Chapter 32: Returning Home, Meng Kui Injured

In the orchard, kiwi vines were covered with clusters of densely packed fruit.

Among them, one fruit was particularly distinctive.

It was a deep emerald green, its surface covered with black fuzz and curling patterns.

It was a Devil Fruit!

The fruit was hidden extremely well among the others. If Ao Chen had not been able to pinpoint its location directly, even knowing that a Devil Fruit was somewhere in the orchard, he would have had great difficulty finding it.

This might well have been the same fruit that man had eaten in his previous life.

That fruit had been incredibly powerful!

After handing it to Ao Chen, Ao Chen stored it in his treasure space, and the two returned to the car and headed toward Bian City.

On the way, Ao Xin finally told her about the past-life connection between him and that family.

“That man used to be a member of my team. I helped his family before as well, but later he betrayed me and joined someone stronger.”

“There was nothing inherently wrong with that. In a chaotic world, changing allegiance was nothing unusual. You followed whoever was strongest—that was simply common sense.”

“Of course, when I first met him, he was no longer living here. He had already taken his wife and children into the city. He never mentioned his parents, so they may have died on the road.”

“Later, he actually led people in an attack on my base. We suffered heavy losses and could no longer hold out, so I took my people and joined another powerful survivor. One day, the two sides ended up fighting.”

“That organization was wiped out. I killed him and his wife, but someone who had always followed me urged me to spare their child. In the end, I agreed!”

“But I never imagined that sparing that little bastard would lead him to seek revenge against me. He nearly killed me several times!”

“Eventually, under the schemes of a pair of treacherous lovers, I was killed by that little beast!”

“When will vengeance ever end? Once one side is completely dead, the grudge naturally ends with it!”

Ao Xin slammed his foot onto the accelerator. “Damn that pair of treacherous lovers! If I ever find them, I’ll wipe out their entire family too!”

Only then did Ao Chen understand what had happened to her brother in his previous life. She also realized why he had searched through the house so frantically and then set it ablaze.

“Brother, we have so many Devil Fruits in this life. No one will be able to bully us again.”

Ao Chen gently comforted him. She could hardly imagine how difficult her brother’s life had been in the apocalypse without his prophetic knowledge or any Devil Fruit abilities.

Five days later, they returned to Bian City.

By then, the major provincial capitals had developed high-level zombies as a result of military suppression. Bian City, however, was merely a small city and had ironically benefited from the disaster. The strongest creatures there were only one-star Flesh Corpses.

When they arrived at the entrance to their home, half a tank of fuel remained. Getting out again would be inconvenient from then on.

“Huh? Meng Kui did a pretty good job!”

The area below their building had been fitted with numerous barricades and coils of barbed wire, sealing off the entrance. Ordinary zombies could not get inside, while even Flesh Corpses would have great difficulty forcing their way through.

Of course, if there were Stiff Corpses, they could easily destroy these obstacles.

Fortunately, Bian City had no high-level zombies.

In the middle of the barricades stood several layers of thick iron gates. Ao Xin had no idea where Meng Kui had obtained them.

But when he saw a large freight truck parked nearby, he realized that Meng Kui must have found those as well.

Without a key, they could not simply destroy the barricades in front of their home. Ao Xin said to Ao Chen, “Come on, I’ll carry you.”

He transformed into an Azure Dragon and carried Ao Chen directly to the window of his bedroom.

They opened the window and climbed inside.

The moment they entered, they heard people talking in the living room.

It was their father and Meng Kui.

The two of them opened the door and walked out.

“Dad! Mom! We’re home!”

Their sudden appearance startled everyone in the room.

Only after recognizing them did the others relax.

“How did you get out of the bedroom?”

Ao Xin smiled. “I saw that the entrance to our hallway was blocked by all those obstacles. It would have been a shame to destroy them, so I transformed into an Azure Dragon and flew up here.”

After several days apart, seeing his family again filled him with warmth and relief.

His family was still safe.

At that moment, their father was bandaging Meng Kui’s wound. Ao Xin was startled. In the apocalypse, anyone injured was most likely wounded by a zombie—and that meant they could transform into one.

“What happened to Meng Kui?”

He was already prepared to kill Meng Kui if necessary. Once a transformation began, there would be no room for hesitation.

His father, Ao Kang, immediately understood his concern and waved a hand.

“Meng Kui was bitten on the shoulder while shielding your mother from a zombie. But I used the powers of the Surgical Fruit to remove the flesh from that area. He won’t become infected.”

Ao Kang stood between Ao Xin and Meng Kui. He had been deeply moved by the sight of Meng Kui risking his life to protect Zhang Hong from the zombie. He even felt that Meng Kui had practically become his adopted son.

Ao Xin was still uneasy. The zombie virus was extraordinarily violent. Once infection occurred, transformation happened quickly. Would simply removing a piece of flesh really be enough?

But Meng Kui had indeed helped his family a great deal, and Ao Xin could not be completely heartless. He decided to observe the situation for the time being.

“Boss, don’t worry,” Meng Kui said. “I live downstairs. Even if I become infected, I won’t drag you all into it.”

“Downstairs?”

Ao Xin had not known about that.

Zhang Hong explained, “After the Chen family died, Meng Kui went out and found some construction materials to block off our building. Then he voluntarily moved to the first floor. He said he could detect zombies sooner and hold them off, so he’s been living in Old Zhao’s former apartment on the first floor these past few days.”

Ao Kang said, “I’ve studied the zombie virus. It causes the blood to turn black. When Meng Kui was bitten, I immediately used the Surgical Fruit’s power to cut away the wounded area. It had only just begun turning black, and the rest of his body was unaffected. The infection probably hadn’t had time to spread.”

Ao Xin kept his eyes fixed on Meng Kui’s body, ready to prevent him from suddenly transforming and harming anyone.

Seeing that Ao Xin was still uneasy, Meng Kui took the initiative to go downstairs. Ao Xin followed him.

“Your arm is injured, so your combat ability has diminished. If zombies come, you’ll have a hard time defending yourself. With me here, you’ll be safe.”

“Of course, if you transform, I won’t hesitate to kill you.”

Ao Xin spoke bluntly. This was no time for euphemisms.

Meng Kui gave a bitter smile, indicating that he understood.

“I know, Boss.”

The two of them entered the room on the first floor. Meng Kui sat on the sofa to rest, and the atmosphere grew somewhat awkward.

Ao Xin entered the Divine Gift Space and exchanged a giant meat stick—the kind Luffy loved most. Not only did it restore stamina exceptionally well, it could also heal external injuries.

A single piece cost a full one hundred points.

It was an extravagant luxury far beyond the means of anyone at this stage.

“Eat this. It will help your arm heal quickly.”

Ao Xin handed the giant meat stick to Meng Kui. Although it could not protect him from the zombie virus, it was highly effective at treating injuries.