Back to the Apocalypse

translator: xiin

editors: juurensha & Macabre

“We’re only responsible for the assassination.” Xiao Sa understood very well that their relationship with Zhang Qiucheng was based entirely on their mutual interests. Yan Gang’s life or death was the key to their success or failure as well as the key motivator for Zhang Qiucheng’s defection.

“Of course. General Xiao, please rest assured that I will deal with the rest as long as Yan Gang is out of the picture.”

“Hmph!” Bai Jing disdained him, raised his chin slightly, and looked down on Zhang Qiucheng whose words indicated that he was clearly just waiting to reap the benefits in the aftermath.

Xiao Sa laughed helplessly. Bai Jing’s pettiness was hopeless. In fact, they had also planned to leave after the assassination, and although Zhan Qiucheng would be taking advantage of the situation, in fact, they were all getting what they wanted, and it would also reduce the amount of trouble they had to face.

Zhang Qiucheng’s smile remained unchanged as he ignored Bai Jing’s ugly expression. He understood very clearly that this Young Master found him displeasing to the eyes!

While the few of them continued discussing, Zhang Qiucheng once again went over his arrangements and the details of the ambush. Not long after, early in the afternoon, the sound of gunshots rang out in the distance, followed by tragic, unwilling, and resentful screams that echoed through the mountains and woods. It caused the birds to chaotically fly up from their perches and was quickly followed by a burst of explosions…

Bai Jing’s heart chilled. He understood in his heart that Zhang Qiucheng’s plan had worked; the 200 plus people who had left had no way to survive. They were ordinary people, some of whom were injured. Soldiers were not rulers. They also had blood, flesh, and tears, and although they could easily raise their hand to kill zombies, when it came to people, even if they were obeying orders, it would leave cracks in their hearts. Perhaps they had already killed quite a few people during their journey, and in fact, Zhang Qiucheng had sent this group of ordinary people to lead the way in order to complete his whole plan in one fell swoop by first attacking the soldiers’ hearts. Even if he had calculated wrong, he would not have lost anything.

Bai Jing quickly put all of their things away without leaving a single thing behind. He ignored Zhang Qiucheng’s twitching lips, looked directly at Xiao Sa, and crisply said, “Let’s go.”

“Wait a minute.” Zhang Qiucheng acted uncaring, but although he knew that Bai Jing was too stingy to even pull out a hair, he had been envious over that bottle of wine for too long and wanted it even if only a few millilitres of wine remained.

“What?” Bai Jing raised his eyebrows and said nothing more. The earlier they killed Yan Gang, the earlier they would be finished. Zhang Qiucheng was too cunning and would never call out to him in some sudden outburst of kindness.

After being choked by Bai Jing, Zhang Qiucheng took a deep breath and told himself not to care. In fact, he felt a little wronged, too. He felt that he was pretty smart, and his appearance wasn’t bad; he really couldn’t figure out where he had offended this Young Master, and after thinking through everything that had happened, he sadly determined that Bai Jing simply looked upon him unfavorably. There was no reason or explanation for it. Zhang Qiucheng felt helpless and could only acknowledge that he had been unlucky, but he had no idea that it had all been caused by his own cleverness and cold-heartedness. Heaven knew that he had only called out to them this time truly out of kindness.

“I’ve ordered people to take a look at the terrain, the army, and the distribution of their firepower. You guys should wait until they’ve returned and learn the situation before you leave. Also, it would be better to perform your assassination at night.”

Bai Jing was surprised and gave him an unexpected glance. It was rare for Zhang Qiucheng to speak normally.

Xiao Sa nodded and simply accepted this kindness.

Zhang Qiucheng was left speechless. His expression was vaguely embarrassed, and he was too lazy to continue trying to establish a friendship with them. No matter how clever he was, it seemed that it was ineffective against the two of them. He admitted that he was not a good man, but he was still depressed when he saw their attitude towards him. He could only blame his own ruthless image for being too prominent and memorable.

After a short wait, two of the men who had gone over to join forces with the army returned. Bai Jing remembered that they were psychic ability users. They took note of where Zhang Qiucheng was standing and made their way over, rejoining the group as quietly as they had left.

Zhang Qiucheng smiled slightly. Other than when facing Bai Jing and Xiao Sa, he was normally very calm and collected. “It’s good that you’re back. How’s the situation?”

The two men looked at each other, and one of them said, “The army is not far from us. We didn’t have enough time to look in detail because they have very strong psychic ability users. As soon as we entered their range, they felt the fluctuation in power and despite having that group of fools as cover, we only had time to lay out two ambushes. Right now, we’ve managed to delay their progress, but we shouldn’t stay here much longer. It would be best if we changed locations. If I haven’t calculated incorrectly, they should be planning to camp at the bottom of the Falling Wind Canyon tonight.”

The other person continued, “If they aren’t stopping at the Falling Wind Canyon, then it’ll be near the cliff-face. We’ve already arranged for people to start getting into place and have found a safe route that we can use.”

Bai Jing curled his lips. He doubted that it would be safe once they’d completed their task, but knowing the terrain and route helped them a lot. For once, he didn’t make any retorts.

Then, the two of them compared notes and drew out a general outline. Bai Jing’s head was in a fog as he listened to them, and finally could not bear it and directly brought out a pen and paper. Zhang Qiucheng smacked his lips, but he had already seen too much of how this Young Master lived in luxury, and this time, his expression remained unchanged.

After the discussion, Bai Jing and Xiao Sa did not linger. They brought the map with them, said goodbye to Zhang Qiucheng, and said that they would rejoin them after everything was done.

“Take care, you two. We’ll also be leaving first. Signal if you need anything, us brothers are duty-bound to help if we can.” Zhang Qiucheng always knew how to speak beautiful words, but Bai Jing really hated to listen to them. He glared at him fiercely, then pulled Xiao Sa with him and turned to leave. He hated these hypocritical people the most. If he really wanted to help, why would he talk about a secret signal? As soon as they lit up a firework, everyone would know. How secret was that? Hmph!

Xiao Sa laughed indulgently. He very much liked Little Jing’s waywardness. Zhang Qiucheng was already used to all of this and hadn’t expected them to be grateful, either. They were only helping each other for the sake of their own interests, since killing off Yan Gang would allow his harvest to be greater as well.

Time passed by quickly. The two of them went directly to the Falling Wind Canyon. The terrain was low, with high mountains on the left side and sloping hills to the right. There was a stream below them, and the canyon was not far ahead. Their destination this time was the canyon. The rocky mountains and lush trees created a natural shelter. Even if the other party had psychic ability users, it would not be easy to find them if they hid here.

By the time they arrived, Zhang Qiucheng’s subordinates had already set everything up. If they hadn’t received the news beforehand, they might really have undone all their hard work. Profession criminals really had their means and despite knowing where the traps were, they could hardly detect any trace of them. Perhaps Wang Xuebing and Cao Lei would be able to, but the two of them were laymen and could only be left in the dark. Zhang Qiucheng’s subordinates were truly talented people. Then again, if they didn’t have this level of ability, they would not have ended up in the high-security prison.

Bai Jing had a bad appetite and only accompanied Xiao Sa to eat a bit. The two of them joked around for a while before closing their eyes to maintain their strength. The sky started to turn dark, and from far away, they could hear the sounds of the army’s approach. Xiao Sa’s eyes glittered as he quickly hid his aura. Night was gradually approaching…

As time gradually went by, the noise from the distance began to take over the quiet night. Bai Jing perked up his ears to listen and then quietly covered his mouth to snicker. For once, he had to praise Zhang Qiucheng. That person was really quick-witted, but it made him very happy to learn that Yan Gang had suffered several losses.

The sky was getting darker and darker. It was a starless night where people were unable to see the fingers of their hand in front of them. Looking out at the campfire in the distance, Bai Jing’s lips curved up as he slowly closed his eyes and quietly sensed everything around him. Although he was unable to compare with psychic ability users, he could still sense the situation within a small area in the surrounding environment based on his control on space.

First, he wanted to learn where the supply vehicles were parked. Given how suspicious and cautious Yan Gang was, he refused to believe that they would put all the supplies for such a large army in space ability users’ spaces.