Cheng Jiayang led the group to a small detached building that had been a privately owned hardware store before the Apocalypse.
In a corner on the first floor stood a crude little bed made from wooden boards and piled-up clothing. Lying on it was a young girl, about six or seven years old.
Beside her sat a broad-shouldered, burly man holding a bowl and carefully feeding her porridge.
It was the father and daughter Ye Xihe had seen earlier that morning.
From a distance she hadn’t been able to see clearly, but now that she was closer, she noticed the girl’s pale complexion tinged with a sickly yellow hue. Her hair was sparse, and her frail body was little more than skin and bones.
She clearly needed treatment.
The tension in the muscles of those standing behind Ye Xihe eased slightly.
Although they had agreed to come, they had kept their abilities ready the entire way in case this turned out to be a trap.
Now that Cheng Jiayang had proven he wasn’t lying, everyone relaxed somewhat.
“Brother Zhao.”
Cheng Jiayang called out.
Hearing his voice, the man beside the bed immediately stood up and gave them an honest, simple smile.
“Hello, everyone. My name is Zhao Heng, Yiyi’s father. Yiyi, greet the older brothers and sisters.”
The little girl on the bed spoke softly.
“Hello, big brothers and big sisters.”
After observing her for a moment and finding no visible injuries, Ye Xihe asked,
“What’s wrong with her?”
The rugged man’s eyes reddened slightly.
“It’s leukemia. Before the Apocalypse, she was receiving treatment at the hospital. Then the hospital fell, her chemotherapy was interrupted, and now we’ve run out of medicine.”
The atmosphere immediately grew heavy.
Without treatment, there was only one outcome.
Death!
Ye Xihe said honestly, “I don’t have any experience treating illnesses. It might not work.”
Up until now, she had only healed zombie-inflicted wounds and other physical injuries.
If she could cure diseases as well, her ability would be far too heaven-defying.
Zhao Heng quickly replied,
“The fact that you’re willing to come is already more than enough. Please do your best. If it doesn’t work…”
His voice caught in his throat.
“Then that’s simply the child’s fate.”
Ye Xihe sat down beside the bed and gently patted the little girl’s head.
“Your name is Yiyi, right? If anything feels uncomfortable, tell big sister, okay?”
Yiyi nodded and put on a mature expression beyond her years.
“Thank you for your hard work, big sister.”
A soft white glow spread from Ye Xihe’s hands.
Su Nian stood beside her, visibly alert and protective, faithfully carrying out her role as a female bodyguard.
Gu Zhuoye leaned casually against a nearby wall, his gaze fixed on Ye Xihe.
Her brows and eyes were gentle. When Yiyi said it hurt, Ye Xihe immediately slowed her movements and softly comforted her.
The same warm white glow seemed to envelop her entire being.
Gu Zhuoye realized once again that he was always drawn to that light.
Forcing himself to lower his head, he looked away.
Zhao Heng quietly retreated to a corner.
He was remarkably good at reducing his own presence. Despite his imposing physique, he rarely attracted attention.
His deep gaze landed discreetly on Ye Huizhou.
Meanwhile, an unexpected situation arose during Yiyi’s treatment.
The little girl’s eyes squeezed shut. Cold sweat covered her forehead, and her teeth chattered as she forced out a single word.
“It hurts…”
“Yiyi!”
Zhao Heng rushed to the bedside, panic written all over his face.
“Miss Ye, what’s happening?”
Ye Xihe withdrew her ability and carefully examined Yiyi’s condition.
“When healing external injuries, pain comes from muscles and tissues regenerating as the wound closes. But Yiyi has a blood disease…”
Treating a blood disorder involves every part of the body, even individual cells.
Of course it would hurt.
“I’ll come back tomorrow and check on her recovery. Let the child rest for now. Give her some water and food. If the pain continues like this, she won’t be able to endure it.”
As she spoke, Ye Xihe turned toward Cheng Jiayang.
“Can you take us to look for those people now?”
Cheng Jiayang nodded and adjusted his glasses.
“I saw two people matching your description three days ago in the northern district. Since you came from the north this morning, are you staying there?”
Ye Huizhou ignored the question entirely.
“Lead the way.”
His words were concise and final.
“Miss Ye…”
Looking at his daughter’s pale face, Zhao Heng stepped forward anxiously.
Su Nian moved half a step ahead, blocking his path.
Ye Xihe smiled reassuringly.
“I said I’d come back tomorrow, and I will.”
With that, she took Su Nian’s hand and headed outside.
Although the treatment process had been painful, Yiyi’s condition had improved significantly. Returning tomorrow would definitely be worthwhile.
Gu Zhuoye signaled impatiently for Cheng Jiayang to hurry up.
The group left the building and headed north.
After only a short distance, however, Ye Xihe noticed something was off about Su Nian.
The day before, Su Nian had been worried enough to consider sneaking out alone in the middle of the night to search for her mother.
Now, her pace was growing slower and slower.
Ye Xihe didn’t urge her forward. Instead, she quietly slowed down to match her.
Seeing Ye Xihe fall behind, Ye Huizhou and Gu Zhuoye automatically reduced their speed as well.
Xu Wen was completely baffled.
Still, he followed suit and slowed down too.
By the time Cheng Jiayang noticed, the entire group had fallen far behind him.
Cheng Jiayang: …
What exactly was wrong with these people?
One moment they were rushing, the next they were crawling.
He stopped and waited for them.
The group leisurely caught up.
Cheng Jiayang turned and continued forward.
Before long, the distance opened again.
He stopped, they caught up.
He continued walking. The gap widened again.
…
After repeating this several times, a vein began throbbing on Cheng Jiayang’s forehead. The normally refined man wore an expression of complete speechless frustration.
He turned around sharply.
“Pfft…”
Ye Xihe burst out laughing.
Only then did she truly realize how sincere Cheng Jiayang had been when asking her to treat Yiyi.
For an impatient person like him, waiting outside the mall for several hours had clearly not been easy.
“What’s wrong?”
Su Nian had been lost in her thoughts and hadn’t noticed anything.
Cheng Jiayang shot a look at Gu Zhuoye that clearly said: Weren’t you the one telling me to hurry?
Gu Zhuoye pretended not to see it.
Grinding his teeth, Cheng Jiayang then glanced at Ye Huizhou, who stood behind Ye Xihe like a guardian deity.
Forget it! Not someone he could afford to provoke.
Resigned to his fate, he matched the group’s pace.
After turning through several streets, they arrived at a cluster of temporary shelters constructed from sheets of metal.
“The people you’re looking for should be here,” Cheng Jiayang said. “But be careful. Everyone living here has been rejected by the various teams outside.”
In this world, failing to join a team usually meant there was something wrong with you in one way or another.
Su Nian gently guided Ye Xihe closer to Ye Huizhou.
“Xihe, why don’t you all wait here? There aren’t many people. I’ll take a quick look around and come back if they’re not here.”
Ye Xihe nodded.
But before Su Nian had taken more than a couple of steps, a sharp middle-aged woman’s voice rang out from beneath the third metal shelter.
“Nian Nian?!”
Su Nian froze. The woman hurried over and grabbed her hand.
Though small in stature, her voice was loud enough to shake the air.
“You finally found us! If you’d come any later, you wouldn’t have seen your mother alive!”
“Mom…”
Su Nian’s voice came out hoarse.
The woman cut her off and immediately started rummaging through her pockets.
“Do you have any food? Your brother hasn’t eaten all day!”
Ye Xihe watched as the woman repeatedly searched through Su Nian’s clothes.
A frown slowly formed between her brows.