Chapter 22: Reaping What One Sows
Outside the window, flames suddenly lit up, shortly followed by the glass being viciously smashed by someone outside!
The window had iron bars. Wu Yingting didn't have time to block the window and immediately saw the mob's homemade incendiary bottles being thrown in!
Yu Yi and Yu Yu, the mother and daughter, panicked. They hurriedly grabbed basins to fill with water, trying to extinguish the incendiary bottles.
But these bottles, smeared with gasoline, spread rapidly. The fire quickly intensified and set the flammable items inside the house ablaze!
Soon, the floor inside the house turned into a carpet of fire, and a second, third incendiary bottle was thrown in, igniting the window and walls.
"Bang!!"
"Bang!!"
Wu Yingting's eyes turned red. He lifted his gun and shot at the people throwing incendiary bottles outside the window!
"He's got a gun! He's got a gun!!"
"Block the door, burn him alive!"
"How dare he resist!"
No one dared to throw incendiary bottles into the house anymore, but the fire inside continued to spread. Thick smoke rose, quickly enveloping the narrow house.
"Cover your noses with wet towels, squat down!" Wu Yingting shouted to his wife and daughter.
"Little Yi is still in his room..." Yu Yi immediately rushed into the room, trying to wake Wu Hen.
"Use the wheelchair. I'll fight them outside; you take Little Yi as far as you can!" Wu Yingting was enraged.
He never thought that his brother, He Zhichou, who had built the business with him, would be so ruthless. There wasn't even room for negotiation. He would burn his whole family alive for ten thousand!
Yu Yi and Yu Yu, working together, lifted the unconscious Wu Hen into a wheelchair and pushed him out of the room.
Wu Yingting fired a few shots at the door. Confirming no one dared to block outside, he kicked the door open.
"Block it, don't let him come out with a gun!" rasped the man with a smoky voice.
Outside, they had found some iron racks, hiding their bodies behind the door while using the racks to block it, preventing anyone from getting out.
The door was open, but Wu Yingting's family couldn't get out. Though he had a gun, he couldn't hit the people hiding behind the walls.
It was clear that the Black Shirt Organization came prepared and knew that cornered beasts would fight to the death!
"Cough, cough~~ Cough, cough~~~"
"Cough, cough!"
Inside, the fire grew stronger. Yu Yi and Yu Yu began coughing violently as toxic fumes filled the room. If they didn't get out soon, they'd be choked to death.
The fire started to scorch their skin. Wu Yingting, like a wild beast in rage, kept ramming his body against the iron rack blocking the door.
"You won't die peacefully! You won't die peacefully!!" Wu Yingting roared.
"Old man, throw the gun out to us, and maybe the Black Shirt Organization will spare you," the smoky-voiced man said.
"Old Wu, everyone knows how powerful you used to be. Stop pretending and hand over everything you've hidden!" He Zhichou continued mocking.
Wu Yingting glanced back at his wife and child, his eyes bloodshot red.
"We can't give it to them..." Yu Yi shook her head desperately.
For the sake of a bit of money, they would set a family on fire. The Black Shirt Organization acted with absolute brutality. Once they handed the gun over, they would be at their mercy.
Rather than suffer such humiliation, she'd prefer the whole family to die there.
Wu Yingting was in pain and despair. He realized he was truly old and couldn't adapt to such a world.
He reloaded the bullet in his handgun, looking at his stubborn wife and daughter behind him.
Rather than face roasting at the end of their lives, it would be cleaner and quicker to end it, at least with less pain.
Yu Yi nodded at her husband.
Wu Yingting was trembling all over as he raised his handgun...
Truthfully, he wanted to shoot himself first. But as a man, he had to endure the world's cruelest act and free his family first.
"Fwoo, fwoo, fwoo, fwoo~~~~"
Inside the house, the flames grew stronger, thick smoke pouring out of the windows and door, choking those outside.
Yet still, they refused to let go. Any so-called compassion had perished along with the world's announcement of the apocalypse.
The mother and daughter closed their eyes. They were afraid too but could only believe in the afterlife.
But Wu Yingting couldn't bring himself to do it.
He still wanted to carve out a path for his family's survival!
Wu Yingting handed the gun to Yu Yi and walked to the wall, tearing down the burning curtains and wrapping them around himself!
It was clear what he intended.
He planned to become a human fireball and break through the people holding the iron rack at the door!
But this also meant that even if he got out, the fire on him would be hard to extinguish, and he'd burn to death!
Yu Yi was boiling with rage. She gripped the gun tightly, vowing to kill everyone outside when she broke through!!
However, just as she tightened her grip on the gun, she found her palm empty. The firearm in her hand had disappeared.
Yu Yi looked down and discovered that Wu Hen, who had been slumped unconscious in the wheelchair, had somehow awoken, with the old-fashioned handgun now in his right hand...
"Dad!"
This call startled the father who was about to shroud himself in flames.
Wu Yingting turned around in disbelief, seeing his son Wu Hen slowly standing up from the wheelchair.
Thick smoke and roaring flames seemed not to impact Wu Hen at all. His posture was upright, his eyes bright, giving Wu Yingting a sense of rebirth!
This feeling was something Wu Yingting had only sensed from those "SuperAbnormals."
Wu Hen was back!
And he had transformed!!
"Dad, leave it to me." Wu Hen walked up to Wu Yingting, snatched the burning curtain, and threw it further into the house.
Wu Yingting was overjoyed and nodded heavily.
Wu Hen didn't say more. He simply listened for a brief second, pinpointing the positions of everyone in the hallway outside.
He walked to the broken window, where someone was guarding. If Wu Yingting dared to extend his hand to shoot, an iron rod would meet his wrist!
But Wu Hen didn't need to extend his hand.
He walked to the window and coldly threw the handgun out!
The old-fashioned handgun flew out, drawing a parabola that seemed set to fall downstairs.
The smoky-voiced man, thinking they had finally surrendered, grinned. In this apocalyptic world, having a gun meant free reign!
However, the next moment left him shocked.
Because the gun, which should have fallen downstairs, hovered in mid-air like a black bird!
The dark muzzle aimed at the arsonists in the hallway!
"Bang!! Bang!! Bang!! Bang!!!!!"
Four consecutive gunshots rang out,
and the four men in the hallway fell almost simultaneously!
The bullets pierced their bodies, leaving burning marks on the old walls.
Blood splattered on the corridor. The arsonists didn't even have time to scream; they lay there twitching violently!
The smoky-voiced man collapsed at the doorway.
He was hit in the abdomen, not immediately fatal, but the blood gushed out like a fountain.
The man stared in disbelief at the gun floating in mid-air, his pupils dilated.
These days, he had relied on joining the Black Shirt Organization early, never expecting to encounter a Spirit Awakener today. How could he be so unlucky...
It's too late to regret; his gut was just punctured.
Just when he thought he could enjoy the chaos, he died. He was deeply resentful.
"Clang!"
Wu Hen kicked away the iron rack outside.
He led his family out of the thick smoke-filled house.
He glanced at the struggling men on the ground, noticing three wore black shirts.
The uniform Black Shirt outfit looked oddly familiar, like a bunch of cockroaches.
"Don't... don't kill me... I was just trying to scare you. Nephew, I'm your Uncle Five!" He Zhichou begged, trembling on the ground.
Wu Hen saw that He Zhichou had been shot in the left thigh.
Wu Hen couldn't help but give a big thumbs-up to Little Yi. How humane of Little Yi, knowing that scum like him shouldn't die so easily!
"You and Little Yu go downstairs," Wu Yingting told his wife and daughter, who had escaped.
Yu Yi and Yu Yu immediately ran downstairs.
Fortunately, they weren't burned, just inhaled some smoke, and seemed okay.
"Take some supplies with you." Wu Yingting went in and out of the burning house, carrying packs of essential supplies one by one.
He had prepared in advance but hadn't expected to have his family become wanderers this soon.
Wu Hen helped carry a large outdoor backpack and waved, calling the gun back to his hand. He then aimed at He Zhichou, who lay in a streak of blood on the ground.
As he was about to finish He Zhichou off, Wu Yingting stopped him, saying, "Don't waste bullets, and don't dirty your hands. I'll handle it."
Wu Hen nodded, putting the gun away and moving toward the stairs.
As he reached the stairs, Wu Hen still felt uneasy.
He wanted to tell his father that now was not the time for leniency.
But when he turned around, he saw a father he barely recognized...
A silhouette wielding an iron rod, heavily striking He Zhichou's knees!
He Zhichou's left knee was already injured. Now his right knee was shattered, his screams echoing through the building.
"I was wrong! I was wrong, big brother, I was wrong, I'm really wrong!!!" He Zhichou cried, begging.
Wu Yingting didn't stop. When he was sure both of He Zhichou's knees were useless, he finally threw the iron rod away.
"We were brothers once. This is the last bit of mercy I'll show you." Wu Yingting said coldly.
With that, Wu Yingting, carrying a bag filled with supplies, ran to the stairwell.
Inside the house, the fire spread even faster. The building's old structure didn't stand a chance, especially against fire. Wood windows, junk, cardboard boxes, old wires everywhere—the fire would only spread more swiftly.
Soon, the entire hallway was ablaze, thick smoke rolling through the building...
A man with bloodied legs crawled inch by inch toward the stairs,
his tears and snot mixed, struggling in despair.
He tried hard but moved painfully slow.
And the smoke and fire continued to expand, dragging him back into the inferno like an evil beast!