The Eerie Little Prince Just Wants to Lie Low in the Apocalypse - Chapter 2

“Who’s there?”…

“Who’s there?”

The sudden voice echoing in the cave startled Lu Xihe, but at least it was human. He took a deep breath, suppressing the fear in his heart.

“Hello, I’m just passing by and wanted to rest in the cave for a while.” Lu Xihe said.

Hearing that the newcomer was also human, the person inside relaxed, dispersing the energy ball that had been forming in their hand.

“Come in.” A beam of firelight illuminated the interior of the cave. At the deepest corner, three people huddled together, eyeing Lu Xihe warily.

There was a boy who looked to be in his teens and two children under ten years old.

The boy’s arm was bleeding profusely, and judging by the wound, he had just been bitten by an aberrant.

“You’re injured?” Seeing Lu Xihe covered in blood, the boy immediately stood up, shielding his younger siblings behind him.

“Yes, but not from an aberrant bite.” Lu Xihe glanced at his own body and explained seriously.

After repeated questioning and carefully examining Lu Xihe’s wounds, the boy finally relaxed, confirming they weren’t caused by an aberrant.

“Sorry, I had to make sure there wouldn’t be any aberrant in this cave tonight. I didn’t mean to offend you,” the boy said apologetically, extending his hand in a friendly gesture. “My name is Zhong Mo. These are my younger siblings, Xiao Hao and Xiao Yue.”

“Understood. I’m Lu Xihe.” Lu Xihe shook his hand briefly, his gaze shifting to Zhong Mo’s bloody arm. “Your injury…”

“I was bitten by an aberrant, but don’t worry. I’m a Level 3 ability user, so I won’t fully transform into an aberrant within three days.” Zhong Mo didn’t hide his condition, though a flicker of sorrow passed through his eyes as he mentioned the wound.

“We’ll leave tomorrow. If you need to stay in this cave, you can do so without worry,” Zhong Mo added.

“I won’t stay. I have no food, so staying here would mean death. Where are you planning to go?” Lu Xihe asked.

He had only intended to rest for the night, and with so many injuries, he needed to find a clinic as soon as possible to avoid infection, which could be fatal.

Since he had no direction in mind, following Zhong Mo, an ability user, seemed better than wandering alone.

“To R City. I don’t have much time left. I must get them to R City before I transform.” Zhong Mo was honest.

He noticed Lu Xihe’s gaze lingering on his younger sister several times, so he patted the little girl’s shoulder, signaling her to greet Lu Xihe.

Though a bit scared, the little girl couldn’t disobey her older brother. Summoning her courage, she stepped forward and took Lu Xihe’s hand. “Big brother, if you don’t know where to go, come with us to R City.”

Feeling the warmth of the little girl’s small hand, Lu Xihe was reminded of the girl he had rescued from the driver’s seat the night before. He had saved her briefly then, but now, another day had passed, and he wondered how she was doing.

In this post-apocalyptic world, the strong survive. As one of the weak, all he could do was feel indignant about such things.

Lu Xihe simply couldn’t accept it, why could people like that awaken abilities and become strong, while he…

If given the chance, he would definitely take revenge on those heartless beasts for all the lives they had taken.

“Alright.” Lu Xihe’s expression softened, and he smiled gently at the little girl. “Let’s go to R City together.”

It wasn’t until they chatted that evening that Lu Xihe learned Zhong Mo had originally been the captain of their team. A few days earlier, while out searching for supplies, Zhong Mo had been bitten by an aberrant while protecting his teammates.

Seeing that he had been bitten, the other members turned on him, driving the three of them away. Then, in a bid to seize the last of the food in Zhong Mo’s possession, the new captain heartlessly threw the younger brother off a cliff. Zhong Mo, holding his little sister, jumped after him, only to discover the cave halfway down the mountainside.

Their shared plight strengthened Lu Xihe’s resolve to travel with them to R City. Even if Zhong Mo eventually turned completely into an aberrant, he was willing to take on the responsibility for Zhong Mo’s younger siblings and continue guiding them toward R City.

For no other reason than a shred of human warmth between people.

Such thinking was, in truth, foolish in this apocalyptic world, Lu Xihe knew that well. But one could not go against their own conscience. He had no special abilities, no system. Zhong Mo was willing to protect him along the way; in return, he would ensure Zhong Mo’s younger siblings survived a little longer, even if only for a brief while.

Everyone must die eventually, the important thing was to die meaningfully, to die with value.

They hid in the cave until daybreak before setting out. With the aid of Zhong Mo’s abilities, they quickly made it back to the surface. Following the tracks left by the large truck, they headed straight for R City.

The aberrants they encountered along the way were all low-level, ordinary ones. With Zhong Mo’s abilities as a third-tier adept, killing such aberrants was as easy as crushing a few ants. By the end of the day, what exhausted them most wasn’t fighting aberrants, it was the journey itself.

Especially traveling under the scorching sun.

Aberrants hid in the shade, so for safety’s sake, they tried to stay in the sunlight as much as possible.

On the first night, the four of them took shelter in a small clinic. Lu Xihe tended to his own wounds, packed a small medical kit with emergency supplies and bandages, and gave Zhong Mo a simple dressing for his bite wound.

Zhong Mo’s body was gradually transforming. His entire right arm, where he had been bitten, had hardened like an aberrant’s. Though it didn’t affect his ability usage, he could clearly feel his body beginning to slip out of his control.

Seeing their older brother on the verge of becoming an aberrant, the two children wept, their faces streaked with tears. Watching the three of them embrace and cry together, Lu Xihe felt a pang of sorrow in his own heart.

His father had met his end during the first month of the aberrant apocalypse. Now, his mother, older brother, and older sister were gone too, he hadn’t even had the chance to say a proper goodbye before watching them vanish into the tide of aberrants.

Yet, in this apocalyptic world, even grief had to be kept in check. Those who remained alive could see no future either; all they could do was grit their teeth and continue charging into the darkness, fighting for a path toward survival.

The sun rose, dawn broke, and it was time to move on.

The four continued following the truck’s tracks, but before long, they came across the large truck, abandoned halfway.

The driver’s cabin was empty, but the cargo hold was packed with people, a dense, crowded mass. Inside, several aberrants were frantically biting those positioned near the outer edges.

Lu Xihe opened the cargo hold from the outside while Zhong Mo dealt with the aberrants inside. After moving aside over a dozen mangled, bloodied corpses that had been torn apart by the aberrants at the periphery, the trapped survivors were finally freed.

Only after everyone in the cargo hold had climbed out did Lu Xihe realize with a shock: most of the corpses that had been torn apart while protecting the outer layer were elderly. Those bitten in the second layer were strong, young men. Further inside were adult women, while the children had been shielded layer by layer, kept safe in the very center.

Witnessing this scene, a surge of warmth instantly flowed through Lu Xihe’s heart, followed immediately by a wave of fury.

The villagers, who had farmed in the mountains their entire lives, possessed an innate simplicity and kindness etched into their bones. Even without supernatural abilities or systems, in moments of crisis, they still fought with all their might to protect those weaker than themselves.

In contrast, those so-called “strong ones” in the driver’s cabin who fled at the critical moment were utterly despicable.

A towering rage burned fiercely in his chest. Lu Xihe clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug into his flesh until blood seeped from his palms, dripping onto the ground. Even the piercing pain could not alleviate the hatred burning in his heart at that moment.

These beasts didn’t deserve to be called human!

The truck’s doors were pierced with several large holes, and there were signs of a struggle inside the cabin. Based on Zhong Mo’s experience, they had likely encountered a high-level aberrant, been unable to defeat it, and abandoned the vehicle to flee.

Aberrant tides were led by high-level aberrants, invading region by region with purpose. Now, the high-level aberrant had moved on with the main force, leaving only a few straggling ordinary aberrants behind.

Fortunately, the truck’s driving system remained undamaged. Once the aberrants were cleared, it could still be used. Lu Xihe called for the villagers who hadn’t been bitten to board the truck. Those unfortunate enough to have been bitten by aberrants had no choice but to remain behind.

Some children, whose family members had been bitten, cried and begged to stay and die with their loved ones. They were forcibly thrown onto the truck by adults who had not yet fully transformed, and the vehicle departed amid a chorus of weeping.

With the truck, traveling became much more convenient, though the difficulty of avoiding aberrant attacks at night doubled. However, Zhong Mo indicated this wasn’t a major problem.

As evening fell, Lu Xihe parked the truck by the mountainside as instructed. Zhong Mo used his ability to carve out a new cave, backed the truck inside to hide it, then uprooted several large trees and transplanted them to block the entrance. A temporary safe zone was thus established.

After watching Zhong Mo’s actions, Lu Xihe couldn’t help but exclaim, “Incredible!”

But once this was done, Zhong Mo prepared to leave.

Nearly sixty hours had passed since he was bitten by the aberrant. As the sun set, he gradually lost control over the violent aberrant nature raging within him.

Zhong Mo knew he could no longer stay by their side.

He didn’t ask Lu Xihe to call his younger siblings out for a final farewell. If he saw them, he feared he wouldn’t be able to leave tonight. And if he didn’t leave, as a third-tier ability user transforming into a mid-level aberrant, no one here would be able to stop him.

He had to run far away while his consciousness was still clear.

“Are you really not going to say goodbye to them?” Lu Xihe asked, looking at the comrade he had fought alongside for two days with a hint of reluctance.

“No. Please give them this for me,” Zhong Mo replied, handing him two letters. After a moment of silence, Zhong Mo raised his head firmly and looked at Lu Xihe, his tone solemn. “I’ll have to trouble you to look after them from now on. If it really becomes impossible… just abandon them.”

Zhong Mo’s eyes grew moist. The right side of his body had fully transformed, leaving only his left eye glistening with tears. He choked up and said, “Put yourself first. Don’t let them hold you back. I only hope they can live a little longer, but not at the cost of your life. Finally… thank you.”

After saying this, Zhong Mo turned and resolutely walked away. Lu Xihe stood rooted to the spot for a long while, only moving slowly to return to the truck after Zhong Mo’s figure had vanished from sight.

As soon as he turned around, he spotted two small figures huddled in the corner of the cave entrance, staring intently in the direction Zhong Mo had just left.

It was Zhong Hao and Zhong Yue.

Lu Xihe’s body stiffened, and tears instantly welled up in his eyes.

Parting in life and death, it truly was a lesson one could never learn to let go of in a lifetime.

After tonight, Lu Xihe would be the only one left to push forward on the journey. Although the driver’s seat was comfortable, without the two car doors and with Zhong Mo no longer there to fend off the aberrants, the cabin became especially dangerous. At any moment, one of those creatures could leap into the vehicle.

Lu Xihe had to both drive and fight off the aberrants, leaving him with no time to look after Zhong Hao and Zhong Yue. He had no choice but to send the two children to the back compartment to stay with the others.

The midday sun grew increasingly intense, scorching his skin with waves of stinging pain. Lu Xihe’s hands, gripping the steering wheel, began to tremble uncontrollably for no apparent reason.

So hungry, so hot, and so tired… He just wanted to lie down and give up.

In his dazed state, Lu Xihe slammed on the brakes, hoping to ease his discomfort. But just then, he saw an aberrants ahead, its torn, bloody maw stretched wide as if grinning at him, charging toward him at breakneck speed.

Lu Xihe tried to raise his hands to block it, but darkness clouded his vision. His body went limp, and he slumped downward. Just before losing consciousness, a frantic cry echoed in his ears:

“Xihe!”