Reborn One Week Before the Apocalypse

Chapter 378: Chapter 368: Provocation

People aren’t blind. That Zhang Li was definitely not a good man. Even in peaceful times, he was nothing more than a local thug. Back then, he used his family’s minor connections to gather a group of jobless hooligans and lorded it over everyone in his neighborhood.

Now, in the apocalypse, his body had undergone a strange transformation, turning him into one of the world’s rare superpower users. Because of this, his old gang of underlings still worshiped him.

Zhang Li’s creed in life was simple: live for pleasure.

He never gave a damn whether other people lived or died.

All the women in his group had been ”collected” by Zhang Li along the way. Some had joined willingly, others had been forced.

Of course, those who joined willingly weren’t attracted to Zhang Li’s sleazy appearance. They were simply looking for a chance to survive in the apocalypse, to get a meal.

As for those who were unwilling, most of them were mothers with children.

They had originally thought they were joining a group that could lead them to safety, only to find they had walked right into a den of wolves.

It was easy to get in, but hard to get out. Once their children were held hostage, they couldn’t escape even if they wanted to.

A child is every mother’s weakness.

Among those who had joined willingly was a woman named Wang Yan.

Wang Yan had been a waitress. She was from the countryside and hadn’t been working in the city for long when the apocalypse struck.

The woman was plain-looking, but her way of thinking was incredibly audacious.

From the very beginning of the apocalypse, she had decided she would survive by relying on a man.

To her, Zhang Li was a prime candidate. After all, if she had to sleep with someone to survive, she might as well choose a man who could feed her. What was there to lose?

However, despite how proactive and sycophantic she was, her plain looks and crude demeanor meant that Zhang Li rarely took her to bed, even when she threw herself at him. Instead, he much preferred the highly educated urban women who actively resisted his advances.

This was a major setback for the determined Wang Yan, so she took to bullying those other women, both openly and in secret.

Zhang Li saw what was happening, but the thought of women fighting over him was secretly thrilling, so he never intervened.

Today marked the third day that Wang Yan had seen Zhang Li eyeing a girl from the other group.

She glanced over at Tang Mo. The girl had a frail frame that looked like it would topple in a strong wind—clearly one of those city dwellers obsessed with dieting.

Her face was pretty enough, but she looked as if she’d forgotten how to smile.

However, because Qiao Jin had studied art from a young age, and because Tang Mo’s soul now resided within her, she exuded a cool, detached aura.

It was a kind of temperament that the poorly educated Wang Yan could only envy, but never hope to possess.

This was especially true when everyone sat down to rest. Zhao Huan’s group had just looted a convenience store, so each of them had some food.

They were a stark contrast to Zhang Li’s group nearby.

Wang Yan watched with envy as Tang Mo drank bottled water and ate crackers, jealousy threatening to boil over inside her.

’Why? We’re both women, so why do I have to serve that pervert, live in constant fear, and never get enough to eat, while that girl gets to live so effortlessly? It’s not fair!’

The more Wang Yan watched Tang Mo’s comfortable existence, the deeper her resentment grew.

She glanced at Zhang Li, whose gaze had now shifted to another girl in Zhao Huan’s group: Yiyi.

Yiyi might have been a bit simple-minded, but there was no denying that Qiao Xin had passed down some excellent genes.

Qiao Xin had been a great beauty in her youth, but more than a decade of hardship had worn her down, stripping the former beauty of her radiance and turning her into an ordinary middle-aged woman.

Yiyi, on the other hand, was different. Her innocent, cheerful face looked as if it had never known the hardships of the world.

And though Qiao Xin’s life had been difficult, she had doted on her daughter, who had hardly ever experienced hardship. As a result, Yiyi’s fair, tender skin and naive demeanor made her stand out in the group.

Seeing the carefree smile on the girl’s face, Wang Yan’s heart filled with even more hate.

That night, Wang Yan lay down next to Zhang Li.

Zhang Li instinctively pulled the woman beside him close, but his hand closed around a roll of fat on her waist. His arousal immediately vanished, replaced by a wave of disgust.

’Keeping a useless thing like her around is just a waste of food.’

’I’ll have to find a chance to feed her to that Meat Dragon. Only then will all the food she’s eaten not have been a complete waste.’

Zhang Li had already made up his mind about what to do with Wang Yan.

Women were the one thing his group had in abundance.

”Brother Li, what do you think of those two women over there? Want me to find a way to get them for you?”

Wang Yan whispered in Zhang Li’s ear.

She hadn’t brushed her teeth in ages. Wang Yan thought she was being seductive, but she was oblivious to the foul stench emanating from her mouth. It was all Zhang Li could do not to kick her away.

’But those women...’

Zhang Li’s gaze followed hers to the corner, where Qiao Jin and Yiyi were sitting.

Zhang Li had had his eye on those two for a while. He was wary of Zhao Huan and his men, however, so even though he was used to simply taking any woman he wanted, all he could do for now was look.

”How would you get them? Aren’t you afraid that Zhao guy and his men will kill you?”

Zhang Li sneered.

’This woman next to him really thinks too highly of herself.’

”I can lure them somewhere else. Once you’ve had your fun, Brother Li, we can just get rid of them. Their group has so many people; who’s going to notice two missing women? I already found out that they don’t belong to any of those men. They won’t care.”

Wang Yan was truly going to great lengths, all to vent her own jealousy.

”That’s worth considering...”

It had to be said, Zhang Li was tempted. The women in his group were either too old or he’d already grown tired of them. None of them were as young and delicate as those two.

’If Wang Yan can really pull this off without anyone noticing, I’ll be the one to reap the rewards...’

”Alright, I’ll leave it to you,” Zhang Li said, his eyes narrowing as he gave Wang Yan a squeeze.

Wang Yan wasn’t one to be shy. Disregarding the fact that they were in a room full of people, the two of them started going at it.

Meanwhile, Yiyi was still pestering her cousin, trying to pull her hair, completely oblivious to the danger that was about to befall her.

Tang Mo paid no mind to the commotion. Yiyi had been clinging to her all evening, and it was driving her mad.

It wasn’t that the girl was trying to do anything in particular; she was just like a clueless child, endlessly pestering an adult.

After carrying two large bags all day while also looking after her daughter, Qiao Xin had long since fallen into an exhausted sleep.

Tang Mo had run out of patience. She could only use her spiritual power, shaping it into a mallet. Carefully controlling the force, she gave Yiyi a light tap on the head, knocking the girl out cold.

Only then did Tang Mo’s world finally fall silent.