Playboy Cultivator in the Apocalypse

Jake watched everyone from a fold-down seat attached to the double-sided glass wall.

Each faction member was trembling, whispering, or crying.

They went through hell with Evalyn and Kaze's punishments and social isolation tactics—now, they were leaving Immortal Skye due to a pandemic, uncertain if their families were alive.

Veronica leaned back, looking at the ceiling with a blank expression. She wanted to communicate that she didn't need help or support.

Jake did the same, glancing at her the same amount as everyone else.

The pressurized atmosphere continued for two hours as the skycruiser felt Immortal Skye in the opposite direction and circled the area.

An intercom in the area sounded. "We are approaching Meridian City.

Please stay seated; the floor is double-sided bullet-proof glass, so you can see without moving."

Cold sweat dripped down everyone's back after hearing the announcement, and everyone looked down at the strange texturized floor.

Jake closed his eyes and took a deep breath, remembering Kaze's words.

—Two Hours Prior | Immortal Skye Amphitheater—

"Jake, your skycruiser will travel through the worst parts of the city." Kaze warned, "I didn't set this up as a punishment or learning experience.

What you see pales in comparison to what will come in less than a week.

Scar what you see into your memory, so what comes next cannot cut through it."

—Present Time | Skycruiser Flight Above Meridian City—

"We are now approaching Manrock Bridge." The pilot announced, "We will drop anyone living on the city's south side off soon, as the bridge is closed to civilians."

Jake stood up, reaching into a pocket for a remote. "As a reminder, no one needs to leave, and we'd prefer you stay.

I will remove the tinting now, and we'll see what's happening for the first time.

When it happens, I expect you to follow the rules unless you wish to get dropped off against your will."

Everyone shook from his confident reminder they would try breaking the rules. Their hearts beat violently, awaiting the scene from below.

Jake closed his eyes, remembering all the grisly sights he saw the day before on video. He wanted to be prepared to see it again, only worse.

After a deep breath, he pressed the button and opened his eyes slowly.

The tinting slowly disappeared until—

"W-What the fuck!"

"A-Are those d-dead bodies?"

"Don't ask stupid questions!"

"Why the hell didn't we know about this!?"

"Give us our phones back!"

—everyone could see what was on the other side.

The bridge Kaze and Crux cleared for the military was lined with military vehicles.

Cargo trucks and refrigerated semis moved alongside tanks and humvees through the roadway.

Each vehicle transported food, people, and supplies from the north to the south and vice versa.

It was the only connector across the massive river separating Meridian City for twenty miles.

The city partially constructed the estuary to the ocean for aesthetics and to force orderly deriving and development.

Now, it was a grave economic disaster.

As before, civilians had no choice but to take the bridge to either side of the city.

Many had families on the other side. However, there was a more dramatic reason.

Those on the south side believed the inland highways allowed more food to reach the north.

Everyone on the north side understood that the highways were unusable, gridlocked, and preventing traffic.

They believed the south had more supplies because the ocean had no traffic.

However, countries were not sharing food with their neighbors, and fishing boats stayed at sea as mobs lined the docks, waiting to rob and kill them.

Due to the increasing desperation and daily worsening of Qi Sickness, both ends of the bridge had massive crowds in the thousands.

Most tried to cross. However, an equal amount of people were in the area for another reason.

"DIE, YOU FUCKING PIGS!" A man screamed out of a truck's window.

Rat-at-tat! Rat-at-tat! Rat-at-tat!

He abruptly shot a hail of machine gun fire at humvees in the area as the truck barreled onto the highway, crashing through a dozen standing civilians.

Another pirate shot out a cargo truck's tires at blinding speed.

"GET THE GOODS!" Someone else yelled, throwing a military smoke grenade in the area as other pirates wearing gas masks hopped out of the back, guns drawn.

The equipment and training proved that some of the pirates were military deserters.

Rat-at-tat! Rat-at-tat! Rat-at-tat!

"AgGhHhHhHhHhHhHhHhHhHhH!"

The civilians and soldiers lining the highway the economic supply motorcade passed through got decimated by soldiers and pirates alike.

No one could see each other through the tear gas smokescreen. However—

"Cutting Wind!" A cultivator yelled in the chaos.

A gust of wind ripped through the tear gas, and—

SHIiiiiiiinNK!

"GAHahhhHahhhHahhhHahhhHahhhH!"

Screams cut through the area alongside a chain reaction of thudding sounds.

—the cultivation technique cut both trucks, most of the pirates, and two dozen civilians in half.

A river of blood crashed down the highway, soaking the clothes of over five dozen people who got killed or shot in the exchange.

Once the smoke cleared, Jake, Veronica, and the other members saw the aftermath.

Many vomited onto the floor, others hyperventilated, and some screamed.

Jake was also horrified and afraid. However, he didn't have Forced Tranquility, and the people around him started screaming.

"Get away from me!"

"MY MOM IS IN THAT!"

"Why didn't we have phones!"

"This didn't start yesterday—why did they hide this!?"

"Shut up, I'm getting sick!"

"You can't hide this with the military around!"

"That fucking psychopath!"

"CALM DOWN!" Veronica yelled aggressively, capturing everyone's attention.

"Don't tell me to calm down!"

"You calm down, bitch!"

"Shut the fuck up!"

A woman pushed the black-haired woman and—

"FINE, GET KICKED OFF THE SKYCRUISER!" Veronica screamed at the top of her lungs.

Her declaration created a violent wave of fear that sliced through everyone's hearts.

They took sharp breaths, terrified to breathe.

"I gave you three rules. You will not beg us to do anything." A chilling voice declared, lowering the skycruiser's temperature.

"You will stay orderly and not spread panic.

Lastly, you will not cause trouble, disrespect me, or accuse Immortal Skye of misconduct."

They turn their necks to Jake with the fluidity of rusty cogs.

Jake's had a gaze laced with murderous intent. Despite his recent disconnection from Veronica, seeing someone shove her triggered the event.

His brain differentiated the attacks, so he didn't experience amygdala hijack. However, his emotions were far from calm.

Even Veronica trembled, seeing his fierce blue eyes.

"Hmmm. Which one of you should I kick off first, I wonder?" Jake mused coldly.

"H-Him!"

"She started blaming Kaze!"

"Don't look at me!"

The regent clapped loudly, getting everyone's attention.

"Excellent. You three are the first to go, as you're still causing trouble in the face of certain death." He announced dryly.

"P-Please don't!"

"I'm begging you!"

"I'm sorry!"

All three began begging, and Veronica's breathing became shallow, heartbroken that Jake was so callous already.

It was her fault.

That was how she saw it.

However, it wasn't her fault.

She quickly saw her crush's true colors.

Jake touched the wireless microphone in his ear. "Take us low, near the Mason Park District."

At his word, the pilot changed course, flying over a two-mile-long soup and water line. The sight made those who yelled start crying and shaking uncontrollably.

Only a day before, they ate well in mansions. Now, they'd be in day-long lines, fighting with pirates and thieves.

The skycruiser descended in the area above the rowdy line, hovering over a sea of apartments and homes.

The residential district was crawling with madness.

Due to its proximity to the central economic district and soup lines, thousands of people were in the area, using tents or sleeping in the streets.

There were fights, looting, and sights that everyone averted their gazes from.

No matter where they looked, they witnessed atrocities, heard screaming, or watched fighting.

Nowhere was safe.

Yet the people there didn't have a choice, as the economic district was the only place with food and water unless people looted home pantries.

"P-Please…." A woman sobbed alongside the two shaking men, trembling with instability in their eyes,

Anyone could see them going through simulations to take the skycruiser hostage.

"I-I'll do [anything]. I'll even suck—"

"Enough." Jake ordered in a frigid tone, triggering adrenaline and primal fear, "I'm here to keep people safe, not abuse them.

You're endangering everyone and unwilling to follow the rules.

As I recall, this isn't the first time you've disregarded them, or am I mistaken?"

Everyone in the skycruiser took sharp breaths, looking at their neighbors as if they had seen them for the first time.

The jesters saw the jesters, and those who broke the party's rules saw familiar faces.

Most took Veronica for a jester or one of the party rule breakers who didn't get the technique.

It occurred to them that Kaze may have sent them off to their deaths.

In an instant, the atmosphere became panicked again. However, no one dared to breathe.

"That's what I thought." Jake said coldly, pressing a button to open the hatch door 100 feet above the ground.

Sounds of rioting and chaos exploded in everyone's ears.

The skycruiser had a pulse, alive with fear and horrors.

Everyone was crying, shaking, or trying not to vomit on the floor.

Jake pretended to touch the mic in his ear. "Take us twenty feet from the ground.

The rule breakers are strong enough to survive the fall without broken bones from that height."