Filled with thoughts of humanity’s total extinction, Su Sigui’s heart was gripped by fear, as if she could feel once again the pain of her previous life when the Zombie King’s black light tore through her body like raging tide!
Suddenly, she remembered something and sharply gazed into Chen Bieli’s eyes again, this time observing every glimmer of emotion that flashed through them.
She had one more question, a last hope, and was dismayed to see Chen Bieli unable to answer it, her face clueless!
"What’s your real name, I don’t want to hear your false name!"
Killer intent surged in Su Sigui’s eyes. Chen Bieli tilted her head in confusion, she didn’t understand what was wrong with Su Sigui, why she was so persistent, what did she want with Ning Tianlang?
Was he that important to her?
"Actually... you can tell me what you want to say to my father, maybe I can help."
The killing intent around Su Sigui exploded like an invisible bomb between the two women. Chen Bieli’s face turned pale, uneased by the intense aura.
The onlookers retreated in fear, leaving a large void around the two women.
"F*ck, stop shoving me!"
With a furious roar from Tang Ye, the crowd around him scattered, allowing him a clear sight of Su Sigui and Chen Bieli.
The short and stocky middle-aged man who had tried to touch Chen Bieli was carried away by his own men. They didn’t utter a single word, didn’t even ask who attacked him.
No one was foolish enough not to recognize the strength of someone who could silently slice a Level 3 New Human in half under so many watchful eyes.
Once the man was brought into the helicopter, a scream resounded, a warning understood by all. Significant repercussions were bound to happen in the near future.
In this post-apocalyptic world, there was no loyalty. New Humans were unlike zombies, they wouldn’t regenerate limbs, those with disabilities were considered of no value. And being of no value, meant one was close to death.
With Chen Bieli and Su Sigui locked in a stalemate, the timetable on the southwest end of the circular platform beeped, signaling the time. However, no one saw the scene of the nuclear bomb flying through the sky. At that moment, most of their attention was drawn to the two women.
"Maybe you can’t help... Perhaps, I will tell you my real name, but you can’t tell anyone. I hope this name remains buried forever. Also, I want to know, do you indeed know my father?"
"I know him, but he doesn’t know me."
Chen Bieli seemed downcast. She had thought she might meet her father’s old friends, but now, it seemed everyone related to him was dead.
She leaned closer to Su Sigui, whispering in her ear. Before she had even spoken, Su Sigui was taken over by a paralyzing fear, which almost halted her heart.
Once Chen Bieli uttered that name, there would truly be no turning back – the only option would be Li Henian.
"It can’t be true, it can’t be true!"
Su Sigui prayed internally, but alas, Chen Bieli still uttered the name Su Sigui least wished to hear!
The name struck Su Sigui like a bullet to her heart. Her face went blank, numerous images flashing before her eyes. Suppressed, suffocatingly silent. No one knew what Chen Bieli had said to her, but Su Sigui’s reaction stirred up their curiosity, even Tang Ye looked perplexed.
What had she heard to cause such a reaction?
Tang Ye, standing behind Chen Bieli, hadn’t paid them much attention initially. It wasn’t until the crowd distanced themselves that he finally took notice. Other than some vague dialogue, he knew almost nothing.
"Chen Bieli isn’t her real name?"
Tang Ye scratched his head. Why would an ordinary person use a fake name? From the moment Jin Wenyi alighted the helicopter, he had been desperately searching for Chen Bieli, presumably smitten with her. An ordinary person captivating a New Human was indeed a rarity.
Capture through force would be much simpler.
Speaking of capturing, Tang Ye couldn’t help but daydream. Would he ever resort to enforced capture if he were to encounter an attractive girl one day?
That would be a true test of his humanity. For Tang Ye the zombie, however, much of that humanity seemed to have faded. He wasn’t sure if he would, like humans, develop feelings for someone.
Mostly, he thought, would a zombie have feelings, seriously?
"What’s wrong with you now?"
Waving her hand in front of Su Sigui’s face, Chen Bieli snapped her back from her daze.
"There’s no need to sulk, that name isn’t anything special, right? Some things may be unimaginable to me, but sis, believe in me. Everything will be alright."
She locked eyes with Su Sigui, speaking softly. For some reason, much of the pressure in Su Sigui’s heart seemed to dissipate. The girl’s eyes could seemingly absorb all the unhappiness.
"Everything will be alright, perhaps. But have you ever experienced anything? An ordinary person wouldn’t live with such positive outlook."
"I’ve never experienced anything."
Chen Bieli brushed off Su Sigui’s words with a smile, "Remember our agreement."
Nodding slightly, Su Sigui watched as the girl walked away, heading towards Jin Wenyi in the crowd.
At that moment, a black dot cut across the sky, trailing a long contrail as it flew towards Lin City.
Tang Ye looked at the black dot, mental images of Lin City flashing past. The times he cried, rejoiced, laughed, and spent countless lonely nights in a rented apartment, including the comfort he found in the girls dormitory at Honglin High School.
The pre-apocalyptic prosperity that made one feel inferior, the post-apocalypse desolation that resembled a vast desert, acquaintances and incidents all soon to be reduced to ashes after that black dot touches down.
Regrettably, he had forgotten about the vest left in the girls dormitory at Honglin High School, a vest that had been washed.
Subconsciously touching the pink rubber band on his hand, Tang Ye stood up and moved to the edge, looking down at the ground from afar.
Beneath the broken highway, a procession of nearly a thousand people waded through water towards another section. They were survivors migrating from Lin City, many of them young, clad in somewhat dirty clothes.
Referring to them as survivors seemed inappropriate. Their behaviour contrasted greatly with that of typical post-apocalyptic survivors. Every individual seemed burdened. Some were carrying supplies, others were carrying children or the elderly, step by step, pushing towards their destination of hope.
They occasionally waved and shouted at the four helicopters in the sky, suspending a giant circular platform, but no one responded. After a multitude of unsuccessful attempts, they gave up.
"Everyone, keep going, just two kilometres more and we can rest a bit!"
At the front of the procession, a foreign woman with blond hair and green eyes brandished a stick with a red cloth tied to it. Loads of various sizes were strapped to her, making her look like a small hill.
PS: Please sage advice from old brother Fayan, I forgot to mention you last time ㄟ(▔,▔)ㄏ