Back to the Apocalypse

translator: xiin

editors: apricot & juurensha

They didn't linger; both of them knew that now wasn't the time for a lengthy discussion. They didn't know what the situation was like outside, and the only thing they could be grateful for was how Xiao Sa had succeeded in advancing to level six while Bai Jing was firmly in the beginning stages of level five.

After returning to the room, Xiao Sa unravelled the boundary. Bai Jing frowned, feeling that the atmosphere was somewhat wrong. There were clearly people outside, but it seemed a little too quiet.

“The barrier moved." Little Hong sat in Sang Min's arms. Her eyes were bright as she pointed at the door to the room.

The silent crowd looked up. Excitement flashed across their faces at the same time upon seeing that the barrier had finally disappeared, and it felt like their hearts had jumped up into their throats. It wasn't until they really saw Xiao Sa and Bai Jing's figures that they seemed to realize that it wasn't a dream.

“What happened?” Xiao Sa’s expression sank, and his eyes swept quickly around the room.

“Where are the others?” Bai Jing soon found that other than the elderly and children, only those without abilities were present.

Because of his legs, Zhou Hua had also remained in the villa and was present at this time. He heard them asking questions and told them in detail about the events that had occurred in recent days. The goal of this mission was a military factory 300 kilometers away. Other than their team, many other ability users had also joined in. The military factory had been a secret research base for weapons prior to the apocalypse, and the former official leaders of the country had sent people to recover the supplies there, but unfortunately, nobody had ever returned. This time, it was their turn to go. Zhou Hua's eyes were red as he hatefully glared at his useless legs. He would rather go with his lover and brave the danger together than stay at home fretting with fear and worry.

Bai Jing's expression was so stormy that it could almost make it rain. He'd just known that the Zhou Family wouldn't leave things be, but he hadn't expected them to make a move so quickly. He and Xiao Sa had only disappeared for a few days, but people were already scheming against him. He was displeased as he asked, "What about Bai Jingcheng? What was he doing?"

“Mr. Bai also helped, but there are too many people involved in this mission. Even the military became involved, and we were unable to refuse." Zhou Hua's eyes were still slightly red, his face thin and wan.

Bai Jing looked at him and felt a slight pang of guilt. He had planned to treat Zhou Hua’s legs after they arrived at the Capital, but as a result, he and Xiao Sa made such a mess the next day and delayed everything for the advancement of their powers. It was the first time that Bai Jing had felt regret for his recklessness.

Xiao Sa gave him a deep look, agreeing with his unspoken realization that he'd been wrong. Bai Jing hung his head, then said, “How long ago did they leave?"

Zhou Hua said, "They only left this morning. They were originally supposed to leave five days ago, but Mr. Bai kept delaying it."

Bai Jing felt a little better inside. At the very least, Bai Jingcheng hadn't been useless.

“Where is the exact location?” Xiao Sa asked quietly. He was considering the situation more deeply; regardless of whether this trip was dangerous, they still needed to go. Wasn't it a military factory? Jing Sa City seemed to lack these things.

Bai Jing's expression was still dark. Although he was angry, he wasn't overly anxious. It wasn't that he wasn't concerned about his teammates, but that he believed in their strength. At the very least, they shouldn't have encountered any danger up until now. He thought about it, then turned his head to ask Zhou Hua, "I'll take you to get treatment first. After eating, Xiao Sa and I will depart." It was 6:20PM now, and if they pushed on tonight, they should be able to catch up with the main group soon.

When Bai Jing finished speaking, he dialled Bai Jingcheng’s communicator. The communicator beeped several times before Bai Jingcheng's angry voice sounded out. It was easy to picture how he must be roaring at the device, "Where have you been these past few days?!"

Bai Jing raised his eyebrows and moved the communicator a little further away from his ears, "What is He Yong's contact number?"

“You're only asking me this?" Bai Jingcheng was burning with rage and could hardly breathe.

Bai Jing raised his eyebrows, and his voice rose slightly. He wasn't respectful at all as he said, "What else? Over half of my people are gone. How are you going to explain that to me?"

Bai Jingcheng’s imposing manner instantly weakened. He suddenly felt that life was really hard. His wife didn't care about him, and his son was even worse. Was he supposed to question his old man like that? Although he thought that way internally, his voice still softened unconsciously. Bai Jingcheng refused to admit that he felt some misgivings about this son of his, "There was nothing I could do. The mission this time was passed by a vote. Not only did your team have to go, all the other factions also sent people. Relax, I've already sent down orders to ensure everyone's safety."

Bai Jing sneered: “Safety? If it's not natural disasters, it will be man-made problems. Do you really believe that they will be safe this time?"

Bai Jingcheng fell silent. He understood what Bai Jing was implying, but he was stuck between a rock and a hard place. He quickly changed the topic, “Who do you want treated? I'll have people arrange it immediately."

Bai Jing sneered and didn't continue to be caught up in this topic. Unless the Zhou Family was dealt with, Bai Jingcheng would always be left stirring up muddy waters. He wasn't surprised that Bai Jingcheng had chosen to take this stance and said indifferently, "His name is Zhou Hua. He's one of my teammates who was injured previously. Both legs were broken at the knees. Make the arrangements as quickly as possible. I'm going to depart with Xiao Sa tonight. The safety of the rest of my people will be handed over to you. Don't let anything happen again."

Bai Jingcheng immediately promised, “You can rest assured that as long as I am in the base, I will take good care of your people.”

Bai Jing’s eyes darkened. “I hope you can do what you say. Also, remember not to spread any news about Xiao Sa and I."

Bai Jingcheng’s heart clenched and an ominous feeling rose up, "What are you doing?”

Bai Jing laughed gently. Not only Bai Jingcheng, but even the people sitting in the room grew nervous when they saw Bai Jing's smile. The difference was that the former was worried, while the latter was excited. Everyone knew that Young Master Jing had a bad temper, and never failed to take revenge. Based on Young Master Jing's personality, how could he ignore the events that had happened this time? He would definitely plot against them in return.

“You just have to do your part." After Bai Jing finished speaking, he hung up and didn't give Bai Jingcheng any chance to ask questions. Since the Zhou Family wanted to scheme against him, he might as well take the initiative instead of passively accepting whatever came his way.

He and Xiao Sa began to discuss what they could do, and they decided to change their plans and not set out that night. According to their calculations, the journey to the military factory would cover about 300 kilometers, and it would take them at least six days to arrive. If the two of them travelled day and night, they could make it even if they started one day later.

Bai Jingcheng was very efficient. Half an hour later, He Yong arrived at the door of the villa. First, he checked Zhou Hua to make sure that he could be treated. Then, he took out a silver electronic card and gave it to him, “This is treatment card for the hospital. Take it. I will arrange an operation for you tomorrow."

“So fast… really…” Zhou Hua's words were incoherent with surprise. Tears poured out, and he pinched his thigh to make sure he wasn't dreaming. He had been disappointed for too long and simply couldn't believe that it was true. The hospital was so busy, how could an operation be arranged so soon?

He Yong blinked and smiled gently at Zhou Hua, “Rest assured, you have priority.”

Zhou Hua suddenly realized what was going on and looked at Bai Jing gratefully. He knew that without Bai Jing, he might never get the chance to get treated in this lifetime even if he and Wei Bingyi pursued it endlessly.

Bai Jing confirmed and double checked everything. He really disliked He Yong; he was too fake, his smile too hypocritical, and his eyes too sharp. As long as he was standing in front of him, Bai Jing always had a feeling that he had been seen through, which left him feeling uncomfortable everywhere.

Seeing that Bai Jing seemed to be planning to see him off, He Yong sat down on the sofa with a smile and used a familiar tone like that of an old friend who had not seen the other for a long time and said, "It's very rare for Young Master Jing to think of me. I'm really flattered."

Bai Jing's expression turned black. He was now full of regrets and could only blame the fact that this guy was the only person he knew at the hospital. In fact, the hospital was such a big place that it didn't have to be him; how come he had insisted on calling for him?!

Xiao Sa remembered this man. They had met again during the welcome banquet, and Bai Jingcheng had mentioned that Little Jing knew him from before. Little Jing's attitude at the time had been very distant, and Xiao Sa hadn't paid any attention to him. Only, listening to their conversation today, he discovered that the situation seemed a bit different than what he had believed.

Xiao Sa’s expression also turned black, his heart bubbling with jealousy. After the incident with Zhu Ting, he was now dissatisfied with anyone who came near Bai Jing, especially someone who was good looking, had ability, and had a decent temperament.

“We'll go to the study.” Bai Jing threw down the sentence and turned his head to leave.

He Yong pushed his glasses up out of habit and pretended not to notice Xiao Sa's cold glare as he stood to follow Bai Jing upstairs.

Xiao Sa was full of anger as he slowly dawdled before following them up the stairs. He didn't forget to have Aunt Liu cook some food along the way and arranged for everyone else to disperse. He and Bai Jing had already returned, and nobody needed to stand guard anymore.

“What’s wrong with you?” Bai Jing came straight to the point.

He Yong did not beat around the bush either as he answered straightforwardly. “I want 30% of the things at the military factory.”

Bai Jing acted as though he had heard a joke, sneering as he asked, "You're so certain that I can take down the military factory?"

He Yong’s eyes flashed. “Isn't it just a big gamble? It's great if I win, but I won't have lost much if I lose."

Bai Jing was laughing out of anger. He really didn't know where He Yong had gotten his self-confidence from, "Based on what?"

He Yong laughed. It was as though he was waiting for this question, "I have a map that outlines the layout of the military factory."

As soon as Xiao Sa stepped through the door, he heard He Yong's words. His heart couldn't help but be a little moved, but he quickly restrained his mood. The first thing he felt was not surprise, but suspicion, and his cold eyes narrowed slightly, “Why don’t you go yourself?”

He Yong smiled and relaxed. If Xiao Sa and Bai Jing showed any expression other than doubt, he would begin to worry. Now that things had reached this point, he didn't hide anything, "My family situation is more complicated, and I don't have enough people on hand."

“Why did you choose us?” This was what Bai Jing wanted to know the most. The base currently belonged to the Qi Family, Song Family, Zhou Family, and Bai Family. Cooperating with any of those factions would still be better than cooperating with him. At least from a fame perspective, they were nothing but a small team, and compared with the factions in the Capital, they were superficially inferior to even most of the mercenary regiments in the base.

He Yong’s face remained unchanged as he laughed and said, "I remember that Young Master Jing bought many medicines from me right before the apocalypse outbreak. Oh, right, there was also some medical equipment and arms."

Bai Jing choked and stared at He Yong. Was he being threatened?

He Yong shook his head and knew when to stop pushing. He spoke righteously, "I don't have enough power to cooperate with those families. If the deal goes bad, I won't even be left with the dregs, and even if we manage to get a share, it'll only be to the benefit of the other party. I know that you guys don't plan to stay at the Capital and develop here. Besides, who are we to each other? We're already old partners. Of course I'd look for Young Master Jing when there's business to do."

He Yong even gave him a meaningful wink as he spoke.

xiin: He Yong is the guy Bai Jing bought medical supplies from at the start (around )