Chapter Seventy-Seven: Crushed with a Single Step

Lu Sheng walked along the road back to the settlement. The sun was blazing overhead; just outside the city, he could still see a few people, but the further he went, the fewer souls appeared.

Suddenly, as he was lamenting the emptiness, a woman’s cry for help floated from the wooded area beside the road: “Oh—help me! Is anyone there to save me?”

The voice was alluring, seductive, tugging straight at the heart.

Should he go check it out? For a moment, Lu Sheng hesitated. Why would a woman be calling for help in the middle of nowhere? He wasn’t cold-hearted, and the urgent cry stirred something in him, even as a sense of unease gnawed at his mind.

Forget it… In the apocalypse, life is hard enough for everyone. Better to keep moving.

The woman’s plaintive cries faded, and Lu Sheng’s figure receded into the distance.

Nie Ze slipped down from a tree and approached the woman. “Stop shouting. He’s already gone.”

Hu Li blinked in surprise. “Gone?”

“Damn! Is that guy even a man? Alone in the wild, a wounded woman calling for help, and he doesn’t even try to see what’s happening?”

Luo Qing snickered at her misfortune. “Sister Li, your tricks are outdated. After all this time in the apocalypse, only someone with their brains addled would fall for that.”

The woman flushed with embarrassment and anger, gathered herself, and the three of them raced after Lu Sheng. This time, they had no intention of playing games; they would strike directly.

Meanwhile, six men lay in ambush atop a small hill ahead, Li Hei leading the group.

After learning Lu Sheng’s background, Li Hei had led his men on a shortcut to intercept him along this inevitable route. Now they waited for his arrival.

“Boss, look, he’s coming!”

Li Hei glanced up and spotted Lu Sheng’s figure.

“Smack!” Li Hei slapped his subordinate’s head. “Why are you so impatient? Wait till he gets closer and stop shouting.”

“Oh…” The subordinate felt wronged. What had he done?

Suddenly, his eyes widened. “Boss… Boss, something’s happening…”

Before he could finish, Li Hei slapped him again. “Didn’t I tell you not to shout?”

“No, it looks like someone’s about to beat us to it…” The subordinate’s voice grew subdued in his frustration.

Li Hei’s heart skipped a beat. He looked toward Lu Sheng and saw three people closing in on him. “Damn it, let’s go, hurry!”

...

“Stop right there!”

Nie Ze and the others surrounded Lu Sheng. Hu Li strode up, bristling with aggression. “Why didn’t you come to save me?”

Lu Sheng: …

“Is my voice not sweet enough, or was my plea not sultry enough?”

“Or… are you impotent?”

What a fiery woman!

Lu Sheng was stunned by Hu Li’s words, but the accusation of impotence was more than he could tolerate.

Before he could respond, Hu Li produced a short knife and stabbed straight for his groin.

“You ignored me—whether or not you’re a eunuch, I’ll make sure you become one!”

Murderous intent surged within Lu Sheng’s chest—this woman was ruthless!

He seized her wrist with one hand. Instantly, Hu Li felt as if her hand were caught in a steel clamp, the pain shooting straight to her brain, her wrist on the verge of being crushed.

“Let go of me!” Hu Li struggled desperately, but despite her late-stage third-tier strength, she was utterly powerless.

In that instant, a chill pierced her mind.

It’s over… It seems they’ve provoked the wrong person.

She could only hope the boss would be able to handle this.

“Crack!”

“Ah!!”

A sharp snap was followed by a scream of agony.

Lu Sheng had broken Hu Li’s wrist, pain flooding her senses, but her willpower was formidable. Despite her cries, she stubbornly remained standing.

Seeing this, Lu Sheng kicked her in the abdomen.

“Thud!”

A series of crisp snaps echoed; who knew how many bones fractured within her body.

After that blow, Hu Li could no longer withstand it and collapsed, fainting.

Lu Sheng stepped forward to finish her off, but the other two rushed him.

Nie Ze and Luo Qing were shocked—this outcome was beyond their expectations. In mere seconds, Hu Li had been ruined! If they didn’t intervene now, she would die at Lu Sheng’s hands.

“Stop!”

Lu Sheng ignored them, stomping down and crushing Hu Li’s skull.

“Bastard!”

Nie Ze unleashed his full power, a wave of searing heat erupting from within, a fiery aura enveloping his body, his long blade blazing as he struck at Lu Sheng.

Luo Qing, too, erupted with energy. Witnessing his companion’s death before his eyes was unbearable.

Blades of wind formed around him, small as fingers, whirling toward Lu Sheng.

Lu Sheng’s expression remained calm in the face of their attacks. He invoked spatial teleportation, appearing behind Nie Ze.

The frogman’s spear materialized in Lu Sheng’s hand.

Luo Qing was terrified as Lu Sheng vanished from sight. In the corner of his eye, he saw Lu Sheng appear behind Nie Ze. He shouted, “Watch out!”

Nie Ze turned, and seeing Lu Sheng suddenly behind him, his heart plummeted, cold as death.

He had no chance to react, only to watch as Lu Sheng’s spear whipped through the air and smashed into him.

“Bang!”

Nie Ze’s body exploded, dead beyond recall.

“Damn! I’ll die fighting you!” Luo Qing was determined, his energy surging violently.

Before he could act further, Lu Sheng was already in front of him, the frogman’s spear lashing out.

“Bang!”

Another shattered corpse joined the earth.

Countless cards, once theirs, floated above the bodies.

Lu Sheng stowed the spear, sneering at Luo Qing—trying to unleash a final attack? Forget it!

“Stop!”

Just as Lu Sheng began to clear the battlefield, a thunderous shout rang out, and six men charged toward him.

What was the meaning of this?

“Boss, something’s wrong—Nie Ze and the others are dead,” Xiao Liu whispered into Li Hei’s ear.

“I saw that, of course. Keep your mouths shut, or we might end up dead here ourselves,” Li Hei replied, his face darkening.

They had come down from the hill, unaware of what had just transpired. That shout had been intended to stop Nie Ze and the others from going too far, but it had come too early—and now the scene before him filled Li Hei with fear.

Lu Sheng watched them silently, his gaze unwavering.

The corpses on the ground lent a palpable sense of pressure.

Li Hei swallowed hard, struggling to maintain composure. “Sir, what happened here? I just saw these fools seemed to be attacking you?”

Lu Sheng glanced at Li Hei. “That’s right. These idiots, whether they wanted to die or not, came looking for trouble. Now I’ve crushed them. Are you their allies?”