HAGLTP Chapter 11

A few days later, in the morning.

Xiao Lu sat alone on the rooftop, gnawing on a piece of bread.

At this time, the industrial world of humanity had come to a halt, the incessant flow of traffic had quieted down, the sky was tinged with a cold hue, and the air in the slums was better than ever, almost fresh.

Around him, the crisp chirping of birds could be heard, and occasionally, early-rising cats played nearby.

This was a scene of tranquility that the slums had never experienced before; when the streets were crowded, small animals could only huddle in corners, fearing being targeted by these monstrous beings that devoured each other, becoming toys for their malice.

However, not every area was this quiet. The slums had been divided into countless territories by various factions, each governed by different rules.

The reason this area was peaceful was that it was tacitly acknowledged to belong to Xiao Lu by other factions.

After several probing attempts and varying degrees of beatings, the other factions had learned that he did not like to be disturbed.

Previously, as soon as they got home, Ye Qi would start to burn with fever. Xiao Lu skillfully checked his eyes and heartbeat, confirming that he was beginning to mutate.

Ye Qi was not as troublesome as Huang Sansheng; for the past few days, he had kept his eyes wide open and remained silent, so quiet that he seemed to have no presence, yet he obediently followed Xiao Lu’s instructions, hardly causing anyone any trouble.

On the other side, Huang Sansheng was honing his abilities.

He could enlarge and shrink the objects he touched. After a period of practice, even if he let go of an object, it could maintain its size after being resized, making it an essential skill for resource storage.

However, his ability was significantly diminished when facing people and ghouls, with both duration and effect being uncertain.

Overall, it was a practical ability that, while not flashy, could be used for home, travel, and combat support.

After this period of fighting with the neighbors, Xiao Lu’s grasp of his abilities had also advanced further.

Perhaps it was time to check on Mr. A’s mission.

Two weeks later.

Huang Sansheng stood on the balcony tossing and catching an apple in his hands, enlarging it to the size of a basketball when he threw it, and shrinking it back to the size of a cherry when he caught it.

A gust of wind blew, slapping a leaf of unknown origin against his face.

Huang Sansheng slipped, and the basketball-sized apple traced a parabolic arc in the air, falling over the railing and heading straight for Xiao Lu, who was napping below.

As his gaze followed the apple down, Huang Sansheng swallowed hard: “…”

What position is the most comfortable to get hit?

The path of the falling apple was originally empty, but suddenly a translucent ice-blue barrier appeared in mid-air, blocking the apple and silently wrapping it up, bringing it back upstairs.

Huang Sansheng’s gaze fell on Ye Qi, who was sitting quietly next to Xiao Lu. Ye Qi seemed to be in a daze, but Huang Sansheng knew this was something he was doing.

Since the day Xiao Lu brought him back, Ye Qi had been like this—silent and expressionless, ignoring everyone, like a puppet.

Even after his injuries healed and he endured the mutation to become an ability user, he showed no signs of change.

Only Xiao Lu was special in his eyes.

Ye Qi was very dependent on Xiao Lu, to a strange degree. Like a young animal, he would follow Xiao Lu wherever he went, making Xiao Lu recently double-check whether he had locked the bathroom door, and he had grown accustomed to seeing a handsome face suddenly appear at any time and place, even managing to remain calm.

Huang Sansheng had heard Xiao Lu talk about Ye Qi and thought it was due to the trauma he had suffered before that he was like this.

Perhaps only when he was with Xiao Lu did Ye Qi feel safe.

Huang Sansheng was very confident in his judgment because he was the same; without Brother Lu by his side, he felt completely weak.

At this moment, Xiao Lu lifted the magazine covering his face and looked at the clear sky: “I’m preparing to leave.”

Huang Sansheng was taken aback: “Why? Isn’t it good here?”

Xiao Lu did not elaborate: “I have some things I want to do.”

Mr. A wanted the star-pattern crystal from Duan Kai, but no one knew where Duan Kai was located; in the original plot, he had actively sought them out.

If it were the protagonist Xiao Keyang, perhaps he could encounter him at the corresponding plot point.

But Xiao Lu did not want to follow Xiao Keyang’s schedule; he could not replicate the protagonist’s experiences, and without the protagonist’s halo, many low-probability encounters would not happen to him.

Moreover, this time the plot had already encountered unexpected events, and with him stirring the pot, the plot might not develop as it had before.

Xiao Lu planned to first go to Cloud City; it was once the city of variety shows and would later become a major gathering place for ability users. With many residents, he might find some information.

“You guys stay here; there are plenty of supplies, and the neighbors nearby are weak. You can handle them together. If food runs low in the future, there are still vegetable gardens left by previous residents around, so you should be able to live for a long time.” Xiao Lu stood up, preparing to go upstairs to get his luggage.

“I won’t!” The chubby boy, who usually listened to everything Xiao Lu said, was the first to voice his opposition.

“Brother Lu, where are you going? I’ll follow you; I’m very useful and can help you carry your luggage.” Saying this, he grabbed a few apples, shrank them to the size of grains of rice, and raised his hand to show Xiao Lu.

“Look, I can help you carry a lot of things, and I can also clean up.” Huang Sansheng’s tone was a bit urgent, trying hard to show that he was useful.

Xiao Lu turned to look at the spot he had just vacated.

Ye Qi said nothing, just closely followed him, showing no intention of leaving.

“It’s very dangerous.” Xiao Lu’s face was serious, “The things I want to do carry high risks; you might really die, and I might not be able to save you in time.”

“I’m not afraid! Without you, I would have died long ago.” Huang Sansheng’s voice came from upstairs, “Brother Lu, I’m going to pack things!”

Ye Qi continued to step forward, almost pressing against Xiao Lu.

“Stop.” Xiao Lu pressed down on Ye Qi’s shoulder; based on previous experience, if he didn’t stop him in time, he would really get too close.

“Okay, I understand.”

·

In the quiet southeastern corner of the slums, like a sanatorium, someone was peeking around.

“Hey, that fierce god from District 13 seems to have left.”

“Really left? Or went out hunting?”

“They left together, but that fat guy has a bigger bag, hard to say.”

“Who wants to go take a look? Old Wang, didn’t you say you couldn’t stand that little brat?”

“Pah, I’m not going to argue with a little kid.”

“Hehe, you still haven’t healed from when he broke your leg, right?”

“Hey, did you heal from the hand he broke?”

“…”

“Your pants were ripped open by him! I see you have no face to go out!”

“Your wig was burned by him; why don’t you mention that!”

“Shut up, I went to check their place.”

“How was it!?”

“Empty, nothing left, even the front door was taken down.”

“Damn, was it necessary to be this ruthless? Not even a drop of soup left for us, no wonder he’s called the fierce god.”

“Anyway, the fierce god has really left.”

“We can live freely now!”

“Guitar, bass, drums, let’s get it on!!! No one gets to escape tonight!!”

The slums, which had been silent for a long time, were filled with a joyful atmosphere.

·

It has been three weeks since the meteor shower that heralded the arrival of the starry light, and the changes in the world were becoming more and more significant.

Ghouls roamed the streets at will, and the buildings on the streets had become dilapidated in a short time, whether due to the aftermath of battles or because some people just couldn’t keep their hands to themselves.

Perhaps both were true.

The three of them tried to find a sturdy vehicle; Cloud City was several hundred kilometers away from Radiant City, and the current world was dangerous. Walking would take an unknown amount of time; driving was better, as it allowed for both transportation and rest.

Along the way, Xiao Lu noticed many flyers scattered on the ground.

He picked one up, which read “S·A Treatment Center.” Strangely, this treatment center described a disease whose symptoms looked very similar to the process of starry light mutation, claiming they had a special medicine to cure it.

“Can it really cure?” Huang Sansheng asked.

Xiao Lu countered, “Do you think you’re sick?”

The chubby boy was dumbfounded: “?”

Is Brother Lu insulting him?

Xiao Lu picked up another flyer on the ground that read “This is a test from the gods,” even the □□ was getting in on the action.

“Truly, in chaotic times, there are many demons.” Xiao Lu casually tossed the flyer away.

Huang Sansheng suddenly realized, right, the starry light isn’t a disease; where would the special medicine come from? This treatment center must have ulterior motives.

Soon, the three found a black car that was still usable. The model was quite sturdy, equipped with many anti-collision devices, and it was solar-powered, so there was no worry about range.

Ye Qi drove, Xiao Lu sat in the passenger seat to handle any sudden dangers, and Huang Sansheng sat in the back, simply because he took up too much space.

The car sped towards Cloud City.

The once smooth road was piled with many scrapped vehicles, and they could see corpses and scattered ghouls, making this journey seem unsafe.

Although Ye Qi was usually a busy superstar, his driving skills were surprisingly good, and the car sped smoothly along the road, deftly avoiding obstacles like a fish, showing no heaviness at all.

Two hours later.

Xiao Lu, leaning against the window to enjoy the breeze, frowned as the road ahead was blocked by several vehicles, all of which were quite sturdy. If it were an accident, it didn’t seem very natural.

Sure enough, as they got closer, Xiao Lu noticed a group of people hiding not far behind the cars, one of whom had shimmering star patterns on his body, clearly using his abilities.

At this moment, deliberately blocking the road was self-evident.

How bold to block his path.

Xiao Lu’s fingertips glowed, his expression displeased.

Ye Qi quickly glanced at Xiao Lu’s expression and suddenly slammed the accelerator, the car sped forward, heading straight for the obstacle.

“Ye Ye Ye Ye, Ye…” Huang Sansheng panicked.

Ye Qi’s face was calm, showing no emotion.

“Hey, look, another fool trying to force his way through!” Someone behind the obstacle sneered.

“Let them try, Jason has hidden a wall behind them.”

From the back, one could see that behind the row of vehicles was a wall that had appeared out of nowhere, its thickness far exceeding that of an ordinary wall, looking incredibly solid.

Jason laughed, “Get ready to collect the corpses; hope they brought good stuff with them.”

“Boom————”

A massive collision sound erupted as the black car crashed into the barrier formed by the vehicles, and then, without losing speed, it crashed into the wall again.

But the one that crumbled was the wall.

The black car pierced through the thick wall like a cannonball! Debris scattered everywhere, and Jason, whose ability was shattered, instantly spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed to the ground.

“Jason!”

“Get someone for first aid!”

“What about the car, should we block it?”

“Block what? The driver is this fierce; who knows what kind of monster is sitting in there? Why block it? Should we kneel and beg them not to kill us?!”

The black car arrogantly sped away.

Xiao Lu’s gaze fell on Ye Qi’s hand, where the ice-blue star patterns quietly blossomed.

At the moment of imminent collision, a translucent barrier suddenly appeared in front of the car, glowing faintly with a ghostly blue hue, like ice.

This was Ye Qi’s ability, called “Boundary.” It could be both offensive and defensive; when used for defense, it could rebound the damage received, especially effective against rough physical attacks.

Huang Sansheng patted his chest: “No matter how many times I see it, I think it’s too thrilling, both exciting and cool.”

In response to the praise, Ye Qi remained unresponsive, focused on driving.

“Woohoo—” Huang Sansheng gleefully leaned out the window, giving the terrified group a universally recognized gesture.

Turning back, the middle-school spirit ignited in Huang Sansheng as he excitedly said, “Brother Lu, give our team a cool name!”

“How cool do you want it to be?” Xiao Lu teased, looking at Ye Qi beside him, “Is ‘Ye Qi Support Club’ cool enough?”

Ye Qi: “…”

Huang Sansheng: “Ye Qi has an official support club, at least a hundred worldwide. If we build one now, what rank would we be? It would still be considered a knockoff.”

Xiao Lu: “But we have Ye Qi himself.”

Ye Qi: “…”

Huang Sansheng got into it: “How about calling it the ‘Brother Lu Support Club’? Exclusive worldwide!”

Ye Qi rarely reacted; he expressionlessly raised his hand and gave a thumbs up.

Faced with the situation where two votes were in favor, Xiao Lu decided to exercise his veto: “…No.”

He absolutely did not want to use such an embarrassing team name!

In the end, the matter of the team name was ruthlessly suppressed by the tyrant Xiao Lu.

【Author’s Note】

Thank you to the little angels who cast their votes or watered the nutrient solution for me between 2021-11-24 18:24:02 and 2021-11-25 18:31:50~

Thanks to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: Yu Fei 40 bottles; Luo Wei 20 bottles; A Chuan 10 bottles; A Happy Alpaca 3 bottles; Su Jin, Feng Qi Shi Fen 1 bottle each;

Thank you all for your support; I will continue to work hard!