Chapter 18: He is a child, but not a beast

"Smack!"

This slap landed with considerable force.

The bratty child spun around like a top from the impact, landing hard on his buttocks.

He immediately burst into loud, wailing tears.

In the old woman's eyes, her grandson was sweet and adorable - he just wanted some food, and he just tried to take it by force.

The other party hadn't given it, so it wasn't really a big deal.

It truly wasn't a significant matter.

Besides, this young man was so much older - surely he wouldn't stoop to arguing with a small child?

But this young man not only argued with her grandson, he actually slapped him.

The red, swollen handprint made the old woman's heart ache with pity.

Many people around were watching the scene unfold.

Zhou Xiaoxiao watched Chen Ye with a spectator's expression while speaking to her sister: "Sister, look, this Chen Ye is going too far."

"We gave him that gasoline for nothing."

"Good thing I took it back!"

In Zhou Xiaoxiao's mind, Chen Ye was indeed being somewhat excessive.

He was just a child after all.

If he didn't want to give the food, then don't give it - why slap the child?

In Zhou Xiaoxiao's heart, her evaluation of Chen Ye dropped several more levels.

Zhou Lan nervously glanced around, confirming no one was paying attention to her and her sibling, then said in a reproachful tone: "Xiaoxiao, what nonsense are you talking?"

"Clearly that child doesn't know any better!"

"What do you expect a grown man like Chen Ye to do with such a small child?"

"Anyway, Chen Ye is a Sequence Superpower - we shouldn't offend him!"

"Hmph, children are people too, not animals!"

As a pre-apocalypse celebrity, Zhou Lan had experienced more people and situations than her younger sibling.

If this were happening to her, she might have chosen to just give the food.

Like that famous saying goes: "He's just a child!"

But deep down, Zhou Lan felt more wary of Chen Ye.

She even worried whether she'd made a mistake by not stopping Xiaoxiao when she went to take back the gasoline earlier!

After all, he was a Sequence Superpower!

Zhou Xiaoxiao rolled her beautiful large eyes and gave her sister a disdainful look.

"What do you think Chen Ye will do about this situation?"

Chu Che watched with amusement, his expression quite intrigued.

Iron Lion scratched the back of his head awkwardly and said in his deep, muffled voice: "I don't know! But, he's still just a child who doesn't know any better!"

Nana snorted coldly: "What does being a child matter? Children are people too - does being a child give them license to act recklessly?"

"Before the apocalypse, some children were more detestable than demons."

Iron Lion mumbled incoherently, unsure how to respond.

Titan Sequence superpower users always seemed rather inarticulate.

Chen Ye watched the grandmother-grandson pair with indifference.

"Grandma! Waaah waaah..."

The child cried while reaching out, apparently wanting his grandmother to pick him up.

"My good grandson, my poor good grandson!"

The old woman's eyes reddened as she seemed to want to lift her grandson.

But the chubby boy was too heavy, and the old woman couldn't pick him up, so she could only help her good grandson to his feet.

The child stood up, wailing loudly as he hid behind the old woman.

Feeling emboldened by his grandmother's protection, he glared viciously at Chen Ye.

"Young man, how could you do this? Don't you know to respect the elderly and cherish the young? How did your parents raise you?"

"What did your school teach you?"

"How dare you hit my good grandson! I... I'll make you regret this!"

"You just wait..."

Without a second thought, Chen Ye stood up, raised his foot, and delivered a kick directly to the child who was peeking out to glare at him angrily.

The child instantly flew through the air like a ragged sack.

"Zhuangzhuang!"

The old woman cried out in alarm, sobbing as she rushed over.

The child slid along the ground for two or three meters before stopping.

"Waaah waaah..."

Loud wailing cries echoed throughout the entire camp.

Everyone stared in stunned silence.

"Zhuangzhuang!~~~ How are you?"

"Zhuangzhuang, my good grandson!"

"Grandma, it hurts~~~ Waaah waaah..."

Chen Ye hadn't held back at all with this kick. The bratty child's face was bleeding from Chen Ye's kick, and several front teeth had been knocked out.

When he opened his mouth to cry, all his front teeth were gone.

The old woman's heart shattered seeing her good grandson in such a state.

The scene of grandson and grandmother crying in each other's arms soon unfolded.

The old woman glared furiously at Chen Ye.

"Young man, he's just a child!!!"

Chen Ye snorted coldly: "Some children are children, but some children are just animals!"

The old woman hadn't expected Chen Ye to respond this way, her face flushing red immediately.

Before the apocalypse, whenever her bratty grandson caused trouble, she could always use this line to gain some moral high ground.

Some people would just swallow their anger, red-faced, when she said this.

Others wanted to refute her but didn't know how.

She never expected it to be completely useless after the apocalypse.

Or at least useless against this young man.

She had seen when her grandson went to beg for food earlier.

She hadn't even stopped him when he tried to grab it by force!

Fully expecting to exploit the young man's kindness to get a dinner.

She never anticipated this outcome.

Many people hearing Chen Ye's words felt secret satisfaction.

These were people who had escaped Deer City together with this grandmother-grandson pair.

They had been angered numerous times by this pair's outrageous behavior.

This grandmother-grandson pair had survived until now entirely because people had been taking care of them along the way.

Later, when everyone saw their true character, nobody took care of them anymore.

If the convoy hadn't appeared, this grandmother-grandson pair probably wouldn't have survived much longer.

"I, I'll fight you to the death!"

The old woman, apparently feeling she hadn't gained any advantage, stood up intending to fight Chen Ye desperately.

Chen Ye showed no mercy.

"Thump!"

He kicked the old woman flying once again.

The old woman was sent stumbling backward by Chen Ye's kick, landing hard on her buttocks after retreating three to five meters.

She couldn't get up for quite some time.

"Grandma..."

"Wuwuwu..."

Everyone at the scene was shocked by Chen Ye's actions.

Some people looked at Chen Ye's behavior with disdain.

"Sister, did you see that? That Chen Ye is a complete bastard! He won't even spare elders and children!"

Zhou Xiaoxiao urgently tugged at her sister's sleeve and whispered.

For some reason.

Zhou Xiaoxiao, who had previously thought Chen Ye was a coward, now felt somewhat afraid of him after these incidents.

When she saw Chen Ye's gaze turn her way, Zhou Xiaoxiao quickly averted her eyes, her heart pounding "thump-thump" nervously.

But some people greatly approved of Chen Ye's actions.

"I never expected Chen Ye to act like this - it really suits my taste, like a real man!"

The young sword immortal said playfully, her hand resting on the long sword at her waist.

Iron Lion scratched his head, wanting to say something but unable to get the words out.

Nana glanced at Iron Lion and snorted: "Were you going to say young people should respect the elderly and cherish the young?"

"Iron Lion, I think your brain is all muscle!"

"They say the Titan Sequence's weakness is reduced intelligence - seems like that legend is true!"

"Back when I went to work in the mornings before the apocalypse, at least half the subway car was filled with these elderly people rushing for discounted eggs."

"On the bus they're as weak as Lin Daiyu, but off the bus they're as strong as Lu Zhishen!"

"Monthly pensions several times mine!"

"Dancing square dances all night long!"

"And these bratty children..."

Nana seemed deeply troubled by these memories, her little mouth not stopping once she started.

Iron Lion opened his mouth, apparently rendered speechless by the young woman's verbal barrage.

Chu Che clapped his hands to interrupt their conversation: "Alright alright, time to move out!"

Back with Chen Ye.

The child still looked at Chen Ye with hatred in his eyes.

Chen Ye slowly walked over.

The child panicked and tried to hide behind his grandmother.

The old woman protected her grandson, glaring angrily: "What do you want to do?"

Chen Ye chuckled and said: "Are you thinking that when your son or other people return, you'll settle accounts with me then?"

Seeing the expressions on the grandmother and grandson's faces, Chen Ye knew he had probably guessed correctly.

Chen Ye continued chuckling: "But this is the apocalypse now. Those who aren't here right now might never be here again."

"Child, do you understand what I'm saying?"

The old woman's face turned deathly pale!

The child's mouth quivered, and he burst into loud wails.

So heartbreaking!!!

The convoy soon began to move.

Chen Ye packed up his things simply and started his motor tricycle.

After these days of travel, the motorcycle's gasoline was running quite low.

If he couldn't find gasoline tomorrow, he'd probably have to use manual mode.

The motor tricycle shook for a moment before starting to move.

The grandmother-grandson pair were still crying and throwing tantrums.

But not a single person stepped forward to help them up or speak up for them.

Even the woman who had been practicing martial arts yesterday kept her head down and stayed silent.

Apparently realizing this wasn't getting them anywhere, the grandmother-grandson pair slowly got up from the ground.

The old woman occasionally shot venomous glances toward Chen Ye.

Chen Ye noticed and looked back, but the old woman pretended to look elsewhere as if nothing had happened.

Instead, when the child saw Chen Ye looking at him, he shuddered in fear and averted his gaze with terrified eyes.