Chapter Fourteen: Chaos

After arriving in Tong City, Gu Sha plunged into a relentless flurry of activity, his footsteps nearly covering every corner of the city—not just the urban district, but the outskirts as well. He was everywhere. He didn’t wander aimlessly out of boredom but was instead meticulously examining every location. The current Tong City was vastly different from the one in his memories of the future. He needed to familiarize himself with the environment so that, when the Source Orbs descended, he could seize opportunities as swiftly as possible. Missing out due to unfamiliarity would be a regret that cut to the bone.

This was precisely why Gu Sha had wanted to come to Tong City as soon as possible: to give himself more time to prepare.

The second Crimson Descent would occur over three consecutive days, always at the same hour. He needed to know Tong City’s terrain intimately and devise the best strategy to collect as many Source Orbs as possible. There was another problem with the Source Orbs appearing during the second Crimson Descent: they would only exist for twelve hours before vanishing on their own. Time would be especially tight, so he had to acquaint himself with the environment and calculate distances and other variables in advance, allowing him to choose the most effective plan.

And so, his explorations stretched on for nineteen days.

On the twentieth day, Gu Sha stopped roaming; the Crimson Descent would occur at noon the following day. After more than ten days of investigation, he finally devised a comprehensive plan, scheduling his actions for the three days after the Crimson Descent, with contingency measures in place for unforeseen disruptions.

On June 9th, Gu Sha appeared on the outskirts of the city.

He walked the streets, carrying his Tang sword. It was not until deep into the night that he finally arrived at his destination: a weathered, self-built apartment complex called Lijia Garden, constructed over twenty years ago. The buildings were so old they didn’t even have elevators, exuding the aura of a bygone era.

Gu Sha had come here because, on the first day of the Crimson Descent, four Source Orbs would fall in this area—more than anywhere else in Tong City. The first day was also his best chance to collect the greatest number of Orbs. From the second day onward, or even soon after the first Orbs appeared, the city would be swarmed by people from powerful factions, including armed groups, all vying for the Orbs. The competition would become fierce, making it much harder for Gu Sha to obtain them. But on the first day, armed with foresight and preparation, he could maximize his gains.

Thus, for his first stop in Tong City, he had chosen this place.

By the time Gu Sha arrived at Lijia Garden, it was already late. He had spent the day scouting the area, knowing that Source Orbs would fall in more than one place tomorrow. The aged, silent complex was cloaked in darkness, eerie and forbidding. The howls of zombies echoed everywhere, and the streets teemed with the aimless undead, as if the place had become a vision of hell from legend.

Still, the number of zombies was not overwhelming at night. Gu Sha moved slowly through the complex, sword in hand, dealing swiftly and quietly with the occasional zombie, causing no commotion.

As Gu Sha searched for a suitable place to rest, a man with a scar slashing across his face was watching him from a window in one of the buildings.

“Damn, that kid’s got some nerve, strutting around out there like he owns the place!” he muttered.

A woman beside him said timidly, “Big brother, c-could you give me something to eat? I haven’t eaten all day…”

She knelt on the ground, not daring to look up. Her long legs were covered in bruises, clear signs of recent beatings.

“Get up!” the scarred man barked, yanking her to her feet by the hair. She grimaced in pain but dared not make a sound.

“See that kid outside?” he said. “He’s got a big pack on his back—must be loaded with food. Lure him in here, and I’ll give you something to eat. Are you going or not?”

Faced with his savage glare, the woman dared not refuse. “I…I’ll go. But…if I get him in, can I rest for a day…?”

He grunted coldly. “Fine. Bring him in, and you get a day’s rest.”

“Okay… Okay!” she replied, scrambling to leave.

The scarred man watched her swaying silhouette disappear, a satisfied smile on his lips. Gazing out at the darkness beyond the window, he was filled with a twisted sense of gratification.

What a wonderful world this had become.

Before the apocalypse, he’d been just a laborer on a construction site, toiling from dawn till dusk at the hardest, dirtiest jobs for a pittance, constantly berated by supervisors and forced to swallow his anger with a servile smile. But a month ago, the end of the world had come, unleashing hordes of zombies. He’d been working just outside Lijia Garden, and with a few others, had fled into this building. Strong and fearless, he’d rallied his fellow workers, killed a few zombies, and gathered the surviving residents under his command.

As days passed, his attitude changed. Those who opposed him were eliminated. The first time he killed, it opened a new door for him. His old companions, recognizing his dominance, followed his lead. With several more killings, no one dared defy him; instead, they strove to please him.

Once, he was a nobody, the kind of poor man everyone looked down on. Now, those former managers and executives, once so high and mighty, groveled at his feet like dogs, giving him a satisfaction he had never known.

As for women, he took whoever he wanted, whenever and wherever he pleased. No one dared resist him. The woman just now—her name was Zhang Ya—wasn’t even the prettiest among the dozen or so women in the building, but he and his cronies delighted in tormenting her, devising new ways to humiliate her every day. She had to serve several men each night.

Why? Because she had once been the general manager at their construction site, looking down her nose at them, never giving them so much as a glance. The power to conquer her—this reversal of fortune—was intoxicating beyond measure.

The apocalypse was a paradise, a world where he could do as he pleased, a king in all but name.