Chapter 51: The Rules of the Apocalypse (Part Two)

“Uh…”

Kong Zhe had no choice but to open his eyes this time. He could ignore the middle-aged man, but Su Meiqin was, after all, one of his own, and he was always more amenable to his own people.

He glanced at her and said indifferently, “So, you mean I should return the food to him?”

“That… not exactly. It’s just that there are so many people here, and if you take all the food for yourself, aren’t you forcing them into a dead end? If you ask me, you should just take enough for yourself, and leave the rest for them!”

Kong Zhe couldn’t help but shake his head and smile wryly at her words. So young, he thought. Only a naive girl, freshly thrown into the apocalypse with an overflowing sense of justice, could say something like that. Once she understood what the end of the world truly meant, she would never say such things again.

Did she really think that if he shared food with them, they would be grateful? Far too innocent.

He looked at her and asked seriously, “Do you think if our roles were reversed, they would share their food with us?”

“Of course… they should… maybe they would…” Su Meiqin’s voice grew weaker as she spoke.

She knew very well that if the situation were reversed, they’d have little chance of getting any food.

“No, not ‘should’—they definitely wouldn’t,” Kong Zhe said flatly.

Su Meiqin, unconvinced, puffed out her cheeks and asked, “How can you be so sure?”

Kong Zhe smiled. He was certain because he had already lived through the selfishness and indifference of these people in his previous life.

The apocalypse was like a touchstone, digging out the deepest roots of human nature.

Was humanity inherently good or evil? Kong Zhe couldn’t say, but he did know one thing: life is created to survive. What sets humans apart from beasts is that humans have thought and shame, allowing them to restrain their instincts for survival.

Yet this apocalypse was like a millstone, grinding down every trace of social decorum and shame, until nothing was left. The only difference was how long one could hold out.

That’s why, after the apocalypse, most people changed. To survive, they would stop at nothing. And because humans possess intelligence, they could become even more ruthless than beasts in the pursuit of survival.

Survival of the fittest—that’s nature’s law, and the law of the apocalypse as well. Good and evil are but a thought apart. Kong Zhe had seen truly kind and selfless people, but they always died in the end—and often died miserably.

It’s not wrong to stick to principles, but in the apocalypse, you must build your principles atop your own interests.

It’s not that feelings should be abandoned, but if you have feelings, save them for those close to you. For strangers and enemies, never show compassion or sympathy; otherwise, you’ll never know when you’ll be stabbed in the back.

Forget it, she’d understand all this in time. There was no use saying more. After all, the Gun King of his previous life was renowned for his ruthless decisiveness. She just hadn’t had the chance to transform yet.

Shaking his head, Kong Zhe turned to look at little Lei on his right.

“Little Lei, what do you think?”

---

“Ah? I… I… I…” Little Lei, seeing both Kong Zhe and Su Meiqin looking at her, was instantly flustered, stammering for a while without managing to say anything.

“Don’t be nervous, just say what’s on your mind,” Kong Zhe reassured her, patting her head.

“Oh…” Little Lei blushed slightly. Kong Zhe’s warm palm on her head made her feel comfortable and helped her calm down.

She sneaked a glance at the people huddled in the corner, a trace of pity flickering across her face. Then she looked at Kong Zhe and said timidly, “Brother Kong Zhe, do you have a lot of food? If you do, maybe you could share some with them… they’re pitiful too…”

Kong Zhe was speechless—another naïve girl. Had she forgotten how, in their past life, everyone had fought tooth and nail to kill her?

Still, despite his exasperation, Kong Zhe sighed. The vote was two to one; he was outnumbered.

Even though it went against his principles, he always valued the opinions of his own people. So he decided to distribute some food to the others.

Of course, he wouldn’t touch what he’d just collected—fresh vegetables and meat were rare and extremely valuable in the apocalypse. He’d keep those for himself.

After some thought, Kong Zhe took out all the junk food he’d gathered on the first floor—chips, prawn crackers, and the like—and piled them on the table in front of him.

These foods tasted good and could fill the stomach, but being devoid of nutrition, their future value was low.

Pointing at the food on the table, Kong Zhe said to Su Meiqin, “This is enough to last them a week. The shelf life is long—if they ration it, they could stretch it to half a month. All the food on the fifth floor was fresh produce; in three or four days, it would rot and spoil anyway. Even if we left it for them, it’d be wasted, and the smell of rotting meat would only attract monstrous beasts.” He looked at her and smiled, “Isn’t this fair enough?”

“Mm, that’s better…” Su Meiqin nodded, a faint smile appearing on her face. It wasn’t that she was happy to have secured food for the others, but because of Kong Zhe’s attitude.

Logically, as Kong Zhe’s subordinate, she had no right to make demands, but he respected her opinion, showing that, in his heart, she was his equal. This made her quietly pleased.

The middle-aged man nearby had thought all hope was lost. Who would have guessed that the foolish woman would actually speak up for him, and that the young man would change his mind?

His eyes blazed as he stared at the pile of food on the table, licking his lips, his mind racing.

Perhaps this young man wasn’t as domineering as he’d appeared… In that case, could he squeeze out more benefits? With control over the food, he could command everyone in the hall, send them against the monsters, and maybe even become one of those powerful Awakened himself.

He never considered that the food might not all be for him.

“Um, sir…” The middle-aged man, after some thought, put on a troubled face and said, “You know as well as I do how much food was on the fifth floor—it was measured in meals. But what you’ve taken out is less than one percent… Isn’t that a bit stingy?”

On hearing this, Su Meiqin glared at him fiercely. What an ungrateful man—she’d worked so hard to get even this much for them.

---

To expect Kong Zhe to give up more was impossible. If the man kept pushing, Kong Zhe might take back even this.

Besides, she actually thought Kong Zhe had been fair. The fresh food would spoil in a few days anyway, wasted, while these preserved snacks would let them survive much longer.

The middle-aged man ignored Su Meiqin’s glare and rubbed his hands, smiling at Kong Zhe. “Sir, I know you’re powerful, and these things are treasures to us, but to you, they’re nothing. You could walk outside and get more anytime you like, couldn’t you? So perhaps you could give a little mo—”

Kong Zhe snorted in contempt. The man’s intentions had been obvious from the moment he opened his mouth—he’d seen Kong Zhe’s kindness and grown greedy.

He had no patience for the man’s long-winded speech. Kong Zhe swiftly snatched a chopstick from the table, blue light flashing in his hand, and flicked his wrist.

The middle-aged man’s voice cut off abruptly as a chopstick, flying at incredible speed, whistled past his cheek, leaving a thin gash that began to bleed.

Swallowing hard, the man felt a cold sweat break out across his back. He’d clearly sensed the young man’s sudden surge of murderous intent.

He trembled all over and, unable to help himself, glanced behind. What he saw made his eyes widen in shock.

The chopstick was embedded deep in the opposite wall—almost to the hilt.

Everyone in the hall stared, stunned, at the place where the chopstick had landed.

The once-smooth cement wall now bore rings of cracks radiating from the point of impact, and dust drifted down in lazy spirals.

Good heavens, what power was this? This was a cement wall—not paper! If it had been a bullet, that would make sense, but this was just a chopstick, casually tossed!

Not far away, Zhang Qiang was equally shaken by the scene. Even as an Awakened, one focused on strength, he was sure he could never pull off a feat like that.

So this was the young man’s true strength? Zhang Qiang lowered his head, his eyes flickering as he pondered in silence.

Kong Zhe was now idly spinning another chopstick between his fingers. He looked at the middle-aged man, and although there was a smile on his face, his words sent a chill straight to the man’s bones.

“If you say another word, the next one goes through your eye.”

The middle-aged man turned ashen, collapsed to the floor, and scrambled backward, trying to put as much distance as possible between himself and Kong Zhe. In his panic, he lost control of his bladder; a wet patch spread across his trousers, and drops of liquid dripped to the floor.

Su Meiqin watched with disdain.

Now she saw clearly: the man had only become emboldened because they’d seemed easygoing. The moment Kong Zhe showed his ruthless side, the man was scared witless. She’d always despised this sort who bullied the weak and feared the strong.

After this, no one dared come near to beg for food. Instead, Su Meiqin took the initiative to divide up the food on the table and distribute a share to each person in the hall.

This made everyone’s eyes light up as if they’d seen a glimmer of hope for survival—but not one person thanked her. A few even grumbled that their share was too small.