AFTCKCTCKATD - Chapter 63

Chapter 63

"You're Not Insignificant To Me, I Can't Bear To Make You Angry."

“Cough, cough…” Listening to Feng Yimo’s words, Bai Haoxuan, who had intended to play the role of a comforting older brother, felt completely out of his depth. He stole a glance at Ji Yanqing, who was still eating with an air of indifference, and the feeling that the dynamic between Ji Yanqing and Feng Yimo was decidedly odd only intensified.

It wasn’t just Bai Haoxuan; the expressions of the others in the vehicle, who had been avidly eavesdropping, also turned strange.

Ji Yanqing finished the food before him. He looked up, ignoring the probing gazes, and asked flatly, “Not going to sleep yet?”

Hearing his tone and seeing his expressionless face, everyone’s curiosity only grew, but they also understood that Ji Yanqing wasn’t going to elaborate. They exchanged glances, then quickly found places to lie down.

Lying diagonally across from them, Gu Wenmo stretched his neck to look from Ji Yanqing to Feng Yimo, then leaned over to whisper to Gu Ranran beside him, “That Feng Yimo… do you think he likes our captain?” Between the gift-giving and the talk of heartache, anyone would think Feng Yimo was smitten.

Gu Ranran quickly and discreetly kicked him, followed with a silencing glare. Reprimanded, Gu Wenmo obediently shrank under his blanket. He fell silent, but the expressions of the few people nearby who had overheard his words became even more subtly suggestive. They all cast furtive glances towards Ji Yanqing.

Since the apocalypse began, they had witnessed all sorts of strange things. Men liking other men might be a first for some of them, but it no longer seemed as outlandish as it once might have. They didn’t even know if they’d live to see tomorrow; who had the energy to meddle in others’ affairs? Of course, if this particular affair was unfolding within their own survival team, they wouldn’t mind listening in. But from the looks of it, Feng Yimo had a long road ahead.

The interior of the vehicle rustled for a moment before settling into a heavy silence.

After everyone else had fallen asleep, Ji Yanqing turned his attention to Ji Le beside him. The boy had been unconscious for two or three hours. His complexion, though still pale, had improved from its initial deathly pallor, and his breathing had become more even. In the dim darkness, Ji Yanqing reached out and gently touched Ji Le’s cheek. It was cool.

“Mmm…” Ji Le frowned, a soft sound of discomfort escaping him.

Ji Yanqing quickly withdrew his hand. Ji Le turned his head towards him, his small body curling restlessly on the mat. He lay on his side, his delicate brows knitted together as if in great pain.

Seeing Ji Le like that, Ji Yanqing’s chest ached. He carefully lifted Ji Le from the mat and settled him onto his lap. Both his hands were badly injured, but Ji Le was so light he barely felt his weight.

Being held, perhaps sensing Ji Yanqing’s familiar scent, Ji Le vaguely reached out in his sleep and clutched at Ji Yanqing’s clothes. His small fingers gripped the fabric with surprising strength, as if terrified that if he let go, Ji Yanqing would disappear. Looking at Ji Le, feeling the tenacity in those small fingers, Ji Yanqing could only breathe deeply, trying to use the icy air to dispel the heavy feeling in his chest.

“Don’t be afraid,” Ji Yanqing murmured, gently smoothing Ji Le’s furrowed brow. Ji Le seemed to hear him. His tightly knitted brows slowly relaxed, and his breathing quickly became even and deep again; he was asleep.

Ji An, sitting on Ji Le’s other side, had witnessed this. Seeing Ji Yanqing holding Ji Le, seeing him gently touch Ji Le’s cheek, his clear eyes filled with unconcealed envy. He, too, wanted Ji Yanqing to hold him. Yet, Ji An didn’t cry or make a fuss. He obediently lay down on his side beside them. He watched Ji Yanqing silently, wanting to reach out and take Ji Yanqing’s hand, but he held back. Just knowing Ji Yanqing was near was enough for now.

Ji Yanqing held Ji Le for a long time, until the boy was deeply asleep, until the entire camp outside had fallen into a profound, snow-muffled silence. In the darkness, Ji Yanqing carefully placed Ji Le back onto the mat, then took his own blanket and gently covered him, tucking in the corners. He then turned towards Ji An.

Seeing Ji Yanqing’s outstretched hand, Ji An, who hadn’t intended to cry, felt tears instantly welling. He scrambled up, climbed awkwardly over Ji Le’s sleeping form, and threw himself into Ji Yanqing’s arms, a silent plea to be held too. Enfolded in Ji Yanqing’s embrace, feeling the familiar scent and warmth, Ji An’s tears flowed even more freely.

“Sleep now,” Ji Yanqing said softly, stroking his head.

Ji An, continuously wiping at his tears, choked out a sob. “Mmm…” Hearing his own sound, he quickly buried his face in Ji Yanqing’s chest, trying to muffle his sobs.

Ji Yanqing said nothing more, just quietly held him until Ji An cried himself to sleep. After confirming Ji An was also asleep, Ji Yanqing gently placed him beside Ji Le, carefully covering them both and tucking in the blanket.

In the time they had been separated, Ji An and Ji Le had clearly lost weight. The little bit of flesh he had worked so hard to put on them was gone. Their faces seemed smaller, their cheeks lacking their previous roundness. Ji Yanqing sighed softly; Feng Yimo really didn’t know how to care for children.

Ji Yanqing glanced at Feng Yimo. The Corpse King sat in the corner, eyes closed, as cold and aloof as ever, but his brow was slightly furrowed, as if wrestling with an unsolvable puzzle.

Ji Yanqing lay down beside Ji An and Ji Le and closed his eyes.

When dawn broke, Ji Yanqing rose at the first sounds of movement from the camp. He had people take stock of the supplies brought back the previous day and count the rescued survivors. Their team, originally around one hundred fifty or sixty, now exceeded two hundred with the newcomers. It was too many people; all five vehicles were crammed, some even lacking space for everyone to sleep. Even when Ji Yanqing was with Sunward, their team had never been this large; back then, they numbered just over a hundred. Fortunately, they had secured a good amount of supplies, enough to last seven or eight days even with the increased numbers.

With Lou Ye dealt with and adequate food and water, two main issues remained: allowing the team's injured to recover and planning their next route. Ji Yanqing studied the map. Once most of the fifty or sixty people rescued yesterday had woken, he approached them to ask about what had happened in the city.

“Our team originally had over three hundred. We entered the city for supplies but were besieged by zombies shortly after. Their leader was a man in his thirties; he could control the zombies, probably a Thrice-Evolved Corpse King…”

“That girl joined us while we were escaping. She said she’d been attacked and separated from her team. We didn’t suspect anything and let her come along…”

It was much as Ji Yanqing had surmised. The man in his thirties was likely another of Lou Ye’s subordinates. As for their methods, knowing Lou Ye's personality, aside from targeting Ji Yanqing, Lou Ye was probably the type to find perverse excitement in infiltrating groups and attacking when they thought they were safe—he had, after all, disguised himself as human to ask Lu Yunxiao for directions.

After the inventory, once everyone was up, Ji Yanqing had Bai Haoxuan distribute food.

“After we eat, as soon as the snow melts enough, we’ll head to the next city,” Ji Yanqing announced. There were only three major urban areas nearby. From their current location, another day or so of travel would bring them to the next city, which contained several large, populated districts. “We won’t return to the city we just left,” he added. Going back would mean explaining the city full of zombie corpses.

No one objected. They were intensely curious about what had happened, but none were willing to risk their lives to investigate.

Having decided their course, Ji Yanqing quickly finished his food and stood before Feng Yimo, Ji An, and Ji Le. Ji Le had woken on his own after dawn. As a Second Stage Corpse King, his recovery was remarkably fast. His face was still pale, but he could move freely.

Sensing someone before them, the trio—one large and two small—who had been eating with pained expressions, looked up in unison.

“Let’s talk,” Ji Yanqing said.

Seeing Ji Yanqing address them directly, the three quickly stuffed the remainder of their food into their mouths, swallowed, and eagerly followed him as he led them deeper into the woods. Bai Haoxuan and the others watched with open curiosity. Ji Yanqing gave them no chance to eavesdrop, leading Feng Yimo and the boys far into the trees.

He stopped, ensuring Bai Haoxuan’s group couldn’t overhear, then turned to the trio.

“Papa…” Ji An tentatively reached out, his small hand grasping Ji Yanqing’s trouser leg. Having slept in Ji Yanqing’s arms the night before, his courage had grown.

Ji Yanqing didn’t brush Ji An’s hand away, silently permitting the contact. Seeing this, Ji Le, unaware of the previous night's tenderness, promptly hugged Ji Yanqing’s other leg. “Daddy!”

Ji Yanqing gently stroked both small heads. Allowed to hug his legs and patted on the head, Ji An and Ji Le’s tear-streaked, red-rimmed faces flushed crimson. Bright smiles bloomed as they tightened their grip.

“Papa…” Ji An rested his head against Ji Yanqing’s leg.

“Are you not angry anymore?” Ji Le asked, his voice choked with emotion.

Listening to their tearful calls, looking down at them, Ji Yanqing’s lips thinned. In that instant, a wild thought ignited in his mind. He wanted to steal them from Feng Yimo. He wanted to take them home. They were his children. Why had they suddenly become Feng Yimo’s?

Ji Yanqing looked at Feng Yimo, seriously considering the possibility of knocking him out with a single axe blow. The urge was incredibly strong, so intense he almost wanted to rush back to camp that very moment to retrieve his weapon.

---

Ji Yanqing took a deep breath, his gaze locking with Feng Yimo’s. “You should leave.”

The words hung in the air. Feng Yimo froze. Ji An and Ji Le, who had been clinging to Ji Yanqing’s legs, acting spoiled and seeking comfort, also went still. The next moment, Feng Yimo’s sharp brows drew together in a frown, and Ji An and Ji Le’s eyes reddened.

Ji Yanqing inhaled again, the cold air burning his lungs. “You are zombies. I am human. We are different. We belong to two separate worlds. Separating is better for all of us.”

“No!” Ji An, usually the more composed of the two, the one who often cared for Ji Le with a seriousness beyond his years, cried out before Ji Le could even react. “No, I don’t want to…” His voice broke. “I don’t want to! I want to be with you… You promised! You said you wouldn’t leave me… Papa, we promised…” His small face crumpled. “…I don’t want to be a zombie, Papa…” he wailed, the words tumbling out in a torrent of grief. “I don’t want to be a zombie! I’m Ji An… Don’t leave me…” Tears streamed down his face. He clung to Ji Yanqing’s leg with all his might, as if daring anyone to try and pry him loose.

Ji Le, usually the first to cry and fuss, was momentarily stunned by Ji An’s uncharacteristic outburst. Seeing his older brother in such a state seemed to frighten him even more than the prospect of Ji Yanqing leaving.

Listening to Ji An’s heart-wrenching sobs, Feng Yimo’s lips parted slightly. His thoughts were a chaotic jumble. It took him a moment to gather his words. “I wasn’t planning on doing anything to you.” He knew Ji Yanqing disliked zombies.

“What about the others in my team?” Ji Yanqing pressed, his voice flat.

“I wasn’t planning on doing anything to them either,” Feng Yimo replied. If he had wanted to harm them, Ji Yanqing and his entire group would have been dead long ago. But he knew, with a certainty that chilled him, that he absolutely could not say that aloud.

“You just don’t care,” Ji Yanqing stated, cutting directly to the heart of the matter. To Feng Yimo, humans and zombies were probably no different—like weeds by the roadside, or stones underfoot, insignificant existences.

Feng Yimo remained silent.

“When we were trapped in the supermarket,” Ji Yanqing continued, his voice tight, “the child who died outside the door… what was his name?”

Feng Yimo’s lips pressed into a thin line. Still, he said nothing.

“His name was Su Luo.” Ji Yanqing took another deep, shuddering breath. “You don’t care, but I do. I care, so I’m afraid. Afraid that one day, if you get angry, you’ll just… kill them all.” He waited for a moment, but Feng Yimo offered no response. Ji Yanqing lowered his gaze to Ji An and Ji Le, still clinging desperately to his legs. He knelt on one knee, gathering the wailing Ji An and the silently weeping Ji Le into his arms. Feeling Ji An’s small chest trembling with choked sobs, sensing Ji Le’s profound unease, he tightened his embrace, holding the two little ones even closer. The urge to steal them away, to protect them from this impossible reality, was overwhelming.

“I don’t want to… Papa… I don’t want to be a zombie anymore… Turn me back, Papa, Daddy…” Ji An clutched at Ji Yanqing’s clothes, his small fists bunched in the fabric.

Ji Yanqing gently wiped the tears from Ji An’s face. “I’m sorry, Papa can’t.”

“No! You—think of a way… Ugh…” Ji An stomped his foot in frustration, his small body wracked with sobs. “Think of a way…”

Ji Yanqing stroked Ji An’s head. “Being a zombie… it isn’t so bad either. If you hadn’t become like this, I wouldn’t have been able to meet you.” This, he realized with a pang, was also one of the reasons why, even knowing Feng Yimo was a Corpse King, he couldn’t bring himself to truly hate him. If Feng Yimo hadn’t saved Ji An and Ji Le, he would never have met them in the first place. If it weren’t for Feng Yimo, what would have awaited him that day at the construction site would have been two small, cold corpses. He might have frowned, perhaps sighed a few times with detached sympathy, and then he would have turned and walked away, their brief existence forgotten.

“I’m very happy that you two can be Papa’s children,” Ji Yanqing said, his voice thick with emotion as he wiped away the endless tears streaming down the little ones’ faces.

Ji An tried to say something more, but unease and fear had thrown his young mind into chaos. He could only clutch at Ji Yanqing, sobbing with all his might.

“Papa…” Ji Le cried, his small voice catching, gasping for breath.

Ji Yanqing patted Ji An’s head, then stroked Ji Le’s cheek. He stood up, gently prying the two little ones’ hands from him, and turned to leave.

“Papa!” Ji An immediately tried to scramble after him.

“Dad…” Ji Le followed close behind, his small legs pumping.

Ji Yanqing didn’t stop, didn’t look back. He walked quickly, resolutely, towards the camp.

Feng Yimo turned, as if to follow, but stopped after taking only two steps. Ji Yanqing had said that being with them made him afraid.

“Pa—ugh…” Ji An, running too fast, his vision blurred by tears, tripped over a protruding tree root and fell heavily to the ground.

“Daddy!” Ji Le, who had been about to chase after Ji Yanqing, saw Ji An fall. He hesitated for a split second, then immediately went to help his brother up.

Ji Yanqing heard the commotion behind him and guessed what had happened. He didn’t look back. He only walked faster.

Quickly passing through the woods, he returned to the camp. Ji Yanqing ignored the expressions on the faces of the group who had clearly heard the children’s heart-rending cries. He climbed into one of the vehicles.

“Drive.”

The group exchanged bewildered glances.

Ji Yanqing looked directly at Bai Haoxuan. “Drive.”

Bai Haoxuan glanced in the direction of the crying. Ji An and Ji Le’s sobs were truly agonizing, a sound that tugged at the heartstrings of even those who didn’t understand the full situation.

“Ji An and them…” he began, hesitant.

“I said, drive,” Ji Yanqing repeated, his voice stern, leaving no room for argument.

Seeing Ji Yanqing’s unwavering resolve, Bai Haoxuan cast one last look towards the source of the cries, then called out to the others, “Let’s go.” The group, already prepared to depart, quickly boarded the vehicles. The engines started, and the convoy began to move, heading towards the highway.

Ji An and Ji Le were fast, but the vehicles were already pulling away, gaining distance.

“Captain…” Gu Wenmo couldn’t bear to watch the two small, desolate figures receding into the distance.

“Maybe we can sit down and…” Bai Haoxuan tried to suggest, his voice troubled.

“They have somewhere to go. They’re safe,” Ji Yanqing said stiffly, his gaze fixed straight ahead.

Hearing Ji Yanqing’s words, and recognizing the finality in his tone, everyone in the vehicle fell silent, their confusion deepening. Ji An and Ji Le were clearly with Feng Yimo, yet they called Ji Yanqing ‘Papa’. And Feng Yimo seemed to…

Ji Yanqing closed his eyes. He was afraid that if he looked back even once, he wouldn’t be able to resist the overwhelming urge to rush back and snatch Ji An and Ji Le away, consequences be damned. The vehicles quickly drove further, and the sound of the children’s anguished cries was gradually swallowed by the sighing of the wind through the desolate landscape.

Half an hour later, Ji Yanqing opened his eyes. “Turn back.”

Hearing his words, a collective, almost inaudible sigh of relief seemed to pass through the vehicle.

“Take a detour from the side, head towards the direction we originally came from,” Ji Yanqing clarified, his voice still tight.

Realizing that Ji Yanqing intended to alter even their planned route specifically to avoid Feng Yimo and the boys, the group who had just felt a sliver of hope were once again rendered speechless.

“Captain…” Gu Ranran couldn’t help but speak up, her voice tentative.

“We’re going to find Sunward,” Ji Yanqing said, his decision made.

Hearing the name ‘Sunward’, everyone in the vehicle was taken aback.

“Sunward?” Gu Wenmo’s eyes lit up. He had wanted to find the Sunward team for a long time.

“You know people from Sunward?” Gu Ranran remembered the words Ji Yanqing had instructed her to relay.

“Sort of,” Ji Yanqing admitted, a bitter taste in his mouth.

Watching the vehicle exit the highway, watching it turn back onto a different, less direct road, Ji Yanqing said no more, closing his eyes again to rest, or perhaps to escape his own thoughts. The convoy drove back the way they had come, but they bypassed the cities they had visited before, driving straight through them without stopping. They had found a considerable amount of supplies previously, which meant that for the next few days, except for nights when the heavy snow made the roads impassable, they were almost constantly on the move.

Six days later, seeing that their supplies were dwindling, with only a day’s worth left, the convoy had no choice but to approach the nearest city. It was three in the afternoon. The worst of the midday heat had passed, but the air temperature still hovered around thirty, nearly forty degrees Celsius. It was hot, but not unbearably so.

The city they stopped near wasn’t particularly large. Looking into the distance, the buildings seemed to be thirty or forty years old, many appearing somewhat dilapidated. The city’s original population must have been at least several hundred thousand, making it a place teeming with potential danger. After finding a relatively concealed spot in the nearby mountains to park the vehicles, the advance team went into the city to scout the situation.

Half an hour later, one of them returned, but the news they brought caused everyone’s brows to furrow in concern. There weren’t many zombies on the streets near their entry point into the city.

“Are you sure they weren’t lured away by some commotion?” Bai Haoxuan’s expression was grim.

“The zombie distribution isn’t even… it’s sparse in some areas, denser in others,” the scout reported.

Bai Haoxuan’s frown deepened. If the zombies weren’t drawn away by something, but were simply few in number to begin with in certain areas, it almost certainly meant there were Awakened Zombies or even a Corpse King present in the city, influencing their behavior. He looked at Ji Yanqing, waiting for him to make the call.

Ji Yanqing was sitting in one of the vehicles. “Find a supermarket first,” he instructed.

The scout nodded and quickly went back into the city to relay the information to the rest of the advance team. Watching him leave, Ji Yanqing glanced at the others in the camp. Six days of relative rest and consistent meals had improved everyone’s mental state significantly, but the deep-seated fatigue and trauma accumulated over years of survival couldn’t be erased in just a day or two. Everyone still carried a noticeable air of suppression and underlying suffering between their brows.

“Captain…”

Ji Yanqing looked over. Bai Haoxuan was looking towards the city outskirts. The scout who had just gone into the city to deliver the message came rushing back again, his face flushed.

As he got closer, the scout, without waiting for Ji Yanqing to ask anything, said breathlessly, “Captain! We found… a supermarket. And… an Awakened Zombie too.”

Ji Yanqing raised his eyebrows in surprise.

“The Awakened Zombie is right inside the supermarket. That bastard probably knew that any humans passing by this area would be looking for a supermarket, so it just went to sleep inside, waiting for us to walk into its trap.”

Ji Yanqing was speechless for a moment. Once zombies awakened, they gained a certain level of cunning. Although this was the first time he had actually encountered one employing such a tactic, he had long anticipated that this kind of behavior would eventually emerge.

“What should we do?” Gu Wenmo asked, his voice tight with apprehension.

“How about we find another place?” Gu Ranran suggested, her eyes wide.

“We could drive a bit further ahead and try entering the city from a different direction,” Bai Haoxuan agreed with Gu Ranran’s suggestion. If possible, he really didn’t want the team to confront an Awakened Zombie.

After a moment of thought, Ji Yanqing rejected the idea. “No. We’ll enter the city from here.”

“But… that Awakened Zombie…”

“Kill it.”

Bai Haoxuan, Gu Wenmo, Gu Ranran, and the other surrounding team members were all stunned into silence, even more so than when they had heard Ji Yanqing casually announce that he’d killed Lou Ye. Ji Yanqing’s “kill it” was delivered with such nonchalance, as if he were merely placing a takeout order, or commenting on some pleasant weather. Despite their initial surprise, a strange sense of normalcy, almost resignation, settled in their hearts. Having witnessed Ji Yanqing hunt Awakened Zombies, and even the formidable Lou Ye, they were, in a bizarre way, gradually getting used to it. An Awakened Zombie? In Ji Yanqing’s eyes, it was probably no more threatening than a small cabbage in a field…

“This time, I won’t participate. You guys handle it yourselves,” Ji Yanqing stated, his voice calm but firm.

Bai Haoxuan, Gu Wenmo, Gu Ranran, and the others were now even more bewildered, their minds reeling even more than when Ji Yanqing had so casually declared his intention to kill the Awakened Zombie.

Ji Yanqing looked at the assembled group. “I’m not joking.” He understood why Bai Haoxuan and the others had been following him—because it was safer with him around, because he was their shield, their weapon. But he didn’t intend to be their blade forever. He was strong, yes, but he couldn’t possibly kill every Awakened Zombie and Corpse King in the world. And what if, one day, he died? What would Gu Wenmo and Bai Haoxuan do then? Would they just slit their own throats on the spot and follow him into death?

---

Sensing the earnest resolve in Ji Yanqing’s voice, Bai Haoxuan and the others straightened, their expressions sobering. Fear and apprehension were still visible in their eyes, but there was no trace of resentment or anger at being pushed towards an undeniable danger. Seeing this, a flicker of warmth softened Ji Yanqing’s chest. Bai Haoxuan, Gu Wenmo, and the others might not possess the same cleverness or inherent capability as Xia Shen Shu’s group, but they weren’t beyond hope. They simply hadn’t been given the chance to truly grow, to be tested.

“How do we kill it?”

“We’ll have to lure it out first.”

“Do we use sound again?”

“But the supermarket’s probably still full of regular zombies. Sound will just bring them all out too.”

…

After a brief, charged silence, voices began to rise within the camp, one overlapping another as they began to strategize. Listening to the earnest discussion, seeing the focused thought in their expressions as they grappled with the problem, a strange current of excitement began to spark within the group, cutting through the palpable tension. The corners of their lips couldn’t help but curve upwards. The feeling was peculiar—a surge of blood, a quickening of the heart. Their limbs felt almost light, as if there was nothing in this world they couldn’t overcome together. Before, provoking an Awakened Zombie was simply a path to endless despair. But now, things felt different. With Ji Yanqing here, a sliver of genuine hope flickered in their hearts. It wasn’t that they themselves had fundamentally changed, but they knew, with a certainty that bolstered their courage, that they could move forward with someone reliable at their backs.

Ji Yanqing pondered for a moment, then took the initiative to guide their planning. “First, assess our combat strength. Then, thoroughly understand the supermarket’s surroundings to choose the best point of attack. After that, identify a defensible safe house for retreat if things go wrong, and secure a clear escape route.” He intended to foster their growth, to teach them, not to send them charging blindly to their deaths.

Ji Yanqing’s words set Bai Haoxuan’s mind racing. He quickly began to organize the team. After confirming their remaining ammunition and the number of people who could participate in the assault, he dispatched a scouting party, including members of the advance team already familiar with the city, to reconnoiter the supermarket area. He himself led the rest of the able-bodied members into the city to locate suitable safe houses and map out viable escape routes. Bai Haoxuan lacked experience in specifically hunting Awakened Zombies, but he had been a captain for a long time. Though it took him a bit of time, he managed to coordinate everything smoothly and efficiently.

A little over an hour later, gathered behind one of the vehicles, Bai Haoxuan excitedly unfurled a roughly drawn map on the car hood, explaining their planned strategy to Ji Yanqing. Once finished, Bai Haoxuan looked expectantly at Ji Yanqing, awaiting his assessment, his eyes shining with a mixture of pride and nervousness.

“What about the lure?” Ji Yanqing asked, his voice neutral. Bai Haoxuan’s plan was comprehensive, well-thought-out, but it hinged on one crucial, dangerous element: someone had to lure the Awakened Zombie to the designated kill zone, alone. He didn’t plan to intervene in this part.

“I’m doing it,” Gu Wenmo piped up from beside him, his voice betraying his visible nervousness. “I’m pretty fast…”

Ji Yanqing looked at him. The moment he heard that Gu Wenmo had volunteered, a flicker of disapproval rose in his chest. Gu Wenmo was too young, barely thirteen or fourteen. The words of refusal reached his lips, but he swallowed them back down. Su Luo’s earnest, hopeful face flashed in his mind—Su Luo, who had so desperately wanted a decent weapon, a chance to prove himself. In the end, Ji Yanqing only instructed, his voice quiet but firm, “Be careful.” Gu Wenmo was indeed fast. The first time he’d encountered him, Gu Wenmo had been a blur of motion, sprinting away from two zombies…

Gu Wenmo nodded solemnly, his young face set with determination.

“Then…”

“Bring everyone else from the camp too,” Ji Yanqing stated. “While you guys deal with the Awakened Zombie, the others should head straight into the supermarket to gather supplies.”

Bai Haoxuan’s lips parted slightly. He glanced back at the other team members. His original plan had been a two-stage operation: first, they would eliminate the Awakened Zombie, and then everyone would proceed to the supermarket together. If they split up, however, the main firepower would logically be focused on the Awakened Zombie, leaving the supermarket team vulnerable.

Before Bai Haoxuan could even begin to consider how many armed individuals to allocate to the supermarket team, Ji Yanqing added, his voice carrying a note of urgency, “There might not be just one Awakened Zombie in this city. We don’t have time to take it slow. Anything that can be resolved quickly, should be.” As his words faded, Ji Yanqing turned to the other, unarmed members of the team. “You’ll have to figure out how to handle the supermarket yourselves.” The difference between being armed and unarmed was significant, yes, but even without guns, they had to learn to fight, to rely on themselves. Forever waiting for others to protect them was a path to certain death. Only if they were constantly prepared, constantly honing their survival instincts, could they step up and be ready when the team eventually had more firearms to spare.

“We can do it,” Uncle Wang declared, his voice firm. He patted his granddaughter’s head. She was his only remaining family, precious to him, always kept close and protected. But this time, he decided to leave her safely at the camp and go into the city himself. He wasn’t a fool. He could see that Ji Yanqing was offering them a chance, a difficult but necessary opportunity to grow, and he intended to seize it. The days ahead would only grow harsher, more unforgiving. To survive, they had to become stronger, and opportunities like this couldn’t be passed up.

“I’m not scared!… I’m in!”

“Same here…”

“We can do this, together.”

Hearing Uncle Wang’s words, the unarmed members of the team voiced their agreement, one after another, a chorus of newfound resolve. Hunting an Awakened Zombie—when they’d first heard the plan, they’d been surprised, even a little excited. But it had felt irrelevant to them; they had no guns, no way to directly contribute. But now, they felt involved, truly part of the operation, even if they wouldn’t be facing the Awakened Zombie head-on.

Listening to the chorus of determined voices, seeing the unwavering resolve in their eyes, Bai Haoxuan took a deep breath. A burning sensation filled his chest, so intense it felt like it would explode. He looked deeply at Ji Yanqing. He’d always thought Ji Yanqing was a strange, enigmatic individual. Back then, he’d simply felt no particular aversion to following Ji Yanqing’s commands. Now, that feeling was back, but stronger, more profound. This time, he had a premonition, a gut feeling, that their entire team, all of them, were on the cusp of a monumental, transformative shift.

Bai Haoxuan took another deep breath, steadying himself. He called Uncle Wang and the others over, beginning to brief them on the city’s layout, the potential dangers, and the precautions they needed to take. The entire plan was riddled with risks and uncertainties. He explained everything in as much detail as possible, striving to ensure everyone understood their designated positions and what to do if—or when—danger arose. The briefing lasted almost forty minutes. By the time he finished, his mouth was parched, his throat raw. After briefing Uncle Wang’s group and watching them retrieve their meager packs, he reiterated the plan to the team tasked with facing the Awakened Zombie, going over every detail one last time, ensuring everyone was clear on their roles and responsibilities, striving for a flawless execution.

By the time he was finished and Uncle Wang’s group was ready to move out, it was already five in the afternoon. The setting sun hung low on the horizon, painting the sky in hues of orange and purple. Dusk was rapidly approaching.

“Ready up! Everyone, move into the city.”

Reaching the building opposite the supermarket, the group swiftly split into two teams as planned. The hunting party, armed and alert, moved towards their chosen ambush spot to the right. Uncle Wang’s supply gathering group, unarmed but resolute, sought immediate cover in a nearby, relatively secure building, preparing for their own challenging task.

Music blared from a speaker placed on a high rooftop, a jarring, incongruous sound in the otherwise desolate cityscape. Zombies in the vicinity immediately, almost Pavlovianly, surged toward the sound source, the entire city seeming to stir with a renewed, hungry commotion.

From inside the supermarket, the Awakened Zombie emerged. Like most strength type zombies, it barely resembled its previous human form anymore. Only small, isolated patches of its anatomy hinted at its incomplete, horrifying evolution. From a distance, it looked like a grotesque, hairless werewolf, towering nearly three meters tall, its limbs unnaturally long and powerful. Looking up at the blaring speaker from the street below, it displayed a disturbing level of cunning; it didn’t attempt to ascend the building itself, instead turning its massive head, its senses scanning its surroundings, searching for a different, more vulnerable target.

At the corner of the street, Gu Wenmo, who was so nervous that his ears had turned purple, took a deep, steadying breath. He stepped out from the cover of the building and onto the open street. He had intended to feign a run, to draw its attention immediately, but as he stepped out, the werewolf-like creature had its back to him, its attention focused in the opposite direction. He hesitated for a fraction of a second, then, thinking quickly, crouched, snatched a discarded computer mouse from the rubble-strewn ground, and hurled it with all his might at the creature’s broad back.

The mouse struck the werewolf squarely on the back. It paused, then slowly, deliberately, turned its massive head towards Gu Wenmo.

The streets were already teeming with ordinary zombies, their heads craned upwards, their decaying hands clawing futilely at the base of the building housing the speaker, driven into a frenzy by the pulsating music. Their eyes were glazed with a mindless hunger, and they moaned and jostled against each other, oblivious to the subtle, far more dangerous drama unfolding behind them.

Gu Wenmo had envisioned this moment differently. He’d planned to offer the werewolf a cocky grin, then turn and dash off with a flourish, leading it on a merry chase. But the instant he met those blood-red, intelligent eyes, his entire body froze. All thoughts of coolness, of bravado, evaporated. He spun on his heel, his heart hammering against his ribs, and sprinted desperately towards the planned ambush point.

As he turned to flee, the werewolf lunged after him with terrifying, unnatural speed. In mere moments, the monstrous creature was right behind Gu Wenmo, its hot, fetid breath on his neck. Seeing the werewolf’s grotesque face, just meters behind him, any remaining thoughts of playing the cool hero vanished. His face paled, contorting into a grimace that was dangerously close to looking tearful. But he hadn’t forgotten his mission. He gritted his teeth, steeled his resolve, and poured every last ounce of his strength into his sprint towards the the team members that were relying on him.

The rendezvous point wasn’t far from the building blasting the music. In just over ten agonizing seconds, Gu Wenmo reached the designated spot, his lungs burning, legs screaming in protest.

At the corner, the lookout confirmed that Gu Wenmo had successfully brought the werewolf as planned. The group hidden behind the building, their faces pale but resolute, took deep, collective breaths. Jaws clenched, they raised their guns.

The instant after Gu Wenmo rounded the corner, the werewolf reached the same spot, and a deafening volley of gunshots erupted, the sound echoing and re-echoing through the desolate city streets.

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

Bullets slammed into the werewolf’s face as it charged towards them, visibly slowing its momentum and instantly blooming sickly green blood across its grotesque features. Struck, then realizing it had been tricked, the werewolf didn’t retreat amidst the hail of gunfire. Instead, fueled by rage and pain, it surged forward, directly at the group firing at it.

“Second team, now!” Bai Haoxuan barked the command, his voice sharp and clear above the chaos.

The front line, directly in the path of the pounce, split down the middle with surprising coordination, and in an orderly, practiced fashion, dashed into the narrow alleys on either side of the street. Simultaneously, the second team, already positioned and ready, emerged from cover further back, away from the werewolf’s immediate reach, and opened fire, their bullets finding their mark.

“Aaargh!” The werewolf roared in fury, its massive body tensing, poised to pounce again.

The second team, now just meters away from the enraged creature, immediately retreated into the side alleys, mirroring the first team’s maneuver. Simultaneously, the first team, having circled around through the connecting alleyways, reappeared further back, and opened fire once more, catching the werewolf in a deadly crossfire.

“Grr GraAGH!…” Both its eyes and its gaping maw were struck by bullets. In agony, the werewolf spun, attempting to flee back the way it came. But as it stumbled back into the alley, the third team, already waiting in ambush, opened fire immediately, their shots tearing into its already wounded body.

Gunfire erupted in rhythmic, coordinated bursts, punctuated by the werewolf’s increasingly agonizing, desperate roars.

Ji Yanqing, axe in hand, stood silently in a second-floor room at the corner of the building, overlooking the chaotic scene below. Initially, when the firing had begun, half the shots had missed their mark, slamming harmlessly into the crumbling walls of the surrounding buildings. Their escape when charged by the werewolf had been chaotic, bordering on panicked. But as the plan unfolded, as they fell into the rhythm of the engagement, more and more of their shots were hitting their targets. The team’s staggered movements, their coordinated retreats and advances, were becoming smoother, more practiced, more effective with each passing moment.

---

“Hold him back!”

“Second team, engage! First team, ready up!”

“He’s trying to run!”

“GRAaargh!”

Bai Haoxuan roared instructions as he fired, his voice hoarse above the din of battle.

The entire engagement lasted a tense, never ending three minutes. In terms of finesse, one could only say that they won with pure firepower. With plenty of ammo, and a careful plan that kept teams a safe distance as they reloaded and got into position, the team maintained a nonstop barrage of bullets hitting the overwhelmed monster.

Then, with a final, shuddering, agonized wail, the Awakened Zombie swayed on its feet, then crashed heavily to the ground.

“Maintain distance! Finish it off!” Bai Haoxuan yelled towards the team members positioned nearest the fallen creature’s head. No sooner had the words left his mouth than another volley of gunfire erupted. Bullets hammered into the werewolf’s mangled face, making its head jerk and twitch grotesquely. But as the dust settled, its massive body remained still.

“Is it… dead?” someone in the team whispered, their voice trembling.

A profound silence descended, broken only by their ragged, gasping breaths. No one could answer. A dazed stillness settled over them, as if they were collectively waking from a vivid, terrifying dream. They’d spent an entire afternoon preparing, meticulously envisioning every possible contingency, bracing themselves for the worst. Yet, the entire fight had been over in less than four minutes. Staring at the fallen behemoth before them, its grotesque form sprawled in the dirt, they were all momentarily at a loss for words.

“Don’t forget your mission,” Ji Yanqing’s voice cut through the silence from his vantage point above, a simple, pointed reminder.

The group, still lost in their bewildered stupor, reacted instinctively, turning as one and heading towards the supermarket. They ran, glancing back nervously over their shoulders, half-expecting the monstrous werewolf to rise and lunge after them. But even as they rounded the corner and put distance between themselves and the corpse, it remained motionless, a testament to their victory.

They didn’t stop running until they reached the supermarket. Seeing the other group already frantically hauling supplies out, the members of the hunting party were still reeling, caught in a haze of disbelief.

“You… you actually killed it?” Uncle Wang asked, his voice filled with undisguised astonishment.

Hearing Uncle Wang’s words, the hunting party finally seemed to snap back to reality. Turning to him, they saw the sheer, unadulterated amazement on his face. It was as if their minds, lagging behind the brutal reality of their accomplishment, finally began to process what had just happened. Color flooded their faces, a visible flush of exhilaration spreading across their skin, and ear-splitting, triumphant grins stretched their mouths.

“Haha…” someone started to laugh, a shaky, disbelieving sound at first. Then, the laughter erupted through the entire team, a wave of pure, unadulterated elation, raw and unrestrained.

“I…” someone tried to speak, but words failed them, lost in the overwhelming rush of emotion. For so long, they’d been the hunted, chased and terrified by Awakened Zombies. In their minds, these creatures had become synonymous with death itself—terrifying, insurmountable. But now, they’d dispatched one with an almost shocking ease, the entire encounter lasting less than five minutes. It felt unreal, like a dream. A molten heat surged in their chests, a feeling so intense it threatened to burst from inside to outside. They were bursting with a desperate, almost manic need to do something, to vent this exhilarating, intoxicating energy. It was as if they’d been granted boundless strength, a power they never knew they possessed. The accumulated dread and bitterness that had weighed so heavily on their hearts and minds for so long vanished in that instant. They felt, impossibly, miraculously, reborn in this hellish, unforgiving world.

“Don’t stop moving,” Ji Yanqing’s voice, laced with a hint of dry amusement, broke through their collective euphoria. He tapped his axe lightly against the wall beside him, a gentle but firm nudge to Bai Haoxuan and the others to stop standing around grinning like a pack of lunatics.

Hearing his voice, seeing Ji Yanqing’s familiar, stoic face, the manic smiles on Bai Haoxuan’s team didn’t fade. They were still grinning like madmen, faces flushed, teeth bared in wide, almost idiotic smiles, but they finally snapped into action, hurrying to load supplies, their movements infused with a newfound energy.

Ji Yanqing watched them, a small, almost imperceptible smile tugging at his own lips. Bai Haoxuan and his crew looked like a bunch of escaped asylum patients. A dead city, filthy streets, a group of silent, grinning people frantically hauling supplies – it was a bizarre, almost surreal scene, so unsettling that even the Awakened Zombie, had it been watching, might have been scared back to life.

Despite their goofy grins, Bai Haoxuan and his team worked with surprising efficiency. In under ten minutes, everything of value from the supermarket and the adjacent stores was boxed up and ready to go. Under the cloak of the rapidly falling night, following the safe route they’d cleared earlier, the group moved swiftly out of the city. They were a large group now, and the loot was substantial. It took two trips back and forth to haul everything out of the city.

By the time they’d moved all the supplies back to the relative safety of the mountain range outside the city, night was deep, and snow had begun to fall in earnest. Facing the biting cold that swept down upon them, the victorious team seemed oblivious, still buzzing with adrenaline and excitement, reliving the battle in animated, overlapping discussions amidst the swirling snow.

“I thought it would be way harder…”

“Didn’t those Equator guys take down that monkey creature in just a few minutes too?”

“If your bullets can hit and actually penetrate, yeah, it’s fast. The real problem is actually hitting them when they’re moving like that!”

“When that thing suddenly lunged at me, it was less than a meter away. I swear, I thought I was a goner…”

“My legs still feel like jelly!”

“I don’t even know how I managed to run back.”

“I think I only missed one shot the entire time!”

“You’re full of it, man.”

“No, seriously!”

…

Ji Yanqing didn’t interrupt, letting them revel in their hard-won victory in the shelter of the woods. This wasn’t just a tactical win; it was a spiritual one – their first significant, independent victory in almost half a year. They deserved to celebrate.

---

In the darkness, amidst the heavy snowfall, Feng Yimo, who had been sitting silently in the desolate clearing where Ji Yanqing’s group had previously camped, abruptly stood.

Sensing the movement, Ji An and Ji Le, their eyes still red and swollen from hours of crying, looked up. The black beast, curled up at the base of a tree, its tail wrapped around its paws for warmth, also looked up, letting out a questioning, “Awoo?”

They’d been there for days now. Feng Yimo had remained utterly silent the entire time. If it weren’t for the occasional, almost imperceptible twitch of a muscle, the black beast would have been happily convinced that he’d finally kicked the bucket.

Feng Yimo ignored the black beast’s palpable disappointment. He glanced at Ji An and Ji Le. “Let’s go.” With that, he turned and headed directly towards the highway.

Ji An and Ji Le, still sniffling, exchanged tearful glances. Though reluctant to move, Feng Yimo’s quiet command spurred them into action.

“Awoo?” The black beast reluctantly trailed after him. Where was Feng Yimo going now?

Feng Yimo ignored it again.

Reaching the highway, Feng Yimo started moving quickly in the direction Ji Yanqing’s group had taken when they’d left them. He was going to find Ji Yanqing. He felt, with a certainty that settled deep in his non-human core, that Ji Yanqing had been wrong about something earlier.

“Awoo?” The black beast looked at the rapidly moving Feng Yimo, then back at the direction Ji Yanqing had actually gone. It had assumed, with a sinking feeling, that Feng Yimo was going to chase after Ji Yanqing and the others. The black beast paused, then a serious, deeply troubling question dawned on it. Did Feng Yimo even know that Ji Yanqing had gone that way, the opposite direction from where he was now heading?

“Woof! Woof!” The black beast sighed in utter resignation and followed, a grim determination settling in its canine heart. It had to stop Feng Yimo from going in the wrong direction. If Feng Yimo couldn’t find Ji Yanqing, it would somehow, inevitably, be its fault.

---

“What’s that?” In the inky blackness of the mountain range, Bai Haoxuan, still caught up in the excited chatter and recounting of their victory, suddenly stopped, his voice sharp as he addressed his companions.

“What’s wha—”

“Over there…” Bai Haoxuan’s voice was cut short, the smile vanishing from his face. “Stop messing around. Get in formation. Now.”

“What’s—” The question from beside him died in his throat, because he too had seen what Bai Haoxuan was looking at.

“Is that… another survivor team?” Gu Ranran’s face was equally grim, her earlier elation gone.

In the darkness, from the woods on the opposite mountainside, someone was using a flashlight to signal them. The light blinked with a deliberate, purposeful rhythm.

Bai Haoxuan immediately stood, grabbing his gun. The others around him, who had been laughing and joking moments before, also sobered instantly, their faces hardening into expressions of alert caution. In this brutal, unforgiving apocalypse, half the danger came from zombies, the other half, often more insidiously, from other humans.

“Captain.” Bai Haoxuan grabbed his gun and moved to the side, wrenching open the door of one of the trucks. Ji Yanqing, who had been resting and recovering in the truck bed, heard the commotion and emerged. Seeing the tense faces of Bai Haoxuan’s team and the flashing lights from the opposite mountainside, he immediately understood.

“Must have been the gunshots from earlier,” Bai Haoxuan said, his voice low and grim. The other group must have been in the city already. And the commotion they’d made in the afternoon, taking down the Awakened Zombie, had been considerable.

“What do we do? Make contact?” Gu Ranran asked, her voice tight. The other group was still signaling, clearly wanting to meet. Bai Haoxuan and the others were clearly uneasy about the prospect, their expressions wary.

Ji Yanqing considered briefly. “Send a few people to ask what they want.” They couldn’t avoid contact with other survivor groups forever. And other groups, for better or worse, were their only source of information about the wider world in this desolate, fragmented landscape.

Bai Haoxuan took a deep breath and quickly selected a few trusted men from the team. He signaled back to the other group, then led his small contingent towards the clearing at the foot of the mountain. They weren’t going to meet in the dense woods; if things went south, the people remaining on the mountain wouldn’t be able to see what was happening, lowering their chances to offer support or cover a retreat.

Ten minutes later, in the open space at the mountain’s base, clearly visible to both teams despite the darkness and falling snow, the two groups made contact. It was too dark and the snow was falling too heavily to discern individual faces from the mountainside. All they could make out were about twenty armed figures from the other party. Bai Haoxuan wasn’t new to dealing with other survivor teams. The other group, it seemed, was equally experienced. The two leaders quickly fell into conversation. The exchange was brief, no more than five or six minutes. Then, both groups turned and headed back to their respective camps.

Fifteen minutes later, Bai Haoxuan rejoined Ji Yanqing at the mountain peak.

“They want to exchange information with us,” Bai Haoxuan reported.

“Exchange information?” Gu Ranran frowned, suspicious.

“They’re heading to the gathering in Wucheng,” Bai Haoxuan explained.

“Gathering?” The word jogged a memory in Ji Yanqing’s mind, something he’d almost forgotten in the chaos of recent events.

“Wucheng is back the way we came. The gathering is less than twenty days away now, so a lot of survivor teams are moving in that direction. They’ve already run into several other teams and assumed we were heading there too, so they wanted to chat, see what we knew.”

Hearing about the gathering, a ripple of excitement, mixed with apprehension, ran through the camp. Bai Haoxuan and his team had known about the gathering. But these events were usually for larger, more established groups, and Bai Haoxuan’s team, being relatively small and independent, had never participated before. It was something they were intensely curious about.

“They said ‘exchange information,’ but really it’s just a couple of team leaders getting together to talk shop, compare notes,” Bai Haoxuan clarified. When he’d first met Ji Yanqing, Ji Yanqing had only been with Gu Wenmo and a few others. Bai Haoxuan wasn’t sure if Ji Yanqing even knew about these kinds of large-scale survivor gatherings.

Ji Yanqing indeed hadn’t known the specifics. He made a quick decision. “Alright.”

---

Bai Haoxuan nodded, instructing one of those who had accompanied him down the mountain to send the prearranged signal confirming their willingness to meet. Quickly, the opposing group responded with the same signal.

With the agreement made, Bai Haoxuan selected his team again. From the armed members, he chose roughly fifty who were in better physical condition, leading them down the mountain with Ji Yanqing. As Ji Yanqing and his group reached the base of the mountain, the other team was just descending from their own position.

Leading the opposing group was a man around forty years old, short in stature with a neatly trimmed crew cut and narrow, slit-like eyes that gave him a shrewd, calculating appearance. They, too, had brought about fifty armed individuals.

Reaching the clearing, both sides held back their main forces about ten meters, leaving only the leaders and presumably their seconds-in-command to step forward into the heavy, swirling snow.

“Hello, we’re the Sharp Knife survival team. My name’s Zhang Yang,” the man said, extending a hand in a gesture that felt almost archaic in this brutal new world.

Ji Yanqing paused imperceptibly. Since the outbreak, handshakes had become a distant, almost forgotten memory. He didn’t reciprocate the gesture. “Ji Yanqing.” He paused, then added, his voice flat, “Light Chasers”

Seeing Ji Yanqing’s reluctance to shake hands, the other man didn’t seem to mind, chuckling lightly as he lowered his own hand. “We heard gunfire in the city this afternoon. Later, we saw the corpse of an Awakened Zombie in there,” Zhang Yang stated, his shrewd eyes studying Ji Yanqing.

Ji Yanqing nodded, a tacit acknowledgment of their involvement.

“We’re heading to Wucheng next. Are you also going to the gathering?”

“No. We’re going in the opposite direction.”

Zhang Yang blinked, clearly surprised.

“We recently encountered a Second Stage Corpse King named Lou Ye in a nearby city,” Ji Yanqing volunteered, deciding to offer a piece of valuable, if dangerous, information. “He disguised himself as human, infiltrated a survivor team, and then murdered them. It caused quite a stir. You should be careful of lone individuals, especially those who seem too friendly, too eager to join.” He then asked, his voice carefully neutral, “Do you have any news about the Sunward team?”

“Disguised himself as human and infiltrated a survivor team?” The smiles vanished from Zhang Yang’s face and that of the man beside him, who Ji Yanqing presumed was his second-in-command. They weren’t surprised that a Corpse King could infiltrate a survivor team; they clearly already knew that Thrice-Evolved Corpse Kings who evolved towards intelligence could assume a convincing human form. Their reaction was one of grim understanding, of shared danger.

“Yes.” Ji Yanqing didn’t reveal Lou Ye’s death. That information was too valuable, too dangerous to share freely.

Zhang Yang’s expression shifted, his shrewd eyes calculating. After a moment, he looked up. “If you’re heading in the opposite direction from Wucheng, I’d advise you not to go any further that way. The Sunward team had a rather… significant fight with someone up ahead not long ago. They should still be in that area.”

Ji Yanqing’s heart skipped a beat.

“There’s a military base up ahead,” Zhang Yang continued. “One of Sunward’s smaller teams apparently took it over. When they were heading back with the supplies they’d gathered, another survivor team tried to double-cross them, ambush them for the goods. Caused a lot of trouble. The two sides ended up fighting a pitched battle.”

“Just one small team? Not their main force?” Ji Yanqing asked, trying to keep the urgency from his voice.

Zhang Yang shook his head. “Just a team called Swift Dragon, from what I heard.”

Ji Yanqing was momentarily speechless. He’d never heard of a Swift Dragon team within Sunward. And a single, small team taking down an entire military base? Was this Sunward really the same Sunward he remembered? The one he had helped build?

“I don’t know what business you have with them,” Zhang Yang said, his tone cautious, “but I’d strongly suggest you avoid any contact with Sunward’s people if you can. They’re ruthless. Especially that one surnamed Xia. He’s like a rabid dog. Once you cross him, you better be prepared to be chewed down to the bone, nothing left.”

Ji Yanqing remained silent, a knot tightening in his stomach.

“Once you piss him off, that guy kills even the ordinary, non-combatant members of opposing teams. And if any other survivor team dares to take in those people, they’ll slaughter that whole team too, won’t stop until the entire group is wiped out. Every survivor team in this region avoids them like the plague now.” He paused, then added, “That Swift Dragon team is still up ahead, probably still hunting down the remnants of the team that tried to double-cross them, determined to wipe them out completely, leave no survivors, scorched earth style.”

Ji Yanqing couldn’t quite describe the complex swirl of emotions that churned within him.

“Are they… still recruiting?” Bai Haoxuan asked, his voice hesitant.

Zhang Yang glanced at Bai Haoxuan. “They’re fiercely loyal to their own, I’ll give them that. Those guys are still looking for their original leader. Turned over every city in the immediate vicinity after he went missing, then expanded their search to all the nearby cities. It’s been so long now, everyone else knows he’s not coming back, but they still haven’t given up.” He paused, then added, almost reluctantly, “Though they might not be recruiting anymore. Last I heard, they’re already over six hundred strong.”

Ji Yanqing’s throat felt dry, constricted. Six hundred…

Seeing that Ji Yanqing wasn’t going to speak, Bai Haoxuan, after a moment of thought, recounted the story of Lou Ye in brief, omitting the fact that Lou Ye was now dead. This wasn’t his first time interacting with other survivor teams. He knew how to weigh information, what to share and what to withhold. Sunward’s reputation, while fearsome, and Lou Ye’s insidious threat weren’t comparable in terms of immediate, widespread danger. Sunward’s ruthlessness was common knowledge among larger, more established survivor teams, but Lou Ye’s existence, his ability to infiltrate and manipulate, was still largely unknown, a hidden, far more terrifying menace. This was likely why Zhang Yang had been willing to share so much information about Sunward in the first place – a warning, perhaps, or an attempt to gauge their own strength and intentions.

After discussing Sunward and Lou Ye, they exchanged a few more inconsequential words, observations about the weather, rumors of other, distant cities, and then parted ways, each group returning to their own camp.

Throughout the return journey up the mountainside, Ji Yanqing was unusually quiet, his silence so profound that it caused Bai Haoxuan to glance at him repeatedly, a worried frown creasing his brow. Ji Yanqing clearly knew people in Sunward, perhaps even held a significant position there once. This only deepened the mystery surrounding the man. Hunted by three Corpse Kings, yet bold enough, skilled enough, to hunt down and kill a Second Stage Corpse King himself, and with connections to the formidable, almost legendary Sunward team – just who was Ji Yanqing?

That night, Ji Yanqing couldn’t sleep. His mind was consumed by thoughts of Xia Shen Shu, Lan Zi, Li Pingsen, Xiao Kang, Lu Qing, Xia Chen… all of them. Sunward might no longer be the Sunward he remembered, the team he had poured his heart and soul into. He no longer knew if returning to them was the right choice, or a grave mistake. Perhaps, after all this time, they no longer needed him.

Sensing Ji Yanqing’s troubled thoughts, Bai Haoxuan didn’t bother him. He simply told the others who were curious about Sunward about the encounter with the Sharp Knife team and the news of Sunward’s presence ahead, then instructed everyone to get some sleep early. With another survivor team nearby, even if they seemed amicable for now, Bai Haoxuan doubled the night watch, just in case.

Dawn broke, cold and grey. The next day, once the roads were deemed passable, the convoy set off again. They continued to drive away from the city where they’d encountered the Sharp Knife team. Only after confirming that Zhang Yang and his people weren’t following did Bai Haoxuan and the others allow themselves to relax, even a little.

“Actually, you can’t really blame Sunward for what happened, right? It’s the other team’s fault for trying to double-cross them in the first place…” Gu Wenmo said, a conflicted expression on his young face. In his mind, Sunward was a good team, a beacon of hope, full of honorable people. But the Sunward described by Zhang Yang was ruthless, almost cruel.

“Still, killing even the ordinary, non-combatant members of the other team… that’s too much,” Gu Ranran sighed, her brow furrowed.

Gu Wenmo wanted to argue further. He still believed, deep down, that Sunward wasn’t truly like that, that there had to be more to the story.

“Alright, enough…” Bai Haoxuan glanced at Ji Yanqing, who was frowning, eyes closed, clearly trying to rest, or perhaps just escape the conversation. He was about to stop their discussion when the lead vehicle suddenly slammed on its brakes.

The sudden stop, like a domino effect in reverse, threw everyone in the convoy forward, inertia sending them tumbling against each other and the hard surfaces of the vehicles. Cries of pain and surprise filled the air. Amidst the chaos, Ji Yanqing quickly regained his balance and looked out the window. The vehicle he was in was one of the converted buses. Through the grimy window, he could see the situation outside. All five vehicles in their convoy had screeched to a halt. Two of them had even bumped into each other; it wasn’t a serious collision, but it was enough to dent the front of the trailing car.

Ji Yanqing looked towards the front of the convoy. The lead vehicle was completely blocking the road, obscuring what lay ahead. He then scanned the surrounding landscape. They were in a small, relatively open plain, mountains and woods visible in the distance, but there were no immediate signs of ambushers or zombies nearby. He grabbed his axe, his knuckles white, and got out of the bus, walking quickly towards the front of the convoy.

As Ji Yanqing stepped out, Bai Haoxuan and the others, still dazed and bruised from the sudden stop, scrambled to their feet, instinctively reaching for their guns.

“Captain…” The driver of the lead vehicle saw Ji Yanqing approaching, his face a bizarre mixture of shock, near-tearfullness, and a hint of something that looked almost like indignation.

Ji Yanqing raised an eyebrow. Fear wasn’t the primary emotion in the driver’s eyes. Not zombies, then? If not zombies, then what could have caused such an abrupt, chaotic stop?

Ji Yanqing held his breath, slowing his pace as he approached the side of the lead vehicle, peering cautiously around it towards the road ahead. His gaze landed on four figures standing in the middle of the road – a large black dog, two smaller human cubs, and a tall human figure. Ji Yanqing’s already slightly elevated heart rate instantly spiked, blood surging to his brain with such force that for a moment, his mind went completely, utterly blank.

Feng Yimo glared coldly at the black beast cowering at his feet, who was still trying, with a series of pathetic whimpers and tail-tucks, to argue its innocence. Ji Yanqing had clearly been heading this way, but the black beast had insisted, vehemently, that he had gone in the opposite direction, even somehow enlisting Ji An and Ji Le in its campaign of deception.

Seeing Ji Yanqing suddenly appear before them, the black beast was utterly flustered, its ability to think, to process, completely shutting down. Ji Yanqing was clearly going in the opposite direction when they’d last seen him. Why was he here now? Could it be that it had been wrong about the direction? Could it be the one with the terrible, nonexistent sense of direction? Had it finally been infected with some kind of direction-impairing virus from associating with these humans for too long?

Feng Yimo paid no attention to the black beast’s internal turmoil, even as it seemed to be spiraling quite desperately... His dark, intense gaze was fixed solely on Ji Yanqing. He hadn’t expected to encounter Ji Yanqing here, not like this.

“Did you come back for…” Feng Yimo began, his voice holding a hint of something that might have been hope, wanting to ask if Ji Yanqing had returned to find them.

“No,” Ji Yanqing interrupted curtly before Feng Yimo could finish the question. Seeing Feng Yimo again, here, now, gave Ji Yanqing an instant, throbbing headache. Why was Feng Yimo here?

Cut off mid-sentence, Feng Yimo froze for a moment, but even Ji Yanqing’s brusque denial couldn’t entirely diminish the palpable joy of seeing him again.

Ji Yanqing didn’t want to waste time arguing with Feng Yimo. He couldn’t bear to look into the pleading, hopeful eyes of the two small figures at Feng Yimo’s feet. He turned back towards the convoy, intending to instruct them to continue driving, to simply go around this unexpected, unwelcome obstacle.

“No, wait, things aren’t the way you said they were,” Feng Yimo said, his voice suddenly firm, cutting through Ji Yanqing’s resolve.

Ji Yanqing stopped, turning back slowly to face him.

“I really don’t care about Xia Shen Shu and the others,” Feng Yimo stated, his gaze unwavering. “Because to me, they are irrelevant. I have no reason to care about a group of irrelevant, insignificant people.”

Ji Yanqing remained silent, waiting. That’s how you start things off?

“But I care about you,” Feng Yimo declared, the words simple, direct, yet laden with a profound, almost terrifying weight. He took two steps forward, closing the distance between them. “If you don’t like something, then I won’t do it.”

Ji Yanqing instinctively took a step back, widening the gap. Feng Yimo was too close, his presence too intense, almost suffocating.

“…Who can guarantee that?” he challenged, his voice rough.

“I can.”

Ji Yanqing scoffed, a short, humorless sound.

Feng Yimo stepped closer again, undeterred, looking directly into Ji Yanqing’s eyes. His voice was soft now, almost a whisper, as if he were afraid of scaring Ji Yanqing away, of breaking this fragile, unexpected connection. “To me, you are not insignificant. I can’t bear to make you angry.”

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qq words I live! I have chaps 64, 65, and 66 ready, I'm just scared to post in fear that I'll never be able to have a consistent schedule... send faith that I can get myself together... Ty to anyone who reads and enjoys nonetheless ^^