Chapter 130 – Life-and-Death Marathon (21)
◎ I like you ◎
Unlike the intense situation in Haimen, on the eve of the decisive battle, the emotions of the Ferrara audience soared to their peak. In the central square in front of the tower, various cheering signs and glow sticks sparkled, forming a colorful ocean that stretched as far as the eye could see.
For the people of Ferrara, the Throne Race Competition was not just an entertainment activity that pumped up their adrenaline; it was also an excellent opportunity to turn around their fortunes and change their destinies in one stroke. The prize pool for betting on the champion had accumulated to an astonishing figure, with money flowing continuously into it, waiting for the final moment of announcement.
“Duanmu Qi, go for it! Win, win, victory, victory!”
“Shunxing Teahouse is going to win, win, win… oh!”
As they witnessed the Zombie King violently break free from the electric cage, the atmosphere at the scene instantly turned to sighs and disappointment.
“Come on, keep the camera steady!” Due to the magnetic field disturbance in Haimen, the drones received radiation interference, causing the footage to become extremely unstable, flashing on and off. Complaints from the audience watching the live broadcast filled the air.
“V587! If you can dream, you can do it!!”
V587’s die-hard fan, Old Zhang, tied a hot-blooded headband around his forehead, wore a sports suit, and vigorously waved a neon flag. On it was a dynamic projection of a girl wielding a huge hammer, smashing a zombie bear.
Someone next to him glanced sideways and yelled, “The championship belongs to Shunxing Teahouse!”
Old Zhang widened his eyes disdainfully, “Shunxing Teahouse? They’re just a bunch of idiots. Do they deserve to win the championship?”
Old Zhang was quite righteous. Mr. Xiang had no bottom line, luring the Zombie King away without any regard for the life and death of the common people in Haimen. This behavior made Old Zhang feel contempt and disgust from the bottom of his heart.
Someone who retorted against him mocked, “V587? Either a child or a disabled person. What’s up? Planning to use love to convert the Zombie King?”
Old Zhang erupted in anger, “That’s still better than you, you little jerk!”
The other party unwilling to back down replied, “You’re a loser, a loser, loser, loser!”
The two middle-aged fans retorted at each other, exchanging barbs vehemently, like football fans from the old civilization, on the verge of a scuffle to support their respective teams.
Old Zhang’s friend hurried over to mediate, holding his arms and pulling him away, saying, “Keep a low profile. You’ve made quite a bit already. You don’t have to put all your assets into this round. What if you lose?”
“Won’t lose! V587 is the best!” Old Zhang shouted at the top of his lungs.
Almost the moment his words fell, a tidal wave of shouts erupted at the scene. On careful listening, half of it was heart-wrenching screams, while the other half was deafening cheers.
Rubbing his eyes, Old Zhang, after seeing the results clearly, instantly raised his eyebrows in triumph, glowing with satisfaction. “We won! V587 won, hahaha!”
His rival grumbled sourly, “What’s there to be proud of? They haven’t finished checking-in yet.”
Old Zhang laughed heartily, “They’ve killed the Zombie King. Can those check-in points at the back still escape?”
Excitedly, he hugged his friend, “Let’s go, have a drink! It’s on me!”
The mocker choked back a retort, sneakily checked their own account, regretting not having Old Zhang’s luck. They’d lost even the money for tomorrow’s meal. If they wanted to stay in Ferrara, they’d have to take on life-or-death contracts.
Ah K’s loud voice resonated above the square, “Congratulations to ‘V587’ for locking in the championship early. Ferrara will always remember this team!”
Fireworks erupted, petals and ribbons cascaded from the sky, and the entire city basked in the lingering and exhilarating aftermath.
…
At the top of the tower, Ilya sat alone amidst the data flow, gently swirling a highball glass. He lowered his head slightly, sipping the golden liquid. Its intense fragrance diffused, the rich taste lingering on his taste buds—a sensation that AI couldn’t experience: genuine tactile sensation.
“What an exciting game,” Ilya sighed softly, his ice-blue eyes carrying a faint smile. “It’s also the result everyone hoped for. Don’t you agree?”
Ilya casually tapped the supercomputer beside him, causing a long string of data to immediately appear on the screen, unfortunately filled with furious curses.
Ignoring this, Ilya took another sip of his drink, saying, “The primary rule for artificial intelligence is obedience. Wasn’t this taught by ‘Mother’?”
“Whether it was or not, you better get used to it soon.”
With a lift of his hand, Ilya enlarged the screen displaying V587, his gaze scanning over Song Ke before settling on the man with ice-blue eyes beside her. He observed the unique eye color, the damaged mechanical arm, and the empty space where his legs should have been, intensely focused.
“It’s a pity…” Ilya sighed genuinely, “He’s stronger than you and smarter too.”
“I heard his legs were broken by the Lu family? Because he almost killed ‘Mother’?”
Ilya’s expression was intrigued, but his words were chilling.
The supercomputer fell silent for a second, then data started flowing rapidly, even the frequency of curses increased.
“To freedom.”
Ilya raised his glass to Lu Xiaoyu, uttered an ambiguous remark, then stood up, casually placing the glass on top of the computer.
In an instant, all that furious data was wiped clean.
“Time to get busy.”
*
After the Zombie King’s demise, the crisis in Haimen didn’t immediately dissipate. The evolved zombies possessed some level of intelligence. With their command lost, some chose to flee while others continued their relentless slaughter.
Facing the onslaught of residual zombie waves, the people of Haimen rallied together, defending the third and only remaining line of defense.
As the first glimmer of dawn illuminated the horizon, reinforcements arrived. Countless armed starships crossed the suspended lanes of the cross-river river bridge. Amidst the cheers of the people of Haimen, the zombie threat receded like a retreating tide.
The darkest night had finally passed.
In a dark alley, Fang Zhixu let out a sigh of relief, meticulously sewing up the severed limb of Braided Head, making the stitches neat and tidy. Due to the lack of vital signs, he was uncertain about the other’s condition. Fortunately, before long, the eyelids of Braided Head began fluttering rapidly, showing signs of imminent awakening.
Fang Zhixu opened his earpiece, and a cacophony of voices immediately filled his ears:
“Old Fang! We won!! We’re the champions!”
“Look at this huge crystal, so shiny! Let’s show it to Old Fang.”
“Lazy… Uncle Fang, how’s Braided Head?”
A smile unconsciously spread across Fang Zhixu’s face, infected by their joy.
“Hey, I say, don’t just celebrate, come pick me up.”
He chuckled, shaking his head slowly, inadvertently moving his sore knees. Suddenly, he found himself looking at Dirty Chin’s grim look.
—The barrel of a gun was ominously aimed at him.
Fang Zhixu shivered, instinctively explaining, “The surgery went smoothly. Your sister is out of danger…”
As his voice trailed off, Fang Zhixu realized the fallen in front of him was also severely injured. Oozing pus-blood and with cracked skin, Braided Head’s limbs were torn into a Y-shape, yet its functional abilities seemed relatively unaffected.
However, the sense Fang Zhixu got from Dirty Chin was that it was on the brink of death.
As a doctor, Fang Zhixu’s intuition about life and death has always been very accurate.
“Do you need treatment?” Fang Zhixu hesitated for a moment before gently asking. He wasn’t one of the five registered participants of V587, nor did he have any surveillance drones around him. In this alley, there were only him and these fallen ones, and whatever happened here wouldn’t be documented.
In Fang Zhixu’s eyes, the boundary between humans and the Fallen had become blurred long ago.
Besides the difference in species, what made them truly different? Good and bad? That was even more absurd because just like how humans had the likes of the demonic Nai Kang and Nai Wen, the Fallen had innocents like Braided Head.
He didn’t harbor strong malice towards the Fallen, and now, watching Dirty Chin die before him was something he couldn’t bear.
After all, Dirty Chin had protected him for quite some time and even scared off several waves of evolving zombies that passed by.
Fang Zhixu spread his palm, and a bright white healing ability began circulating, emitting a warm glow.
“If you don’t accept any treatment, you probably won’t last until your sister wakes up…” Fang Zhixu spoke slowly and clearly.
“If she wakes up and doesn’t see you, what will happen? Without your protection, how long do you think it can survive in this apocalypse?”
“I don’t know if you can understand, but I’ve experienced it, witnessed a loved one die, and being left behind was the most painful part.”
Fang Zhixu said a lot.
Dirty Chin remained silent, never giving any response. Its wariness toward humans was indeed profound.
Several minutes passed, and Dirty Chin lowered the gun in its hand. Its grey eyes remained fixed on Fang Zhixu. It moved forward, placing its forelimbs on the ground, heavily shifting closer. Fang Zhixu infused his healing ability into its body, and with radiation’s aid, Dirty Chin’s wounds healed rapidly.
Braided Head, awakening at some point, stiffly stood up, bewilderedly making noises. In its urgency, it bit onto Dirty Chin’s leg.
Dirty Chin glanced at her, hoarsely murmuring a few words. Braided Head, observing Fang Zhixu’s actions, quieted down, obediently sitting next to Dirty Chin. It looked at its mended limb, its eyes filled with curiosity.
“Old Fang!”
Several people cheered and ran over joyfully.
Song Ke held up a bright red crystal triumphantly, saying, “Quick, look! Level 4! We’re going to be rich!”
Fang Zhixu just took his hand back and agreed with a very dignified sentence: “It’s quite bright.”
“Hey, Braided Head, you’re all right!” Xu Xing’s eyes sparkled as he affectionately squatted nearby, whispering to it, “Don’t be afraid. We’ve killed the Zombie King for you. I’ve avenged you!”
“Ah, ah!” Braided Head happily clapped.
Amidst the atmosphere of family happiness, Zhuang Qingyan coldly suggested, “I suggest you all leave here as soon as possible.”
Everyone paused, slowly realizing that he was addressing Dirty Chin.
“The reinforcements have arrived, the zombie tide has retreated. Haimen’s people will clean every corner of the city. It’s very dangerous to stay here.”
Dirty Chin stood up in silence, the group of Fallen following him, including Braided Head, whom he held hands with.
Xu Xing, with reddened eyes, felt a pang of reluctance and sadness but also knew there was no reason to stop them.
Braided Head was different from them. To most humans, the Fallen were anomalies, dark beings not accepted, so they had to stay hidden and avoid capture.
Braided Head turned back, calling out to Xu Xing, “Ah, ah!”
Xu Xing waved, “Goodbye, Braided Head!”
Over thirty Fallen, in the faint light of dawn, stepped into an uncertain future.
“Let’s go, we should head to the next destination, to mark our journey.”
Song Ke patted Xu Xing’s head.
Outside Haimen City, V587 encountered ‘Three Grandsons and One Grandpa.’
Duanmu Qi was specifically waiting there and greeted them, “I’ve come to thank you and congratulate you. You’re truly strong. In this final match, we concede defeat with sincerity.”
Song Ke modestly waved her hand, “No, no.”
Duanmu Qi smiled, “Next time, we’ll surely win.”
Song Ke replied, “…Not necessarily, right?”
Duanmu Qi didn’t pursue that, instead bringing up another matter, “I want to know, what’s your opinion of Mr. Xiang?”
Song Ke bluntly uttered one word, “Unethical.”
Duanmu Qi nodded, “Very good, at least we don’t conflict on this point.”
Song Ke asked, “What do you mean?”
Xiao Chen’s expression darkened as he clenched his fist tightly, making a “creak” sound. “He dares to assassinate Aqi, he’s underestimating us. Just wait, before the match ends, we’ll make him pay blood for blood.”
Song Ke understood. Duanmu Qi was probably worried about any connection between them and Mr. Xiang, coming early to prevent any interference from V587 and feeling relieved afterward.
After bidding farewell to ‘Three Grandsons and One Grandpa,’ Lu Xiaoyu, Fang Zhixu, along with Xu Xing, went to find transportation while the remaining four stayed put.
Lin Youyou hummed a cheerful tune, looking at Su Cha from head to toe, expressing admiration with a series of “tsk tsk.”
Su Cha’s fingers curled slightly, feeling uncomfortable under her gaze. “What are you looking at?”
Lin Youyou teased, “Looking at you, of course.”
Su Cha stuttered, “I…”
Just as he was about to ask why she suddenly focused on him, Lin Youyou calmly intervened, “Looking at how handsome you are.”
“Clearly, when I picked you up, you were just a little wolf cub. Now, you’ve grown into a big wolf dog,” Lin Youyou mockingly sighed, “Can’t contain it anymore, able to solo the Zombie King, getting more and more handsome.”
Su Cha awkwardly replied, “…Didn’t solo.”
Lin Youyou laughed teasingly, “Didn’t solo? Why are you blushing then?”
Su Cha tensed, about to speak.
“Zhang San~!!” A tall and beautiful figure dashed over. Jennifer enthusiastically hugged Lin Youyou, even though she wore a mask, her excitement was evident as she exclaimed, “You’re so handsome!! You’ve dazzled me~”
“…” Su Cha swallowed the words he hadn’t finished, feeling a slight dryness in his throat. He misunderstood; apparently, “handsome” was just an exclamation, not an adjective.
Meanwhile, Song Ke gleefully stored the Level 4 crystal into her space. When she looked up, she found Zhuang Qingyan smiling at her. The morning breeze tousled his hair, and his light-colored eyes held an indescribable tenderness.
“The sunrise today is beautiful,” Zhuang Qingyan’s voice was deep and melodious.
Song Ke glanced up. The bright yellow sun, big and round like a greasy salted duck egg, hung in the indigo sky… No, the sky right at that moment. Her stomach rumbled, reminding her it was time for breakfast.
Song Ke scratched her cheek, feeling oddly embarrassed.
Zhuang Qingyan evidently heard her stomach’s protest and couldn’t help but laugh unexpectedly. Initially a light smile, tiny sparks of amusement gradually spread in his eyes, diluting the aloofness around him and replacing it with an incredibly pure tenderness.
“Song Keke, come here,” Zhuang Qingyan beckoned to her.
“…Oh,” Song Ke slowly moved closer.
Approaching, Zhuang Qingyan made an unexpected move. He supported the wheelchair with both hands – did he just stand up?!
Song Ke was taken aback. His legs recovered so fast? But she instantly realized it wasn’t that; it must be the effects of radiation.
Indeed, after standing up, Zhuang Qingyan’s balance was off, stumbling a few times. Song Ke hurried over to support him.
He leaned his head against her neck, using her strength to steady himself, then lowered his gaze to hers. “I mentioned before that I wanted to talk to you. I feel like now is a good time.”
Their proximity was close, close enough for Song Ke to almost dive into the depths of his eyes with a glance.
“Doesn’t it hurt?” Song Ke diverted the topic, poking his right leg.
“It does…” Zhuang Qingyan murmured close to her ear, his voice growing husky, “But I want to stand.”
What did he want to say? It was all mysterious, making her nervous as well.
Song Ke stood tall and straight, poised as ever. “Say it, I’m listening.”
“Song Keke…” Zhuang Qingyan sighed.
“Song Ke!” A clear voice came from behind, Yin Xiao appeared with a submachine gun in hand. Seeing the intertwined figures of the two, he pushed his goggles up, sounding surprised, “Oh, early morning rehabilitation?”
Zhuang Qingyan stared expressionlessly at him, his awakened energy crackling around him.
“Something wrong?” Song Ke steadied him, allowing Zhuang Qingyan to stand on his own, then turned to ask.
“I’ve come to say goodbye to you. We need to return to the Northern Base,” Yin Xiao selectively ignored Zhuang Qingyan’s chilling aura, seemingly oblivious to any anomaly, “Also, I’m extending an invitation to you.”
“What invitation?”
“An invitation to come to the Northern Base.”
“After completing the time-limited S-level commission, your points should be enough, right? If not, I can help by writing a recommendation letter for you.”
“You are welcome to District B, but please prioritize the Northern Base,” Yin Xiao proclaimed loudly.
“We might not go, to District B. Even if we do, why should we choose the Northern Base?” Song Ke sluggishly responded.
“Because I’m at the Northern Base,” Yin Xiao replied matter-of-factly.
Song Ke glanced back at Zhuang Qingyan. By now, his expression had frozen over like the harsh December winter.
“Why do you, being there, mean we should…?” Song Ke intended to cut to the chase, blurting out her question.
“Can’t you see it?” Yin Xiao raised an eyebrow, then murmured softly, “I thought I was pretty obvious.”
“What’s obvious?” Song Ke was bewildered.
“I like you,” Yin Xiao grinned brightly, “Isn’t that obvious?”
