Chapter 31 – Bloody Ferrara (3)
◎Excellent nourishment◎
The person Zhuang Qingyan referred to as the “make up the numbers” guy was Xu Xing.
Before Xu Xing separated from them, he secretly slipped a small piece of paper to Song Ke. On the paper, he wrote down the place he was temporarily staying, allowing Song Ke to come and visit him when she had time.
Song Ke and Zhuang Qingyan followed that address to find Xu Xing, and what they discovered was… it was actually a seven-star hotel?!
Well, look at this white luxurious dome, the evergreen front garden, and the excellent view of the night sky from a high altitude. It looked expensive at first glance.
Alright, strict access control, even external visitors weren’t allowed in.
The two of them had to inform the robot butler and waited for a full twenty minutes in the chilly wind before Xu Xing finally came downstairs. He was wearing a colorful coat, floating over like a butterfly, “Sister!”
Xu Xing obediently jumped into Song Ke’s arms, his eyes sparkling, his smile sweet. Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly noticed Zhuang Qingyan standing aside.
Xu Xing: OvO!!!
His clever words got stuck in his throat, his smile froze on his lips, and a surge of irritability rushed to his forehead, “Why did he come too!”
Song Ke: ?
After Song Ke explained, mentioning that she had been together with Zhuang Qingyan during this time, Xu Xing reluctantly nodded, leading the two upstairs.
As soon as they stepped into the room, Song Ke was stunned.
Xu Xing was actually staying in a suite, fully equipped with amenities. There was 24-hour warm water if one got thirsty, they could order food anytime they were hungry, and they could watch the latest projection programs when bored. Additionally, there were entertainment rooms, swimming pools, fitness rooms…
Turns out they were sleeping rough outside, perhaps even staying in free capsule hotels by the roadside, while Xu Xing, the invisible rich kid, was living luxuriously in a big house. His life was undoubtedly extremely enjoyable.
Dizzily, Song Ke sat down on the sofa and felt as if she had sunk into a soft cloud.
Xu Xing offered her a bunch of snacks and drinks as if presenting a treasure.
“Why are you living here, here?” Song Ke asked, her confusion easing after a moment.
“My dad had a lot of money saved at Yaban Bank.” Xu Xing innocently blinked.
Yaban Bank was a well-known commercial bank within the Alliance, with branches scattered across various cities and regions.
When Xu Weiguo passed away, Xu Xing became the legitimate heir to his inheritance. Everyone understood the reasoning, but it was hard to avoid jealousy when a ten-year-old kid possessed such astonishing wealth. During his time in the logistics team, Xu Xing hadn’t revealed anything to others. He acted like a timid little rabbit, happily munching on sesame cakes as if he didn’t have a care in the world. Everyone thought he was just like Song Ke, coming from the backward District F, an ignorant and impoverished child.
“…How did you know, know about this hotel?” Song Ke still couldn’t believe it. Both were from the District F, but as soon as Xu Xing arrived at Ferrara, he stayed in a luxury hotel. He seemed to be swimming in comfort, while she couldn’t even distinguish the four cardinal directions and suffered the embarrassment of not having enough money to register as an awakener.
“My dad took me to a concert here before, and we stayed here!” Xu Xing answered matter-of-factly.
…So, the real poor person was just her.
Eating the delicious snacks, Song Ke’s mood grew even more melancholic.
“Sister, why did you come looking for me?”
Xu Xing curled up into a small ball on the carpet, pressed against Song Ke’s thigh, and asked softly.
He didn’t know why, but he felt particularly close to Song Ke. Perhaps a child’s intuition was naturally accurate, or maybe both of them being from the District F made them connect. Song Ke was strong and gentle, and Xu Xing firmly believed that she wouldn’t hurt him.
Song Ke stumbled through explaining that she wanted his help to form a team and meet the required number of members.
Considering Xu Xing was timid, she hastily added, “You don’t need to, to do the task. I can, can manage it on my own.”
After listening, Xu Xing, without much thought, readily agreed, “Sure, sister. I’ll join your team. This way, the two of us, with two awakeners… two awakeners?”
He suddenly “popped up” and pointed at Zhuang Qingyan, “Two awakeners?! Isn’t he—”
Zhuang Qingyan leaned by the window, elegantly sipping tea, maintaining a calm demeanor.
Song Ke glanced over, puzzled, “Him, what’s wrong?”
Xu Xing glanced at Zhuang Qingyan, then back at Song Ke. His words trailed off, and his eyes moved around, then suddenly he exclaimed, “Oh!” with an expression that said, ‘I understand now.’
“Sister, are you hungry? I’m really hungry. Can you order some food for me? The service machine is in the living room.”
Song Ke found herself inexplicably assigned to place an order.
With only the two of them in the room, Xu Xing paced back and forth, hands behind his back, looking smug and childish, as if he had just discovered something profound about Zhuang Qingyan, “You didn’t tell Sister that you’re an awakener.”
Zhuang Qingyan responded calmly, “Yeah, she didn’t ask, so I didn’t have the chance to say.”
Of course, Xu Xing didn’t believe him. He stuck his tongue out in disdain and scrunched his face.
“You’re lying to a kid!”
“Clearly, you’re an awakener and yet you pretend to be pitiful, and can only sit in a wheelchair.”
“Are you afraid that if you tell the truth, Sister won’t want you anymore? You want me to be self-reliant? You have no shame!”
Amid Xu Xing’s relentless “no shame, no shame, no shame,” Zhuang Qingyan’s expression remained unchanged. He gently placed the tea cup in his hand on the table, making a crisp “clink” sound.
“Saying you have no brains, I really haven’t wronged you.”
He interlocked his ten fingers over his abdomen, smiling menacingly at Xu Xing. “I bet that even if I tell Song Ke I’m an awakener, given the life-and-death bond between us, she would still bring me along. And you? After pretending to be so innocent and naive before, now that she knows how cunning you are at such a young age, well, let me think… she probably won’t even have time to run away, will she?”
Xu Xing was taken aback, “You!”
“You! You, you, you!” He kept stammering, failing to continue his argument, and finally exploded with frustration, stomping his feet and cursing, “You villain!”
When Song Ke returned, she found Xu Xing glowering at Zhuang Qingyan, panting heavily.
“It’s ordered, done.”
Xu Xing quickly turned his head, switching his expression faster than flipping a page in a book, putting on a fatally sweet smile.
“Sister, why don’t you stay here? There are still plenty of empty rooms, and I feel scared alone.”
A luxury hotel was certainly more comfortable than a capsule warehouse, so Song Ke didn’t hesitate to say thank you to Xu Xing.
Ecstatic, Xu Xing jumped up and enthusiastically wanted to show Song Ke around the room. As he turned, Zhuang Qingyan also followed.
He immediately spread his arms like a protective chick, guarding the door, “What are you still doing here?”
“You go stay outside; you’re not welcome here.”
Song Ke felt a bit awkward. She had promised to look after Zhuang Qingyan’s leg. She also couldn’t just leave him alone to sleep in a comfortable room. If Xu Xing really didn’t want to accommodate Zhuang Qingyan, then she… maybe she should sleep in the capsule warehouse with him.
Just as she was about to say something, Zhuang Qingyan calmly adjusted the blanket on his knee, “Lit-tle… lo-tus…”
“Ah! Ah!” Xu Xing irritably started making weird noises, completely controlled by him.
In the end, both of them managed to stay.
However, Song Ke couldn’t shake the feeling that something was a bit off. Had Xu Xing’s personality changed a bit in the few days they hadn’t seen each other?
And also, when did he become so familiar with Zhuang Qingyan?
…
The next day, the three of them set off once again for the commission center.
Xu Xing skipped and hopped as if he were out shopping, walking backwards with enthusiasm. “Sister, after we’re done forming the team, let’s go eat something delicious! My dad took me to a place…”
Someone rushed towards them, colliding with Xu Xing. He stumbled a bit, and Song Ke quickly reached out to steady him.
The person muttered a vague “Sorry” and hurriedly ran past them, heading in another direction.
“What’s happening?” A curious individual poked their head out from a nearby shop.
“There are zombies up ahead!” The person shouting looked excited.
Song Ke was momentarily stunned, suspecting she had misheard “There’s something delicious up ahead” as “There are zombies up ahead.”
To be so enthusiastic about encountering zombies, were the citizens of Ferrara all this daring?
“Should we go, go and take a look?” Song Ke asked her companions for their opinions.
Both Zhuang Qingyan and Xu Xing nodded in agreement.
The three of them followed the crowd and soon arrived at the scene.
In the center of the crowd, a tall zombie was bound by several ropes, its face twisted in a fierce grimace as it struggled and roared like a trapped beast.
There were obvious knife marks, scars, and bruises from the ropes on its body. The ends of the ropes were held by different individuals, each of their faces filled with the excitement of slaughter, the cruelty of bloodlust, and an indescribable eagerness to try. A burly man stepped forward, planted his foot on the zombie’s head, spat in its face, and then raised his arms in triumph. The others responded excitedly, as if he were some kind of world-conquering hero.
Song Ke couldn’t help but furrow her brows.
Holding her hand, Xu Xing lowered his chattering voice, fearfully hiding behind her.
Before long, a mechanized forklift with a special number on its body came roaring in. A massive iron cage descended from the sky, capturing the zombie alive, and then it was lifted away.
“Why didn’t they kill it?” Song Ke whispered.
A person nearby who had been watching the commotion gave her a sidelong glance, “New here?”
“Kill it? That’s crude, far too crude. No artistic sense.”
“But this is the Throne Race Competition; it’s excellent nourishment!”
