135 The Little Dragon and Little Tiger Brothers!

The doomsday armored vehicle roared to life, its engine emitting a harsh, guttural sound. Zhao Weisuo was behind the wheel; she had been responsible for driving throughout the journey today. She had long been craving the exhilarating rush that came with crushing everything in her path.

"Wait, wait!"

Just then, two young men bolted out from the entrance of the vegetable market. They looked remarkably similar, clearly brothers.

"Are you the ones in charge here?" Xue Feng asked.

"Yes, yes! I'm Xiao Long, and he's Xiao Hu. We’re both peace-loving people. Whatever the issue is, we can talk it out, we can definitely talk it out," Xiao Long said, bowing and scraping with a deferential air.

He had little choice but to be polite. Xue Feng and his group were fully armed and looked like forces not to be trifled with.

"Very well. How many ability users do you have here? How many ordinary survivors? And how much longer will your stored food supply last?" Xue Feng asked bluntly, bypassing any pleasantries.

The faces of Xiao Long and Xiao Hu changed instantly at these questions. These were core secrets.

"To be honest, even though this is a vegetable market, it’s not a warehouse. We don't really have many supplies," Xiao Long replied, his expression turning sour.

"Pah! Who cares about your measly supplies! Just answer the questions honestly!" An Xiaowei snapped.

Being scolded by a woman made Xiao Long’s expression even darker, a flicker of gloom flashing in his eyes, though he quickly masked it.

"Big brother! They don't want our supplies—you can tell they’re big shots! Just tell them the truth," Xiao Hu interjected.

This wasn't so much an attempt to persuade his brother as it was a way to put Xue Feng and his group on a pedestal.

"Right, right! They’re big shots, so I’ll just tell you: we have about a few dozen bags of rice, and some dried goods like yuba and wood ear mushrooms. That’s all there is," Xiao Hu nodded hurriedly.

"What about the survivors? How many are there?" An Xiaowei was annoyed. The two of them were singing in harmony, clearly being dishonest.

"Just some old, weak, sick, and disabled people—uncles and aunties who used to sell vegetables here. If you’re looking for young women, we don’t have any, but we do have plenty of elderly ones, if any of you gentlemen have a taste for that," Xiao Hu said with a shrug.

"Call everyone out. I need to discuss something with you all," Xue Feng frowned. He could already tell the brothers were slippery and undoubtedly hiding something.

True to his suspicion, the brothers didn't agree immediately.

"Great lords! Our survivors are a bit shy of strangers; we were robbed once before. Anything you need to say, you can just tell us," Xiao Hu insisted.

"Cut the crap. Call everyone out, or I won't be so polite with you two," An Xiaowei said, her patience exhausted by their petty, mercenary behavior. Talking to them was a chore.

Yet, to her surprise, the moment she finished speaking, Xiao Long and Xiao Hu turned and ran.

An Xiaowei grew anxious and raised her rifle, ready to gun them down. However, in the split second before firing, she hesitated. She had no order from Xue Feng! Despite her frustration, she knew better than to act on her own. She watched helplessly as the brothers scrambled back into the market.

Xue Feng didn't move either; he simply patted Black Panther on the head. The panther understood immediately and charged ahead.

"You two come with me. The rest of you, hold your positions," Xue Feng said, pointing to two men before leaping into the street. It was Tang Qiqiang and Liu Jun.

"Yes!" The two men weren't as graceful as Xue Feng and had to scramble over piles of trash to follow.

Upon reaching the entrance of the market, they were met with a different scene. A vegetable market would typically be filled with stalls stacked high with produce. But with the apocalypse, those fruits and vegetables were long gone. The hundreds of stalls inside were completely bare, picked clean.

"You damn dog, let me go!" Xiao Hu’s pained cry echoed from ahead.

"Xiao Hu, don't be afraid! Watch me kill it!" Xiao Long roared.

Xue Feng and his team looked over and saw Black Panther pinning down the hind leg of a massive black wolf, tearing at it relentlessly. Despite the black wolf’s enormous size—towering over three meters tall—it was no match for the panther. Beside them, a white giant wolf was frantically trying to claw at the panther, but Black Panther was clever, using its lean, agile frame to dodge every strike. The white wolf ended up accidentally clawing the black wolf several times in its panic.

"Those two brothers are ability users!" Tang Qiqiang exclaimed. The fact that the giant wolves could speak was proof enough. They were clearly ability users, yet they had acted so subserviently earlier. Something was definitely wrong!

What shocked Tang Qiqiang even more was Black Panther’s combat prowess. He had always assumed the panther was just Xue Feng’s pet, used for patrols. He never imagined a dog could hold its own against two ability users. Of course, he realized this also had to do with the nature of the brothers' abilities. While they could transform into giant wolves, they were still human at their core and couldn't outfight a predator born to hunt on four legs.

"Brother, run!" the white wolf howled, seemingly giving up hope.

Xiao Hu didn't hesitate; he turned and fled. With a few leaps, he scaled a nearby shed and vanished from sight, abandoning his brother without a second thought.

"I'll chase him!" Liu Jun volunteered. He let out a roar, extended long steel claws from his hands, and pushed off the ground with incredible speed.

Xue Feng nodded to himself. He could clearly feel that Liu Jun’s abilities had grown significantly stronger. It seemed devouring crystal cores was indeed effective. As for whether he should consume them himself, he decided to wait until Liu Jun had been doing so for a while longer. Eventually, everyone in the base would be able to consume them.

People like Zhao Weisuo and Tang Qiqiang, who weren't frontline combatants, might find their abilities amplified in ways that could prove even more useful. Especially Tang Qiqiang. Currently, his role was awkward—his ability to accelerate plant growth left him exhausted and drained after just two plants. It was impossible for him to cultivate crops on a large scale, and even if his power were enhanced, it was unclear how much it would help. He would have to see if there were other ways to utilize him in the future.

"Boss, I've got this guy tied up," Tang Qiqiang said, having stepped forward to bind Xiao Hu.

Xiao Hu had reverted to his human form, now tightly trussed up with thin steel wire. He had no choice; Tang Qiqiang was holding a gun to his head.

"Talk. What shady business are you hiding, and why were you running?" Xue Feng demanded coldly.