Chapter 17.1 – Rainy Night in Hua City (9)
◎Get out of here◎
Song Ke stared at his smile, a chill running down her spine, and a row of goosebumps appeared on her arms.
She recalled the ancient court dramas that Aming enjoyed. Occasionally, when she had free time, she would catch a glimpse of them. The way Zhuang Qingyan smiled was just too similar to the beautiful and sinister main antagonist in those dramas.
After the others had walked away, the corner where the two of them were located regained its quietness. Zhuang Qingyan suppressed the smile on his face, and his expression finally appeared somewhat normal: “Since we have time now, tell me about the intricacies here.”
“Intricacies?” Song Ke was bewildered.
“The safety zone you brought me to, surely you can’t know nothing about it?”
Of course, she wouldn’t know nothing. On the first day she entered, she cleverly asked Tian Yi for information!
Song Ke straightened her chest full of confidence: “Go, go ahead and ask.”
“What is the organizational structure and management model here? Who are the main leaders? How are the awakeners, as a scarce resource, allocated?”
Song Ke was taken aback for two seconds, hesitated, and shook her head.
“How is defense and patrolling arranged? What are the rules? Are there any taboos? Also, have you noticed any unusual places?”
“Defense? Unusual?” Song Ke continued shaking her head; she had no idea.
“…” Zhuang Qingyan couldn’t continue his questioning.
After a while, he helplessly rubbed his forehead, “Student Song Ke, can I ask, what do you do every day?”
“Eat, sleep, and fight, fight zombies.”
…So, not really using your brain, huh?
Very well, perfectly reasonable, can’t find any faults.
Song Ke glanced at Zhuang Qingyan’s expressionless face, guiltily fiddled with her fingers, and the next second she shouted, “Tian Yi!”
It’s okay, if she couldn’t explain, there’s someone who can.
Tian Yi’s ears were quite sharp; he heard her call from quite a distance and hurriedly ran over, bouncing, “Hey, here I am! What’s up?”
Song Ke pointed at Zhuang Qingyan, “Can you, tell him about, the safety zone?”
Tian Yi had been curious about Zhuang Qingyan for a long time. He had wanted to approach him outside but didn’t dare. Now that he had the chance, he immediately came over with enthusiasm, “Brother Yan, can I call you Brother Yan? You were also saved by Song Ke, so we could consider it as having a deep connection, right? What do you want to know? I will definitely tell you everything.”
Zhuang Qingyan keenly caught the “also” in his words, gave Song Ke a slow, deliberate glance – oh, the little girl’s in the wholesale business of saving lives, huh?
After Song Ke passed the batton, she released her mental burden, lowered her head to rummage through her backpack, not noticing his gaze.
Zhuang Qingyan also stopped looking at her, saying, “I want to understand the personnel structure here. Let’s start from the beginning. How did you all come here?”
Tian Yi responded with an “Oh” and began talking about the origin of the safety zone. He recounted from the advent of the apocalypse, the first wave of zombie outbreaks, Xu Liren leading them in a hurried retreat, and he continued all the way to the current situation.
Zhuang Qingyan occasionally interrupted with questions he was particularly concerned about. Tian Yi couldn’t answer them all, but after some thought, he spoke for a long time.
Song Ke, who was by the side, was getting bored. With one hand, she knocked and twisted, opening a can of orange slices. She buried her head in the can, her nose twitched, greedily sniffed, and then pulled out a spoon from her bag, happily stuffing it into her mouth. She quickly finished a can.
“So, the number of awakeners among you isn’t large?” After listening to Tian Yi’s account, Zhuang Qingyan quickly sensed the core issue.
“Yeah, not counting Song Ke, there are currently four: Jiang Rui, Liu Zixuan, Zhang Qi, oh, and Zhou Anqi.”
“Four?” Zhuang Qingyan’s expression shifted slightly. “You mentioned a teacher named Xu Liren. Didn’t you say he’s in charge? So, he’s a regular person?”
Tian Yi scratched his head. “Uh… Teacher Xu is a regular person. He teaches the first year students and he’s also the only teacher left in the safe zone. That’s why everyone is willing to listen to him. Without him leading us these days, we probably wouldn’t have survived.”
High school students aged sixteen or seventeen naturally had inherent trust and respect for teachers. Tian Yi’s thoughts were understandable.
Zhuang Qingyan didn’t comment and casually tapped the metal wheelchair with his slender finger joints.
“You said he’s the ‘only’ teacher left?”
“Yes, initially, there was Teacher Wang, Teacher Chen, and Vice Principal Li, but they had accidents… so only Teacher Xu remained.”
Zhuang Qingyan smiled very faintly. “Whether he’s a selfless dedicated teacher or a benevolent dictator in disguise, I’m afraid only by peeling away that layer of hypocrisy can one find out.”
His words were somewhat cryptic, and the only two in the audience didn’t quite understand.
Song Ke set down the empty can, burped softly, then opened another can of a different flavor and swallowed large mouthfuls. She was carefree; whether she understood or not, it didn’t affect her focused eating.
After discussing for nearly half an hour, Zhuang Qingyan had a basic understanding of how the safety zone operated.
Tian Yi also received a call from Kongzi Qi in the distance, asking him to quickly collect today’s supplies. Before leaving, he remembered something, “Oh, by the way, you probably don’t know yet. Zhou Anqi awakened as a healing-type ability user.”
Song Ke’s movement of stuffing a peach slice into her mouth suddenly froze. The fruit slipped off the spoon and landed with a soft plop on the ground. She didn’t have time to feel sorry for it as she reflexively turned her head to look at Zhuang Qingyan’s legs.
Zhuang Qingyan supported his chin, sighing softly. “Mm, I got lucky.”
At that time, there were two conditions for their deal: one was to bring him back to the safe zone, and the other was to find a healing-type ability user. To achieve both so quickly, of course, luck was on their side. However, Song Ke didn’t feel happy at all.
Her emotions had changed too obviously, which Zhuang Qingyan noticed. He then recalled her being alone in the corner earlier, and asked with a hint of realization, “You don’t want to ask for her help?”
Song Ke didn’t say anything, and after a long while, she reluctantly nodded, her face showing evident reluctance.
Zhuang Qingyan fell silent and looked down at his own knees.
Perhaps due to losing too much blood, unconsciously, his complexion had become even paler than when they first met. At this moment, he seemed to be standing on the wheel of fate: Song Ke obviously was unwilling. Would she give up this opportunity just like that?
He didn’t know if he could hold on until they found another healing-type ability user. Going alone to find someone of unknown strength? Maybe he could save his own life, but undoubtedly, it would anger this new ally. The prospects were indeed worrying. Zhuang Qingyan needed to make a high-stakes gamble, an all-in bet, and the price was his own life.
Unfortunately, he had always been the most reckless gambler.
However, clever gamblers tend to use some confusing tactics before placing their bets. Opening his mouth again, Zhuang Qingyan’s emotions stabilized, and his voice was gentle, “If you’re unwilling, you don’t have to ask her.”
Song Ke’s moist eyes blinked, and she felt somewhat guilty. “Your… legs.”
Zhuang Qingyan harvested her sympathy without hesitation and said gently, like a gentle breeze, “Don’t worry, they’ve already been bandaged. It’s not that serious.”
Song Ke felt a bit relieved and found him more agreeable than before. After thinking for a moment, she took out a beautifully packaged small cake from her backpack and handed it to him.
“Please, have it.”
“What?”
“Egg… cake.”
“Why cake?” Zhuang Qingyan gestured toward the pile of empty cans on the ground. “I thought you might treat me to canned food.”
“Because… today is my, my birthday.” Song Ke smiled subtly, and the small dimple on her cheek became more pronounced. This was the last piece of cake she had hidden away, and it was the most visually appealing one. There were even pointed strawberries on top. She had been reluctant to eat it, wanting to save it as a reward for herself on her birthday.
Zhuang Qingyan poked the cake with a plastic spoon. The small portion on the very top had oxidized to a pale yellow, indicating it was made of the cheapest vegetable fat cream. It was a type of junk food that he would never have tried in the past, categorized as “garbage district specialties.” However, his expression remained unchanged as he gently scooped up a very small piece and put it in his mouth. His eyes then curved into a smile. “Thank you, it’s delicious.”
“Song Ke, happy birthday.”
Song Ke’s eyes widened slightly.
From the time she could remember, this seemed to be the first time someone other than her grandfather had specifically said “happy birthday” to her. It wasn’t a surplus from Zhang Ci’s birthday at the Yue Mountain Martial Arts School. It was a complete and wholehearted wish for her alone to have a happy birthday.
Song Ke felt somewhat overwhelmed, her fingers tugging at her backpack strap. She hesitantly pushed two unopened cans over to him. “Here, these are for you too.”
Couldn’t get supplies? No problem! She had them! During this time, she could manage that for him.
…
In the early morning, the rain-covered sports field was completely silent.
Song Ke tossed and turned, finding it hard to sleep. She had a nagging feeling that she had forgotten something until a “ding” resounded in her mind. She suddenly remembered she had one remaining chance to ask a question. With only three opportunities a day, she had to be frugal, so how could she waste it?
Swiftly, Song Ke rolled over, feeling around in the darkness and moving towards the side. Zhuang Qingyan was sleeping quietly, his hands neatly resting on his abdomen, and even his breath was light.
Song Ke poked him, but he didn’t respond.
She tugged at his sleeve, only to encounter a damp chill.
Song Ke was taken aback and crouched down to examine him closely. The nighttime lighting wasn’t great, but her night vision was exceptional, allowing her to quickly make out the person before her. Zhuang Qingyan was covered in cold sweat, his face pallid. His jet-black hair hung on his forehead, and he looked extremely unwell. He had been drenched in rain during the day, hadn’t changed his clothes, and spent the night in the cold and wet. Now his wound had deteriorated rapidly, and he had lost consciousness.
Song Ke rolled up his pant leg, and the white bandage was stained with a large patch of glaring red, like vividly blooming nirvana flowers. She gently pressed on the broken leg, and the fragmented bones were like mush, devoid of any support, completely contradicting what he had said about it not being “that serious.” The injury was even worse than she had imagined.
“Zhuang… Qingyan, Zhuang Qingyan!” Song Ke urgently called his name while tapping his face.
She applied a bit too much force, accidentally knocking his head askew. His handsome face had lost its vitality and slowly tilted to the side.
This can’t be… Song Ke was startled, quickly supporting his head. Pressing her ear to his chest, she was relieved to hear a faint heartbeat.
Song Ke anxiously picked at her fingers, wondering what to do. Regardless of his words, he probably wouldn’t make it through the night. But to save him, the only option now…
She raised her gaze and looked in another direction. It was pitch black there, with faint signs of vitality shimmering.
Go ask that person? Even if they were willing, getting them to act wouldn’t be that easy. What bargaining chips did she have to exchange? And what kind of price would she need to pay?
A voice deep within her kept urging her: Give up, don’t bother. After all, they had only known each other for less than a day. Leaving him behind wouldn’t matter much. There must be more than one person who knew the truth about the apocalypse. She could always go outside and capture another researcher.
Forget it, forget it…
But for some reason, Zhuang Qingyan’s voice kept flashing in her mind. He had said to her, “Song Ke, happy birthday.”
Song Ke closed her eyes and when she opened them again, she stood up with a swish. She picked up Zhuang Qingyan and placed him in the wheelchair.
