Chapter 20.1 – Rainy Night in Hua City (12)
◎Kongzi Qi shivered uncontrollably◎
Song Ke sat on the ground, cleaning her spear.
Her spiritual weapon umbrella, previously used to ward off the insect tide, had been left outside the door. Moreover, the iron umbrella itself was too bulky to have an advantage against these small creatures. So, she transformed it into a pitch-black spear about one to two meters long. She meticulously wiped the spearhead.
“Sorry, I should have taken you away earlier in the morning.”
Zhuang Qingyan shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. With this many in number, we would sooner or later encounter them if we went out.”
His gaze drifted into the distance, and he continued, “This safe zone won’t hold for much longer. Be cautious tonight.”
“What you just…”
“Hmm? What’s wrong?”
Song Ke’s spear-cleaning motion paused briefly as she swallowed the rest of her sentence.
Looking up, she saw Zhuang Qingyan still smiling, seemingly oblivious to the recent incident that had sparked anger.
She had come to realize that this person had a remarkable ability to infuriate others without even flinching. A casual sentence from him could make over a hundred people in the safe zone want to pull out their weapons and attack him.
If she hadn’t decisively intervened and pushed him away, someone might have lost their patience and attacked him.
Troublesome, really troublesome.
Song Ke sighed inwardly and didn’t pursue the topic. Instead, she silently raised four fingers.
Zhuang Qingyan looked puzzled. “What does that mean?”
Song Ke explained, “Yesterday, I asked one less question, so today, I can ask up to four.”
Zhuang Qingyan was taken aback for a moment and then realized the situation, finding it somewhat amusing.
His proposal of three questions per day as an exchange condition was a temporary measure. Before understanding Song Ke’s character, he had left himself some leeway. However, after the events of last night, the two had shared some candid moments. He thought that, based on the understanding that adults had, this unreasonable condition would naturally be nullified.
It was just a matter of answering a few extra questions, and he wouldn’t lose much.
He didn’t expect the child to be so serious about it, actually counting on her fingers. Zhuang Qingyan didn’t need to imagine; he could already picture it. He was about to admit that the restriction was lifted starting from today, but then he changed his mind. Continuing to tease her was quite enjoyable.
Suppressing his amusement, Zhuang Qingyan said, “Right, it’s four questions. You got it right.”
Song Ke felt satisfied.
Little did she know that this guy was quite mischievous. She even thought that she didn’t suffer this time and became smarter!
And she certainly didn’t know that some people with no moral boundaries would even deceive a child.
Drawing a bit closer, Song Ke asked seriously, “Are the cockroach mutations related to the apocalypse?”
“They are,” Zhuang Qingyan nodded. “What you want to ask is probably the truth about the apocalypse, as well as how the supernatural abilities and zombies actually originated.”
Song Ke nodded eagerly; these were her biggest questions.
Zhuang Qingyan playfully teased her with a hint of distress, “Well, that’s kind of two questions already…”
“?”
Song Ke looked baffled.
Song Ke gritted her teeth.
Song Ke raised her spear.
Zhuang Qingyan coughed lightly and decided to back off, “Uh, calm down a bit. Put the spear down, and I’ll talk, I’ll talk.
“Contrary to what many people believe, this apocalypse wasn’t caused by a virus.
“It was caused by radiation.”
Zhuang Qingyan’s expression finally turned serious. “Have you ever thought about why the mutation of zombies is so rapid? Why in different places, some people awaken superpowers simultaneously… Because in this apocalypse, there’s no fundamental pathogenic strain or so-called transmission chain. Every one of us is exposed to the air, and the real culprit is radiation.
“Due to frequent solar wind outbursts, the current radiation dose has exceeded five times the normal value. The Earth’s strong magnetic field has become chaotic and cannot withstand the sudden increase in radiation impact. High-speed particles and cosmic rays freely penetrate the surface and the air. The continuous radiation energy integrates into the cells of the human body, leading to genetic mutations. In this scenario, some people successfully ‘evolve,’ upgrading to superhumans with explosively enhanced abilities. Others can’t endure the excessive radiation, leading to rapid cell decay and the transformation into zombies. However, more people maintain a delicate and fragile balance, becoming ‘ordinary individuals’ in between.
“People can mutate into zombies, and naturally, animals can too. Moreover, animals that turn into zombies often possess stronger aggressiveness,” Zhuang Qingyan’s gaze inexplicably turned colder, “The Alliance has done plenty of behind-the-scenes animal experiments. Whether events like today’s large-scale insect tide are due to fate or human manipulation… it’s hard to say.”
Zombies lack consciousness, and logically, zombie cockroaches should too. Song Ke recalled the bizarre bird she had seen in the martial arts hall. She vaguely felt there was a difference. That bird… didn’t seem to have strong attacking tendencies?
Perhaps she got lucky? The big bird was already full? It didn’t care about her, this little sprout?
Song Ke shook her head to dismiss these baseless speculations and continued, “If someone is bitten by a zombie, will they turn into one?”
“Based on the outcome, the answer to that question is ‘yes.'”
Song Ke was puzzled. “What do you mean?”
Zhuang Qingyan explained, “I just mentioned that the cause of the apocalypse is radiation. So, when someone is bitten by a zombie, it’s like undergoing radiation bombardment once again. However, this time, it’s radiation that’s already ‘contaminated.’ Most people can’t withstand this impact. Their internal magnetic fields go haywire, and they transform into zombies.”
“Most people?” Song Ke keenly grasped the focus. Did that mean there was a chance of survival?
“Since it’s a magnetic field imbalance, there’s naturally an extremely slim probability of awakening passively, evolving into superhumans.”
Song Ke pinched her palm, feeling its dampness. Unconsciously, her hand was sweating.
She pursed her lips. “What if the one bitten is a superhuman?”
Zhuang Qingyan squinted. “What, were you bitten?”
The hair on the back of Song Ke’s neck stood up like lightning. “I-I wasn’t bitten, no!”
Zhuang Qingyan couldn’t be easily fooled. Song Ke felt incredibly guilty. To prove herself, she hastily extended her arm for him to inspect. The bandages on her arm were already removed, leaving a bare and unscarred surface.
Not to mention her arm, the wounds on her back, abdomen, and lower waist had all disappeared. It had only been a short week since the battle at the martial arts hall, yet her body’s healing ability was so fast that she couldn’t believe it herself.
Zhuang Qingyan lowered his gaze, his inquiring eyes seeming to penetrate her.
Song Ke had just been caught in the rain. She had taken off her coat and was only wearing a thin T-shirt and knee-length shorts.
Zhuang Qingyan’s gaze swept from her delicate neck and wrists, all the way down to her ankles. The girl had shoulder-length damp hair, gleaming eyes that looked like a startled small animal, nervously shifting around. There was gauze on her cheeks. With her slender arms and legs, merely judging from her appearance, she could be categorized as “completely harmless.”
“If superhumans mutate into zombies, the consequences are unimaginable. Therefore, if discovered, even if there’s a one in a million chance of self-recovery, they have only one fate.”
“What… is it?”
“Execution.”
A cold, cynical smile played on Zhuang Qingyan’s lips. “The Alliance can accept sacrifices, but it absolutely won’t allow the existence of superhuman zombies.”
Song Ke pressed her lips tightly, a chill running down her spine.
*
Tonight, no one could fall asleep. In an effort to conserve power, only a few flashlights were lit within the vast safe zone. Accompanied by the ferocious winds and torrential rain outside, survivors lay wide-eyed, huddled together, trembling.
Xu Liren convened an emergency meeting, and attendees presented two different opinions, leading to a swift dispute.
“Let’s charge out!”
“Have you gone mad? There are not only zombies outside, but also tens of thousands… maybe even more roaches! Are you trying to get killed?”
“If we don’t charge out, staying here is a death sentence!”
The radical faction led by Jiang Rui and Zhang Hao believed that they should take advantage of the situation before it further deteriorated and break out.
Not far from the safe zone was the parking lot of the No.1 Middle School. Zhang Hao had observed that there were several buses there. They could safely drive out. However, the risk of this plan was extremely high because even the nearest route required passing through two dormitory buildings. In other words, they would have to traverse through thousands of zombies, running about 100 meters.
On the other hand, some people held conservative opinions, like Liu Zixuan, who believed that staying within the safe zone was the wise choice.
The outer wall of this enclosed stadium was made of the Alliance’s latest materials, rendering it an impregnable fortress. By guarding the two large gates on the east and west sides, those inside would be safe. They could wait for the rain to stop and the insect tide to recede before figuring out their next move. But when would the rain stop? Would the insect tide really recede? Liu Zixuan had no certainty.
