Chapter Twenty: Brothers at Odds

“Women.” Pan Guang grinned, but the smile never reached his eyes; instead, a sinister gleam flickered within them. “Hanzi, tell me, what do women really mean to people like us—people with real power?”

Pan Han’s heart sank sharply.

Ever since his brother awakened that strange psychic ability two days ago, he seemed like a different person—paranoid, volatile, and displeased with everyone.

“Brother, right now… just staying alive is a blessing…” he stammered.

“Staying alive?” Pan Guang suddenly stood up, his gaze fierce!

Crash!

The glass cup on the coffee table shattered instantly, shards suspended midair, their sharp points aimed directly at Pan Han.

“I’m not satisfied with just staying alive!” he roared. “In this damned apocalypse, I’ll be king!”

“Brother! What… what are you trying to do?!” Pan Han retreated in terror, his back pressed against the cold wall.

“I’ve noticed you’ve been off lately,” Pan Guang advanced step by step, a twisted smile distorting his face. “Especially when you look at that woman, Zhang Lili. Do you think I’m blind to your little schemes?”

Pan Han’s face turned pale, his voice wavering. “I… I don’t! I have no intentions toward my sister-in-law! Brother, you must be mistaken!”

“Mistaken?” Pan Guang sneered, more grotesque than ever. “The night before last, I went out to look for supplies. When I came back, you were skulking by the door, eavesdropping. Did you think I didn’t see?”

“I didn’t!” Pan Han’s voice trembled uncontrollably. “Brother, it’s not what you think!”

“Still denying!” Pan Guang snapped his fingers.

Whizz! Whizz! Whizz!

Several sharp glass shards shot past, grazing Pan Han’s cheek and leaving burning trails of blood.

“Then explain why every time I’m with Zhang Lili, you come knocking with some excuse?”

Blood trickled down Pan Han’s face as he covered the wound, grimacing in pain. “It’s… it’s because there seemed to be some noise outside. I was worried… worried something dangerous might happen…”

“Bullshit!” Pan Guang exploded in rage, unleashing his psychic power without restraint!

All the clutter in the room—books, photo frames, shattered vases—vibrated violently before hovering in the air like invisible gun barrels, all pointed at the trembling Pan Han.

“Do you think I can’t see through your little schemes?” Pan Guang’s voice dripped with venom. “You want me dead, don’t you? You want to take my woman, steal my territory!”

“No! It’s really not like that, brother!” Pan Han collapsed to his knees, tears streaming down his face. “I’m your blood brother! How could I ever harm you?”

“Blood brother?” Pan Guang’s laughter was sharp and jarring, like an owl’s cry in the night. “Blood brothers don’t stab each other in the back? Have you forgotten how our father died?”

Pan Han stiffened as if struck by lightning.

Their father had indeed died in an “accident,” but Pan Guang was convinced someone had sabotaged him behind the scenes, even…

“Brother, Dad’s death… has nothing to do with me! You can’t just accuse me based on suspicion…” His voice was filled with despair.

Before he could finish, a thick book floating in the air slammed down hard on his head.

“Ah!”

Pan Han curled up on the floor in pain.

“Nothing to do with you?” Pan Guang’s voice turned icy. “What about the child in Zhang Lili’s belly? How do you explain that?”

“She… she’s pregnant?”

Pan Han’s mind went blank.

“Still playing dumb!”

Pan Guang kicked him hard in the chest. “I have the hospital record! Three months along! Exactly when you were ‘looking after’ her!”

“Brother… that’s impossible… I’m innocent with my sister-in-law…”

Pan Han coughed violently, blood foaming at the corner of his mouth.

“Still denying!”

Pan Guang grabbed a fruit knife, the cold blade pressing against Pan Han’s throat.

“Tell me! Is that bastard yours?”

The blade pierced the skin, blood seeping out.

Death lingered in the air. Pan Han shook his head stiffly. “Brother… even if you kill me… I didn’t do it, I really didn’t…”

“Fine! That’s just fine!”

Pan Guang’s face twisted grotesquely. “You refuse the wine, so you’ll have to drink the penalty! Get it over with!”

He pressed harder, the blade inching deeper.

“Stop!”

Bang!

The door was suddenly kicked open from outside. Zhang Lili, her belly unmistakably swollen, rushed in.

“Pan Guang! You’re insane! That’s your own brother!”

Zhang Lili lunged forward, gripping Pan Guang’s knife-wielding arm tightly.

“Get off!” Pan Guang shook her off violently. “This isn’t your place to speak!”

Zhang Lili stumbled and fell, instinctively protecting her abdomen, her voice trembling. “The child… the child is yours…”

“Bullshit!”

Pan Guang turned and shouted at her. “You think I’m blind to your little affair?”

“It’s really yours!” Zhang Lili’s tears broke free. “I swear on the child in my womb! There’s never been anything improper between Pan Han and me!”

Pan Guang hesitated, then turned to the man on the floor. “Then explain why every time I come back, I find you two together?”

Pan Han pushed himself up painfully, clutching his bleeding neck. “Brother… my sister-in-law and I… we’ve been planning how to get more food for you… and about the mutual aid group… we wanted to surprise you…”

The living room was silent except for their heavy breathing.

Pan Guang’s hand holding the knife slowly lowered. “You’re… not lying to me?”

“Absolutely not!”

Zhang Lili and Pan Han answered almost simultaneously.

Pan Guang glanced at his wife’s ashen face, then at his brother’s terrified expression. His own emotions flickered uncertainly.

Without warning, he raised the knife again!

“Even if the child is mine… the two of you conspiring behind my back is betrayal! A death sentence!”

Bang!

A loud crash, wood splinters flying.

The door was forcefully kicked open from outside.

“Brother Guang! Something’s wrong! There’s an emergency!”

Xiao Mu scrambled in, breathless and panicked.

He froze at the bloody scene before him, speechless.

Pan Guang’s hand holding the knife remained still, the impending strike frozen midair.

He slowly turned his head, voice flat and even. “What could be so urgent to have you in such a panic?”

“Someone… someone wants to join our mutual aid group,” Xiao Mu swallowed hard, his voice trembling with fear.

“Two men, young-looking, survivors from Building 8.”

Pan Guang’s eyes narrowed slightly, the blade reflecting the cold light of the flickering lamp.

“Men?” he repeated, a hint of disappointment barely concealed.

“Yes, both men, that’s right,” Xiao Mu nodded quickly, fearing to delay.

“They’re waiting in the lobby downstairs now.”

“Damn it!” Pan Guang kicked the nearby coffee table with force. It toppled, scattering the clutter across the floor.