Yun Ying was completely stumped.
Had Yu Yao never said his name?
The chances for her and Yu Yao to meet were truly too few—just three times, to be exact: the day he first arrived at the base, the time he came to notify her that something had happened to Song Huai, and today.
In all three of those meetings, Yu Yao had never once said his name.
Yu Yao carefully observed the expression on her face. Perhaps Yun Ying herself didn't realize it, but when she panicked, she looked especially like a rabbit—her pair of dark, luminous eyes wide open, her face flushed red from nervousness, fine beads of sweat forming on the tip of her nose, her red lips slightly parted to reveal the pearly teeth behind them.
"How did you find out?" Yu Yao chuckled softly twice, leaning down close to the side of her face. "Do you know me?"
His scorching breath fell against her ear. His voice was too low, much like in their intimate moments in the past, when he always loved to nibble and nuzzle against the base of her ear, insisting on calling her "little sister" in bed—as if this kind of forbidden relationship would add a different kind of passion to their lovemaking.
Perverted freak!
"I heard it from someone else!" Yun Ying was both angry and flustered. She pulled out her old trump card, turning her head away and pushing him. "I—I can't breathe! You're hurting me!"
This trick really worked on Yu Yao. The hand gripping her waist loosened a bit. Yun Ying seized the moment, turned around, and started climbing up. Yu Yao had just reached out to pull her back when she kicked the back of his hand.
She was like someone who'd had their ren and du meridians unblocked—not at all like someone who couldn't breathe. She scrambled up in no time and looked down at Yu Yao, who was still standing there.
"I'm too scared, I want to leave!"
With that, she climbed upward, paying no attention to Yu Yao below.
Heard it from someone else?
Unfortunately, in Jiangcheng Base, the people who knew his name could be counted on one hand, and those people had no connection to Yun Ying.
Yu Yao stared at her retreating figure and switched on the earpiece by his ear. Cheng Zainan's voice came through.
"Captain, we've reached the entrance to the sixth floor. Old He is up there keeping watch to prevent anyone from sealing us in. This place has been blocked off."
Yu Yao climbed up one-handed and said calmly, "It's high-alumina refractory brick. Just move it aside. Have Lu Yao drive over. The surveillance is all jammed, right?"
"Yes. We'll go out and bypass them."
"Good."
Yu Yao looked up. Yun Ying had already climbed to the pipe entrance on the sixth floor. He quickly followed, gripping the ladder with one hand and vaulting through the air to land beside her, giving Yun Ying a fright.
There were still zombies wandering on the sixth floor, but as long as they didn't pile up into a horde, they couldn't come up. They could only stare up at them from below, heh-heh-ing.
Yun Ying turned back and asked, "What do we do now? The pipes over there are blocked too. We can't get through either way."
"Isn't that great? Dying here together with me?" While waiting for Cheng Zainan, Yu Yao still had the mood to tease her.
Yun Ying was about to go crazy. She lifted her foot to kick him, but this time Yu Yao knew to dodge—he tilted his body to the side and evaded it.
"Who taught you that? Do you kick your boyfriend like this at home too?" Yu Yao looked at her slightly thin face. Even when she was angry and flustered, she was still so cute.
"None of your business!" Yun Ying glared at him.
Such vivid expressions—how many times had he ever seen them? A person who had mercilessly abandoned her at a critical moment of danger could actually see them every day.
The smile at the corner of Yu Yao's lips slowly collapsed. He looked at her expressionlessly, which made Yun Ying somewhat nervous. Even though she was still clinging to the ladder with nowhere to retreat behind her, she still shrank back a little.
She could see clearly the look in Yu Yao's eyes—a gaze of intense adoration, as if he wished he could snatch her away and keep her all to himself. There were also his frequent gestures of goodwill and protection, and the contempt, disdain, and disgust that rose from the depths of his heart whenever he looked at Song Huai.
Yun Ying swallowed hard and stammered out a clumsy fabrication: "I—my boyfriend and I have a very good relationship. We were already planning our wedding before the apocalypse. We've been dating for many years—"
"But did you get married?" Yu Yao asked abruptly.
Yun Ying blinked and immediately said, "We got our marriage certificate!"
Yu Yao let out a chuckle. "Got the certificate, huh."
Yun Ying nodded frantically like a hamster. "We've met each other's parents and gotten the certificate."
So she was a "married woman," and Yu Yao's behavior was nothing short of shameless homewrecking, the kind that would earn him pointed fingers and scorn, violating both law and morality—
"So what?" Yu Yao curved his eyes into a smile and pulled Yun Ying, who had half her body leaning over the railing of the escalator, back toward him. His broad palm could almost encircle most of her waist.
"Those who got the certificate can still divorce. If they don't divorce, they can become widowed. Besides, this is the apocalypse now."
Yu Yao pressed down on Yun Ying's body as she kept retreating, exerting a slight force with his arm to tug her back. She stumbled forward into his embrace, her arms braced against his chest.
"After the apocalypse, all family relationships have been reshuffled. Principles, morality, love, even kinship—none of them matter as much as survival. Miss Yun is too naive. It's been over half a year now; haven't you adapted yet?"
Yun Ying thought he was absolutely insane.
"I'm married—you're a homewrecker!" She nearly shouted it.
The boards blocking the opening above were moved aside, letting light pour down. Yun Ying's loud words also reached the ears of the person up there, and through Cheng Zainan's earpiece, they transmitted to the rest of the group as well.
Cheng Zainan: "Huh?"
Yu Yao raised a hand to pull Yun Ying's hood up over half her face and responded flatly, "Homewrecker it is, then."
Cheng Zainan: "Huh??"
"You're insane!" Yun Ying was furious. She raised her hand to push him, but Yu Yao held her against his chest. With one arm, he braced himself and vaulted up over the edge.
He took her hand, letting her struggle as she pleased. He led her a few steps, then turned back to look at Cheng Zainan.
"Waiting here to get caught?"
Cheng Zainan immediately stood up, shaking his head as he watched Old Dog Yu ahead, hand in hand with a beauty.
Lu Yao cleared her throat, her voice coming through the earpiece: "Reinforcements are almost here. We need to be out within three minutes."
Cheng Zainan said, "Captain, we need to be out in three minutes."
Yu Yao connected to the earpiece and instructed, "Lu Yao, drive the car over. Where's Lin Xizhi? Didn't she come down to provide backup?"
A gunshot rang out. Yu Yao reacted swiftly, pulling Yun Ying aside to take cover, while Cheng Zainan also hurriedly ducked behind cover.
They all looked toward the side ahead. From behind a wall, a long, slender sniper rifle extended outward, followed by Lin Xizhi stepping out, a lollipop still in her mouth. She raised the gun and cleanly took down the Ability Users who had chased them down from the fifth-floor corner.
"Just got here. Captain, you wrapped things up pretty fast."
Yu Yao frowned. "I said no killing."
Lin Xizhi gave the gun a little shake. "It's loaded with marbles. They're just unconscious."
Yu Yao acknowledged with a grunt and looked at Yun Ying beside him. She was being well-behaved now.
"They've sent people after us. We need to leave quickly."
Yun Ying nodded hastily. "Okay."
She sure knew how to read the situation—now she wasn't kicking him anymore.
Yu Yao smiled, glancing at Lin Xizhi and Cheng Zainan. The others understood the signal, and Yu Yao grabbed Yun Ying, charging toward the emergency exit. Along the way, Yun Ying saw quite a few people collapsed on the ground.
Cheng Zainan explained from behind: "Oh, we knocked them out with gas. Don't worry, they'll wake up in a bit."
Yun Ying didn't exactly feel sorry for these Ability Users—she was just stunned. What kind of background did Yu Yao's squad have, that just a few of them could take down the main lobby?
Even more impressive, Yu Yao had taken care of that High-rank Zombie in just thirty minutes. The zombie's speed had been so fast Yun Ying could barely track it, yet Yu Yao had come out without a scratch.
He Fangchen and Lu Yao were intercepting the reinforcements chasing them from above, while the Ability Users below were handled by Cheng Zainan and Lin Xizhi. Their path was far too smooth.
When they reached the first floor, Yun Ying realized that the main lobby—which had been packed with people when they arrived—was now completely empty. The non-supernatural staff had evacuated during the chaos, and the Ability Users had been knocked out by Yu Yao's people.
Outside, several walls of ice had risen up, completely surrounding the main lobby. Beyond the ice walls, there was chaos—gunfire and shouts. Then a disguised camper van came speeding in, ramming through a gap in the ice.
The door swung open from inside. Before anyone outside could get a clear look, Yu Yao pulled Yun Ying up into the vehicle. Cheng Zainan, He Fangchen, and Lin Xizhi jumped in after them with practiced ease, and Lu Yao wrenched the steering wheel, flooring it straight toward the group of Ability Users.
Those people scattered in panic. The camper van barreled through the base, plowing its way toward the outer district.
Sitting in the van, Yun Ying heard Lu Yao whistle from the front seat and toss a pack of wet wipes to the back row. "Wipe your face, sis."
Yun Ying caught it and said quietly, "Thanks."
From the high-rises on both sides, Ability Users tried to block their path—golden shields, earthen walls, ice spikes… A barrage of different attacks came at them, all swiftly neutralized by Lin Xizhi and Cheng Zainan.
As they passed a certain spot, Yun Ying spotted Song Huai standing at the street corner in the distance, looking utterly lost and dejected. She cried out in a panic: "My place! Can you drop me off somewhere?"
A snicker came from behind her. Yun Ying turned around and met Yu Yao's teasing gaze.
His sharp brows arched slightly, as if he were troubled: "Not a great place to stop."
Cheng Zainan and He Fangchen coughed lightly and turned their faces away in unison, unable to meet Yun Ying's pleading look.
Lin Xizhi crunched down on her lollipop and looked at Yu Yao the same way one might look at a stray dog up to no good. Lu Yao fell silent too.
Yun Ying realized what was happening, spun around, and lunged at the van door. Through the window, she watched Song Huai's figure growing farther and farther away. She tried to wrench the handle open: "Just open the door—I'll jump out if I have to!"
She absolutely could not be taken away by Yu Yao. She had barely managed to escape from him, and if this bastard snatched her away, who knew where he'd drag her off to. In some unfamiliar place, dependent on him alone—her life might as well be over.
Hearing the fear and panic in her voice, Yu Yao's face gradually darkened. He turned his head to look at her slender silhouette. Someone so small and thin—and she actually dared to jump out of a moving car.
She pressed herself against the window, staring intently outside—or rather, staring at the person standing at the intersection.
So reluctant to leave him?
Yu Yao wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her back with force, speaking slowly and deliberately: "Don't you know that jumping out of a vehicle at high speed carries a high risk of severe injury or even death?"
Yun Ying shot him a glare, fuming: "That's my business! What right do you have to take me away?!"
She looked to He Fangchen and the others sitting across from her as if pleading for help. Cheng Zainan smiled awkwardly and turned his head away, not quite daring to look at her, and He Fangchen also lowered his head.
Lin Xizhi pursed her lips and said stiffly, "Your hus… husband, is not a good person."
So does that make Yu Yao a good person?
Yun Ying kicked Yu Yao's leg. Seeing that the vehicle was about to turn and drive toward the outer city district, she actually snatched the sniper rifle from beside Lin Xizhi's leg and used the barrel to smash the glass.
But unfortunately, the modified RV was fitted with bulletproof glass, and there was not a single crack.
Yu Yao sat there without moving, pressing his lips tightly together, watching her ram the glass with all her strength. If Yun Ying's earlier resistance and aversion toward him had still been somewhat restrained, now, in a state of having no way out, all her thorns had risen against him. Even though he had just saved her, the extent of Yun Ying's resistance toward him was plain to see.
The girl was so anxious she was crying. Yu Yao gripped the rifle body and with a slight exertion of force snatched it over, saying coldly, "Aren't you afraid of a misfire in the vehicle? I taught you to use a gun, but not for times like this."
Yun Ying looked at him: "I haven't done anything to wrong you, have I? Why are you doing this to me!"
Yu Yao said coldly, "Someone at the base wants to harm you. Do you think you can survive here the way you did before?"
Yun Ying suddenly froze, remembering being thrown into the zombie horde today. She simply could not figure it out—she had not provoked anyone. Who exactly wanted to harm her?
But being with Yu Yao was not a good thing either.
If Yu Yao ever remembered what she had done to him, Yun Ying truly felt he would throw her into the zombie horde.
The RV turned another corner and had already reached the inner city gate. That towering gate was shut and charged with high voltage, with countless guns mounted on both sides.
The moment their vehicle rushed into view, gunfire erupted in unison.
Vines instantly spread out, wrapping around the RV. The heavy-duty RV seemed embedded in a fortress formed of vines as it violently rammed open the inner city gate.
The gun battle in the inner city had long since spread to the outer city. The people on the streets had all found shelters to hide in as best they could. When that RV came charging out, the crowd cried out in alarm, pairs of eyes fixed on the vehicle.
But soon bullets came crackling toward the RV, frightening those people into hiding again.
Yun Ying threw herself into the front seat and begged Lu Yao: "Sister, just find a place and drop me off. Whether I live or die, I won't blame you!"
Lu Yao was driving, the smile at the corner of her lips very forced. She met Yun Ying's gaze through the rearview mirror and said softly, "Little sister, following us is a good choice. If we have a bite to eat, we'll leave it for you."
Following them was a good choice, but following that bastard Yu Yao was not!
Yun Ying was about to die of anxiety. Yu Yao had been sitting there motionless the whole time, just staring at her, as if wanting to see exactly how far she could go.
But everyone knew he was angry.
Yun Ying tried to open the door again. The RV lurched and crashed all the way, and inertia flung her staggering east and west. She collided against Yu Yao, and he did not react at all.
The outer city district was too small—so small that at top speed, it could be crossed in just a few minutes.
Yun Ying saw the last city gate, and the RV was charging toward it with unwavering purpose.
She hurriedly said, "You can't ram the city gate!"
That was the base's barrier. If the outer gate were destroyed and a zombie horde arrived at this moment, it would be over!
But the RV did not slow down at all. Lu Yao pressed the accelerator to the floor.
Yun Ying lunged forward, leaning over to grab the steering wheel: "Don't hit the gate! There are still many people in the base—you can't treat other people's lives like they don't matter!"
Yu Yao, who had been sitting still just moments before, finally reacted. He raised a hand, wrapped it around Yun Ying's waist, and pulled her back as she leaned half her body toward the driver's seat. Yun Ying was frantic, kicking him hard several times.
"Bastards, you're all a bunch of bastards—people who treat human lives like grass!"
Cheng Zainan and He Fangchen smiled awkwardly.
Lin Xizhi reacted. She stood up and walked to the driver's seat. Under Yun Ying's terrified gaze, the RV, about ten meters from the gate—
An invisible force tore through space. A black hole spread, and the RV that should have crashed into the gate drove into the black hole. Yun Ying felt a moment of darkness envelop the entire RV. In less than the blink of an eye, the RV emerged from the darkness and had already shot out of the base.
That gate was completely unharmed.
Lin Xizhi bowed her head and coughed, raising a hand to cover her mouth. She coughed up a mouthful of clotted blood.
Cheng Zainan hurried forward to support her and helped her over to a seat.
Yu Yao handed her a glowing crystal core: "Absorb it."
Lin Xizhi looked up at him: "A third-tier one is enough."
"Your ability has been depleted too much. Take it." Yu Yao tossed her a fifth-tier crystal core.
Lin Xizhi didn't stand on ceremony: "Thank you, Captain Yu."
Yun Ying was completely stunned.
Space-type ability—she'd heard it could unfold a domain and allow one to travel through space.
She knew that in this powerful team, Yu Yao was a fire-elemental superpower user, Lu Yao was water-elemental, Cheng Zainan was wood-elemental, and He Fangchen was metal-elemental. Only Lin Xizhi's ability she didn't know—but she did know Lin Xizhi was an excellent marksman.
Yun Ying had assumed Lin Xizhi had no ability and was just a sniper with combat experience.
So it was a space-type ability after all.
The RV had already charged out of Jiangcheng Base. No vehicles pursued from behind. Through the rearview mirror, Yu Yao saw the gradually shrinking silhouette of Jiangcheng Base, and the zombies on the streets outside drawn by the hum of the vehicle.
This was a world outside the walls, overrun with zombies.
Yu Yao looked at the person in his arms. He couldn't tell whether she was scared stiff or simply hadn't recovered from the shock—her eyes were wide open.
His feelings for her were too strange. Although Yu Yao had never considered himself a gentleman, he also disdained becoming the sort of person who, after the apocalypse, used power to seize and plunder, to extort and tyrannize.
For the first time, he had done something so despicable—using his strength to snatch back a young woman.
There was really no helping it. Who told him to have met someone who had grown entirely into his heart, who suited him in every way?
It didn't matter if she had someone she liked, or even if she was married. That surging excitement made him no longer calm. Like a hotheaded youth, he competed childishly, belittling the other man to the extreme in his heart, yet unable to restrain his own secret jealousy.
He, of all people, was jealous of an incompetent, weak, cowardly man.
Yu Yao slowly leaned closer to Yun Ying, feeling her slight trembling. He rested his jaw against her shoulder and wrapped his arms around her from behind.
"Miss Yun, welcome to my team."