Chapter 28: Supernatural Ability

Sunlight drifted across the schoolyard. The zombies surged in one direction as if responding to a command, until two gunshots rang out in rapid succession. Song Chengfeng came back to himself, his heart clenching involuntarily. The zombies’ snarls battered his eardrums. He moved his dry, peeling lips.

“Inside first. We’ll talk once we’re in.”

As he spoke, he shoved Yan Zhuo into the classroom, then carefully closed the door behind them.

The handsome man moved as well. He removed a clean chair from the stack of desks and gestured for Yan Zhuo to set Qu Yan down.

“Don’t worry. The zombies won’t come up here.”

He spoke with such certainty that he seemed entirely trustworthy.

Yan Zhuo followed his instructions, but his brows remained tightly furrowed, his gaze hostile. He appeared angry, though Qu Yan could not tell whom that anger was directed toward.

He sat down on the chair and only then realized that the fabric across his back was completely soaked with sweat. He had come within a hair’s breadth of death.

Fear was unavoidable when facing death. Qu Yan could not remember clearly; perhaps, at some moment before this, he too had been afraid. But now, as he looked at Yan Zhuo beside him, all fear had vanished, leaving only an overwhelming desire to possess him.

He had long since claimed Yan Zhuo as his own.

Song Chengfeng cleared his throat several times.

“Are you not going to introduce yourselves?”

Standing by the window, the man ignored the expression on Yan Zhuo’s face and smiled.

“Wen Xi.”

Qu Yan offered only two words in return.

“Qu Yan.”

Surprise flashed through Wen Xi’s eyes. His tone became meaningful.

“So it’s you.”

His manner was casual, and he seemed even more relaxed when speaking to Yan Zhuo.

“I thought it would be a long time before we met. What brings you to G City?”

Song Chengfeng cut in.

“We came looking for someone. Also, do you know of a survivor base?”

Wen Xi looked at him in puzzlement.

Still holding the little one in his arms, Song Chengfeng freed one hand and extended it.

“Song Chengfeng. I used to be a lawyer.”

Wen Xi’s gaze settled on his face. Then he shook his hand very lightly, his attitude distant, even touched with coldness.

“Hello, Lawyer Song.”

The difference in his treatment was obvious. Song Chengfeng stared at him, unable to figure out why.

Was he really that unpleasant without his glasses?

Wen Xi lowered his eyes.

“If you are looking for someone, I’m afraid you may be disappointed.”

Song Chengfeng’s heart tightened.

“What do you mean?”

Wen Xi raised a hand and tapped the glass of the window with his fingertip.

“There are almost no living people left in this city.”

A vast horde of zombies had sealed off the roads. Wen Xi withdrew his indifferent gaze.

“There is a zombie nearby with a certain degree of intelligence. It is not only cunning—it can even command the others. Under its leadership, the zombie horde slaughtered the entire city. Most outsiders who came here also fell into its traps because they were not cautious enough.”

He explained without haste, then turned back to the three of them.

Song Chengfeng took a step forward. The little one in his arms whimpered twice as his arms suddenly tightened around it.

“There must be exceptions, right?”

“Perhaps.”

Wen Xi did not contradict him. His eyes swept over Song Chengfeng with faint amusement and curiosity before quickly returning to normal.

“If everything goes smoothly, we may be able to eliminate that zombie today.”

Yan Zhuo looked up.

“You?”

Wen Xi nodded at him.

“I joined a small team. They intend to kill that zombie, clear out the central district, and establish a true survivor base.”

With one hand braced against his knee, Qu Yan asked, “Are you confident you can do it?”

“We have been planning for a long time.”

Wen Xi’s answer was imprecise, and under the circumstances, hardly reassuring.

The snarls of the zombies below had not ceased. With no one speaking, they sounded even clearer—the shrill cries, so unlike anything human, floated through the air and seemed almost tangible as they assaulted the ears and heart.

Qu Yan suddenly remembered something.

“Why haven’t they come up?”

The horde had pursued them relentlessly, yet had stopped only when it reached this teaching building.

Wen Xi rubbed his wrist bone and avoided the question. He merely murmured to himself:

“It worked.”

As soon as he spoke, a piercing howl tore through the sky. The desks and chairs inside the classroom shuddered, the window frames buzzed, and even the dust suspended in the air seemed to tremble. The cry lasted a full two minutes before fading. At the same time, the zombies below once again became a disorganized swarm.

At some point, red marks had been squeezed into Wen Xi’s wrist. He exhaled weakly and, with his back against the wall, slowly slid to the floor. He seemed to be enduring something. Within only a few seconds, his forehead was covered in sweat.

He raised a hand to stop the question about to leave Yan Zhuo’s lips, then leaned against the windowsill and laboriously stood.

“I’m only exhausted. I’ll be fine after resting a while.”

Yan Zhuo’s chest rose and fell before gradually settling.

A moment later, someone pushed the classroom door open from outside. A man in fitted work clothes walked in. He surveyed the room and showed no surprise at finding Qu Yan and the others there.

“How is he? Can he still hold on?”

Wen Xi nodded. With one hand gripping the man’s forearm, he introduced him.

“This is the captain of our team, Qin Ji.”

Qin Ji supported Wen Xi lightly. He was tall, with a wheat-colored complexion and an air of restraint. Only the scar running the length of a middle finger along his neck lent him a hint of ferocity.

He studied Wen Xi’s face for two seconds.

“Are they your friends?”

“Yes. I want them to travel with us for the time being.”

Qin Ji assessed the three of them. After a brief pause, he asked, “What abilities do you have?”

“Abilities?” Song Chengfeng asked from behind Yan Zhuo, where he had retreated while clutching the little one.

Qin Ji opened his palm. A point of light gradually appeared there, colliding and intertwining until it became a small ball of electricity.

“Crackle—”

Qin Ji gently closed his fist, and the electricity vanished without a trace. He turned his head toward Wen Xi. Understanding his meaning, Wen Xi answered in his place.

“Abilities such as controlling wind, water, or electricity—roughly speaking, powers like that.”

After seeing Lin Wu’s example earlier, none of this came as a great shock. Song Chengfeng shook his head.

“I don’t have any ability.”

No matter how admired he had once been, he was now nothing more than an ordinary person.

After coming so close to death, Song Chengfeng finally understood that pride and reputation meant nothing. Staying alive was what mattered most.

Qu Yan gave the same answer.

Qin Ji’s gaze shifted to Yan Zhuo, the only one who had not spoken. Yan Zhuo answered calmly and without servility.

“Strength.”

“Strength…”

Qin Ji repeated the word under his breath, interest sparking in his eyes.

“Tomorrow, when we kill zombies, you will come with me.”

He was clearly very interested in Yan Zhuo’s ability. Wen Xi tightened his grip slightly on Qin Ji’s arm.

“Let’s go back first. I’m tired.”

Qin Ji bent down in front of him without hesitation. The movement was practiced, clearly something he had done more than once.

Wen Xi did not refuse. He closed his eyes wearily on Qin Ji’s back.

A small area beneath the teaching building had been cleared. Three men and two women were leaning against a vehicle. When Qin Ji came out, they immediately went to meet him, then lowered their voices in unison upon seeing Wen Xi on his back.

“Is Brother Wen all right?” asked a young girl with a baby face.

“He’s tired. Don’t disturb him,” Qin Ji said seriously.

Only after they had all checked on Wen Xi did they notice Qu Yan and the others behind Qin Ji. They began chattering eagerly, but Qin Ji’s simple statement—“Wen Xi’s friends”—finally silenced them.

Qin Ji and his team rode in one vehicle, while Qu Yan and the others drove their own van behind them.

They did not stop along the way. After a little more than ten minutes, they pulled up in front of a residential complex.

“It has already been cleared out. Someone patrols every day. It’s completely safe.”

The speaker was the baby-faced girl from earlier. She introduced herself as Chen Yuning and seemed lively by nature.

Qin Ji had assigned her to guide them. As they climbed the stairs, she continued, “I heard you’re looking for someone. Building A is sheltering a lot of ordinary people. The chances may not be great, but you can try your luck there.”

So there really were exceptions. Song Chengfeng made no attempt to hide his emotion.

“When can I go?”

“Whenever you like. I happen to have time, so I can take you there in a moment.”

Chen Yuning stopped on the second floor and opened the door beside her.

“You’ll stay here for now. There’s no lock, but don’t worry—no one steals anything. The captain keeps very strict order.”

The interior was warm and tastefully decorated, but the pool of blood on the living-room floor was impossible to ignore. Chen Yuning spread her hands.

“You’ll have to deal with that yourselves.”

With that, she took Song Chengfeng to Building A to look for the person he sought, leaving only Yan Zhuo and Qu Yan behind.