This year's rainy season arrived two months earlier than in previous years. Normally, warm and humid air currents from the Pacific would only begin to blow during the height of summer. However, spring had not yet passed, and the rainy season had already commenced. It could be said that everyone had only just finished sowing their seeds a month or so ago, and the crops had barely begun to sprout when the rain arrived.
This abnormal weather phenomenon caused countless people to look on with concern. The early arrival of rain would likely lead to floods and droughts. What was to be done?
It was already the end of days, with zombies everywhere. With the zombie threat not yet resolved, natural disasters were now on the horizon. In such circumstances, no one could withstand such a blow.
However, these worries were a world away from Shen Feng in Shancheng and Chang Jianyi in Jiangyang. Historically, floods were frequent in the eastern and southern regions. Shen Feng's primary concern was mudslides; as long as there were no mudslides, everything would be fine.
Shen Feng was busy with executions, while the soldiers on the front lines were fighting. Shen Feng was responsible for defending Yuzhou. The gang members captured a month ago had been thoroughly interrogated. Seeing that there was no more work in Yuzhou, Zhang Xixi took a group of people to Jiangyang to participate in the interrogations, bringing Lin Yue along as well.
Despite her young age, no one dared to underestimate Zhang Xixi now, as her special ability was specifically for interrogation.
Lin Yue's reason for going to Jiangyang was that he had found the killer of Fu Ya. This was the result obtained after Zhang Xixi's interrogation. The leader of the Dragon Slaying Gang, a man named Huang Yu, had engaged in looting during the zombie siege a year ago. At that time, the defense forces were focused on dealing with the zombies, leaving them unable to pay attention to the civilians within the city. Huang Yu and his men had succeeded in their plunder.
Lin Yue often saw Fu Ya's face in his dreams. He could not forget this classmate who had accompanied him through the apocalypse for several months. She was his first love. From the moment zombies appeared in the classroom, Lin Yue and Fu Ya had been inseparable. They had faced life and death together, arriving in Jiangyang.
Lin Yue had expected to grow old with Fu Ya, to wait until the chaos ended and peace returned to the land. He envisioned a future with many children, where he would provide for the family and Fu Ya would raise their children, and they would enter the grave together, never to be separated even by death.
However, one unexpected night, Fu Ya died at the hands of a group of scoundrels. These men were after wealth, intending to form a gang. For this reason alone, Huang Yu had killed Fu Ya and stolen their hard-earned food.
In the prison, Lin Yue saw Huang Yu tied up, his face still full of disdain.
"I ask you, what was your reason for killing Fu Ya? Your answer will determine how decisively I exact my revenge! Answer truthfully, and I'll give you a quick death. If you dare to lie, don't blame me for using a blunt knife!" Lin Yue questioned with red eyes.
Huang Yu showed a look of disgust and cursed, "If you want to kill me, a lackey, then kill me. You, boy, are a spineless coward. You're from Yuzhou, yet you're willing to sell your life to outsiders. I have nothing to say. At least I died resisting Shen Feng's cruel rule."
At this moment, Huang Yu's words sounded righteous and perfectly reasonable.
In the interrogation room, Chang Jianyi and Chu Chaoyan were also present. Hearing Huang Yu's words, they were instantly angered. If it weren't for giving Lin Yue some face, they would have killed Huang Yu on the spot. He spoke of resisting tyranny, but in reality, he was just finding excuses.
Lin Yue, with red eyes, continued to ask, "You keep saying you're opposing the city lord, so what did you do? You formed a so-called gang, and your exploitation targeted everyone, friend or foe. You ran casinos and stole the property of ordinary people, kidnapped women and forced them into prostitution, and even captured children to train them as thieves. These are heinous crimes! Did you distinguish between locals and outsiders then?"
Huang Yu sneered and closed his eyes, refusing to engage with Lin Yue further.
Lin Yue was enraged. He realized that Huang Yu had no regard for other people's lives. Whether it was murder, arson, or petty theft, it was all for his own benefit. As for excuses, they could be found anywhere if one looked for them.
Lin Yue turned to Chang Jianyi and said in a deep voice, "Vice City Lord, please hand Huang Yu over to me. He is my enemy, and I will make him pay the price he deserves."
Chang Jianyi nodded and said calmly, "No problem, he's yours. However, I don't expect him to live for too long after this."
Chang Jianyi readily agreed to Lin Yue's request. Lin Yue had sought her out earlier because he wanted revenge, and now allowing him to achieve his goal was only natural.
Lin Yue took Huang Yu away from the prison and went to the mountains outside Jiangyang City, where Fu Ya's ashes were buried. There were many new graves on the mountain, and many of them lacked tombstones.
Lin Yue severed Huang Yu's Achilles tendons and hamstring tendons, cut out his tongue, and placed it before Fu Ya's grave. Finally, he tied Huang Yu to a dead tree. It was the cusp of summer, and the sun beat down fiercely. Huang Yu, tied to the tree, bled from his mouth, his lips parted as if to curse, but only a muffled "wuwuwu" could be heard, unintelligible.
Many TV shows and movies depict scenes of people biting off their tongues to commit suicide, which seems plausible. However, in reality, this is not the case. Unless the person dies from the pain, they would not die from excessive blood loss. Even if the tongue were severed, the person could still survive.
Lin Yue knelt before Fu Ya's grave with a heavy heart. He took out a bottle of wine from his pocket, brewed from corn, which was very potent. As he drank, he poured out his troubles, "Xiao Ya, I'm about to avenge you, but I don't know what I'll do afterward."
Now that Lin Yue was about to achieve his revenge, the person he loved was gone forever. The image of her in his mind was gradually fading. Perhaps time truly could change people, and one day, Lin Yue would forget Fu Ya.
Lin Yue was lost, unsure of what to do. When he was with Fu Ya, even though life was dangerous, he at least had a direction to strive for. But now, without the external threat, he had lost his purpose. What should he do in the future?
Lin Yue continued to talk at his beloved's grave, drinking as he spoke. Unknowingly, he became drunk and lay down on the nearby grass, tears streaming down his face. Now, he was all alone in the world, facing this perilous world, his confusion and sorrow erupting.
Unknowingly, Lin Yue fell asleep on the small mountain outside the city. In his dreams, he could have anything. It would be best if he never had to wake up from his dreams.
When Lin Yue woke up, it was already evening. He was awakened by a commotion. Opening his eyes, he saw five or six people rescuing Huang Yu, who was tied to the tree.
Seeing this, Lin Yue was furious. He shouted, "What are you doing? Who told you to untie him?"
Lin Yue rushed forward, unleashing his powerful strength, scattering all those who were untying the ropes. After all, he was an evolved human, with strength and speed far beyond ordinary people. These individuals were ordinary people, and of course, they were no match for Lin Yue.
After being dispersed, these people groaned and clutched their injured areas, saying aggrievedly, "This person is so pitiful, we were just trying to save him. Look, he's about to die of dehydration."
Lin Yue glanced at Huang Yu, who was tied to the tree, and said coldly, "How do you feel now? Do you want me to kill you with one blow? Dream on! I want to watch you die of dehydration!"
At this moment, Lin Yue took out a short knife from his pocket and plunged it into the ground. He then addressed the passersby, "These are not good Samaritans; he is a murderer who killed my wife. I am taking revenge now! This has nothing to do with you, so hurry up and leave!"
Lin Yue's intention was simple: to let Huang Yu, the murderer, die of dehydration right in front of his beloved's grave!
If he were to kill Huang Yu, one blow would suffice, but that would be too easy for him. This utterly wicked man should not only suffer a little pain but should endure sufficient torment before death.
Therefore, Lin Yue chose to use the sun to administer punishment, letting Huang Yu gradually dehydrate, watching his life ebb away, seeing his own fate but being unable to change anything! He also cut out Huang Yu's tongue, rendering him unable to speak, only able to make incoherent sounds.
He believed that if Fu Ya's spirit could witness this scene, she would be comforted.
For the extremely wicked, slow torture was the most appropriate method. Killing them with one blow was too lenient.
When the six passersby heard Lin Yue's words, they all found it cruel.
One kind-faced middle-aged man stepped forward, holding prayer beads, and advised, "Young man, you are still very young. You should not be consumed by endless hatred. The Buddha says, the sea of suffering is boundless, turn back and you will reach the shore. You should not do this!"
Upon hearing this, Lin Yue kicked him, knocking the man holding the prayer beads to the ground. He then said coldly, "You want to play the good guy, huh? Then come and try, and see how I deal with you! What business do you have with my revenge? You're here to speak for an evil person? Even Buddhist figures have wrathful manifestations and compassionate gazes. You can't stand it!"
The middle-aged man, caught off guard, fell to the ground and couldn't help but say, "I'm doing this for your own good. You're too young to be blinded by hatred. You still have a long road ahead. If you kill someone, there's no turning back!"
Lin Yue, too lazy to argue, drew the short knife from the ground and pointed it at the middle-aged man. With a sudden swing, the round prayer beads clattered to the ground, scattering everywhere. If Lin Yue had intended to kill him, the middle-aged man before him would have been dead.
The middle-aged man, seeing the flash of the knife, immediately closed his eyes in fear, shouting, "Mercy, good sir!"
When the middle-aged man opened his eyes, he realized he was unharmed, but the string of prayer beads in his hand had been cut.
"Get lost immediately, I don't want to waste any more words!" Lin Yue had nothing to say to these do-gooders and didn't want to debate. He threatened them to leave.
"Alright, alright, we'll leave. We'll leave right away!" The group nodded repeatedly. They could see now that Lin Yue was not someone to be trifled with. Despite appearing to be only seventeen or eighteen years old, he had a terrible temper.
The six men immediately descended the mountain and continued their journey towards Luzhou. As they walked, they began to discuss. The leader was named Dong Chao. Dong Chao grumbled, "These locals are so impolite! I just tried to persuade him, and he attacked me. You guys are useless too, not helping me fight and just standing by!"
The other five quickly replied, "It's not that we didn't want to help. Judging by that person's skills, he's definitely an evolved human. We're all ordinary people, how could we possibly fight him?"
"Hmph, you're all cowards. I don't know how you even followed me. Did you get in through connections?" Dong Chao was displeased.
The five quickly replied, "How could we have gotten in through the back door? We're here to accompany Brother Dong to see Luzhou, which should now be called Jiangyang, and the strength of Yuzhou. It's all for official business, how could we have personal motives?"
Dong Chao sighed helplessly and said, "Now, for our Jiucheng, we can only request help. Chengdu has been slow to send reinforcements, and the zombies are growing stronger. If we don't request support, we won't be able to hold on!"
Dong Chao and his group were from Jiucheng, located on the banks of the Yangtze River, upstream from Jiangyang, with a rich wine culture. Their purpose in coming to Jiangyang was to seek support. They had already survived for more than half a year in the apocalypse, and rescue had not yet arrived. For the sake of survival, they could only seek help downstream. They heard that upstream Gangcheng had received support from Jiangyang and eventually recaptured the city. Their Jiucheng was closer to Jiangyang, so seeking help should have been easier.
However, when Dong Chao entered Jiangyang, he was stunned. He saw human decorations hanging from the streetlights. Upon closer inspection, he realized they were human bodies!
Some bodies had been hanging from the streetlights for a long time, their muscles dried out, swaying in the wind. But some bodies had just been hung, with fresh red blood on their clothes!
Looking down the row of streetlights in Jiangyang City, almost all of them were adorned with corpses. At first glance, one might think they were having a nightmare.
"What kind of place is this?" Dong Chao was completely bewildered. Why did it look like a living hell?