The Eerie Little Prince Just Wants to Lie Low in the Apocalypse - Chapter 4

These people…

These people were covered in wounds from being bitten and torn by the aberrants. Judging by the degree of their bodily mutation, they probably only had a few hours left.

Lu Xihe held a knife and unhesitatingly slit the throats of several of them. He walked over to the former “boss” and finally spat on him, the spit he hadn’t managed to land on him that day.

If the lower half of this man’s body hadn’t already mutated and hardened, Lu Xihe would have chopped off that disgusting thing of his.

But after all, this man had shown him “special care” back then, so Lu Xihe now gave him the special treatment he deserved.

A total of 27 people in the trunk had been bitten to death or injured by the aberrants. Lu Xihe stabbed exactly 27 times into the upper half of his body that hadn’t yet mutated, until he was gasping for breath, spitting blood, and begging for mercy. Only then did Lu Xihe deliver the final fatal blow to his heart.

Even after doing all this, Lu Xihe wasn’t satisfied. Right now, he’d only killed them as humans. In a few hours, their corpses would fully mutate into aberrants and continue to harm others. Lu Xihe wouldn’t allow them to keep doing evil even after death.

He got into the car, found some iron chains, and bound the bodies tightly to the utility pole. When the sun rose tomorrow morning, what awaited them was complete annihilation under the scorching sun.

As for Lu Xihe’s methods, Cheng Yuchuan didn’t say a single word of criticism. He only silently beat back the other aberrants that wanted to crowd in and watch the excitement, and before leaving, he reinforced the utility pole and the chains binding them, ensuring they couldn’t escape before being melted by the sun.

Having personally dealt with those beasts, Lu Xihe felt refreshed all over. It was the first time he’d felt this vindicated since the apocalypse began, as if every cell in his body was screaming with satisfaction.

But joy and sorrow are always intertwined. After returning to Anshan Village, the entire village was filled with familiar aberrants, and Lu Xihe’s heart sank to the bottom.

He searched frantically through the crowd of aberrants, and after scouring all of Anshan Mountain, he still couldn’t find his mother, older brother, or older sister.

Lu Xihe returned dejectedly to the home where he’d lived for twenty-two years. It had long been destroyed beyond recognition by the aberrants, but traces of past life could still be faintly seen.

“If you didn’t see them, that means they escaped. Don’t be sad. As long as they’re alive, you’ll meet again someday.” Cheng Yuchuan pulled the grieving man into his arms, patting his back and comforting him softly.

Lu Xihe was downcast for a while, then looked up and asked Cheng Yuchuan, “What about your parents? Did you see them?”

Cheng Yuchuan was silent for a moment, then forced a strained smile. He shook his head and said, “No. As long as I haven’t seen their bodies, I’ll assume they’re still alive. We’ll meet again eventually.”

We’ll meet again eventually.

In his previous life, Cheng Yuchuan had indeed reunited with his parents later, but it was in the tide of aberrants. Under the command of the Aberrant King, his father and mother raised their long blades and charged at him from afar, and then…

One slash severed his right arm.

One thrust pierced his chest.

In the end, that bond of blood thicker than water was severed by a single explosive strike of Cheng Yuchuan’s ability, turning to ashes, bringing unbearable pain.

Cheng Yuchuan still remembered that before those two aberrants turned to dust, dark liquid seeped from their deep, pitch-black pupils.

Cheng Yuchuan looked up at the sky, calming the emotions stirred up by the memories, then said to Lu Xihe, “Let’s go. We still have a mission to complete.”

“You’re going to build a safe zone too?” Lu Xihe still remembered that he’d said the protagonist’s task in his previous life was to establish a new safe zone.

“Yes, but before that, we need to go pick someone up first.”

…

September 24th, Yunling Village.

[System 001 connected. Small world transmission complete. Background: apocalypse. Host, please prepare.]

Everything before him was dim, with only a thin sliver of faint light seeping through. His body was confined in a cramped, narrow space, the slightest stretch of his arm sent a loud bang as it hit the ceiling panel, jarring him with pain.

Yu Yicheng slowly absorbed the information the system transmitted into his brain, his head throbbing as if it might split open.

He was a fast-traveler. In his last life, he had died from staying up all night gaming, and after death, he was bound to a system to carry out fast-travel missions. Who would have thought that the very first small world he’d start on would unlock a high-difficulty map, the apocalypse.

[Small world information fully transmitted. Main quest: Assist the protagonist in successfully establishing a new safe zone.]

“I’m not the protagonist?” Yu Yicheng latched onto the key point in the system’s words, asking in surprise.

He had assumed that someone as heaven-chosen as himself would naturally be the protagonist of the small world. Why would he need to assist the protagonist instead?

[No. This is a supporting character system. Your identity is the protagonist’s qi… ahem… teammate. You must find the protagonist, team up with them, and help them complete the apocalypse infrastructure mission.]

“Fine, supporting character it is.” Yu Yicheng reluctantly accepted the reality that he was merely a side character and began observing his surroundings.

Based on his past experience of hiding in wardrobes playing on his phone to avoid getting caught by his mom, he was certain he had been teleported into a wardrobe.

The thin light coming through the wardrobe door crack was cut off midway, as if something was blocking it from outside. Yu Yicheng squinted to look, and saw a deep gray eye with no whites peering intently into the wardrobe, as if searching for something.

Startled, Yu Yicheng jerked his head back, slamming it hard against the wardrobe’s back panel, and cried out in pain.

His shout seemed to alert the thing outside. The aberrant clinging to the wardrobe began to tremble violently, its stiff fingers clawing at the door crack, trying to pry the doors open.

Seeing that the door was about to be forced open, Yu Yicheng clamped his hand tightly over his mouth and screamed frantically in his mind: “System! System, help! System!!”

A warm, pleasant male voice sounded unhurriedly in his head, calmly continuing to broadcast the guidance for his quest.

[Now issuing Novice Quest 1: Escape Yunling Village. Detecting host is in danger. Backpack items are available for use: broom, baseball bat, drying pole, axe…]

Before the system could finish its slow listing of backpack items, the moment Yu Yicheng heard the word “axe”, he chose it without hesitation.

[Understood. Item transmitting.]

The moment the system finished speaking, an axe dropped into his arms with a thud. Without a second thought, Yu Yicheng grabbed it, kicked open the wardrobe door, and after confirming that what stood outside was a grotesque aberrant and not a human, raised the axe and swung down with all his might.

The aberrant was cleaved in two diagonally from the shoulder, collapsing to the ground without moving. Its already colorless eyes stared unblinkingly at Yu Yicheng, as if it hadn’t expected the axe to slice straight through it.

Yu Yicheng was equally stunned by his own astonishing attack power. His hand gripping the axe trembled as he muttered in disbelief: “One hit and it’s done? No wonder it’s a beginner village quest, easy as pie.”

After killing the aberrant clinging to the wardrobe, two more grotesque figures staggered toward him. Seeing their twisted, horrifying faces, Yu Yicheng raised his axe and struck twice more, killing them before bolting out the door.

Just before leaving, he heard strange noises behind him. Turning back, he saw the first aberrant he had split in half on the wardrobe slowly opening its bloody mouth, as if smiling at him. The scene was terrifying enough to rival a horror movie, one glance was enough to make his scalp crawl.

Opening the door, even more aberrants awaited outside. One axe swing per aberrant, Yu Yicheng sprinted toward the village exit.

Escape Yunling Village and find the protagonist, these two tasks repeated in Yu Yicheng’s mind, driving him forward step by step. Though exhausted to the bone, his running feet never stopped.

He finally made it out of the village, but before he could even worry about where to find the protagonist, he ran straight into a wave of aberrants.

Seeing a massive horde surging toward him, Yu Yicheng’s heart turned cold.

He tried to retreat back into the village, but a transparent barrier materialized out of thin air behind him, blocking any thought of escape.

No time to overthink. Yu Yicheng sprinted to the right where fewer aberrants gathered, cursing loudly as he ran:

“Just out of the tutorial zone and already this intense?! You dog of a system, no fair, ahhh!”

[System detects the protagonist is nearby. Quest 2 activated: Please locate the protagonist and form a party with them as soon as possible.]

Staring at the orange guidance arrow floating in the air, pointing in the exact opposite direction of where he was running, Yu Yicheng felt a wave of speechlessness. But bound by the quest, he had no choice but to turn back and charge toward the aberrant horde.

Worker’s soul, worker’s grind, for the quest, he’d give it everything!!

Watching the horde draw closer, each twisted, hideous face growing larger, Yu Yicheng’s legs went weak with terror.

Just as he was about to ask the system where the protagonist was, green vines suddenly wrapped around his waist. His body shot into the air, flying, and the next second he landed steadily inside a motorhome.

What just happened? Can someone tell me?

Yu Yicheng was completely baffled by how fast the quest plot had jumped. Had he accidentally hit the fast-forward button? How did he suddenly skip to a safe scene?

“Hello, I’m Cheng Yuchuan. Welcome to the team.” Cheng Yuchuan extended his hand.

Yu Yicheng stared blankly, his hand instinctively reaching out to shake it, but his mind was screaming: ‘Who are you? Where am I? What am I doing?’

System 001 appeared right on cue to answer his confusion: [Ding! Congratulations, host, on successfully locating the protagonist and forming a party. Your long-term quest from here on: Survive. Enjoy your journey, host.]

Hearing the system announce the quest completion, Yu Yicheng was both confused and deeply shocked.

Was it him finding the protagonist, or the protagonist finding him? How did it just, bam, get done in one fell swoop?

Was this some kind of system perk? No way, this dog of a system had just made him face the aberrant horde alone. It had to be the protagonist who took the initiative to come save him. This protagonist was someone worth sticking with.

With that thought, Yu Yicheng’s face broke into a grin, his eyes sparkling as he looked at Cheng Yuchuan: “Bro, you’re something else! From now on, I’m sticking with you. Name’s Yu Yicheng, hope you’ll look out for me!”

Cheng Yuchuan introduced him to everyone in the vehicle, then pulled out an orange-yellow jadeite bracelet from his spatial storage and solemnly placed it in Yu Yicheng’s palm.

He said, “This is a gift for you.”

Looking at the crystal-clear bracelet in his hand, Yu Yicheng was stunned for a moment, then his eyes curved into a smile: “Thank you, big shot!”

No wonder in the novel everyone was willing to follow the protagonist through thick and thin, the treatment was just too good!

[Ding! Detected host binding a high-level item. Would you like to activate it?] The system’s voice appeared again.

“Yes!” Yu Yicheng nodded eagerly. He couldn’t wait to see how awesome the equipment the protagonist gave him was.

Seeing him suddenly answer “Yes” to the air, everyone guessed he was talking to the system. Seeing his eyes light up with anticipation as he quickly put on the bracelet, they figured he was about to activate the item.

Everyone was curious about what magical function the bracelet Cheng Yuchuan had given him possessed.

Under the expectant gazes of all, a puff of orange-yellow mist suddenly drifted out from the bracelet. As the mist dispersed, its true form was faintly revealed.

This was… a rabbit… pig?