21 – Zhang Zhang is Under Supervision
Ye Jin drove at breakneck speed. As night had fallen, she had no choice but to spend the night in her Dimension. Exhausted from recent events, she collapsed onto the grassy patch inside the Dimension the moment she entered and fell fast asleep.
When she woke, she discovered the fruit trees in the Dimension had already grown to over a meter tall—their growth rate was remarkably fast.
Time moved slower in the Dimension. By the time she emerged, the sky outside was only faintly lit, and the zombies moved sluggishly. She quickly drove back to the villa.
The Base was still under construction, with no gate inspections in place, so no one would know she had returned from outside.
She finally made it back to the villa before daybreak.
Zhang Zhang hadn’t returned yet. With the military’s large numbers and slower pace, plus necessary rest stops overnight, she estimated—based on their departure time the previous day—that they would arrive soon.
Ye Jin went to her room to freshen up. By the time she came downstairs, Aunt Chen and the others had all gathered around the dining table for breakfast.
Xia Li, seated facing the staircase, was taken aback when he saw Ye Jin descending. When had she returned?
Yu Zichen was the first to notice her presence. Turning and spotting her, he immediately stood and rushed over. “Sister, you’re back?”
Seeing the others about to rise as well, Ye Jin quickly said, “Finish your breakfast first.”
With that, she walked to the table with Yu Zichen, picked up a bun made by Aunt Chen, and began eating hungrily. She hadn’t had a proper meal in days due to how busy she’d been.
“Ye Jin, when did you get back?” Zhang Yiyi was curious how she had come from upstairs, but seeing Ye Jin clean and unharmed put her mind at ease.
Aunt Chen, watching Ye Jin wolf down her food, advised, “Xiao Jin, slow down.”
She handed her a glass of water, then glanced around and asked, “Where’s Zhang Zhang?”
Hadn’t she gone to find him?
Across the table, Zhang Yue blinked her round, innocent eyes at Ye Jin. She didn’t ask further, simply greeting, “Sister.”
Though she, too, was worried about her brother.
Ye Jin quickly swallowed the bite of bun in her mouth and reassured her, “Don’t worry, Xiao Yue, your brother is fine. He’s just injured. He’ll be back soon.”
Then, she immediately addressed everyone present, speaking seriously, “No one can know that I went out the night before last!”
“Why?” Zhang Yiyi asked.
Ye Jin glanced at her. “Zhang Zhang is the only one who made it back alive.”
Aunt Chen gasped, her voice trembling. “They… they all died?”
“Let’s act as if we know nothing about this!”
Hearing Ye Jin’s words, everyone dropped the heavy topic. The dangers of the apocalypse were even greater than they had imagined.
Ye Jin shared her thoughts: “There are more and more zombies outside. Once Zhang Zhang returns, I want to take you all to clear the surrounding area and train by fighting zombies.”
The zombies would evolve before long, and she couldn’t always be by their side. What she wanted was for Xiao Chen and the others to be able to protect themselves even in her absence.
“Good! I’ve been wanting to go out and wipe out those zombies!”
Zhang Yiyi was fired up. She didn’t want to always be protected by Ye Jin—she aimed to be Ye Jin’s best partner and protect her mother as well.
Xia Li, who had been silent until now, spoke up: “I’m fine with it.”
He also wanted to grow stronger, to be as fearless as Ye Jin was among hordes of zombies.
“Sis, I have a Special Ability too—I can sense where zombies are. I want to go as well!”Yu Zichen felt that although his Special Ability wasn’t as powerful as Brother Zhang’s, he still wanted to protect his sister.
Ye Jin was deeply touched. Her younger brother had always been outstanding. She patted his head and said, “Xiao Chen’s Special Ability will become very powerful in the future!”
Yu Zichen’s eyes lit up. “Really? Even more powerful than Brother Zhang?”
“As long as you practice diligently, definitely!”
Yu Zichen was thrilled and immediately wanted to go out to kill Zombies.
“That’s wonderful.” Zhang Yue watched with envy from the side. Being the youngest and without any Special Ability, she felt somewhat inadequate.
Ye Jin smiled gently. “Xiao Yue is wonderful too. Everyone has their own strengths. Although Aunt Chen doesn’t have any Special Ability, she can cook the most delicious meals for us. You’re still young now, but when you grow up a bit more, you’ll be able to kill Zombies too.”
“Okay! I want to grow up quickly too, fight Zombies, and protect my brother!”
“Hahahaha…”
Everyone burst into laughter seeing Xiao Yue’s childish face filled with such determination.
Looking at everyone in the hall, Ye Jin felt that this lifetime had truly made up for too many of her regrets.
…
After breakfast, Zhang Zhang was finally brought back by the military personnel.
Zhang Zhang was severely injured and had been taken by the troops to the small hospital that had just been established in the Base.
When Ye Jin brought Zhang Yue to visit, they were unexpectedly stopped right at the entrance.
She had anticipated this – everyone else had died, and only Zhang Zhang survived, so they wouldn’t let people see him easily.
Fortunately, she had prepared Zhang Yue in advance and gave Xiao Yueyue a meaningful look.
Zhang Yue immediately understood.
“Waa waa waa! I want my brother! I want my brother! Waa waa waa!”
Tears fell from her eyes like beans as she cried and wiped her tears, looking at the soldier guarding the door with her round, adorable eyes.
“Waa waa, brother, please just let me see my brother once! Waa waa waa~”
The young soldier was completely flustered by the little girl. Comforting children wasn’t something he was good at.
Seeing him waver, Ye Jin immediately spoke up: “Young man, Yueyue is just worried about her brother. Could you let her take one look?”
The soldier’s ears turned red from her words. The combination of a beautiful woman and an adorable child was quite powerful. He immediately relented: “Alright then, but only the child can go in.”
Just as Zhang Yue was about to enter, a man in a suit appeared nearby and said sternly: “No entry!”
He glared at the soldier: “Secretary Xu said no one is allowed to see the person inside!”
The soldier, being shouted at, immediately retorted: “Captain Zhu, this place isn’t under your jurisdiction, is it?”
Ignoring the soldier, he said to Ye Jin and the others with a stern face: “You all need to leave immediately!”
Zhang Yue immediately hugged Ye Jin and started crying again: “Waa waa, sister, I’m scared!”
“Officer, my sister just heard that her brother is injured and wants to see him once.”
“No! Leave now!”
This person was probably from Xu Tian’s side. The soldier was from the military and didn’t think much of him either.
“Zhu Yuan, what’s wrong with a little girl wanting to see her own brother? Her brother got injured because you sent him on that mission…”
“Mind your own business.”
Seeing Zhu Yuan’s attitude, the young soldier looked disdainful. What kind of person was this? Indeed, nothing good came from the Xu family.
Seeing Zhu Yuan’s attitude, Ye Jin’s face turned cold as she began to question him: “May I ask what crime Zhang Zhang has committed? Even before the apocalypse, the most heinous criminals weren’t denied visitation rights, were they?”Zhang Yue also raised her sobs, crying loudly: “Wuwuwu, my brother was invited to help, how come he’s injured and not allowed visitors?”
The commotion had drawn attention for quite some time. A nurse in the hospital couldn’t stand it and chimed in: “I’ve never heard of family members being barred from visiting! They’re not criminals!”
Zhang Zhang had become a familiar face in the base these past few days. Ever since he awakened his Special Ability, he’d been helping clear Zombies in the area, and many who knew him spoke up in support.
“He hasn’t broken any laws, what right do you have to detain him?”
“Exactly! Who’d dare help out in the future if they could lose half their life at any moment!”
“His own sister wants to see her brother and you won’t allow it? Who knows what benefits you’ve taken to keep this quiet!”
“Hey, I heard many people went, how come no one else returned? Could they all be dead?”
In just a short while, the rumors grew increasingly distorted. The steel factory incident was known to only a few and couldn’t be allowed to cause widespread impact. Seeing this, Zhu Yuan had no choice but to relent.
He pointed at Zhang Yue and said to Ye Jin: “You can only let her stay for two minutes.”
Then he waved at the crowd: “Disperse, disperse! We never said no visits, we’re just protecting him! No loud noises at the hospital entrance, everyone clear out!”
Seeing the young girl go inside, the crowd dispersed as there was nothing left to watch.
The moment Zhang Yue entered, she saw her pale-lipped brother on the hospital bed and rushed over to hug him while crying: “Brother!”
Seeing his sister here, Zhang Zhang asked: “How did you get here!”
He glanced at the person Zhu Yuan had sent to monitor them, following behind his sister.
“Brother, Sister Ye said you must insist you escaped alone and know nothing except about the laboratory monsters,” Zhang Yue seized the opportunity to relay the message.
Zhang Zhang nodded. So he hadn’t been dreaming – Ye Jin really had rescued him. Did she blow up the armory too?
“Okay.” Zhang Zhang patted his sister’s head and said: “Listen well to Sister Ye during this time and wait for me to return.”
Zhang Yue nodded, glanced worriedly at her brother once more, then went out. Sister Ye had said many people already knew her brother was recuperating in the hospital, and those people wouldn’t dare harm him for the sake of their reputation.