AFTCKCTCKATD - Chapter 65

 Chapter 65

I Want You To Have Only Me.

 

At Feng Yimo’s “I like you,” the frantic rhythm of Ji Yanqing’s heart stuttered to an abrupt, chilling silence. He felt as if he’d been plunged into the icy depths of a winter lake. The pieces clicked into place with horrifying clarity, and he finally understood what Feng Yimo had meant about Lu Qing.

Lu Qing had once told him he liked him, back when he had fled from Li Xiao’s group and returned to them on his own.

Xia Shen Shu and the others had all heard Lu Qing’s declaration, but of everyone present, Feng Yimo was likely the only one who hadn’t understood its true meaning. It wasn’t the affection between lovers, but the simple respect and camaraderie between friends.

Feng Yimo wasn’t human. Such complex emotions were likely beyond his comprehension.

Ji Yanqing dragged in a deep, shuddering breath, forcing his heart and lungs to resume their functions. A bitter wave of self-mockery washed over him. How could he have let his heart race over a few ambiguous words?

Feng Yimo wasn’t human. It was doubtful he could even feel an emotion like affection, yet here Ji Yanqing was, making a fool of himself over a one-sided fantasy.

He gave Feng Yimo one last, profound look, then turned and walked away without the slightest hesitation.

“Dad…” Ji An took two anxious steps forward as he watched Ji Yanqing leave.

Ji Le’s lip trembled as he shot Feng Yimo an aggrieved look. Feng Yimo had made Ji Yanqing angry again.

He was such a big dummy!

The last time Feng Yimo had upset Ji Yanqing, he’d left them behind in the woods and tried to send them away.

Sensing the stares, Feng Yimo glanced down to meet the accusing, tear-filled eyes of Ji An and Ji Le. For a brief moment, his breath hitched.

Ji Yanqing didn’t look back. Refusing to let his mind stray, he strode toward the innermost of the three makeshift tents. Inside, clustered in a corner, he found the group of people Gu Ranran had brought back from the city.

Having finished their food and water, they were now dozing fitfully in the corner. Days of fleeing for their lives in an extreme environment had left them exhausted. The terror of being hunted was etched into their features, a canvas of anxiety and despair. Just looking at them was a stark reminder of the apocalypse’s cruelty.

Ji Yanqing stopped before them.

At his approach, a young man in his twenties nudged the forty-something man beside him. They were the same two who had led the kneeling and begging earlier, and they seemed to be the leaders of this small band of survivors.

The older man shook himself awake and looked up at Ji Yanqing.

“We need to talk,” Ji Yanqing said.

The man’s eyes darted around the tent. Seeing no one new besides the guards assigned to watch them, and no ominous array of gun barrels, he nodded.

Ji Yanqing led him to the other side of the tent. It was a crude shelter stitched together from bedsheets and wasn’t large enough for location to make much of a difference, but a few large stones had been dragged in from outside, offering a place to sit.

Taking a seat on one of the stones, Ji Yanqing studied the man before him again. He was around forty-five or forty-six—not an old man by any means, but half a year in this new world had threaded his temples with white and carved fine lines around his eyes. His build was solid, suggesting he had lived well before the outbreak.

“What’s your name?”

“Wu Shangyou.”

“Sunward has already figured out you’re with us,” Ji Yanqing said, getting straight to the point.

The lingering drowsiness vanished from Wu Shangyou’s face. His eyes widened, pupils constricting. “You—”

“We didn’t tell them. They guessed,” Ji Yanqing cut in. “Sunward has been hunting you for a long time. They’re not fools. You should know that much.”

Wu Shangyou fell silent, though the color didn’t return to his face.

“So, what is your story? The whole truth this time,” Ji Yanqing demanded. “We can’t just pick a fight with Sunward over you all without knowing all the facts.”

If he could save them, he wouldn’t hesitate to lend a hand. But he wasn’t so magnanimous as to drag Bai Haoxuan and the others into a life-or-death battle for strangers. He knew where his priorities lay.

Wu Shangyou’s swallowed audibly. He opened his mouth, then closed it again. He tried several times to speak, but each time, Ji Yanqing’s emotionless, dark eyes made him swallow his words. Ji Yanqing didn’t have a naturally intimidating aura, but his blank expression made it unequivocally clear that he was not joking.

After more than a minute, Wu Shangyou finally found his words. “Our survival team was called New World. We had over three hundred people. We were on our way to the gathering at Wu City when we ran into a team called Midsummer. They were the ones who told us that Sunward was planning to raid a nearby military base.”

“Their leader took the initiative to propose a joint operation with our captain, promising to split whatever they got fifty-fifty. Our team had some gear and enough ammunition at the time, but this was a military base we were talking about.”

“We had over three hundred people, and Midsummer had over two hundred. That’s more than five hundred in total, with at least two hundred of us armed. Sunward only had about a hundred and fifty members. The odds were heavily in our favor, so our captain agreed to work with Midsummer.”

“We set up an ambush along Sunward’s retreat route. One group drew their attention while another went for their supply trucks. The plan went smoothly at first, but Sunward’s people weren’t just well-equipped; their teamwork was impeccable. We quickly found ourselves at a disadvantage.”

“Since then, Sunward’s been hunting us down, trying to wipe our entire team out to the last man.”

Ji Yanqing’s expression remained unchanged. “What’s the name of the Sunward team leader who’s leading the hunt?”

“I don’t know. I just know their unit is called Swift Dragon, and their leader is a bald man. I’ve seen him. He’s in his thirties, his face is a mask of brutal hostility, bisected by a scar. His own men are terrified of him.”

Ji Yanqing let out a silent breath, finally dispelling the last shred of hope that this leader might be Hei Long.

“What else do you know?” Ji Yanqing pressed.

“That’s all.”

“What about other survival teams?”

Wu Shangyou paused, slightly taken aback.

Ji Yanqing said nothing, merely waiting with that same placid expression. They were under no obligation to save Wu Shangyou’s group for free. They had provided them with supplies; it was only natural for them to offer some information in return.

Realizing Ji Yanqing wasn’t easily fooled, Wu Shangyou’s expression grew more serious. “I also know about the third evolution of zombies, and a bit about Green Moon and Equator.”

“What about Green Moon and Equator?”

“A while back, Green Moon nearly came to blows with a team called Banyan. It got pretty ugly.”

Ji Yanqing’s brow furrowed slightly. Green Moon was Qin Yue’s team, and Banyan was Huang Rongyue’s. Why would Qin Yue and Huang Rongyue be fighting?

“I don’t know the specifics,” Wu Shangyou said. “I only heard that Sunward stepped in to mediate and protected the Banyan team. Now things are pretty tense between Sunward and Green Moon.”

Ji Yanqing was puzzled, but knowing he wouldn’t get any more details, he didn’t press further. He looked at Wu Shangyou, waiting.

“Equator and Cradle are at odds, too.”

“Cradle?” That was a name Ji Yanqing hadn’t heard before.

“Equator is one of the largest teams in this area. Cradle is a team from further west. They’re about the same size as Equator, with seven or eight hundred people.”

“Equator chose Wu City for this year’s gathering, right? The people from Cradle aren’t happy about it. Wu City is already quite far west, and Cradle considers it their territory.”

“Territory?” Ji Yanqing raised an eyebrow. This was the first he’d heard of teams claiming territory.

“It wasn’t like this at first. Everyone just survived on their own merits. But as a few of the stronger teams grew bigger and more powerful, they slowly started to carve out territories.”

Ji Yanqing thought for a moment and quickly understood. No one had the technology or conditions for agriculture. The food and water in the cities wouldn’t replenish themselves, and supplies were dwindling. Small teams were like ants, beneath anyone’s notice. But teams like Equator, with hundreds of members, were a different story. Their targets were the large supermarkets, grocery stores, and food production factories in urban centers—the only places that could sustain a group of their size. With limited resources and high consumption rates, they naturally didn’t want anyone else beating them to the punch. The competition between survival teams had become overt.

“Anything else?” Ji Yanqing asked.

Wu Shangyou shook his head. “That’s all the recent news about the teams. The only other thing is about Corpse Kings. They can undergo a third evolution.”

Ji Yanqing stood up. “Stay in the tent and don’t go outside. Sunward is probably watching this place.”

Wu Shangyou agreed, his face grim.

Ji Yanqing turned and headed for the entrance. The moment he stepped outside, he saw Bai Haoxuan. He and the others had noticed him talking with Wu Shangyou and had been waiting.

“Captain?” Bai Haoxuan approached as Ji Yanqing emerged.

Ji Yanqing led him and the others a short distance away from the tent before speaking. “He knows too many details to be just an ordinary member.”

In a joint operation between two teams, even unarmed members would be involved and would hear something about the plan, but Wu Shangyou knew the entire operation inside and out. Others might not know the truth, but Wu Shangyou was definitely not just some regular survivor.

Realizing this, Ji Yanqing felt a sliver of relief. At least Sunward wasn’t hunting down a group of innocent, ordinary people as Wu Shangyou’s group had claimed. The fact that Sunward also eliminated any team that gave them shelter likely wasn’t a baseless rumor either; Sunward must have clashed with other teams over Wu Shangyou’s group before. This only made Ji Yanqing more curious about Sunward’s reasons for being so relentless.

Bai Haoxuan’s expression shifted. He exchanged uneasy glances with Gu Ranran and the others. If Wu Shangyou’s group weren’t just ordinary survivors, the situation had become far more complicated.

“Let’s put that aside for now,” Ji Yanqing said, turning to Gu Ranran. “What’s the situation in the city?”

Gu Ranran reported, “The distribution of normal zombies in the city is irregular. It seems Sunward was right; there’s a Corpse King, and they must have disturbed it. We also found a supermarket, but it’s been picked over. There probably isn’t much left. The main road out of the city isn’t near us, it’s off to the left. The road is clogged with cars—mostly trucks, not many buses.”

They had nothing now. The little food they had would only last one more meal, and even that had to be carefully rationed. The list of things they needed to scavenge from the city was long: food, water, a vehicle, gasoline, medicine, backpacks, clothes. If Bai Haoxuan still wanted to modify a vehicle, they would also need to hit a hardware store and find a generator.

“Tomorrow, our priorities are food, water, and medicine. After that, a vehicle, gasoline, clothes, and backpacks,” Ji Yanqing said, looking at Bai Haoxuan. “If we have time after all that, we can think about other things.”

Bai Haoxuan nodded. He was eager to start modifying a vehicle, but he understood their priorities. They had to survive first before they could think about anything else.

“There’s a Corpse King in the city. I don’t think we should use the speakers again,” Gu Ranran said, looking at Bai Haoxuan. His method was safer, but it was also more likely to cause a commotion.

Ji Yanqing considered this for a moment. “No speakers. We’ll use lights. Everyone should get to bed early tonight. We move out before dawn.” After a pause, he added, “There’s too much to get. Hauling things out one by one is too much trouble. Tomorrow, let’s see if we can find a vehicle first, load everything onto it, and drive it straight out.”

They had to replenish their food and secure transportation as quickly as possible. That way, if anything happened with Sunward, they would have an escape route.

Bai Haoxuan nodded and went to inform the rest of the team about the plan for the next day.

Learning they would be entering the city before dawn, the exhausted group—who had already walked for four or five hours that day after the devastation of their vehicles—ate a dinner that was half their usual portion and went to bed early.

They had always slept in their vehicles before, which were sealed from the elements, padded with mats and bedding, and relatively warm even when it snowed. Now, with the vehicles gone, they only had a few cloth sheets to hang over their heads to keep off the snow. Night fell, and before the snow had even begun to fall again, the people huddled in the tent were already shivering from the cold.

By the time Ji Yanqing found a place to sit, both his feet were numb from the cold, and the scabbed-over wounds on his hands began to throb with a dull ache.

He pulled his clothes tighter around himself and instinctively glanced over at Ji An and Ji Le. The two boys were huddled together in a corner, dwarfed by their oversized clothes. Their breath plumed white in the frigid air. Their small faces were tinged blue with cold, and their tiny fingers were as red as radishes.

---

Ji Yanqing’s heart softened as he watched them.

“Ji An,” he called gently.

At the familiar voice, Ji An and Ji Le instantly looked up.

“Come here.” Ji Yanqing opened his coat wide, ready to wrap them inside.

The zipper lowered, but the boys remained rooted in place. Puzzled, Ji Yanqing studied their faces.

Ji Le’s lips trembled, tears welling until they clung to his lashes—a single blink away from falling. Ji An bit his lower lip stubbornly, refusing to cry.

“What’s wrong?” A dull ache spread through Ji Yanqing’s chest. “Come, let me hold you.”

Ji An sniffled. “...Hugs make you disappear.”

“What?”

Wiping runaway tears, the boy whispered, “Last time you hugged us... then you left.”

The memory unleashed fresh tears. They knew—Feng Yimo had upset Ji Yanqing again that afternoon. He’d surely try to abandon them once more. If kindness was just a prelude to betrayal, they’d rather have none at all.

They understood Ji Yanqing feared them. Knew he resented them. They no longer hoped for the past.

No hugs were needed. No fatherly love required. Just letting them stay near, watching over him—that was enough. They’d protect him.

Even if he’d cast them aside, Ji Yanqing was still their dad. They still loved him.

Hearing Ji An’s tear-choked words, Ji Le finally broke. He buried his face against his brother’s neck, but Ji An’s small frame couldn’t hide his flushed, tear-streaked cheeks or icy-red nose. Ji An held him clumsily. He’d protect Ji Le. He was the big brother.

The sight pierced Ji Yanqing deeper, the ache swelling into his throat like a stone. He opened his mouth—then closed it.

To these children, every kindness had become a knife. A blade that twisted each time he chose to leave. Better a clean cut than endless wounds.

He shut his eyes, trying to block out their muffled, kitten-soft cries in the dark.

---

The camp had Wu Shangyou’s group; the city, Sunward’s Swift Dragon unit. Bai Haoxuan split the night watch into two shifts with four rotations—some guarding camp, others posted on the adjacent hill.

Taking the latter half, Bai Haoxuan was roused to take up his post. Shivering, he wrapped his coat tight, grabbed his rifle, and stumbled outside.

Wind-whipped snow stung his face. He hunched deeper into his collar. The cold had long since stripped away his coat’s warmth, leaving only biting knives of frost.

He stomped his feet in the snow. Already, his toes were numb.

After checking Wu Shangyou’s tent—all asleep—he trudged uphill.

At the summit, a figure sat silhouetted against the gale, long coat snapping like a flag. Feng Yimo, clad only in his shirt and trench coat, cradled his longsword on a boulder, gazing into the distance. Unaffected.

The sight alone drained the last warmth from Bai Haoxuan’s bones.

“Aren’t you freezing?” His teeth chattered.

Feng Yimo glanced back. The icy stare made Bai Haoxuan shudder harder.

“Did you argue again?” Small talk. Anything to distract from the cold gnawing his core.

Feng Yimo turned fully now, his obsidian eyes darker and colder than the night itself.

Bai Haoxuan looked away, defeated.

“Why did saying ‘I like you’ make him angrier?” Feng Yimo’s voice was flat, yet beneath it churned something raw. Ever ince Ji Yanqing had reacted to those words with fury, Feng Yimo’s heart had seized—blood refused to flow, air refused to enter. He felt clogged. Suffocated.

When Lü Qing said it, Ji Yanqing’s quiet happiness had been palpable.

Lü Qing’s “like” brought joy.

His “like” brought rage.

“Cough...!” Bai Haoxuan choked mid-stomp, rubbing his frozen hands.

Feng Yimo waited. Silent. That frigid gaze pinned him.

Bai Haoxuan felt ice water splash his soul. He managed a strangled laugh. “That’s... a profound question.”

He scrambled for an answer. He was no relationship guru. His earlier attempts to mediate were purely for peacekeeping.

Feng Yimo frowned.

Bai Haoxuan’s face contorted. “...Some words need the right moment.”

“When is the right moment?”

Bai Haoxuan froze.

For a second, he wanted to meet that unnerving stare and confess: I might not look it, but I’m a chronically single dog. Pre-apocalypse? Lone wolf. Post-apocalypse? No bandwidth for romance.

He swallowed the impulse. “You like him?”

“Yes.” Instant. Unhesitating.

“...That kind of like?”

Feng Yimo’s brow furrowed. “Are there kinds?”

Bai Haoxuan rubbed his stiff face, understanding dawning. “It’s... probably not as simple as just liking or not...”

Feng Yimo’s gaze sharpened.

“I like Ji Yanqing too.” The temperature plummeted further. Bai Haoxuan almost laughed. “Everyone here does. He’s... compelling. Mysterious. Strong. He could survive alone, yet he brought us along. We all want to stay by his side.”

He met Feng Yimo’s eyes. “Is that enough for you? Just... following him?”

Feng Yimo stayed silent. Just watching Ji Yanqing did bring a quiet contentment. Yet... something felt fundamentally wrong with the idea.

Bai Haoxuan pressed on. “Someone like him? People will flock to him. Always. Sooner or later, he’ll be surrounded by the capable. The exceptional.” Gu Wenmo said Ji Yanqing was alone when they met. He never spoke of his past. Always solitary. But Bai Haoxuan suspected he’d had a team before. What were they like? And the fear lingered—what if Ji Yanqing found them again? Would he leave? He wasn’t alone in that fear. Gu Wenmo, Gu Ranran... the whole team felt it.

“When that day comes, he’ll have closer bonds. Better people. We might go days without a word exchanged.”

“I’ll strive. Push myself to be worthy enough to stand beside him. But if I give everything... and it’s not enough?” Bai Haoxuan drew a sharp breath. “I think... I could accept it. I have my own life. He isn’t my entire world.”

“Could you?” His attempt to advise Feng Yimo had turned into a confession. Bitter.

Feng Yimo said nothing.

The image formed anyway: Ji Yanqing, laughing in a crowd, never glancing back. A wave of possessive fury crashed over Feng Yimo. For a heartbeat, he wanted to draw his blade and scatter them all.

Bai Haoxuan watched the silent, brooding figure and fell quiet. He found a windbreak, sat, his own throat tightening. Would he still have a place when that day came?

He scrubbed his face fiercely, rubbing feeling back into frozen skin until it burned. Then he lurched up.

He descended, rummaged through his pack for his blueprints, and began studying them under the feeble, almost nonexistent light. He was ordinary. Unremarkable. He had to strive for more. Push beyond limits. Only then could he stay. Only then could he remain irreplaceable.

---

A little past 3 AM, darkness still thick, Ji Yanqing awoke.

After rousing the other tent occupants for the city incursion, he stepped outside.

Two snowmen greeted him. Feng Yimo and Bai Haoxuan, shoulders and heads thickly powdered.

Feng Yimo, a Corpse King, felt little cold. Bai Haoxuan looked moments from becoming an actual ice sculpture.

Seeing the engineer’s blue-tinged lips, chattering teeth, and violent shivers, a bizarre thought struck Ji Yanqing: Did the cold freeze his brain?

Standing out here? In this blizzard?

“Are you... alright?” Ji Yanqing’s words faltered.

---

They had settled on a plan the previous night, and after waking, the group quickly set about their tasks. Twenty-odd armed individuals remained behind to guard Wu Shangyou and his companions. Aside from the injured who couldn’t move and the very old or young, everyone else headed into the city.

The snow hadn’t stopped, making the trek difficult. It took them half an hour to reach the city center and locate the supermarket Gu Ranran and the others had found. The supermarket had only three floors, but it covered a vast area. The ground floor primarily sold cosmetics, jewelry, and clothing. The second floor housed daily necessities, food, and fresh produce, while the third floor was a food court and arcade. The supermarket had been open for some time; its exterior decorations, advertisements, elevators, and display stands were all rather dated. Situated between the bustling downtown and a residential area, with several schools nearby, it boasted an ideal location and, consequently, high foot traffic. Even though it had been looted before, a glance from the rooftop of the building opposite revealed that the glass doors of the second and third floors were still teeming with figures.

The zombies were concentrated on the second and third floors, which were also their primary targets. Compounding the challenge, much of the supermarket’s front wall was glass, letting in light. They would have to lure the zombies from the second and third floors towards the elevators in darkness before they could turn on the lights to draw them around a corner.

With the plan finalized, the group split up. Gu Ranran and Gu Wenmo led a team upstairs to handle the lights. Ji Yanqing was responsible for attracting the zombies, while Bai Haoxuan would lead his people into the supermarket once the zombies were drawn away.

The plan proceeded with remarkable smoothness. In less than five minutes, most of the zombies had been lured around the corner. After Ji Yanqing and Feng Yimo swiftly entered the supermarket and dispatched the remaining undead, Bai Haoxuan’s well-drilled team began to gather supplies.

Inside the supermarket, Ji Yanqing had just finished clearing the second floor and was heading downstairs when Bai Haoxuan, who had been keeping watch outside to ensure the cornered zombies didn’t detect their return, hurried towards him.

“Sunward’s people are here,” Bai Haoxuan said, his face grim. The timing of Sunward’s arrival, just as they had drawn the zombies away, was suspicious, making it hard not to suspect they had ulterior motives – perhaps a “dog-eat-dog” ambush scenario.

Ji Yanqing glanced outside. Sure enough, a group of about twenty people stood on the street to the right of the entrance – the same square-faced man and his contingent from their previous encounter. Ji Yanqing led the way out.

Facing the group on the street, Ji Yanqing gave a slight nod of acknowledgment. The square-faced man leading the opposing group returned the gesture.

“Still here?” the square-faced man asked, his feigned ignorance obvious.

Ji Yanqing didn’t call him out on it. “We ran into some trouble. We need to restock before we can move on.” With so many of them and not a single vehicle at their camp, Sunward’s perceptive members had surely already pieced things together. There was no point in trying to hide it.

The square-faced man glanced at the darkened supermarket behind Ji Yanqing and at Bai Haoxuan’s group, who stood guard at the entrance, guns at the ready. He was about to say something more when someone ran towards them.

“The team leader is here.”

At these words, a jolt of energy seemed to pass through the square-faced man’s group. The casual air vanished, replaced instantly by sternness.

“Let’s go,” the square-faced man said, immediately turning and leading his group away. They departed swiftly, disappearing around the corner in less than a minute.

Ji Yanqing headed towards the corner. Confirming their departure, he hesitated for a moment, then quickly ducked into an adjacent building. He climbed the stairs to the top floor and looked out.

Against the dim backdrop of the snowy night, he soon spotted the square-faced man’s group in the gaps between buildings, and then their main contingent. In a cluster of buildings a considerable distance from the supermarket, a well-organized team of nearly a hundred people rendezvoused with the square-faced man’s group, who had remained in the city. After a quick exchange of words, the square-faced man turned towards the right side of the street, rounded a corner, and entered the ground-floor lobby of a building.

Seeing the person inside, the square-faced man’s expression grew even more solemn. “Team Leader.”

The bald man inside, who had removed his hat, glanced up at him. “Are you sure they’re with his team?”

“Highly probable.”

The bald man’s brow furrowed immediately, an icy aura emanating from his eyes. “Probable?”

Sensing the chill in the air, the square-faced man felt his scalp tingle. He quickly recounted the earlier events. “...I’ve had people watching them. We won’t let that surnamed Wu get away this time.”

“Light Chasers?” The bald man seemed momentarily lost in thought.

“Yes.”

“Captain?” Bai Haoxuan’s voice came from the stairwell.

Ji Yanqing, who had been gazing into the distance, retracted his gaze. He hadn’t seen anything. After the square-faced man returned, he had immediately entered a storefront facing away from Ji Yanqing’s vantage point and hadn’t re-emerged.

“We’ve moved everything out,” Bai Haoxuan said, also glancing into the distance. The sight of the dark mass of figures in the alleyway intensified his sense of unease.

“Let’s go,” Ji Yanqing said, leading the way downstairs.

They hadn’t found much in the supermarket, only enough to last them three or four days – far less than their previous haul, but better than nothing. After moving everything from the supermarket to the area behind two rows of buildings, safely away from the store, Ji Yanqing took Doctor Wang to a nearby pharmacy they had scouted earlier.

Employing the same tactics, they lured out all the zombies from the pharmacy and then quickly entered. They spent some time inside because all the medicine had been strewn across the floor, requiring Doctor Wang to sift through it carefully. The others helped, but the process required meticulous care, and was time-consuming.

By the time they emerged from the pharmacy, the snow had stopped, and the sky was beginning to lighten. About ten minutes later, as dawn broke, Gu Ranran returned with her group. They had found suitable vehicles on the main road leading out of the city. The main highway out of the city wasn’t in the direction of their camp but to the left, about a twenty-minute journey.

The group quickly loaded their supplies and headed for the highway entrance. The highway was heavily congested. After the virus outbreak, most people had attempted to flee this way, resulting in a sea of crashed and abandoned vehicles. The abundance of vehicles, however, worked to their advantage. Gu Ranran and her team found all the vehicles they needed right there on the highway.

Using lights, they drew most of the zombies from the road to an area behind some buildings near the city exit, then acted swiftly. Cutting through adjacent vegetable patches and woods, they quickly loaded the supplies from the supermarket into several vehicles and siphoned gasoline from the abandoned cars on the highway to fill their tanks.

Once preparations were complete, they split into two teams. Ji Yanqing would wait with one group for the snow to melt enough to drive, then leave. Bai Haoxuan would immediately lead the other group back into the city to search for more supplies.

As soon as the snow had melted enough for the vehicles to move, Ji Yanqing’s group set off. Most of the zombies on the highway had been lured to a blind corner on the city’s edge, which saved Ji Yanqing’s group a lot of trouble when they drove off. After driving a distance along the highway to shake off any pursuing zombies, they cut directly across the wilderness and returned to their encampment.

It was already past nine when they reached the camp. By then, a considerable amount of supplies Bai Haoxuan’s group had subsequently retrieved was already piled up. There were steel bars, sheet metal, and wire mesh from a building materials store, as well as various chainsaws and welding torches from a hardware store. There were also several boxes of miscellaneous small parts. The sheer volume of goods formed a small mountain.

More than three hours after Ji Yanqing’s group drove the vehicles back to camp, and after the hottest part of the day, ten or eleven o’clock, had passed, Bai Haoxuan finally returned with his team. They had managed to acquire a small generator and a large quantity of gasoline. These items were heavy, and Bai Haoxuan’s group, having carried them the thousand meters between the city and the camp, collapsed from exhaustion.

Though thoroughly spent, their faces were alight with smiles, especially Bai Haoxuan. He didn’t rest for long before he was fully revived, circling the pile of goods like a mother hen counting her shiny mechanical chicks.

His excitement unabated, Bai Haoxuan called some people over to help take inventory of all the supplies. Medicine, vehicles, gasoline, food, water, clothes, backpacks, bedding for the night – everything they could think of was accounted for. Seeing the several small mountains of supplies, a relieved smile spread across everyone’s face.

“I plan to modify and reinforce the vehicles a bit before we set off,” Bai Haoxuan said excitedly, handing Ji Yanqing the inventory list.

Ji Yanqing took the list, scanned it, and put it away. “Sunward will probably make their move today.”

Bai Haoxuan’s smile vanished instantly.

“They discovered Wu Shangyou’s group was with us last night. The only reason they didn’t act then was probably because they were waiting for the rest of their team. Their main force arrived this morning.”

“Then…”

“Load everything into the vehicles first. Be ready to retreat at any moment,” Ji Yanqing said. He didn’t know why Sunward was so fixated on Wu Shangyou’s group. He suspected Wu Shangyou and his companions were still hiding something, but with no one he recognized in Sunward’s ranks, he couldn’t just rush into the city and shout that he was Ji Yanqing. If he dared to do that, he’d be met with a hail of bullets. Sunward’s people probably wouldn’t tolerate anyone making light of the situation.

“Should we leave now?” Bai Haoxuan suggested.

“They’re watching us. If we make a move now, they’ll attack immediately,” Ji Yanqing replied.

Bai Haoxuan glanced back at the people in their camp. Their team now numbered over two hundred, with more than eighty firearms distributed amoung them. The Swift Dragon unit, though only a hundred and fifty or sixty strong, were all armed. Moreover, Sunward’s members clearly had superior combat awareness and more weaponry to spare. If it came to a fight, Light Chasers would definitely lose. Even if they had twice as many guns, they still wouldn’t stand a chance.

“Then maybe we should...” Bai Haoxuan started, but the words died on his lips. They all suspected Wu Shangyou’s group might be trouble, but they had no proof. Without proof, no one could be one hundred percent certain, which meant there was a possibility that Wu Shangyou’s group was indeed innocent. If they were just ordinary, innocent survivors, handing them over would be no different from killing them themselves.

“Load the supplies first,” Ji Yanqing said.

Bai Haoxuan said no more and went to instruct the group, who were still rejoicing over their newfound supplies, to start loading the vehicles.

After watching for a moment, Ji Yanqing entered the tent again. As soon as he stepped inside, Wu Shangyou’s entire group turned to look at him. After a night’s sleep, they looked somewhat more refreshed.

Ji Yanqing walked directly to Wu Shangyou. “Sunward’s main force has arrived in the city. They’ll make their move sometime today.”

At his words, the faces of the fifteen or so people in the group changed. Wu Shangyou and the young man in his twenties who had knelt and begged with him before turned deathly pale, while the others blanched, their eyes filled with panic. After a brief wave of fear and disarray, they all looked towards Wu Shangyou and the younger man.

Seeing their reactions, Ji Yanqing became even more convinced, though he showed no outward sign, that Wu Shangyou and the young man were not ordinary survivors.

“Then let’s go quickly!” Wu Shangyou’s expression shifted rapidly before he looked urgently at Ji Yanqing. “Didn’t you find vehicles?”

“Sunward has been watching us. The moment we move, they’ll attack,” Ji Yanqing stated.

Wu Shangyou’s already grim face turned even darker. The young man beside him, the one in his twenties, opened and closed his mouth as if to speak, but after a glance at the silent Wu Shangyou, a flicker of fear crossed his eyes.

Ji Yanqing waited a moment. When Wu Shangyou offered nothing further, he turned to leave. Wu Shangyou was clearly hiding something. He wasn’t an ordinary survivor, and the younger man was afraid of him. It was possible that Wu Shangyou was the leader of the New World survival team that had attacked Sunward, or at least a high-ranking member.

---

Stepping outside, Ji Yanqing glanced at Bai Haoxuan and his group, who were working methodically. Then, his gaze shifted towards the city in the distance. They were at least a thousand meters away, too far to make out the specifics of the city’s edge, but he could see no figures moving there.

Ji Yanqing walked toward the mountain beside their camp and surveyed the surroundings from a higher vantage point. A vast plain of vegetable fields and low hills lay between them and the city. The plain wasn’t endless; to its left was the highway leading out of the city, with forests and mountains beyond. To the right, the plain abutted a mountain range.

If I were one of Sunward’s people...

Ji Yanqing whirled around, his eyes locking onto the mountain range not far behind him. They were camped beside a quarried mountain, backed by a stretch of low-lying scrubland. Five or six hundred meters beyond the scrubland lay the mountains.

If he were with Sunward, he certainly wouldn’t just be watching from the city. From that distance, it would take several minutes to charge in, guns blazing. Nearly a kilometer, they might tire out before they even reached their target.

Ji Yanqing scanned the mountain range behind them.

The square-faced man, who had just circled into the mountains, saw Ji Yanqing turn. He immediately yanked back a man who was craning his neck to observe. “Quiet.”

The group, who had been catching their breath in the woods, instantly held their breath. The forest fell into a hush, quiet enough to hear a pin drop.

Two minutes later, the man who had been pulled back whispered, “That guy... he couldn’t have spotted us, could he?”

The square-faced man remained silent. Logically, he didn’t think Ji Yanqing could be that sharp; they had been incredibly covert. But his instincts screamed danger.

“Who the hell is that guy?” the same man asked.

No one in the woods spoke. The moment Ji Yanqing had turned, they had all felt the unsettling sensation of being watched by a ferocious beast, a feeling that had drenched them in cold sweat. They had never felt anything like it, not even when facing a Corpse King.

“Where’s the team leader?” the square-faced man asked.

“Still in the city. He’s planning a frontal assault.”

The square-faced man pursed his lips, saying nothing. After a moment’s thought, he said, “Stick to the plan.” He immediately added, “Keep your eyes peeled. We can’t let that surnamed Wu get away this time. If he escapes again, you can all expect to eat a bullet. Team Leader is already furious because of that surnamed Xia.”

The group sobered, quickly dispersing to their pre-arranged ambush positions within the rear mountain range.

Ji Yanqing stared at the woods behind the camp for a while longer before retracting his gaze. He hadn’t seen anyone. The dense foliage obstructed his view, leaving him with nothing but a sea of green. Though he hadn’t seen anything, he didn’t let his guard down. After a moment’s consideration, he quickly descended the mountain and found Bai Haoxuan, relaying a new set of deployment plans.

Sunward’s unit had only a hundred and fifty or sixty people in total. If they had truly spread themselves so thin, it gave him a lot of room to maneuver. He still couldn’t bring himself to believe that Sunward had turned into a team of ruthless killers. He suspected Wu Shangyou was hiding something, but he wasn’t about to sit back and wait for Sunward to attack. If necessary, he wouldn’t mind pinning Sunward’s people to the ground and beating some answers out of them.

Prepping the new deployment plan took a considerable amount of time. By the time Ji Yanqing finished, the sky was already growing dark. Looking up at the oppressive, black sky, he went to the tent where Wu Shangyou’s group was being held.

After a full day of stewing and waiting, Wu Shangyou and his companions had lost their earlier composure. At around three in the afternoon, Wu Shangyou had requested to speak with him, but Ji Yanqing had brushed him off with the excuse of being busy. They had also attempted to leave in the afternoon, but Bai Haoxuan had directly blocked their way.

Wu Shangyou and his group had wheedled their way into their team with kneeling, kowtowing, and feigned pity, bringing danger upon them all. The fact that they hadn’t been dealt with more forcefully was already a show of restraint.

The moment Ji Yanqing lifted the tent flap, a dozen or so pairs of eyes snapped towards him, one pair laced with palpable fury.

Ji Yanqing met the gaze, and Wu Shangyou immediately masked his anger and killing intent.

“Sorry, I was a bit busy this afternoon,” Ji Yanqing said. “You wanted to leave? Sunward’s people are watching us. The moment you step out, they’ll attack.”

The accusations Wu Shangyou had been bottling up all afternoon were choked back by Ji Yanqing’s words. “We’ve caused you trouble.”

Ji Yanqing nodded. “It’s getting dark.”

Reminded, Wu Shangyou’s group couldn’t help but glance at the sky through the gaps in the tent. It was even darker inside than out, which only intensified the anxiety churning in their chests, threatening to erupt.

“Aren’t you leaving?” Wu Shangyou asked.

“The moment we move, Sunward will attack.”

A flash of frustration flickered in the depths of Wu Shangyou’s eyes. He forced his voice to remain steady. “But if we do nothing, we won’t be able to leave either, will we?”

Prompted, Ji Yanqing furrowed his brow as if just realizing this. He thought for a moment, then said dismissively, “It’s already so dark. We’ll deal with it tomorrow.”

“No!”

Ji Yanqing looked over.

Realizing his outburst, Wu Shangyou quickly composed himself. “Sorry, I’m just... terrified. You know what those people from Sunward are like. They’re maniacs.”

Ji Yanqing didn’t press the issue. He simply nodded and turned to leave.

“Wait.” Just as Ji Yanqing was about to step out of the tent, Wu Shangyou called out to him.

Ji Yanqing looked back.

Wu Shangyou took a deep breath, his face grim. “I want to make a deal with you.”

“A deal?” Ji Yanqing remained at the entrance, showing no intention of re-entering the tent.

“The truth is, our captain managed to snatch three truckloads of supplies from Sunward. We drove the trucks out of the city and hid them somewhere.”

Ji Yanqing’s expression remained unchanged, but inside, a sudden clarity dawned. Three truckloads of supplies. If it were all ammunition, that would be at least a hundred thousand rounds—a colossal fortune in this apocalyptic world. And the trucks likely held more than just bullets.

“And?” Ji Yanqing was still standing at the entrance.

“If you can help us escape safely, we can lead you to them,” Wu Shangyou said.

Ji Yanqing considered it for a moment, then turned and walked out. “I’ll think about it.”

“You—” Wu Shangyou hadn’t expected Ji Yanqing to just leave after hearing about the supplies. He panicked and scrambled to his feet.

Ji Yanqing paid no mind to what he was saying. Once outside the tent, he headed for Bai Haoxuan.

“How are things?” Ji Yanqing asked.

“Everything is set up as you instructed.”

Ji Yanqing nodded. He looked at the distant city, now just a black line on the horizon. “It’s about time they made their move.”

In the city, the bald man with the scarred face pulled on his hat, covering the tattoo on his head, and said coldly, “Move out.”

Snow began to fall.

Feeling the cold flakes on his face, Ji Yanqing held out his hand to catch them. The snow was starting earlier and earlier now. It wasn’t even six in the evening, and it was already falling. As he watched a snowflake melt in his palm, he turned to go back into a tent, only to find himself face to face with a pair of dark, haunting eyes.

Feng Yimo, who had been absent all day, had reappeared.

The sight of him brought back their conversation from the day before. Ji Yanqing moved to the side, intending to walk around him.

“I’m sorry.”

Ji Yanqing stopped.

“I misspoke yesterday,” Feng Yimo said.

Ji Yanqing looked at him. Feng Yimo’s face was still the same, sharply angled and handsome, but his dark, abyss-like eyes were filled with confusion and helplessness. Seeing him like that, Ji Yanqing’s breath caught.

He lowered his gaze, his voice soft. “I should be the one apologizing to you.”

Feng Yimo might be a Corpse King, but he had been good to himself. Ji Yanqing could see that Feng Yimo genuinely considered him a friend. He was the one who had reached out to Feng Yimo first, bringing him, basically dragging Feng Yimo into Sunward. Then, after learning what Feng Yimo was, he was the one who had abandoned him and fled. When Feng Yimo found him again, he hadn’t been angry or lashed out. He had understood his fear and had even taken the initiative to make amends.

Yet, he was the one who had said those hurtful things before turning his back on Feng Yimo. And now, Feng Yimo had come to him again, still treating him well despite everything, even apologizing.

In contrast, he was the one who had repeatedly acted unfairly, being petty and small-minded. Compared to Feng Yimo, the terrifying Corpse King, he had become the bully, the bad guy.

Ji Yanqing took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have taken my anger out on you yesterday.”

His feelings for Feng Yimo were his own business. Feng Yimo shouldn’t suffer because of things he had no conscious part in. Yet he had thrown a fit simply because Feng Yimo hadn’t said what he wanted to hear.

“No...” Feng Yimo felt that something was wrong. After his conversation with Bai Haoxuan last night, he had thought all day and all night but couldn’t figure it out. Unable to understand, he had decided to apologize to Ji Yanqing first. Ji Yanqing seemed to have accepted his apology and had even apologized in return, but for some reason, he felt that the distance between them had grown. He was standing face-to-face with Ji Yanqing, yet he felt as if Ji Yanqing was walking away, away to somewhere he couldn’t reach.

“Please don’t hurt them, okay?” Ji Yanqing pleaded softly.

Feng Yimo was the person he liked. Xia Shen Shu, Bai Haoxuan, and the others were his friends. If one day the person he liked killed his friends... Ji Yanqing couldn’t bear to imagine such a scene.

“Okay, I promise.” A pang of pain shot through Feng Yimo’s chest. Ji Yanqing didn’t need to say this; he would never do such a thing. Ji Yanqing had told him once that it would make him sad if he killed Xia Shen Shu and the others, and he had remembered. He couldn’t bear to see Ji Yanqing sad.

“Thank you.”

Feng Yimo wanted to say it was nothing, but the words wouldn’t come out.

Ji Yanqing nodded a goodbye, and turned to enter the tent.

Seeing him about to leave, Feng Yimo took a step forward and wrapped his arms around him, pulling the distant Ji Yanqing tightly into his embrace, afraid he would walk away.

“Ji Yanqing.”

“Hm?” Startled by the sudden embrace, Ji Yanqing froze.

“Bai Haoxuan said that liking someone is what normal friends do. I don’t want to be just a normal friend with you. There are too many people like that already. It makes me unhappy. I want you … to have only me.”

Ji Yanqing’s breath hitched. This was different from when Feng Yimo had said he liked him before. This time, he was truly flustered.

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