Reaching the Gong family residence and seeing the open door, Gong Lixin’s face became dark. His sister had been taken away by his father. He Jin also saw his wrinkled brows and turned to Wu Ming and told him to check other houses to see if anybody was still here. Wu Ming quickly went to check the surrounding houses and shook his head when he came back.
"Lixin, don’t worry, Big Brother He will help you find your family." He Jin patted the child’s head in comfort before turning to look at the others and yelled, "The military has already come and gone. We can’t sit still. It’s better to find two cars and go directly to the military base. We will search all the courtyards. Bring back anything useful to the Gong family residence in half an hour.
"Yes!" They went out to search.
Lu Yun and Wang Tao accompanied Gong Lixin upstairs to pack things up. He Jin checked around the Gong family residence to check the situation. He found that the Gong family had cleaned up and taken everything. They basically took away the food. Even the refrigerator in the kitchen had been cut off, no food was left inside.
The more he saw, the darker his face became and the anger in the bottom of his heart grew. He walked towards Gong Lixin’s room.
Gong Lixin’s room was still the same, nothing had been taken away. It could be assumed that Gong Xiangyi thought that he would never come back after he left, so she didn’t pack any of his daily necessities.
He Jin though that Gong Xiangyi had emptied the place; even small ornaments in the rooms were gone compared to the child’s room. He Jin’s dark eyes were suffocating with the sigh of relief he held back. What did it mean to empty the house but leave Gong Lixin’s stuff? Were they so sure that the child would not come back alive? There was not even a person left behind and the child’s possessions were left as well! If they weren’t going to care for the child, he would happily take over!
But seeing the child burying his head and quietly picking up his own belongings. The brightness in his eyes had disappeared, not even a glimpse of it could be seen, only replaced by loneliness. Obviously, his trail of thoughts, He Jin would not say it out loud in order not to hurt the child. So he had to bury it deep his heart and hold back his sigh before he went and helped him pack up.
"Put those stuff in here." He said as he gave the child a huge mountaineering bag that he had taken from a maid’s room on the first floor.
"Hn, thank you Big Brother." Gong Lixin smiled sweetly and started to put his things in that bag.
The child’s pure and worry-free expression was like a refreshing creek of crystal-clear water. The cloud in He Jin’s heart dissipated and he reached out to straighten out the other’s soft but messy hair, his deep eyes overflowing with distress.
"Wow! I said that Gong family was a martial arts’ family. Now you believe it! Look at this row of martial arts manuals! The whole row of books is traditional and absolutely authentic!" The voice of Lu Yun broke the silence in the room.
“Young Master Gong, Young Master Gong, could you lend me a few books? By the way, could you accept me as a disciple?" Lu Yun squinted his eyes in joy and smiled charmingly. Wang Tao also looked towards Gong Lixin, staring at his idol.
"If you like it, just take it. I remember everything in here." Gong Lixin point at his own head. His memory was superb and he remembered all of it.
After saying this, he paused and waved his hand before explaining carefully: "You have passed the best age to study martial arts. It would not be effective if you start practicing now. It would just be a waste of time."
Wang Tao and Lu Yun were downcast after hearing that. They also knew Young Master Gong’s temperament and knew what he said was true. Although it was true and their heart felt lost, they did not complain. They got their hands of a few long-awaited martial arts manuals and their expression recovered. They thanked Gong Lixin again and again.
Gong Lixin smiled back at them and continued to pack his things.
"What are these?" He Jin saw the child stuffing five large medicine bottle and one small one with the words "Fang Hao" into the bag and could not help but ask.
"Hn, medicine for my family." Gong Lixin explained briefly, avoiding to give to much details. Although he liked He Jin very much, compared to Song Haoran though, He Jin was still a level below. So, he hadn’t reached the point that Gong Lixin would tell him everything, unless the relationship between the two became deeper and just right. He wouldn’t tell him everything, not until his trust towards the other deepened.
In the apocalypse, Bugu Dan could be considered a cherished treasure, a treasure which people would fight over. He didn’t even need to think about it and subconsciously concealed the name of the medicine. As for the bottle of Spring [1], there’s no need to think about it. Even if it’s the apocalypse, he would not forget about his revenge unless he confirmed Fang Hao is dead.
Fortunately, He Jin didn’t ask further questions, but he had a complicated mood and patted the child’s head. The Gong family was so indifferent to him yet he was still thinking about preparing things for the Gong family. How could such a cute and lovely child be left behind? People really are blind!
He Jin’s bad mood was once again provoked, but the child did not notice it. He turned towards the closet and packed several sets of clothes. After turning it over and over for a long time, he finally picked three sets of loose sportswear and a few pairs underwear.
Printed underwear was the most popular nowadays. The small triangle cloth was printed with flower pattern. It was very delicate and very cute. He Jin made sure to pick up the underwear and held them in the palm of his hand. The scene in which the cloth was wrapped around the child’s round buttocks appeared in his mind and his heart was inextricably shaken. [2]
Heat slid over his whole body and his palm felt like it was on fire. He Jin suddenly let go of the fabric, almost throwing it away. Suddenly becoming aware of his abnormality [3], he looked around with a stiff face. Seeing Lu Yun and Wang Tao still studying the martial arts manuals, he was relieved and quickly wrapped several underwear into the child’s sportswear and stuffed it into the backpack in front of the child.
"When you’re done packing, go down to the front door and gather there. Meanwhile, I will go down and see." He Jin quickly announced to the three people before he fled the room, all while pressing down his beating heart.
Two cars were placed in front of Gong family residence; a Hummer H6 and and Iveco RV. Wu Ming, Gu Nan and Ma Jun were checking the condition of the cars. The beggar had collected food from various refrigerators and moved them to the RV. He had also taken a quick shower, although it wasn’t known where he found the military uniform he now wore. His face was still unshaven, but he had obviously a lot more spirit than before.
"This car won’t do, change it! The chassis is too low, the steering wheel is heavy and the fuel consumption is too large. It’s not suitable for escape. Go change it to an SUV." He Jin said after walking up to the RV with a frown.
"But Brother He, if there’s no RV, where are we going to sleep at night?" Gu Nan carefully opened his mouth.
"Give us a blanket and us, big men can sleep wherever we are lying." He Jin glanced at him and said coldly.
Gu Nan quickly acquiesced and him and Ma Jun went to another home to find a car. In any case, the superior performance of an SUV made it so that there were more of them in the military compound. The beggar heard his words and moved the collected food one by one with no complaints.
He Jin saw him helping and saw the refrigerator embedded into the wall of the car. His eyes lit up at the sight. "You should find some fresh fruits, vegetables, meat, milk and then find some pots and pans." He instructed the beggar while he got tools to disassemble the refrigerator.
The beggar quickly promised to find a lot of fresh food according to the instructions given. After he moved the food, He Jin removed the refrigerator, connected it to a battery and placed it on the back seat of the Hummer.
The two worked together to put all kinds of fresh ingredients into the space of the refrigerator.
"Hey, Brother He, that’s smart! I will help too!" Wang Tao helped to sort things out. Young Master Lu, who was not physically talented, did not help. After browsing a few martial arts manuals, they had come down and saw the refrigerator in the car and their eyes brightened.
He Jin and the beggar ignored them and continued to stuff things within the refrigerator.
"Brother He, put in a few bottles of beer? In summer, it’s best to drink cold beer and since it’s the apocalypse, there’s no need to be afraid of drunk driving!" Lu Yun asked with a smile.
"The refrigerator doesn’t have any room left" He Jin didn’t even lift his head before he coldly vetoed the suggestion.
"Just throw away these boxes of milk. So much milk, who’s gonna drink it anyways?" Lu Yun pointed to the dozens of cartons of milk in the refrigerator.
"These are for Lixin, don’t touch it. He’s still young, he needs the supplement nutrition and calcium." He Jin warned Lu Yun with a glare.
He had never seen He Jin being so considerate. Lu Yun heart felt aggrieved and he opened, "Brother He, I also need nutritional supplements, ah! You can’t only care about Young Master Gong and forget about me, ah!"
"Lixin is not an adult, and you’ve already reached adulthood." He Jin asked, as if he was angry, as he closed the refrigerator.
Lu Yun counted on his fingers and, unfortunately, he just became an adult. He felt stunned and aggrieved. He looked at Wang Tao, who was downstairs with Young Master Gong. He smiled again. "Wang Tao is not an adult. You should also ask what Wang Tao wants to eat. I listened to Wang Tao and he said that he usually liked to drink cheap wines. Isn’t that right, Wang Tao?"
Lu Yun hinted at him using his eyebrows. Although he hadn’t heard what the two were saying, Wang Tao still scratched his head and stupidly responded, "Yes."
Lu Yun celebrated with his chin held up high and showed a triumphant smile on his face,
"Wang Tao also needs to grow up?" He Jin sneered. "I think he’s over-nutritioned!" The words fell after he looked up and down Wang Tao’s head, arms and legs. [4]
Lu Yun looked defeated. Wang Tao had a smirk on his lips while Gong Lixin put his backpack into the car before he glanced back and forth at their expressions, clueless of what had just happened. He Jin’s eyes smiled and he touched the other’s head gently.
Right then, Wu Ming and the beggar moved a few boxes and exclaimed excitedly: "Hey, look what we found? It’s compressed rice and compressed biscuits. These boxes are enough for us to eat for two or three months!"
He Jin raised his thick eyebrows and rushed to tell Lu Yun: "Exactly, you can eat this. This is both nutritious and filling."
Lu Yun didn’t dare to say no. He turned his eyes away and went forward to help move things. Brother He was always eccentric, but when he met Young Master Gong, he changed his ways and became a dad! Giving me such a bodyguard is really a curse! He cursed in his heart, but in two or three seconds, Lu Yun was smiling again. This was his habit of Ah Q method of victory. [5]
Gu Nan and Ma Jun quickly found a Ford SUV and collected a few blankets and some necessities from each family home. They opened the door to Gong family residence and let He Jin see their haul.
"Alright, everything is in order." He Jin roughly checked for a while and was very satisfied with the performance of the two.
When Gong Lixin saw the two men coming over and climbing into the Hummer, he pulled out a military blade that he had put in on one of the side pockets of the mountaineering bag. He handed it over to Gu Nan and said, "This is my father’s, the blade is 79 centimeters long. It is also square forging, made with special military steel and can cut iron; it’s no worse than your previous Tang blade."
In order to prove that what he said was not a lie, Gong Lixin pulled out the blade from the scabbard and prepared to flick it gently with his fingertips.
The people who were still hot-headed, especially Gu Nan, had a hunch and hurriedly said: "Young Master Gong, don’t!"
The flicking sound resounded and the blade trembled but was still in one piece. Everyone was silent for a while before they all breathed a sigh of relief. Lu Yun also patted his chest in exaggeration. On the other side of the group, He Jin saw their poor and tense appearance and his mouth hooked up. He then saw the child’s big eyes and doubtful expression and the smile in his eyes deepened.
"This knife is for you. Last time, I broke yours. I’m sorry." The knife was put back into the scabbard and Gong Lixin apologized to Gu Nan. Last time, he did not know that the weapons of this world were so fragile. This time, he controlled his power and did not use any internal force.
Gong Lixin knew the inside story, but Gu Nan didn’t understand. But if this knife can bear Young Master Gong’s finger strength then it really is a good knife. He was very grateful to receive it and seemed to hold it in his arms like he would a previous baby and kept rubbing it. Lu Yun, Wang Tao and Ma Jun had a lot of envy and hatred at this moment. They should have lent their weapon to Young Master Gong to break, that way they could have gotten a new weapon too. [6]
"Okay, do we have everything sorted out? If your problems aren’t solved, then just go out and fight it out!" He Jin stepped forward and separated the burning eyes of the children before he opened the car door.
Eight people answered in unison. They divided into groups of four and climbed into the two cars and drove towards the garrison camp.
More than an hour after they left, a helicopter landed slowly on the tarmac of the military compound. Lin Wenbo ran with two of his comrades towards the Gong family residence and saw the Hummer that was placed in the garage had been driven away. Seeing that Gong Lixin’s room had been turned into a mess, he realized that he had come a step late.
Knowing that the child was still alive, he suppressed the happiness in his heart and immediately boarded the helicopter and chased him towards the direction of the garrison. If they couldn’t find him at home, then the child would definitely go to the military to find his father.
[1] Editor’s Note: Aphrodisiac
[2] AutumnBreeze: Wew, pervert moment.
[3] AutumnBreeze: I’m sure that’s his stiffness 😉
[4] AutumnBreeze: Shots fired!
[5] Editor’s Note: Is a psychological method of thinking. Information referred from
[6] AutumnBreeze: ... They’re completely infatuated aren’t they? Fanboys, ermigesh.
CrazedCookies: Thank you Jessie, egosumqt and Hide for the Ko-Fi! Here’s your bonus chapter!