The End of the World: Stocking Up and Raising Cubs

c 1

### Chapter 01: Kulu Wuwu
**Star Alliance, April 28, 3024, Water Blue Star, City A**

The sky was overcast, almost as if it were about to collapse.

A scruffy man staggered out of an alley, holding a bottle of liquor and cursing obscenities under his breath, "Damn! What a cursed bastard!"

Passersby, catching the gist of his words, steered clear of the man while glancing into the alley. The weather was already gloomy, and the alley was even darker. In the dim light, they could vaguely see a dark shape curled up next to a trash bin. One passerby tried to get a closer look, but suddenly, a thunderous 'boom' echoed through the sky.

A flash of lightning startled the passerby, causing him to shudder and mutter, "Damn weather."

Fearing the rain, the passerby quickly left, paying no attention to a small child, barely as tall as his knee, who was also curiously peering into the alley.

The child was adorably small, with big, bright black eyes and a red nose, as if he'd been crying. Perhaps something in the alley caught his attention because he had stopped crying and was now tiptoeing slowly toward the alley, sneaking forward with his shoulders hunched.

It took him a long time to reach the trash bin.

Now closer, the child could see clearly that the dark shape curled up on the ground was another child.

This child looked older than him, very thin, and covered in injuries.

Innocent and fearless, the young child didn't feel scared. He squatted down and lightly poked the older child on the ground with his finger, cautiously asking, "Are...are you dead?"

The child on the ground didn't move. The young child, emboldened, lightly touched the older child's bruised arm and grinned, "Hey, you're warm."

He only knew that a person who was cold was dead, but someone warm was still alive.

Looking around to make sure no one was watching, he whispered, "Do you have no one to take care of you? If no one wants you, I'll take you."

His eyes sparkled with excitement, a smile tugging at his lips, "Since you're not saying anything, I'll take it as a yes!"

Just as he finished speaking, the older child on the ground suddenly lifted his head, staring straight at the young boy with brown eyes.

The young boy was terrified, his mouth slightly open, not daring to move.

Wu Cheng's gaze swept over every inch of the young boy's skin. Hearing the sound of approaching footsteps from outside the alley, Wu Cheng knew that just as in his dream, the boy's servants had found them.

As the footsteps drew closer, he used his last bit of strength to firmly grasp the young boy's wrist. Feeling the cool, solid touch in his palm, he felt his tense heart finally relax, and he fell into a deep unconsciousness.

His sleep was restless. Sometimes he dreamt of zombies with ghastly faces, other times of a gigantic cactus that wore corpses as decorations, and sometimes he dreamt of the young boy dying.

He had dreamed these dreams many times, and at first, he didn't care. But as the young boy's face became clearer in his dreams, he began to feel urgency and unease.

He knew that today he would encounter his foster father, Ban Yang, after returning from selling scrap metal, and would be beaten nearly to death for not handing over money.

He knew this, but still, he walked the same path as in his dream. As he was beaten, images from his dreams flashed through his mind.

In the dream, he wielded a knife and sliced through zombies' heads as easily as cutting watermelons. When Ban Yang kicked him to the ground, he noticed a chopping board someone had thrown into the trash bin out of the corner of his eye. He thought about picking it up and smashing it over Ban Yang's head, but the thought only flickered briefly before he dismissed it.