Chapter 17.2 – Rainy Night in Hua City (9)
◎Get out of here◎
Hasty and disordered footsteps, the intense friction of the wheelchair against the ground—this commotion woke up a large group of people who were sound asleep.
“Who’s making noise in the middle of the night?!”
“Is something wrong? Did zombies break in?”
“Who? Who broke in?!”
Flashlights flickered, and a group of people at the center of the safe zone sat up warily.
Pushing Zhuang Qingyan in the wheelchair, Song Ke stopped right in front of Zhou Anqi. “Save him.”
Zhou Anqi, still half-asleep, was first startled by the pale complexion of the person in the wheelchair. After hearing what Song Ke said, she incredulously lifted her head. “Are you out of your mind?”
“You’re a healing-type ability user. Please, please save him.”
“Why should I? I won’t save him!”
It seemed that the tables had turned. Fate had its way of circling back, and unexpectedly, there came a day when Song Ke had to beg Zhou Anqi. Zhou Anqi didn’t even have time to set off firecrackers in her heart to celebrate, and she was still counting on her to save people? It was utterly outrageous!
With folded arms and a condescending stance, she glared fiercely at Song Ke. Mockingly, she said, “I’ve said it before, you’re a star of disaster. Whoever comes into contact with you will be unlucky. It serves them right to die. Let’s see who you can deceive from now on!”
Zhou Anqi’s eyes were filled with resentment and malice. Song Ke knew that continuing to talk to her was futile. She pushed the wheelchair in a different direction, turning toward the person who could actually make the decision: “Save him.”
Xu Liren stood in the center of the inner circle, wearing a coat, half his face obscured in the darkness, silent and still.
Song Ke had considered that Xu Liren wouldn’t agree unconditionally. She raised her eyes and surveyed the faces in the darkness. One by one, they looked panicked and bewildered, looking helplessly at the confrontation. This included Tian Yi, Lin Xia, Kongzi Qi, and others, their hushed whispers filling the air:
“Why did this person faint? His complexion looks terrible…”
“Can Zhou Anqi’s temper improve? She should just help out a bit.”
“Um, Song Ke, are you okay?” Tian Yi looked at her with concern.
Song Ke roughly counted the heads. The survivors in the safe zone were decreasing continuously, and now there were just over a hundred left. Just over a hundred ordinary students, unarmed, facing the zombies outside—it was no different from sending them to their deaths.
She roughly estimated her mental strength, clenched her fist, and played her negotiation card.
In the chaotic night, Song Ke’s right hand swiftly slid over the back of the wheelchair and then opened her palm. A mountain-cutting knife emitting a faint blue light quietly appeared, its blade jagged and sharp, exuding a piercing aura.
“One hundred weapons, exchange for his life,” she said.
The flickering blue light illuminated the astonished faces of the people nearby, quickly causing a commotion.
“Wow! Unbelievable! One hundred weapons?”
“How did that knife just appear? Did anyone see it clearly?”
“Am I dreaming? I must not be awake… Someone pinch me!”
“Song Ke? This knife… How did you…” Round-faced girl Lin Xia exclaimed in shock, nearly losing her ability to speak.
“Supernatural powers,” Song Ke responded slowly, enunciating clearly.
The surrounding noise quieted for a moment.
“So, you’re not a power-type awakener at all!” A boy who had been healed by Zhou Anqi pointed at her and shouted, “When we went out earlier, that huge hammer you used to break the door, and the strange iron umbrella from before, you made them with your supernatural power!”
“Made with your supernatural power!”
“You’ve been lying to us all along!”
“It’s not really lying, Song Ke never admitted she was a power-type. We all just guessed…” Tian Yi weakly defended her.
The sudden appearance of powerful weapons out of thin air, combined with Song Ke’s proposal, left everyone in the safe zone dumbfounded. One hundred weapons was a grand offer, almost enough for each of them to have one, fully arming their group of a hundred.
People were uncertain, whispering and discussing among themselves.
Taking advantage of the distraction, Cao Yiyi’s expression shifted slightly. She leaned in and said something to Zhou Anqi.
Xu Liren took the spiritual weapon mountain-cutting knife from Song Ke’s hand. After observing it for a moment, he suddenly, without any warning, swung at a nearby volleyball pole. “Crack!” The sturdy steel pole snapped, and the volleyball net fell to the ground.
He weighed the handle of the knife, his expression no longer calm. He suddenly looked up at Song Ke.
“Weapons of equal quality, are you sure you can provide a hundred?” he inquired.
“I can.”
“When can the delivery be made?”
“Within half an hour.”
Exchanging spiritual weapons for Zhuang Qingyan’s life was the only valuable bargaining chip Song Ke could think of. Through her observations over the past few days, she realized that the safe zone’s most pressing need wasn’t food, but weapons. With weapons, the teams going outside for exploration could expand in numbers and deal with emergencies. After all, the situation in the apocalypse changed rapidly. Hua City No.1 Middle School was surrounded by zombies from all sides, and it could only serve as a temporary buffer zone. How long the safe zone could truly remain “safe” was uncertain; no one could guarantee that.
Xu Liren adjusted his glasses and seemed shaken. However, he neither directly agreed nor disagreed. He appeared to be waiting for something.
“I don’t agree. Why should I save him?” Zhou Anqi, who had been ignored for a while, suddenly interjected, complaining discontentedly.
Xu Liren gave her a faint glance, his eyes behind the lenses devoid of warmth, “Why don’t you agree?”
“It’s my own ability; I have the right to decide!” Zhou Anqi said, her voice faltering for a moment, her gaze suddenly distant, as if a momentary sense of familiarity and fear enveloped her. Her voice grew quieter, her teeth chattered, yet she continued to insist defiantly, straining her neck, “You can ask me to save him, but I have a condition.”
In the dim light, Xu Liren’s tone took on a deliberate inducement. “You’re right. So, what’s your condition?”
Everyone’s gaze focused on her. Zhou Anqi’s fear diminished, and her courage gradually grew. “I dislike Song Ke. If you want me to save him, she has to kneel down and kowtow to me twice, crying and begging for forgiveness. Then she can get out of here!”
Cao Yiyi closed her eyes, her nails digging deep into her palm. Idiot! This idiot! She had made everything so clear to her. The immediate priority was to get Song Ke out of the safe zone, yet here she was adding unnecessary drama!
“Zhou Anqi!” Jiang Rui’s stern voice interrupted her. “It’s already this late. Can’t you stop acting crazy?”
“This is going too far. Song Ke is an awakener,” Zhang Hao said with a serious expression.
“What’s the big deal about being an awakener? I’m a healing-type ability user. She can only produce some worthless junk. Is she more important than me? If you’re not happy with this, why don’t you go save him? Don’t come begging me!”
Xu Liren remained silent. He looked at Song Ke, then turned his gaze to the unconscious man in the wheelchair, lost in thought.
An unruly piece on the chessboard, a disabled pawn whose potential was uncertain—how much benefit did they still bring him at this point? Zhou Anqi’s demand seemed unreasonable and overbearing, but upon closer inspection, it might not be a bad choice.
“Zhou Anqi, that’s enough. It’s unacceptable to degrade a fellow student,” Xu Liren advised, his words neither harsh nor gentle. His true intentions were even harder to decipher. He seemed to be giving the decision-making power to Zhou Anqi?
With the reins of power firmly in her grasp, Zhou Anqi had no understanding of the concept of stopping while ahead. She looked smugly at Song Ke, a cruel innocence in her beautiful face. “How about it? Either watch him die or obediently kowtow to me and then get out of here!”
In the tense atmosphere, Jiang Rui suddenly spoke in a calm tone, “If Song Ke has to leave, I’ll go with her.”
“Brother Jiang! Don’t act recklessly!”
“Jiang Rui, why are you joining in this madness?”
One stone caused a thousand ripples.
Song Ke leaving and Jiang Rui leaving carried two completely different meanings. Song Ke, the lone wolf who kept to herself most of the time, hadn’t been around for long, so even if she left, nobody would care too much. But Jiang Rui was different. He was a pillar in the safe zone, strong in power and popular among the people. His departure would undoubtedly shake the morale, especially considering that losing two awakeners in one fell swoop, especially one of Jiang Rui’s caliber, would be a heavy blow to the entire safe zone.
Zhou Anqi was so furious that her eyes turned red. She screamed hysterically, “Jiang Rui, you’re like this again! You’re like this again!”
Seeing that the situation was about to get out of control, Xu Liren stared at Jiang Rui for two seconds before pulling him aside. “I’ll give you some time. Calm down. There’s always room for negotiation in everything. Don’t be so impulsive.”
Behind them, Zhou Anqi began screaming and smashing things, and everyone else avoided her like the plague. Amid the hesitant gazes of people like Zhang Hao and others, Jiang Rui returned to his spot and began packing his bag. Suddenly, a slender palm stopped his movements.
“Why?” Song Ke asked.
“You don’t need to worry. I’m doing this willingly,” Jiang Rui replied.
“Why… willingly?” Song Ke’s gaze was clear, pure curiosity in her eyes, wondering why he had made this decision.
Jiang Rui looked into her eyes, his lips moved, and after mustering the courage, he finally said, “Song Ke, I made a mistake before. I apologize to you. There’s something I didn’t have a chance to tell you back then… Actually, I… I like…”
“No need for this.” Song Ke withdrew her hand, her brows lightly furrowed.
“No need to, to apologize. The past is in the past.”
Those embarrassing experiences that had once made her uncomfortable, she had come to accept. While she wouldn’t reconcile with Zhou Anqi and the others, she didn’t need Jiang Rui’s compensation or apology. Besides, she already had Zhuang Qingyan as a complication. She wasn’t suitable to carry another burden.
“I understand,” she reiterated, “there’s no need for this.”
As expected… he was rejected.
Jiang Rui lowered his head, looking at the hand she had pulled away, and couldn’t help but smile wryly. “You don’t know, you’ve never known.”
You don’t know about that summer, when the shade covered the sun and a boy had once had feelings for you. He struggled to say the words “I like you,” and because of every wrong choice he made, he ended up growing distant from you, unable to get any closer.
Squatting in front of him, Song Ke tilted her head, looked at him for a couple of seconds, and suddenly realized. She patted his shoulder, “Don’t worry, I’m, I’m strong.”
She stood up, her thin shoulder blades stretching as she moved. She walked to the front, past Zhou Anqi and the others.
Zhou Anqi clenched her teeth, her expression as if she wanted to devour Song Ke. “Song Ke, are you satisfied now? Aren’t you pleased? Let me tell you, I won’t help you save him even if I die. I want all of you to go die–”
A faint blue light pierced through the darkness, brushing against the edge of Zhou Anqi’s hair, slicing through her falling bangs.
“Clang!” The platform behind Zhou Anqi split in two, exploding with a resounding noise, debris filling the air.
“Save him. I’ll leave, leave this place.”
Song Ke maintained her stance with the blade. The throwing knife circled the area once before firmly returning to her palm.
Zhou Anqi’s pupils shrank in fear. Her legs shook, and she collapsed to the ground, too terrified to utter a word.
Her master had once said that when reasoning failed, one had to rely on fists to determine the outcome.
Well, it seemed like it worked quite well.
Song Ke felt reassured.
