to look closely.

The talent of True Eagle Eye was not to be taken lightly.

Wrapped in his cloak, Yang Fan had no desire to converse with others, so he paid the bus no mind, simply continuing on his way. But when the bus pulled up ahead of him, it came to a sudden halt with a screech. Yang Fan also stopped, puzzled—why had they stopped? Could they be after him?

But as the bus door opened and a figure stepped out, Yang Fan dismissed this thought.

“Yang Fan... you idiot, it really is you!” A familiar voice called out. The figure was clad in white, and Yang Fan was instantly taken aback.

“Fu Gaobin, it’s you…”

In front of him stood a man of about one meter seventy-five, dressed in white, a wide grin on his face. He held an iron spear, his hair a tangled mess, and blood still glistened at the tip of his weapon, yet his spirits were unbroken as he strode toward Yang Fan.

“You idiot, you’re still alive! Hahaha… I was just thinking that if you guys died, what would I do? Our plan to conquer the beauties of NC would be ruined!” Fu Gaobin was overjoyed—he had found his old friend from junior high, and Yang Fan, too, was both happy and ashamed. When the apocalypse broke out, he had not even thought to look for his best friend.

Fu Gaobin, in contrast, had been worrying about him all along. Fu Gaobin was one of Yang Fan’s few close friends from junior high; their bond was strong. Even when Yang Fan had mustered the courage to pursue Bai Su, it was Fu Gaobin who had helped him. Their friendship had not faded during high school; in fact, it had only grown deeper. In his previous life, Yang Fan had been on the run and never saw Fu Gaobin again.

He never expected that now, in this place, they would meet again. Yang Fan was filled with joy—and, to his mild surprise, Fu Gaobin had also become an inheritor of an apocalypse system.

“Hey, are you coming or not? If you’re not, stay here!” Before they could fully enjoy their reunion, a young man poked his head out from the bus, shouting at Fu Gaobin and Yang Fan. The shout wiped the smile off Fu Gaobin’s face, and he quickly pulled Yang Fan toward the bus and spoke in a hushed voice.

“Brother Sun, don’t get angry, don’t get angry. This is my brother, you see…” Fu Gaobin pleaded, trying to get Yang Fan a seat on the bus. The so-called Brother Sun was only a few years older, but his power surpassed the average person’s. With the Eyes of the Undead, Yang Fan could see this man was a level 3 professional, though his attributes were low—he’d probably only taken a level 2 potion.

Fu Gaobin himself was level 2, having taken a level 1 potion.

Brother Sun wore blue jeans and a cotton coat, his face square and stern. He looked Yang Fan up and down and sneered. “Fu Gaobin, don’t think that just because you’re special, you get to make all the decisions. You’re not the only special one on this bus. This guy is too weak. He’s not coming. Get up here, stop wasting time! You’re no saint—no need to rescue every man you see. If it were a woman, fine, but a grown man? Move, move, quick!”

“This… this is my best friend. If he’s not allowed on, I’m not going either.” Fu Gaobin looked at Brother Sun, distressed. But seeing the man’s cold expression, he knew it was hopeless. In the end, he spat out his words with all the resolve he could muster.

His words warmed Yang Fan’s heart and filled him with guilt—he hadn’t expected anyone to care about him… That was all Yang Fan could think.

“Go on, go on, don’t think you’re anything special. Leave if you want, no one’s stopping you,” Brother Sun sneered, slamming the door shut. The bus immediately started up. Fu Gaobin hadn’t expected them to actually abandon him; his face fell as he started to protest, but the bus had already driven off, disappearing down the road.

...

The cold wind howled. Though wrapped in layers, Fu Gaobin still shivered, the chill reaching his heart. He had seen not only the undead but also how the berserk demon rats and brutal demon dogs devoured humans. The fear inside him seemed endless.

The wind blew on. The trees lining the path stood dead and barren. Neither Fu Gaobin nor Yang Fan spoke. After a long silence, Fu Gaobin clapped Yang Fan on the shoulder and said, “Don’t worry, as long as I’m here, you don’t need to be afraid. But let me warn you first—prepare yourself. Next, we need to find Huang Haonan, Zhang Peng, Huang Jian, and Liu Hongbin, understand?”

Fu Gaobin, still trembling, then looked at him seriously.

“Mm, I understand.” Yang Fan had no wish to reveal his true strength—not because he didn’t trust Fu Gaobin, but simply to have a little fun at his friend’s expense.

“You’ve seen the undead before, right? I can tell you now—the whole world has turned out like this. It’s just like in a biopocalypse movie. They never rest, and the only way to kill them is to destroy the head. They’re very strong—if they grab you, you’re finished. Right now, we can barely handle a few, but don’t let your guard down. There are giant rats, even more terrifying than the undead. If we encounter them, we have to run, got it?”

Fu Gaobin briefly explained the current situation. Yang Fan nodded, then pulled a berserk demon rat’s corpse from his backpack—its body the size of a car—and tossed it in front of them. Yang Fan pointed at it. “I saw a few dead things like this on the road. Is this what you meant?”

Fu Gaobin’s jaw dropped at the sight. He had watched a man far stronger than himself be crushed to death by a single swipe from one of these monsters. All he felt was terror; he never thought he’d actually see a corpse…

“Put it away, put it away,” Fu Gaobin stammered, shivering at the sight.

Yang Fan’s intent wasn’t to show off, but to prepare a source of food for later, so he took it out now to avoid having to explain later.

Once Yang Fan put it away, Fu Gaobin huddled closer. “Let’s go. Huang Haonan and those idiots are in Tiannan. Let’s head over.”

“All right,” Yang Fan agreed readily—he had been planning to go to Tiannan anyway.

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(A quick request for recommendations! Good news—we’ve made it into the top 11. The stats are still locked, but my esteemed editor says they’ll be unlocked after the holiday. That’s when we’ll all need to work hard! Special thanks to Legend of the Heavens, ZXCA1000, and Saint Light Is Hoodwinking You for their generous tips with Qidian coins.)