Chapter 137: The Right to Choose [Please Subscribe!]

Living with a monster is no simple matter. Although Ellie was not unfamiliar to them, the sight of a small monster whose face was entirely replaced by teeth, sitting just a few meters away and earnestly cracking melon seeds, still felt utterly surreal to everyone in the room.

"I’ve finished, and I want to hear your suggestions." Fan Li sat at the head of the round table, a clear symbol of status and authority.

Fan Li’s inquiry drew everyone's attention. Among them, Yang Shuo was the first to speak: "Wherever Brother Li goes, I go."

The main topic of today's meeting was Fan Li's proposal to move out of the apartment building and head toward the stronghold that the thugs had leaked a few days prior.

Having spent some time together and genuinely finding a sense of security in Fan Li, Yang Shuo lived by a single absolute truth: center everything around Fan Li, with zero doubt and zero opposition.

He had witnessed Fan Li's miraculous rise in the apocalypse. Whether dealing with ordinary zombies or mutated ones, Fan Li slaughtered them as effortlessly as cutting vegetables and melons. Such capabilities were far beyond what could be described as ordinary.

Precisely because of this, Yang Shuo's determination to follow him was deeply solidified. What did moving to a new place even matter? He had no sentimental attachment to this old residence.

Liu Hao also nodded. "I have no objections either."

Everyone turned their gazes toward Hu Huayao. Among the group, the strongest fighter second only to Fan Li furrowed his brow slightly. "According to the information, the survivor stronghold at Jingmen Huafu has over a hundred people. Being able to gather that many people in this kind of environment clearly means they possess a significant reserve of food. However, with so many people, their means of defense certainly won't be weak either. What should we do if they refuse us?"

Without hesitation, Fan Li replied, "I will judge their morality. If they fall beyond a manageable scope, I will kill them and take the stronghold by force."

A thick wave of chilliness washed over everyone.

They heard the indifference and cruelty in Fan Li's voice toward human life.

He seemed to have adapted much earlier to a world stripped of order like the apocalypse.

Seeming to sense the strange atmosphere in the room, Fan Li spoke up again: "You all must come to terms with one thing: in the current world, some people can no longer be called human. They wear human faces, but their insides have rotted and are crawling with maggots."

"If we want to survive, we can only be more ruthless than those pseudo-humans."

Hearing Fan Li's near-bloodcold explanation, the others could not help but be stunned. After all, they had not been exposed to the end times for long; the apartment building had been a sanctuary, keeping their moral boundaries dangling on the precipice.

Having experienced plenty of darkness, Fan Li already knew that to survive in this world, aside from killing ugly and ferocious monsters, one also had to guard against the depraved and evil humans within.

At this thought, Fan Li sighed, then tapped the table. "Huayao, stay behind. You guys go ahead and pack your things first."

Among them, Hu Huayao was the one Fan Li valued the most. Whether it was snapping the neck of his own mutated wife, bringing Hu Jia out to forage for food, or standing alone against more than a dozen zombies without losing, Hu Huayao stood out at the absolute peak of the human spectrum.

*Crunch!*

*Crunch!*

The sound of cracking melon seeds came from the side as usual. With two of its companions absent, Hu Huayao's psychological pressure suddenly multiplied.

Just as he was inwardly reflecting on whether he had done something wrong in the past few days that might make him Ellie's next meal, Fan Li suddenly spoke up: "If you had the chance to possess greater power, but at the cost of undergoing some sudden physical mutations, would you be willing?"

"A mutation?" Hu Huayao was slightly taken aback. "What kind of mutation are we talking about?"

"Body, mind, soul; changes will happen anywhere you can imagine. You might grow a third eye, sprout a tail, or end up with four arms. In short, your appearance might undergo an unprecedented mutation. But after that, you would no longer be a conventional living being, possessing the strength to shatter a zombie's skull with your bare hands. If you had this opportunity, would you be willing to give it a try?"

Hu Huayao had not expected Fan Li to say such things. With a look of disbelief, he asked, "You mean... a departure from the norm like this?"

He subtly gestured toward Ellie nearby.

Hu Huayao didn't dare make his movements too obvious, but even so, Ellie sensed something. It stopped cracking seeds, turned its head toward him, and tilted it with its teeth slightly shifting out of curiosity.

A chill crawled straight up his spine. The terror of the monster was laid bare—merely being looked at by it filled him with despair.

Fan Li casually picked up a piece of chocolate and tossed it to Ellie to divert its attention. Watching Ellie expertly unwrap it, dump it in, and swallow it, he murmured, "You can understand it that way. Because I cannot guarantee whether your appearance will mutate once you acquire this kind of power. But we must prepare for the worst-case scenario, shouldn't we?"

Hu Huayao was not stupid. As a former business owner, he possessed sharp insight and analytical skills. Since Fan Li had laid the matter out so clearly, how could he not read between the lines? Fan Li seemed to have already mastered a method to augment human strength, however...

All gifts bestowed by fate have their prices secretly marked on them.

As a self-made businessman, Hu Huayao understood that gaining wealth required unimaginable hardship, and the same applied here. To acquire power that could rival a monster, the price to pay was one's own human face.

In the apartment building, Fan Li had witnessed a young girl who accidentally swallowed a monster's crystal. She retained a certain degree of human consciousness, but her appearance had mutated, and she even hunted and fed on her own kind.

After a monster died, the crystal inside its body would emit an alluring scent that compelled humans to devour it, thereby inheriting the monster's legacy and turning into a new beast.

And Fan Li, holding the Monster Manual, had also mastered the art of refinement.

Yet there was one thing he could not confirm: once someone swallowed a refined substance, even if they maintained a clear mind, would their physical appearance change?

Fan Li could not look after everyone for the rest of their lives. The people around him needed to learn to stand on their own two feet—this was the cruelty of the apocalypse, and a reality they had to face.

Yet, Fan Li was ultimately not a mindless butchering monster like the butchers of the wasteland. He would not rashly use Hu Huayao and the others as experimental subjects out of selfish curiosity; he was simply asking for their opinion.

This was an opportunity, but undoubtedly, it might also be the beginning of doom.

A silent stalemate settled between them. After a moment, Fan Li broke the silence. "You can take some time to think about it. Whether you refuse or accept, I will not force any decision upon you."

"Whether you are willing or not is entirely your right."

"I accept."

Just at that moment, Hu Huayao suddenly raised his head and spoke.

"You... are you sure?" Fan Li hesitated slightly, never expecting the other man to agree so readily.

Hu Huayao nodded, his expression turning heavy. "This world has changed. Countless unimaginable monsters have occupied this land. Burying your head in the sand like an ostrich—even if you can't see them, it doesn't mean you won't encounter them."

This answer caught Fan Li somewhat off guard. He looked Hu Huayao up and down, feeling that his analysis of the apocalypse was thoroughly incisive. "So, you aren't afraid of turning into an ugly, inhuman lifeform while gaining power?"

"I am afraid!"

Hu Huayao nodded, then stretched out his hand and stared at his clenched fist, muttering to himself, "But I'm even more afraid of not being able to protect Nannan."

"I have a request," Hu Huayao said, his expression suddenly turning solemn.

"Go ahead!" The other man's courage won Fan Li's approval.

"If..." Hu Huayao's voice trembled noticeably, yet he pressed on, "If I truly turn into a monster, please tell Hu Jia that I am dead. I won't leave; I will stay by her side and continue to protect her, but I don't want her to see my mutated face. If that day truly comes..."

"Just let her remember me as I am right now, and that will be enough!"