“No one in the bedroom.”
“No one in the kitchen.”
“No one in the bathroom.”
“No one in the living room.”
All four of them looked grim. Zhong Ziqian put his hands on his hips, visibly annoyed.
“Before, I thought she was just a quiet, introverted girl. Freezing up in situations like this and not daring to step forward is normal. As long as she stays out of the way and doesn’t drag us down, maybe even helps a little, that’s fine. Hah!”
He spat in frustration.
“Of course you’d think she’s quiet and timid,” Xi Zirui said calmly. “Looks like you’re the only naïve one here. No one else is simple.”
That included himself, of course.
Xiao Xingzhi looked at Zhang Xiangyi, whose face was pale and almost sickly. He tugged her sleeve and stood slightly behind her.
He knew she’d never show weakness. No matter how exhausted she was, she’d endure it herself. People like them were all the same, relying only on themselves whenever they could.
But he still wished she’d treat herself better.
Zhong Ziqian was unconvinced, but with the other three present he had no choice but to swallow his complaint.
“Anyway, that’s not the point right now. First we need to figure out how the four units are connected and whether it’s the same as the first floor.”
Xiao Xingzhi spoke fast. It was already very late. When they’d been downstairs it was 01:22, but now it was 02:57.
Time was passing too fast. Aside from coming upstairs and searching for people, they’d basically just been standing around.
He looked out toward the pitch-black sky over the balcony and said, “The time flow is off. We need to move faster.”
Zhang Xiangyi walked toward 4-3.
“Split up. Meet at 4-2 in the end. If we confirm the units are connected, we go back immediately and rest. Everything else waits until morning.”
Xi Zirui had no objection and took Zhong Ziqian toward 4-1.
Xiao Xingzhi, meanwhile, naturally trailed Zhang Xiangyi step by step.
With no immediate danger, his fear-of-the-dark trait seemed to come back.
“Zhang Xiangyi, when we get back, change your clothes. Or just go rest, I can represent 4-4 and talk to them. I’ll come back after explaining. Look at your injuries, you should really rest. What if we run into something later? Are you going to fight like this again?”
She didn’t respond.
Xiao Xingzhi tugged her sleeve again. When she turned and glared, he went on confidently:
“I’m serious. At this rate you’ll collapse before we even get out and end up dragging us down, you know? It’s just crossing two rooms. And Xi Zirui will be with me when I go back, so I’m not scared.”
Then, worried she might not believe him, he added firmly:
“Really! I’m not scared at all!”
She closed her eyes. The pain from her wounds combined with the nonstop chatter at her ear only made her more irritated.
“Go open the door!” She kicked out directly. Her expression had taken on a slightly sickly, exhausted cast. Her face was pale, and the wound on her leg split open again from the effort, leaking blood.
Watching this, he felt a little frightened. She looked like she might collapse at any moment.
“I’ll open it, I’ll open it.” He found the familiar spot and moved the obstruction aside. “If you’ve got something to say, just say it. Don’t kick me or hit me. Look how much you’re losing out right now. You’re only making your own injuries worse. I even brought the medical kit up from downstairs. You should wash up, change, and treat your wounds in the room, but be careful. Things here keep changing form. Remember last time I went out and a monster identical to me showed up?”
“Hey, speaking of that, you know me pretty well. You figured out right away it wasn’t me.”
Getting smug, he went on, “Fake girlfriend, don’t be too obsessed. Were you secretly stalking the school forum bef—”
“That’s because you talk too much!”
Her pale, slightly youthful face paired with those dark, heavy eyes made him flinch inside. It was as if he could almost see the anger burning in them.
Concerned for her condition, he finally shut up.
Without his chatter, his movements turned extremely fast. In no time he brought her back to 4-4 and immediately turned on the lights.
He set the medical kit on the coffee table. Watching her stay calm, as if she weren’t injured at all, he still couldn’t help worrying.
“Remember to take care of your wounds. I’m going over there now. They should be done soon. I—”
“You can leave now.”
His mouth slowly closed. Fine…
Once he stopped talking, the room fell completely quiet. Leaning back on the sofa, she finally let herself relax. It had been an exhausting day.
She hadn’t even started reviewing what happened when he suddenly rushed back in, moving like a thief, restoring everything near the wall to its original state.
Then he strode over, picked up the medical kit with one hand, and lifted her up directly.
“4-2, the NPC is here. I just saw Doctor Xi run back. He should be heading to 4-3 now. Xi will hold them off for a bit.”
She didn’t respond. Just as she was about to be set on the bed, she said quickly, “Bathroom. I’m not getting into bed without changing and washing up.”
“You…”
Helpless but with no choice, he carried her into the bathroom and set her on the sink counter, placing the kit beside her. Glancing cautiously outside, his hands kept moving fast.
“Turn on the hot water. Make it look like you’re showering. I’ll come in later. I’ll get your sleepwear. After you change, hide your dirty clothes.”
After he left, she hopped down at once. She wasn’t made of glass.
Understanding his intent, she turned on both the shower and the sink faucet, hoping the steam would build up fast enough.
Meanwhile, in the bedroom, he worked fast. The bed was deliberately left in a mess, even splashed with a bit of water. He took sets of clothes from the wardrobe and scattered them across the floor. The window was thrown wide while the curtains were drawn. Once everything was set, he tore open a bag, filled it with water, tied it off, and threw it into the nearby trash bin.
Just as he was about to enter the bathroom, he hesitated, stepped back out, then thought again, how could his ability be limited to just one use?
After tearing up several more bags and repeating the process, he even mixed in some crumpled tissues to make it look messier. Only then did he finally feel satisfied and walk into the bathroom.
When he opened the door and saw the scene inside, he froze. Almost instinctively he turned his face away. His ears slowly went red, and he backed away in a fluster, trying to close the door.
At that moment a sound came. The motionless hand holding the tweezers stopped. She looked up at him. The boy’s face was flushed so red it was worse than a monkey’s butt. She couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re that pure?”
She’d taken off the outer short-sleeved shirt, leaving only a sports tank top, with leggings on the bottom. Her fair, slender skin was exposed.
But this wasn’t even that much, was it?
When she’d worked part-time at a gym, she’d seen plenty of pretty girls in sports bras with short shorts or skirts, showing far more skin than this.
She didn’t expect him to be so easily embarrassed.
“Who… who’s pure?” he retorted at once, trying to cover his panic with a cough, eyes darting away, refusing to meet hers. “Let me tell you, the girls who like me could circle the entire Blue Star!”
She chuckled lightly and didn’t tease him further. Having many admirers didn’t mean he wasn’t pure.
The cold, aloof campus heartthrob, thinking about that label made her want to laugh. She almost wanted to see the moment his classmates found out what he was really like.
Steam was beginning to fill the bathroom.
He forcibly changed the subject. “I knew you couldn’t handle this on your own. I’ll clean it for you first. It’ll sting when I disinfect it with alcohol later, so you can just scream then. There’s nothing embarrassing about pain, and it’ll help cover for us anyway. Don’t be shy, it’s nothing. It has to be disinfected. You’ll also need to take a few anti-inflammatory pills after.”
“Mm.”
She was a bit tired, so she let him handle it. His cleaning was very careful, far more careful than she would have been.
Before long, footsteps sounded from the living room. Very light, but both of them were on high alert, so even that faint sound stood out clearly.
“I’m starting disinfection now,” he said.
“Okay.”
He held the tweezers in one hand and a piece of alcohol-soaked cotton in the other, but the hand hovering in midair just wouldn’t come down. Even as the person outside was nearly at the bedroom, he still hadn’t made a move.
So she placed her left hand over the back of his broad one and pressed it down firmly.
“Mm…”
A sound escaped despite herself. It really hurt.
His hand was trembling, but now wasn’t the time to hold back. Forcing himself composed, he said in a low, hoarse voice, “It’ll be over soon.”
This time, without her needing to do anything, he slowly began disinfecting the wound with alcohol.
Her gaze went unfocused. She pressed the tip of her tongue hard against the roof of her mouth, fingers digging into her palm.
Seeing this made his chest ache. He seemed to finally understand that vague, indescribable feeling inside him, and he sped up, quickly cleaning and medicating the wound.
He didn’t notice when the “person” outside had left. His heart was still tense and unsettled.
The girl was leaning against the cold wall now, her messy hair sticking to her pale cheek. Her breathing was a little quick, but her face didn’t show it, on the contrary, there was an abnormal calm. “They’re gone. They were probably here to check when it’d be convenient to make a move.”
“All right, stop talking. I’ll get some hot water and help wipe you down. Don’t change your clothes either, just sleep like this. I’m afraid changing will aggravate your wounds.” Seeing her still analyzing everything so seriously, he got frustrated and busied himself even more. After he finished tending to her, he ignored her objections and carried her to the bed. “Rest first. Don’t think too much. The time flow here is off, daylight will come in an hour or two. Just rest. I’ll try to get us out within these two days.”
“Also, I wonder if these injuries will carry over after we leave… sigh, and there are still a bunch of zombies outside. It shouldn’t be too hard at the start…”
Muttering to himself, he went into the bathroom to clean up.
She watched him go. The medication made her extremely drowsy, maybe because she felt at ease with him, or maybe from the drugs, and she soon fell asleep.
At exactly 7:00, daylight suddenly arrived.
It was like being forcibly rebooted. She sat up abruptly, pulled the curtains open, and looked down at the lively, bustling scene below. Frowning, she grabbed a random green short-sleeved shirt and jeans from the wardrobe and put them on. When she opened the door, she saw him sleeping soundly on the sofa.
That sofa was really wronged, half his legs hung off it.
She shook her head and went to the balcony. Below, people were practicing tai chi, playing chess, hollering at kids being hustled off to school, and rushing to work. It looked like an entirely normal apartment complex.
She picked up her phone and dialed a hotline.
“Hello, this is the Fire Safety Headquarters for District 44. How may I—”
“I’m reporting Apartment 44 for inadequate fire safety facilities and improper evacuation routes… and related issues.” Her gaze swept coldly over the building below, a faint smile tugging at her lips. “By the way, you will handle this properly, right? You won’t just brush it off?”
“…Yes. May I confirm that you are reporting Apartment 44?”
“Yes. When will you arrive?”
“We’ll forward your report immediately, but it requires several approval procedures. Estimated arrival is tomorrow. Personnel will be sent to inspect and verify the report…”
Listening to the obviously formulaic response, she hung up.
As long as they came, that was enough.
For now… she could have breakfast.