EOTWR Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Master Hong’s tone carried a hint of malice as he spoke, as if Yao Jianing would truly suffer the fate he described.

In essence, his message was: believe in him, and you will be saved and ascend to heaven; disbelieve him, and you will suffer and descend to hell. This was essentially a combination of enticement and intimidation, a tactic Ai Wei recognized from past encounters with zealous religious followers. Hearing Master Hong’s words, he wasn’t surprised, naturally adopting a terrified yet attentive demeanor.

Seeing Ai Wei seemingly taken in by his act, Master Hong felt a surge of satisfaction. “I see you have some wisdom, and I can’t bear to see you swallowed by this apocalyptic disaster. Therefore, I want to give you a hand. Come, child, join the kingdom of God, and you too can be saved.”

Ai Wei swallowed nervously, “I… can I really join you? You’re so powerful, and you even have ability users, while I’m just an ordinary person, and my friends are ordinary too. Can they join as well?” Master Hong didn’t seem bothered that Ai Wei said “join you” instead of “join your God.” To him, joining their organization or becoming a believer in God was much the same. As long as these people joined them, they would eventually be brainwashed into the way he wanted them to be.

As for those who couldn’t be brainwashed, they could be used as sacrifices to the zombie god.

Master Hong offered an all-encompassing smile. “Of course, my child. Whether ordinary or ability users, as long as your heart is devout, God will welcome you. For God is omnipotent, capable of saving everyone, whether it’s you alone or a group of you. However, you must swear an oath and remember this firmly: once you believe in God, you must believe in him wholeheartedly and without doubt, never betraying God or allowing anyone to slander your God. If you betray your God one day, God will give you the most severe punishment, causing you to vanish into thin air, never to be reincarnated.”

His expression turned serious and even stern as he spoke the last sentence, appearing somewhat frightening.

Ai Wei seemed frightened by his demeanor, quickly nodding. “I believe, I believe, Master. I’ll have my friends get out of the car and join the kingdom of God too. However, one of my friends has a broken leg and needs to recuperate. I hope you can allow him to rest and recover well with you. As long as he can regain his health, I’ll do anything you ask.”

Master Hong nodded. “It’s commendable that you don’t abandon your friends in this disaster. Go, let your friends come and meet me.”

Thus, Ai Wei returned to the car to call Xia Junchi and Doctor Li down.

Xia Junchi and Doctor Li had heard the entire conversation between Ai Wei and Master Hong while in the car. Avoiding a fight with Master Hong’s group and only temporarily joining their ranks was naturally agreeable to them. After getting out of the car, they honestly greeted Master Hong, behaving obediently as if they would listen to whatever he said.

Seeing that Xia Junchi had a broken leg, Doctor Li had a little girl with him, and they were both behaving so obediently, Master Hong felt relatively at ease with these people.

However, Yao Jianing had previously deceived him with a similar obedient facade, nearly ruining his plans. He couldn’t guarantee that this group wasn’t the same, only appearing obedient while secretly plotting to stab him in the back. Once he brought these people back to Villa No. 96, he would have to properly brainwash them. A sinister glint flashed in Master Hong’s eyes as he thought of this.

“Perfect, it’s almost time for our prayer session. Since you all want to join us, let’s pray together,” Master Hong said, checking his watch.

Ai Wei naturally didn’t want to go; he only wanted to leave this place with his people. Who knew what they would encounter if they followed Master Hong into Villa No. 96? And who knew how long it would take to leave with everyone? But at this point, they couldn’t refuse.

So, Ai Wei and his group followed Master Hong to Villa No. 96.

Ai Wei carried Xia Junchi on his back, Doctor Li carried the unconscious Han Lu, and Li Xiaxia nervously clutched Doctor Li’s sleeve. As soon as they entered the villa’s gate, several gazes fell upon them.

These people were of all ages and genders. Their eyes held wariness and eagerness as they looked at the newcomers. Everyone’s expression was somewhat similar, giving off an odd feeling that made one instinctively guarded.

“Master, more newcomers have arrived,” a plump woman in a white shirt, around forty years old, walked over, excitedly saying, “We’re getting more and more people!”

Master Hong smiled slightly. “Arrange accommodations for the new members. They’ll be staying here from now on.”

“Alright!” the woman responded, looking at Ai Wei and the others. Her eyes lingered on Xia Junchi for two seconds and on Ai Wei for one, a look that sent a chill down Ai Wei’s spine.

The woman smiled at them and said, “Follow me.”

Thus, Ai Wei’s group was led to two rooms by this woman.

This woman’s surname was Wu, and she was known as Sister Wu or Aunt Wu. Ai Wei, Xia Junchi, and Doctor Li were assigned by her to a six-person room only for men. Li Xiaxia and the unconscious Han Lu were assigned to a six-person room not far away, only for women.

Upon hearing that she would be separated from her father, Li Xiaxia clung tightly to Doctor Li, refusing to let go, as if Sister Wu wasn’t leading her to a dormitory but to the eighteenth level of hell.

Doctor Li didn’t dare to separate from Li Xiaxia either. Villa No. 96 was a dangerous place, and who knew what Li Xiaxia would encounter if she left his side?

“Let my daughter stay with me; she’ll be scared to stay with others,” Doctor Li pleaded with Sister Wu.

Sister Wu didn’t make things difficult for them, nodding. “Letting her stay in the women’s dormitory was because it’s inconvenient for a little girl to stay with you grown men. But since you don’t want to separate, it doesn’t matter; staying together is fine too.”

Doctor Li and Li Xiaxia breathed a sigh of relief, and Doctor Li thanked Sister Wu, “Thank you for your consideration.”

Sister Wu said, “What’s there to thank? No need to be polite with me. We’re all brothers and sisters living together from now on; we should work together with one heart!”

Doctor Li repeatedly agreed, patting Han Lu, who was still on his back, and said to Sister Wu, “Let my wife stay with us in the same room too; she’s unconscious, and I need to take good care of her.”

Ai Wei was slightly taken aback when he heard him call Han Lu his wife, then realized that he was saying it as a temporary measure.

This Villa No. 96 was very strange, and from the fact that Master Hong had sent Li Weiwei and the other three young beauties to bring them things, his intentions were impure. Who knew if they would do the same to Han Lu? Therefore, it was best for them to stay together.

Hearing that Han Lu was Doctor Li’s wife, Sister Wu looked at Doctor Li with suspicion.

Doctor Li looked to be in his early thirties, while Han Lu looked to be only in her twenties. There was a big age gap between them, and Han Lu didn’t look like the mother of a child as old as Li Xiaxia.

“Is she really your wife? You’re not lying to me, are you?” Sister Wu asked.

Doctor Li knew what she was doubting and explained, “My wife looks young for her age. Don’t let her appearance fool you; she might already be 28 this year.”

Hearing him say this, Sister Wu thought it wasn’t impossible. After all, some women these days took good care of themselves, and it wasn’t strange for someone in their thirties to look like they were in their twenties.

But she felt that she still needed to confirm it, so she looked at Li Xiaxia, pointed at Han Lu, and asked, “Little friend, is she really your mommy? You can’t lie, okay! If you lie, you’ll go to the 18th level of hell and have your tongue pulled out!”

As she spoke, her face took on a sinister expression, and her eerie eyes stared at Li Xiaxia, scaring Li Xiaxia so much that she couldn’t help but shiver and instinctively hide behind Doctor Li.

“Yes, she is my mommy…” she said in a voice as soft as a mosquito’s hum.

Sister Wu didn’t hear her clearly and said sternly to Li Xiaxia, “Speak louder!”

Li Xiaxia was startled again, and tears welled up in her eyes, swirling around, and she said a little louder, “She is my mommy…”

Doctor Li frowned, pulled Li Xiaxia behind him, and said to Sister Wu, “Don’t scare the child.”

Sister Wu giggled and said, “I’m just asking, why is this child crying? Since you’re a family of three, then stay in the same room! However, we have limited rooms here, and each room has to accommodate six people, so you’ll still have to squeeze in with others.”

Doctor Li nodded; their group didn’t want to separate in the first place.

However, Sister Wu then changed her mind, saying to Doctor Li, “You three can stay in Room Three, where there’s also a family of three living there, which leaves exactly three empty bunks for you.”

As she spoke, she turned to Ai Wei and Xia Junchi, saying, “You two bachelors can stay in Room Five, where all the men live.”

Hearing this, Ai Wei couldn’t help but frown. “Sister Wu, didn’t you just say that we should all stay together?”

Hearing him question her, Sister Wu’s face immediately fell. “I had you stay together because there were only three of you men, and that room could accommodate you. But now that there are two more people, that room can’t accommodate everyone anymore.”

Sister Wu was lying. Ai Wei had already scanned this villa with his mental power and knew that there were still two empty rooms on the first floor that could definitely accommodate all five of them.

But he couldn’t say that he knew there were two empty rooms, otherwise Sister Wu would suspect how he knew this, so he said, “Then can we combine the people in these two rooms into one room and free up an empty room for us? We’re all friends and don’t want to separate.”

Hearing his request, Sister Wu immediately said unhappily, “You’ll stay wherever I assign you. That’s the rule here; don’t cause me trouble!”

As she spoke, her face became fierce, as if she would be impolite to them if Ai Wei didn’t listen.

Xia Junchi said, “Since that’s the rule, then we’ll stay separately.”

Hearing Xia Junchi speak, Sister Wu’s expression softened a little. She put one hand on Xia Junchi’s shoulder and said with a suggestive look, “This younger brother is so sensible. If you have any trouble in the future, you can come to me for help. I live in Room Five on the third floor and am a very powerful wood-ability user!”

As she spoke, her hairy hand slid down, reaching Xia Junchi’s waist. As she was about to touch an even more forbidden place, Ai Wei quickly supported Xia Junchi, moved to the side, stood in front of Xia Junchi, and said to Sister Wu, “Thank you, we’ll definitely ask you for help if we have any trouble in the future.”

Seeing that Ai Wei was also a handsome young man, Sister Wu didn’t bother with him. She huffed and led them into Room 104, letting Doctor Li, Li Xiaxia, and Han Lu stay there. Then she led Ai Wei and Xia Junchi to Room 106.

This room was about 20 square meters, with only a cabinet and six mattresses on the floor, not even a table or chair. The living conditions were a bit too simple. Three men were already living inside: two young men and a teenager. Sister Wu didn’t knock, just opened the door directly, kicked the door with her foot, and said to the three, “These two are new here; you three must take care of them in the future.”

Hearing the noise, the three had already looked over here. Hearing Sister Wu say this, they all said that they would definitely get along with the newcomers harmoniously.

Sister Wu was quite satisfied with their performance, then pointed to the two empty mattresses in the room and said to Xia Junchi and Ai Wei, “You two can sleep here.”

As she spoke, she added, “The rule here is that ordinary people can’t have mobile phones and dangerous items. Give me your mobile phones and weapons.”

Ai Wei naturally didn’t want to hand over his mobile phone and weapons. He only had a folding knife on him, and Xia Junchi had used this knife to kill a small gangster and scare away the rest when they were being chased by that group of hoodlums, saving their lives. This knife was also his only weapon now, and he naturally didn’t want to hand it over.

But now they were at the mercy of others and had to bow their heads. Under Sister Wu’s coercion, he had no choice but to take out his mobile phone and knife and hand them over to her.

Xia Junchi also handed over his mobile phone. Looking at the two mobile phones and a knife, Sister Wu asked them, “Have you handed everything over? Is there anything else?”

“Nothing else, not even a piece of paper in my pockets,” Ai Wei turned his pants pockets inside out to show that there was really nothing in them.

Sister Wu then looked at Xia Junchi and said, “What about you? Have you taken everything out of your pockets?”

Xia Junchi also turned his pants pockets inside out and said, “I’ve taken everything out.”

Sister Wu looked at the pocket on Xia Junchi’s chest and said with a suggestive look, “Really nothing else? What about this pocket? Why don’t you take it out? Let me see if there’s anything in it?”

As she spoke, she reached out to enter that pocket.

Xia Junchi felt a chill as he looked at her, instinctively leaning back to dodge her hairy claws.

Seeing this scene, Ai Wei almost exploded with anger, immediately blocking Xia Junchi and glaring at Sister Wu, “What are you doing?!”

Sister Wu was unhappy that she hadn’t touched Xia Junchi’s chest. Seeing that Ai Wei was blocking her way, she immediately pulled a long face and said, “I want to check if he has any contraband. Are you being evasive by blocking me from checking?!” A million alpacas galloped through Ai Wei’s mind. Don’t think he couldn’t see that this old woman just wanted to take advantage of Xia Junchi! And what was she saying about checking for contraband? Checking your…?

“We don’t have any contraband,” Ai Wei said, turning Xia Junchi’s shirt pocket inside out. “See? There’s nothing in here!”

Seeing that there was indeed nothing in that pocket, Sister Wu couldn’t say anything else. Her eyes then looked at Xia Junchi’s lower body and said, “There are other places where you can hide things. Come with me to the third floor; I want to check you thoroughly.”

Xia Junchi felt a chill in his heart as he looked at her meaningful gaze.

Before Xia Junchi could speak, Ai Wei said, “My friend only has these two pockets, and you’ve seen them all. There’s nothing else. Besides, we came here because of Master Hong’s invitation, not to be your prisoners. If you go too far, we’ll complain to Master Hong!”

Seeing him so aggressive, Sister Wu knew that it would be difficult for her to succeed today. She gritted her teeth and said, “Fine, since you’ve been checked, you can stay here.”

As she spoke, she looked at Xia Junchi and said, “Brother, I’ll see you later.” Then she got up and left.

Hearing her sweet “brother,” Xia Junchi almost couldn’t keep a straight face. Seeing her leave, Ai Wei couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief, but at the same time, he felt a bit anxious.

He had to get his companions out of here as soon as possible, otherwise, who knew what that old woman would do to Xia Junchi!

Just then, the three men who had been watching them from the same room came over. One of the young men wearing a gray vest said, “Hey, newcomer, you have to be careful. No man that Sister Wu has taken a fancy to has ever been able to escape.”

Another young man in a blue short-sleeved shirt looked at Xia Junchi’s face and said with some schadenfreude, “Tsk tsk, look at that face of yours, it’s truly a calamity. I advise you to just submit; you’ll be caught by her sooner or later anyway.”

This person was gloating on the surface, but in his heart, he was actually a little jealous that Xia Junchi had been taken a fancy to by Sister Wu. After all, Sister Wu was in charge of the building’s accommodation and food, and following Sister Wu would improve one’s treatment. Moreover, she was a powerful ability user who could protect herself in case of danger. In addition, although Sister Wu was a bit older, she wasn’t ugly. He wouldn’t be at a disadvantage if he could latch onto her.

Unfortunately, Sister Wu had high standards and only liked handsome young men. She wasn’t interested in men of his ordinary appearance.

Thinking of this, the short-sleeved youth couldn’t help but feel a little jealous of Xia Junchi and said, “If you fall into her hands, you have to take good care of yourself! She likes to play tricks the most. Have you heard of the four-piece set of a rich woman’s happiness? It’s…”

He chattered on, becoming more and more excited, as if Xia Junchi would soon be caught by Sister Wu and experience the things he was talking about.

Xia Junchi suddenly interrupted him and asked, “How do you know these things?”

The short-sleeved youth was happily talking when he was interrupted, so he couldn’t help but feel a little unhappy. “This isn’t anything new; many people here know about it.” As he spoke, he looked at the youth in the vest next to him and said, “You say I’m right, don’t you?”

Hearing this, the youth in the vest hesitated a little and said, “This… no one has really seen it.”

The short-sleeved youth was immediately unhappy and said, “Everyone says so, how can it be wrong?! Didn’t you see that Lin Dong who came out of her room a few days ago, with a pale face and weak legs? I even saw bloodstains on his thigh!”

The vest youth stopped talking.

Then, the short-sleeved youth began to talk about that man named Lin Dong, using various signs to prove that Lin Dong must have been caught by Sister Wu, and which man went to Sister Wu’s room at what time, and that he must have been having an affair with Sister Wu…

Ai Wei wasn’t so worried after hearing him say this.

The short-sleeved youth’s jealousy was almost written all over his face, obviously jealous that Xia Junchi had been taken a fancy to by Sister Wu. If Sister Wu was really as terrible as he said, how could he be jealous of Xia Junchi? He should be eager to stay far away from Sister Wu.

That Sister Wu was indeed a bit lecherous, but she probably wasn’t as terrible as he said.

After the short-sleeved youth finished talking about Sister Wu’s romantic affairs, he began to introduce himself. “My name is Yu Chao, I’m an internet celebrity. This is Li Nan, he used to be an electrician. This is Xu Zirui, a high school student.”

Li Nan was the youth in the vest, and Xu Zirui was the silent teenager next to him. Seeing that they had introduced themselves, Ai Wei also said his and Xia Junchi’s names.

Although Yu Chao had some problems with his personality, he was very talkative. In order to learn more about Villa No. 96, Ai Wei and Xia Junchi began chatting with him, and they really got a lot of information about Villa No. 96 from his mouth.

It turned out that the people living in this Villa No. 96 weren’t from around here. They were all customers who had been stranded in a large supermarket when the zombie outbreak occurred. Because the supermarket’s glass door was broken by zombies, they had all escaped to the suburbs together.

And Master Hong was the one who proposed the idea of worshiping the zombie god when everyone was filled with fear of zombies.

Master Hong was good at brainwashing people and had the aura of a master. Under the fear of zombies, many people actually worshiped the zombies. And those who opposed the zombie god at that time were all sacrificed to the zombie god as offerings.

As for the method of sacrifice, it was to push people into the zombie horde.

After solving a few stubborn elements who opposed the zombie god, the remaining people all became supporters of the zombie god. Moreover, in the atmosphere of worshiping the zombie god day after day, the people here became increasingly fanatical about the zombie god.

Looking at Yu Chao’s fanatical eyes when he talked about the zombie god, Ai Wei couldn’t help but become more and more wary.

It seemed that if they wanted to live well here, they couldn’t show dislike for the zombie god. When others were fanatical about the zombie god, they couldn’t be different from the crowd.

As they were talking, Sister Wu suddenly came in from outside again.

As soon as Yu Chao saw Sister Wu, he immediately stopped talking. He ran over to her flatteringly and said with a smile, “Sister Wu, you’re here!”

Sister Wu glanced at him and pushed him aside, saying, “You guys go out first, I have something to say to the newcomers.”

Yu Chao and the others didn’t dare to disobey and immediately left the room, closing the door behind them before leaving.

Seeing them leave, Sister Wu went straight to Xia Junchi’s bedside and said to Xia Junchi with a gentle expression, “Good brother, I’m here to remind you that Master Hong will hold your joining ceremony today. At that time, whatever Master Hong says, you must do it. Don’t resist, people who resist don’t have a good end.”

Xia Junchi and Ai Wei were hearing about the joining ceremony for the first time. They had chatted with Yu Chao for so long, and Yu Chao had said a lot of gossip about the church, but he hadn’t mentioned the joining ceremony at all.

Seeing Sister Wu saying this so seriously, Xia Junchi felt that there might be some problems with this joining ceremony, so he asked, “What will Master Hong have us do at the joining ceremony?”

Sister Wu smiled slightly, winking at him, and said, “Call me a good sister, and I’ll tell you.”

Xia Junchi… Sister Wu wasn’t very good-looking, and she was old. The appearance of her winking coquettishly at a man was a bit of an eyesore. Ai Wei’s eyes twitched, feeling like a lecherous old woman was preying on a handsome man, and he felt very uncomfortable.

He definitely didn’t want to see Xia Junchi call her a good sister, so he quickly approached Sister Wu and called out sweetly, “Good sister, just tell us, what will we do at the joining ceremony? You came here to remind us specially, it must be for our own good, we will remember this kindness.”

Sister Wu was waiting for Xia Junchi to call her a good sister! Now that she was interrupted, she couldn’t help but feel a little unhappy. However, seeing that Ai Wei was quite good-looking and called her “good sister” sweetly, she didn’t mind.

Moreover, Ai Wei looked very young, only in his early twenties. Being called sister by such a young handsome man made Sister Wu feel like she was also very young. You know, she used to be called auntie by others.

She pinched Ai Wei’s butt, like a pampered young gigolo, and said to Ai Wei affectionately, “It’s good that you know how good I am to you. It’s not in vain that I made a special trip to come here.”