Xin Zhou retracted his hand with an unchanging expression, a cold light lurking within his light-brown pupils. He did not answer Song Chengyu’s question; instead, he simply stood up and blocked the way in front of You An, his voice gentle yet carrying a strong sense of firmness.
“May I ask who you are?”
Upon hearing this, the dark, chilling aura radiating from the black-haired, black-eyed young man nearly materialized. Whether it was just You An’s imagination or not, he felt the temperature in the room drop by several degrees abruptly.
Song Chengyu took a long stride forward, reaching Xin Zhou in a few steps, and let out a disdainful, cold chuckle.
“If you don’t want to die, get out of the way. Don’t block my path.”
He stood close to one hundred ninety centimeters tall, even slightly taller than the one-hundred-eighty-five-centimeter-tall Xin Zhou, yet Xin Zhou showed not the slightest intention of backing down. “Then let’s try and see.”
The air seemed to twist for a split second due to the tense, hair-trigger atmosphere.
The moment Song Chengyu walked in, You An had set down the apple in his hand and urgently tapped Tangyuan in his mind. Wait, why did he come over here?
[It shouldn’t be surprising for the protagonist gong’s status to grant him VIP access.]
What I mean is, in the original plot, Song Chengyu falls in love with Xin Zhou without knowing his identity. If he finds out Xin Zhou’s identity beforehand, how many people do you think have the broad-mindedness to fall in love with their enemy’s younger brother?
[Oh, right.] Tangyuan was convinced by his logic. [Then what should we do?]
At the very least, we can’t let Song Chengyu find out Xin Zhou’s name. We need to separate them first.
Seeing that the two men in front of him were on the verge of a physical altercation, You An hurriedly pulled on Xin Zhou’s sleeve and said, “This is Song Chengyu, my college roommate.”
Xin Zhou frowned upon hearing this. So this was the tier-five ability user?
The moment the young man looked at You An, the hostility all over his body vanished completely, though his expression remained less than friendly. Daring not to linger, he immediately walked over to Song Chengyu’s side and introduced Xin Zhou to him. “This is a friend I made today.”
As he said this, he deliberately omitted Xin Zhou’s name.
Unexpectedly, Song Chengyu didn’t even look at Xin Zhou, instead scanning You An up and down from head to toe. “How are you feeling? The person next to you said you fainted.”
You An was slightly speechless. So this was how rumors spread, he thought. He shook his head and replied, “It wasn’t that serious. I checked myself, and there’s no problem.”
“Then let’s head back.” Song Chengyu naturally brought up the suggestion. Eager to separate the two, You An nodded in agreement.
“However… wait for me for a moment.”
Xin Zhou was still standing in place with an inscrutable expression, deep in thought. You An patted him on the shoulder. “Thanks for bringing me over. I’m heading back first.”
The cultured and refined young man smiled at him. “See you next time, then.”
“See you next time!”
Xin Zhou raised his gaze, not missing the sneering expression Song Chengyu wore before turning away. He tightened his grip slightly before letting go a few seconds later.
A gentle, refined smile settled back onto his face.
Once out of the medical room, Song Chengyu spoke up out of the blue, “Do you want me to carry you on my back?”
“No need. There’s really nothing wrong with me.” Startled, You An couldn’t help but brag to Tangyuan internally. Look at that, I’ve always said Song Chengyu is a pretty decent guy. Big shots willing to carry their underlings on their backs were hard to come by these days.
Tangyuan remained silent as its previous anxieties welled up once more.
The VIP medical room was located on the ninety-eighth floor of the headquarters, and the residential area could be reached directly by elevator. When the two entered the elevator and the digital display hit ninety, the young man reached out and grabbed You An’s hand. “We’re getting off.”
Did this mean he could continue living in the presidential suite?
You An let himself be pulled along, letting his mind wander into a pleasant future vision: once Song Chengyu became the leader, he would surely move to the top floor to live with Xin Zhou, meaning the vacant presidential suite on the ninetieth floor would surely be left to him.
How wonderful, how truly wonderful it was to be Song Chengyu’s underling!
The more he thought about it, the lighter his steps became, an expression that Song Chengyu interpreted as happiness stemming from having made friends with Xin Zhou.
Without changing his expression, the young man unlocked the door to the room and asked as if casually inquiring, “How did you get to know Xin Zhou?”
“He came to find me where I work. When he saw I wasn’t feeling well, he brought me to the medical room,” You An answered vaguely.
Wait! He suddenly realized that he had mentioned Xin Zhou just now, and a jolt of panic hit him. When did Song Chengyu find out Xin Zhou’s name?
The surname Xin wasn’t very common, making it easy to guess the relationship between Xin Zhou and Xin Jian. If that happened, wouldn’t the romantic relationship line between the protagonist gong and shou undergo drastic changes?
[Don’t worry about that,] Tangyuan comforted him. [Isn’t the host’s mission simply to survive until the grand finale?]
That may be true, but what I’m worried about is that future plots will undergo massive changes.
By then, I’m afraid even I won’t know how things will turn out.
Song Chengyu took in every trace of the youth’s stunned expression, a thoughtful gleam in his pitch-black pupils. “Did he tell you he is leader Xin Jian’s younger brother?”
Not understanding what he was driving at, You An could only answer cautiously, “No.”
“Stay away from them. Whether it’s Xin Jian or Xin Zhou.”
When he spoke, the young man’s expression was very calm, yet You An felt that this unruffled demeanor was like the precursor to a brewing storm, concealing something indescribable and infinitely complex.
You An felt slightly scorched by that gaze and averted his eyes. “I will.”
Zhuang Yujiang had been pursuing a doctoral degree in biology before the apocalypse, so upon arriving at the base, he naturally chose to enter the research institute to continue his scientific work.
He was focused on observing a slide under his microscope when he heard someone calling his name outside the door. Raising a brow in mild surprise, he changed into casual wear and stepped out.
He was even more surprised upon seeing who had come.
“What brings you here?”
The young man leaning against the window sill snapped out of his thoughts. Instead of answering directly, he asked, “Did you tell the research institute about the crystal cores?”
Zhuang Yujiang shook his head. “Even if I wanted to mention something like that, there has to be an appropriate opportunity. I originally thought ordinary zombies also had crystal cores, until I personally dissected one yesterday. Actually, only zombies of level one and above have crystal cores, right?”
“Furthermore,” he pushed up his glasses, “with your strength, capturing high-level zombies would be as easy as turning over your hand, yet you only captured an ordinary zombie without a crystal core.”
“Based on my deduction, you don’t want the base to know about the existence of crystal cores, or rather, the later they find out, the better it is for you. Song Chengyu,” he narrowed his eyes with a hint of inquisitive probing, “why are you doing this?”
He was as sharp as ever.
Song Chengyu let out a soft chuckle. Taking a few steps closer, he spoke in a volume meant only for the two of them to hear, “I know far, far more than they do. Zhuang Yujiang, as a clever person, you should know that only I can maximize the potential of your abilities.”
The habitually expressionless man’s pupils constricted. He carefully sized up Song Chengyu, and confirming that the other wasn’t joking, he closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he had recovered his usual composed and calm demeanor.
“I am willing to pledge my allegiance to you. What do you need me to do?”
Having witnessed Song Chengyu’s strength, he knew that easily slaughtering a level-five zombie was already far beyond what a level-four ability user like Xin Jian could compare to, let alone strategies, methods, and ambition.
More importantly, Song Chengyu held the very thing he desired most.
Rumble.
Another flash of lightning tore open the cloud cover, and gathered dark clouds gradually released falling water droplets until, finally, the rain grew heavier, quickly staining the ground a deep shade of gray.
Looking closely, one would realize this was no ordinary rain; with every impact of a raindrop, the ground hissed as if being corroded, sending up a ring of white smoke. Even the sturdiest concrete pavement could not withstand this degree of repeated erosion, having already turned into a pool of sludge during previous acid rains.
The tower sounded a harsh warning siren, reminding all ability users performing outdoor missions that today’s tasks were suspended.
You An looked out the window with a sense of unease. Over the past few days, clearly nothing out of the ordinary had happened, yet he faintly sensed an atmosphere of an impending storm.
Song Chengyu gathered a ball of ice-blue energy in his palm and slammed it into the face of a zombie lunging ferociously toward him. Almost instantly, the area touched by the zombie rapidly formed a thick layer of ice crystals, freezing its entire head solid while its jaws remained wide open.
A long sword plunged straight into its heart, slicing open the bloody orange crystal core hidden within.
Though Song Chengyu wore an expression of slight disgust, he still reached out and retrieved it.
The orange crystal in his palm was absorbed entirely within a few breaths, and the level number on his bracelet climbed by one tier. Simultaneously, the young man’s pitch-black pupils lit up for a fraction of a second as if coated with a layer of luster.
He pulled his sword free and walked toward a nearby zombie, but the sound of rumbling thunder cut short his steps.
Song Chengyu paused. Soon, the relentlessly falling raindrops caused his expression to shift slightly. Watching the already-rotting flesh and body of the fallen zombie become corroded into a disgusting puddle of gore, he gritted his teeth and retreated reluctantly into the off-road vehicle with his hood pulled up.
You An opened the door, utterly dumbfounded by the sight of Song Chengyu before him.
Dressed entirely in black, the other’s excessively handsome face and faintly reddened eyes looked somewhat ghostly under the illumination of the lights, not to mention the heavy scent of blood clinging to him. He looked practically like a god of carnage incarnate.
Well aware that as an underling he shouldn’t show any sign of disgust, You An quickly shut the door and asked with concern, “Are you hurt?”
“It’s someone else’s blood.” Hearing You An’s caring words, a flash of pleasure crossed the young man’s pupils.
He had killed too many zombies; no matter how careful he was, some dark, blood-red stains had still splattered onto him.
You An nodded. “That’s good. I’ve already prepared hot water for you; go take a shower quickly.”
Sitting on the sofa, the youth absently and absent-mindedly scribbled notes on a piece of paper with a pen until his vision was blotted out by a shadow, causing him to snap back to reality.
“What are you writing?” A deep, magnetic voice reached his ears. You An jerked backward in surprise, crashing right into Song Chengyu, who was bending down to look at him. His nose bumped straight into the other’s forehead, hurting him so much that his eyes welled up with tears. His eyelashes fluttered, and two drops of crystal-clear mist-blue tears tumbled out.
Covering the tip of his nose with his hand, You An complained with a wronged expression, “Why do you walk without making a sound?”
He probably had no idea how pitiful he looked right now. The young man’s eyes turned abruptly dark and gloomy. Without offering any defense, he simply braced one hand beside You An, placed a well-articulated palm over the youth’s face, and apologized naturally, “My apologies, let me rub it for you.”