Following the familiar path, Yu Hong made his way forward until he soon found the cave where Doctor Xu lived.
The entrance was half-open, and a tall, bald man was having a loud argument with Xu Ruoying.
Their voices were harsh and filled with anger, their words tinged with heavy accents that Yu Hong couldn’t decipher even as he got closer.
He decided to stand at a distance and wait for their conversation to conclude, but after just a brief moment, the man began shouting even louder.
With a loud bang, he angrily grabbed Doctor Xu by the collar, hurling an angry tirade at her.
Without a second thought, Yu Hong's face darkened, and he quickly approached.
"What’s going on?" he asked in a low voice, directing his gaze to Doctor Xu.
"What do you want? Why won’t you give us the medicine? We have three wounded who need it! You can’t just hand it out for free to some scavenger!" The bald man shouted furiously, his face flushed with anger.
"I can give my medicine to whoever I want!" Xu Ruoying shot back, gasping slightly as the grip on her collar made it hard to breathe.
"You’re asking for it! Do you believe I won’t knock you out, you filthy wench?" the bald man growled menacingly.
"Speak nicely and don’t get physical!" Yu Hong said as he stepped closer, frowning in disapproval.
"Who the hell are you? This has nothing to do with you!" The bald man seemed to have just escaped from the city and was clearly still adjusting to the outside environment.
Bang!
Without hesitation, Yu Hong snapped a front kick forward with his right leg, delivering a powerful sweep.
He had been practicing this low-level leg sweep for days, using only his physical strength without any internal energy.
A dull thud echoed as the bald man's expression twisted in pain, and he bent down, clutching his leg and howling as he collapsed onto the ground.
Before he could retaliate, Yu Hong launched into a flurry of kicks, landing strikes on the bald man’s arms and shoulders without mercy.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!!
Thanks to the reinforced suit equipped with metal plates, the strength of his kicks was amplified.
In just a few moments, the bald man was left lying on the ground, unable to rise.
"Feeling calmer now?" Yu Hong asked, withdrawing his leg and feeling a pleasant response from his own leg as he assessed the situation.
The cushioning provided by the internal padding protected him perfectly; it felt strangely comforting, almost like a massage.
Unable to resist, he delivered another two kicks.
Thud! Thud!
The bald man groaned in pain, his left leg clearly bent in a painful arc.
"I’m calm now!" he whimpered, cold sweat pouring down his face, looking fearfully at Yu Hong, who was intimidatingly armored.
And those last few strikes had come with such force that he hadn’t even reacted appropriately, taken by surprise at how swiftly Yu Hong had acted.
"Now tell me what’s going on?" Yu Hong pressed further.
The bald man gritted his teeth and, with a clearer voice, recounted everything that had transpired.
"We saw her taking out some anti-inflammatory medicine to help someone, and we were hoping to get some too. When she refused, we thought about taking it from her."
"Get lost," Yu Hong responded casually, already predicting that trouble would follow the newcomers.
With a practiced kick, he sent the man sprawling again, landing in a heap, howling at the pain.
Watching him drag his injured leg away, Yu Hong turned back to the weary-looking Doctor Xu.
"What happened?"
"Too many eyes around… I’ve caught unwanted attention. Thank you very much," she sighed, glancing at the receding bald man with a mix of frustration and resignation.
"They’re just passing through, so you need to be careful. All I did was offer food and medicine to help someone, and I was targeted. You just…"
"It’s fine," Yu Hong interrupted.
He had just tested his kicks, and with the metal plates, the power was indeed impressive.
Fully armed with a helmet, mask, and bulletproof gear, he felt more secure than before when facing trouble.
"But that man doesn’t seem like someone who will let this go," Xu Ruoying said with a worried expression.
"I’ll be careful. In a place like this, do they really believe they can just roam around without fear of danger?" Yu Hong questioned, puzzled.
"They drove here, but ran out of gas a bit further. They must still have some supplies," Xu Ruoying briefly explained.
"I spotted them while gathering firewood. They had a baby with a fever, and I couldn't help but get involved."
She squeezed out a faint smile.
"Actually, I do have some means of defense."
She pulled her left hand from behind her back, revealing a white plastic spray bottle filled with an unknown red liquid.
"In times like this, it’s best to prioritize your own safety."
Yu Hong reassured her with a pat on the shoulder before turning toward the direction of the post office.
He planned to ask Old Li for more information—the postman had more knowledge than they could imagine.
After walking a short distance, he noticed the absence of door sounds and turned back to see Xu Ruoying standing dazed at the entrance, her eyes blank, lost in thought.
Yu Hong speculated that she might be reminiscing about her family.
In the past, she had a husband and children, a life full of happiness, but now, everything had been destroyed by the dark calamities.
He returned his gaze ahead and continued on his path.
Not long after, two men wielding sharp knives blocked his way, and a third, limping against a tree with a gun in his hand, was none other than the bald man he had just dealt with.
There were three in total, all appearing to be in their thirties, dressed reasonably well.
Their muscles were built and strong, indicating that they had lived well, especially at times like these when physical condition meant more than just looks.
"That’s the one! My leg still hurts! Make sure to break his leg first!" the bald man snarled at Yu Hong.
As soon as he finished speaking, the other two rushed forward with their knives, attempting to surround him.
Yu Hong was uncertain of what to say.
With his body fully armored and his physical strength intact, he was ready to lash out at any moment.
Being armed to the teeth, this was the perfect opportunity to test the effectiveness of his gear against these three.
While he had complete faith in the enhancements to his armor, he knew that guns were less forgiving at close range.
As the two men moved nearer, Yu Hong stood still, gauging their positions and distances.
Crack.
He saw the bald man raising the gun, aiming at him, as the gun clicked and released a sharp sound.
The barrel glimmered ominously in the light.
The other two, one tapping his thigh with his knife and the other expressionless while spinning his blade, closed the distance.
Five meters.
Four meters.
Three meters.
Boom!!
Yu Hong suddenly lunged forward, his foot striking the ground with force as he reversed and drew his spiked club, bringing it crashing down on the man to his right.
He moved rapidly, but so did his opponent; the spiked club missed him and instead struck the other’s blade with a resounding impact.
Clang!
Using the momentum, Yu Hong executed a low sweep with his right leg, and the beautifully practiced motion yielded immediate results.
Crack!!
The metal plate collided violently with the man’s leg bone, breaking it, and a pitiful scream escaped his lips as he sank to a knee.
Ignoring his reaction, Yu Hong faced the second man rushing in.
The opponent’s knife struck furiously at his arm, finding only the high-grade ceramic plates and shock-absorbent material, which held their ground.
Yu Hong swung his club again but missed, suddenly finding the man gone from his sight.
Before he could understand what happened, he felt something piercing into his back.
Without turning around, Yu Hong k kicked backward with his metal boot.
Thud!
A pained grunt sounded from behind as he seized the second man, pushing him against the tree and whipping his right leg out for another sweep.
Crack!
Yet another sharp sound burst forth.
"Ah! My leg!" The man shrieked in agony, collapsing to the ground.
Yu Hong was baffled by how his opponent perceived his gear.
Every part of him was reinforced with metal plates and high-strength ceramics; it was no mere stab-proof suit or bulletproof vest—it was akin to wearing an ancient suit of armor!
As he looked at the man’s anguished face, preparing to strike with the club once more, a sudden gunshot rang out.
He staggered sideways as a bullet lodged itself into his helmet, leaving a dent in the side.
Yu Hong froze, slightly tilting his face to see the bald man, visibly shaken, holding the gun aimed at him, smoke still wafting from the barrel.
"Run!" the bald man bellowed, pulling the trigger again.
Bang!
Another shot rang out, striking Yu Hong’s left shoulder and scattering sparks around him.
The shot had been aimed at his face.
Despite having some protection with an armored mask and windproof goggles, the glass would shatter under fire.
If he were hit, his vision would be compromised.
In that crucial moment, Yu Hong ducked and turned aside, effectively dodging the second bullet.
Once he finished that, he quickly dashed toward the bald man, his armored boots digging into the grass with each step.
"Damn it!" The bald man frantically pulled the trigger, but the gun clicked empty.
In sheer panic, he threw aside the weapon and stumbled away.
However, just a few meters into his escape, the back of his head met with a tremendous impact from Yu Hong’s spiked club.
He collapsed forward, dazed, desperate to rise again, yet the spinning haze left him unable to balance, and he crawled a couple of steps forward.
Bang!
Another strike from the spiked club came down.
The bald man lay on the ground, lifeless with his eyes open, as part of his skull caved in, and blood slowly oozed down his neck onto the dark soil beneath.
Yu Hong picked up the spiked club, turned, and walked toward the other two who were trying to flee.
"No! Please! Don’t!"
"Help! Save me!"
With those two miserable cries, the remaining men met their demise shortly after.
In little time, amid the forest, Yu Hong dragged the lifeless bodies, piling them together before picking up their handgun and collecting whatever loot he could from them.
Unfortunately, all they had were trivial items—some keychains, a multi-tool knife, and a couple of usable short knives, among their clothing scraps.
Yu Hong stood up calmly, bloody things in hand, and glanced back at the distance between the trees, where Li Runshan was watching him intently, a small head peeking out from behind his shoulder—it was Aisenna.
They had clearly been drawn near by the earlier gunfire.
Unfortunately, they had arrived just to witness this scene.
"My apologies," Yu Hong said.
"I didn’t mean to disturb you."
Though his expression was hidden beneath his mask, the sight of him donned in reinforced gray lizard gear, holding a spiked club with bloody hands, surely shattered any previous impressions they held of his usual demeanor.
(End of Chapter)