Chapter Ninety-Two: Star

Wu Dazhi went in first.

The one who came out to greet them was a burly middle-aged man, bare-chested and powerfully built. He was the earth-element awakened, the one they called Third Brother.

"Wu Dazhi, what is the situation outside?"

Third Brother asked urgently.

"The man-eating vines are really gone. They’ve already withered away. I saw it myself!"

Wu Dazhi was beaming.

For them, this was indeed excellent news. It would make it far easier to go out hunting and gather supplies.

"That’s fantastic!"

Third Brother was equally delighted.

They had once treated that thing like a venomous snake, steering clear of it at all costs. Plenty of brothers had died in its grasp. Now that it was finally gone, it felt as though a massive stone had been lifted from his heart.

Only then did Third Brother notice Lin Dong. His gaze swept over him, carrying a trace of caution.

"And who’s he?"

"He’s someone we ran into while we were out investigating," Wu Dazhi said, recounting the events from beginning to end in a detailed, unhurried manner. At the end, he even gave a subtle look.

"Oh."

Third Brother immediately understood.

"Then let’s go inside and tell the captain the good news."

The group headed deeper into the cave.

Third Brother turned back and used earth energy to seal the entrance shut.

The light around them instantly dimmed, leaving only the torches on the walls flickering with restless flame, casting everyone’s faces in alternating bands of light and shadow.

As Lin Dong walked inward, he discovered that the entire earthen mound had been hollowed out. The farther in he went, the more spacious it became.

Before long, they arrived in what might be called the belly of the hill, where a large hall stood before them.

Torches still burned on the surrounding walls, and there were also crude furnishings made of earth—tables, chairs, and the like.

At the very center sat a long, large bench covered with a bear pelt. A young man lounged half-reclined upon it. He wore nothing but a pair of baggy shorts and was gnawing on a roasted rabbit head, yet his eyes remained fixed on Lin Dong and the others.

With that posture, he had more than a little the air of a bandit chief.

Clearly, this young man was the leader here. His name was Zhang Zihang. Before the apocalypse, he had dropped out of high school and become a security guard, taking the road fewer traveled and gaining forty years ahead of others. Though only in his twenties, he already had five or six years of service under his belt and had worked his way up to captain.

"Captain, we’re back!" Wu Dazhi stepped forward with the ingratiating look of a translator flattering his boss.

"Mm. How is it outside?" Zhang Zihang asked.

Wu Dazhi once again recounted the entire affair in full, not daring to omit a single detail.

When he heard that the man-eating vines had withered, Zhang Zihang was also delighted.

He even began pondering to himself.

Perhaps he could expand outward and turn this little outfit into something bigger, something stronger.

His gaze fell on Lin Dong, but he did not break the cordial facade. Instead, he grinned and said, "Welcome here."

"Oh, thank you."

Lin Dong thanked him, sounding quite sincere, because he was indeed sincere...

His eyes swept the surroundings. Of course, there was more than just Zhang Zihang in the hill-body. There were several other security guards as well. In a dim corner, a few people were curled up together, men and women alike. Their clothes were in tatters, some were even naked, all of them filthy and haggard, like refugees.

Zhang Zihang noticed Lin Dong’s gaze, jumped down from the long bench, walked over to that corner, seized a girl, and tossed her into the center of the hall.

The girl cried out in pain and dropped to one knee. She had a slender figure and graceful curves, the kind of body that drew the eye.

"Come on, lift your head."

Zhang Zihang bent down and hooked a finger under her chin, as though showing off a trophy.

"Does she look familiar to you?"

"Hm? Who is she?"

Lin Dong studied her curiously. Her face was somewhat dirty, but she was still beautiful: a delicate oval face, a high nose, large eyes. Her lips were pressed tightly together now, full of humiliation, and she looked pitiable indeed.

"The big star, Jiang Xue!" Zhang Zihang said.

"Oh..."

Lin Dong rarely paid attention to the entertainment world, but he had heard the name Jiang Xue before. She was indeed famous, a top-tier celebrity. So he looked at the girl again, and sure enough, it really was her...

Only now, the once dazzling star had sunk into utter ruin, reduced to being at the mercy of others, tormented however they pleased.

No wonder people did not recognize her. The contrast was simply too great.

Apparently, before the apocalypse, Jiang Xue had lived in the luxurious villa on the mountaintop, only to later fall into the hands of this group.

"Come on, big star, sing us a song. Give the brothers something to enjoy."

Zhang Zihang said with a laugh.

Because Jiang Xue had debuted as a singer and possessed excellent vocal skills, she had been known as a living CD. Whenever there was nothing to do, they would make her sing for them.

Jiang Xue’s eyes reddened. It was as if the words big star had become a taunt, piercing her heart deeply.

But she knew these people’s methods. If she showed even the slightest defiance, she would be met with inhuman torture.

So Jiang Xue really did begin to sing.

"Every time, I find strength while wandering in loneliness. Every time, even when I’m badly hurt, I don’t let tears shine in my eyes. I know... I have a pair of invisible wings that carry me flying, flying past despair... I won’t think about it..."

Having gone so long without drinking water, there was a faint rasp in her voice.

Yet her singing was indeed excellent, and it happened to capture the despair of the moment. As the lingering melody drifted through the hall, tears streamed down her face.

From a radiant celebrity adored by all, she had become, in the space of a single day, someone else’s plaything—and even worse, the very security guard who had once watched the gate for her!

Such a gulf in status felt as if she had fallen from heaven straight into hell.

"Heh heh heh. If you ask me, the apocalypse is actually pretty good. Back then those people were so high and mighty they wouldn’t even look at us twice. Now they have no choice but to obediently do as we say."

Wu Dazhi said with a grin from the side.

His companions nodded repeatedly, their gazes drifting toward the corner.

"And there’s even a rich man worth billions over there. Especially his wife—damn, she used to act like some cloistered widow or neglected lady. She gave me trouble every day and made things difficult for me. Now I’ve taught her to behave, and I’ve finally gotten my revenge!"

Lin Dong followed their gaze and indeed saw a middle-aged man there, with a woman beside him. Hearing their conversation, both were already trembling.

No one knew what kind of torment they had endured before this.

Wu Dazhi and the others were still sighing over how fortune turns, how thirty years east of the river give way to thirty years west, how a poor youth should never be underestimated. They looked and sounded exactly like the protagonists of some triumphant underdog tale.

By then, Jiang Xue had finished the song.

She was hugging her knees now, burying her head in her arms, sobbing in pain.

Zhang Zihang felt that the show had gone on long enough, so he turned to Lin Dong and said, "If you want to join us, then hand over the Man-Eating Vine crystal core and all the supplies you’ve stored. We can still be brothers after that. Otherwise... your end will be the same as theirs. Decide for yourself what kind of outcome you want."

"Oh, all right."

Lin Dong nodded and slowly raised his eyes. In the gloom, his pupils reflected the dancing torchlight.

"You want the crystal core, huh? I’ll get it for you..."