“My life was given to me by you! From today onwards, my life, Jin Dongdong’s life, belongs to you! If you tell me to go east, I will never go west! I will go through fire and water, without hesitation!”

Xiao Han stroked his chin, eyeing Jin Dongdong askance. This kid, he seemed quite sincere. But then, thinking of Xiao Lei’s incident, his heart began to pound.

Having a stranger in the team was always a bother. Especially since this kid had personally witnessed the miraculous fruit, what if he wasn’t tight-lipped one day… Tsk, the troubles would be endless!

Or… should he find a way to make him keep his mouth shut? This thought had just popped up when he dismissed it himself.

Are you kidding? The guy had just sworn allegiance, and besides, this kid didn't look like a treacherous person. Ugh, what a headache! He secretly glanced at Lu Shiyan. Alright, for such a brain-racking matter, it was better to let Lu Da Shao make the decision.

Lu Shiyan’s gaze swept over Jin Dongdong, a barely perceptible curve forming at the corner of his mouth.

“Our life? That’s right, we saved you.” He paused, his voice flat but carrying an undeniable pressure, “However, we don’t take in trash.”

Su Wan’s heart skipped a beat. Jin Dongdong! This was a character she quite admired in the original novel—loyal, courageous, sunny, and optimistic. Although his ending was a bit tragic, he was definitely a good person!

Now that she had finally met him, such a promising talent, she couldn’t just stand by and watch him be driven away! But this Lu Shiyan, his words were too harsh!

She quickly moved closer to Lu Shiyan, gently tugging at his sleeve, her voice softening a bit: “A Shi, let him come along.”

Seeing that Lu Shiyan was unmoved, she added, with a hint of a coaxing tone: “Look, with one more person, we can rotate night watch duties. We’re already short-handed…” She quickly shot Xiao Han a meaningful glance.

Xiao Han, who had been listening intently, received Su Wan’s signal. Since Sister Su Wan valued this kid so much, there must be a reason. Besides, having an extra person to share night watch was good, and he could observe him up close.

So he quickly came over, nodding profusely: “Yes, yes, yes! Sister Su Wan is absolutely right! So reasonable! I’m telling you, with these dark circles under my eyes recently, if I keep staying up like this, my handsome and dashing image will be completely ruined! I desperately need fresh blood to share my suffering!” He rubbed his eyes exaggeratedly as he spoke, trying to squeeze out a bit of fatigue.

Inside the carriage, Li Kui’s body trembled violently when he heard the words “trash.” His knuckles, gripping the water bottle, turned white.

He was the trash in the team.

When his brother was around, he was the one being protected. Now that his brother was gone, what could he do?

Lu Shiyan and Xiao Han had powerful abilities, A Mo’s marksmanship was divine, Su Wan had a miraculous space, and even that little mouse could spit out life-saving fruits.

What about himself?

He had brute strength but was vulnerable in the face of real danger. If it weren't for his brother, he would have been the one to die under the vines!

The gratitude on Jin Dongdong’s face instantly froze, replaced by paleness and embarrassment.

He eagerly defended himself: “I’m not trash! I have an ability! I can shoot ice spikes!”

To prove himself, he desperately concentrated, extending his trembling right hand.

A faint wisp of white mist gathered in his palm, struggling, and finally condensed into a crooked ice cone the size of a finger joint.

The ice cone existed for less than two seconds before it “poof”ed into a puddle of water, leaving a wet mark on his palm.

Jin Dongdong’s face grew even paler, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead: “I… I just awakened, so it’s not very stable, but I will definitely work hard to become stronger! I can do anything! Please, don’t leave me behind!”

He pleaded, looking at everyone, his gaze finally settling on Lu Shiyan, who had the strongest aura in the team. It was the look of a small beast driven to a dead end, pitiful and helpless.

“Hey, I say, Old Lu, your words are a bit too hurtful.” Xiao Han couldn’t stand it anymore. He hooked his arm around Jin Dongdong’s neck, half-jokingly trying to smooth things over, “Who hasn’t started out as a rookie? Back when I first awakened my Wind Ability, the Wind Blade I blew couldn’t even cut a piece of paper, but didn’t I still grow into the dashing and exceptionally strong handsome guy I am today?”

Just then, Li Kui, who had been silent, suddenly pushed open the car door and stepped out.

His eyes were bloodshot, staring intently at Lu Shiyan, his voice extremely hoarse.

“Captain Lu.”

He didn’t look at Jin Dongdong, but it was as if he was speaking for him, and even more so, for himself.

“How can I prove… I’m not trash?”

Lu Shiyan’s attention finally shifted from Jin Dongdong to Li Kui’s face. He wasn’t surprised; instead, it was as if he had expected it all along.

“Oh? You want to prove it too?”

“Yes!” Li Kui’s answer was decisive, his chest heaving with excitement, “I don’t want to be a burden anymore! I don’t want to watch you all fight for your lives while I can do nothing! I don’t want there to be another… another time watching helplessly…”

He couldn't continue, the immense grief almost suffocating him.

Lu Shiyan watched him quietly. A few seconds later, he raised a hand and pointed to the road they had come from.

“I remember there’s a motel about 5 kilometers ahead.”

Lu Shiyan’s tone was calm, almost cruel.

“You two, go in. Bring out anything valuable. Anything—medicine, usable parts, or… the crystal cores of the zombies wandering inside.”

He lowered his hand, scanning everyone.

“Proving your worth shouldn’t be done with words.”

“Lu Shiyan, this isn’t right!” Su Wan was the first to object. Jin Dongdong had just awakened his ability; wasn’t this sending them to their deaths?

“You’re letting them both go in just like that? No one knows what’s inside! This is sending them to their deaths!”

“To their deaths?” Lu Shiyan looked back at her, a hint of helplessness in his tone, “Su Wan, don’t you understand yet? In this world, weakness itself is the greatest sin, it is going to your death. I’m not forcing them; I’m giving them a chance to live. A chance to either die if they don’t become stronger, or become stronger and live.”

“But they… but…” Su Wan opened her mouth, but the words of protest could no longer come out.

He was right. Why did Li Xinhu die? Perhaps it was because by following them, he didn’t encounter the trials that would have strengthened him through bloodshed in the original novel. Instead, he lost the ability to face danger alone. In the apocalypse, no one can protect anyone forever; only one’s own strength is the ultimate trump card.

Seeing that Su Wan was no longer speaking, Lu Shiyan turned to the two men: “Still not going?”

Li Kui took a deep breath, grabbed a half-meter long steel pipe from the car, and picked up a fire axe with his other hand.

He walked up to Jin Dongdong and shoved the fire axe into his hand.

“Go.”

Li Kui uttered only one word, then walked towards the dark building without looking back.

Jin Dongdong held the cold axe handle, his hand trembling so much he could barely grip it. He glanced at Lu Shiyan’s cold, hard profile, then at Su Wan’s worried expression. Finally, he gritted his teeth and followed Li Kui’s retreating figure.

He didn’t want to die, and he certainly didn’t want to go back to dying right after just coming back to life.

Xiao Han and A Mo went to clean up the bodies of the recent pursuers, while Lu Shiyan lit a fire, incinerating several bodies to avoid unnecessary trouble.

Su Wan watched the two figures, one in front of the other, disappear at the intersection, then asked in a voice only the two of them could hear: “What if something happens to them?”

Lu Shiyan’s voice was very soft, but it carried an undeniable cold hardness: “Then it proves that I misjudged them.”