The young man did not speak, merely staring at him in silence. Those dark pupils were profound and unfathomable, the light striking his high-bridged brow bone and casting a small shadow beneath his eyes, giving You An a sudden, scalp-tingling tremor of a thrill, as if he were prey being targeted.
He tilted his head, wanting to leave, yet his legs felt as though they had been nailed to the spot by an invisible force, unable to shift even half a step.
Not until Song Chengyu walked into the bathroom did he finally snap out of that trance-like state.
He dried his hair and lay down on the bed, the clean and refreshing feeling all over making him turn over comfortably and chat casually back and forth with Tangyuan.
“Aside from startling me just now, Song Chengyu is actually quite a decent person.”
Looking at the world’s terrifying mortality rate, Tangyuan thought it over and decided not to voice his thoughts to avoid crushing his host’s self-esteem, choosing instead to encourage him. “Keep it up, Master. Let us strive to edge out Zhao Chen and become the main protagonist’s most loyal subordinate.”
At six o’clock the next morning, You An, who was on guard duty, woke the other two. Zhuang Yujiang and the others were already dressed and waiting in the hall.
Song Chengyu had changed into a fresh outfit. A black jacket wrapped around his lean and powerful torso, making him look even taller and longer-limbed. His physique possessed an indescribable fluidity, and his entire person carried the sharp, icy edge of a drawn sword.
This prompted Su Lang to cast frequent glances in his direction.
Zhuang Yujiang noticed his gaze, a flash of imperceptible annoyance crossing his eyes. He held no regard for this fool whose brain was filled solely with men, yet three people against three people achieved a balanced party, and the existing equilibrium must on no account be broken.
He smiled and walked over to Song Chengyu. “Since both sides have already laid our cards on the table to each other, you can trust us now, right?”
“Mhm.” Song Chengyu topped off the SUV’s fuel tank. “Still, we will drive two vehicles. At least if one breaks down, there is a backup plan.”
Zhuang Yujiang narrowed his eyes, realizing Song Chengyu did not completely trust them. He did not press the matter either, simply beckoning the other two to get in and driving behind the SUV.
You An observed the road ahead. True to Zhuang Yujiang’s words, the zombies on the surface were unexpectedly sparse, reaching an almost baffling degree.
The journey was completely unimpeded, yet he vaguely sensed something amiss, tightening his grip on the steering wheel.
“What is the matter?” Song Chengyu looked at him calmly through the rearview mirror.
“I feel something is not right.”
“There are very few zombies. Is that not a good thing?” Conversely, Zhao Chen did not quite understand and, assuming You An was simply overly nervous, patted his back to soothe him.
“It is indeed not right, but for now, it is not necessarily a bad thing.” At this, You An did not miss the flash of murderous intent that flickered through the other man’s eyes.
He saw it clearly. That intent to kill was not directed at him, but at someone else. Come to think of it, ever since contacting the other group yesterday, Song Chengyu’s attitude had been extremely subtle.
Could it be that there is a traitor?
His heart suddenly gave a few fierce, heavy thuds, and his breathing turned somewhat unsteady.
Furthermore, out of the necessity not to startle the snake in the grass, Song Chengyu could not directly state the identity of the traitor. Thinking about it this way, this explanation was entirely logical.
You An’s brain raced at high speed. First, judging from the plot, Zhao Chen could by no means be the traitor. That would place the culprit within Zhuang Yujiang’s group. This also explained why Song Chengyu remained on guard.
Excluding the little fanboy Su Lang, that left only Zhuang Yujiang and Ye Tong. Zhuang Yujiang gave off the impression of a deep and calculating person, whereas Ye Tong, whether it was his own imagination or not, always felt the young girl possessed an uncanny, inhuman quality.
He had witnessed Zhuang Yujiang’s superpower. Although Ye Tong possessed a wristband, her ability had only been verified through Zhuang Yujiang’s words. The possibility of her being the traitor could not be ruled out, but if Zhuang Yujiang was covering for her, could it be that both of them were?
The most crucial question was what the traitor’s motive might be. Judging from Song Chengyu’s attitude, the phenomenon of diminishing zombies was caused by the traitor, meaning the individual could control zombies to a certain degree. Only high-ranking zombies were capable of achieving this.
According to the rules of this world, zombies could elevate their crystal core levels by consuming humans and fellow creatures, yet it was only the third day of the apocalypse. No matter how fast a zombie’s speed, it was impossible to evolve to such an extent.
That left only one possibility: being converted by the Zombie Emperor. They inherently possessed level five crystal cores and could recover the physical form of normal humans.
You An massaged his brow, feeling he had found the answer. Viewed in this light, high-ranking zombies could even simulate wristbands, which was truly terrifying. He noted this information gap in his mind, realizing that individuals with wristbands could no longer be trusted blindly.
Although the purpose of this zombie mingling among humans remained unclear, since Song Chengyu had already detected its existence, the situation was well within a controllable scope.
He simply needed to stay as far away from Zhuang Yujiang and Ye Tong as possible. Coming to this realization, You An relaxed slightly.
They departed at seven o’clock in the morning, and the vehicles continued driving until one o’clock in the afternoon. After pulling over midway for a thirty-minute rest to replenish basic physical stamina, the group resumed their journey. Finally, at five o’clock in the afternoon, they arrived at the rest area two hours ahead of schedule.
Due to the terrain, the buildings were constructed on uneven slopes. Parking the vehicles in position, the party conducted a routine inspection of the perimeter and selected the smallest building to enter.
“There are no zombies here.” Zhuang Yujiang had already led the others to inspect the first and second floors.
“Neither on the first floor. In that case, we will rest here. Sorry to trouble you with preparing the water.” Song Chengyu nodded.
Zhuang Yujiang maintained a surface smile. “Right away.”
Song Chengyu washed his face, his damp black hair swept back by his owner to reveal those excessively handsome brows and eyes, droplets of water sliding down the high bridge of his nose.
Su Lang softened his footsteps, locked the door behind him, and stood inside the room, gazing infatuatedly at the man’s silhouette cast upon the frosted glass.
He had expected to catch another glimpse of the other person bathing, but unexpectedly, the bathroom door was yanked open almost immediately.
Su Lang met Song Chengyu’s expressionless face, the young man radiating an icy chill that kept people at a distance.
Yet Su Lang was accustomed to thick skin. He blinked. “You really do not remember me.”
Ever since first laying eyes on Song Chengyu at a mixer event, he had secretly kept his gaze fixed on him. After the apocalypse descended, he had thought he would never see him again, never imagining the two of them would share such a bond of fate.
With this thought, Su Lang involuntarily leaned in closer. “It does not matter, though, as long as I remember.”
“I have started liking you a very long time ago.” He licked his lips, eagerly reaching out an inquiring hand to stroke the faint outline of abdominal muscles beneath the young man’s T-shirt. As a fellow man, he knew full well that men were creatures driven by their lower halves. As long as he coaxed out a hint of passion, Song Chengyu would never reject him, no matter how much he supposedly disliked it.
A hand gripped his wrist over his sleeve.
“Eh?”
Before he could rejoice over the shift in the other’s attitude, the excruciating pain erupting from his wrist the next second forced a raw cry from his throat.
Ah.
The pressure clamping onto his wrist continued to mount, and Su Lang had no doubt that if it persisted, his wrist bones would be crushed to dust.
Large beads of sweat slid down his cheekbones, the very cord of reason snapping under the sheer intensity of the agony. With a distorted expression, Su Lang dropped to his knees, his right hand clutching desperately at Song Chengyu’s arm as he cast aside all dignity to plead for mercy. “Let go. Please let go. I will not dare do it again.”
Song Chengyu looked down at him from on high, watching his tear-streaked, pathetic state as if gazing upon a mere ant. That trash-like gaze pierced straight through his blurring vision, deeply wounding Su Lang’s pride.
The young man let out a cold snort, his voice matching his aloof expression in tone.
“Get lost.”
Su Lang loosely cradled his left arm, sucking in multiple breaths of cold air. That circle of skin had already turned blue-purple. Stumbling as he walked out the door, a flash of venomous malice flickered in the depths of his eyes.
He would definitely make Song Chengyu regret treating him this way.
Zhuang Yujiang checked his watch. The hour hand pointed to seven in the evening. He pushed up his glasses, the lenses reflecting a cold beam of light.
“Why call me out now? Surely this is not just for casual conversation.”
“I cannot tell you yet. First, call her over.”
He carefully scrutinized Song Chengyu’s expression, finding himself completely unable to fathom what the other was thinking. He closed his eyes. “I will do as you say. Let us hope this is not a waste of effort.”
Ye Tong’s originally expressionless face shifted minutely the moment she laid eyes on Song Chengyu, the young girl intentionally lingering at a distance. “What is it?”
“What is your purpose for infiltrating the human crowd?”
Zhuang Yujiang’s gaze drifted toward Ye Tong’s wrist. “What do you mean? Ye Tong is an esper.”
“With so few zombies along the road, do you not find it strange?”
Zhuang Yujiang frowned. “It is indeed bizarre, but what does that have to do with Ye Tong?”
“Because she is the one controlling them.”
A brilliant flash of silver-white arc sliced through the air, an ice sword slashing across the young girl’s throat. A torrent of blood sprayed across the floor, unleashing a miniature shower of crimson.
“Song Chengyu. What are you doing?” Zhuang Yujiang stared at him in utter disbelief.
The young man refused to look at him, keeping his eyes locked on Ye Tong as she collapsed into a pool of blood.
“She is a zombie.”
“What?” Following his line of sight, Zhuang Yujiang watched in horror as the wound on Ye Tong’s neck healed at a speed visible to the naked eye, that bone-deep gash repairing itself completely within a single breath.
Judging by the volume of blood sprayed, any normal human would have suffered instant death, yet someone who ought to have been thoroughly dead had just come back to life. This familiar sight instantly triggered associations with a zombie.
She is not human.
At this realization, Zhuang Yujiang summoned his own ability, condensing countless water blades in his hands to hurl straight toward Ye Tong.
A trace of surprise flickered in Song Chengyu’s eyes. He had not expected the other party to accept reality and make a judgment call so rapidly.
Ye Tong had already climbed back to her feet, her pair of blood-red pupils flaring brightly for an instant. The next moment, a radius of one meter erupted into a raging inferno. The flames were not their normal red hue, but a black color that filled the heart with an ominous foreboding.
Baking beneath the wicked fire, even the air began to distort. Gritting his teeth, Zhuang Yujiang flicked his wrist, converting his water blades into a water shield in an attempt to isolate the intensifying blaze. However, his level was ultimately too low to match Ye Tong, and he was quickly blasted backward by the scorching heat wave.
Song Chengyu opened his palm, the ground centered around him beginning to freeze into ice. Under the powerful surge of his ability, a layer of crystal-like frost spread across Ye Tong’s body. Just as she attempted to pull back, her calves were already frozen in place, and a look of terror flashed across the young girl’s normally expressionless face as she could only watch helplessly as she was frozen into an ice sculpture.
Unflinching, Song Chengyu reached into the area of her heart and extracted a glowing blue crystal core. As the core was removed, the ice sculpture collapsed with a crash, shattering into countless icy fragments.
Gazing at the scene before him, Zhuang Yujiang gained yet another stark realization of Song Chengyu’s terrifying strength.
He stood up, looking at the young man before him with a complex expression. “What is that, and when did you discover Ye Tong was a zombie?”