Apocalypse: the Most Ruthless Person

Zheng Xinyu’s breathing was steady earlier; I thought she was asleep.

”I was in a daze and fell asleep, but suddenly remembered that Xiaochen called you away. I know he’s off, but can you tell me what you guys talked about?”

Zheng Xinyu turned over and suddenly burrowed into Zhang Su’s bed, throwing her leg directly over Zhang Su’s stomach.

Zhang Su stared at the ceiling stains, pondering for a moment before speaking softly, ”There’s something wrong with his health...”

”Oh no, is he about to turn into a zombie?” Zheng Xinyu asked concernedly, and this concern was purely out of care for her companion, regardless of any romantic feelings.

Zhang Su pursed his lips, speaking lowly, ”He doesn’t show any signs of becoming a zombie, plus he’s gained powers that don’t belong to him. From past experiences, every time it rains, it affects him. It’s hard to say how it will develop in the future...”

”Are these strange phenomena related to the time he was first bitten?”

Zheng Xinyu curiously pursued the question.

”For now, that’s the only conclusion we can draw. The timing back then was indeed quite coincidental. If only we could find similar occurrences for reference, but there aren’t any... Hey, don’t tell anyone about what I’ve said today!”

”When have I ever spread gossip? Don’t worry, I keep it all in!”

”I believe you...”

Zhang Su nodded; he was willing to share with Zheng Xinyu because she truly kept secrets, and he hoped to hear her predictions and analysis to use as references.

”Hey, honey, if Xiaochen really turns into a zombie, could he become one of those humanoid zombies with their fierce battle state and still retain his intellect, like that guy we came across in the Cyan Dragon Corps?”

Zheng Xinyu remained silent for a moment, her mind bursting with a sudden thought.

Zhang Su turned his body, looking at Zheng Xinyu seriously, his expression helpless, ”Let’s hope the best for Chen Hanzhou, okay...”

”I’m not saying anything bad, but I do think it wouldn’t be so bad if that happens...”

”Cough cough... Ugh! You call that not bad?” In the restaurant next door to the pickled fish place, Chen Hanzhou had a cigar between his fingers, coughing from the smoke, and his still-recovering ribs ached.

Earlier, Pan Guoliang had given Chen Hanzhou a cigar, saying it was good stuff that could relieve pain and calm him down...

”You don’t get it! Here, let me show you!” Pan Guoliang took the cigar from Chen Hanzhou’s hand, inhaled deeply, let the smoke swirl in his mouth, then slowly exhaled.

”See? This thing isn’t a cigarette; inhaling into your lungs is crazy. Try again...”

”No, no, don’t mess with me...” Chen Hanzhou waved his hand continuously.

”Not smoking, huh?” Pan Guoliang’s eyes gleamed, ”That’s fine, tell me then, what happened during the fight earlier? Why did you suddenly become so fierce? Is there a secret?”

”No secret, just practice with lots of veggies! Going to the restroom...”

With that, Chen Hanzhou got up holding his belly, not wanting to discuss the topic further.

Many lay awake atop the Lego Mall’s rooftop air-conditioned room. Wearing thick clothes, Wang Xin and Zhang Ya sat back-to-back like a Kappa logo; one faced southeast, the other northwest, chatting under the night sky.

”What did you do for work before? They say programmers are boring, is that true?”

Holding a gun in her arms, Zhang Ya was aflame inside despite being in a minus twenty-degree environment, they had talked about similar topics many times. The old life was longed for, hence she loved revisiting it from different angles.

”That’s just a stereotype, our work may be boring but we’re not, our lives are interesting! Constantly connected to the net, we get news first-hand, even those gossips you chat about are leftovers from us!”

Wang Xin spoke cheerfully, his face beaming with happiness, enjoying the warmth of standing guard with his lover while attentively scanning the distance with his flashlight.

”Sigh, even the leftovers are gone now...”

Wang Xin’s joke didn’t lift Zhang Ya’s mood; she sighed, patting the cold rooftop nostalgically.

”Seems I haven’t told you, but I worked here for a while about five or six years ago. I was a salesgirl in a clothing store then, just moved to Qin City; it was my second job.

Worked hard back then, chasing customers around with piles of clothes to try on just to sell more. But when payday came, my salary was eighteen hundred, couldn’t even afford a bottle of skincare. Now looking back, even those tough days feel full of happiness...”

”Things aren’t bad now either, no need for face creams anymore, haha, all-natural; but seriously, a little dry, where possible we should do some skincare.”

Wang Xin said, touching his cold cheek, somewhat like a loudspeaker.

”Yeah, a bit dry, my face is a bit dry... Hey? Xiaoya, what’s wrong?” After touching for a while, Wang Xin realized Zhang Ya had been quiet, sensing her somewhat down mood.

”Xinxin, do you think we... still have hope?”

Zhang Ya lowered her head, burying it between her knees, seemingly seeking more security.

Wang Xin pursed his lips, suddenly laughing, ”What kind of talk is that? Of course, we have hope, being together this way! You’re not going to make me wear a green hat, right? Or worried I’ll put a green hat on you, I haven’t gone out tonight anyway!”