Endless Throne - Chapter 6

[Uchiha Boba Milk Tea]: Blind student, you’ve discovered the crucial point.

“…Perhaps?” Coach Wang suddenly became uncertain and looked at Zhou Yuan suspiciously, scanning him up and down. “How do you know?”

“I’ve been surfing the internet for over a decade. Is there anything in the world I don’t know?” Zhou Yuan’s gaze grew more profound, three parts cold arrogance and three parts disdain.

“What’s the third highest mountain in the world?” Coach Wang sneered, deciding to test him.

“Kangchenjunga,” Zhou Yuan replied with a proud expression.

“What color are my underwear today?” Coach Wang snorted and continued questioning.

“What kind of underwear would you wear with your eight legs?” Zhou Yuan said, then frowned, realizing something wasn’t right. Who would have thought that Coach Wang, with his thick eyebrows and big eyes, would go out without wearing underwear?

“…..” Coach Wang was speechless, wanting to speak but stopping himself. The conversation ended.

Lin Yebai glanced over and indeed discovered that Coach Wang wasn’t wearing pants, then quickly averted his gaze. Realizing he was being somewhat impolite, Lin Yebai frowned slightly, but fortunately, no one noticed this moment.

“Brother Lin, today we need to go out and find some food,” Zhou Yuan said, covering his growling stomach.

“Alright,” Lin Yebai was planning to go out exploring anyway.

“I still have instant noodles at home. I’ll bring them, and you can eat before heading out.” Coach Wang moved quickly on his eight spider legs, bringing a pack of instant noodles—a supermarket five-pack that came with a free noodle bowl.

“I don’t really like eating these anymore.” Coach Wang also brought a few eggs.

“I understand. Next time there’s a corpse, it’s still yours.” Zhou Yuan, with his sharp eyes, noticed that there were two more spider cocoons in Coach Wang’s room.

“I don’t eat them directly. The spider silk can absorb nutrients, just like growing plants.” Coach Wang only knew how to wrap people in silk and beat them with his iron fists. Usually, he relied on terrain advantages and sneak attacks to avoid being killed by his own kind.

Luck couldn’t be replicated. If he continued like this, he would eventually die at the hands of his own kind.

Fortunately, Mr. Lin appeared.

Coach Wang had successfully kept his head, attached himself to a powerful figure, and couldn’t be happier. Last night, after finishing his business, he had secretly laughed under the blanket, and there was still a silly smile unique to muscular men on his face.

The instant noodles hadn’t been opened. Zhou Yuan carefully checked them before cooking. There was also a nearly expired sausage at home. With two golden-fried eggs, a simple and delicious breakfast was ready!

Lin Yebai knocked on Coach Wang’s door and asked, “Can those fangs be removed?”

“Of course they can! If Brother Lin wants them, I’ll take them off right away!” Coach Wang’s tone was respectful yet enthusiastic, with a hint of excitement, as if he could rise to his tiptoes at any moment and perform a spring ballet.

Zhou Yuan, who was just about to serve Lin Yebai the instant noodles, suddenly felt a sense of crisis upon hearing this. Who would have thought that Coach Wang, who looked so straightforward with his thick eyebrows and big eyes, would also start sucking up!

“I am Zhou Yuan, a useless shut-in with ten and a half years of experience, skilled in making instant noodles, fried rice with eggs, and ordering takeout.”

“Brother Lin, try my cooking~” Zhou Yuan placed the instant noodles on the table and handed over a pair of chopsticks, already planning to find some chicken, duck, and ribs to supplement Brother Lin’s nutrition after they went out.

“Not bad.” This was Lin Yebai’s first time eating instant noodles, and he gave it his full approval.

Zhou Yuan immediately beamed with joy. When they were about to leave, he took a kitchen knife and asked enthusiastically, “Brother Lin, I also want to learn knife techniques. I’ve only cut sausages before. Do you think I still have a chance?”

“Have.”

“Is one kitchen knife enough? Should I bring a boning knife too? A folding knife? Nunchucks?”

“Brother Lin, the teeth you wanted are ready!” Coach Wang pushed Zhou Yuan aside. He had already knocked out the sharp, pointed teeth from the mouth of the fanged aberrant, cleaned them thoroughly, and arranged them neatly to present to Lin Yebai.

“Good.”

These fangs were very suitable as hidden weapons. Lin Yebai accepted them and carried them with him.

Coach Wang closed the door and accompanied them.

The convenience store outside the residential area had already been emptied, so Zhou Yuan decided to check out the large supermarket. Most of the buildings were intact, but there were often dried bloodstains and dismembered limbs on the road, with flies buzzing around and rats running rampant.

Not long ago, this city had been a bustling scene of prosperity. Now it looked as if it had been ravaged by wild beasts. Looking around, not a single pedestrian could be seen.

Zhou Yuan found a truck. Lin Yebai sat in the passenger seat, while Coach Wang crouched in the back of the truck. They searched for supplies along the way, which also made transportation convenient.

“Has this truck been used to transport pigs? Why does it smell so bad?”

Coach Wang was quite envious that Zhou Yuan could be the driver, but unfortunately, with his spider belly and eight legs, he couldn’t fit into the truck’s driver’s seat.

“Coach Wang, make do with it. There are so many vehicles on the road, but this is the only one that can fit you,” Zhou Yuan consoled him.

“There’s pig manure in the back of the truck… sigh…” Coach Wang was very distressed.

Zhou Yuan’s driving skills were questionable. The vehicle stopped and started repeatedly, as if it had Parkinson’s disease, jolting Coach Wang to the point of constant complaints.

Lin Yebai remained expressionless, but he was amazed by the truck’s construction. This world was too incredible.

Zhou Yuan wanted to listen to some music to regain his driving feeling. He casually turned on the car radio and unexpectedly heard intermittent broadcast announcements:

“Our city… migration… shelter… underground…”

“Aberrants…”

Zhou Yuan pulled over to the side, switched to several different vehicles, and finally clearly heard the content on the radio:

“Residents of our city have experienced large-scale mutations. We have decided to temporarily relocate to underground shelters. Residents with normal consciousness should gather at Jiamao Square in the city center on August 4th…”

“Residents who have mutated have lost their humanity and feed on human flesh. Do not attempt to communicate with them under any circumstances. Residents who haven’t gone to the shelter should keep doors and windows secure and avoid going out at night if possible. Moonlight might be the source of the mutation…”

“We call the monsters after mutation ‘aberrants’ and classify them by combat power. Newly mutated monsters are primary aberrants with combat power slightly stronger than ordinary people. Don’t panic if you encounter them; they can be subdued.”

“Intermediate aberrants possess thinking abilities, are cunning and vicious, and will awaken innate abilities. They are extremely dangerous. It is recommended to stay away immediately.”

Zhou Yuan instinctively looked at Coach Wang—could this guy be an intermediate aberrant?

“What are you looking at? If I were an intermediate aberrant, would I be in this state?” Coach Wang was angry.

Lin Yebai glanced at Coach Wang’s neck, wondering if the points for intermediate aberrants differed from those for primary aberrants.

“I really am not…” Coach Wang shrank back with a wronged expression.

[Abyss Monarch]: A hint of disgust flashed in his deep eyes

[Soft Cat Ears]: Old Wang can also knit sweaters and pants, keep him, baby

[The Ordinary Me]: Stop calling him baby! The host is already an adult!

[Great Emperor Huaji]: If only there was a way to feed food, baby eating instant noodles for breakfast has no nutrition!

[Truth Supreme]: What’s wrong with all of you calling everyone “baby”! The host is already a grown adult. What’s wrong with eating some instant noodles! He enjoyed his breakfast so much this morning…

Lin Yebai chose to temporarily close the barrage for three minutes.

“No high-level aberrants have been discovered in this city yet, though they have appeared in other cities, causing massive destruction…”

The car radio repeatedly played these few messages. Apart from Jiamao Square, it didn’t mention the specific location of the shelter, possibly for fear that aberrants would find out.

Although three days had passed since the specified time, Zhou Yuan still decided to check out Jiamao Square after collecting supplies.

“Even though the moon itself doesn’t emit light but only reflects sunlight, we can still see the moon during the day…”

Zhou Yuan suddenly remembered this point and looked up, spotting a pale red crescent moon on the horizon.

“Brother Lin, was the moon red last night? I didn’t notice.”

“Yes.”

Last night, the moonlight had been dim, faintly tinged with a bloody glow.

The aberrants had actively attacked, but Lin Yebai hadn’t paid much attention to it.

“Should I wear a hat?” Zhou Yuan began to worry.

“Here’s a green one…” Coach Wang, looking as if he had discovered a new continent, picked up a green hat from the ground and handed it to Zhou Yuan.

Zhou Yuan put on the hat without hesitation, got into the car, and pulled his short sleeves down a bit, trying to block the moonlight.

Lin Yebai had already walked under the moon last night and wasn’t as panicked as Zhou Yuan. He asked Coach Wang, “Were there any signs before the body mutated?”

“You get very sleepy, extremely sleepy, like you can never get enough sleep,” Coach Wang scratched his head.

Zhou Yuan was halfway through a yawn and froze like a wooden chicken.

For a long time afterward, Zhou Yuan remained silent, as if he had lost half of his life, until they entered the mall and found a set of top-configured gaming equipment and two drones in the electronics section. Only then did he come back to life.

Some items had been taken from the mall, but since there had been a large inventory, quite a lot remained. The three of them searched on the same floor, pushing shopping carts to load things.

When they left the mall, Zhou Yuan was wearing a long coat, hat, sunglasses, gloves, and a scarf, covering himself from head to toe. Seeing Lin Yebai on the other side with a black umbrella, he suddenly felt like an idiot.

“It’s getting dark so quickly. We should hurry back,” Zhou Yuan looked at his phone. It hadn’t even been six hours since he woke up, and it was already getting dark.

Outside the mall, there was a larger truck. All the supplies they had found were transferred into it. Coach Wang finally escaped from the pig-transporting truck and squeezed into the new cargo hold, looking somewhat flattened.

The mall was quieter than the residential area. The truck hadn’t gone far when a black torrent rushed toward them.

“What is that?” Zhou Yuan floored the accelerator, his vision becoming blurry.

“Big rats,” Lin Yebai looked back.

“What rats?” Coach Wang couldn’t see from inside the cargo hold; he could only hear “squeaking” sounds.

The truck was already moving fast, directly in the path of the advancing rats. If they continued like this, they would eventually be caught up to.

Going in the opposite direction was impossible. There were tall buildings on both sides of the road, making it impossible to turn. They could only race against the rat swarm.

“Xiao Zhou, how many years did you spend getting your driver’s license?”

“The way you’re driving, weaving back and forth, mixing up the gas and brake pedals—are you trying to get us killed directly?”

The sound of countless teeth grinding together was getting closer and closer. Coach Wang couldn’t see what was happening behind them, and the rats hit the cargo door with a loud bang.

“I never got a driver’s license, but I’ve been playing racing games for seven years!”

“As long as there’s an intersection ahead, we’ll survive. Don’t worry!” Zhou Yuan said with absolute confidence.