Chapter 11: Return to the Gathering Grounds

Tianfeng Security Zone, Sixth Gathering Place.

After jumping from the military-green SUV, Yenir casually glanced at the four level-one peak Awakeners trailing a short distance behind him.

As his elite bodyguards, each was well-trained, silently keeping pace behind him.

Had he not ordered them to keep their distance, they’d have gladly dispatched an entire company to surround him.

It was already afternoon, and the sunset burned a deep red.

Yenir exhaled slowly, his eyes fixed on the gathering ground that was both familiar and strange.

This was not only a haven for ordinary survivors but also the home of his past life.

Within the chaotic, factory-like shelters, scores of survivors in tattered short-sleeved shirts moved about.

Sewage flowed freely while mounds of garbage loomed beyond barbed-wire fences. Every now and then, a few haggard survivors, numb and resigned, carried baskets while scavenging for usable supplies.

It wasn’t so much a gathering place as it was a sprawling slum.

Every shelter here was a converted metal container or a makeshift tent where families were cramped together.

Suppressing the surge of emotion, Yenir took a deep breath and strode purposefully toward the familiar street.

Little sister… mother…

I’m back!

….

Inside a blue-and-white metal box sealed tight, the air was murky and stifling.

A slight girl, no more than thirteen or fourteen, squatted at a small table, carefully assembling a circuit board.

At her feet, spools of wire and scattered components formed a small pile.

With her fingers wrapped in bandages, the girl wiped sweat from her forehead and, with tight-lipped determination, connected a copper wire.

After fourteen grueling hours of continuous work, the malnourished girl’s hands trembled.

“If I get forty more assembled… I can trade them for a pancake…”

As if spurring herself on, a low, grumbling hunger echoed from her stomach.

Battling hunger and fatigue, once she finished the circuit board, a reluctant smile crossed her face.

“Thirty-nine done…”

“I wonder how things are on your end, big brother…”

Her tiny nose twitched as she wiped her grimy face once more, her eyes filled with longing.

I miss you so much, big brother…

Born in the aftermath of the apocalypse, children from families like hers had to start working early to earn their meager meals.

To support Yenir’s training to become an Awakener, she and her mother scrimped and saved every penny, scraping together funds so that Yenir might have a better life.

After putting her work aside, the girl unsteadily stood up, ready to stretch her aching legs.

Clutching her stomach, she couldn’t help but steal a glance at the few flatbreads hanging in the room, licking her lips in longing.

I’m so hungry…

But I can’t eat.

Her little head jerked away, unwilling to meet her eyes again.

Big brother is about to become an Awakener. Once he heads out on missions, he’s going to need to buy a lot of things…

Money and food… must be conserved.

With hopeful anticipation and deep longing for the future, the girl squatted down once more to resume her work.

Just then, a gentle knock on the door sounded unexpectedly.

Hmm?

Her grimy face paled as she startled and spoke warily:

“Who is it?”

Instinctively, the girl grabbed a stick from beside her and peered cautiously.

Living in such a chaotic slum, she had long learned to fend for herself; here, starving survivors often resorted to snatching food.

Moments later, a trembling voice echoed from outside the makeshift metal door:

“Ye Xiaoan, it’s me… your big brother.”

Outside, Yenir stared at the familiar yet alien metal door, unable to quell the tremor of emotion rising within him.

Ever since he lost his eligibility for the tests in his past life, he had been forced to struggle as an ordinary man.

His little sister and mother had worked tirelessly, enduring hunger day and night just to support him.

Until, a year later, mutated creatures stormed into the Safe Zone and, right before his eyes, claimed the lives of his little sister and mother.

That overwhelming despair was the greatest pain and regret of his life.

“Click.”

The small door flew open, revealing a pair of bright, incredulous eyes fixed on Yenir outside.

Moments later, with a gasp of recognition, Ye Xiaoan burst into tears of joy at the sight of her brother.

“Big brother… *sob*…”

“You’re back!”

Wrapping her arms tightly around Yenir, the girl felt all her past grievances and sorrows dissolve into a flood of unstoppable tears.

Since Yenir had joined the training, she hadn’t seen her brother in over a year.

On the rare occasions she visited the training camp, she would deliver the food she and her mother had painstakingly saved at its gate.

Now, with the brother she had longed for finally before her, she no longer felt like the child left without a brother, abandoned and alone.

Clinging fiercely to Yenir, her small body trembled uncontrollably.

“Big brother… how… how did you get out?”

Gazing at the little sister barely half his height cradled in his arms, Yenir’s heart ached as he noticed the bandages wrapped around her small hands.

Unable to resist, he gently stroked her head and then, smiling warmly, knelt down beside her:

“Of course the training is over.”

“Brother, I heard you’ve finished the tests.”

Tenderly wiping away Ye Xiaoan’s tear stains, Yenir’s heart sank as the sharp stench of industrial chemicals filled the room.

During his absence, he had come to truly understand how much his mother and little sister had suffered.

In his past life, until their tragic end, he’d never been able to grant them even a single day of comfort.

Clenching his fist in silence, Yenir stifled the tumult of emotions swirling within him.

Gently gathering Ye Xiaoan into his arms, he murmured indulgently:

“This time, I promise I won’t let you suffer anymore…”

Outside, a few nearby survivors, drawn by Ye Xiaoan’s cries, peered curiously to see what was happening.

When they recognized Yenir—the middle-aged man known to be undergoing Awakening training—a brief silence fell before they began chattering amongst themselves.

“Why is Yenir back today? Weren’t we supposed to have the Awakening Test?”

“Hey, kid from the Ye family, did you become an Awakener?”

“I doubt it. My kid hasn’t returned yet. If he’d passed the test, my family would be back too.”

“Maybe he skipped the test? Or perhaps he quit altogether?”

Amid the noisy chatter, Ye Xiaoan suddenly shuddered as if recalling something.

Instinctively, she looked up at Yenir:

“Big brother, are you…”

Words failed her.

She wondered if Yenir had returned so early because, as the rumors claimed, he was sent back for failing to show any talent.

Fearing to bruise his pride, Ye Xiaoan clammed up, unable to ask further.

“No.”

Yenir offered a relaxed smile, unconcerned by the murmurs and pointing from behind—among the downtrodden, they always looked down on one another.

Just as he was about to mention that he’d become an Awakener, a series of footsteps suddenly echoed from behind him.

“Yenir? You’re back?”

Among a group of bare-chested subordinates clutching short sticks, a cleanly dressed middle-aged woman called out to him impassively.

Casting a disdainful glance at Yenir, she scoffed:

“Coming back this early? Seems like you’re not an Awakener after all, huh?”

“It’s good that you’re back.”

“You all need to pay your water bill. You owe two months—six pancakes. How are you going to settle up?”

As she spoke, several tattooed men wielding sticks encircled the small house, brandishing their iron clubs menacingly.

“Water bill!?”

They were taken aback by the sudden accusation.

For a moment, Ye Xiaoan’s face, bearing a maturity beyond her years, flashed with fear before she mustered the courage to retort to the middle-aged woman:

“The water comes from the river! I fetched it bucket by bucket! We don’t use your water!”

Her chest heaved, and upon hearing the woman’s extortion for six pancakes, Ye Xiaoan nearly burst into tears from anger.

The woman, the gang leader of the gathering, was notorious for extorting nearby survivors.

“Hmm?”

With a cold laugh, the middle-aged woman dismissed Ye Xiaoan’s rebuttal and, with a haughty tone, chided:

“From the river? I’ll tell you—water from the river counts as ours too, no matter where you got it!”

“You either pay up now or we’ll take it by force!”

“Otherwise…”

Her tone turned icy as she glared.

The middle-aged woman fixed a cold stare on Yenir—she had long had her eyes on this family, targeting them because they lacked an adult male, leaving only an orphaned mother and daughter.

If not for her old fear that Yenir might have returned from the training camp as a full Awakener, she would have had him ‘swallowed’ long ago.

But now, it was evident that Yenir hadn’t passed the test.

According to the grapevine, not a single trainee from today’s test had returned; perhaps Yenir didn’t even qualify and was sent back immediately!

Turning coldly, Yenir fixed a piercing gaze on that haughty face, a surge of murderous intent flashing in his eyes.

Memories flooded back.

In his past life, after leaving the training camp, this very woman had pushed him and his mother to the brink, nearly leaving them with nothing. His little sister was almost forced into being sold to a brothel, treated like a slave. Had he not risked his life searching for supplies outside the city and repaying those so-called debts, his family would have been ruined long ago!

Fueled by vengeance and old grudges, murderous intent surged in Yenir’s icy gaze.

“Debts? You want your money back?”

Glancing at Yenir’s hostile stare, the middle-aged woman scoffed and waved dismissively.

“What, you still want to default? Resist? Do you know who I am? Someone, go break his…”

Before she could finish speaking,

Yenir sneered coldly and, without hesitation, pressed the communicator in his pocket.

In the next moment, several figures moving with remarkable speed burst in from nearby.

Their presence was downright intimidating.

The sudden arrival of elite warriors stunned the band of burly men who had been poised to attack.

The onlooking survivors recoiled in fear.

Clad in military uniforms… could these be the Military Department’s Awakeners!?

How could a Military Awakener appear here!?

Before anyone could react,

Yenir, expressionless, calmly addressed the few Awakener bodyguards standing by him:

“Captain Huang, do me a favor.”

Respectfully saluting in return, the Level Two Awakener known as Captain Huang replied without hesitation:

“Yes, sir.”

In the next second, Yenir casually pointed at the middle-aged woman and said coolly:

“Kill her.”

One second later,

“Bang!”

Captain Huang immediately nodded and delivered a crushing punch without hesitation.

With a deafening crack, the formerly haughty middle-aged woman had her head blasted off, her headless body staggering and collapsing to the ground.

In an instant, the stunned onlookers wore expressions of shock and disbelief.

“They killed her!? Just like that!?”