Chapter 34: Jiang Family Survivor Base No. 9

Within the Jiang Family’s No. 9 Survivor Base.

"Take everyone down and lock them up!" The butler, Chen Jing, spoke in a voice as cold and hard as iron, echoing through the empty yard.

A group of people, bound hand and foot, were shoved forward by rough guards, stumbling toward the gloomy shipping containers. Terror and despair filled the eyes of many, yet they could do nothing but surrender to their fate.

Jiang Yunjie felt a blaze of fury consuming his chest. He walked straight to his room, as if the entire world had nothing to do with him.

The whiskey bottle on the sideboard shimmered with an alluring luster under the light. He grabbed it without hesitation and took several deep gulps directly from the bottle. The strong liquor felt like a blade, scorching his throat instantly, yet it failed to extinguish the fire of rage within him.

He turned his gaze to the table nearby, a flash of mania in his eyes. With a violent shove, he overturned it, sending objects scattering across the floor with a loud crash.

The anger on Jiang Yunjie’s face was plain to see, like a provoked beast. He then smashed the whiskey bottle onto the floor; glass shards flew everywhere, and the liquid pooled on the ground as if mourning his rage.

"Old Chen! Where is Old Chen?" Jiang Yunjie shouted, his voice laced with agitation and unease. Butler Chen Jing arrived at the sound of the commotion, frowning at the wreckage in the room, yet he said nothing.

"Someone, come and tidy up the Third Young Master’s room," he ordered his subordinates quickly, then bowed to Jiang Yunjie. "Third Young Master, please calm your anger! Although we failed to capture him, we have hostages now! It is not a total loss."

Jiang Yunjie listened with a frozen face, a glint of disdain in his eyes. "Do you realize how much ammunition I lost? What the hell use are these people to me? What if he doesn't come?" His voice was thick with resentment, clearly dissatisfied with the situation.

A cold, cunning smile played on the butler’s lips.

"According to reports brought back by Jiang Li, that man, Li Linyu, only exposed his true strength when one of the women among them was in danger. It is clear that he holds deep feelings for her!"

Jiang Yunjie’s expression shifted slightly at these words. The image of the woman flashed through his mind; in this apocalyptic world, she possessed a pure look and considerable beauty.

"That little girl, she is indeed quite pretty," Jiang Yunjie mused, a playful smirk curling his lips. He and Butler Chen Jing exchanged a look—a smile that seemed to hide endless schemes and calculations, enough to send a chill down one's spine.

The butler then furrowed his brows and said in a low voice, "Third Young Master, the zombies in the warehouse cannot be kept any longer. If we wait until he arrives..."

Jiang Yunjie snapped back to reality, a look of resolve in his eyes. "Uncle Chen, you are indeed thorough. Those zombies are a liability. Clear them out, refine the serum, and send it to my Second Brother. I will never make the same mistake as Jiang Li!"

***

Butler Chen Jing wore a look of sycophancy, responding repeatedly, "The Third Young Master is truly gifted by heaven, strategizing from afar and ensuring victory. You will surely be the successor to the Jiang family!"

Jiang Yunjie finally showed a trace of satisfaction and waved his hand dismissively.

Butler Chen Jing bowed. "Third Young Master, this old servant will attend to it at once." He turned and hurried out of the room, as if afraid of wasting a single second.

Inside the shipping container at the Jiang Family’s No. 9 Survivor Base, the dim light flickered incessantly, and the air between the iron walls felt suffocating. The gate opened slowly, and a cold gust of wind ushered in a figure. It was a tall mercenary in black combat gear with twin blades strapped to his back. His face was tightly covered by a mask, revealing only a pair of sharp, piercing eyes. A white "卍" symbol was prominently printed on the mask, looking particularly jarring.

The guards inside stepped forward, bowing their heads in unison. "Deacon Luo!"

His gaze swept over the people in the container like a torch.

"The Third Young Master has ordered! Twenty lashes for everyone, every day!" His voice was deep and powerful.

"Understood!" The lead mercenary stood at attention, his voice booming, and the others echoed him in unison.

Among the captives was the family of three who had betrayed Xu Hanfeng and the others. Upon hearing the order, the woman’s face turned deathly pale.

She crawled forward on her knees, her voice trembling so violently it was barely audible. "Jiang... Young Master Jiang said he would spare our lives. How... please, I beg you, let our family go! My child was just born!" The woman pleaded, trying to use her baby to stir some vestige of compassion in the man.

Deacon Luo merely cast a cold glance at her, his expression unmoved. He turned away, his voice colder than before. "Listen well: whoever you are, regardless of age, you will be punished. This is the Third Young Master’s order!" With that, he strode out of the container, leaving behind the heavy, final sound of his boots.

"Understood!" the mercenaries replied in unison.

The woman collapsed. She screamed hysterically, "No! No! Please, spare my child!" She scrambled toward the leg of one of the mercenaries, her eyes filled with despair and supplication.

***

The mercenary heartlessly kicked her away, his face full of contempt and indifference. The others stepped forward and began to kick her viciously.

"Wretched woman!"
"You dare to bargain?"
"Bitch!"
"..."

They muttered insults as they struck.

Although Xu Hanfeng felt immense indignation at the base, sycophantic conduct of this family, seeing them brutalize a defenseless woman ignited a fire of justice in his heart that he could no longer suppress. "Enough!" he roared like a bell. "A group of men beating a woman—do you even qualify as human? You are nothing but scum, lower than pigs or dogs!"

The mercenaries flashed a look of malice and turned their cold, focused eyes on Xu Hanfeng.

One of them sneered, "Looking for death? Then we'll start with you!" Before the words even faded, they rushed him like hungry tigers. Blows rained down on Xu Hanfeng’s face, and they hauled him up to deliver a vicious knee strike to his stomach.

Xu Hanfeng’s face contorted in pain, blood leaking from the corner of his mouth. Unable to make a sound, he was dragged out and thrown before the group, ready for his lashing.

Luo Yucheng and Jiang Hanchuan watched in agony, shouting and accusing the group of their shamelessness. "Do you have no sense of justice? How can you treat him like this!" Luo Yucheng’s voice was choked with tears, yet it could not mask her rage.

With his hands tightly bound behind his back, Xu Hanfeng was left helpless under the shadow of the whip. Lash after lash landed loudly on his body, tearing his skin, yet he bit his teeth together, refusing to let out a single cry of pain. This display only incited more fury in his tormentors, and the whipping grew even more violent.

19, 20, 21...