Ji Ming’s knuckles tightened around the steering wheel, his eyes flicking between the rearview mirror and the road ahead. His voice was low. "That military vehicle’s too calm. No signals, no flags, and just silence."
But just as the unease hung heavy in the air, Liora suddenly sat up straight.
"Brake!" she shouted.
In an instant, chaos unfolded.
Ji Ming slammed on the brakes. The Hummer skidded violently, tires screeching against the cracked road as smoke burst out from beneath. Behind them, the military vehicle screeched to a halt, and Yun Shou’s team’s armored SUV nearly collided with the back of the Hummer.
But it was already too late.
The road ahead was jammed.
A sea of abandoned vehicles stretched endlessly before them, forming a blockade that was too unnatural and too precise.
In the rearview mirror, more horror unfolded.
The back of the highway also sealed slowly as all the heavy vehicles were suddenly pushed onto the road.
A massive truck had been parked sideways across the road, as if waiting for this moment. From behind the wrecks, silhouettes began to emerge one by one.
No... not silhouettes.
They poured out from between the vehicles, from behind the shadows, from the surrounding trees, like a flood. Guns in hand, eyes filled with the desperation and madness born from survival.
Each step they took echoed on the broken road. The dust flew into the air. They carried assault rifles, machetes, even sharpened metal pipes. Their expressions were both guarded and hungry.
The man in front raised his gun and shouted.
"All of you, step out of the vehicles!"
His voice boomed over the empty plain.
"Put your weapons down! Hands where we can see them!"
Liang Zihan cursed under his breath.
"A looter gang. A damn big one."
Chen Wei looked around quickly. "They blocked both ends. This wasn’t random. They knew we were coming. This is a trap."
Inside the vehicle, no one panicked.
The people in Liora’s group were all awakeners who had crawled their way through blood and bone. They had faced zombies, mutated beasts, even human monsters. Their expressions did not falter.
But still, they did not act rashly.
Liora’s gaze swept through the mass of armed looters. Her voice was calm.
"Everyone, don’t make a move yet."
Ji Ming glanced at her sideways. "We can take them."
Liora shook her head slowly.
"If we wanted to kill, we could. But if everyone lived this far, it means they’re just trying to survive. And it is not possible to kill such a huge crowd without making noise."
Her words sank heavily into everyone’s hearts.
They were not afraid. They were simply choosing not to add more blood to the already tainted planet.
One by one, her team stepped out. The looters visibly tensed, but Liora’s people stood tall, calm, and unafraid.
Even with guns aimed at their heads, they radiated power.
The kind of quiet confidence that only survivors of countless battles could carry.
Liora was the last to step down from the Hummer. Her boots touched the ground with a quiet thud, her long black coat swaying behind her. Her eyes swept over the crowd like a cold wind. Her presence made several looters instinctively avoid her gaze.
A door opened from the military vehicle behind them.
Liora heard it—the subtle click of metal and the shift of boots.
Something in her chest paused. She turned around slowly. A man stepped down from the vehicle.
He wore a dark uniform, spotless and rigid. It was not a military uniform but looked more like a tailored armored suit. He was tall, and his posture was straight as a blade.
His face—calm, cold, and unreadable.
Those deep, sharp, commanding eyes landed on her and locked in.
For a long breath, everything else disappeared.
Liora’s pupils shrank slightly. It was him—Xu Kai.
The man she had met only twice. The man who was extremely indifferent, but whose presence had left an imprint on her heart.
He walked out with the same quiet intensity he had when they first met. His steps were steady, his back straight. No weapon was drawn—but he radiated more danger than the hundreds of looters surrounding them.
The crowd around him parted unconsciously, as if afraid to touch his shadow.
Xu Kai’s gaze was locked on Liora. He did not speak, nor did he show any expression. His eyes were like deep water, but inside that stillness burned something sharp and unreadable.
Liora’s fingers curled slightly at her side.
Ji Ming looked at the man in uniform and muttered, "Who the hell is that? He feels like an entire army by himself."
Zhao Ren clicked his tongue. "Military rank... elite unit. Advanced vehicle... Not someone to mess with."
Chen Wei whispered to Liora, "You know him?"
Liora did not answer. Her eyes were still on Xu Kai, as if time had frozen between them.
The looter leader noticed the strange atmosphere and frowned. "You military people better not act smart. We’ve got enough firepower to bury you all. Don’t test us."
Xu Kai’s gaze slowly turned toward the speaker. No anger and no words.
Only that quiet stare. But it made the leader flinch.
Just then, the second man from Xu Kai’s side stepped down. A younger man—he was Yang Ming, whom Liora also recognized, and it seemed he also recognized her as he waved at her. Liora was still stunned, trying to process their presence.
But Xu Kai finally moved.
His gaze turned back to Liora for one last moment. Then he nodded faintly—an acknowledgment, or perhaps a silent promise—and turned to face the looter group.
Without raising his voice, he said just one sentence.
"If you’re here for loot, say it plainly. If you’re here for blood—prepare to lose your own."
The words fell like a rock into a still lake.
The looter group stirred restlessly. Some looked at each other. Some lowered their weapons slightly.
The leader looked furious. "You think we’re afraid of you?"
But his voice no longer had the same confidence.
From Liora’s side, Ji Ming chuckled. "Looks like they bit off more than they could chew."
Still, Liora stepped forward. Her tone was cold.
"We’ll give you one chance to speak. What do you want?"
The looters hesitated.
They had surrounded these groups, thinking they were just another wandering band. But these people were too calm. Too powerful. And now a military officer had joined the equation.
The leader finally gritted his teeth. "Supplies. We just want food. Medicine. Cores. We don’t want to fight."
Liora turned her head to Xu Kai. She met his eyes.
"We’ll talk first," she said, as if speaking not only to him, but to the world.