Silence.
Five pairs of shocked eyes stared back at the young man.
The wind blew. A faint creak sounded as the door behind them shifted slightly.
The tense air broke, and the five moved back as quickly as their bodies would allow.
The young man looked at the teenagers, dazed.
By all rights, he should have been alarmed—waking up to five bloodstained kids hovering over him.
Especially considering the fact that he was a lone survivor, still hunted and suppressed by those arrogant nobles.
And in truth, he had been alarmed the moment he woke up—mostly because he couldn't remember why he'd passed out in the first place.
Seeing five strange kids covered in blood certainly in such a state didn't help.
He hadn't caught their conversation but had regained consciousness just as they stacked their hands together—forming what looked like some kind of group pact.
Honestly, he figured they were either stupid or naive.
But he had a principle.
He didn't hurt people on a whim.
Especially not kids.
So he stood up silently, glanced at the five coldly, and asked, "Did you see anyone?"
They shook their heads in unison, eyes wide and timid.
He guessed it must've been an internal issue that caused him to collapse.
He gripped his knife, staying alert while trying to recall the dream he'd had.
He had been floating in a sea of darkness, his body numb.
There were voices. Many voices. Whispering, muttering, discussing something about him.
He couldn't make out the words, but the meaning pressed on his chest.
Eventually, he yelled at them to shut up—his ears were ringing.
They stopped.
Then they laughed.
"Damn psychopaths," he cursed aloud.
Just remembering those annoying voices pissed him off. Better to forget it and move on.
Those arrogant bastards had screamed too loudly while dying.
Who knew how many zombies they'd attracted?
He gave one last glance to the blood-soaked kids and left the building.
The five exhaled in unison.
"Where to now?" Ming Jun asked.
"Let's hunt some zombies!" Shae Harris said brightly, eyes sparkling with excitement.
"No," Ming Jun replied flatly.
"Are you crazy?" Wei Zhi looked at her, speechless.
"I don't think that's a good idea…" Mori Aoi said with a frown.
"Of course not," Noi Karn added, voice calm.
Shae Harris pouted and crossed her arms, clearly dejected.
Tsk. What a noob party.
"I propose we head to a shelter," Ming Jun suggested.
"Yeah. It should be better to stay with people," Mori Aoi agreed.
Wei Zhi hesitated. The idea of trusting strangers in the apocalypse didn't sit well with him.
"Then we need to make sure it's not controlled by bad people," he said.
"But how do we find one that isn't corrupted?" Noi Karn asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I... I think that guy might know," Mori Aoi said quietly. "He didn't hurt us when he woke up…"
They all thought about it. Scary or not, the young man hadn't been hostile.
"To us, at least… he seems good," Wei Zhi said.
"Then let's follow him," Wei Zhi decided.
"And we can hunt zombies along the way," Shae Harris added.
Everyone ignored her and stepped out of the building.
She snorted and followed after them.
They trailed the young man, hiding behind broken cars and skirting corpses as they went.
The stench of rot was unbearable. More than once, they gagged from the smell.
They were so distracted that they didn't notice how often the young man turned back to look at them.
The young man felt a headache growing. He rubbed his forehead with two fingers.
He had thought they were just naive.
Now he was sure—they were both naive and stupid.
Who the hell follows a complete stranger during an apocalypse?
Especially one that murder people infront of you?
But the five didn't share his concerns. Yes, they were scared. But not of him, not anymore.
They didn't hold tight to morality. Not after the lives they'd lived.
They'd been told they were worthless. That their lives were meaningless.
So death was something they had long come to accept.
They don't condone murder, but they understood it.
And the young man had a reason.
More importantly, he hadn't harmed them.
And that—sadly—was more than they could say for their parents… or, in Noi Karn's case, his caregivers.
In essence, they had no psychological resistance to him.
They followed him all the way to the van.
That's when the problem that they forgot existed slapped them in the face
They couldn't keep following him on foot.
"Hey, wait!" Shae Harris ran in front of the van.
"Get out of the way," the young man growled from the driver's seat, his hands clenching the wheel.
"You'll have to run me over first," Shae said, flashing a wild grin.
She was an expert at being crazy to get what she wanted. Her parents could attest to that.
"Do you dare think I won't?" he muttered, inching the van forward.
She snorted and looked at him challengingly. "Hey, come on over!" she called to the others.
They hesitated. Only Shae would have the guts to stand in front of a moving van.
Ming Jun gave in and stepped forward.
Mori Aoi followed, tugging Shae's sleeve.
"Maybe we should let him pass… What if you get hurt?" she said, voice soft with worry.
"Sis, sometimes you have to be bold to get what you want." Shae winked.
Mori turned to the annoyed young man.
"Excuse me… can we please join you?" she said, bowing slightly.
"No. You're useless and a burden. Fuck off," the young man replied, glaring.
Mori Aoi blinked—then started crying.
"…Hic… hic… I'm sorry…" she sobbed.
The young man stared, speechless.
All I said were a few words. Why is she crying like I ran over her puppy?
And she's actually crying and not pretending.
"You jerk! Where's your honor?"
"You made my sister cry!" Shae scowled.
How did I become the villain here? he wondered.
This was starting to feel like one of those fake car accident scams.
Honestly, if they started asking for money, he wouldn't even be surprised.
"C'mon, let her in before she cries louder," Wei Zhi said, stepping up to the van.
"There might be zombies attracted, by such loud sobs" Noi Karn added.
"They're probably rushing here right now," Ming Jun chimed in.
"Yeah~ they couldn't stand hearing an innocent girl cry," Shae said sweetly.
"So, Brother… what do you say?" she added, smiling.
The young man looked at the five shameless idiots and nearly exploded.
The apocalypse had stripped people of shame, but he felt like these brats had been born without any.
"If I run you over, I might have a chance to escape," he said, voice dark with intent.
The five hesitated.
Mori Aoi cried harder.
They could feel his murderous intent and that sense of danger alerted something within them
Then their eyes began to tint a strange, blood-red hue.
"They're dangerous…" whispered a voice—carried by the breeze like a warning on the wind.
The young man froze, startled. He looked around.
Nothing.
But the feeling remained. A chilling pressure radiated from the five, making sweat bead on his back.
He tried to struggle against the suppression but he was felt an assurance in his soul that he was going to die
He doesn't understand why but he was sure that at this moment these five kids could kill him
So he reluctantly gave in
"Get in," he growled through clenched teeth.
The aura disappeared instantly. The five blinked at him innocently.
The young man also knew that he was now safe
The feeling of death and safety came and left swiftly, without a trace
"I knew Brother was a good person," Shae said, confidently walking over.
"You haven't unlocked the door yet," she said, tapping the window. "I call window seat!"
The van had two seats in front and four in the back, two by two.
Shae took the seat behind the driver.
The young man felt a headache blooming again.
"Thanks for the ride," Ming Jun said, taking the seat beside Shae.
The ride I never agreed to give, the young man thought bitterly.
"I knew you were a good person," Mori Aoi said, smiling as she sat behind Shae.
You mean you forced me to be one.
She looked at Wei Zhi, who gave in helplessly.
"Let's go before the zombies join us," he muttered, taking the seat beside her.
Whose fault do you think that is? The young man wanted to scream.
Noi Karn calmly sat in the passenger seat.
"You can leave now, Brother," he said.
The young man was so angry he nearly spat blood.
"Where are you going?" he finally asked.
"Wherever you go, we'll follow you to the end of the world," Shae said proudly.
"It is the end of the world," Ming Jun pointed out.
"Then we're sworn brothers now! Fighting zombies together till we die!" she grinned, patting her chest.
"No one wants to hunt zombies with you," Wei Zhi groaned.
"We'll follow you to the base you're going to," Noi Karn said, more realistically.
"Don't listen to them. I'll follow you to your last breath," Shae said, reaching over to pat his shoulder.
"So you'll leave me once I drop you at a shelter?" the young man asked.
"No. We'll stay at your shelter," Ming Jun answered.
The young man stared at the shameless parasites—who were proud of being parasites.
Ah… why did I have to follow that hunting team?
If I could go back in time, I'd leave the shelter on a different day…
Just so I wouldn't meet these damn kids.
Should I kill them?
Even with his principles, these kids tested the limits of his patience.
And the aura they gave off earlier… they didn't even seem aware of it.
"Why?" he asked.
"Because we're too naive to survive in a shelter," Wei Zhi admitted honestly.
Well… at least you're aware, the young man thought.
"We'll be obedient. We won't bother you," Mori Aoi said, wiping her tears.
They didn't seem like they had bad intentions. And they really were stupid.
Plus, he couldn't get rid of them without triggering that strange aura again.
So he convinced himself he'd take care of them for now—then dump them somewhere later.
…He was wrong.
…So, so wrong.
A century from now, he'd still be stuck with those parasites.
He would come to regret this day more than anything.
He should have chosen death.
"Fine. But you better remember—I'm the one doing you the favor. You need me," he said at last.
"Of course~!" Shae Harris sang.
The young man started the van and pulled onto the road.
"Then let's start by introducing ourselves," he said. "Since we'll be working together."
"Brother should go first," Shae Harris said.
"My name is Yi Zheng. Yi, meaning 'persevering,' and Zheng, meaning 'unsubmissive.'"
"I'm Chinese," he added—in English, the language they all use to communicate.