Chapter 113.2 – Life-and-Death Marathon (4)
◎ He couldn’t have been Zhuang Qingyan ◎
With nothing else to do, Song Ke led Xu Xing and opted to head to the shelter, completing tasks to earn Alliance coins. The S-level mission to guard Tongwan hadn’t been closed yet. Outside the Luojia Shelter, wandering zombies were still visible. Under the high walls, piles of decaying bodies formed small mountains, emitting a putrid smell that stung the senses. However, the rewards for killing zombies in the vicinity were exceptionally generous.
The two worked together seamlessly; Xu Xing released wide-ranging ice and snow while Song Ke swiftly moved among the frozen zombie sculptures, harvesting efficiently.
“Girl with braids!”
Mid-battle, Xu Xing suddenly called out, pointing to a spot. Following his gaze, Song Ke noticed a zombie standing out among the rest. While others had their heads up, sniffing for human scent, this one kept its head down, seemingly searching for something.
Before Song Ke could react, Xu Xing dashed out like a runaway horse. With the confidence of having a backer today, he ran up to the braided zombie, hands on hips, shouting, “Come over here!”
The roaming zombies swarmed in. Xu Xing scrambled to deal with them while the braided zombie remained motionless, eyes seemingly contemplating him.
Taking another glance, Song Ke estimated the female zombie to be around thirteen or fourteen, not much older than Xiao Xing.
Once the area was secure, the braided zombie emitted muffled sounds from its throat. It circled around Xu Xing, occasionally extending claws to try to grab him. However, today Xu Xing was well-prepared and maneuvered like a nimble chick, running around while giggling.
In the past six months, Xu Xing had traveled with them, faced death sentences and assassinations, forcing him to mature and become responsible. There were few carefree moments like this, but being young, he hadn’t lost his childlike innocence. Lacking companions his age, he unexpectedly ended up playing with a zombie.
After playing for a while, the braided zombie suddenly perked its ears, seemingly hearing something, and dashed toward the direction of the city wall.
Xu Xing, not quite done yet, waved to its departing figure. “Bye-bye~”
After Song Ke cleared the surrounding zombies, she approached Xu Xing. “Let’s head back.”
Xu Xing took her hand, nodding obediently. “Hmm.”
Outside the high walls of Luojia Shelter, several hovercars hovered low. Powerful wide-ranging abilities covered the entire area, dazzling lights flashing one after another, blasting zombies one after another. Song Ke recognized it as the abilities of the “Tustan” awakener team, cleaning up the tide of corpses.
A graceful figure flashed by. The braided zombie, previously playing with Xu Xing, suddenly rushed into the smoke and dust, embracing a nearly bisected zombie carcass, emitting mournful cries. Strangely, Song Ke noticed a hint of “pain” on its face.
The hovercars chased after it. Yin Xiao, an awakener, leaped onto the roof of one, holding a submachine gun, evidently ready to take action.
“Sister…” Xu Xing tugged at Song Ke’s clothes, speaking hesitantly.
“Xiao Xing, it’s a zombie.” Song Ke understood what he was thinking.
Xu Xing shook his head stubbornly, explaining, “No, it’s not a zombie; it’s… a Fallen.”
After Zhuang Qingyan narrated the origins of the Fallens, Song Ke’s feelings toward this group of beings on the outskirts became complex. Though they couldn’t be classified as human, they shouldn’t simply be categorized as zombies in a rough manner.
“Sister…” Xu Xing pleaded once again.
“Okay.” Song Ke patted Xu Xing’s head and swiftly charged forward like an arrow.
Yin Xiao obviously spotted this unique zombie too. He aimed and shot, bullets hitting a bluish iron plate, providing cover for Song Ke. Taking advantage of the chaos, she pushed the braided zombie, which seemed to sense something, dragging its nearly bisected companion away.
Meanwhile, the stray shotgun pellets veered off course, returning near the hovercars, exploding on impact, eliciting a series of curses.
“Watch out! It almost hit my foot!”
“Captain, even you miss sometimes, haha!”
Yin Xiao jumped off the car’s roof, locking his gaze on the suddenly emerged Song Ke. “What’s your deal? Snatching the zombie from my hands?”
Today, he wasn’t wearing protective goggles, clad in camouflage combat gear, his pants tucked into black military boots, giving him a sturdy and agile appearance. It wasn’t until Song Ke got closer that she noticed his grayish, light-colored pupils.
Admitting her fault, Song Ke hesitantly tried to excuse herself, “Sorry… it slipped.”
Though she didn’t mean it that way, her words sounded quite provocative.
Yin Xiao sneered, his ruby earring sparkling, and said in the common tongue, “Lady, do you think I’m that easy to fool?”
Dropping his submachine gun, he accelerated toward her, delivering a powerful straight jab with his elbow.
Without transforming a spiritual weapon, Song Ke met the attack bare-handed, raising her left knee high, leveraging the ground to propel herself, launching a fierce spinning kick toward his throat. Yin Xiao dodged by lowering his head, then swiftly altered his punch to an inward angle, his lean waist suddenly twisting, aiming a flat punch toward Song Ke’s cheek. Slightly furrowing her brows at the discomfort, she agilely flipped mid-air, kicking away Yin Xiao’s wrist.
As they landed, they clashed without hesitation, surprising everyone. Yin Xiao, not only skilled in sniping but also adept in close combat, always found deceptive angles, interrupting Song Ke’s fluid attacks. They exchanged moves for a hundred rounds, neither gaining a clear advantage.
Observing Yin Xiao engage in a one-on-one fight, the other awakeners refrained from interfering. After clearing the nearby zombies, they all jumped off the car to watch the spectacle, cheering and whistling, treating the clash as a sporting event.
Song Ke was increasingly feeling uncomfortable and unable to fully exert her strength. As they continued fighting, her irritation grew. Suddenly changing tactics, she lightning-fast seized her opponent’s arm, applied a shoulder lock, and fiercely twisted his joints. With a loud thud, both crashed onto the dusty ground. Yin Xiao landed on his back, with Song Ke’s knee pressing down on his left hand and her two hands restraining his right, preventing his movements.
“I really didn’t mean to snatch from you,” Song Ke, straddling him, explained helplessly.
Yin Xiao grinned broadly. “I’ve found your weak spot.”
Song Ke replied, “Huh? What?”
“My ability is to see through an enemy’s weak points. You’re really skilled; you have almost no weaknesses in combat,” Yin Xiao declared.
Song Ke slightly curved her lips, modestly smiling. “Is that so?”
“What about you? What’s your ability?” Yin Xiao focused on her face, where two faint dimples had emerged just earlier.
He was straightforward in his questioning, so Song Ke answered honestly, “Metal manipulation, object transformation.”
“So, it means you gave me an advantage?” he inquired.
“You weren’t using a gun,” Song Ke explained sincerely, “I’ll compensate for the zombies I knocked away.”
“Got it. Now release me,” Yin Xiao replied.
Song Ke eased her knee, stood up, and suddenly, Yin Xiao leaped, embracing her shoulder and forcefully pushing forward. Simultaneously, he stretched out a leg, attempting to trip her ankle. Song Ke lost her balance in an instant. With a thud, the gravel scattered as both fell again. This time, Yin Xiao was on top, shielding the back of her head with his palm.
Song Ke glared at him in anger.
Using his elbow for support, Yin Xiao got up and touched his earring, smirking. “Now we’re even.”
Song Ke slowly got up, silently dusting herself off. Xu Xing hurried over to help her brush off the dirt.
Outside the wall, the other members of the Tustan team had finished clearing the zombies. At that moment, Gao Xiangyang was escorted by two other awakeners. “The sample coverage isn’t enough; it’s better to collect more…”
He saw Song Ke and abruptly fell silent, standing still for two seconds before mustering the courage to approach.
“Hello, we met at the city gate yesterday. Do you remember?” Gao Xiangyang asked cautiously.
Song Ke nodded.
“Can I ask you something?” Gao Xiangyang inquired carefully.
Song Ke wasn’t easily swayed. “You first, speak.”
“Are your friends two individuals who use wheelchairs?”
“Yes.”
“Could you tell me the name of the man who uses a wheelchair but has intact legs?” Gao Xiangyang’s tone suddenly became urgent.
“What do you want with him?” Song Ke’s expression turned cautious. This person was already acting suspiciously yesterday, and now this sudden agitation made him even more suspicious.
“I-I don’t mean any harm. I just want to know his name. He… he looks extremely similar to someone I know. There might be a connection!” Gao Xiangyang appeared very anxious. “I’m not a bad person, truly. My name is Gao Xiangyang, I’m thirty-three years old, graduated from the First Military Academy of Askar, majoring in Biology…”
Fearing that Song Ke might not believe him, Gao Xiangyang used his terminal to display all his identification documents and details.
Yin Xiao, accompanied by the Tustan members, surrounded them but remained silent, observing the conversation.
Glancing at Gao Xiangyang’s information, the lengthy list of honors and unreadable thesis titles felt like a swarm of insects crawling before her eyes. With just a glance, it made her feel dizzy and overwhelmed.
“Can you tell me, please?” Gao Xiangyang pleaded.
Was there any taboo related to Zhaung Qingyan’s name? Not really. Since they met, whether among the people from Azure Phoenix or various magistrates, he never hesitated to introduce himself.
“His name is Zhuang Qingyan,” Song Ke replied.
Gao Xiangyang was thunderstruck. His terminal fell to the ground with a clatter. “How is that possible… He couldn’t possibly be Zhuang Qingyan!”
