After My Death, the Protagonist Broke Character - Chapter 7

Huaisi’s movement to climb onto the windowsill paused. He turned his head and looked toward Liao Muqing in disbelief, his vertical pupils trembling.

Why was he able to recognize me? I look completely different now… Even the others along the way didn’t recognize me at all…

He opened his mouth, subconsciously pressing against the jagged wound on his throat, and struggled to force out a few syllables.

“…You… ho…w…”

Liao Muqing sighed softly, his eyes brimming with a gentle radiance. His tone softened as he said, “You grew up by my side from a young age; no matter what you become, I could always recognize you.” He walked toward Huaisi, attempting to pull down his massive hood, but Huaisi was startled and retreated hastily, avoiding his touch.

He mustn’t let Uncle Liao see what he has become!

“You are you. You are Huaisi.”

Seeing Huaisi’s resistance, Liao Muqing didn’t press further, choosing instead to soothe him: “It’s alright. You must be hungry, right? I’ll go get you something to eat.” Without waiting for a response, he turned and left. Huaisi hesitated, pacing the room a few times like a lost puppy chasing its own tail.

I should take this chance to leave. If Uncle Liao finds out my identity, especially if the investigation team finds out, the consequences will be unimaginable. At least now I know they are doing well; with the shelter under the base’s protection, they’ll be safer.

Just as he was hesitating to head for the door, Liao Muqing returned, holding two small loaves of bread. They were the kind of bread commonly found in plastic supermarket packaging before the apocalypse, but in these times, they were precious.

Liao Muqing handed one to Huaisi. Huaisi stared blankly at the crumpled plastic packaging; it was clear the bread had been expired for a long time, but in the zombie apocalypse, that was the least of their worries.

Seeing that Huaisi didn’t take it, Liao Muqing simply stuffed one into his arms and tore open the other, feeding it to him as if he were still a child.

When he was small, Liao Muqing would often hide little snacks for him rare treats. Knowing how hard they were to come by, Huaisi would refuse to eat them, so Liao Muqing would feed them to him, smiling as he said, “It’s got little Huai’s saliva on it now, you have to eat it. You can’t waste food.”

Huaisi knew those were treats Liao Muqing had painstakingly saved just for him. Especially now that he wasn’t at the base and Liao Muqing couldn’t go on missions, life must be even harder.

Liao Muqing smiled, his gentle face radiating warmth. He didn’t look like a man in his thirties; his playful, childlike tone made him seem younger. “It’s got little Huai’s saliva on it, so little Huai has to eat it all up.”

“You can’t waste food.”

Huaisi stopped his intention to spit it out. He clutched the bread and ate it, bite by bite.

But what used to be a delicious treat now tasted like nothing to him, further triggering his “hunger” and making him miss the taste of blood all the more. He crouched by the wall, chewing the bread while watching Liao Muqing. Liao Muqing stood over him, his slender, fair neck exposed the thin skin covering the pulsing carotid artery. As he spoke, his Adam’s apple bobbed, and the blood vessels ran right alongside the cartilage.

One bite, and the neck would snap clean off. Fresh, warm blood would spray into my mouth… the blood volume of an adult male is even greater…

“Are you still a child? Eating so fast, you must be very hungry.” Liao Muqing reached out to brush the crumbs from Huaisi’s lips. The moment his fingers touched Huaisi’s lips, Huaisi’s pupils constricted violently, turning into golden, vertical slits beastly and predatory. He whipped his hand out and slapped Liao Muqing’s hand away.

SLAP. It was a loud, sharp sound.

Liao Muqing winced, instinctively pulling his hand back; the back of his hand was already swollen and red. He froze, looking up, only to see that Huaisi had retreated into a corner, trying to curl himself into a ball and hide entirely.

Liao Muqing’s gaze grew complex. His eyes lingered on Huaisi’s feet, and he walked away in silence. He rummaged through an old cabinet his entire life’s belongings. After a long search, he pulled out a pair of soft, leather casual shoes; despite the passage of time, the leather still held a luster. They were high-end.

Sensing Liao Muqing approaching, Huaisi whipped his head around, his vertical pupils fully exposed, brimming with murderous intent in an attempt to drive him away. But Liao Muqing showed no fear, instead kneeling to take off the ill-fitting shoes Huaisi had been wearing the tattered ones he had scrounged from a shop to hide his feet.

As the shoes came off, the pale, inflamed circle of flesh on Huaisi’s right ankle was revealed. Liao Muqing visibly froze. Huaisi tried to pull his foot away, but Liao Muqing caught it though he no longer dared to use force, fearing he might knock Liao Muqing over.

Liao Muqing simply pressed his lips together, lowered his head, and carefully put the socks on him before slipping on the pair of shoes he had treasured for so long.

The size was a perfect fit.

“Only with a good pair of shoes can you walk a good path in the future.” As if offering a prayer, Liao Muqing looked at him and said, “I hope your path from now on is a little easier to walk.”

Huaisi looked at Liao Muqing, silent for a long time, until the color of his vertical pupils began to fade. Then, he shoved Liao Muqing away and bolted out the door.

In that moment, he had caught himself thinking of the thrill of blood spraying into his throat. All he had was a thirst for blood. He was terrified that he would lose control and end up devouring Liao Muqing.

Escape while I still have a shred of reason left. Just get out of the shelter!

Once outside, the shelter was teeming with figures people walking children, taking strolls… men, women, children…

So much human scent… So hungry… So hungry…

Such fragile humans. Their necks would surely snap at a single touch. Their blood would flow out, too. So many people the sight of blood flowing like a sea… I could finally eat my fill.

The golden vertical pupils emerged once more. Huaisi clutched his head, pounding it painfully.

NO! NO! I am human! I am human! I AM HUMAN!!!!!!!

“…You… what… what’s wrong with you…” Someone recognized Huaisi as the ability user brought back by the hunting squad. The shelter residents were all hoping for more ability users to join, believing it would earn them more “points” from the investigation team and grant them protection from the base, freeing them from the labor of hunting for crystals and supplies.

But before the person could even greet him, they noticed his abnormality and asked in alarm.

BZZZZZZZ—!

Suddenly, a massive, thunderous sound rang out! The shelter’s air-raid siren had been triggered, blaring across the entire compound.

“What’s happening? What’s going on?”

“Is that the alarm? I didn’t mishear that, did I?!”

“It’s the alarm! What happened? Is the shelter under attack?”

“Is the alarm broken?”

With the blaring alarm, the entire shelter was thrown into a panic. They had never experienced a sudden siren before. Some people stood there in a daze, while others recognized it as the danger warning from the prison’s original system but they had no idea what the danger was, and even if they did, they had nowhere to run. Some people ran out clutching their children, only to stand in the open space, lost and bewildered.

Huaisi’s consciousness was momentarily fractured by the sudden alarm. He remembered this was the prison’s built-in system, now used as a danger warning.

Why did it go off? What happened?

The person who had tried to approach him looked on in terror: “What’s wrong? Who pulled the alarm?”

Just then, someone came running frantically across the open ground, his face a mask of despair. “It’s over! It’s all over! The zombies are here!”

“What are you talking about?!”

“The zombies are here! Just outside the wall!” the man screamed, half-crazed. “They’re about to break in! Everyone is going to… ha-ha… everyone is going to die…”

“That’s impossible!” Someone tried to strike him, retorting, “The walls are so high, the zombies can’t possibly get in! Stop talking nonsense!”

“Ha-ha-ha… Don’t believe me, go look for yourself… ha-ha-ha… everyone is going to die…”

Just then, the hunting squad appeared, and the crowd’s fear finally found an anchor. The hunting squad represented the highest combat power of the ragged shelter, and everyone relied on them.

Lu Zhiyuan had clearly become the leader of the squad. Facing the panic, he spoke the cruel truth, even with women and children present.

“We pulled the alarm just now. We discovered a group of zombies gathering around the shelter. But these might not be ordinary zombies. They are attempting to breach the wall defenses.”

Chen Yao wanted to stop him from being so explicit, but Lu Zhiyuan insisted: “They deserve to know the situation. Fortunately, the investigation team is still here. As you just heard, they’ve asked us to help defend. If we don’t let them know the truth, it will be hard to organize a defense.”

The others fell silent, then followed Lu Zhiyuan’s lead in urging the crowd to prepare themselves and evacuate the women and children to the interior buildings for safety.

At that moment, the walls and the only iron gate began to ring with BANG-BANG sounds of impact a violent force that suggested the zombies might break through at any second.

“Hurry and organize some people to prepare for defense. It looks like the wall and this door won’t hold much longer.”

Before anyone realized it, the investigation team had arrived behind them. Their expressions were somber as they ordered the shelter people to mount a defense.

Even though the investigation team had ordered a defense, most of the shelter residents were ordinary people with no combat capability. Aside from the hunting squad, the others couldn’t even defend themselves, let alone stop a zombie attack. Panic erupted as people began to run aimlessly, and the scene descended into chaos.

“Tch, they really are useless.” The investigation team members looked on with mockery.

Suddenly, a figure vaulted over the high wall an unnatural, contorted leap with twisted limbs. It slammed into the ground, and a second later, screams erupted.

The zombies had breached the wall. They leapt in and began gnawing on a nearby man. His neck was clamped in a zombie’s jaws; he lay there, weeping and snot-nosed, extending a hand toward the investigation team in a final, desperate plea for help.

The investigation team members they were the shelter’s only hope.

“Save… save me…” He tilted his neck, emitting a final plea for help. He saw the investigation team look at him, but in the next second, he heard a cold, emotionless command.

“Execute them.”

BANG, BANG. The man and the zombies lay dead on the ground.

Everyone watched this sudden, catastrophic disaster in shock, but it was already too late. More zombies leapt over the high wall, one after another. Screams, cries for help, and absolute chaos filled the air.

The hunting squad immediately sought stronger protection, asking the investigation team’s ability users: “What do we do now? More zombies will get in, and more people will be injured. Can you please think of a way?”

The investigation team had four ability users. Aside from He Qiao and Wei Xingchang, their Minister was currently absent, and the team was temporarily led by Zhai Zi’an. His expression remained unchanged.

“This is your shelter. Naturally, you should go up and defend it first. After all, this is also part of the assessment, isn’t it?”

Chen Chenggang and the others looked troubled. These zombies were clearly mutated they could even vault such high walls, and their numbers were growing.

He Qiao smiled and said, “Don’t worry, we’re right behind you. It won’t be a problem. Or are you saying you can’t even handle a situation of this level?”

“Ho… how could that be!” Chen Chenggang and his team didn’t want their chances of entering the base to be denied. Looking at the zombies tearing people apart not far away, they simply charged forward.

Huaisi watched the chaos and the dying people, subconsciously moving to go out, but his arm was grabbed.

“Don’t go out!” Liao Muqing gasped. It had been difficult to find Huaisi in the chaos and pull him to a relatively safe spot behind a building.

Facing Huaisi’s gaze, Liao Muqing explained: “The shelter is very dangerous right now. At least there are ability users from the investigation team here; they will definitely save people. At the very least, I don’t want anything to happen to you, Huaisi. Just trust them to handle it.”

He gripped Huaisi’s hand tightly, his heart filled with infinite guilt. He didn’t want to repeat the situation where Huaisi went out on a mission and disappeared without a trace.

Looking at Liao Muqing, Huaisi gradually calmed down. With the investigation team’s ability users in the shelter, he no longer needed to be the half-baked “expert” who didn’t even qualify as an ability user to hunt zombies, nor did he need to protect the people in the shelter. As Liao Muqing said, he could just leave it to them.

However, as the seconds ticked by, the zombies gradually breached the shelter. Wailings filled the once-safe refuge, and the walls that were meant to protect people became obstacles that prevented their escape. The shelter became a hell from which there was no way out.

Meanwhile, Chen Chenggang, Lu Zhiyuan, and the others the shelter’s highest combat power were about to collapse. They could barely protect themselves, let alone anyone else.

The investigation team’s ability users, however, remained in the back, watching. Even as casualties mounted, they stayed behind everyone, occasionally disposing of a zombie that wandered too close while casually discussing something.

At that moment, Uncle Lin the shelter’s security guard who was known for his strength was fleeing desperately, trying to seek protection from the investigation team. Suddenly, he collapsed. A zombie gnawed at his head, half of an eyeball squeezed out of its socket, and thick, viscous fluid oozed from the zombie’s mouth.

“Save… save… me…” He extended a hand toward the investigation team.

Huaisi stared at the scene. Liao Muqing’s expression grew increasingly grim as he watched the mounting tragedy. It wasn’t until he saw the investigation team members walk out of their living quarters, carrying a stack of documents and preparing to leave, that the realization finally hit him.

They have already abandoned the shelter. The number of casualties is completely irrelevant to them.

From the beginning, they never intended to lift a finger. What just happened was merely them waiting to bring their files out before retreating. The idea that they could join the base was a fantasy; it was never possible from the start.

Liao Muqing’s face turned paper-white. He felt his hand go empty; Huaisi’s silhouette had already flashed past him faster than any human.

“WH—Y——?!!!”

Huaisi stood before the investigation team, blocking their path, facing them squarely. He revealed his vertical pupils, which looked like those of a beast, and let out a demand.