Chapter 28.2 – Rainy Night in Hua City (20)
◎ It was better to say goodbye (End of Hua City Arc) ◎
If Jiang Rui could have foreseen how things would develop, he would definitely not have chosen to enter the formation.
The descent of Hua City’s Bagua Formation was filled with extreme chaos from beginning to end.
[Day One]
The landmark mall at the heart of Hua City had eleven floors, with an atrium in the center and rows of shops and restaurants on either side. The crucial control center was located on the lower level, separate from the main structure. As one ascended, the available living space grew larger.
When the gangway entrance closed, all the survivors fought over territory, engaging in physical altercations. Jiang Rui and his group managed to secure a small shop, mostly due to the intimidating presence of his supernatural ability. If Jiang Rui hadn’t been there, they might not even have been able to hold onto this tiny space.
“I’m so stupid, how could I be this stupid…”
Zhang Qi’s death had a significant impact on Zhou Anqi. She had lost her former vigor and spent her days crying.
“Jiang Rui, whether you believe it or not, three years ago, I really didn’t initiate bullying Song Ke,” Zhou Anqi’s eyes were red, as she revealed the truth behind that massive brawl, “It was Cao Yiyi who kept telling me. She said she was pretending and deliberately leading you on ambiguously. My mind got clouded, and I just wanted to teach her a lesson. Putting dead mice in her bag, tossing her uniform, test papers, and even splashing her with food – all of those ideas came from Cao Yiyi.”
“Even your intimate photos were sent to me by her. I always thought of her as a friend…” Zhou Anqi’s regret was overwhelming, and she covered her face and sobbed. Although she was domineering and spoiled, she never intended to harm her classmates. She really hadn’t expected Cao Yiyi to be so heartless.
“She told you to do something, and you just did it? You really are an obedient tool, pointing wherever she tells you to strike.” A surviving person who was still alive couldn’t bear it, and he mocked with a cold gaze.
“Now you regret it? Who knows if you’re just pretending,” even the usually easygoing Tian Yi couldn’t help but feel upset for Song Ke, “You! You’re just shifting blame!”
Cao Yiyi’s betrayal filled them with a deep hatred. At the mention of her, each of them wished they could devour her flesh.
“Bullying? Wasn’t it just a little disagreement…”
Jiang Rui suddenly halted, a realization striking him, “a little disagreement” was also a term Cao Yiyi had used.
“…”
So that’s how it was.
So he had been kept in the dark all this time. So he was just as foolish as Zhou Anqi, an utter idiot.
Back when Jiang Rui’s brow bone was injured, he had felt a bit resentful towards Song Ke. He resented her for being so reckless, for not understanding the gravity of her actions. So when the school wanted to hold her accountable, he had asked his family to intervene and smooth things over. But soon after, he learned from Cao Yiyi that Song Ke had been expelled. After that, he felt disheartened and didn’t bother seeking the truth. He even didn’t contact her out of frustration.
Because of one sentence from Song Ke, he had held onto that grudge for so long.
In your eyes, am I the same as everyone else? So you can just attack me mercilessly.
Jiang Rui closed his eyes and sighed bitterly. He thought about Song Ke, who had stayed outside to save them. Now it was all too late.
[Day Three]
The conflicts were still intensifying.
Within a mere half-day, waves of disputes erupted on the third, seventh, and ninth floors. Wherever people were present, conflicts arose. In such a confined and stifling space, even the tiniest matters could be amplified into explosive triggers. The survivors pushed and shoved, and verbal disagreements quickly escalated into physical conflicts.
The piercing screams reached Jiang Rui and the others on the eighth floor, and they learned some bad news—a person had mutated into a zombie.
[Day Four]
Chaos, chaos, chaos.
No one knew why zombies had infiltrated, only that impending doom was unavoidable. The number of mutants increased, and the situation worsened. Zhang Hao and his group locked the doors of their shop and guarded the entrance to prevent anyone from forcing their way in.
[Day Five]
Even worse news: the staff responsible for distributing supplies had died.
They had been murdered, and the stored supplies had been looted. Those items that were difficult to preserve or carry were trampled underfoot and crushed into pieces. The previously designated safe zone had turned into an absurd killing hell.
[Day Seven]
Zombies continued to multiply.
Tian Yi unexpectedly discovered traces of Xu Liren, or rather, he discovered the “Zombie Xu Liren.”
At that time, he had already told Jiang Rui and the others about Xu Liren’s actions. Cao Yiyi’s betrayal had numbed everyone, but even so, upon learning that their respected teacher had turned out to be a heartless villain, Zhang Hao and the others punched the wall in anger.
“Xu Liren” blended in with a group of zombies, its head twitching neurotically. It slowly passed by the shop, and when it turned around, Tian Yi noticed a festering wound on its shoulder—a clear bite mark.
Tian Yi thought of those classmates he had pushed out to their deaths, he thought of Kongzi Qi, his best friend.
Tears streamed down his face, and he silently muttered, “Serves him right! They bit him well!”
[Day Eight]
Jiang Rui and the others finally broke through to the first floor, following the route provided by Kongzi Qi to find the “secret door.” However, the situation did not go smoothly. The secret door required both a password and biometric recognition. The personnel within the formation had mostly been injured or killed, and the rest were nowhere to be found.
[Day Ten]
No one expected that they would encounter Cao Yiyi again.
Those who abandoned their companions would eventually be abandoned by them.
Cao Yiyi wasn’t faring well inside. Her petty schemes were utterly useless in the face of complete madness.
When Jiang Rui and the others found her, her hair was disheveled, her clothes were torn, and she was being held down by a few repugnant-looking men. As soon as she saw them, her eyes lit up, and she struggled with all her might to break free from their grasp and crawled over laboriously.
“Jiang Rui, Anqi, save me! Save me!”
The group stopped in their tracks, looking at her with indifference.
About four or five men stared at them with unease, especially at the fire whip in Jiang Rui’s hand. They hesitated to make a move.
Cao Yiyi didn’t receive the rescue she hoped for. The light in her eyes gradually faded, and she hysterically shouted, “We’re companions! How can you do this! How can you stand by and watch someone die!”
—Then she was dragged away.
“You won’t die well!”
“I won’t spare you! Jiang Rui, Zhou Anqi, all of you deserve to die!”
The curses from behind were incessant and increasingly venomous.
“What… will happen to her?”
Lin Xia averted her gaze, tightly holding Zhou Anqi’s hand. If she didn’t hold her back, Zhou Anqi might have lunged to tear Cao Yiyi’s mouth apart.
“The person who was pulling her has bite marks on his leg,” Zhang Hao said.
Everyone fell silent.
[Day Thirteen]
Jiang Rui attempted once again to break through the secret door, to no avail.
On their way back to the eighth floor, they unexpectedly rescued a clerk from the Hua City Hall who was besieged by zombies. He was emaciated and on the brink of death. Tian Yi gave him water and food, barely keeping him conscious.
In the evening, the man finally woke up. They learned from him that he had been the designer of the Bagua Formation project, responsible for the entire structure of the formation.
“…The Bagua Formation is the best shelter in Hua City, the best!”
“Why? Why can it withstand natural disasters but not human nature?”
“…I don’t want to die here.”
“…This place is already hell.”
The clerk named Li Tong spoke to himself in a vacant murmur.
[Day Fourteen]
After regaining consciousness, Li Tong led them into the main control room.
Even though they all knew that opening the formation might very well lead to an endless wave of zombies and insects, Li Tong resolutely pressed the button.
…
Song Ke and Zhuang Qingyan listened quietly to their story.
They hadn’t anticipated that even within the formation, such unforeseen tragedies would occur.
Zhou Anqi summoned her courage and walked up to Song Ke. This once haughty little princess had learned to bow her head after experiencing so much. “Although I still really dislike you, I’m sorry, I’m sorry… I’m sorry…”
She apologized to Song Ke, repeating “I’m sorry” over and over, trembling all over, unable to speak through her tears.
In the end, she wiped her tears away and stubbornly said, “I’m not forcing you, and you don’t have to forgive me.”
Song Ke sighed deeply in her heart and responded, “Okay.”
Zhuang Qingyan asked, “What’s your plan now?”
Jiang Rui said, “We’re planning to head north with Brother Li.”
Li Tong had internal channels and knew the locations of various small and large Alliance shelters. Jiang Rui felt responsible. Zhang Hao, Lin Xia, Tian Yi… he had to lead these people to survive.
They might stop at a certain shelter or perhaps continue to wander until they find a place that would accept them.
“What about you?” Jiang Rui looked at Song Ke.
“We…” Song Ke lowered her head, and coincidentally, Zhuang Qingyan was also looking at her.
“We, are going to District C, C72.”
From the slope behind them, An Qiwen’s loud voice echoed, “Little sister, get ready to leave~”
His booming voice startled the surrounding zombies, and they swarmed toward him like compass needles.
An Qiwen exclaimed, “Here I go,” and his purple light flickered as he started cleaning up with grumbling.
It was time to say goodbye.
Tian Yi and Lin Xia looked at her with teary eyes. Song Ke nodded at them, “Goodbye, hope to see, see you again.”
Then she turned to Jiang Rui, “Goodbye.”
“Goodbye, Song Ke,” Jiang Rui’s voice was hoarse, but his eyes held a kind of resolute core. “Take care.”
Song Ke turned and walked away.
Zhuang Qingyan said something that made her stomp her foot in annoyance, then she chased after him and kicked his wheelchair. Their figures merged into another group of tall figures, quickly disappearing into the night.
Song Ke was carefree, open-minded, and graceful in her comings and goings, like the wind that couldn’t be grasped in one’s hands.
And Jiang Rui, once naive and full of confidence, ignorant and foolish.
At this moment, he finally understood.
They were never meant to travel the same path, just like a lighthouse and drifting ships. Even if they temporarily crossed paths, they were destined for permanent separation.
It was better to say goodbye.
