Chapter 27 – Rainy Night in Hua City (19)
◎Your father is dead◎
“Xu Xing wanted you to accompany him to find someone?”
“Yeah.”
“You agreed?”
Song Ke nodded, she had no resistance to the soft and gentle human cub. When Xu Xing cried, she surrendered.
“With so many people in Azure Phoenix, Xu Xing didn’t go to them for help, but came to you?”
“I, I don’t know, maybe, he’s, timid?”
Thinking about Wu Juemin’s stern expression, it was indeed quite intimidating.
Zhuang Qingyan emitted a soft hum from his nose, as if Song Ke were a foolish ruler bewitched by a femme fatale.
“Timid? Didn’t you say his father was a smuggler? A sly and cunning merchant can raise an innocent son?”
“Have you heard an old saying from the ancient civilization? A mouse’s son can make holes.”
“?”
“Don’t understand?”
“You don’t even understand this, and you dare to believe strangers so easily?”
Song Ke gazed at him with pure and clear eyes, murmuring softly, “I also, believe in you.”
When we first met, weren’t we strangers too? You even lied to me that you were a pharmaceutical researcher!
Zhuang Qingyan’s movement paused, evidently that example was quite a failure.
“Aren’t you afraid he’ll deceive you? That child is an ice-type ability user of unknown level.”
“Not afraid.”
What’s there to deceive her about? She doesn’t have money, and she’s not as knowledgeable as Zhuang Qingyan. Apart from knowing how to fight a little bit, oh no, she’s especially good at fighting. Anyone who wants to deceive her needs to think twice.
The long spear in Song Ke’s hand spun into a beautiful floral pattern, “Whoever deceives me, I’ll, I’ll beat them!”
Truly straightforward and brutal… way of thinking.
Zhuang Qingyan choked.
“…As you wish.”
Song Ke zipped up her backpack, turned to him and asked, “Are you going?”
Zhuang Qingyan was reading her old light screen, not even looking up as he coldly refused, “Not going.”
Song Ke stared at his profile for a few seconds, feeling that he seemed somewhat unhappy. It wasn’t like the time at the safe zone when he insisted on escorting her to the entrance and said those mushy words. Song Ke felt a bit melancholic for no reason. But then again, she hadn’t done anything wrong, so why feel guilty? In the end, it’s all Zhuang Qingyan’s fault!
After several days of effort by Wu Juemin and the others, the roads around Hua City had mostly been cleared, and even the number of zombies had sharply decreased. Song Ke had gone out twice in the past few days, disappearing for a while without drawing too much attention. If she walked a bit faster, she could go and return before nightfall.
Amid the ruins of steel and concrete, Song Ke moved swiftly, occasionally stopping to ask, “Are you tired?”
Xu Xing was chasing her, his little face flushed, panting heavily, yet he managed to keep up, “Sister, I’m not tired.”
Almost forgot, he’s also an awakener, and an ice-type with strong offensive abilities.
Song Ke always saw him as a harmless kid, but in reality, Xu Xing’s physical qualities had already surpassed those of an average adult man.
[Hua City Suburban Area, Food Factory.]
The guard post two kilometers away had collapsed and been abandoned. The 500-square-meter warehouse stood silently.
Song Ke had a bad feeling. She whispered to Xu Xing, “Wait here, I’ll go over and take a look first.”
Xu Xing gripped the straps of his backpack and nodded obediently.
Like a nimble deer, Song Ke lightly stepped along the wall, smoothly climbed onto the roof, and looked inside through a skylight. The interior of the warehouse resembled a garbage disposal site, with rotten food covering the floor. A sea of people could be seen, all zombies!
Song Ke searched for Xu Weiguo’s figure but distinguishing individuals in the crowd of zombies, pressed shoulder to shoulder, was quite challenging.
A slight movement came from behind. Song Ke turned around, only to find that Xu Xing had also climbed up without her noticing.
She raised a finger to signal him to be silent. Xu Xing immediately understood and covered his mouth with his small hand. His gaze shifted around, and when he saw the huge number of zombies inside, his eyes widened in shock.
Fortunately, Xu Xing was just scared; he didn’t scream. He wiped the foggy skylight glass with his sleeve and joined Song Ke in searching for Xu Weiguo. After a while, Xu Xing pointed to a figure in the distance and excitedly whispered, “Daddy!”
“It’s Daddy! That’s my dad!”
Following his direction, Song Ke saw a man with a shiny golden belt around his waist. No wonder Xu Xing could recognize him at a glance. However, the man’s body had swelled up several times, not resembling a normal person.
Sure enough, when Xu Weiguo turned around, his irises were grayish-white, his face twisted, showing clear signs of being a zombie.
Xu Xing’s “Daddy—” was abruptly cut off in his throat.
Perhaps because he was overwhelmed with fear, he sobbed while hiccuping uncontrollably.
The temperature around them seemed to drop; Song Ke felt the chill on her head. She touched it and realized that raindrops had turned into snowflakes, falling gently. She instantly remembered the tragedy at the dock that day. No, big brother, please don’t unleash your supernatural powers again, okay?
“I’m sorry, sister, I, I can’t control it.”
Xu Xing also realized that his supernatural powers were leaking out. Nervous and disordered, his efforts to suppress it proved futile. Snow and ice spun through the air, the temperature plummeted, and Song Ke shivered.
“Hey, you…” She was about to remind Xu Xing to calm down and not attract the zombies.
Too late.
The rapid drop in temperature caused the fragile skylight to crack open, and a piece of shattered glass fell with a crisp sound. All the zombies in the warehouse looked up at the ceiling, their thousands of white eyes fixated on the falling shard. It was hair-raising.
Song Ke sighed inwardly.
“Hide here, protect yourself.” She didn’t forget to remind Xu Xing.
“Thud—”
With a loud noise, Song Ke jumped into the warehouse from the skylight, one hand supporting her weight while the other held a spear. Her landing was clean and stylish.
She slowly lifted her head. Although it was a bit troublesome, for her, dealing with these zombies was just a matter of time.
The freezing tip of the spear aimed at the enemy, and the zombies charged at her frantically. The situation was about to erupt—
Suddenly! Countless ice blades descended from the sky, like a gust of wind sweeping fallen leaves, raging and dancing wildly. There was no rhyme or reason; they pierced through the zombies upon contact.
This kind of wide-ranging group-damaging ability, combined with the advantage of being in a confined space, left the zombies with no escape route. They were completely caught in a trap, and in no time, their bodies were pierced with ice blades. They died thoroughly, leaving only a few wandering aimlessly.
Song Ke maintained her spear posture, staring in amazement.
She turned back and looked through the bowl-sized hole. She saw Xu Xing near the skylight, sobbing and breathless, “I’m sorry! I also… I also don’t know what’s happening!”
Song Ke: “…”
…
On the way back, Xu Xing’s mood was unusually low.
In the end, Xu Weiguo stayed in the food factory. After Song Ke dealt with the other zombies, she asked Xu Xing what to do next.
His eyes were red, and he said, “Sister, can you not kill my dad? Just let him, let him stay here.”
Let him stay? But Xu Weiguo had already turned into a zombie and couldn’t revert to being human.
Xu Xing looked very sad, but Song Ke had no parents, and her emotions in this regard were always dull. She couldn’t empathize with him. Well, perhaps if Zhuang Qingyan were here, he could explain it to her.
In the end, she agreed to Xu Xing’s request and locked up the food factory with an iron chain.
The two hurried back to the base ahead of Wu Juemin and the others. Xu Xing wiped his tears and thanked Song Ke, “Sister, thank you for taking me to find my dad. I’m sorry, I know I’m useless…”
“It’s okay,” Song Ke asked him, “Is your ability, okay?”
Xu Xing lowered his head in frustration, “When I’m emotionally excited, I can’t control my ability properly. Uncle An said it’s because my focus is too scattered, but I will definitely correct it in the future! I won’t cause trouble for you guys!”
Song Ke awkwardly replied, “Okay, okay.”
From a certain perspective, Xu Xing releasing his powerful ability without regard for the situation was indeed troublesome. For example, just now, due to being too shocked, she accidentally sat down too hard, and now her tailbone was still slightly painful.
…
After leaving the room, Xu Xing stopped crying. He walked around the corner, his hands in the pockets of his hoodie, bouncing as he walked.
At the end of the corridor stood a silver-white wheelchair, with a tall man leaning against it, lazily posed. His superior side profile had a pleasing charm in the misty drizzle.
Xu Xing pursed his lips, his face showing a shy and bashful smile. “Uncle Zhuang.”
Zhuang Qingyan turned his head. “It’s you.”
“Uncle Zhuang, what are you doing here?”
“Waiting for you.”
“Waiting for me? Do you have something to tell me?”
Xu Xing tilted his head, looking adorably curious.
Zhuang Qingyan adjusted the wheelchair’s direction and faced Xu Xing.
Though the child’s face still feigned innocence and curiosity, the corners of his eyes darted around, clearly indicating that his mind was elsewhere.
“Kid, you knew all along, right?”
“Knew what?”
“Your dad’s dead.”
Although these words sounded like an insult, Zhuang Qingyan calmly stated the facts.
“Didn’t hear clearly? Let me say it again: your dad is dead.”
Xu Xing froze, his small face immediately fell, his reddened eyes locked onto Zhuang Qingyan.
Zhuang Qingyan chuckled. “With the chaos in Hua City, Wu Juemin couldn’t have been unaware. He must have sent people to the food factory long ago to check it out and told you there’s no need to go find your dad again, right?”
“Why? Are you that unwilling to give up? Insisting on finding someone to confirm it with you?”
Xu Xing’s hand emerged from his pocket and hung at his sides. He murmured softly, as if complaining like a dissatisfied child, “Uncle Zhuang, you really love meddling in other people’s business.”
A sharp ice blade appeared, accompanied by a bone-chilling cold, flying straight towards Zhuang Qingyan’s right leg through the gap in the wheelchair.
Zhuang Qingyan smirked.
Children, they can’t control their tempers.
A second before the ice blade hit Zhuang Qingyan, an invisible force lifted Xu Xing off the ground!
His hoodie was caught on a beam, and his entire body plummeted uncontrollably, but his head got stuck in the collar. He resembled a little chick with its wings tied, only supported by that bit of force.
“Let me go! Put me down! You jerk!”
Xu Xing finally panicked. He flailed his limbs desperately, gnashing his teeth and brandishing his claws like an angry little lion.
The innocence and purity on his face disappeared, replaced by gnashing of teeth and irritability.
This person, this person who’s wheelchair-bound, turned out to be an awakener!
How infuriating! How infuriating!!! He’s so mad!!!
Zhuang Qingyan admired his predicament, earnestly advising, “Kids need to learn to be self-reliant and not always rely on others.”
“Especially on other people’s thigh.”
**TN
Dragon born dragon, chicken born chicken, mouse’s son can make hole. – Like father, like son.
