Chapter 11: I Don't Want Useless People Around Me
“Yes, Brother Feng, I’m grateful for your kindness and will never let you down!” Faced with mortal danger, You Haoyun could no longer care about pride and squeezed out a smile, pleading, “Please let me in the car. I can serve you right now, is that alright?”
Xue Feng ignored You Haoyun and slowly rolled down the window.
Bang, bang bang...
He fired through the glass, taking down two zombies circling the vehicle. The harsh gunfire attracted several more zombies nearby.
Bang, bang...
Sheltered inside, Xue Feng continued shooting, quickly dropping every zombie to the ground. Shooting from inside the car, his angles were limited. Of the five felled zombies, only two were killed with a headshot; the other three had legs broken and lay thrashing wildly on the ground.
The sight left You Haoyun trembling in terror.
Xue Feng, however, remained cold. “You Haoyun, I’ll give you a chance.”
“The zombies on the ground can’t move anymore. If you kill them, I’ll open the door and let you in.”
“Ah...” You Haoyun nearly lost her mind. “Xue Feng, please don’t joke with me! I’m just a weak girl—I really can’t kill zombies...”
“I’ll do anything else you want, serve you however you wish, just don’t make me kill zombies!”
“I’ll give you three minutes to decide. If you’re still hesitating after three minutes, you’ll have to fend for yourself.”
“I...” As You Haoyun tried to protest, Xue Feng closed the window, refusing to listen further.
Time ticked by.
You Haoyun begged outside for a long while, but Xue Feng never responded. At last, with no other option, she steeled herself, grabbed a kitchen knife, and approached the crippled zombies.
Though their legs were broken, the zombies remained ferocious. You Haoyun swung the knife several times but failed to strike them. The blade was too short; the zombies lashed out dangerously, and she dared not get close.
Helpless, You Haoyun ran back to the car door and shouted through the glass, “Brother Feng, could you give me a longer weapon? The kitchen knife is too short!”
Xue Feng glanced at An Xiaowei. “Xiaowei, give her your stick.”
An Xiaowei held a steel pipe, about one meter twenty centimeters long and weighing ten pounds. With such reach, attacking zombies was much safer.
At Xue Feng’s instruction, An Xiaowei tossed the pipe through the window and quickly closed it again.
You Haoyun picked it up and strode to the zombies, swinging the pipe in a fierce barrage.
Bang, bang, bang...
After a dozen heavy blows, she smashed a zombie’s skull to pieces. Crimson gore splattered all over her, leaving her pale as a sheet and sobbing uncontrollably.
But she forced herself to hold back the tears, not daring to cry aloud.
There were other zombies nearby; too much noise could draw them and lead to a deadly siege.
Suppressing her nausea and terror, You Haoyun finally overcame her fear and killed the two wounded zombies.
When she finished, Xue Feng at last opened the car door and stepped outside.
“Wait!” You Haoyun tried to climb in, but Xue Feng stopped her. “Go split open that mutant’s head and see if there’s a mutation crystal inside.”
Previously, You Haoyun would have fiercely protested and refused. But now she had wised up, dared not utter a single complaint, and went to split the mutant zombie’s skull.
Inside, she found a mutation crystal—larger than the one Xue Feng had acquired the day before.
After retrieving the crystal, Xue Feng finally allowed You Haoyun to rest inside the car.
...
The doors of Wangshan Pet Shop were tightly shut.
But inside the shop’s lobby, people were still moving.
Two young siblings were staying inside—the brother, Li Wanglou, a man in his early thirties, a bit overweight and tall at one meter eighty, looked quite imposing. His younger sister, Li Wangmiao, appeared only eighteen or nineteen, petite and adorable.
After Xue Feng and the two women had cleared the area of zombies, An Xiaowei approached the entrance and called, “Li Wangmiao, we’re here to buy pets. Please open the door!”
The girl replied from behind the door, “Everything’s chaos outside. Why would you buy pets now?”
“Just go away. We’re not opening the door!”
Li Wangmiao refused to let them in, but Xue Feng was in no hurry.
He ignored her and called out to Li Wanglou, “Boss, can we exchange supplies for a few pets?”
“The streets are crawling with zombies, money is worthless now, but—”
“Shut up, we’re not selling our pets!” Li Wangmiao interrupted, “You’re a bad guy—I know what you’re after!”
“Dogs are humanity’s best friends. If you want dog meat, go elsewhere. Our dogs are not for sale!”
So, the girl took Xue Feng for a dog hotpot enthusiast.
“Hahaha!” Xue Feng laughed aloud. “Mr. Li Wanglou, I’ll trade a box of instant noodles for a pet dog!”
“If—”
“Just leave, we’re not selling any dogs!” Li Wangmiao was frantic.
Xue Feng ignored her, gave Li Wanglou a regretful look, and prepared to leave.
At that moment, Li Wanglou finally spoke up, unable to resist, “Wait, brother, do you really have instant noodles?”
Without another word, Xue Feng returned to the car and brought out several boxes of noodles.
The sight tempted Li Wanglou.
“What kind of dog do you want? Let’s trade through the iron gate!”
Li Wanglou said gravely, “These are extraordinary times. I can’t let you inside—hope you understand.”
“No problem,” Xue Feng replied calmly. “We don’t want small breeds, only large, fierce dogs.”
“Large, fierce breeds...” Li Wanglou frowned. “We only sell puppies—there are no adult dogs here.”
“That’s fine!” Xue Feng answered readily. “As long as they’re large breeds, puppies are acceptable.”
“Alright, I’ll select a few large breed pups for you. One box of noodles for each puppy!”
“And we need bottled water—do you have any?”
“Of course!” Xue Feng responded cheerfully. “But a big barrel of water also costs a puppy!”
“No problem. I’ll bring out the dogs right away!”
Li Wanglou was about to fetch the puppies, but Li Wangmiao protested, “Brother, how could you? These people aren’t true dog lovers—they want dog meat! Selling them our pups is a waste...”
“Enough!” Li Wanglou glared and scolded her. “People are struggling to survive—are you still thinking about dogs?”
“We’re nearly out of dog food. If you refuse to sell, the pups will only starve to death.”
“I... boo hoo...” Li Wangmiao couldn’t argue with her brother. Watching him bring out all her cherished puppies, she broke down in wailing tears.
Li Wanglou wouldn’t be swayed, though, and brought out over twenty puppies at once.
Xue Feng traded ten boxes of instant noodles and eight barrels of water for eighteen puppies.
After the deal, Xue Feng had An Xiaowei drive, while he recorded simple statistics on the eighteen puppies in the back of the car.
Just then, a voice rang out in Xue Feng’s mind:
[Successfully verified intelligence accuracy. Reward received:]
[Host’s Endurance Attribute +5!]
[Host’s Ability Level +1!]
[Current Host Attribute Panel:]
Strength: 12
Agility: 12
Spirit: 12
Endurance: 17
Luck: 12 (+100)
Ability: Divine Lightning (Level 2)