090 The Final Frenzy!

"The Red Blossom Society is nothing but a group of worthless fools—we won't let a single one of them live!" Tang Qiqiang’s teeth ground together with a harsh sound, clearly determined to annihilate every last member of the Red Blossom Society.

"Alright!" Xue Feng nodded. Now that Tang Qiqiang had spoken, he immediately set off in pursuit of Jin Changming.

Jin Changming was running fast as well. Clearly, those with abilities had bodies that were, to some extent, enhanced. But unfortunately for him, his pursuer was Xue Feng.

As the distance between them shrank, Xue Feng activated his power. A bolt of lightning, as thick as a finger, shot toward Jin Changming.

Xue Feng had no intention of killing Jin Changming immediately. As the president of the Red Blossom Society, Jin Changming undoubtedly possessed things that intrigued Xue Feng.

But what Xue Feng didn’t expect was for Jin Changming to spin around and hurl a crystal core at him.

Bang!

The lightning collided with the object, producing a violent explosion.

"Interesting," Xue Feng laughed, surprised that Jin Changming had learned to adapt so quickly. If Xue Feng could use lightning to intercept Jin Changming’s bombs, then Jin Changming could use bombs to block Xue Feng’s lightning.

"We have no grudge between us—why must you insist on killing me?" Jin Changming shouted hoarsely, all composure now lost.

"Heh, does one need a reason to kill in the apocalypse?" Xue Feng was amused. For someone as ruthless as Jin Changming to talk about fairness and justice now was laughable.

Jin Changming froze, anger flashing across his face. He clearly had no retort, but he wasn’t about to give up.

"I admit you’re powerful, but if you want to kill me, you’ll pay a heavy price! If you let me go, I’ll tell you the secret of the crystal cores!" Jin Changming offered a tempting bargain.

"Very well, I promise to let you go. Tell me how you made the crystal core explode," Xue Feng nodded.

The explosion from a crystal core was roughly equivalent to a grenade. What truly interested Xue Feng, however, was how Jin Changming triggered the power within the core.

"Hah, do you take me for a child? What if you go back on your word?" Jin Changming sneered, clearly not trusting Xue Feng.

He wasn’t wrong—Xue Feng himself didn’t believe his own words. He was only trying to deceive Jin Changming.

Xue Feng never considered himself bound by any moral code, especially when dealing with someone like Jin Changming.

"Then negotiations have failed. Die!" Xue Feng no longer cared to waste words.

They were all clever men. Trying to pry the secret of the crystal cores from Jin Changming’s lips was impossible.

Lightning gathered in Xue Feng’s hand once more, this time as thick as his arm. He was using his full strength.

"Then we’ll perish together!" Jin Changming roared in near despair, his entire body erupting with a fiery red light. A powerful force burst from within him.

"Damn, he’s going to self-destruct!" Xue Feng realized at once. Jin Changming’s plan was clear—he must have many crystal cores on his person, and now he was going to detonate them all at once, trying to take Xue Feng with him.

But this was nothing more than a futile dream.

At the instant of the explosion, Xue Feng activated Temporal Zero once more. Everything slowed to a crawl before his eyes, giving him the chance to withdraw calmly.

Jin Changming’s eyes filled with despair. He couldn’t comprehend how Xue Feng had suddenly vanished hundreds of meters away in the blink of an eye.

Boom!

The explosion engulfed Jin Changming, his body torn apart by the fiery blast—he didn’t even have time to scream.

"What a pity," Xue Feng shook his head, disappointed he couldn’t extract the information he wanted from Jin Changming. His opponent had been a difficult one—a powered individual who could trigger explosions with anything he touched. This meant that torture or coercion was impossible; the moment Jin Changming lost hope, he’d choose self-destruction, as had just occurred.

At that moment, something fell from the sky and landed at Xue Feng’s feet—Jin Changming’s head. The explosion’s shockwave had sent it flying.

Gripping the head, Xue Feng returned to the Tiancheng Residential Area. The black mist had dispersed, revealing over thirty corpses strewn across the ground. Some were mangled, victims of the third-stage mutants. Tang Qiqiang and the others were clearing the battlefield, searching the bodies for supplies and weapons.

When they saw Xue Feng return holding Jin Changming’s head, Tang Qiqiang and his group were visibly excited.

"Any survivors?" Xue Feng tossed the head on the ground, making sure Tang Qiqiang could see it—their enemy was dead.

"None. We blocked every exit—no one got away," Tang Qiqiang replied with certainty.

"Good." Xue Feng didn’t want anyone from the Red Blossom Society to escape.

"Brother Xue Feng, could we… perhaps follow you from now on?" Tang Qiqiang had long wanted to bring this up, but hadn’t found the right opportunity until now, after the battle had ended.

"Follow me? Why?" Xue Feng smiled.

"To survive, of course! My own life doesn’t matter much, but we all want to provide a safe environment for our families," Tang Qiqiang said earnestly. "And don’t worry, Brother Xue Feng—whatever dangers come, we’ll be the ones to face them first."

As he spoke, the others nodded in agreement. Clearly, they’d already discussed this among themselves and were willing to serve as Xue Feng’s vanguard.

"There are rules in my base," Xue Feng warned.

"No problem—we’ll follow them all," Tang Qiqiang answered without hesitation. In truth, he’d already made up his mind: whatever rules Xue Feng set, he would agree to them.

Tang Qiqiang had realized that the apocalypse was growing more dangerous. Monsters like the Red Blossom Society were everywhere, and today they’d seen a green, two-headed creature five meters tall—something even firearms couldn’t handle. Who knew what might appear next?

Their only hope was to find a powerful patron, and Xue Feng might be their only chance. For that, Tang Qiqiang and the others were willing to do anything.

"We’ll do whatever needs to be done."

"Brother Xue Feng, please take us in!"

"We don’t need you to provide supplies—we can scavenge for ourselves. All we ask is that when danger comes, you lend us a hand."

The others chimed in, one after another. Though Xue Feng was younger than them, they now called him "big brother." In the apocalypse, survival was everything—not only would they acknowledge him as a brother, but even as a father if that’s what it took.