HAGLTP Chapter 6

A chaotic and dim underground street.

The ground was covered in sewage and garbage, and from time to time, one could see grayish-black unknown creatures darting past. The air was filled with a stench so mixed that it was impossible to distinguish what it was.

Not knowing how long they had been running, the chubby boy, who was not used to physical exertion, gasped as he leaned on his knees: “Lu, Lu-ge, I can’t go on…”

Xiao Lu looked at the boy’s plump and round figure and concluded that it was unrealistic to carry him while running.

He calculated the distance they had covered in his mind; they had already taken several detours and should be temporarily safe.

“Let’s take a break.”

The two sat on a dilapidated chair left by a snack shop, and Xiao Lu said to Huang Sansheng, “Check the news from the Public Security Bureau and see if there’s anything about me.”

Huang Sansheng obediently opened his phone.

Moments later, his eyes widened in shock: “Lu-ge, you’re wanted!”

Xiao Lu looked at the cracked screen of Huang Sansheng’s battle-damaged old phone, where a wanted notice about him was prominently displayed, labeling him a high-risk murderer accused of killing three innocent civilians.

“How could this happen! You did it to save me… and those three were selling illegal drugs, and they had weapons on them!” The chubby boy looked incredulous.

Xiao Lu was not surprised at all; since the Public Security Bureau wanted to catch him, they could easily pin any crime on him. The truth of the matter was not important.

Huang Sansheng’s disbelief had not yet subsided when an even greater shock replaced it: “I, I’m wanted too, as an accomplice! It wasn’t there just now! I clearly didn’t kill anyone…”

“You’re not at fault; it’s my fault for dragging you into this.” Xiao Lu patted his shoulder as a form of comfort.

Huang Sansheng hung his head: “But you’re not at fault either… How can the Public Security Bureau be like this? Oh no, they’ve always been like this.”

Xiao Lu did not dwell on the issue: “They must have tracked us through our phone signals. Let’s throw our phones away to avoid being discovered.”

Huang Sansheng reluctantly glanced at his cracked, paint-chipped, and swollen battery phone, gritted his teeth, and handed it to Xiao Lu, then closed his eyes, not wanting to see the heartbreaking sight.

Xiao Lu took the phone, and a flicker of light danced in his palm.

Moments later, the phone, which had still been somewhat intact, turned into a pile of fragments, with not a single complete part left.

After tossing the fragments aside, Xiao Lu said, “If I told you that it won’t be long before all phones become useless, and soon after, money will turn into worthless paper, would you feel a bit better?”

Huang Sansheng chuckled: “Good thing I have no money.”

Xiao Lu laughed as well: “Me too.”

He stood up: “We’re now wanted criminals, our accounts are frozen, and we can’t buy anything. We’ll have to wait a few days for supplies.”

·

In a corner of the park.

Xiao Keyang approached step by step, his gaze still dangerous like that of a predator.

The boy in the duckbill cap felt bitter; he had originally just followed Xiao Keyang, looking for an opportunity to gain favor, but who knew that two foolish paparazzi would suddenly rush out and directly provoke Xiao Keyang.

And at that moment, he was dragged down by typical cannon fodder luck, directly exposing him to the furious state of Xiao Keyang.

It was simply the worst timing to show up!

In just a few steps, the boy in the duckbill cap’s back was already soaked with cold sweat.

A hand, hot as a branding iron, reached for his neck.

In a moment of crisis, his mind raced, desperately trying to feign an infatuated expression: “Keyang, I’ve always really liked you, especially your live performances; your charisma is amazing, no one can compare to you!”

“I dare say that no musician in the last hundred years could surpass you.”

“What’s Xiao Lu? Just a flashy fraud, definitely colluding with the opposition to slander you.”

“And I absolutely hate paparazzi; they’re all damned pests. The laws in Xingzhou should impose the death penalty on those who deliberately expose others’ privacy!”

“I admire you so much; I want to be your assistant!”

……

He blurted out a lot, not caring whether what he said made sense. At this moment, all that occupied his mind was a strong desire to survive.

He didn’t want to die; he wanted to cling to the protagonist’s thigh and live.

He didn’t know which of his words struck a chord with Xiao Keyang, but the hand that was almost touching the boy’s neck stopped.

“Be my assistant?”

“Yes, I’m willing to do anything!”

“What if I ask you to kill someone or deal with a corpse?”

“I, I, Keyang, what you say must be right; I will definitely stand by your side!”

“What’s your name?”

“Chai, Chai Yige.”

“Ha ha… Chai Yige, you’d better remember your words…”

The grip around his neck vanished, and Chai Yige let out a long breath; he was saved.

He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, choosing to ignore the unwillingness and frustration in his heart, telling himself that this was the best choice for them as cannon fodder.

What freedom? What opposing the protagonist? That was impossible.

Under Xiao Keyang’s orders, Chai Yige buried the bodies of the two paparazzi and then drove away from Yaoshi City with him.

While driving, he occasionally caught a glimpse of Xiao Keyang’s blood-red eyes in the rearview mirror, feeling a prickling sensation on his back, forcing him to think of something to distract himself.

Speaking of which, that Xiao Lu should be dead by now, right?

Just a mere cannon fodder dared to do something so outrageous right from the start; he might end up dying even worse than the original plot.

Taking advantage of Xiao Keyang’s inattention, he searched for news related to Xiao Lu with a certain sense of schadenfreude, hoping to hear words like “shot dead on the spot” or “mutated.”

But what came into view was Xiao Lu’s wanted notice.

This person not only wasn’t dead but had even killed three people!

Chai Yige, who was familiar with the plot, was stunned. Could it be that Xiao Lu survived the mutation? This… how could that be possible? That was the Crown Prince Xinghui!

He quietly cast a glance at the rearview mirror—

The Crown Prince Xinghui, on par with the protagonist and the boss.

·

Not long after Xiao Lu and the others returned home, Huang Sansheng began to feel unwell. He felt his heart racing, his body temperature rising rapidly, and even the potato chips in his hand seemed to beckon him, splitting in two.

The chubby boy’s voice trembled: “Lu, Lu-ge… I, I think I’m… that…”

Xiao Lu, who was eating instant noodles nearby, was puzzled: “What? Want to fart and go next door?”

Huang Sansheng turned his flushed face towards him, his eyes filled with terror: “Mutation…”

Xiao Lu immediately put down his instant noodles and strode over to Huang Sansheng. After checking his eyes and reaction speed, he came to a conclusion: “Indeed.”

Huang Sansheng’s mind was in a daze: “Am I going to die?”

Xiao Lu patted his forehead: “Don’t worry, you won’t with me around.”

Huang Sansheng was a passerby with no record in the original plot, so it could be inferred that the Xinghui in his mind was definitely not a powerful character. However, for everyone, mutation was a life-and-death test that could not be ignored.

Xiao Lu urged Huang Sansheng to find a comfortable place to sit and reminded him to stay strong; he must not fall asleep no matter what.

“What will happen if I fall asleep?” Huang Sansheng weakly asked as he leaned against the headboard.

Xiao Lu: “Nothing much, just die. The consciousness in your body can be replaced, and you can continue to bounce around; you can think of it as a ghost taking over.”

Many people believed that mutation was caused by a virus and chose to stay in bed to rest. While these people slept, the Xinghui would take advantage of the opportunity to invade and occupy their bodies.

Huang Sansheng wrapped himself tightly in his little blanket: “…”

For the first time in his life, he found sleeping terrifying.

Moments later, Xiao Lu heard Huang Sansheng’s vague voice: “Lu-ge… I want to eat the pancakes my mom made, and I want to watch TV…”

Xiao Lu looked at the chubby boy, whose cheeks were flushed with fever. Although this kid took up a lot of space, he was actually just a sixteen-year-old boy, still a child.

At such a young age, he had lost his parents and had to fend for himself, not having grown up yet had to endure the world-changing upheaval brought by the Xinghui. He didn’t know if he survived in the original plot.

How long did he live?

Oh no, if it weren’t for me, this guy should have died the day he encountered those three drug dealers.

“Tsk.” Xiao Lu made a sound of disdain, trying to turn on the broken television from who knows what era in the room.

The TV looked like an antique, completely unrelated to smart technology, but surprisingly, it actually turned on. The picture was quite blurry, but having some sound to keep him alert was not bad; in a while, the TV signal would probably be lost.

Hearing the sound of the TV, Huang Sansheng weakly said, “I want to watch ‘Double Mirror’…”

The chubby boy had quite a few requests.

Xiao Lu, while feeling disdainful, rummaged through the old remote control to change the channel, and he actually found the channel that was playing ‘Double Mirror.’

This was a recent hit suspense drama, with a thrilling plot and rising tension, perfect for keeping one awake.

The protagonist was played by Ye Qi, who had just turned 26 and won the international Best Actor award. This actor was very famous in Xingzhou; even in a city dominated by musicians like Yaoshi, Ye Qi’s advertisements could still audaciously occupy the largest screens, showcasing his status.

Listening to the familiar theme song, Xiao Lu felt a faint sense of nostalgia, probably the original owner’s emotions, after all, he had personally written the lyrics and composed the music.

Watching his hard work being attributed to Xiao Keyang one piece at a time, he couldn’t help but wonder how the original owner felt at that moment.

Huang Sansheng’s voice interrupted Xiao Lu’s thoughts: “Pancakes… eat pancakes…”

Xiao Lu sighed and stood up.

·

In the kitchen space separated by a curtain, Xiao Lu squatted on the ground with a troubled expression, looking at the flour he had just dug out, the age of which was unknown.

Pancakes shouldn’t be too difficult, right?

The night was particularly dark as dawn approached.

The slums, however, were not peaceful; gunshots, roars, and screams could be heard from time to time. Everything was announcing that the world as it once was was rapidly collapsing, and chaos was about to descend.

Listening to the sounds of what seemed like two groups of people exchanging fire in the distance, Xiao Lu continued to knead the dough at a leisurely pace.

Without a phone or a smart assistant, and with Huang Sansheng’s family lacking a physical recipe, he could only rely on the memories of the original owner cooking in his mind to replicate it.

But cooking was one thing to watch others do, and another to do it yourself.

……

Huang Sansheng, who was gritting his teeth against the Xinghui, heard footsteps approaching. He struggled to open his eyes and vaguely saw Xiao Lu’s outline.

Huang Sansheng felt a bit relieved; just as he was about to greet him, a terrifying ghostly face suddenly appeared before him.

Two hollow eye sockets like black holes, a mouth wide open as if roaring, the entire face twisted, and the pale skin seemed to have been burned by fierce fire, covered in charred blisters.

At that moment, Huang Sansheng vaguely heard a hoarse, cold laugh, unable to tell if it was real or an illusion, feeling a chill run down his spine as if haunted by a ghost.

The ghostly face drew closer and closer.

What was even more terrifying was a voice saying: “Eat.”

If Huang Sansheng had a sanity bar above his head, it would be rapidly depleting at this moment.

He quickly retreated: “No, no, no… I—”

But the terrifying ghostly face was shoved into his mouth, the texture rough like wall plaster, mixed with an indescribable strange taste; perhaps this was the taste of a ghost.

The obsession before death must have been very strong.

“Mmm mmm mmm—”

Huang Sansheng suddenly sprang up from the bed, his consciousness, which had been on the verge of collapse from the impact of the Xinghui, instantly awakened, his eyes wide open, and he was full of vitality.

Xiao Lu nodded in relief, seeing how energetic Huang was now.

【Author’s Note】

Come out—dark cuisine!

—

Thanks to the little angels who cast their votes or watered the nutrient solution for me between 2021-11-19 15:32:19 and 2021-11-20 19:31:40~

Thanks to the little angel who cast a landmine: Qi Maomao 1;

Thanks to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: Mu Luo 30 bottles; Li Ming Lie Yan 1 bottle;

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