Pregnant During An Apocalypse [BL]

Chapter 200: Chapter 200 - Hostile attack

The ten men stood just beyond the mall’s shattered front lot, their eyes sweeping over the barricaded entrance like wolves circling a weakened prey. One of them, a lanky thug with scars crisscrossing his arms, stepped forward, kicking a stray can out of his path.

”Someone’s been here before us, boss,” he muttered, eyes narrowing.

The leader—tall, broad, and carrying a thick mustache that curled slightly at the ends—lifted his rifle with one hand and sneered. ”Then we shoot him down. If there are some chicks...” He let the word drag out, crude glee flashing in his eyes. ”Then we all have some fun.”

Their laughter was foul, echoing like smoke through broken glass.

Behind the shelves and under the cover of dim shadows, Shao’s grip tightened around the handle of a kitchen knife. His knuckles turned white. He had chosen it carefully when they’d scavenged the place—it wasn’t just any kitchen blade, but a honed chef’s knife with a lethal edge that glinted like a whisper. It could cut through flesh like wet paper.

He could feel his heartbeat thudding in his ears. It wasn’t fear—it was a simmering rage.

He crouched lower, positioning himself behind a fallen display stand, ready to strike the moment they broke through.

A few meters away, Muchen crouched in silence, watching it all unfold with a troubled gaze. His fingers trembled slightly, and he bit his lip hard enough to draw blood. The last time I tried to protect someone, he thought bitterly, I almost killed a child.

No. Not again.

He clenched his fists. This time he would wait—wait for the right moment. These were humans, not monsters. He didn’t have to lose control. He just had to protect the kid... the others. That was enough.

A loud BANG shattered the stillness as three of the thugs rammed through the barricade. The wood splintered and the metal snapped apart.

”Hello, hello, peoples,” the first one greeted mockingly, arms spread with a smirk. ”We come in peace.”

He didn’t even see the blade flying toward him.

Shao burst from behind the shelves with a silent snarl, knife flashing. The man dodged easily—too easily—and grabbed Shao by the collar, yanking him off balance before slamming him to the ground like a discarded toy.

”Tch. Just a rat,” the man spat.

Shao’s back hit the floor with a dull thud, his breath knocked from his lungs. He stared up, dazed. What...?

He had trained. Practiced. He should have had the upper hand.

But these men weren’t just raiders. They were trained. Sharpened by blood and war.

Still, Shao’s pride wouldn’t let him stay down. He grit his teeth and pushed himself up, wobbling on his half-healed leg. The pain was distant. His fury drowned it.

”Oh yeah?” he rasped, knife glinting in his hand again. ”I’m just a rat? Why don’t you take me down, then?”

The men only laughed harder, amused by his determination. One of them raised his gun lazily, aiming it at Shao’s chest.

”Let’s put the rat down.”

But Shao didn’t flinch. He didn’t move.

Because this—this was the distraction.

Suddenly, a loud sneeze echoed from the upper floor. Everyone froze.

The raiders looked up—and their expressions shifted into something unclean.

There stood Zei, shirtless and still drying his damp hair with a towel, the water glistening off his bare torso. His eyes were half-lidded with disinterest, his smile crooked and mocking.

”Oh?” Zei said smoothly, one brow raised. ”More survivors. The more, the merrier.”

One of the raiders elbowed his friend, his gaze locked on Zei like a vulture spotting fresh meat. ”Boss... that guy looks real pretty. Why don’t we—”

Zei’s smile vanished.

His face hardened like a snap of winter wind.

”I hate it,” he said, voice low, sharp, ”when people look at me like that.”

He raised his hand. No warning. No flourish.

And then—silence.

Ten men froze mid-breath, mid-step, eyes wide. Statues, their bodies locked in place like puppets with severed strings.

”NOW!” Shao yelled, surging forward.

He didn’t hesitate. His knife plunged into the nearest man’s neck—blood spurting out in a hot spray. Muchen moved too, using only enough of his strength to knock them unconscious or disarm. Others joined in, slamming pipes and tools against the paralyzed invaders.

”Wait, don’t kill them all...” Jai whispered, clutching his smaller knife, hesitating at the edge of the chaos.

His eyes darted to one of the raiders whose frozen eyes were filled with terror.

”They’re still human...”

Shao whirled around, blood splattered on his face, his knife trembling from the force of the last kill. ”Then what do you want us to do, huh? Invite them to tea? These men would’ve raped and killed if we hadn’t stopped them.”

”I know,” Jai said quietly, but his gaze didn’t waver. ”But if we keep killing every threat... what’s left of us that’s human?”

”I don’t care!” Shao roared, stabbing straight into another man’s heart without mercy.

Jai flinched.

His fingers trembled, not from fear, but from something deeper. Something fractured inside him.

He turned away. He couldn’t watch anymore.

He left.

Shao stood alone, panting, blood pooling around his boots. The bodies were still. The room—eerily quiet.

His hand slowly dropped to his side, the knife dripping red.

He looked down at what he had done.

And for the first time... he felt cold.

They stripped the bodies quickly—hands still trembling, adrenaline shaking through every breath.

The men had been monsters in human skin, but they bled like anyone else.

Blood pooled in thick, syrupy puddles across the marble tiles of the mall floor.

The group didn’t look back.

Jai was the first to kneel beside the corpses, rifling through their bags with grim determination. ”These guns... they’re police-issued. Look at the logos. These guys raided a station,” he muttered, voice low.

Zei took one of the rifles and flipped it around in his hands with an expert’s ease. ”Fully loaded. M9s... even a few Glocks. And they packed bullets like candy.”

”But not food,” Muchen said, pulling away from a mostly empty rucksack with a frown. ”They probably ran out. That’s why they came here.”

No one said anything.

Shao stuffed magazines into his bag with clenched fingers. His gaze wandered, not to the corpses, but to Jai—who moved silently, avoiding his eyes, speaking only when necessary. Zei had taken up a position beside Jai again, walking shoulder to shoulder. Shao felt his stomach twist at the sight.

At the mall’s entrance, Five massive, sleek motorbikes stood side by side—gleaming despite the dust. Their midnight-black frames shimmered under the sunlight.

”How do they even work?” Muchen mumbled, squinting at the bikes.

”Who cares,” Jai muttered, brushing past him. ”Let’s just get on and get out of here.”

He didn’t look at Shao, didn’t pause. Zei followed him, but not before flashing a cocky smirk over his shoulder and winking at Shao like salt in an open wound. It burned.

Shao clenched his jaw, his hand still on the hilt of the knife. ”Why don’t we just kill that guy too,” he mumbled to himself.

Muchen gently put a hand on Shao’s arm, grounding him. ”Don’t let him get to you.”

Behind them, Hana quietly trailed, her arms wrapped tightly around Yuki. The little girl was silent, face buried in Hana’s chest, her eyes hidden by Hana’s trembling hand. She didn’t want Yuki to see the bodies—didn’t want her to remember this place in screams and blood.

Qiu Yue was the last to exit, eyes still wide from what they had just done. But when his gaze fell on the bikes, something shifted. He gasped softly, his steps picking up pace like an excited child.

”Whoa...”

He rushed toward them and ran his hands along the chrome detailing with reverent fingers.

”You know what these are?” he said, eyes wide as he turned to look at the others. ”These are Kawasaki Z1000 Heritage Customs. Ultra-limited editions. Pre-EMP. Do you understand how rare it is that these survived? Let alone that they’re functional.”

Muchen blinked. ”You... know bikes?”

”I used to collect miniatures. But these—these are the real thing,” Qiu Yue said, practically glowing as he inspected the engine. ”Whoever modified them probably replaced the internal circuits with analog tech. That’s why they still work. It’s like seeing a unicorn. No—five unicorns.”

Hana gave a tired smile as she passed him, her feet aching, but her arms steady around Yuki. ”Then let’s hope these unicorns can take us somewhere safer.”

Shao stood in silence, watching Jai swing a leg over the first bike with Zei hopping on behind him.

Lu Zhi patted his brother back, pulling him over to another bike.

Muchen took Hana and Yuki.

Qiu Yue rode alone with a mystified grin on his face.

That left one bike untouched. No one wanted to leave that bike behind.

Shao glanced at Zei. ”you take that bike.”

Zei pouted hugging Jai’s waist tightly. ”but I want to ride together with jai,”

Jai scowled pushing his hand away. ”Just take that bike darn it.”

”fine..” pouting Zei walked over to the last bike. ”you guys are mean. Making me ride all alone.”

After all the hubhub, they started their bikes and rode off and away from the mall.