The Trembling World

Chapter 40: Ramen

“It’s the brave model! It can transform in helium suspension mode!” Dong Dong yelled as he excitedly opened his toy. He took the toy airplane out of the box, while imitating an actor’s lines from the TV series playing on the screen, in self-amusement.

“Dong Dong, oh, why did you open your gift? Opening the birthday present is supposed to wait until after eating the cake!” Li Zhu Liang went over to Dong Dong and confiscated it.

“Eat the cake!” Dong Dong threw himself at his father Li Zhu Liang and got carried off the ground, before being lowered onto the seat next to him. Li Zhu Liang placed the airship on the table by the window and proceeded back to the dinner table.

“Happy Birthday…”

As the birthday song started, the family atmosphere suddenly changed to a soft and heart-warming one. Outside the tightly closed windows, the sky had already darkened. It was so dark that one’s hand couldn’t be seen even if it was placed right in front of oneself. The torrential downpour outside added to the nightmarish setting of the world. The puddles on the ground grew steadily darker and darker and more and more crimson.

…

After the first night passed and by the next morning, the torrential rain had stopped. The sky had already brightened up.

Dong Dong woke up extra early. After waking up, he first spotted the airplane right by his bedside. Uncontrollably, he revealed a big smile as he quickly got out of bed and ran around his room with the airplane for his own amusement.

After running awhile, Dong Dong felt hungry. Pushing open his door, he walked out to the living room.

His parents had yet to get out of bed; however, Dong Dong heard some strange noise coming from their room… It sounded like someone eating something.

[TN: Perhaps it’s nuts and the ‘crack crack’ noise it makes]

What are they eating? It must taste good. Dong Dong started salivating—he couldn’t guess what it was, so he walked over silently. Leaving his toy plane on the floor, he quietly pushed open his parent’s door.

After pushing open the door, Dong Dong witnessed a scene that left him dumbfounded. His dad Li Zhu Liang was on top of his mom Xu Qing—his teeth gnawing at her face. Half her face remained intact while only the bones were left on the other half.

Their bed at the far end of the room was full of blood.

“Ah!” Dong Dong shrieked, with his face pale white from fright. It was clear that due to his young age, he wasn’t able to comprehend what was happening.

After hearing Dong Dong’s sharp scream, Li Zhu Liang lifted his head, and his crimson eyes landed on Dong Dong by the door. He released a monstrous roar before charging towards Dong Dong with his blood-filled mouth wide open.

Seeing the pale face and crimson eyes, Dong Dong clearly didn’t believe that this man was his father. Releasing a loud scream, he turned on his heels, grabbed his toy off the floor, and ran back to his room to hide. He immediately dove under the bed and watched the door from underneath.

With a jarring ‘Boom!’, Li Zhu Liang ran into the door and it swung wide open, rebounding off the wall. Following Dong Dong’s path into the room, he hadn’t discovered Dong Dong hiding underneath the bed. Adopting a weird posture, he walked aimlessly around the room and would periodically release a terrible cry.

At this time, a sharp screech from within the Lucky Garden District reverberated through the house, followed by the loud siren of a police car. The Lucky Garden District had a relatively low population rate. Right when the police car that was right below the building started the siren, Li Zhu Liang ran out and jumped through the window.

“Daddy… Mommy…” Dong Dong whispered, as he clenched his airplane closely with tears flowing from his eyes.

…

Four days later, within the Lucky Garden District.

Liu Gan spent some time to clear all the zombies that were roaming around, and he randomly chose an apartment with a wide field of vision. After scouting the inside of the apartment for zombies, only when it was safe, did Pan Hua and LuLu decide to enter the apartment to rest.

The floor of one of the rooms had blood, as well as meat and limbs from god-knows-who. By now, Pan Hua and LuLu had been used to this type of setting and was able to resist vomiting.

The fridge, kitchen, and cabinets seemed to have been scavenged through without any trace of food remaining. Pan Hua got quite lucky–inside the storage room, he had found a cardboard box containing a barbeque rack and a bag of charcoal. Looks like the family who lived here previously, knew how to barbeque.

Pan Hua placed some charcoal underneath the barbecue rack and he found a small pot from the kitchen. Pan Hua ignited the charcoal and poured the bottled mineral water into the pot before placing ramen inside.

The faucet didn’t have any running water; it had been long since dry. LuLu found a relatively clean bowl and three pairs of chopsticks that she had wiped with a napkin. She placed the cooked ramen into the bowl and walked over with the food to Liu Gan who was sitting at the kitchen table.

“Thank you! Thank you for saving us more than once. It was all my fault. I was too stupid and cowardly, and I was weighing us down,” LuLu apologized as she placed the bowl of food in front of Liu Gan.

This morning, she had thought that Liu Gan was going to give her to the scumbags, but no one expected that she was actually used as bait, so that he could kill the bad guys. If it weren’t for him, she would’ve been defiled by those scum.

“No need to thank me; I was annoyed with those scumbags, too. They threatened my life, so I had to kill them.” Liu Gan picked up the chopsticks and started eating the ramen, expressionlessly replying to LuLu.

“Boss, I mistook you, I, too, thought that you were going to give LuLu to them! You should’ve told us what you were planning, so we could cooperate with you.” Pan Hua said as he walked over with his bowl in hand and sat at the kitchen table near Liu Gan.

Earlier that morning, Pan Hua had really been planning on blocking Liu Gan, but he was knocked back by Liu Gan instead. Pan Hua held a knife in his hand as he chased down the stairs after Liu Gan. He had lost all hope, but everything that happened afterwards was beyond his expectations.

“If I could defeat them, I would fight, but if I couldn’t, I would have definitely given her to them to guarantee my safety,” Liu Gan drank the soup as he replied to Pan Hua. Eating this hot and steamy ramen was definitely tastier and more satisfying than crackers. After drinking the soup, his heart and body seem to warm up.

“You wouldn’t! You aren’t that type of cold-hearted person,” LuLu said to Liu Gan; she refused to believe that.

“You are wrong; you wouldn’t understand what I’ve been through, but that isn’t important,” Liu Gan indifferently replied to LuLu. The Trembling World had changed his life. He didn’t care about the kind of person he became because of one important point: after he had regained the use of his limbs, he wouldn’t allow himself to be injured again.

Alloy limbs, a punch that can break apart a tree, and a kick that could knock down a wall. Starting with such a huge advantage, Liu Gan would definitely continue playing and aim to be the most powerful existence.