Chapter 56: What do I want? I want your life!

The young man listened with a face full of gratitude, took the steamed bun, and began to devour it ravenously.

He truly looked as though he had not eaten for days.

Damn it, this old bastard is pulling this stunt again!

It was because of him that he was forced into the corpse-fighting arena back then. If he hadn't been immune to the zombie virus, he would have been killed long ago!

Previously, he lacked the strength to take revenge, but now that he had reached the sixth tier, it would be utterly cowardly not to make a move.

Li Xingyue parked his car, smeared some dust from the tires and undercarriage across his face, and walked straight toward the steamed bun stall.

Seeing that the young man had finished the bun, the old man wore a cold sneer at the corners of his mouth. Just as he was about to repeat his usual spiel, he spotted Li Xingyue standing in front of the stall.

"What do you want? Scram if you've got nothing to do!"

Li Xingyue cursed inwardly, but his face showed no trace of abnormality. He clutched his stomach and put on a weak, pathetic act.

|"Mister, please have mercy. I haven't eaten for two hours—uh, no! Two days! Can you please spare me a bite?"

The old man raised an eyebrow and looked him up and down carefully. "You look pretty sturdy to me, doesn't look like someone who hasn't eaten in days."

Damn it, this old bastard has a sharp eye!

"Mister, you don't understand. I originally wanted to join the Zombie Hunter Squad, but I failed the evaluation and couldn't get in, so now I have no money for food."

Hearing this, a flash of joy crossed the old man's eyes!

"Little brother, do you mean you failed to evolve and couldn't join the Zombie Hunter Squad?"

Li Xingyue nodded heavily, wiping away fake tears with his hand.

The old man was already convinced and was about to resort to his old trick when he suddenly looked at the youth's face with a puzzled expression.

"Have I seen you somewhere before?"

It turned out that Li Xingyue had wiped away a lot of the dust on his face while faking tears earlier.

"Ah, mister, you must be mistaken. Someone as handsome as me should be quite rare in Freedom City..."

"Stop!"

Not wanting to listen to any more nonsense, the old man tossed him a steamed bun.

Li Xingyue quickly expressed his thanks and similarly wolfed it down.

As soon as he finished eating, a smile returned to the old man's face. He hurried over to the Arbitrators standing by the street and muttered something to them.

Within moments, three Arbitrators walked over.

"Trying to dine and dash, eh? Take them both away!"

Hearing this, the young man nearby panicked and shook his head frantically.

"Mister gave it to me voluntarily! I didn't try to dine and dash! I... I have money, I still have seven credits! Aren't the buns five credits each? I'll pay!"

The old man sneered, "Who told you they were five credits? The price went up, eight credits each!"

"Lord Arbitrators, these two are too vicious. You must take them away and teach them a proper lesson!"

The Arbitrators nodded. With a wave of their hands, they brought heavy rifle butts down onto the heads of both Li Xingyue and the young man, knocking them both unconscious.

The Arbitrators turned back to look at the old man with playful expressions. "The number of people you've been bringing us lately is getting fewer and fewer. Has someone else started cooperating with you?"

Panic washed over the old man's face and he quickly explained, "No, no, I wouldn't dare! It's just that Star Sea City has been attacking the city lately, which is why there are fewer people. My lords, you must believe me!"

The Arbitrators nodded without another word, hauling the unconscious Li Xingyue and the youth into a nearby alley.

Once they were out of sight, the old man straightened up with a cold grin. "Total idiots. I naturally cooperate with whoever pays the most."

With that, hands behind his back and whistling softly, the old man returned to his stall.

After looking around the stall, he carried the remaining items inside the shop and pulled down the rolling metal shutter.

"Mister, we meet again."

"What the fuck! Who's there?"

The old man had intended to go inside for an afternoon nap. Just as he locked the door, he heard a sound behind him, turned around, and found Li Xingyue standing there.

"You! You! Weren't you just..."

Li Xingyue smiled, picked up a steamed bun from the steamer, and took a bite.

"That's right. I should have been taken to the corpse-fighting arena by the Arbitrators to fight zombies to the death. But why am I standing here again?"

The old man nodded reflexively, utterly bewildered as to how he was still standing there.

"How... how on earth did you escape from the Arbitrators? They're all Tier 2, and their leader is even a Tier 3!"

"I'd be more than happy to answer that question, but first, let me show you who I am!"

Li Xingyue picked up a bottle of water from the table, poured some out, and washed his face a few times.

"Do you recognize me now?"

The old man stared wide-eyed, examining him closely. He found the face hauntingly familiar; he must have seen it somewhere before.

"I remember now! It's you! But you should have been..."

Finally recalling the truth, the old man wore an expression of sheer disbelief, his voice heavy with incomprehension.

Logic dictated that anyone dragged into the corpse-fighting arena could never survive. So why was this punk...

"That's right, I should have died in the jaws of zombies long ago. But I didn't. Instead, I got bitten and didn't mutate, and then I broke out. And on top of that... I became a Tier 6 Awakened."

"Mister, don't you think this world is truly magical?"

Hearing this, the old man turned pale as chalk, his legs trembling uncontrollably. He dropped to his knees with a thud and kowtowed frantically.

"I was wrong, little brother—no, Dad! Dear Dad! I shouldn't have framed you. No, wait, I didn't mean to harm you, the Arbitrators forced me to do it!"

"I beg you to spare my life! Here, take all my credits! I don't want this shop anymore! It's all yours!"

Thud!

The old man collapsed face-first onto the ground as blood spurted continuously from his severed throat.

"Since you love chatting so much, I'm sending you to chat with the King of Hell!"

Li Xingyue wiped the blood from his hands, rolled up the metal shutter again, and walked to the entrance of the alley. Aside from a few pools of blood, the young man was lying unconscious there.

Li Xingyue dragged the youth back into the bun shop, filled a basin with water, and splashed it onto the boy's face. The youth instantly snapped awake.

"No, no! I really didn't try to dine and dash!"

"Hey! I'm talking to you! Shut your mouth and listen to me now!"

The youth looked up, caught sight of Li Xingyue, and froze for a moment. Daring not to speak, his gaze drifted to the side and landed on the dead old man, draining every trace of color from his face.

"Ah!"

Crack!

Li Xingyue delivered a crisp slap across the youth's face.

"I told you to shut your mouth and listen!"

Enduring his terror, the youth nodded frantically.

"The owner of this shop is dead. I don't care what method you use, clean up this mess."

"Also, this shop belongs to you now. Whether you can keep it running depends entirely on your own capability."

With that, Li Xingyue left the bun shop, got into his car, and drove away, leaving behind a stunned, blank-faced youth.

Instead of heading straight for District C, Li Xingyue parked his car directly in front of the Outer District's Zombie Hunter Branch headquarters.

Glancing inside, he saw the young man who had previously received him still lounging around, smoking and chatting with someone.

He stepped out of the car, bypassed the branch office, and slipped into a narrow alley directly opposite it.

Following the alley to the end, he made a turn and continued walking left along the street.

Before long, he arrived at a steamed bun stall. Behind the stall sat a heavily made-up, mature woman wearing a short skirt.

The woman was trimming her nails and didn't even raise her head. "What'll it be?"

"Heh, I'll take... your life."