For the parents of this body, Brian had always felt a sense of guilt in his heart. After all, he had taken over the body of another family's child. That's why he always wanted to go to Washington. Aside from seeking asylum, he also hoped to let them know that their son was still alive.
Because he knew that if he didn't get as close as possible to Washington in the early stages of the disaster, it would be nearly impossible for him to go there once the virus had fully taken over all of the United States.
Just as Brian was thinking frantically, the staff member behind him suddenly let out a light sigh: "Hey! Looks like there's another place to go."
"Huh? What do you mean?" Hearing the words of the staff member behind him, Brian snapped out of his thoughts, turned around, and walked over to the counter.
"Well... a new quarantine zone option has just been posted." The staff member moved the mouse in their hand and said, "It's headed to Atlanta!"
But just after reading the relevant information, their expression suddenly froze. They hesitated and lifted their head to look at the boy in front of them, saying, "But I wouldn't recommend going there."
"Sister, please tell me why. I really want to find my parents!" Seeing the sudden change in the staff member's expression, Brian knew this information was crucial for his decision and thought hard. He knew this information was important, so he leaned against the counter with a pleading expression.
Seeing the boy's pleading look, the staff member felt a bit reluctant. After an internal struggle, she looked around. When she saw that no one was paying attention, she leaned forward slightly and said in a voice only the two of them could hear:
"The area around Atlanta is now the most infected. The new government is forcing some quarantine zones to send troops to escort civilians there to increase the population and military strength. So I wouldn't recommend you go. And make sure not to reveal this, okay?"
After hearing this, Brian's expression froze, knowing this was vital information, and the other party must have taken a risk to tell him. He looked at her gratefully and said, "Thank you, I won't tell anyone."
After telling the staff member who helped him that he wanted to think about it, he sincerely thanked her and turned to leave the administration office hall.
"Kid, what did they tell you?"
"Did they lie to you?"
Just as Brian left the administration office and walked down the stairs, the people waiting outside suddenly approached, surrounding him, and started asking about the situation.
"Nothing important, don't bother asking."
Seeing this group of strangers surrounding him, Brian frowned, looking a bit impatient, but not wanting to cause trouble here, he suppressed the frustration in his heart and patiently dealt with the people, pushing his way through the crowd and leaving.
"Hey, we're asking you a question, why are you leaving?"
But the thing is, if you don't seek trouble, trouble will find you. Just as Brian was about to move through the crowd and leave, a young man in his twenties suddenly reached out from behind, grabbed him by the neck, and yanked him back hard.
This young man had been waiting outside the administration office for a long time. He was quite angry himself, but didn't dare to bother the two soldiers. He could only suppress his anger for the moment. When he saw Brian's impatient face, his unknown rage ignited instantly, and he couldn't control his strength.
Some people are just like that. They are in awe and keep their distance from those stronger than them, but once they see someone weaker, they unload all their anger, proving they too are strong.
Brian never expected something like this to happen. He only felt a huge force behind him, was caught off guard, and fell backward with a thud, hitting the ground heavily.
The scene suddenly went quiet, and the crowd around them instinctively took two steps back. No one thought this young man would act so suddenly. In fact, they had already gotten the answer they wanted at that point, and there was no need for this.
Even the two soldiers standing at the door frowned deeply, seeing this situation and looking at the young man with some disdain.
Just when one of the soldiers couldn't stand it anymore and was about to reprimand him, they saw the boy struggling to get up from the ground.
Brian felt the pain radiating from his back and became annoyed. He didn't expect to encounter something so senseless. Do you really think I'm easy to bully?
He lifted his head, looked directly at the young man's face, and said coldly, "You'd better apologize, or I'll make sure you regret it!"
The young man didn't expect his careless tug would knock the other person down, but he was used to being arrogant, and this was just a twelve or thirteen-year-old kid. So what?
At that moment, Brian actually asked him to apologize. And if he didn't, he'd make him regret it? The anger that had subsided a bit from what had just happened suddenly flared up uncontrollably.
"Alright, kid, I'll apologize to you right now!" A fierce smile appeared at the corner of his mouth as he quickly stepped forward, lifted his palm, and aimed a slap at the cheek of this overconfident boy, wanting to see how the other party would make him regret it today.
When the spectators saw this, they all gasped in surprise. None of them expected this young man to suddenly attack a kid like that, and it seemed he wasn't holding back at all. Some people couldn't even bear to watch and turned their heads away.
Brian watched the slap come at him without a hint of panic. Maybe when he first came to this world and faced such a situation, he would have chosen to run. But after experiencing the harshness outside, he knew that some situations couldn't be solved by running away. If you just evade, you'll be eliminated sooner or later. Besides, he had killed people and the infected—why would he fear the young man in front of him?
Just as the slap was about to land on his face, Brian took two steps back and easily dodged the young man's threatening slap.
The young man didn't expect the boy in front of him to dodge. What's more, he hadn't thought much at the moment, so he'd used all his strength. This time, he stumbled forward two steps, his balance suddenly unsteady.
In the blink of an eye, the boy in front of him had disappeared, which made him feel a bad premonition. He was a bit exaggerated at this moment, but that didn't mean he was a fool. He understood that the other party must be looking for an opportunity, attacking him quickly, so he tried to stabilize himself for a counterattack.
But how could Brian give him that chance? When he dodged the slap, he quickly moved to the side and behind him. He used the same method he employed to deal with the infected, applying it to the person in front of him, who was taller than him. The approach was the same. He lifted his foot and kicked the opponent's left knee, but this time he chose to strike from the side of the knee.
"Ah-!"
The sharp pain made the young man let out a miserable cry. His left leg couldn't support his weight due to the pain. He knelt, clutching his knee with his hands, his expression extremely pained:
"Damn kid, I'll kill you..."
But before he could finish speaking, a fist landed hard on his face, causing his head to buzz instantly and swallowing all his unfinished words.
The young man covered his head, dazed. Although Brian wasn't very old and his strength was limited, the punch landed firmly on his head, making him forget the intense pain in his knees as he held his head. For a long time, everything around him began to appear in double vision. Dazed, he saw a foot appear in front of him, getting closer and closer, until his vision went completely dark. He fell to the ground and passed out.
When the young man fell to the ground, the surroundings fell silent again. The onlookers stared at the scene in shock. Originally, they thought the kid would definitely get a lesson and had planned to step in and intervene.
Unexpectedly, in just a few seconds, this young man was humiliated by the boy in front of them. This was an outcome none of the bystanders had expected—the best-case scenario was the kid managing to escape.
The two soldiers standing on the steps who had witnessed the entire incident simply raised their eyebrows slightly. They exchanged glances and saw the surprise in each other's eyes.
Although Brian's action was swift, the kick to the young man's knee had clearly changed direction. It was obvious that the move hadn't been used on a living person before. Judging by the boy's height and the ferocity in his eyes, it seemed the move had been used on the infected outside.
With this in mind, the two soldiers looked at Brian with admiration in their eyes. You have to understand that in this post-apocalyptic environment, if there are no firearms in hand, there aren't many people willing to face the infected. Very few adults would risk infection by fighting them in close combat, let alone a twelve or thirteen-year-old boy.
Brian stood up, adjusted his clothes, and gently tapped the ground with his right foot. The kick had numbed his leg a bit. He looked at the young man lying on the ground, pursed his lips, and muttered, "So weak... and you talk so much nonsense."